By COREY VANNThe Dartmouth Staff
The Jets may have lost star cornerback Darrelle Revis (Island) for the year to a torn ACL, but have no fear. The real Island the one you're visiting right now is not going anywhere. However, if you are a Jets fan, you have every right to be panicking. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that without Revis, the Jets will be lucky to win three more games this year.
Even though ESPN will be spending a lot of time talking about how much trouble the Jets are now in (as if they weren't in trouble before), Revis' injury was just a footnote during a wild weekend of sports. In order to give the proper amount of Island insight on all things sports, I'm going to rush (pun intended good luck everyone!) through everything from the MLB wild card races to the replacement referees. So here are some random thoughts from the Island as fall descends upon Hanover.
Holy Cross? No, holy sh*t! What a win for Big Green football last Saturday on the road in Worcester, Mass. If you have never been to Worcester, please don't go. But trust me, the trip is much, much sweeter when you're returning with a win. I expect the house to be packed this Saturday when the Big Green shoots for its first 3-0 start in forever and first win over Penn since 2007.
There was also plenty of football on Sunday, and let's start with the zebras. Where did these guys come from? I mean, you have one replacement referee used to officiating six-man high school football games in Texas and another who used to make sure there were no uniform glitches in the Lingerie Football League. C'mon, man.
No wonder they didn't call a penalty on Ryan Mundy's hit that sent Darrius Heyward-Bey to the hospital. The crowd at the Patriots-Ravens game chanted "bullsh*t" in perfect unison, as if they had been preparing all week like a Sunday church choir. I don't blame Bill Belichick for trying to grab an official after the game. Hats off to The Hoodie for not trying to tackle the guy.
That was the bad for Week 3 in the NFL. Now let's talk about the good. Raise your hand if you had the Arizona Cardinals pegged to start off the season 3-0. That's what I thought, and I have a strong suspicion that the Cardinals aren't going anywhere with ballhawks like Kerry Rhodes and Patrick Peterson in that secondary.
Without a doubt, though, the best story in the NFL is Torrey Smith. After losing his brother in a motorcycle accident not even 24 hours before kickoff, Smith decided to honor his late sibling by lacing them up and scoring two touchdowns to help the Ravens beat the Pats. After each touchdown, Smith pointed to the sky, and you have to think his brother, Tevin Chris Jones, was up there smiling.
But who says Sunday is only for football? Honestly, I normally do, though I'm pretty sure Marina Moschitto '14 of the women's soccer team would disagree. I guess you can say she was channeling her inner Tom Brady after scoring her second game-winning goal of the young season last Sunday versus Brown. Moschitto and her teammates will look to improve on their 6-2 start next Saturday at Princeton.
So who is in? And who is out? No, not at your Greek deliberations. I'm talking about the MLB playoffs.
The Yankees will win the AL East, but the Orioles will lock down the first wild-card spot. The White Sox will win the Central and fend off Miguel Cabrera's Tigers though Cabrera will win the Triple Crown. And the Angels, not the Athletics, will sneak in and be the second wild-card team. Oakland plays the Texas Rangers in seven of its last 10 games, and it sure would be nice to have the injured Brett Anderson around to make a couple more starts.
The National League will have a little less drama considering the Nationals, Reds and Giants have all clinched their respective decisions. I don't see any Milwaukee magic happening in the wild card race, and even the real Magic (Earvin Johnson) won't help the Dodgers get back in it, much to my dismay. What I do see is one of the wild card teams, the Atlanta Braves, representing the National League in the World Series come October.
As I mentioned earlier, Sunday isn't just for football. As a matter a fact, Sunday isn't just for sports. This Sunday marks the return of two of my favorite television shows, "Dexter" and "Homeland." Hopefully, "Dexter" will bounce from a weak sixth season. I'm not as concerned about "Homeland," a series that took home a bunch of Emmy Awards on Sunday, but who is the mole in the CIA? I can't wait to tune in.
