The college hoop season is under way, baby!

I am excited to be calling the Kansas-Kentucky game on Tuesday in my opener, Two traditional powers will do battle.

The start of the season saw diaper dandies doing well. Marvin Bagley had a pair of double-doubles for Duke. Jaylen Novell of Washington had 32 big points in a win over Belmont.

There were a few interesting results. Big Blue Nation sweated as Utah Valley led by 12 in the second half before the Wildcats responded. Indiana lost by 21 to Indiana State. Tulsa lost to Lamar. Wake Forest was beaten by Georgia Southern. California lost to Cal-Riverside.

The fun is under way, baby!

It was a great weekend at the Dick Vitale Intercollegiate tennis tournament. Congratulations to the University of Florida, which won the men's and women's titles.

We enjoyed hosting the teams, players and coaches at a party at my house. And we raised $ for the Jimmy V Foundation for cancer research.

Notre Dame is for real.

Go look at the last two weeks against ranked opponents. The Irish looked great against USC and NC State. Notre Dame's lone loss this season was a nailbiter against undefeated Georgia, decided on a late field goal.

Notre Dame has a few more tests left, but several teams ahead of them in the polls have challenges too. Notre Dame deserves to be in the national championship discussion.

What a great sports weekend.

We had a blast cheering on Notre Dame during its big win over USC. The Irish are back in the top 10 of the AP poll.

Penn State had a big win over Michigan. Alabama continued to roll on, blasting Tennessee.

The Cowboys blew out the Niners. The Bucs lost a tough one to the Bills. Speaking of surprises, the Rams blew out the Cardinals in London. The Jaguars dominated over the Colts. The Browns lost again.

The Astros beat the Yankees to make it to the World Series.

College football continues to be unpredictable.

Syracuse over Clemson. Arizona State over Washington. California clobbered Washington State. LSU rallied to stun Auburn. Boston College won at Louisville.

That's the beauty of the sport. Howard beat UNLV, Iowa State stunned Oklahoma. You just never know what to expect. Last week there were no top 25 head=to-head match-ups, but there were plenty of surprises.

Just when you thought it was easy to figure things out in sports...

Iowa State wins at Oklahoma. The Cyclones had been dominated in the series before scoring this stunner.

Michigan loses to Michigan State.

The Steelers are blown out at home by the Jaguars. Jacksonville was coming off a loss to the Jets. Oh yes, the Jets are now 3-2; many people thought they could go 0-16 this season.

The Giants were supposed to be Super Bowl contenders. Now they are 0-5.

There were several college football coaches that didn't sleep well over the weekend.

LSU's Ed Orgeron saw his Tigers stunned at hoe by Troy. Tennessee's Butch Jones saw his Vols shut out badly by Georgia.

USC fell from the unbeaten ranks as Clay Helton's team lost at Washington State.

One coach who slept fine was Brian Kelly of Notre Dame. The Irih looked good in a win over Miami-Ohio.

It has been a sad week for the sport I love, college basketball.

 

The news of an FBI investigation leading to numerous arrests involving individuals associated with college basketball was alarming. Four assistant coaches of Division I schools -- Chuck Person of Auburn, Tony Bland of USC, Book Richardson of Arizona and Lamont Evans of Oklahoma State were all suspended immediately. Then came Rick Pitino's farewell at Louisville. 

 

Yes, a cesspool exists in the college hoops scene. Recruiting is a nightmare as AAU coaches can have an impact. Shoe companies get involved too 

 

College basketball has given me a great life. It is my heart and soul. This news really broke my heart. I was crushed.

 

People are innocent until proven guilty, but it is a different ballgame with the FBI involved. Wiretapping, allegations of fraud, money laundering, etc. Criminal charges make a difference.

 

Agents and shoe companies are making situations out of hand. You have kids reclassified and becoming one-and-done stars. They gain eligibility out of nowhere. Are they suddenly Rhodes Scholars?

 

If the charges are valid, I hope the FBI gets everyone that is involved. I know a lot of people feel this is just the tip of the iceberg and that is sad. The game needs to be cleaned up. Perhaps it is time to have a czar in charge of the sport. 

My wife Lorraine and I really had a great time in Charleston South Carolina as the guest of Tech Data Corporation, the largest company in the state of Florida. I was the guest speaker at their event honoring their top clients throughout the nation. It was a very special meeting.

I really enjoyed the people I met including Bob Dutkowsky and wife Lorraine. I also met Tom Richards and his wife Mary Beth who are big in the world of basketball as well as the technology world. Tom was a star card for the University of Pittsburgh and his son Jason played for Davidson College with Stephen Curry who is now an NBA super star.

It was great to be introduced and I really appreciated the introduction by Marty Bauerlein, Senior Vice President of US Sales for Tech Data Corporation. Marty has now utilized me for five different corporate events speaking to various groups within their organization.

