White Houses | College Football Playoff | Local Hoops | Local Ice Pond | YouTube Rabbithole
Alright @YouTheReader,
Today’s tune is White Houses by Vanessa Carlton on this Snowy Saturday in the Tri-State. Last January on Pint&Pen&Paper Week 2 (Vol III) I wrote about an Ordinary Day of being a sports writer who cuts the G and Miss Carlton happened to view the Instagram tag so you know I’d Stumble Along A Thousand Miles one day. White Houses was on her ‘04 sophomore album Harmonium, and the song made it on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at 86. That said, it is fairly distinct and I remember it being a radio hit, so you’ll know it.
Vanessa Carlton slept on the floor, confirmed!
I had to at least be a bit ironic using a song of this title on January 6th. I couldn’t resist the day, no, I couldn’t resist the day.
Don’t worry, this year I won’t try to roast the hell out of both Nasty Orange Cheeto Twitter Fingers and Big Guy Who Can’t Find Google while giving you 12 reasons why Week to Week Notes endorses Dave Portnoy to run for President. I guess we’ll just keep that as an inside joke, but you can go back and read Week 18, ‘23 with When I’m Small by Phantogram on in the background if you’d like, it’s out there somewhere.
I just wrote about how I want to be a Simple Man and now I’m openly susceptible to political crossfire from both sides of the aisle. Someone help!
Ah jeez, that’s never my goal when I write Week to Week Notes. I just do this for fun, please try to lighten up! You’re going to make me have to grab a pint of Guinness and sit alone with my thoughts…
(It’s okay, we both know I was going to go do that anyway!)
Why thank you, @VanessaCarlton, but I’m wearing a green Champion crew neck - huge 90s guy. Not that anybody cares or should, but I get my serious news from Breaking Points with Krystal & Saagar. I usually find myself siding a bit more with Saagar but I love the concept of how they offer both perspectives and Krystal is great too. Both of them are experienced professionals who worked with the giants of the serious news networks from opposite ends and decided to create their own independent media company together. I don’t feel like they are feeding me a load of shrimp and they do mention that they get most of their new listeners through word of mouth, so, not that they need this from Week to Week Notes, but I’ll endorse them today.
How the hell am I going to get myself out of this one… I do enjoy this song, it’s a nice listen… The tune is actually about the loss of innocence and particularly about a young woman losing her v….
Let’s just get to the sports…
The ‘24 College Football National Championship will feature the Washington Huskies and Michigan Wolverines. These two prominent programs first met back in 1953 when Michigan gave Washington a 50-0 ass-whooping in Ann Arbor. The most recent time they played each other was in ‘21 when Michigan won 31-10. In total, they have played each other 13 times with Michigan winning 8 of them. The last time Washington won a National Championship was in 1991, whereas the last time Michigan was crowned was in 1997. None of the kids playing in this game were around the last time these schools won a title, so it’ll be refreshing to crown a different school outside the SEC atop College Football. Oh yeah, also both teams are undefeated at 14-0. Even if you’re someone who isn’t a big college football fan, this should be a pretty good game to tune into.
The Washington Huskies are going to want to make this game a shootout. QB Michael Penix Jr. led all of the land in passing yards this season as Washington averaged 37.6 points per game. The Southpaw QB is one of the rare exceptions of a College QB whose stock in the NFL has only risen the more time he has spent developing at school. Penix Jr. started off his collegiate career at Indiana in ‘18 before transferring to Washington in ‘22. The young man has a ton of resilience as he has twice torn his ACL to get to this pinnacle. Penix Jr. has a plethora of pass catchers to throw to. His WRs Rome Odunze, Ja'Lynn Polk, and Jalen McMillan all have NFL ability combing for 26 of Penix’s 35 passing TDs. Washington’s running is also quite effective as their workhorse RB Dillon Johnson has averaged 5.2 yards per carry while scoring 16 TDs. The Washington offensive line has been excellent, only allowing their star QB to be sacked 10 times this season.
