Your “I Could Get Used To This” Thursday Evening Open Thread

NFL Notes:

• The waiting is over: Everson Griffen has signed a one-year deal with the Cowboys.
  • It’s worth up to $6.0 million.
  • It also lowers the potential price for Jadeveon Clowney, because there are fewer openings & guys signing for less.

• Also getting paid – George Kittle.
  • The Niners and Kittle agreed to a five-year, $75 million contract on Thursday.
    • There’s also an $18 million signing bonus.
  • Clearly, the Niners are pushing all their cards in now, thinking they have just opened their window.

• This is pretty cool: the Dolphins will wear a patch commemorating Don Shula. 
  • For the entirety of the 2020 season, the Dolphins will wear a “Shula 347” patch on their jerseys.
  • According to the Dolphins’ website, this will be the first time in the Dolphins’ 54 seasons that a patch will be worn to honor an individual.
    • The team had previously worn helmet stickers or decals with their uniform numbers to honor the memories of active Dolphins players or Hall of Fame alumni who had passed away.

• Roger’s ‘Rona Report:
  • The overall positivity rate for the NFL’s coronavirus testing program has been 0.46%, well below the threshold set this summer for avoiding outbreaks at team facilities, according to the doctor overseeing the league’s testing protocol.

    

    • According to their collected statistics:
      • Through Tuesday, the league had conducted 109,075 COVID-19 tests.
      • The 0.46% positivity rate includes all players, coaches and staffers.
      • The player positivity rate has been 0.81%.
      • During the initial intake process, the league tested 9,983 people. The positivity rate for those tests was 1.7% overall and 1.9% for players.
  • Daily testing will continue through September 5th.
    • The league is being careful to monitor teams now that social bubbles are expanding at team facilities as players work to get into game shape.

Update: This happened after I scheduled the Thread, but it’s too good not to share.

Seahawks cut rookie CB Kemah Siverand after he was caught on video trying to sneak a woman into the team hotel, per @TomPelissero

The woman was wearing Seahawks gear to disguise herself as a player pic.twitter.com/GvzSYFL5If

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 13, 2020

Random NHL Playoff musings:

After all teams have played their opening games, I have some thoughts:

• The bubble is benefiting the “visiting team” / lower seeds. 
  • By not having to start ‘on the road’, the natural advantage to being a higher seed is gone.
    • Crowd noise; atmosphere; et cetera…
  • Lower seeds won three of the first eight games played.
• Overtime games rule, but overtime games suck in the bubble. 
  • The minimum time to clean team facilities between games is 87 minutes, according to Gord Miller every five minutes during the Tampa-Columbus OT game.
  • Anything longer than two extra periods will mess with TV schedules and – as we saw – potentially have to push games to the next day.
• It has been AWESOME having NHL games on all day.
  • It’s like the first week of the Final Four, just action from sunup to sundown.
  • It’s actually making me look forward to the NBA tournament, and I don’t particularly care for basketball.
• The 1-8, 2-7… format is far easier to follow & enjoy than the convoluted divisional structure Gary Bettman has been trying to ram down our throats.
  • It’s resulted in fresher matchups this year than the same tired ones we’ve endured the last few seasons.
• No Leafs!

Tonight’s sports:

• NHL:
  • Boston Bruins vs. Carolina Hurricanes – 8:00PM | NBCSN / CBC / Sportsnet
  • Dallas Stars vs. Calgary Flames – 10:30PM | NBCSN / CBC / Sportsnet
• NBA:
  • San Antonio Spurs vs. Utah Jazz – 6:30PM | TNT / TSN
  • Portland Trail Blazers vs. Brooklyn Nets – 9:00PM | TNT / TSN
• MLB:
  • San Diego Padres at LA Dodgers – 6:30PM | Sportsnet360
  • Milwaukee Brewers at Chicago Cubs – 7:00PM | FOX
• Southern Hemisphere tackle sports:
  • Super Rugby Australia:
    • Force vs. Waratahs – 5:00AM | TSN2
  • Australian Rules Football:
    • Geelong vs. Port Adelaide – 5:30AM | FS1 / TSN4

Please stay tuned for Balls tomorrow night, and I’ll have my usual pre-recorded musings available on the weekend. Until then,