There’s no denying that the ALCS is a bigger draw than the NLCS this year. The Yankees always garner eyeballs, New York and Houston have a recent, contentious history, and there is no fence straddling when it comes to the Astros’ cheating scandal. Either they should have a postseason ban like a college basketball program getting barred from participating in March Madness for NCAA violations, or fans should be over it by now.

As for the NLCS, there’s no playoff history between the Phillies and the Padres. If anything, the general feeling toward these two teams is resentment because they prevented three 100-plus-win NL teams from a chance at the World Series. Add in that people are as apathetic toward San Diego as they are spiteful of Philly, and you have a recipe for disinterest. I don’t care about a ratings disaster either. If only big markets are allowed to reach the biggest stage, then why do we have small markets?

If you’ve been paying attention though, the “second-rate” series has had better games. Justin Verlander made sure the Yankees bats stayed quiet in Game 1, and Alex Bregman scored all of Houston’s runs in Game 2 with one swing.

After an NLCS Game 1 pitching duel that was decided by a couple of solo shots from Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber, the Padres rallied from four runs down in a single inning, scoring five runs in the seventh Wednesday to win Game 2, 8-5, and avoid falling into a 2-0 hole.

The second and third NL wild cards were back in action Friday night, and so was the drama. Schwarber stayed hot, hitting a lead-off home run for the Phils in the first. Then, in the fourth, Philly second baseman Jean Segura mishandled a double-play ball that would’ve gotten them out of the inning, instead leading to Juan Soto crossing the home plate for the tying run.

Of course, we all know in baseball that the spotlight has a tendency to find you when you’re hot or cold, and in the bottom of the fourth Segura found himself at the plate with two on and two out. Facing a 1-2 count against Joe Musgrove, he looped a breaking ball over the second baseman for a two-run single that put the Phillies up for good.

The game wasn’t done with him though. The Philly veteran was picked off at first to end that same inning, but made a great diving play to steal a base hit and end the seventh inning. He wasn’t the only player who made errors though, as Soto had a couple of fielding blunders, too. You can argue kicking the ball around the infield and misplaying line drives in the outfield isn’t pretty baseball, which is fine. What you can’t downplay is the fact that it’s action — and the action is the juice.

The most runs scored in a game by the Yankees or Astros this postseason is eight, which happened once, and the second highest output after that is five, which also only happened once. Granted the two NL teams are wild cards and have had more opportunities; between them they’ve combined to put up a nine, two eights, two sevens, two sixes, and three fives in 16 games. The Friars scored five runs in two different innings this postseason, both for comeback wins, and the Phillies hung a six-spot down 2-0 in the ninth inning to beat the Cardinals, 6-3, in Game 1 of that series.

Manny Machado and Harper have been as locked in as any hitters these playoffs, and Schwarber and Soto take the kind of ABs that make opposing fans watch with their eyes half-covered. Philly’s Rhys Hoskins hit a huge home run against Atlanta and Gronk spiked his bat. San Diego’s Trent Grisham and Josh Bell have had their moments and long balls (five dingers between the two of them this postseason).

San Diego and Philadelphia have forced four teams with 406 combined wins into early offseasons, and each of those clubs had stories the public deemed better than theirs. The juggernaut Dodgers, the defending World Series champion Braves, the resurgent Mets, and St. Louis’ three amigos all were unceremoniously sent packing.

Yes, it’s a little weird that the Phillies or Padres will be the NL representative, and goddamn are Philly sports fans hard to deal with right now between this run, the Eagles’ hot start, and the inevitable sad ending to the 76ers’ title hopes still seven months away. I know that Dodgers fans outnumbered Padres fans in L.A.’s trips to Petco until the postseason. And I agree that MLB should expand the early series from three to five in the first round and from five to seven in the divisional round to make it a little harder for the upstarts.

However, I’m begging you, please stop coming up with reasons to overlook the fun that these two teams have contributed to the playoffs. They didn’t make the rules. They’re simply playing whoever’s in front of them (and winning), and in a few days, one will earn a pennant and a shot at a World Series title.

Love it, like it, loathe it, leave it alone, I don’t give a shit. Just accept it so you can enjoy it.

