“Every form of strength covers one weakness and creates another, and therefore every form of strength is also a form of weakness and every weakness a strength.”- Bill James ABSTRACT 1983

By Way of: MONEYBALL-Michael Lewis

A massive football weekend is coming to a close in just a few minutes with Green Bay in Dallas on NBC. Josh Jacobs is going for 120 and two TD’s. Maybe three. Maybe–Al Michaels will tell us all about it.

—

What a week full of round and oblong football and mountain adventures–A hike amongst the aspens in the dimly lit hours of the morning–Scarred alabaster columns crowned with lemon and tangerine leaves were gracious enough to host me for a morning coffee at 10,000 feet. Their fiery foliage clicking and clacking rhythmically in the breeze sounding similar to a distant roaring applause. It was the perfect way to break up the football weekend.

A packed football weekend. Friday Night Lights with spectacular weather, top ten matchups in the Saturday game, Arsenal surviving two trips up North in the span of four days, and the first full NFL Sunday’s we’ve had this year.

So, settle into your armchair, get the tv tuned to NBC so not to miss any of the action between Green Bay and Dallas, and enjoy a recap of this past week in football.

With that–It’s time for this Week’s “General Update.” General Update.

What to Expect:

• Friday Night Lights
• The Round Game
• The Saturday Game
• Top 12 Rankings in CFB
• The American Pastime Game
• The Grown Man’s Sunday Game
• The Gentleman’s Game
  • Bruce Returns

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

Matinee (Bonus coverage)

The orange glow of the late afternoon sun burned through the overcast conditions and created quite the array of colors across the western Tennessee sky as the tiniest of tykes competed in flag football. The play of the game:

A long-legged lad wearing Hometown Tiger blue was lined up at tight end. Not in the traditional three-point stance TE position but standing up just off the right guard in the slot like a Brock Bowers or Trey McBride.

On the snap, he exploded off the line on a three-yard hitch which is Sixteen strides or so for the tykes of this height. The QB was completely alone and had all day to throw. He looked off the running back, his favorite target who was wide open on the wheel route four yards to his right. He instead launched the ball across the middle, and it soared in the air all the way to the wide-open TE who corralled the pass into his breadbasket with both arms.

After a brief pause perhaps from shock, the youngster turned inside towards the Linebacker attempting to grab his flag. The two collided and as any Tight End would do, he bounced off and accelerated up the field both flags in-tact. A key downfield block was laid by the receiver who was perfectly in the way of the play.

The Tight End smiled and audibly laughed most of the way down the field. TOUCHDOWN! BLUE TEAM!

Football. It’s about fun. The most fun when it’s the matinee played by the tiniest of tykes. Some will certainly grow up to play Friday Night Lights.

FEATURED GAME:

• Skyridge 14 @ Corner Canyon 49

Amber mountains, deerskin foothills, a purple peak atop Timpanogos, and flocks of white under bellied green headed ducks circled the stadium and flew the canals before the sunset faded for the day. The sun was completely hidden by the western mountains and was casting its last bits of refracted light East that gave the Corner Canyon football fans a spectacular opening to the Friday Night Light matchup. A perfectly light breeze added the slightest chill to the 75-degree evening.

To get to the football, unfortunately, it was never competitive. In fact, Corner Canyon was unfazed defensively. To quote a young fan who was in ear shot of me just as the third quarter began, “I thought this was going to be a good game.” He trudged past me and plopped next to his friend about the same age before saying those exact words in a most exasperated way. Me and you both little buddy.

Regardless of the lacking in competitiveness, it was a great team win for Corner Canyon and a good response after last week’s road loss. I’ll jump through some of the top performers.

• DE Jayden Pearce pick six. #9 is a bolt off the edge.
• Jackson Caruth rushed for 4 TD’s
• Lucas Jackson 2 Rec TD’s. Impressive YAC numbers.
• Isaiah Morris with a couple of nice grabs
• ATH Diesel Dart had a couple of catches, a couple of nice fair catches on punts, and a couple of tackles. He also broke up a pass or two. I mention the fair catches because of one in particular. It was tricky but he used excellent concentration to corral the ball cleanly in traffic. This is an area that I’ve watched Dart improve upon this season.
• Jasean Mayberry impressed again
• Josh Harris with multiple nice tackles on the edge.
• Skyridge RB Lincoln Tahi ran hard and had a nice one-handed grab out of the backfield.