The event Friday night was first class in every way, as they had a dinner party at the beautiful Geddes Museum in Charleston South Carolina. My friends, it is great breaking bread with such outstanding successful people who just understand -#1 how to make the most of everyday.

I spoke to them about the Game Of Life, about perusing your dreams and goals to the best of your ability. I can tell you, that audience was filled with greatness.

Do you think there is drama in the NFL?

Go look at the Giants-Eagles game. The New Yorkers trailed 14-0, scored three straight touchdowns, only to see the Eagles win on a 61-yard field goal. Wow.

The Patriots rallied to beat the Texans. Tom Brady found a way to get to the winner's circle again.

How wacky is the NFL. Jaguars destror Ravens. Bills over Broncos. Jets win a game. Bears over Steelers.

That is why they play the games. Excitement, baby! That is why we wtahc every week.

The NFL is under way and several teams stand out already.

The Steelers are 2-0 and looking good on both sides of the ball. LeVeon Bell will get better and better. The defense has been solid.

The Ravens have been outstanding on defense too. Baltimore beat the Bengals and Browns, so the jury may still be out.

The Bucs got out of the gate well with a big win over the Bears. Tampa Bay will win at least 10 games this season.

,The Bears, Browns, Bengals and Saints are among 0-2 teams struggling early.

My wife, family and I spent four days in South Bend, Indiana.

We were thinking about everyone affected by Hurricane Irma and wish them well.

We attended the Notre Dame-Georgia game, won by the Bulldogs in a Maslow Masher.

We got home to Florida safe and sound.

It was a great weekend for sports fans.

Sloane Stephens and Rafael Nadal won U. S. Open tennis championships. Stephens was ranked in the 900s earlier this year; what an amazing story to win. Nadal won his second slam tourney of the year.

College football had many exciting games and great performances. Lamar Jackson of Louisville put up more big numbers against North Carolina. Baker Mayfield had a brilliant second half in a big win at Ohio State. USC played well against Stanford. Clemson's defense dominated against Auburn. Notre Dame played with energy but came up short vs. Georgia.

The NFL kicked off with the Chiefs stunning the Patriots. Green Bay got past Seattle. The Ravens pitched a shutout against the Bengals. The Rams were big winners over the Colts. 

The Cleveland Indians rolled on in baseball.

I am also thinking about everyone in Florida affected by Hurricane Irma. Bless you all.

Every year, I love going to the Big Apple to spend time at the U. S. Open tennis tournament. 

It is always great to see the biggest names in tennis in action. Watching Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Venus Williams and Maria Sharapova is a treat. And it was extra special having my family there in attendance.

I also got to enjoy great dinners and a trip to Broadway. It is always a fun time in New York City, baby!

I have really enjoyed an association with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Sarasota. For the last 20 years, the Vitale family has presented scholarships to recipients in need of support.

I encourage youngsters to chase their dreams and pursue their goals, and they work so hard at the Boys and Girls Clubs to make a difference. It is always a special day when we present the scholarships and it was on Monday. All the best to this year's five recipients.

Floyd Mayweather is now 50-0 after stopping Connor McGregor in the 10th round via TKO. The Money Team is still unbeaten and in the pound-for-pound rankings, he is the Best Ever!

The fight was an event that had its share of excitement. McGregor ran out of steam and that was part of Mayweather's plan. The champion wore out the MMA fighter. 

I give both men credit for their performances. McGregor did the best he could. Mayweather showed why he is the best.

Thank god for baseball's wild card races.

After the weekend, only one of the six divisions has a race closer than five games for first place.

The NL Central is the lone competitive battle. The Red Sox are up five games on the Yankees. The Indians have a five-game margin in the AL Central.

So wild card races will provide excitement down the home stretch. College football, the NFL and the U. S. Open tennis tournament are around the corner, baby!

The NFL preseason is under way. Let's face reality; the prices for these games are a rip-off.

I wish the league would play two preseason games, but they make too much money to cut it back. You won't see much of big names like Tom Brady and many players in these games won't make the active roster to start the season.

So don't put too much stock in these games. You want your players to stay healthy,

NFL training camps are under way and injuries have already taken a toll. Miami lost QB Ryan Tannehill to a knee injury and the team signed Jay Cutler. The Chargers have seen their first two draft picks get hurt. Sterling Shepard of the Giants hurt his ankle. Malcolm Smith of the 49ers tore his pectoral muscle. Those are just a few of the injuries.

Imagine what will happen when the games get underway? It is a long season. A key is stay healthy, baby!

Jamies Winston and Mike Evans figure to be a dynamic passing duo. The defense has improved. I feel this team is clrealy on the rise.

I believe Tampa Bay can win 10 games and make the playoffs. It should be an exciting season for the Buc fans.