Was it internet trolls or just a limited-time option?

Denver Bronco QB Russell Wilson’s signature sandwich, the “Dangerwich,” is no longer available to customers — though not because of backlash from the cringe-inducing ads, according to TMZ Sports.

Apparently, the chain needed to make way for new items, choosing to scrap “The Vault” exclusive, which debuted in February.

“While The Dangerwich sub left The Vault in August to make room for some new, craveable options, don’t worry, The Dangerwich will be back soon!” a Subway spokesperson said.

After seeing the ads, it’s hard not to believe the response played a part in the hoagie being pulled.

Just listen to the way the former Seahawk signal-caller says, “it’s spicy.” That’s almost enough to make Wilson the worst pitchman in the company’s history.

Greenlighting this spot is like throwing the ball from the 1-yard line — and should be ridiculed accordingly. I also bet the “Dangerwich” — which features pepperoni, salami, ham, banana peppers, and, amongst other things, yellow mustard and mayo — is as putrid as the Bronco’s offense during the team’s 2-4 start.

Wilson is so bland, I imagine the things he considers dangerous to be driving 26 mph in a 25 mph zone, or refusing to hit while holding a five in Blackjack ala Austin Powers. How rebellious.

Champagne isn’t the only thing the Houston Astros are keeping on ice.

Lance McCullers Jr.’s next start — originally scheduled for Game 3 of the ALCS today in the Bronx — has been pushed back until Sunday after getting hit in the elbow bone by a spare bottle of bubbly while celebrating his team’s ALDS triumph over the Seattle Mariners.

The righty told the media on Friday that he’s OK — “just a little bit of swelling” — and he threw a 35-pitch bullpen session.

As for how it happened, the 29-year-old pitcher said he was struck with a bottle as someone walked behind him.

“It was really no one’s fault,” McCullers said of the freak injury. “It was just an accident.

“I was standing there, he was walking by,” the 2017 World Series champ added. “It just happened to hit me in the right spot.”

McCullers had already been on the shelf for a good chunk of the year, not debuting this season until Aug. 13 due to a strain in his right flexor tendon.

The seven-year pro, who missed the entire 2019 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, wasn’t the only pitcher this postseason to incur an odd injury.

Philadelphia Phillies closer David Robertson was left off of his team’s NLDS roster after getting hurt celebrating a Bryce Harper homer. 

Cristian Javier will take the mound in his place for Saturday’s ALCS Game 3 against the New York Yankees. The Astros currently lead the series 2-0.

“To me … this is just going to be another game,” Javier told reporters.

If you can’t beat ‘em, hire the manager that beat you. Yeah! That’s the phrase. At least it is for the Texas Rangers, who successfully courted Bruce Bochy out of three-year retirement to become their new manager. Bochy is best known to Texas as the mafioso who picked them apart in the 2010 World Series with the Giants. He won two more championships in the Bay Area before he left San Francisco after the 2019 season.

Rangers fans will remember how Bochy unleashed the trio of Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, and Madison Bumgarner in that championship tilt, making everyone in the Metroplex jealous that their local professional team has never had a trio of starters like that. Then again, most teams never have. And Bochy’s track record of elevating pitchers at the major-league level addresses the biggest weakness Texas has had since the move to Arlington. Plenty of Ranger teams have been above-average offensively. They could win a game 11-10. It was extremely rare they’d get the job done by only scoring two runs.

After a big-spending offseason, bringing in the middle infield of Corey Seager and Marcus Semien for around $500 million, those pockets will open again with one huge target, Clayton Kershaw. Wooing one of the best pitchers in the world away from the 2020 World Series Champions and the ace from a team that won 111 regular-season games this year will be tough but doable. Wouldn’t that be a huge goal for Bochy in his staff, to maintain the Cy Young quality we’ve seen from Kershaw? The Rangers have dabbled with some of baseball’s best over the years in Yu Darvish, Cole Hamels, and Cliff Lee, with Darvish being the only one with long-term success in Texas. It’d be a turnaround to have Bochy keep Kershaw’s consistency should he court him to the American League.