Corner Canyon move to 6-1 on the season. Let’s check in on the other Key matchups this past Friday.

NOTABLE SCORES provided by Deseret News:

• Lone Peak 28 @ American Fork 31

Lone Peak came off their dominant home win over Corner Canyon last Friday and played an extremely close game with (5-1) American Fork on the road. The Cavemen exploded out of the gate with a 56 yard touchdown run and followed that with a 90 yard pick six to go up 14-0 halfway through the first quarter. Lone Peak battled throughout the game but were finally bested in the final seconds by a game winning 40 yard field goal.

• Key Players
  • AF Junior Noah Behm 90 yard pick six in the first quarter
    • second defensive TD of the season
  • LP Keenan Pula 2 TD’s
  • LP Cruz Christensen 3 Total Td’s
• Herriman 22 @ Lehi 21
  • Lehi RB Devaughn Eka 71 yard rushing touchdown
  • Lehi Legend Glasker one TD
• Copper Hills 21 @ Westlake 35
• Syracuse 22 @ Davis 54
  • Tradon Bessinger 4 passing touchdowns (33 for the year)
  • Bode Sparrow 1 TD
  • Jaxton Itaaheau 3 Total TD
• (3-4) Farmington 24 @ (5-2) Fremont 17
  • Fremont @ Box Elder 10/3

TOP RECORDS across UHSAA 6A:

• Herriman (7-0) Region 2: (3-0)
• Davis (6-1) Region 2: (1-0)
• Lone Peak (5-2) Region 3: (1-1)
• Skyridge (5-2) Region 3: (1-1)
• American Fork (6-1) Region 3: (1-0)
• Corner Canyon (6-1) Region 3: (1-1)

Upcoming Top Level Games 10/3:

• (6-1) Corner Canyon @ Cedar Valley
• (6-1) Davis @ (3-4) Farmington
• (5-2) Lone Peak @ Skyridge (5-2)
• (5-2) Mountain Ridge @ (7-0) Herriman
• (6-1) American Fork @ (3-3) Lehi
  • Lehi has three losses: by 2, by 4, and by 1. They are the best three loss team in the state, and it isn’t close.

UHSAA 6A Region 3 Standings:

1. American Fork (6-1)
2. Corner Canyon (6-1)
3. Lone Peak (5-2)
4. Skyridge (5-2)
5. Lehi (3-3)

Herriman keep winning, American Fork is battling every week, Davis is scoring at will, and of course Corner Canyon and Lone Peak are in the mix. The cream is certainly rising further to the top with only three regular season games to go. I’m as excited as anyone else to see how the playoffs are set. The 6A state title is anyone’s to win.

American Fork @ Lehi is the game that has my interest this next week. I’ve yet to see AF and I know firsthand how hard Lehi plays. They deserve a win.

—

NATIONAL FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS Nugget

• Brandon High Bulldogs (MS)

It was Homecoming for the Bulldogs of Brandon, MS this past Friday as they hosted (4-0) Starkville in their final non-region game of the season. Starkville came into the game averaging 48.7 points per game and stalled against a sturdy Brandon defensive front but found a way to win the low-scoring game. Starkville 22- Brandon 14

Warm air and clear skies were welcomed at the kickoff in front of a jam-packed crowd full of belief in their Bulldog squad that this might be the year to finally bring the State Title home to Brandon, MS.

Four times this Brandon High bunch have made the State Title game but have yet to win the coveted final game. Just last season, Brandon lost in the MHSAA 7A Championship game to Tupelo 28-16. At (2-3) and Region 3 play set to begin next week, the playoffs are well within their grasp as Region 3 has yet to produce a front-runner this season with (3-2) being the best record. Not to mention, the championship pedigree they have in a head coach.

