What’s the buzz from the world of sports? Here are some items that will have people talking:
1
There are easily more baseball fans out there who have never seen a no-hitter in person than those who have.
Seattle Times columnist Jerry Brewer came across one lucky father and son who happened to have seen both perfect games and the no-hitter that have occurred this season at Safeco Field.
What makes the story more unique is that Steve Connolly and his 5-year-old son, Jameson, have been to only seven Mariners games this season. (Steve Connelly did say they planned to be at Saturday night’s game against the Twins.)
Brewer wrote on his blog Saturday: “I mean, what are the odds? It’s not like they’re season ticket-holders who go to every game. The Mariners have played 58 games at Safeco this season. They’ve been to seven. They sure do pick ’em well.”
(Click here to read the complete blog entry)
2
Ten of the 62 previous preseason No. 1 college football teams have gone on to win the national championship.
USC is atop The Associated Press preseason poll for the seventh time. The Trojans are the last team to win the national title after being voted preseason No. 1. That happened in 2004.
Since the preseason poll made its debut in 1950, the Trojans have had five national titles awarded to them by AP, but just the one in 2004 when they started out on top of the AP poll.
Just goes to show a preseason No. 1 doesn’t necessarily carry much weight.
3
Congratulations to the University of Minnesota football program, which managed to add a national title in recent months despite winning three games last season. Richard Billingley has used his computer rankings to retroactively determine national champions for the years before anybody cared about naming a national champion.
He has deemed the Golden Gophers the best team of 1904, and the university’s athletic department has officially recognized the title. It’s been a long time since Minnesota had a reason to celebrate.
(Click here to read more about the champs)
For more Talking Points, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/talkpoints360
