December? Really?

If you are like me then you really can’t believe we are in the back stretch of the year and staring at the Christmas season similar to a deer looking at a semi’s headlights. It doesn’t make sense.

Wasn’t it a couple of weeks ago that we were complaining about the heat?

Where did the football season go?

Eastern played Sam Houston State on August 23rd. It was the very first game of the season for all NCAA football teams and now the Eags are in the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs.

Thirteen games and three byes later here we are waiting for another game at Roos Field.

It isn’t easy trying to keep track of the sports season with football running into basketball season and trying to make it to each game no matter what game is being played.

The last few years with the Broncos and Eagles making deep runs in the playoffs, the Christmas season has snuck up on me like you can’t believe. I only hope my wife is paying attention and tells me where I need to be on that very important day.

Basketball is getting off to a fun start with Gonzaga winning the NIT tip-off tournament; Eastern upsetting Indiana at Indiana; WSU women winning some big games early; EWU women challenging the Zag women down to the final buzzer, and the high school teams winning pressure packed openers the winter looks like it can be highly entertaining.

The Seattle Seahawks are playing some awesome football after some key players have returned from injury.

Even the Mariners are making headlines with some free agent signings and a significant pay raise to Kyle Seager.

Maybe the teams I mentioned aren’t your favorites but they are mine.

If you are a WSU Cougar fan then it might be a long year for you. Cougar football had a rough fall and Ernie Kent’s basketball team is starting out a bit sluggish.

It will take a while to get things turned around so this could be a tough year for Wazzu.

Both Bronco teams should be very competitive this year.

I know the boys’ team lost a ton of talent but this year’s team has some kids that are ready to step up and prove they can play this game.

The girls’ team is talented and if they can stay out of foul trouble and eliminate some turnovers they can compete and finish near the top of the league standings.

Gaining confidence will be extremely important for many of these girls.

They will need to improve each night out and scratch out wins. Good luck to both of these teams and remember to keep having fun. That is why the game was invented!

I already mentioned that EWU was playing in the FCS playoffs but there was another football playoff that was announced on Sunday. That would be the FBS playoffs.

Four teams have been chosen to play on January 1st in two important bowl games. No. 2 Oregon will take on No. 3 Florida State the defending national champions in the Rose Bowl followed by No. 1 Alabama taking on No. 4 Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl.

As always there is controversy with Ohio State leaping over TCU to gain that fourth spot. Is it the correct choice?

Well, not having a championship game certainly hurt TCU and Baylor’s chances especially when both teams were crowned co-champions of the Big 12 even though there are only 10 teams in the league. That decision made it a bit difficult to pick one over the other so they picked neither.

So maybe you are asking, “Is it right?”

There are only four teams invited to the dance and there are several deserving teams that will have to watch from the outside.

This system is not meant to make everyone happy but to find the best 4 teams to battle it out for a National Championship.

The new system is better than it was but it certainly isn’t perfect. Hopefully the games will be.

Will I be watching? It’s the Rose Bowl and the Sugar Bowl, of course I’ll be watching!

I sometimes need to take a step back and look at the calendar to see if someone stole a day, week or a month from me. But no, I didn’t sleep through any of it more than usual.

And yes it is December and sports seasons are running into each other, but I’m a sports fan and it doesn’t get much better than that.