Head Football Coach Lance Pogue, also the Athletic Director, took the job last spring and to say he was qualified is an understatement. Coach Pogue has produced Five State Championships with South Panola High School and was named National Coach of the Year in 2010. He’s been described as a “leader who understands how to build not only winning teams but also men and women of integrity” as said by Brandon High Principal Bryan Marshall. Coach Pogue will set and maintain a high standard in all areas.

One of those areas is maintaining a high level of assistant coaches. Coach Eugene Clinton is responsible for the Defensive Backs and if his name sounds familiar, I’ll remind you why.

Coach Clinton was part of the Mississippi State teams that made me fall in love with the Bulldogs of Starkville. He was perhaps the first Bulldog that I idolized and as you may have expected, he was a Safety. Story time...

SEC on CBS was in town for the September 30, 2000 game as the Starkville Dogs hosted #3 Florida. Mississippi State had begun the year with a tricky schedule:

• @Memphis W
• @BYU W
• @South Carolina L

Only to return home and find the number three team in the nation coming to town. Mississippi State was fearless. Eugene Clinton specifically. With the Dogs winning 13-0 in the second quarter and QB Jesse Palmer and Florida facing a 1st and 15 from the Bulldog 37, Eugene bolted off the line of scrimmage from the Dog Safety position completely untouched and brought down the 6’2 Canadian for a loss of 12. Cowbells clanging, ears ringing on a bright afternoon. Good gracious. I still get chill bumps from these memories.

Mississippi State won the game 47-35 behind a 23 point fourth quarter.

In fact, State won a lot that season. I mentioned the tricky schedule. After this game, the Dogs hosted #15 Auburn and decided to beat them as well. A 5-1 start and flying high. LSU got the best of them in Death Valley the next week, but the Dogs ripped off three straight wins after that to rise to 13th in the rankings before losing the final two weeks to Arkansas and Ole Miss. 8-4 earned them a birth in the Independance Bowl where they faced the Big 12’s Maroon and White school, Texas A&M. The Dogs won 43-41 and earned the 24th spot on the AP Poll to end the season. These are my good ol days.

Good gracious. Am I old enough to wish for the good ol days yet? Days like this specifically would be such a ‘good ole day.’ Hayfields, baseball, deer hunting, and Bulldog football. That’s all that mattered. Bucko, let’s go back.

Back to Brandon.

Coach Clinton totaled 5 Picks, one for a touchdown, a slew of tackles, and a handful of sacks in his Junior and Senior seasons and knows how hard one has to work to win against the odds. More than a few of his former students praise his leadership but dread his workouts. “Intense” is a word that could be used. It’s this type of leadership that turns men into leaders. Young men such as Brandon High ATH Preston Ashley.

As I’ve written before, Preston, 5’11/ 180 is a top 10 football recruit in the state who turned down Florida, Florida St, and others to commit to play Safety for Coach Sanders in Boulder next season. Why Colorado? “Why not Colorado?” Preston said in an interview with a warm smile across his unassuming face. “Colorado just had a Heisman Trophy winner, a great season, and we’re gonna be on the way to win the National Championship.”

Having a coach that has played the position at a supremely high level surely has played a role in his development and confidence. Confidence that he hopes will translate to the college game. Coach Clinton certainly is doing everything within his power to give Preston and every player enough of himself to help cultivate the young men into leaders and this is the sort of pedigree that Coach Pogue has at his disposal in his quest for the coveted State Title.

With a State Title well within reach, Coach Pogue, Coach Clinton, and Senior Preston Ashley are remaining hungry. Coach Pogue doesn’t come off as a guy that likes to finish second. Let’s believe in the Bulldogs this season.

Regional play, the most difficult part of the season begins Friday October third as the Brandon High Bulldogs head ten miles north to Flowood to take on Northwest Rankin. Only up Lads.

