Greetings from The Booth!

With no major topic in my head this week, I thought I’d weigh in on a few subjects, the first being high school playoff football, With the falling of the leaves and Thanksgiving looming, there’s just a different feel to “the second season.” The games have a certain urgency, especially for the seniors, who aren’t quite ready yet for basketball practice. As of this posting, our area teams still alive after this past weekend are Handley, Clarke, Central, and Strasburg. The latter two will square off this Friday in a VHSL Region 2B semifinal, and is a rematch of last year’s 2B Region final, where Central celebrated the win on Strasburg’s field. The Rams who played in that game still have that bitter memory in their heads, and  would love to return the favor in Woodstock this coming Friday. Don’t miss this one–it’s our Game Of The Week on The River 95.3 & Fox Sports Radio 1450. Good luck to our remaining teams!!!

To college football, where nationlly-ranked James Madison still hasn’t gotten it’s bowl ban lifted by the NCAA, but will get an ESPN Game Day visit! This honor is much-deserved, and will shine the national spotlight on nearby Harrisonburg. It’s absolutely ludicrous that a team can move up to the FBS, go undefeated (so far), and not be eligible for a bowl game. Like many things that come down from the NCAA, this defies logic. There is a groundswell from the national media and football fans everywhere to “Free The Dukes,” but so far has fallen on deaf ears. Hopefully the NCAA will have a rare moment of common sense and do the right thing. Maybe the Game Day visit will draw attention to this travesty and be the thing that gets JMU their bowl.

One of my listeners texted me recently, and we were going back and forth about the Washington Commanders. He texted the word “Wildcard.” Are we really going to do this AGAIN!? I refuse to participate in the wild card discussion. Every year about this time, as the Butterball is basting in the oven, we go over the scenarios by which the Washington football franchise can make the playoffs. This year, with a somewhat weak NFC field, the Commanders are in the mix at 4-5. And I’m sure lots of you out there are saying something like “if this happens, and so-and-so loses, and we beat so-and-so…” You know the drill. Count me out. With some recent moves by owner Josh Harris, the team clearly is looking toward the future. So any playoff appearance by the Commanders will be like that extra Christmas present that one finds hiding in the corner after all the gifts have been opened.

Finally, the Washington Senators have won the World Series!!! Well, sorta. With the recent Series win by the Texas Rangers, all kinds of memories about my favorite boyhood team came flooding back. You see, the Rangers used to be the Senators, who resided briefly in DC before Bob Short moved them to Texas in 1972. (This Senators team is not to be confused with the original Senators, who became the Minnesota Twins in 1961.) The Rangers’ World Championship coincided with the passing of my favorite Washington player, big Frank Howard. “Hondo” passed away at 87 on October 30, and my signed Frank Howard baseball remains one of my prized possessions. So, in a way, a small piece of the Texas Rangers World Series win belongs to guys like Howard, Ed Brinkman, Paul Casanova, Dick Bosman, and Mike Epstein. Wherever you are!

Enjoy the tidbits, and we hope to see you at the Camping For Hunger Bus this week! Until the next visit from The Booth…GO SENATORS!

RW