Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages.  Furball’s Sports Page is proud to bring to you the latest version of its world famous “This and That column.  I haven’t been able to write often so there is a lit to get into.  So, without further ado or gilding the lily, let’s jump right in. 

When and Where—The NFL released their schedule this week.  The NFL is the only league where the schedule actually matters.  You play so few games and only play a handful of teams each season so who and when you play actually matters.  The 49ers have a pretty good schedule this season, which is surprising.  They normally get screwed by the schedule makers.  For instance, this year they do not play any teams coming off a bye.  Last year they played 5 teams coming off of byes.  They have the easiest schedule in the league but that’s only before the season starts.  Once games start getting played, we will see who the bad teams are and who the good teams are.  Just think, last year at this time if the Commanders were on your schedule, you were thinking easy win.  That turned out to be rather untrue.  I hope the Niners opponents all suck, but we shall see.  This, by the way, is why there is so much parody in the NFL, the schedule sets up bad teams to have good seasons.  Watch the turnaround the Patriots have this season.      

Curses—There have been many, many occasions where the Boston Celtics have had great teams but failed to win the championship due to injuries.  It goes back at least as far as 1987 when Kevin McHale broke his foot and Bill Walton was already out.  In 2009 the Celtics started the season 27 and 2 and were on a 19-game winning streak when Kevin Garnett blew out his knee.  The next season they make it to game 7 of the Finals but have to play without Kendrick Perkins.  The Celtics can’t grab a rebound and the Lakers win.  In 2023, Game 7 vs the Heat.  First play of the game and Jason Tatum blows out his ankle.  Celtics lose.  And it has happened again this season.  Any chance the Celtics had of repeating as Champions went up in smoke when Jason Tatum’s Achillies popped in the final minutes of game 4.  His injury occurred so late in the season that it has put his status for next season up in the air.  Best case scenario seems to be a February return.  What type of player will he be just coming off the injury?  What will the team look like when he comes back?  Who will be on the team and where will they be in the standings?  Everything is up in the air now.  Hopefully Tatum makes a full recovery and is able to play at the level he was at when he returns.  And who knows, maybe taking all this time off will enlighten him in some way and make him an even better player.  We can only hope. 

Cursed Again—Speaking of injuries, Yankees third baseman Oswaldo Cabrera had a horrifying injury a couple of days ago.  While not as big of a loss as Tatum is, or Cole (ugh imagine this team with Cole with the way Fried and Rodon are pitching UGHHH!!!), losing Oswaldo hurts.  The Yankees don’t really have a third baseman now.  They have lots of guys who can play the position and play it very well, but none of them can hit.  Not that Oswaldo was Wade Boggs over there.  They are not going to be able to go out and get someone who is better than what they have.  There are only a handful of good third basemen and they are all on good teams.  Maybe, maybe the Red Sox would look to move on from Bregman if they continue to suck and know he’s going to walk after the season but then they would still have to be convinced to trade him to the Yankees.  I guess the best-case scenario is that one of the kids really takes off or that when Jazz comes back, they move LeMahieu there and he hits like he used to (really not holding my breath on that one).  There is an out of the box solution that would solve multiple lineup issues they have.  Ben Rice does catch right-handed.  Can he play third?   It would not only solve that problem but it would also help solve the lineup crunch they have with 4 outfielders and 2 first baseman that all need to play.  And it’s only going to get worse when Stanton comes back, which is expected at the beginning of next month.  It’s kind of a big ask for him to play a new position mid-season (even if the Red Sox think it’s an easy thing to do) but it might be worth considering.  Maybe get him some pregame work there for a few days and see how it goes.      

Feeling a Draft—I love, LOVE, what the 49ers did in the NFL Draft.  I usually do.  If you read my game reviews from last season you know I complained about their inability to stop the run every game.  Well, apparently, I wasn’t the only one who noticed this was a problem.  The 49ers spent their first 3 draft picks on guys who are run stuffers and then picked another DT in the 4^th round.  Now, I have no idea if any of these guys can play.  No one does.  I also have no idea if they were the best picks at the time.  Was there a better DE available when the Niners picked Mykel Williams?  Who knows.  I do know they tried to trade up for him so when they say he was their top guy, it’s not just GM/Coach speak.  and I know that they tried to address an issue on the team. Hopefully these guys will all live up to their potential.  It usually doesn’t happen that way but last years draft class had all but one guy (who was claimed off their practice squad by Carolina) play a role on the team.  If they have that kind of success this season, the Niners will be set up to have a really good season and have a bright future ahead. 

Mercury Rising—The Phoenix Mercury have revamped their roster.  No seriously, only two ladies are returning from last season.  The great Diana Taurasi has called it a career and walked off into the sunset.  It’s been so much fun watching her play over all these years.  She will be missed.  Also gone is Brittney Griner.  I never thought she would leave the Merc but with the system they are running under coach Tibbetts, she really doesn’t fit in.  I wish her all the best with her new team, unless they are playing the Merc.  That was just the tip of the roster movement iceberg.  Then the trades came.  The Mercury traded last year’s second-best player, Natasha Cloud, Rebecca Allen, whom was a difference maker when she played, and their first-round pick (I literally can’t remember the last time they used their first-round pick) to Connecticut for Alyssa Thomas and Ty Harris.  Then in a three team deal they traded Ty Harris, their second-round pick, and Sophie Cunningham for Satou Sabally, Sevgi Uzun, and Kalani Brown.    

That second trade hurt as Sophie Cunningham had been my favorite player for that past 6 seasons.  Not be able to cheer for Spicy Sophie is gonna suck.  But you have to give to get and the Mercury got.  Sabally was the best available player this off season and a Bonafide All Star.  She, Alyssa Thomas and Kahleah Copper will now be the Mercury’s big three.  They are a very talented big three and more importantly they fit together very nicely.  The rest of the roster was filled out with free agents and rookies.  They are not going to be the deepest team in the league but when everyone is healthy, they will be very good.  It’s going to be a lot of fun watching them play this season.  They are going to play fast and with a lot of energy on both sides of the ball.  With all new players it may take some time for them to develop in game chemistry but they should get better and better as the season goes on.  Their ball movement and passing should be outstanding and only get better as the players get more comfortable with each other.  They have some good shooters and should be able to spread the floor and while they don’t have Griner protecting the rim anymore, Mack and Brown should do a good job down low.  I am really looking forward to this season.  Hopefully the curse won’t destroy it.