“The black tulip will not be found, except by one whom I know”- Alexandre Dumas

—

THE ROUND GAME

ARSENAL

After a chilly midweek trip up North to Stoke, the Gunners travelled even further up North to battle Newcastle on a classic Nothern England Fall evening. Cool, cloudy and damp. Makes sturdy football fans and hearty food. Also, a tough place for a visiting team to win. We will get to this game, but first–a look at their midweek performance.

Arsenal 2 @ Port Vale 0

Midweek the Gunners travelled North to chilly Port Vale to take on the struggling League One side in an EFL Cup match on Wednesday Night. This was a prime spot to let the youngsters shine and those coming back from injury to get some game minutes.

Arsenal Lineup:

• GK Kepa
• RB White
• CB Saliba
• CB Mosquera
• LB Lewis-Skelly
• CM Norgaard
• CM Merino
• CM Nwaneri
• RW Saka
• ST Martinelli
• LW EZE
• BENCH:
  • Raya
  • Rice*
  • Dowman*
  • Trossard*
  • Gabriel*
  • Timber
  • Gyokeres*
  • Zubimendi

KEY MOMENTS:

• GOAL: 8th minute. Eze slotted home a beautiful team goal. Assisted by Lewis-Skelly
• GOAL: 84th minute. Trossard drilled a shot from the top of the box after he received a smooth long ball entry pass from Saliba.

A fun fact during the Paramount+ broadcast–September 28th, 1901, Port Vale beat Arsenal one-nil in the two sides first ever meeting. The Valiants never beat them again.

• Arsenal 2 @ Newcastle 1

Last season’s EFL Cup winner, Newcastle hosted the Gunners this morning. It was quite the struggle up north as has always been then case. The Magpies proved to be a strong opponent and a difficult one to break down.

Arsenal Lineup:

• GK Raya
• RB Timber
• CB Mosquera
• CB Gabriel
• LB Calafiori
• CM Zubimendi
• CM Rice
• CM EZE
• RW Saka
• ST Gyokeres
• LW Trossard
  • Bench:
    • Skelly
    • Saliba
    • White
    • Odegaard
    • Dowman
    • Martinelli
    • Kepa
    • Merino
    • Norgaard

KEY MOMENTS:

• NEW GOAL: 38th Minute
• Arsenal GOAL: 83rd Mikel Merino
• Arsenal GOAL: 96th Gabriel

The Gunners past Crystal Palace to move into second place only two points off top of the league Liverpool. This was a massive three points. Massive.

OTHER NOTES:

• Olympiakos @ Arsenal 1:00 PM 10/1 Champions League
• West Ham @ Arsenal 10/4 8:00AM Premier League

Sunderland

• Sunderland 1 @ Nottingham Forest 0

Sunderland moved to 5th and just behind fourth place Tottenham with an inspiring road win at Forest. The visiting Black Cats withstood a game long onslaught from their less than gracious hosts. Forest had 11 more shots than Sunderland, spoiled themselves with 65% possession, completed 250 more passes, and had 3 more corners than Sunderland. Yet, the visitors survived and sit in the Top 5 after 6 games. Sunderland seems hell-bent on staying up longer than one season and I’m here for it. The Premier League is better with Sunderland in it.

Sunderland @ Manchester United 10/4 8:00AM

OTHER SOCCER:

COMO 1907

• Sassuolo 0 @ Como 3 on 9/24 Coppa Italia

Easy work mid-week in the Coppa Italia for Cesc Fabregas and his young group and they are through to the last 16 of the tournament.

• Cremonese 1 @ Como 1

It was rainy and brisk on the shores of Lake Como for the Saturday mid-afternoon local kickoff. A sparse crowd were scattered about as the game began. These conditions led to a slow paced game and a 1-1 draw. Nico Paz scored again. An 82nd minute Red Card issued to Caraballo kept Como from going for the late winner.

• Como @ Atalanta 12:45 10/4 on Paramount+

WREXHAM

Reading 0 @ Wrexham 2 EFL CUP 9/24

• Broadhead Brace

Derby 1 @ Wrexham 1

NEXT

• Wrexham travel to Leicester 9/30 at 12:45
• Wrexham host Birmingham 10/3 1:00PM

The round ball was less of a priority this weekend, but it was fun when it was on. COYG!

