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Welcome to the new week!
College football’s second week featured a few upsets and some late game rallies (nicely done, University of Texas!). The NFL’s Week #1 finally got underway with a few surprises. In golf, America’s best female players were defeated by Team Europe in Sunday’s Solheim Cup final matches.
But first…
Remember those scrolling football scores at the bottom of your TV screen?
That never-ending ribbon of both college and NFL scores seems to have vanished from ESPN’s family of companies beginning this football season.
Why?
ESPN recently said, “By removing the BottomLine during live action, we’re creating a cleaner presentation that keeps the focus where it belongs – on the field.”
Sorry, Pinocchio. I’m not buying that one.
It is my opinion that the sports giant ditched the popular score ribbon so that TV viewers would not be able to easily locate a more compelling game to watch (especially if that other game is being carried on a competitor’s network).
My own Saturday night proved that point. I watched much of the Louisiana Tech vs LSU game from Baton Rouge. LSU emerged from a narrow 10-7 halftime lead to post an easy 45-14 victory as the Tigers’ offense caught fire in the final two quarters.
In years gone by, I would have been following the ESPN score ticker along the bottom of my TV screen in search of a more compelling game. Fortunately for me, I checked in on the Ohio State vs. Texas game at the end of three quarters.
The #4 Longhorns trailed by 20 points against #1 Ohio State entering the final quarter. Texas caught fire offensively to score the game’s final 21 points and take a thrilling 24-23 win on a touchdown with just 25 seconds remaining.
What is the real reason that ESPN dropped the on-screen sports ticker?
Money, of course.
They are trying to get viewers to stay with one football game as long as possible. The sales teams for the ESPN family of companies has likely heard complaints from its major advertisers – especially those buying ads in the second half of games. The network’s viewer-friendly sports ticker has accidentally created viewer defections toward more competitive match-ups.
Viewers could change to watch a more compelling game being carried by a competitor such as FOX Sports, NBC, or even the CW Network.
If the self-proclaimed sports leader had not received negative feedback from its advertisers, the sports score ticker/ribbon would still be on your screen during football games.
The departure of ESPN’s score ticker at the bottom of your television screen will have another desirable effect for ESPN. Millions of frustrated viewers will visit the ESPN.com website to receive their score updates.
ESPN’s website traffic will balloon on game days and, of course, represent a new advertising vehicle.
But keep this in mind. ESPN’s television advertisers may find that fans will become more likely to neglect watching their very pricey ads. Viewers will now utilize more time during ESPN’s lengthy three-to-four minute commercial breaks to search online for other scores.
I turned on ESPN and the SEC Network earlier today (Monday). I was a bit surprised to find that (gasp!) the bottom line sport ticker was still in use on weekdays!
Yes, ESPN is utilizing it primarily to, among other things, promote their own slate of shows and upcoming football games.
I’m not falling for the excuse that “It’s cleaner for viewers to enjoy the game experience”.
If true, why not remove it from all of your shows during the rest of the week, too?
College Football – Week #2’s game of the week
Fans of wrestling legend “The Undertaker” could appreciate how the Texas Longhorns came to life after nearly being pronounced dead at the start of the fourth quarter.
Austin, Texas reached a scorching 101 degrees on Saturday. The heat and the pressure finally got to #1 Ohio State late in this game. Ohio State surrendered a 23-3 fourth quarter lead to give the rejuvenated Horns a 24-23 come from behind victory on Saturday night.
Texas was able to exact a little revenge after Ohio State’s 14-7 win last season in Columbus.
Texas (2-0) just replaced the Buckeyes as #1 in the AP’s way-to-early Poll released on Monday. Ohio State (1-1) dropped to #6.
Duck hunting season began in Stillwater Saturday afternoon!
As mentioned here last week, the much ballyhooed Oregon Ducks did not look like national title contenders after barely taking down Boise State in Week #1.
The Ducks flew eastward to Stillwater, Oklahoma last Saturday and were attacked by swarms of Oklahoma State hunters. OSU was embarrassed by regional rival Tulsa 24-10 in its first game. The Cowboys came into Saturday’s match-up with Oregon having lost 21 straight games to FBS (large division) schools.
