For a sportswriter, the month of October is absolute heaven.
It is a time when the sporting gods have come together to give sports junkies around the world the thing they love the most- a sporting event nearly every day of the week.
And these sporting events are not just an East Carolina-Louisville football game on a Tuesday night on ESPN2 just so the teams can get some national airtime.
They are scintillating matchups that decide divisions in baseball, or college or pro football games matching two undefeated teams, or the opening of the NBA basketball season and the first practices for college basketball teams.
To prove my point, I’m going to review the week of Oct. 5-12 and show you why October is the best sports month of the year.
Sunday, Oct. 5- The New Orleans Saints lose a hard fought battle to the Carolina Panthers, 19-13.
A player by the name of Rod Smart provides the winning touchdown for the Panthers, scoring on a 100-yard kickoff return to provide the winning margin. In case you don’t remember, Smart played in the now defunct XFL and wore the name “He Hate Me” on the back of his jersey. Riiight.
Monday, Oct. 6- Another great day for football, as the Indianapolis Colts make one of the best comebacks in NFL history, defeating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 38-35, in overtime.
The Colts were down 21 points with less than four minutes remaining, but scored three touchdowns to tie it up.
Tuesday, Oct. 7- Even though the Cubs lost 9-8 to the Marlins, just seeing them still playing this late in the season was a thrill.
Sammy Sosa, who I thought was the king of the meaningless home run, finally hit one that meant something, sending one out of the park with two outs in the ninth to send the game to extra innings. Unfortunately, the Cubs lost because of a Mike Lowell home run, but what a game and what a Tuesday.
Wednesday, Oct. 8- The Cubs come back with a vengeance, beating the Marlins 12-3, while the Red Sox score the first blow in the Boston-New York series, winning 5-2 in Game One.
Also, the New Orleans Hornets visit campus and put on a treat for the fans in the PMAC, defeating the Orlando Magic, 105-98.
Thursday, Oct. 9- Ah, yes, back to football.
South Carolina, LSU’s next opponent, take on Southeastern Conference brethren Kentucky.
Boring, right?
Wrong.
Down 27-7 in the third quarter, the Wildcats stormed back in the fourth quarter, drawing the scoring as close as 27-21, before falling just short.
Also, the Yankees draw their series even after a masterful pitching performance by Louisiana native Andy Pettitte. The Yankees win 6-2.
Friday, Oct. 10- Football on a Friday? Yep.
Michigan turned in another huge comeback win, defeating previously unbeaten Minnesota 38-35 after trailing 28-7 early in the fourth quarter. Scoring 31 points in one quarter is quite a feat.
Saturday, Oct. 11- Separation Saturday in college football.
Florida State loses to Miami.
Oklahoma smokes Texas.
And yes, Florida beats LSU.
No matter who you like or root for, it was a great day of college football.
And a great month for sports.
What is the best part about it all? We are only through half of October.