Welcome to this week’s Six Pack! Each week, I’ll share a mix of thoughts (some sports-related, some not) and I’d love for you to jump in with your reactions, ideas, or recommendations in the comments. Here’s what’s on my mind this week.
1. Age Is Just A Number
On Thursday night, 40-year-old Joe Flacco of the Bengals squared off against 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers of the Steelers in what many jokingly called the “Icy Hot Bowl.” It was only the second time in the modern era that two quarterbacks over 40 started against each other.
That game got me thinking about age in sports. I’m 52, so 40 feels young to me, but I get that in athletics, the body has other ideas. Still, plenty of athletes have refused to follow that timeline and pulled off remarkable feats long after most would have hung it up. Here’s a nod to those who have defied Father Time.
Football
George Blanda – The oldest player in NFL history, lasting until 48 as both a quarterback and kicker.
Baseball
Kenny Rogers – The oldest pitcher to start and win a World Series game, at 41.
Jamie Moyer – Recorded a win at 49 years and 150 days, the oldest pitcher ever to do so.
Satchel Paige – Made an MLB start at age 59, pitching three scoreless innings.
Basketball
Nancy Lieberman – Returned to play professionally at age 50 for the Detroit Shock.
Nat Hickey – The oldest player to appear in an NBA game, nearly 46 years old.
Hockey
Jaromír Jágr – The oldest hockey player to record a hat trick at age 45, and the oldest player ever to score a professional goal at 52 years and 63 days.
Tennis
Martina Navratilova – Won a mixed doubles title at the 2006 U.S. Open at 49.
Golf
Phil Mickelson – Won the 2021 PGA Championship at age 50, the oldest major winner in golf history.
Racing
Mario Andretti – Won his final IndyCar race at age 53.
Track and Field / Endurance
Ed Whitlock – Ran a marathon under four hours at age 85, and under 2:55 at 70.
Fauja Singh – Finished a marathon at age 100.
Olympics / Swimming
Dara Torres – Won three silver medals at 41 at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Boxing
Bernard Hopkins – Won the IBF light heavyweight title at 49.
George Foreman – Became oldest heavyweight champion ever, at age 45, when he defeated 26 yo Michael Moorer in 1995.
2. Crisp Air & Candy Corn
Like many people, fall is my favorite season, and October is one of the best months. I love the changing colors, the shift from shorts, tees, and sunscreen to jeans, hoodies, and cozy blankets, and that cool, crisp air that just makes you want to be outside.
One of my favorite things to do this time of year is visit our local fall festivals and corn mazes. We have several nearby that do such a great job with tractor rides, pumpkin patches, arts and crafts, apple cider, cinnamon donuts, hot chocolate, and of course, plenty of inflatables for the kids. It’s one of the reasons I’m so grateful to live in the Midwest, where we can enjoy weekends like that.
When I’m at these places, I can’t help myself and have to try the funnel cake, probably my favorite sweet treat. And while I’m talking about sweet treats in the fall, I have to admit something that might split the crowd. I love candy corn. Yes, I said it!
But more specifically, what I really like is something that used to be called Indian Corn. These days, I feel like I can only find it as part of “Harvest Mix,” never by itself. So if anyone in Sandman Nation knows where I can get just Indian Corn, let me know in the comments.
And finally, one of my favorite fall traditions is carving pumpkins and baking the seeds afterward. We do it every year, and it is still one of my favorite snacks. I’ve done this since I was a kid, but I do not hear much about it anymore. Is that still a thing across most families?
3. The Simpsons Still Going Strong
Like most kids my age, I grew up loving cartoons. The Flintstones, The Jetsons, and Scooby-Doo were my favorites. And fun fact that not many know: The Flintstones, airing from 1960-1966, was the first animated, primetime series in history. Which certainly helped pave the way for The Simpsons, and so today we will pay that show some respect.
Believe it or not, I have never seen a full episode. For whatever reason it never appealed to me as Homer seemed like a dope and Bart acted like a brat. Many, many others love it, though, and turned it into the longest running animated series, sitcom, and scripted primetime series in American television history. Impressive, indeed.
The Simpson family first appeared as shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show in April 1987 before launching as a half-hour series on December 17, 1989.
Set in Springfield, it satirizes American life through Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie, and quickly became Fox’s first Top 30 series. Over three-plus decades and hundreds of episodes, it has won dozens of Primetime Emmys, Annie Awards, and Peabodys. Time even called it the best TV series of the 20th century.
Catchphrases like “D’oh!” have entered the dictionary, and you can see its influence in everything from Family Guy to South Park to Bob’s Burgers.
I will never be a superfan and will probably never end up watching a full episode, but staying power like that is rare in any medium. So congratulations to the entire Springfield crew, and keep making TV history.
4. My Biggest Pet Peeve In Sports
I’m sorry, but I have to complain for a second about football. Not about NIL, salaries, or ticket prices. But something that drives me crazy every single football weekend.
We’ve all seen it: a kicker trots out for a game tying or game winning field goal and the opposing coach wants to ice him. Fine, I have no problem with that. But why does the timeout have to come at the last possible second? Why do we play this dumb waiting game where the coach must time it a split second before the snap?
Call the timeout as soon as you know you want it. Ice him if you want, make him think about it, no issue there. Just stop with the theatrics.