Okie State dominated this game from start to finish.
They rolled-up 554 yards of total offense compared to Oregon’s 281.
Oklahoma State has a new head coach (Eric Morris from N. Texas) who signed dozens of his former Mean Green players from last year’s 12-2 team to join him.
James Madison tied an NCAA record
Sun Belt Conference member James Madison trounced Wagner from the FCS 87-3 on Saturday in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The 84-point win erased Louisiana Tech’s 80-6 win over Northwestern State in Week #1 as the largest rout of the 2026 season.
Did you know that the JMU Dukes scored three of its touchdowns on punt returns?
Two came via the conventional route as Michael Scott fielded two punts and returned them for scores. A third punt-related touchdown came after the visiting Seahawks from Staten Island, New York had a punt blocked by JMU. The loose ball was picked-up by special teamer Michael Halbert who ran it in for a touchdown.
This trifecta of touchdowns scored by James Madison off the opposing team’s punts tied an NCAA record. Southern Cal was the last FBS team to accomplish this feat in 2013.
The NFL’s Week #1 featured few surprises but…
If you are a fan of the Miami Dolphins, Tennessee Titans, or Cleveland Browns, it’s time to create an appropriate paper bag to wear while watching your team this fall.
They stink – again.
A Super Bowl rematch featuring Seattle and New England produced a 13-10 win for the Seahawks as Patriots’ quarterback Drake Maye tossed an ugly interception deep in Seattle territory to end the game.
Minnesota Vikings new starting quarterback Kyler Murray went down in the first quarter with a concussion. The Vikings opted to turn to veteran Carson Wentz and not former first round pick J.J. McCarthy. This turned out to be a good move as the Vikes reeled-off 22 straight points in the final quarter to down hated rival Green Bay 39-22.
Didn’t you expect the Dallas Cowboys’ defense to be a little better this year? They were 32nd out of 32 teams last year.
Alas, the visitors from Texas allowed 29 first downs and nearly 400 yards of total offense as the New York Giants claimed a 28-20 win over the Cowboys.
A bigger concern for Dallas fans was the puny 244 yards of total offense generated by its highly paid offense. The $60 million dink-passing quarterback Dak Prescott completed 22 of 34 passes for only 175 yards.
The biggest surprise from Week #1 for me was the Los Angeles Rams’ 27-7 loss to NFC West rival San Francisco. This game was played in front of 100,000 fans in Melbourne, Australia. Los Angeles’ vaunted offense tallied just 290 total yards as the 49ers controlled this game from start to finish.
The Rams have said this season is considered “Super Bowl or Bust”. They now have a flat tire to repair after Week #1.
Golf news – Europe smashed US women to reclaim the Solheim Cup
Team Europe apparently took offense after USA’s Jennifer Kupcho rolled in a 93-foot birdie putt on hole #17 and then added a 25-footer on #18 Saturday to win her Solheim Cup match.
Kupcho roared “Vamos – Let’s Go!” and taunted the crowd as the day ended with the Solheim Cup matches tied at eight points apiece.
The team competition was over. Sunday’s singles matches would decide the winner.
Team Europe came out Sunday wearing their “Do Not Adjust your TV Set” vibrant blue and yellow golf apparel.
Thousands of Netherlands golf fans helped to try and unravel the American golfers. Speakers around the course blared loud music much like at a LIV Golf event. Local fans even chanted the refrain from The Beatles’ “Hey, Jude” for several minutes.
It worked as Team Europe earned a 15-13 victory Sunday. The final point which was clinched after Jennifer Kupcho of the US lost in her singles match.
Europe won the Solheim Cup to honor their recently retired 39-year old Swedish team captain Anna Nordqvist. It was the fourth European win in the past five of these biennial golf matches.
The 2028 Solheim Cup comes to Louisville, Kentucky’s Valhalla Golf Club. There will be plenty of enthusiastic American golf fans, music, and, of course, some colorful golf apparel on display.
In the men’s Ryder Cup and the women’s Solheim competitions, Europe has dominated the past few decades by focusing on teamwork. The US needs to foster more camaraderie long before these matches begin.