O’Donnell: Kafka, NY Giants, Michigan, Wrigley Field – stage props surround Northwestern
THERE'S NO BUSINESS LIKE football show business, as Northwestern University is once again heralding this week.
Good, bad, whatever — grid theater on The Enchanted Lakefront rolls on like late-night sitcom reruns with Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
Monday, Mike Kafka – once a gazelle at quarterback for the Wildcats – was named interim head coach of the New York Giants.
The 38-year-old Chicago native replaces Brian Daboll, who melted like a snowflake on a hip flask at Soldier Field Sunday.
Less than 24 hours after whizzing away a 20-10 fourth-quarter lead, Daboll was gone, as co-owner John Mara once forewarned, “crossing from Bono to Bozo.”
CONTINUING ON THE PURPLE MARQUEE, Saturday at Wrigley Field, David Braun and his mid-streaming 'Cats (5-4) will take on Michigan (7-2) in front of the packed confines.
Minimum jacked ticket price is approaching $200, but not to worry. Fox Sports will have Wrigleyville covered with more than white flags featuring a blue “W.”
AT 9 A.M., THE NETWORK PRESENTS its “Big Noon Kickoff.” Galactic morning stars including Brady Quinn, Matt Leinart, Urban Meyer and Mark Ingram II will contribute to the Gallagher Way gridlock.
(Big Q. is whether the annoying Dave Portnoy will be on-site. In intent, the Barstool Sports medfly is cast as a dissonant presence among the ensemble. But he's far exceeding that expectation — polarizing and making ESPN's Pat McAfee looked like a gentleman of taste.)
TWO HOURS LATER, the Wildcats (+11½) continue their pursuit of bowl eligibility.
It's all a rolling purple circus.
Replete with props and a heavy dose of relentless gridlock theater.
STREET-BEATIN':
No. 2 Indiana's close call at Penn State underscored: College football will get a grand December kickoff if the unbeaten Hoosiers meet blemish-free No. 1 Ohio State in the Big Ten title game (Dec. 6, 7 p.m., Fox). ...
Greg Olsen and Joe Davis seemed to be competing to say the least with the most words during Fox's telecast of Bears-Giants. Olsen is dynamite on breaking down passes to tight ends, but after that he's positively Chris Simms. A friendly production assistant should also explain to Gabby Greg the vast strategic difference between a one- and two-score lead in the fourth quarter. …
Facile word weaver Mike Conklin is giving a timely second push to his engaging “He Bet The Farm” (Amazon/Write Stuff). During his distinguished run at the Chicago Tribune, Conklin was a master of the sports chatter column. …
Properly engaging early-season regional match Friday when Chris Collins and Northwestern visit DePaul (7:30 p.m.; truTV, AM-720; depaulbluedemons.com). Hope springs eternal with the Wildcats; CJ Gunn and the Demons have to develop an auto-gear to protect pre-Thanksgiving prosperity. …
Craig Duchossois and daughter Ashley Joyce upheld the proud civic and patriotic standards of their family by appearing among the signatories below a public letter protesting the current ICE tactics in Chicago. Like his father, Craig – now age 80 – is an honored veteran and a staunch Republican. He served as a Marine Corps officer in Vietnam after earning an MBA at Southern Methodist. …
“The U” airs what some are calling “the Illinois prep match of the new millennium” Saturday with the Class 8A quarterfinal featuring Lincoln-Way East at unbeaten Mount Carmel. Duelings QBs Jonas Williams and Emmett Dowling alone are worth a watch. Marshall Harris, Jack McInerney and Kenny McReynolds will provide the superlatives. …
The death of Paul Tagliabue recalls when former Bears GM Jim Finks was all but signed, sealed and delivered as the NFL's successor to commissioner Pete Rozelle. Instead, despite the backing of such Old Guard stalwarts as the McCaskeys, Wellington Mara of the Giants and Art Modell of the Browns, the candidacy of Finks was waylaid by a wave of newer owners who wanted more say in the process. …
And no less than Mark Giangreco is back working the outskirts of the limelight as one of the celebrity play-alongs for an off-beat ad campaign celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Mr. Submarine chain. (Tom Waddle is another.) The Buffalo-bred Giangreco had a rough weekend watching his beloved Bills get trounced at Miami. …
Jim O'Donnell's Sports and Media column appears each week on Sunday and Wednesday. Reach him at jimodonnelldh@yahoo.com. All communications may be considered for publication.