“Origins should never be a barrier to success.”- Sir Alex Fergeson

—

THE SATURDAY GAME

Massive Week for College Football. Massive. That’s how I wrote it a few days ago and I’d say the results justify the term. Oregon with a road win at Penn St, Ohio St with an impressive defensive showing in their road win in Seattle, Tennessee battled through the conditions on the road to get a win in Starkville, Alabama did some ‘ok’ things on the road to get a win in Athens, Notre Dame’s offense was relentless in their win in Fayetteville, and the Hometown Tigers escaped Boca Rotan with a 29 point smashing of the Owls to remain undefeated. A massive weekend of college football indeed.

• Hometown Tigers

No rest for the weary. The Tigers, fresh off the Home win over Arkansas went on the road for the third time in four weeks. Florida Atlantic isn’t Florida St, but road trips are always tough.

It was 24-19 going into the fourth quarter and the Tigers were desperate to keep their winning streak alive. The entire game the Tigers were the better side but just could not find the separation. That is–until the fourth quarter.

Brenden Lewis totaled three touchdowns and Greg Desrosiers added another as the Tigers impressively scored 31 4th quarter points to win the game by 29.

Memphis 55 @ Florida Atlantic 26

• QB Brenden Lewis 256 Total yards and 4 Total TD’s
• RB Greg Desrosiers 19 Carries, 204 Yards, 3 TD’s
  • Early in the third quarter Greg bolted 90 yards for a touchdown
• WR Cortez Braham 6 catches for 127 yards and 2 TD’s

The Tigers return home next week to play Tulsa in their final game before their first bye week. Georgia St, Troy, and FAU are not the toughest places to play but doing so in back-to-back weeks to begin the season can take it’s toll on any team. Oh, and by the way, you get a home game against an SEC opponent in the middle of these road games. Yessir, a home game and then a bye week sounds like the right medicine for the Hometown Tigers.

Tulsa @ Memphis 10/4 at 6PM on EspnU. “Be there, be proud, wear blue.”– Tommy West

TOP GAMES:

• Oregon 30 @ Penn St 27
  • Dante Moore Totaled 283 Yards and 3 touchdowns against one of the toughest defenses in one of the toughest environments that he will face this year.
• Ohio St 24 @ Washington 6
• Alabama 24 @ Georgia 21
• Tennessee 41 @ Miss St 34
  • Joey Aguilar Totaled 356 yards and two touchdowns
  • Sophomore RB Fluff Bothwell had 23 carries for 134 yards and two touchdowns in the loss
• LSU 19 @ Mississippi 24
  • Trinidad Chambliss 385 yards and 1 TD
  • Mississippi is good
  • Brian Kelly needs to pack.
• USC 32 @ Illinois 34
  • Jordan Maiva 366 Total Yards 2 TD’s in the loss
  • Great win for the Illini against this resilient USC squad.
• Notre Dame 56 @ Arkansas 13
  • RB Jeremiah Love Totaled 127 Yards and 4 touchdowns
  • RB Jadarian Price totaled 121 Yards and 2 touchdowns
  • These Notre Dame running backs are the real deal.
  • Notre Dame shutout the Hogs in the second half.
  • Arkansas needs help on all fronts.
• Utah 48 @ West Virginia 14
• BYU 24 @ Colorado 21
  • Quietly 4-0 in Provo

OTHER CFB Scores:

• TCU 24 @ ASU 27 (FRI)
• FSU 38 @ UVA 46 (FRI)
  • QB Chandler Morris Totaled 266 yards and 5 TD’s in the win
• Arizona 14 @ Iowa St 39
• Auburn 10 @ Texas A&M 16
• Indiana 20 @ Iowa 15
• Idaho 30 @ Montana 41
  • The Grizzlies are 4-0

RANKINGS

TOP 12 WEEK 5:

1. Ohio St
2. Oregon
3. Miami
4. Georgia
5. Texas A&M
6. Oklahoma
7. Penn St
8. Tennessee
9. Mississippi
10. Alabama
11. Florida St
12. Indiana

The entire rankings will be out tomorrow morning. I’m still very high on Georgia despite their loss. The Bulldogs will continue to get stronger throughout the year. Once they are in the playoff, it’ll be theirs’s to lose. This UGA team is championship caliber. To that I say, well done to Kalen DeBoer and the Crimson Tide. Gritty win on the road.