On defense, Washington is middle of the pack as they have given up 23.6 points per game. Statistically, they are much better at defending the run (137.6 yards allowed per game, 41st in the nation) than they are at defending the pass (263 passing yards allowed per game, 121st in the nation). However, this may be because their offense has forced their opponents to throw from behind all season. Washington has two very solid pass rushers, Bralen Trice and Zion Tupuola-Fetui. Trice last Monday picked up 2 of his 7 sacks on the season against Texas. As for Zion Tupuola-Fetui, while he has not had the same sack totals, the kid is tough as nails as he played through the passing of his father this season and has NFL speed off the edge. In their defensive secondary, CB Jabbar Muhammad is their top corner. He’s had 3 INTs this season to go with a team-high 13 pass deflections. Muhammad played a big part in shutting down Texas’ stud WR Xavier Worthy, who only had 2 catches for 45 yards. The key for Washington’s defense will be how they stack up against Michigan’s running game.
The Michigan Wolverines averaged 36 points per game but they did so in an entirely different way than Washington. Michigan’s QB JJ McCarthy plays an efficient brand of football as he has completed 73.2% of his passes, throwing for 22 TDs to just 4 INTs. McCarthy has been the team’s starting QB for the past two seasons. While I wouldn’t necessarily call McCarthy just a game manager, he is defintiely the benefactor of an excellent Michigan rushing attack. While Penix throws a beautiful football, McCarthy is a bit more scrappy and will make some more awkward but effective throws as seen on the trick play Michigan used in the GIF above against ‘Bama. The engine of Michigan’s offense is without a doubt RB Blake Corum. The 5’8” senior has scored a Michigan record 25 rushing TDs and his 56 career rushing TDs are also atop Michigan’s all-time books. The Wolverines’ offense is Time Of Possession-oriented as they average having the ball for 32:26 minutes per game, which is good for 11th in the nation. I know that sounds a bit ridiculous but every second, just like every inch counts on the gridiron. For context, Washington only averages 30:05 minutes of possession in the 60-minute game. This contrast in offensive styles is what the football nerd in me is interested in seeing how this game plays out.
Michigan has the best defense in all of college football. They only allowed an absurd 9.5 points per game (#1 in the country) and were 2nd in yards allowed, giving up less than 240 total yards per game. While they weren’t necessarily dominant at sacking the QB all regular season, their pass rush was able to get to Alabama’s Jalen Milroe 6 times. Josiah Stewart, born in the Bronx, picked up a sack and a tackle for loss. In the last 2 games, pass rusher Braiden McGregor has made a real impact with 3 sacks and a forced fumble. The defensive line also features DT Kris Jenkins, who is the son of the former All-Pro for the Panthers and Jets with the same name. Michigan’s secondary is special as CB Mike Saintistil, a converted WR, is a threat to not only get a takeaway but bring it the house as he has done so twice this season. The one thing I will say about Michigan’s defense is that they have not played an offense quite as explosive as Washington. They were able to overwhelm the likes of Penn State, Ohio State, and Alabama, all of which have inexperienced QBs. Washington’s Penix beat Michigan back in ‘20 when he was at Indiana, throwing for 342 passing yards and 3 TDs. Completely different rosters and teams, but he’s got the experience. I think Michigan wins, but Washington keeps it just close enough.
Prediction: 31-27 Michigan (+4.5 Washington & Over 56)
Both the Knicks and Nets won last night so clap it up for both teams. The Knicks made a somewhat big trade this week which I’ll go over below. They have now won 3 games in a row, 2 of which were against the Minnesota Timberwolves (#1 seed in the West) and Philadelphia 76ers (#3 seed in the East). Things have not been as rosy for the Nets, who had previously dropped 5 straight, but they just beat the OKC Thunder (#3 seed in the West) so maybe they gain some momentum.
Manhattan
The Knicks this past week made a trade with the Toronto Raptors involving SF RJ Barrett & SG Immanuel Quickley for SF OG Anunoby & PF Precious Achiuwa.
For starters, although Barrett is only 23 years old, his game seems to have leveled off. Barrett is a solid player whose game is somewhat limited in today’s game because he’s just not a great 3-point shooter. He was the 3rd overall pick of the ‘19 NBA Draft of which the Knicks were supposed to land Zion. As for Quickley, he was a nice spark plug off the bench who quickly became a fan favorite because the Knicks hadn’t drafted a late 1st Rounder like him in years. Quickley is now 24 and will get more opportunities to start with the Raptors.