Turnaround is the key word when describing Bochy’s hire and what the Rangers hope to get from him. He’s the 20th full-time manager for the team since moving out of Washington D.C. and the only one to have won a World Series prior to being hired. Heck, only three Rangers managers ever have led them to a playoff game: Johnny Oates, Ron Washington, and Jeff Banister. With how relevant the Rangers were for most of the last dozen years, what an odd stat.

Bochy will turn 68 early on in his first season managing the Rangers. His age by itself isn’t an issue. Dusty Baker leads the rival Astros, in the midst of their sixth straight ALCS appearance, at 73. Proving the game hasn’t passed him by like it did Tony La Russa is critical early into his tenure. Should Texas deal out more cash to win now — and with a deep farm system — results will be expected quicker than in most posts. Chris Woodward made it three seasons and some change before getting a pink slip. Bochy likely has an even shorter leash should he fail to become the fourth Rangers’ manager to lead the team to the postseason. And that’s the bare minimum expectation. 

There are two NFC teams playing in Week 7 of the NFL season with a winning record. That’s right, one for each middle finger to average gridiron play. There’s only four in total. Two are on a BYE? Philadelphia (6-0) and Minnesota (5-1). Dallas, using mostly a backup quarterback to get to this point, is half of the active pair. And the resurgent New York Giants are somehow the other after a third of the regular season. Everyone else? They’re losers or at .500. 

After staring at the NFL’s slate of games for this weekend for several minutes, I can’t find one truly interesting, must-see matchup, and that’s largely because of how mediocre the NFC has been. You take out arguably the conference’s two best teams from the rotation and everything comes off as inconsequential. Dak Prescott is returning to the Cowboys to host Detroit. It’ll be fun to watch the pair of Thanksgiving Day standard-bearers, but that’s about it. Patrick Mahomes is always appointment television. So what makes this week’s game against the 49ers special if the likely scenario of Christian McCaffrey not playing comes true? Tua Tagovailoa, who sustained a horrific concussion in Week 4,  might return to the lineup for Sunday Night Football against a bland Pittsburgh team.

It hurts the NFL’s slate that this year’s Super Bowl favorites, Buffalo and last season’s champions, the Rams, are also on BYE. Last night’s result, where nine touchdowns occurred compared to the one in the previous eight quarters of Thursday Night Football helps, a little. Even a little sideline Real Housewives-style drama between Kyler Murray and Kliff Kingsbury is good for the league with two losing teams on the field. A decent showing from both the Saints and Cardinals doesn’t save us from a possible Sunday snooze-fest.

The NFL can be saved by things like online sports betting, NFL RedZone and fantasy football. That draws interest from fans from other teams to watch whatever pigskin is flying around. But put on the blinders for a moment and clear your head from fake outrage. With the entire NFC West and NFC South at or under .500, what drives you to watch out-of-market games by themselves? Do you have nothing better to do on a Sunday? It’s most people’s day of rest and I could see how Taylor Heinicke’s return to quarterback Washington could have the same effects as melatonin.

Let’s peruse through the rest of the NFL’s slate. Cincinnati vs. Atlanta might be interesting, with two of the best college quarterbacks of the last decade facing off. And that’s the best we get in the 1 p.m. Eastern block of games. The late-afternoon group usually gets more bang for its buck with having more selective choices. This week, you’ve got three duds and the aforementioned Chiefs vs. 49ers game. Jets-Broncos will be remembered for how Russell Wilson’s dip in form and Nathaniel Hackett’s dumbass made the Jets 4-2. The Raiders will beat the Texans in a game of who sucks less. Chargers-Seahawks appears to be a great watch for a casual fan, but neither of those teams moves any kind of needle for anyone not on the West Coast.

The remaining two matchups that have airtime to themselves all don’t have a winning team. There’s Steelers rookie QB Kenny Pickett trying to adjust to the NFL in the town and stadium where he played college football, and failing to have the same success. We could watch a team on a three-game losing streak where the most interesting thing about them is an off-field transgression involving CTE. And on Monday, it’s the Chicago Bears, who couldn’t score a touchdown against the lowly Commanders 10 days prior and the amazing quarterback battle between Bailey Zappe and Mac Jones. And there was much rejoicing.

