Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Guess who’s back, back again. Connor’s back. Tell your friends.
Before we get into the good stuff, I’d like to begin my first column of this upcoming football season with an apology. If you recall, somewhere along the line last season, the column just kind of stopped. Before that, I had missed multiple weeks of the season. To put it simply, my heart just wasn’t in it last year.
I burned myself out trying to pick every single game every single week in these monstrous columns, while also doing my duties as sports editor and covering daily events, putting together weekly football capsules, etc. I am here to assure you that this will not happen this year. There will be a column each week, but it may look a little different. Let me explain.
Each week’s introduction will be the same for the most part. I’ll fill all you lovely people in on what’s new in my incredibly fun and exciting life before getting into the picks. That’s where things will change this year. I do not have it in me to pick every game, every week. I’m sorry if this breaks your heart. It hurts mine too. But I think the best way to regain some consistency and also have some fun doing this again is to pull back on how much content is put out and make sure the stuff that is has some high quality to it.
So starting with today’s edition of Triple C, I will be giving out five picks. They are as follows: my favorite favorite of the week, my favorite underdog, both the Bears and Colts games each week as those seem to be a majority of our readers favorite teams, and lastly, I’ll pick what I think looks like the best primetime game of the week, or the best overall game if it is not in a primetime slot.
So I hope you all continue to enjoy what has been one of my favorite things to do as your Times-Union sports editor. Before we get into the picks, here’s what’s new with me:
I had an amazing summer. As I mentioned in last year’s opening column, I absolutely love roller coasters. Once again, I spent most of my summer riding them. I went to numerous different parks for the first time, including my first ever trip to Pennsylvania. A coaster trip centered around the 4th of July also allowed me to see some of my old college buddies in St. Louis before going down to my alma mater for the first time since I graduated.
Perhaps the biggest development of all in my theme park obsession was that Stef and I joined a coaster club, the American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE), and went to two different events that even included catered meals, behind the scenes looks at different attractions, and even additional ride time after the park closed. Oh, and I was in a parade. See picture above.
Another thing I touched on briefly last year was my health. Since my last column, I have begun peritoneal dialysis. Each night before I go to bed, I connect a tube that goes into my abdomen into a machine, which cycles fluid in and out of my stomach to get rid of toxins my weak kidney otherwise couldn’t. It certainly has its challenges, and I am still searching for a living kidney donor, but I actually feel much better since I started PD than before I did. Being able to release all of those toxins each day has been huge for my quality of life, and allows me to continue living and loving my life.
Outside of that, life hasn’t changed too much. I still love my movies and I’m ready to start watching some scary ones as the weather gets a little chillier. I got the brand new Nintendo Switch 2 and have totally refound my love for video games in the process. For the most part, life has treated me pretty well lately. But there is one thing it would be remiss of me not to mention.
Last week, my friend and mentor Ben Arnet, sports director of the KOMU 8 TV station in Columbia, Missouri, unexpectedly passed away. He was 43 years old. In the short time that I worked for him, Ben taught me so much about both journalism and life. I can confidently say that I would not be writing this story for you all to read if it was not for him. So this column, as well as each and every one I will write this season, is dedicated to him. Thank you, Ben. I will miss you dearly.
I won’t delay the inevitable any further. You want football. Well I’m here to give it to you. Since I feel so bad about bailing on the column last year and since I’m such a nice guy, I’ll even hand out a bonus pick before we begin. This one comes to you from the college level.
THE BORDER WAR
k*ns*s at Missouri (-7.5)
In case you are unaware of who is playing my beloved Missouri Tigers this weekend due to my censorship, they are playing the team from the state directly west. This week, I will not say their name, unless a word that I most certainly CANNOT put in the paper is in front of it. Yes, for the first time since Mizzou left the Big 12 for the SEC in 2012, the Border War will resume. I’ve been waiting so long for this one, and I cannot wait to lock in on Saturday afternoon. My mom is coming to visit me this weekend and I have already informed her it is my civic duty as a graduate of the University of Missouri to give those beakers hell for the entirety of that game. We can hang out before or after. This is the easiest pick I will make all season. M I Z.
The Pick: Missouri (by a billion)
FAVORITE FAVORITE
Las Vegas Raiders at New England Patriots (-2.5)
Week 1 favorites are incredibly hard to pick. So much is unknown before these teams take the field, and your guess is as good as mine. Because of this, I wanted to find a smaller spread, because expecting the expected to happen in Week 1 is a recipe for disaster. I think the Patriots are going to surprise some people this season. Drake Maye turned heads as a rookie last season and impressed a lot of people, myself included. Mike Vrabel, one of my favorite coaches in the NFL, takes over the job after a year off and I think that’s a huge deal. The guy is a winner and that will translate here. As for the Raiders, I love Ashton Jeanty, but outside of him and tight end Brock Bowers, the team lacks the weapons for a sustainable offense. Couple that with the long travel, and I think that Pats get it done.
The Pick: Patriots -2.5
BIG DOG GOTTA EAT
Carolina Panthers at Jacksonville Jaguars (-3.5)
Leave it to me to pick two games that most people around here aren’t going to care about, but hear me out on this one. The Panthers finished last season incredibly strong, with Bryce Young looking leaps and bounds better than when he got benched earlier in the season. The Jaguars were absolutely terrible last season and I see no reason why they will turn that around. Granted, I don’t think Carolina is suddenly a playoff team or anything, but I think they’re good enough to pull off the upset on the road here.
The Pick: Panthers +3.5
BEAR DOWN
Minnesota Vikings (-1.5) at Chicago Bears
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but there is once again hype building as the Bears prepare for another season. Ben Johnson takes over as head coach after an incredibly successful stint in Detroit as the offensive coordinator. Hopefully he is the one that can unlock Caleb Williams in his sophomore season. The Vikings will be debuting a quarterback of their own in J.J. McCarthy, a Michigan man who missed all of his rookie season. The game is in Chicago on Monday night, you know where I have to go with this. While years of betrayal and pain have caused me to be less bullish on the Bears than most this year, I still think they will win this game. It just might be the defense that does the job.
The Pick: Bears +1.5
THIS IS OUR COLTS
Miami Dolphins at Indianapolis Colts (-1.5)
The Colts stunned pretty much everybody this offseason by announcing they would be benching former top-5 pick Anthony Richardson in favor of veteran Daniel Jones. I was one of those people that did not expect this, as I figured Richardson would get the benefit of the doubt due to his age and raw talent. I guess not. Jones will start the home opener against Miami on Sunday. The Dolphins are a team I am out on going into this season. I’m not a fan of Tua, and I just don’t think the roster is where it needs to be to mask his deficiencies. I don’t really like Daniel Jones either, but top to bottom, I like Indy’s roster a lot more.
The Pick: Colts -1.5
GAME OF THE WEEK
Baltimore Ravens at Buffalo Bills (-1.5)
This was an easy choice in this slot. Sunday Night Football, two of the three best quarterbacks in the NFL, opening night, what more could you ask for? This is going to be a doozy of a game and I’m not sure which way to lean. I am a huge Josh Allen fan, so I tend to go that way, but there’s just something about Lamar Jackson in big games. Regular season ones that is. I feel like every time I turn on SNF and the Ravens are playing on it, Lamar is doing some crazy stuff. I’m going to go with the underdogs here for that reason alone.
The Pick: Ravens +1.5
It feels good to be doing this again. I’ll talk to you guys next week.
Cheers.