Penn St looked putrid on offense for three quarters. Putrid. The stat sheet gives the Nittany Lions far more credit than they deserve in their home performance. I’d drop them further if I didn’t love their defense so much. Love this hard-hitting Nittany Lion D, but Oregon deserved to win that game by double digits. The Ducks were dominant.

Miami @ Florida St is primetime on ABC next week. That’s a huge game that will continue to teach us about who these ACC giants are this season.

This wraps the Saturday Game for now. Look for more hits throughout the week.

“I’m so proud of this team win.” Dan Lanning

—

DEBUT FEATURE:

THE AMERICAN PASTIME GAME

• Fun Fact-“On this day, September 28, 1941, Ted Williams entered the final game of the 1941 season with a .39955 batting average. He went 6 for 8 in a double-header and finished with a historic best .406 average.” – OLD FARMER”S ALMANAC

Reporter: “Ted, tell us, how did you do it? How’d you hit over .400 for the season? No one has ever done it. Tell us if you would–how’d you do it?”

Ted: “It wasn’t that hard. I just needed one day.”

Ted was 22 and he led all of Major League Baseball in Batting Average, Homeruns (37), Walks, OBS, and Slugging Pct for the season. He finished 2nd in the MVP voting to Joe Dimaggio.

“A man has to have goals-for a day, for a lifetime-and that was mine–to have people say, ‘ there goes Ted Williams, the greatest hitter who ever lived.”- Ted Williams

—

THE SUNDAY GROWN MANS GAME

Seattle beat Phoenix Thursday Night to begin Week 4 in the NFL It was followed this morning by an early morning game in Dublin. It was a low-scoring snore fest that was perfect to turn on and then roll over and go back to sleep.

Since then, there have been some interesting games, but before I get to those. Let’s get an UPDATE from Nashville:

• TITANS

0-4 in Nashville. Keep on working on the little things for next year.

Nashville 0 @ Houston 26

• Yikes!

Things are a little worse than I anticipated as this season began but we can take it. Let’s all sit back and let the MVP of the league Daniel Jones and the Indianapolis Colts win the AFC South this year. Titans can compete next year.

OTHER NFL Scores:

• Los Angeles 18 @ New York 21
  • Former Corner Canyon Star QB Jaxson Dart Totaled 165 yards and two touchdowns in the win
  • Former USC Trojan LB Tuli Tuipulotu totaled 16 tackles including an outstanding four sacks in the loss
• Carolina @ New England
  • Vrabel is 2-2
• Washington 27 @ Atlanta 34
  • Former Longhorn Bijan Robinson totaled 186 yards and one touchdown
• Philadelphia 31 @ Tampa Bay 25
• Indianapolis 20 @ Los Angeles 27
• Baltimore 20 @ Kansas City 37
• Chicago 25 @ Las Vegas 24
  • Bears Kicker Cairo Santos 4/4 Field Goals including a 52 yarder.
  • Former Boise St great Ashton Jeanty Totaled 155 yards and three touchdowns in the loss.

“Tuli Pui” is my player of the day. Four Sacks! Let’s go! That’s a fast dude at Linebacker.

Well done to Jaxson Dart. That’s his first NFL win and locally that will be inspiring to many. He’s representing the Utah Friday Nights Light well. Keep striving. There were more than a handful of youngsters running around the bleachers Friday Night excited about Jaxson starting on Sunday. He’s a small-town guy from Draper, Utah with a boat load of support.

Tennessee will be better next year. No, seriously, it can’t get worse than it is right now. 0-4 but next year looks bright. Maybe.

