The Longest Short Week

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH
PHOTOS BY CANDICE EBLING

I saw Joe Montana play his last game at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, CA., against the Detroit Lions on Monday Night Football and he won 24-3.

I saw John Elway defeat the Atlanta Falcons 34-19 in Super Bowl XXXIII at Joe Robbie Stadium in 1999 as the signal caller went out on top in Miami.

Tonight, it appears that I've seen another player play in his last game, but this one is forcing his way out of town and he got a lot of attention on Thursday Night Football.

There were no shortage of storylines by NFL Network Commentators Joe Buck and Troy Aikman.

After tonight's game it looks like another player down the road will be wearing the No.20 jersey that Jalen Ramsey occupies.

I would highly doubt it that Ramsey will ever make Jacksonville's Ring of Honor and will never have his number retired.

When I grew up as a kid, Marcel Dionne wanted out of Detroit and he moved to Los Angeles to play for the Kings. When Dionne returned to Detroit to play at Olympia Stadium, he was pelted with debris. The Red Wings would eventually put a protective tunnel to protect him.

Despite winning Stanley Cups for the Red Wings, Sergei Federov burned his bridges and despite getting inducted into The Hockey Hall Of Fame, the No.91 is still not retired.

Time hasn't healed this wound but with Steve Yzerman in charge of Hockey Operations, we'll see if Federov's number goes to the rafters.

But back to Ramsey.

Last year, he made derogatory comments towards opposing quarterbacks and had a bullseye on his chest. The Jaguars had a disappointing season finishing 5-11 and failed to make the playoffs.

This was a team that came minutes away from reaching the Super Bowl losing to the New England Patriots.

Ramsey came into training camp driving a money truck. Time will tell if he gets his cash.

On Sunday, he committed a cardinal sin by getting into a heated argument on the sideline with Head Coach Doug Marrone that led to more controversy resulting in a trade demand.

If this wasn't a Thursday Night Game, I think Ramsey would be wearing another uniform.

But it's not.

If indeed this is Ramsey's last game with Jacksonville, he had five tackles, four assists for a combined total of nine to go along with a forced fumble.

The Jaguars defeated the Tennessee Titans 20-7 on a rainy night.

QB Gardner Minshew II  recorded his first NFL win and was quite efficient by going 20-30 for 204 yards and two touchdowns.

One of those touchdowns was to DJ Chark for 22 yards. He has a TD pass in each of Jacksonville's first three games.

When this game, which took 3:01 to complete was over, Coach Doug Marrone was happy that his squad got a much needed win especially after a tough 13-12 loss Sunday to the Houston Texans in Texas.

"This was a good win, the longest short week in the NFL," Marrone said. "We did a heck of a job in the protection game. Our QB is playing remarkable and the team played with a chip on their shoulder. We do have to do a better job protecting the QB and the offensive line will continue to get better. We also have to do a better job running the ball.

"DJ Chark is playing at a high level and this will open up a lot of things for us."

Chark finished the game with four receptions for 76 yards and a touchdown.

Minshew II said he was extremely excited that he got his first win on National TV but had higher praises for his new favorite target, Chark Jr.

"DJ has been awesome and he's been playing with a lot of confidence," Minshew II said. "I have confidence in him. If I see him one-on-one, I'll throw it to him."

With tonight's win on Thursday, the Jaguars improved to 3-0 versus the Titans at TIAA Bank Field. Jacksonville has now won four of it's last six games on Thursday Night and four straight at home.

The Jaguars improved their record to 63-46 in games which they wore teal jerseys.

The nicest part of winning on Thursday Night is the team can decompress and get ready for it's next opponent. It won't hear about the negativity around the building.

Whether Ramsey is on the field on September 29 when the Jaguars (1-2) face the Denver Broncos in Colorado remains to be seen.

But you can rest assure that this drama doesn't figure to continue much longer and Jacksonville will get a lofty return to part ways with their defensive playmaker, who was the fifth overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft out of Florida State just 2.5 hours down the road in Tallahassee off I-10 West.

If this is his last game with the franchise it will at least end with a win.

But it won't compare to the high roads of Montana and Elway.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at www.scottsports33.com.

