Nip in the Air

There is a nip in the air and winter seems to be just around the corner. Usually a  time where other bears would start preparing for the long winter hibernation, but not the Grizzly Bear. Late Fall and early Winter mean a few things to GB, the football scene is heating up (college and NFL) and NHL hockey is back!!!

College football has entered into its conference play and teams begin to find out what they are really made of. No more patty cake games like Coastal Carolina, Chattanooga, or Southeast Missouri State (as opposed to Northwest-Central Missouri State College). Its a time when ranked teams face familiar conference opponents that will match-up much better and know your tendencies inside and out. Wisconsin is a perfect example of this. Highly ranked early on and truly a solid team worthy of national attention, but run ins with a rebuilding Michigan team and a retooled Ohio State offense and the juggernaut that is Penn State have now led to Wisconsin being unranked and sitting at 3-3. And I don’t even need to mention Oregon State solving the unstoppable USC, or Mississippi scratching out a 31-30.

The NFL season is getting more interesting by the week, if not the day. Peyton Manning finally found his groove last week, allowing fantasy owners to take one big sigh of relief. The NFC east continues to be the strongest of all divisions in the NFL, with every team being playoff contenders. I mean who would have thought that the Washington Redskins would be sitting at 4-2 with wins over both the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys.

And of course who could not be entertained by the soap opera that is the Dallas Cowboys.  Adam “Pacman” Jones is up to his usual: drinking, partying and beating the piss out of his team-hired bodyguard while his bodyguard was taking a piss. I know Pacman got in trouble for ‘making it rain’ in a strip club, but this brings a whole new meaning to that. And with the addition of a new wide receiver in Dallas, TO is certainly poised to start acting like the TO of old.

And finally, NHL hockey is back. I know that the NHL has struggled to regain the fan interest following the Lock-Out of 2005, but fans need to give it a chance. The media likes to bury my beloved sport on the Versus Network and NBC may start showing a game or two in March, but fans need to give the new look NHL a chance. The fast paced entertainment that is the NHL and ice hockey in general is something not to be missed. Gone are the days of ” I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out.” Today’s game features skill, speed and finesse. You may have even caught a glimpse of it on Sportscenter. You know, there is usually 1 play on the top ten where someone like Martin Havlat dangling his way through the Pheonix Coyotes defense and going backhand cheese. You know its the highlight sandwiched somewhere between an NBA pre-season dunk (which almost never happens) and double play in a Phillies/Dodgers game sometime in the 4th inning (also a rare occurence, apparently).

So keep your eyes peeled for some hockey this winter and bundle up because as the temperature outside is turning down, you better believe that the heat is up on the gridiron and the ice.

Stay furry, stay ferocious.

The Grizzly Bear