* It’s hard to overstate the uniquely precarious state of the Tampa Bay Rays and their market vulnerability. And Orlando gearing up for (wink-and-nod) “expansion,” hardly helps. But there was a notably understated comment this week from Rays president Brian Auld. “When we were putting together our plans for the ballpark at Al Lang and then we went on a World Series run, we absolutely thought that attendance was going to jump a lot more than it did.”
* For college football fans, the first weekend of December is notable for its rollout of bowl game match-ups. It’s also a reminder of what it used to be like. Back in the day (when networks and sponsors were not nearly so influential ), there were less than a dozen, including the high-profile, New Year’s Day quintet of Cotton, Fiesta, Orange, Sugar and Rose Bowls. Now there are 41 games; that’s way, way too many. That’s why nearly a third (13) of all invited teams–including Miami (Independence), Florida State (Sun) and Florida International (Camellia)–don’t have winning records. At least FAU (Boca Raton), UCF (Gasparilla) and, especially, UF (Orange) had winning records. Which means if you’re not even going to a bowl–given the proliferation of games and the diluted criteria–you’re really hurting. Now we’ll see how that hurt is addressed at USF by incoming head coach Jeff Scott.
* Speaking of bowls, some of them–because of sponsors–have odd names. Would that the Cheez-It Bowl (Phoenix), the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Boise) and the Lending Tree Bowl (Mobile) were the only weird ones. But at least there is no 1-800-Ask-Gary Bowl. Yet. Thankfully, Tampa’s Outback Bowl, actually sounds like a bowl game.
* Football players on teams such as Ohio State and Michigan wear decals on their helmets to recognize and reward big plays. Are they also removed for misplays and stupid penalties?