October is the grande and glorious month of sportal* confluxification.

*Portmanteau.

College pigskin really matters with the conference races and positioning for CFP in full flight. The sorting out has started in earnest.

The baseball playdowns are underway. And I gotta team.

Hoops and pucks just over the horizon.

Which is why, for context, I’m going bi-sportal for my lede before taking on the gridiron gab of Saturday.

 * * * * *

Enamored with my beloved Detroit Tigers, during late June or July, I tracked down the glove of my youth on Ebay — mine long gone — a used but in great shape Wilson A2024 Al Kaline model.

Which glove when watching the Motowners obsessively, I wear while nervously thwacking an official MLB ball into the pocket time and again.

Which iconic rawhide against leather resonance has gotten me in touch with my dad. Pitch and catch in the yard, the thud of ball to glove, the arc of its flight, the parental connection of mid 50s America. He was such a fan, he was the first commissioner of the JCC Little League, where I donned the tools of ugliness for the Indians.

I’m 12 years old again — from time to time, such as it is possible — thinking of you, pop.

 * * * * *

Which brings me to the sweetest moment of this football/ baseball Saturday. (Except for the Tigers’ gritty 3-2 W over the Mariners in 11.)

In the App State in the Big House upset of the week/ season/ millennium, previously winless UCLA, which hadn’t had a lead all year, blew out ahead of the Penn State James Franklins and hung on for the W.

Not enough White Out in the whole Quacker State to cover up this typo.

Behind the play calling of wünderkind Jerry Neuheisel, son of former coach/ CBS studio commentator Rick, whose network was covering the game.

Papa’s absolute unrepressed father/ son emotions were oft shown on the screen during the game and a joy to behold. He even apologized to Nittany Lions fans watching the game for his partisanship.

Oh yeah, UCLA assigned the youngster those duties on Tuesday.

How about those Bruins?

 * * * * *

Is it just me, or does it seem like there was an outbreak yesterday of Too Many Men in the Backfield penalties? An epidemic really.

As in almost every game I watched. And I spent too too much time on my butt watching football this weekend.

Is there a vaccine for this? Covered by insurance?

 * * * * *

Florida beat Hook ‘Em Horns.

Billy Napier has more lives than Jerry Lee Lewis.

 * * * * *

It would appear — so far anyway — that the clear top triad of teams is Ohio State, Oregon and Miami.

None of which is a member of the Conference Where They Care More.

 * * * * *

I’m advised that, despite popular mythos, oil does not come from decomposed dinosaurs.

From whatever it is derived, there’s plenty of it in the Permian Basin.

Which is why in football-obsessed Texas in a Wild Wild West NIL era, Texas A&M and Texas Tech stand undefeated at 5-0 (2-0). Them wildcatters love their Aggies and Red Raiders, and they’re paying to stock ’em up with footballers.

 * * * * *

Scott Satterfield’s surging Cincy Bearcats are 4-1 (2-0) after consecutive Ws over Kansas and formerly undefeated Iowa State.

Which makes some sense because of a couple of all-name defenders. Who can also play.

CB Matthew McDoom. DL Dante Corleone.

 * * * * *

U of L’s O line isn’t the only one which has its QB running for his life time and again. Texas’s ineptitude has turned that Manning kid into an internet meme.

 * * * * *

Bill Belichick’s  North Carolina Tar Heels are arguably the worst P4 squad in the land.

They are truly abysmal.

Not sure even Tom Brady doing a Chad Powers thing could save ’em.

— c d kaplan