THIRD TIME THE CHARM?

The New York Rangers begin training camp this week, with Glen Allen’s Zac Jones faced with a familiar predicament … trying for the third straight season to prove he belongs in the National Hockey League. Each of the last two years the 22-year-old defenseman had an outstanding camp only to be shipped eventually to AHL Hartford where he excelled. Now, with a new coach (Peter Laviolette) and armed with a new, two-year contract, Jones would seem a lock to make the team. Former coach Gerard Gallant (fired) reportedly clashed with general manager Chris Drury over personnel including Jones who, at 5-10, 185, wasn’t big enough to suit the coach. Joining Laviolette on his new staff is Hall of Famer Phil Housley, who played as an under-sized defenseman and comes with a reputation for making players better. At this point, it appears there is one opening among the Rangers’ top six defensemen. That would be on the No. 3 pairing opposite right-handed Braden Schneider. To complicate things for left-hand-shooting Jones, New York signed free agent Erik Gustafsson, a lefty defenseman who played for Laviolette with the Washington Capitals a year ago before being traded to Toronto. Most observers thought Gustafsson had the inside track to team up with Schneider. However, on the eve of camp, there was a report the Rangers were looking to swap Gustafsson which, the author said, was a sign management finally was ready to incorporate Jones into the lineup. …. WELL, HE FELT he was wasting away on the Arsenal bench and wanted (needed?) more action … which is why former Richmond Kicker goaltender Matt Turner requested a trade … and wound up with Nottingham Forest. Both teams – sorry, sides – are members of the English Premier League … but otherwise have little in common. While Arsenal remains among international soccer’s best, Nottingham Forest has been a work in progress since rejoining the EPL a year ago. Now, after two wins and a draw in five games (good for seven points and 8th place), it would appear Turner, 29, came at a bargain price: four years, $12.75 million. Major League Soccer’s top goalie with the New England Revolution in 2021, he somehow has allowed only seven goals – with one shutout -- despite a ragged defense that makes every attempt at clearing the ball an adventure. Monday (Sept. 18) NF finished in a 1-1 tie at home with Burnley that was favored despite still looking for its first points of the season. In the final 10 minutes that included seven-plus of extra time, the visitors went down a man with a red card but Forest kept the outcome in doubt by its inability to pass the ball, giving it up time after time. YOU TELL ME … did the Thursday night Minnesota-at-Eagles NFL game really need Michael “Let’s Get Ready to Rumble!!” Buffer? Or, was that ordered by Prime Video, which has exclusive national TV rights … assuring an MMA-like viewing audience? NEVER THOUGHT I’d feel sorry for one, much less two, of those undergraduates who bounce from one school to another … to another … and another. Nevertheless … the NCAA did no one a favor by keeping VCU’s Joe Bamisile (basketball) and North Carolina’s Tez Walker (football) from playing this season. In fact, it made the governing body look small and … well, silly … especially when you consider all the underhanded, under-the-table stuff that’s suddenly legal and rules college athletics. I KNOW, I KNOW … losing Aaron Rodgers for the season after a total of four plays all but ended the New York Jets hopes for a Super Bowl. Like they had a real chance with him … Check the snaps: After a first-down run for 26 yards,, the 39 year old QB (a) barely escaped a sack by throwing the ball way – sidearmed --as he was hauled down; (b) was hit as he threw … incomplete, but defensive holding, first down ... and (c) tried to spin away and was sacked (left tackle Duane Brown from Richmond lunged at Buffalo DE Leonard Floyd and missed), suffering an injury that didn’t appear to be as bad as it turned out to be. In other words, the Jets didn’t block any better for the league’s oldest active player (expected to take them to the promised land) any better than they did for the once-promising Zach Wilson, who became No. 1 by default – at least for a while. Wilson dazzled no one. His short pass for a touchdown was thrown behind the receiver who reached back to keep the ball from being intercepted … and somehow wound up with it while landing on his back. Had the defensive back simply grabbed the NY receiver’s jersey … but then this was one of those results no one saw coming. I mean, otherwise how to explain a complete breakdown on punt coverage, where everyone ran left, leaving half the field open for an 85-yard return for a game-winning touchdown in overtime? In the wake of the Cowboys’ 30-10 rout of the Jets in Game 2, Shannon Sharpe (on ESPN’s “First Take”) said Wilson “couldn’t play a dead man in a horror movie.” Matt Millen … you remember good, old Matt, former NFL linebacker who won three Super Bowls with three different teams including your Washington Redskins and later left national TV (where he was very good) to become the leading candidate for Worst All-Time GM with the Detroit Lions … Now, here’s the answer to Whatever happened to …? Millen worked the Big 10 Network’s coverage of Saturday’s Georgia Southern at Wisconsin biggie … with the legendary Mark Followill. Until next time ...