This week I wasn’t going to write my column. No, not because I hate all of my two readers. And no, not because I’m disgustingly sick (freshman plague, am I right guys?) but because nothing really happened that much in sports, until it did. It was one of those moments where the universe was about to mess you up badly just because you hadn’t had anything that awful happen to you for a while.
You know how old people happen to always know where they were and what they were doing when a tragedy such as 9/11 or Hurricane Katrina happened? Today, as I waited in line for my coffee, I received a text message that read: “Jose Fernández :( .”
12:06 p.m. Sept. 22, Adrian Peterson has meniscus surgery — This is whack! I think that in some ways, it’s actually a bonus for the Minnesota Vikings to spread out their offense. They have the talent at the receiver position, and Sam Bradford has a very underrated arm. I’m just saying that guy can still fling it and there’s a lot of potential there. However, if the Vikings win anything without AP, did the Vikings really win anything at all? Imagine what it would be like if the Roman Republic was still taking over the world after the assassination of Julius Caesar or if George Washington’s crew crossed the Delaware without George Washington.
There’s something really strange about a Super Bowl-winning Vikes with either a useless or disabled Peterson. It’s lame, but it’s not all over. Maybe Peterson can come back or maybe he won’t, but if I had to bet on anyone to do it, it would be Peterson. He’s come back from a torn ACL in 2011 as well as a sports hernia in 2013. He’ll come back from this surgery, too. In the meantime, get well soon, AP.
11:21 a.m. Sept. 23, Jacoby Brissett tears thumb ligament — Just when we thought Bill Belichick would save us, we took another L.
This injury is less serious because Brissett really is just a third string quarterback on a Patriot’s team that has Tom Brady returning from suspension. I hope it doesn’t make me a bad person to hope that Brissett has to sit out next week so Belichick will have no choice but to start wide receiver Julian Edelman at quarterback.
8:49 p.m. Sept. 23, Chris Bosh fails physical — Talk about legendary players with serious health issues. Chris Bosh is a legend! I still don’t get people that judge him simply because he kind of looks like a dinosaur. Okay, well maybe he does look a lot like a dinosaur, but he’s one of my all-time favorite basketball-playing dinosaurs.
Bosh is my dinosaur and if you didn’t know, he’s had an issue with blood clots (he’s getting old, I guess). The doctors really don’t want him to play, but I’m still rooting for him to come back. The dude gets buckets, yet the future is very unclear. Bosh may never play again. And you hate to see that.
11:20 a.m. Sept. 24, Chelsea loses to Arsenal, 3-0 — I’m a Chelsea supporter so this news obviously is way more upsetting to me than if you were, say an Arsenal fan. Still it’s never that cool when a great rivalry match is so ruthlessly one-sided.
1:00 p.m. Sept. 25, Way too many Tannehill jerseys at the Miami Dolphins’ game — Watching the Miami Dolphins game this weekend against the Cleveland Browns, I noticed there were way too many Ryan Tannehill jerseys. There’s no reason to have a Ryan Tannehill jersey. Even if he did lead the Dolphins to a 30-24 overtime win against the Browns.
4:45 p.m. Sept. 25, Jose Fernández dies in boating accident — 24-year-old superstar pitcher Jose Fernández of the Miami Marlins died this weekend in a freak and tragic boating accident. Fernández was with two other men when they crashed a 33-foot boat into a jetty. He died of trauma.
The young pitcher leaves behind a legacy of unfulfilled potential since his debut in 2013. He won National League Rookie of the year and was a two-time all star. With only 76 career starts to his name, he carried a pristine 2.56 ERA.
His hall-of-fame type level talent only occurs a few times in a generation. We lost someone who was not only a great guy — and about to be a first time father with his girlfriend — but also someone who was really, really good at his job. I’m not going to pretend like I know the guy because I don’t. I think as a young person there’s just something relatable when you see a young up-and-coming baseball player trying to change the game. Fernández was hope for the Marlins, for Major League Baseball and for young people everywhere. Today, we lost Jose Fernández, and the world lost a little bit of hope.
