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Steve Brownlee
• Why is college football so averse to using the term "two-minute warning" for the automatic stoppage of play with 120 seconds to go in each half?
It's a great term that comes out of the mouth without thinking when talking about the NFL. So what if no one needs an actual "warning" that two minutes are left with all the clocks displayed around stadiums, let alone the countdown clock that is prominent on your TV screen when watching a game?
The college announcers, at least last season, always had to catch themselves when saying "two-minute war ..., er, timeout."
It sounds like part of football when you have to have a "warning" about something, rather than it just being a "timeout" or whatever other term someone has come up with.
• In the same way, some in baseball want to call the tall posts at either edge of the outfield a "fair pole" instead of a "foul pole."
Sorry, but that sounds like it's a maypole that little kids run around with the ribbon that's attached to the top of it.
We know what it means, and yes, it does demarcate foul territory from fair territory, so "foul" is a "fair" term.
While they're at it, maybe instead of calling them shortstops, we can call them "in-between second and third basemen" -- I'm sure that'll roll off the tongue.
• When will anybody get it through their thick skulls that the vast majority of the times applying a "prevent defense" in football only prevents you from winning?
There's a time for it, like when you're ahead by nine or 10 points with 50 seconds remaining, an instance when an opponent needs two scores in that short amount of time.
Heck, even that's become problematic with teams taking a kickoff with less than 10 seconds left and somehow getting the winning TD or field goal.
But if you score with 90 seconds to go and you're up by two points, say 19-17, it's better to play your regular defense when the opponent gets the ball back.
The regular defense has worked all game, allowing less than 20 points in my example, so chances are the opposing offense won't really get anywhere if you play a straight-up defense.
And even if you get burned for a 65-yard TD bomb, that's better than the opponent methodically working their way down the field and scoring in the last few seconds, maybe the actual last second.
Why is that better? When they lob that bomb against you, they'll score with something like a minute or maybe 1:10 left.
Then you at least have the chance to move the ball down the field quickly to regain the lead for the final time and win the game.
• Back to baseball -- Why are batters who strike out always looking back at the pitcher, or alternately, at the centerfield scoreboard when they're walking back to the dugout?
Do they want to see if the pitcher is snickering at them, or hoping to see a replay on the scoreboard of their off-balance swing that made them look silly?
• Also in baseball, I heard that one of the reasons Major League Baseball is hesitant to fully automate ball-and-strike calling is that catchers have been working on their "art" of framing pitches so more borderline throws are called strikes.
Heck, that sounds like a good reason to automate strike calling MORE quickly. You're basically having catchers cheat to expand the strike zone; it's something I'd never heard of in the 1970s through 1990s in my more formative baseball-watching years.
I'm all for more accurate calling of plays in every sport, as long as it's not intrusive and doesn't slow the pace to a crawl.
• Back on the gridiron, whatever happened to knee pads for all players? Any players? With the fashion of having pants ride above the knee, sometimes halfway up to their crotches like some sort of boxer briefs, it's become patently obvious that a huge number of players forgo knee pads in this day and age.
Looking it up online, I saw that they've been mainly employed for protection against blunt impacts, scrapes and turf burn. Fair enough.
Supposedly, the NFL mandates knee pads, but players often pull the knee pads up their thighs.
All I know is that even with the pro rule that the entire leg is covered and not bared anywhere, you can see the tights a lot of players wear being the thinnest of material, and that includes over the knee.
Geez, I always thought it looked cool to see the padded pant leg go just over the knee, with the long sock below it continuing down to the ankle.
• And finally, I'm realizing that all my bad predictions made in this column have potentially saved me a lot of money. Otherwise, I'd have false visions of grandeur thinking I could make money as a sports bettor.
Do you really know or have you ever heard of anyone beating the big sports books at their own game? Me neither.
And with that, let's look at this week's games, with just two teams, Pittsburgh and Tennessee, having byes:
Today, 8:15 p.m.
• Jacksonville at Baltimore -- What looked like an excellent matchup before the season began is more like a train wreck now, with the Ravens likely starting a third- or fourth-string quarterback tonight. Jaguars, 30-10.
Sunday, 9:30 a.m.
• Cincinnati vs. Atlanta, at Madrid -- Back to Europe, I think to Spain for the second time ever. A couple of exciting offenses, but I think Joe Burrow & Co. will have too much for the Falcons to handle, especially when coupled with a competent defense. Bengals, 31-26.
Sunday, 1 p.m.
• Cleveland at New Orleans -- I thought before the season started that the Saints were a sleeper pick to do something good, while the Browns were basically dead on arrival.
I appear to have that absolutely backwards -- while New Orleans has struggled to a 2-5 record, Cleveland is an adequate 5-3. Even with QB Deshaun Watson almost certainly out and Shadeur Sanders taking his place, give me the Browns, 27-23.
• Dallas at Indianapolis -- Hoo boy! We're really digging down to the dregs with the way these teams are playing. It almost seems the Colts are begging to give this season away, trading away all their good players for draft picks, so I'll take the team that's actually trying, even if they don't know what they're doing half (two-thirds? three-quarters?) of the time. Cowboys, 37-34.
• Denver at Carolina -- Though both of Denver's losses are on the road, I don't see the Panthers stacking up to the two opponents that took them out -- the Chiefs and 49ers. I'll go with the Broncos, 29-24.
• Detroit at Miami -- I trust Dan Campbell enough to not let his Detroit unit fall into this trap game after a rousing victory over the previously undefeated Vikings on Sunday. This should be a slam dunk, but probably will be more like a dunk of your donut into your coffee. Lions, 27-21.
• Los Angeles Rams at Washington -- Sounds like the Rams are getting some of their players back, even while QB Matthew Stafford is now questionable with elbow soreness in his throwing arm. Rams, 26-23.
• New York Giants at Philadelphia -- No reason to stop the Eagles' freefall midflight. Giants, 31-23.
• New York Jets at Kansas City -- On the other hand, I can see the Jets cushioning KC's fall from grace by the way they play. Chiefs, 24-19.
Sunday, 4 p.m.
• Houston at Los Angeles Chargers -- Sure, the Chargers ought to win one of these weeks, but in the meantime, I'll continue accurately predicting their losses. Texans, 28-20.
• Arizona at Seattle -- Probably not a good week to be a Cardinal entering the lair of a predatory sea bird quite peeved at being handed their heads by a bunch of grizzled grizzly Bears. Seahawks, 33-20.
• Green Bay at New England -- For the most part, both teams are starting to feel their oats, the Packers only losing lately when getting short-sheeted by the refs in Detroit a week and a half ago. But New England will be at home. Patriots, 29-26.
• Las Vegas at San Francisco -- With all the injuries they've had, the 49ers should be trading for other teams' bye weeks just to have more recovery time. However, they did have their own bye last week. 49ers, 33-28.
Sunday, 8:20 p.m.
• Tampa Bay at Chicago -- This might seem to be a trap game for the Bears after pulling out a victory at the home of the defending Super Bowl champions in Seattle on Monday night. But like Dan Campbell, I'll trust Chicago coach Ben Johnson in heading that off; and besides, they're back home. Bears, 27-24.
Monday, 8:15 p.m.
• Buffalo at Minnesota -- The Bills should be a carbon copy of the Lions team the Vikings just lost to -- a squad with a potent offense and porous defense -- but I like Buffalo QB Josh Allen even more in pulling a last-minute rabbit out of his hat. Bills, 31-30.
Last week
10-4, 71 percent. Season -- 75-45, 63 percent.
Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee's email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.