Autumn brings back many memories. Fall colours, the smell of burning leaves,and Football are all signs of Fall. Asure sign of early Autumn are the playoffs of Major League Baseball. In the current system, the Wild Card team ineach League plays one of the Divisionchamps, while the other two Division champs play each other, the winners ofthese games then meet in the League Championship Series. The two League Champions then play each otherin the World Series. The World Series actually has many unique and charmingfeatures. So many Championships takeplace in pre determined stadiums, but the World Series is played in the stadiumsof the two contesting teams. Normally, in pro sports, the dates of the Finalsare set years in advance. The WorldSeries games are set once both teams have been determined, when each team haswon four games of seven of the League Championship Series. If both teams win four games straight of theLeague Championship, then the World Series can be set much earlier. Althoughthe World Series sometimes includes a Canadian team, no other nations areeligible to play. Even countries whereexcellent baseball is played, in the Caribbean, Mexico, or Japan, no team hasyet ever become established enough to propose membership in Major League Baseball. Although sports commentators were acting as if the WashingtonNationals had descended from Mount Olympus and so worthy of worship, thatrespectable team did not make it into the National League ChampionshipSeries. Instead, this year the ChicagoCubs will play the Los Angeles Dodgers in that series, beginning with nightgames tonight and Sunday at Dodger Stadium. The Cleveland Indians, who have been on fire in recent years, could notprevail against perennial champs the New York Yankees, and so do notadvance. Instead, in the American LeagueChampionship Series the New York Yankees and the Houston Astros began lastnight at the Minute Maid Park in Houston, where they will play the second gamein their series tonight.
"So come sit by my side if you love me. Do not hasten to bid me adieu. Just rememberthe Red River Valley, And the cowboy that has loved you so true." So, as the song says, people remember the RedRiver, at least people in Oklahoma and Texas do. Today is the top day on the FootballCalendars of the Univerisities of Oklahoma, the Sooners, and Texas, theLonghorn. This rivalry and/or blood feudgame goes back many decades, and magnifies the many, many, other rivalries thetwo states hold to their grudge infested hearts! Oklahoma is currently ranked number 12, andTexas is currently unranked, but a usual, the Red River Feud adds its usual,unpredictable layer of deep-fried personal animosity. It should be an exciting game! Other noteworthy games today, will include #6Texas Christian against Kansas State, #9 Ohio State against Nebraska, clearfavorites although they are playing at Nebraska, #21 Michigan State againstMinnesota, and Oregon vs. #23 Stanford. The big news from Nations play in international Soccer thispast week was the utter failure of the United States of America. The US National team, lackluster as in mostyears, outdid itself in ineptitude when facing Trinidad and Tobago. Competition is such, and the weight in the USdirection anyway, that the US team could have tied, won by a goal, or even lostby a goal and still have qualified for the Worlds Cup. Instead, the unskilled Americans lost by acouple of goals, because, after all, their motto might as well be "alwaysbe mediocre." Trinidad and Tobago,who had not won one game yet, in any of their previous contests, was overjoyed,and go home with bragging rights, since they did not qualify either. On the upside, FIFA stands to lose tens ofmillions of dollars, as the American TV market will not support high costs forcovering next year's Worlds Cup, which does not include an American team, andwill be played in, of all places, Russia. The Russians will certainly put on an excellent show in 2018, as always,but Americans are notoriously skittish about soccer anyway. In the 1930s Soccer was gaining a foothold inthe United States, and that faded quickly around 1950 when the US failed toqualify for those Worlds Cups. Thatcycle may very well repeat itself in the coming decade... Maybe Americans could set up some youthcycling leagues, then soccer moms would not even have to drive little Johnnyand Jeanette to their competitions. In Cricket, the Ranji Trophy is a domestic first-classcricket championship played in India between teams representing regionalcricket associations. The competition currently consists of 28 teams, with 21of the 29 states in India and Delhi having at least one representation. Almostall of the teams included in the current competition are regional, but two,Railways and Services, include players from throughout India. The competition is named after first Indiancricketer who played international cricket, Ranjitsinhji, who was also known as"Ranji". He played for England and Sussex. Gujarat is the currentRanji Trophy champion, having beaten Mumbai by 5 wickets in the final of the2016–17 season held in Holkar Stadium, Indore. Today, 12 3-day matches begin in group, round robin play. Eventually, winners in group play will engagein knock out rounds. Our best to allthose engaged in the Ranji Trophy this year! In Spanish La Liga play, competition will take place in apolitically charged atmosphere, as fascist politicians at the head of theCatalonia regional government have declared independence, a move termed a"coup d'etat" by the King and the national government. Within that ambiance Barcelona, far and aheadleaders of the current standings, travel to Atletico de Madrid, who were champs a fewyears ago. You may recall that October12th, yesterday, was the Spanish National Holiday, and throughout the daypoliticians from everywhere in Spain, from Avila to Zaragoza, and over everypolitical stripe, from far left to right, paid calls at the Royal Palace todeclare their national fervor and unity against the Catalan outrage. Barcelona, then returns from theinternational break with their toughest game of the league season so far. So far, they have not had to play quality teams, six of theirseven victories have come against teams in the bottom nine, but now will enterthe proverbial lion's den. It is Barca's first visit to the superb newWanda Metropolitano stadium in Spain’s capital and the reaction from the 67,000capacity crowd, with no away fans this week for “logistical” reasons, will beferocious. There has never been ashortage of Spain flags flown by Atletico’s Frente ultras, but the currentcrisis is a mainstream one, so expect a sea of Spanish flags and anti-Catalan. Barca’s players, most of whom are notCatalan, will feel the full force of the invective, as some players have spokenin favor of the illegal referendum. Atleticode Madrid is fourth-placed, and remain unbeaten in this season's La Liga play. The Spanish players were able to play together in Nationsplay last week, so at least at the level of the players, no problems areexpected. Atletico fans, though, areknown to be both patriotic and outspoken, so today's match should be achallenge from that aspect. All around,it is a game not to miss. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSe5MYvTjQE -- Posted By Rex to SR at 10/14/2017 12:15:00 AM -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "omnisport" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/omnisport. 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