NFL etc... US Major League Sports

[MacNimon]

I'll come back to the NFL but things are getting to the interesting part of the season in MLB. My team, the Blue Jays got off to a flier of a start but not surprisingly faded. They're in 2nd place in their division at the moment, well back from the leading Orioles but still ahead of both the Yankees and the Red Sox, and still in the hunt for a Wild-Card berth. They'll likely fall away over the final few weeks of the season, but I'll enjoy this while it lasts...the last time they were still in contention at this point was back in 1993!

[Jeff]

I've been paying more attention to my fantasy baseball (where I'm in first place) than the real thing, but last I checked the Cards were still first in the NL Central. I usually start paying more attention in Sep and Oct.

[MacNimon]

It's getting to that time of the year again...the NFL is warming up for action, currently in the second week of it's pre-season. I wonder what's in store for us this season?

Things are getting really interesting in baseball at the moment...for the first time since their back-to-back World Series wins over 20 years ago the Toronto Blue Jays are flying high again with an exciting team after years of mediocrity. The feel-good factor is back, and the Jays are currently back on top of the AL East above the Yankees (who play their game in hand tonight against Houston, another hot team at the moment). I can't remember the last time the Jays were still in contention at this stage in the season...because of recent years standards, I'm still expecting them to fall away but hoping all the time that they don't! I still remember the disastrous finish to the 1987 season...the darkest moment in Jays history when they threw away a 3.5 game lead in the final week of the season to lose out on the title by 1 game on the last day of the season.

Jeff will be quite happy at the moment as well, I'm sure...his team, the Cardinals easily have the best record in baseball at the moment. If the Jays don't make it all the way, I'm looking forward to a possible rematch of the first World Series that I ever saw...1985's St Louis Cardinals/Kansas City Chiefs series.

[Jon Masters]

How excellent to have life NFL on a Sunday evening (thanks to Pick TV)

[MacNimon]

What time was that at, Jon...one of the early evening games? I missed that...I was too busy watching my Blue Jays getting beat by the Yankees on MLBtv. Never mind, I can't complain too much...winning 3 out of 4 at New York and being 3.5 games clear at the top of the division with only 3 weeks left in the regular season I still keep expecting it to all grind to a halt at any time though, and injuries to a couple of key players at the weekend may have an impact...

[Jon Masters]

What time was that at, Jon...one of the early evening games? (

It started at 5.30 pm and ran until about 9.15 - I was out for most of it, but caught the last quarter. It was also nice that they kept you up to date with the scores in the other early evening games playing at the same time during the US ad breaks

[MacNimon]

I was hoping that this would be a regular weekly slot, but unfortunately it appears not. At least, no NFL scheduled for Pick TV this coming Sunday

TV Guide

As I don't have Sky, it looks like my options are limited. I could get the NFL Gamepass but I don't think I'd really get value for my money for at least the early part of the season, my sports viewing is dominated by baseball at the moment and any gridiron games I'm catching tend to be of the CFL variety. I'm also trying to expand my knowledge of the College football scene, I've always been fascinated by teams such as USC Trojans, UCLA Bruins, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Nebraska Cornhuskers, Florida Gators, etc. But it's really only due to modern technology that I've actually been able to actually watch some of these teams which I've read so much about since way back in the 80s. It's a fascinating area, although there are quite simply so many teams (around 650 of them all playing at different levels) that it's quite hard trying to get my head round all the different Conferences, and who plays in which.

It's good to experience the game at different levels rather than just the top level NFL, though!