“Our best chances are when the numbers are right, and the numbers are right.”- Jerry Jones

THE GENTLEMAN”S GAME

The Ryder Cup. Farmingdale, NY. The Black Course of Bethpage State Park or ‘Bethpage Black.’ The Best Golfers in the World. It had all of the hype but like always, it didn’t grab me this year. Turns out, I wasn’t alone in that opinion.

• Bruce: He’s back

It was a long overdue visit to the man who lives off Winston’s and sunshine. Our resident expert on all of the negative things in the world, his own opinion, and Ute football. I’d been meaning to get up the hill to his place for a couple of weeks now, but especially since the Texas Tech game to get his opinion.

There was a strong breeze and a thick shark skin sky that was allowing the reds and yellows of the street side maples to shine as I pulled down his foothill street. Usually, he’d be in his yard tinkering. On this day, he was nowhere to be seen, but his yard–still as pristine as the day I met him. Razor sharp edges of the lawn met the smooth concrete driveway with a crispness that would have one questioning for a moment if it was real grass or turf.

I walked up the stone path and rang the doorbell which is something I’d never done to this point. As you know by now, our conversations always began in his front yard. With Bruce being a particular type of guy, I hesitated a moment before dinging the bell, but I did. After about thirty seconds he answered the door wearing khaki slacks and a yellow and red golf shirt untucked.

Bruce: “You’re not the bride I ordered.”

This is one of those tones where if you didn’t know he was being funny, he can come off abrasive and rude. I just laughed.

Me: “How are you Bruce?”

Bruce: “What are you doing up this way?” He ignored my question. “Figured you’d forgotten about me.”

We shared some simple pleasantries, and he invited me inside just as the first rain drop fell. Sporadic large raindrops fell throughout the meeting but nothing that would accumulate. It was mostly just dark and windy.

He pulled a can of soda from the kitchen refrigerator and placed it on the round kitchen table where I took a seat. He grabbed his stainless-steel rambler and sat across from me pulling the ash tray towards himself as he did. After customarily offering me one, he sparked a cigarette, and we caught up on the past few weeks.

Towards the end of the conversation, I asked if he planned on watching the Ryder Cup.

Bruce: “I just don’t care about it. I like golf but I don’t all the fuss about this…There’s about 15 things I’d rather do than sit down to watch it…I mean don’t get me wrong, I’m for the USA, but I just don’t care.”

Fair enough Bruce. Fair enough.

Bruce had some firmer opinions on the Utes and college football, but I’ll save that for later this week. I made a joke about his backyard being sharp enough to roll a putt, but he didn’t laugh. He rarely does. A permanent nearly disgusted look is etched across his face. There is the faintest glint of joy that is seen in his right eye when he says something he deems funny. His version of funny is drier than a three-day old turkey and I for one can appreciate that.

This has nothing to do with the Ryder Cup or sports in general, but I found it amusing. Bruce is “sick and tired of these Californians…They come in and have all the money, buy up everything, but don’t do anything to boost our economy or help the community.” Along the way, he made sure to point out each house that had a Californian owner.

This is why I love seeing Bruce. Just a grumpy old man with opinions and principles and a cigarette glued to his lips. He’s old and knows it and loves to quote Nickelson from “The Departed.” “I’m on my way out. Just acting accordingly.”

Oh yeah, and Europe blew out the USA in the Ryder Cup. I did not watch one single bit of coverage, but Tommy Fleetwood and Matthew Fitzpatrick along with the rest of Team Europe won with relative ease. Seems like the American golfers cared as much as Bruce.

More from the Gentleman’s Game as early as March of next year.

CONCLUSION

“Sometimes one has suffered so much that he has the right never to be able to say, ‘I am too happy.’” -Alexandre Dumas THE BLACK TULIP

Sometimes one experiences so much happiness that they do not have the right to say, ‘I am unhappy.’ Sports fans can identify both ways at times, but in general, after a massive weekend like this–sports fans should only be happy. I know I am.

I’m inspired by the young men that are excelling every day in the Friday Night Lights game. The future looks bright.

Another “General Update” will be out this same time next Sunday.

Until then,

Find the Humor and Keep on Movin’

Whit W.