The NFL schedules everything several months in advance, I get that and they can’t predict how things will play out. What is within the league’s control is to provide balance to their schedule so slates like Week 7 can’t exist. BYEs happen, teams do better and worse than expected. And it’s the NFL’s job to keep its fanbase engaged regardless of the unpredictability of football. This week is a massive example of how it’s failed to do that. Mediocrity is just another word for boring.

Expecting the college football gods to give us a second helping of last week’s madness is asking a lot. Four undefeated Top-10 schools fell, and three different crowds rushed the field, with the Vols starting a GoFundMe-type deal for their goalposts that were dumped into the Tennessee River.

You don’t dare ask your parents to go back to Disney World a week later, nor is it smart to seek permission from your better half for another guy’s (or gal’s) weekend before the booze from a bachelor (or bachelorette) party in Vegas is even out of your system. The most you can hope for is maybe a trip to the arcade (if those are still a thing), or a round of golf with your work buddies. Let’s not get greedy, and simply be thankful for what we’ve been given.

And that is unbeaten UCLA visiting a one-loss Oregon team. How about another matchup of flawless teams (at least record-wise) in upstart Syracuse looking to knock off ACC overlord Clemson? There’s also the Insufferable Coach Bowl with Brian Kelly’s LSU squad hosting Lane Kiffin’s 7-0 Ole Miss. TCU has its fourth-straight game versus a ranked opponent as Deuce Vaughn and Kansas State come to Fort Worth. Even though Alabama is a 21-point favorite over Mississippi State, the Tide’s pass defense has been shredded by good passing games, and Will Rogers leads the SEC in passing.

It might not be 48 hours of euphoria, and that’s OK. If every weekend was a quest to one-up the last, we’d constantly be let down. It’s like Peter La Fleur said in “Dodgeball”: “I found that if you have a goal, you might not reach it. But if you don’t have one, then you are never disappointed.”

So with that, let’s take a whip around these games.

The spotlight Deion Sanders has brought to historically black college football programs has been unparalleled. Interest is at an all-time high and Sanders has championed multiplying exposure for the talent at HBCU programs. Sanders was specifically referring to the players, but the same sentiments could be said for HBCU coaches. Coaching at HBCUs has always been an impediment to career advancement pre or post-integration. Two seasons into Coach Prime’s metamorphosis of Jackson State football, Power 5 programs such as Nebraska, Georgia Tech, and Auburn are seriously considering him for their respective openings. But he is an anomaly.

Division I HBCU football exists within its own bubble that mainstream college football athletic directors turn a blind eye to. The NCAA and its member conferences have no Rooney Rule. Consequently, few stepping-stone opportunities materialize for black college football coaches, but that’s especially true for HBCU head coaches who are shut out of the coaching carousel. Promotions to Football Bowl Subdivision jobs come with higher salaries, larger staffs, prodigious budgets, more resources, a higher caliber of talent — as well as increased scrutiny. However, for coaching talents lacking Coach Prime’s cachet, those opportunities are rare.

Over a dozen head coaches have been hired for head coaching positions from the FCS level or lower in the last decade. Dino Babers, one of the few black coaches to graduate from FCS football to FBS has Syracuse 6-0. The number of coaches who’ve leapfrogged from even lower levels in Division II or Division III to FBS jobs, outnumber the minority coaches from HBCU conferences who’ve done the same.

Kansas’ hiring of Lance Leipold from Wisconsin-Whitewater where he won multiple Division III titles has been a rousing success. LSU’s Brian Kelly made his name at Division II Grand Valley State before getting plucked away by Central Michigan.

