North: Random thoughts on NFL, Big Ten, sports radio
Time for some of my random thoughts …
• I don't think it's fair that I bought the NFL season ticket on DirecTV, but didn't get the Buffalo Bills vs. Jacksonville Jaguars London game. The NFL sold the rights for the game to Yahoo for a reported $20 million so it could be streamed live on the web. I wouldn't be surprised if some season-ticket holders or DirecTV customers get the idea to sue!
• I missed the Chicago Bears not playing last weekend, but at least we had peace of mind.
• Is anything more insignificant then preseason NBA?
• The Cubs have work to do, but it's nice to know they have a strong foundation to build on.
• I'm hearing that Alabama football is all that from guys like ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit. Sorry, I don't agree.
• The referees in Saturday's Michigan State victory over Indiana game (52-26) might have been the worst I have seen with an unnecessary roughness call made on a normal tackle. The Big Ten is better than what was officiated on that field.
• I don't think there is a national pregame NFL show on TV worth watching.
• Jameis Winston, quarterback for Tampa Bay, has it all over my guy Johnny Manziel in Cleveland. When they both came out in the 2015 NFL draft, I thought Manziel was going to be terrific, but he just seems to keep taking steps back with the latest incident involving the police, his car and his girlfriend.
• Miami University fired Al Golden after a 58-0 loss to the Clemson Tigers. He looked like a good hire at the time. Where's Jimmy Johnson?
• I like the Kansas City Royals to win the World Series and beat the New York Mets 4-2.
• There's talk that Jay Cutler may be back in 2016 as the Bears quarterback. I have to admit I don't know where I stand on that right now. Let me get back to you.
• I love the Blackhawks, but regular-season hockey is meaningless to me. When do the playoffs start?
• The Buffalo Bills' Rex Ryan can put fannies in the seats as their head football coach, but he really is a glorified defensive coordinator.
• Congrats to Mike Francesa and the Mad Dog, Mike Russo, the third-best sports radio team ever. They will be featured in a 30 for 30 series on ESPN. They started it all and made it possible for everyone else.
• Great bounce back win (30-28) by Northwestern against Nebraska.
• While I love doing the postgame show on The Drive 97.1FM, I look forward to being on Monday and Friday mornings with Pete McMurray and Dan McNeil just as much. I just feel the symbolism of talking sports again with Danny Mac.
Program notes:
Follow me on Twitter@ north2north, and listen to Fox Sports Daybreak with Andy Furman and myself from 5-8 a.m. Monday through Friday on Fox Sports radio, and check me out on iHeart radio or Foxsportsradio.com. Listen to my postgame Bears show on The Drive 97.1-FM every Sunday.
• North's column appears each Tuesday and Friday in the Daily Herald, and his video commentary can be found Monday, Wednesday and Thursday at dailyherald.com. For more, visit northtonorth.com.