We see it every weekend. Last week, right before halftime of the Bengals-Packers game, Evan McPherson drilled a 67 yarder, but the timeout came right before. Cameras even showed the coach waiting and telling the ref he was waiting, and I swear I saw a little smirk.
I get that you are allowed to call timeout whenever. I do not necessarily know how to fix it, but a couple ideas come to mind. Maybe you require the timeout before the holder sets or maybe the sideline has to signal before the center touches the ball? Something simple could fix this idiotic and annoying trend.
I’m only calling for basic decency. If you are going to ice the kicker, do it early, let him sweat, and let the play run clean. Enough with the last second gotcha.
5. From Basement To Breakthrough
Last week, I wrote about how great Curt Cignetti is and what he has done for Indiana, and how I hoped they could keep him in Bloomington. This week, they stepped up with a huge contract extension that will keep Cignetti there for quite some time, which is awesome.
Indiana is currently ranked No. 3 in the nation and entered the weekend as a 28-point favorite against Michigan State. Let that sink in.
Indiana has done something spectacular, moving from the losingest program of all time to possibly establishing itself as a legitimate new blood in the coming years. That got me thinking about other traditionally downtrodden programs that are also thriving this season, and whether their success is sustainable or just a temporary blip.
Here are three schools that fit that mold, along with my take on who is best positioned to keep it going, listed in order of confidence in their ability to sustain it.
SMU Mustangs
If you are younger, you may not realize SMU was a very strong program before the NCAA’s death penalty in the 1980s shut them down for two years. Between their return in 1989 and 2018, they had just five winning seasons. Since then, under Sonny Dykes and now Rhett Lashlee, the Mustangs have stacked six straight winning seasons and even made the CFP last year in their first season in the ACC.
Lashlee is an excellent coach, they sit in one of the richest recruiting areas in America, and SMU’s donor base is deep. Assuming they can keep Lashlee when the Big Ten or SEC inevitably come calling, SMU has the best chance to dominate the ACC for years to come. On Saturday, they went into Clemson and won 35-24, signaling a possible changing of the guard. The Mustangs are my pick for number one on this list.
Duke Blue Devils
Duke has not won a conference title since 1941 and has had only nine winning seasons since 1990, including four winless campaigns in that span.
David Cutcliffe deserves a lot of credit for stabilizing the program, followed by Mike Elko, who delivered back-to-back nine-win seasons before leaving.
Manny Diaz took over last year, and despite a tough loss to undefeated Georgia Tech this past weekend, he has this team well positioned to contend. Given Duke’s smaller size and limited resources, I don’t think they can ever truly be a national powerhouse. But if Diaz stays, they can compete regularly in a weaker ACC landscape. That puts Duke at number two on my list.
Vanderbilt Commodores
Clark Lea has done a terrific job in Nashville, guiding Vandy back to relevance and delivering a massive win over No. 10 LSU on Saturday, marking the first time they have ever been favored against a ranked team.
Historically, though, this has been one of college football’s worst programs, ranking tenth all-time in losses and posting only four winning seasons since 1982. Two of those came under James Franklin, one came last year with Lea, and they are off to a 6-1 start this season, the first time since 1950 they have accomplished that.
Still, this is the SEC. The league is a grind, and recruiting to Vanderbilt will always be an uphill climb. Vandy is the smallest school in the SEC and the fourth smallest in the entire Power Four behind Wake Forest, Duke, and Stanford. They will have the occasional good season but will not be able to sustain it, even if Lea stays.
For me, it is SMU first, Duke second, and Vanderbilt a distant third. Indiana is already on a different level entirely, and for once, it is nice to say that about the Hoosiers.
6. A Salute To The Dreamers
After ten years with a great company and thirty in the corporate world, I am proud to say I am officially an entrepreneur. Last year, two partners and I launched Sandman Sports, and I am incredibly grateful to them and to my wife for supporting this dream. We are working to build something meaningful that brings real excitement and enjoyment to sports fans and bettors across the country.
Being full time on Sandman Sports is both exhilarating and terrifying, but I am loving every minute of it.
There are so many people out there chasing their own dreams, and I want to salute all the entrepreneurs who have given it a shot, whether it worked out or not. The ones that are easiest to notice are the small local businesses that pop up in our towns. I always try to support them when I can. Last year, a local couple opened a candy shop. It was good, but the location just did not work, and they had to close after a few months. On the other hand, another person opened an outdoor ice cream spot a few years ago with great visibility and top quality product, and it is always packed.
Years ago, I actually dreamed about opening my own chili restaurant, a place that served only chili in every style you could imagine. I never pursued it, but looking back, it showed me that the entrepreneurial blood was already in me. I just needed to find the right idea, and that idea turned out to be Sandman Sports. Now I feel like I am right where I am supposed to be.
I have no idea if Sandman Sports will ultimately be successful in the long run, but I am loving every second of giving it our best shot. I know I would have regretted never trying.
So here is to all the entrepreneurs out there who take the risks, follow their dreams, and work relentlessly every day with no safety net and no big company behind them. It is scary, it is rewarding, and I would not have it any other way.
Thanks for checking out this week’s Six Pack, Sandman Nation! I’d love to hear your thoughts: what resonated with you, what you disagree with, or your own takes on these topics. Drop your comments and let’s keep the conversation going.
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