Year Of Underdogs

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

Although I'd still like to attend one Kentucky Derby before I die, I believe that the Indianapolis 500 is the better event. It's hard for me to fathom the thought that I would travel to see an event that lasts just a few minutes as the Derby does. The Indianapolis 500 generally lasts 3-5 hours, has accidents, close finishes and the speeds go over 200 miles-per-hour. Danger or risk can give anyone an adrenaline rush. I'm proud to have attended a couple with my lifelong friends George Eichorn and Stuart Bloom.

Speaking of the Indianapolis 500, I'll still watch the race but don't ask me to name drivers. Dan Wheldon passed away in an accident at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway last fall. Meanwhile, NASCAR lured Danica Patrick this season. Tony Stewart and Juan Pablo Montoya also used to be regulars in Indiana. Patrick was very competitive at "The Brickyard," has led laps, and now she gets to challenge NASCAR's longest race of the year, "The Coca Cola 600."

Last year Dale Earnhardt Jr. ran out of gas on the final lap of the Coca Cola 600. Now Earnhardt has gone 140 races in a row without a win. There have been 26 different drivers that have won since Dale Jr's last triumph. What's more pressure, snapping the winless drought, following in the footsteps of his legendary father Dale Sr. or driving for Hendrick Motor Sports?
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Thus far, 2012 has been the year of "The Underdog." It began when the 9-7 New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots 21-17 in the Super Bowl. The Giants were the last team to make the playoffs.

I never thought I'd see the Los Angeles Kings reach the Stanley Cup Finals. But you can be rest assured that NBC is thrilled. Take note NFL, when you have a franchise in the No.2 Media Market, then the television ratings are destined to be excellent.

The No.8 seeded Kings shocked the No.1 Vancouver Canucks in the opening round. Los Angeles followed that up by stunning the No.2 St. Louis Blues then skated their way into the NHL Finals by ousting the No.3 seeded Phoenix Coyotes. The Kings haven't lost a road game in this year's playoffs.

Now they get to face the No.6 New Jersey Devils. If the Kings can at least win one road game, though I predict they'll win two, then they can beat the Devils. Since I'm a West Coast person at heart and I really enjoy Los Angeles, there is no doubt I'm rooting for the Kings to prevail.

New Jersey is accustomed to taking a bus on many of it's road trips since it plays in the Eastern Conference. Now the Devils will have to take an airplane and adjust to the three hour time difference in a 2-2-1-1-1 travel format. My Detroit Red Wings are used to the extensive travel schedule and they're in the Eastern Time Zone. No sympathy for the Devils here.

The Kings are accustomed to piling up frequent flyer miles and their shortest trip is to Anaheim to play the Ducks in Orange County.

No matter who wins this match-up, it will be the lowest seeded champion to hoist Lord's Stanley Cup. Ironically, the Devils with the No.5 seed were the previous lowest team to do it.

This series gives me chills down my spine when scrutinizing the nicknames.

We have the "Devils" versus "Kings" which would make any biblical religious buff's imagination cringe.
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Speaking of underdogs, Doug Collins did his best coaching job ever as he led his Philadelphia 76'ers to the Eastern Conference semi-finals only to lose the series 4-3 to the Boston Celtics. This series saw two of the classiest people and coaches take entirely different teams in Collins and Doc Rivers. There was the youth of the 76'ers against the older and experienced Celtics.

The No.8 seeded 76'ers defeated the No.1 Chicago Bulls and in the process Collins squad piled up post-season experience. They were working on House Money as Collins squad figures to only get better with age.

Meanwhile, the Celtics made one of the classiest plays ever by taking a 24-second violation and not running up the score which was 85-75. To see Collins and Rivers hug the way they did shows that they are two of the finest people in basketball.

If you're a Philadelphia 76'ers fan, the sky is the limit with this young group and if they add a player or two, then I wouldn't be surprised to see them contend for an NBA title within three years.
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Back to the Los Angeles Kings. Everybody thought the LA Clippers and Lakers would be playing longer in the spring. Instead, the Kings have the Staples Center all to themselves and Hall of Famers Marcel Dionne and Wayne Gretzky must be enjoying their former team's success.

I never thought I'd see the day that Los Angeles would get hyped up about hockey.

But winning changes that.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com.