Though it’s still a bit early to head to your meat market of choice for fresh never frozen brats (except for ya know, perhaps the summer cookout with Madge and the kids) football and tailgating are drawing closer by the sunrise.

Such that I finally ventured out to the book store and purchased my go to cheat sheet, Phil Steele’s exhaustive college football yearbook. I was even able to shlep it to my car without throwing out my back.

The 350 page preview is seriously heavy.

So, while CardinalStrong is whetting your appetite daily in his pigskin countdown at the Chron, I’m not quite there yet, but . . .

. . . Coming Soon, or pretty soon, shall be my absolutely positively you can unbuckle with your local bookmaker (or betting parlor) list of 12 teams that shall make it to the first ever dozen school CFB Playdown.

With perhaps an alternative or two as a hedge.

Then when the weirdly named Week 0 arrives, so too shall the most accurate predictioneering endeavor since back in the day of Pudge Hefflefinger, Seedy K’s Peerless Pigskin Prognostications.

Stay tuned.

 * * * * *

I have found myself bemused at the breathless, salivating anticipation of the return of the EA Sports CFB video game.

It’s been out of commission for awhile, but is a thing again. Have you heard?

Given how many articles I’m seeing about the player rankings, etc, and memories from sports scribes about how obsessive they were playing it, it was obviously a big deal.

I’ve never played it. (Nor any other video game, truth be told.)

But oh the hours of my long ago youth playing Foto Electric Football.

So elemental. So fun.

Simply it was a box with a light bulb in it that you’d plug in. Duh.

There was a screen on top with a cover for the light until you pulled it open to reveal the play unfolding.

Over the top of it you could place one of the dozen or so offensive play cards, which were just a series of lines, indicating a run, or broken lines, indication a pass. Over the top of that you would place a defensive sheet, a bunch of dots indicating players, who could tackle or break up a pass.

Then you’d slowly pull out the cover, letting the light through revealing how the play went. There was also a card with dials, to advise if a pass was knocked down or intercepted, etc. A fumble or whatever.

Much was left to the imagination.

It was too fun.

You could play it with a pal.

Or by yourself, picking the cards at random. At which point, your scribe here who should have gone to school and become a sports announcer if he’d had a smidge of guidance in HS would announce the games like a wannabe Lindsey Nelson.

I almost bought one this morning on Ebay. Maybe, we’ll see.

Video? We didn’t need no stinkin’ video.

 * * * * *

Jayden Ulrich is the first U of L track and field star to ever make an Olympic team.

Good on you, Jayden. Toss that discus a looooong way.

Reading about her reminded me of the Cardinal hoopsters who coulda woulda shoulda competed in the Olympics.

The year was 1980. Darrell Griffith had just led the Cardinals to their first of three nattys.

But he, along with fellow stars Joe Barry Carroll, Kevin McHale and Kyle Macy passed on their opportunities to compete under the five rings to prep for pro careers.

The reason may have been they knew USA wasn’t going to compete in the Games. The Soviets had invaded Afghanistan and America, along with other allies, demurred from all the competitions.

But a basketball team was named.

The squad included a fellow named Rodney McCray, who as we know held down the middle of that title U of L squad.

 * * * * *

So, yeah, from that provincial point of view, Cooper Flagg has been anointed The Next Big Thing In Sports.

The high schooler, soon to be balling for the Evil Empire, apparently dazzled in workouts against the current USA squad.

Nice.

By all accounts, the real deal.

But, next big thing?

Sorry, ladies and gents, that spot has already be taken by a just turning 17 year old lad named Lamine Yamal.

Not familiar?

Tsk, tsk.

Look him up. Check out what he did in that little futbol tourney they’re having over in Europe.

Even those who could care less about that, the world’s biggest sport, should be dazzled.

— c d kaplan