The main piece of the deal the Knicks got back in return was OG Anunoby, who was born in London and has a ridiculous 7’2” wingspan despite only being 6’7”. As a rookie out of the gate in ‘17, Anunoby immediately earned a starting job as the scrappy defender who didn’t have much of an offensive game (5.9 points per game). In his 2nd season, he would revert to the bench as Kawhi Leonard would of course start over him, but he was an effective 20-minutes-per-game bench player at 21 years old. By year 5, OG averaged 17.1 points per game and developed a solid 3-point shot. Much like Barrett, since ‘21 his offensive stats have leveled off, but he was once seen as an invaluable asset because of his potential. As for Precious Achiuwa, he is a 4th-year bench forward who provides energetic minutes on the offensive boards.
Since the trade, the Knicks have looked great. OG should fit in very nicely as a 3rd piece behind Brunson and Randle. He’ll take Barrett’s minutes, will play much better defense, and doesn’t command the ball as much on offense to put up around the same 15 points per game. I like the deal because it gives the Knicks more of a defensive identity.
Brooklyn
Before beating OKC on Friday, the Nets had lost 5 straight which brought talk that head coach Jacque Vaughn may switch things up and put Day’Ron Sharpe in the starting 5 for Nic Claxton. Sharpe provides more of an imposing defensive presence around the rim, having blocked Zion Williamson’s dunk attempt earlier this week. Claxton responded to this chatter with a dominant performance against Chet Holmgren and the Thunder. The 24-year-old 2nd Round pick had a season-high 23 points to go with 13 rebounds as he collected his 9th double-double of the season. Claxton wasn’t the only Net with a double-double on Friday night, as backup PG Dennis Smith Jr. had 13 points with 12 rebounds off the bench.
Don’t look now, but the Boys in Blue are still atop the Eastern Conference in points on the season and are tied with the Colorado Avalanche for most in the NHL. The Rangers’ 26 wins are the most in the sport. This past week the Islanders went 1-1-1 as they lost some ground on the Rangers and have been overtaken by Carolina. The Devils have been playing some better hockey of late, going 6-3-1 in their last 10 while winning their 2 last games to start the new year.
Manhattan
The Rangers’ defenseman Jacob Trouba found Cheesed Petr Mrázek from a wicked angle on Thursday Night. Sometimes if you just throw pucks at the net good things happen, I subscribe to that theory. This was Trouba’s 3rd goal of the season. The defender is the only player in the NHL with 15+ points, 100+ blocks, and 75+ hits. The Rangers’ Goalie Igor Shesterkin was named to the NHL All-Star game via the league's hockey operations department, which selected one player from each team. You can vote for the likes of Trouba, Breadman, and Zibanejad to get into the NHL All-Star game by hashtag #NHLAllStarVote with the players’ names. The fans will decide the final 8 skaters and 4 goalies so vote early and often.
Out East
After dropping two games in a row, the Islanders beat the Arizona Coyotes 5-1. When did they become the Arizona Coyotes, I thought they were the Phoenix Coyotes. I guess they were trying to pull a fast one on me, eh? It turns out the Coyotes didn’t renew their lease in their Phoenix arena so they now play at Mullett Arena in Tempe, an arena made for Arizona State with a maximum capacity of less than 5,000. Islanders’ C Bo Horvat found the net twice and assisted another. The 10-year veteran center is 2nd on the team in goals (16) and points (38). When asked about the Mullett Arena perspective, Horvat said, “Their Islanders support everywhere we go and it’s pretty amazing actually how many Islander fans are out there. It’s a heck of a fanbase and proud to be a part of it.” Islander fans can do him a solid and vote for him into the NHL All-Star Game by Hashtagging #NHLAllStarVote#BoHorvat on Twitter.
New Jersey
The Devils have not lost in ‘24, having beat the Canadians and Blackhawks. Devils’ center Nico Hischier ripped a slapshot through the Five-Hole against the Canadians. Against the Canadians, he had 3 points for the first time this season with 2 goals and an assist. The former #1 overall pick of the ‘17 NHL Draft now has 10 goals and 10 assists to his name on the season after starting the season off hampered by an upper-body injury. Jack Hughes was the Devil selected to the NHL All-Star game for the 2nd year in a row, not bad for a 22-year-old.