For those entrenched in HBCU football, they have to wander outside the SWAC and MEAC Conferences walls to even get on the mainstream radar. Oftentimes, that means taking a demotion. Howard offensive coordinator Brennan Marion’s “Go-Go” offense put him on the track and his offensive principles have become one of the most studied schemes in the nation. But Marion himself has yet to attain an offensive coordinator position. Last season, he coached the wide receivers at Pittsburgh — where Jordan Addison earned the Fred Biletnikoff trophy, awarded to the best receiver in the country — while this year Marion is the passing game coordinator at Texas. He should at least be an offensive coordinator somewhere by now.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles, who’d prefer we slam shut the discussion on race and coaching now that he’s through the door, took the circuitous route from the defensive coordinator at Morehouse and Grambling State to the NFL. The Eddie Robinson Award, given to the best coach in college football, is named after the most successful coach in HBCU football’s long history. Since the integration of college football, programs at PWIs have gobbled up the talent that used to play at HBCUs, but have declined to hire HBCU coaches.

The only HBCU head coach in the last 60 years hired away by an FBS program was Alcorn State’s Jay Hopson in 2016. This is Jay Hopson.

The hiring of Hopson as the first white head coach in the history of the SWAC Conference created national headlines in 2012. Then, after four seasons, 32 wins, and 17 losses — including his final one to North Carolina A&T in the Celebration Bowl — Hopson was quietly scooped up by Southern Miss.

The winning head coach on the opposing sidelines for Hopson’s last game at Alcorn State was 56-year-old Rod Broadway, In 15 seasons, Broadway compiled a 125-45 record, led A&T to the FCS playoffs and an undefeated season in 2017. He has never been seriously linked to an FBS opening.

FAMU’s Willie Simmons is currently the most popular HBCU coaching prospect not named Deion, but even he’s hit a wall. Simmons, 42, was in the running for the Florida International job after Butch Davis’ contract expired last December. Simmons compiled a 45-21 record, won 24 of 34 games at FAMU despite administrative dysfunction, spearheaded the No. 1 defense in FCS, and guided the Rattlers to a rare FCS playoff berth. Simmons already has connections throughout the fertile recruiting grounds in South Florida. It was a perfect fit. Ultimately, FIU passed over FAMU’s coaching prodigy for a retread in Mike MacIntyre, who last went 30-44 at Colorado.

Ideally, Simmons, who is 13 years younger than Sanders will be offered an FBS job in due time. Sanders may end up as the first, but he shouldn’t be last.

I am guilty, as well as many others, of thinking of the Astros as the same Godzilla offense as they were in 2017, whatever means they used to get there. I hear Astros and think whatever batter they’re sending to the plate sends thousands of Tokyo residents scurrying for cover. And the Astros offense is still quite good, and if Yordan Alvarez were ever to come up in a big spot against a team I genuinely cared about, I’d probably shit out my own tongue.

But what really makes the Astros special these days is that they have produced an oppressive pitching staff. And they seem to have done it with an ethos of figuring out whatever pitch that guy throws best, and telling him to go throw it a fucking ton. And against the Yankees, they’re throwing as many breaking pitches as they can. And they’re up 2-0, having given up just four runs in those two games, so it must be working.

In Game 1 Wednesday night, over half of Justin Verlander’s pitches were a slider or curve, up a slight tick from the 44 percent of his offerings in the regular season. The Yankees whiffed on eight of the 13 sliders he threw. Last night in Game 2, Framber Valdez threw only sinkers or curves for the most part. The Yankees swung at 24 of the 40 curves he threw, and whiffed on 16 of them. Brayan Abreu came in, and 15 of his 19 pitches were sliders. Ryan Pressly has thrown 37 pitches in the first two games and only two were fastballs. He’s gotten eight whiffs on the 19 pitches the Yanks have swung at from him.

It makes sense, as the Yankees tend to mash fastballs pretty hard. As a team, New York slashed .252/.357/.482 against fastballs. Against sliders and curves? Those numbers drop to .221/.282/.401. They can still get to you off the breaking stuff, but it’s the surest way to keep them in the park. And they’re not built to string hits together.

But this is kind of the Astros’ thing. Verlander had never thrown more than 20 percent sliders when he was in Detroit. He’s never thrown less than that in Houston. Gerrit Cole threw more curves in Houston by far than he had in Houston. Valdez throws his sinker which acts as a bowling ball that hitters beat into the ground. Lance McCullers can only throw curveballs or he has to write on the chalkboard after class. They’re not really worried about pitch mix. It’s not that different when the bullpen comes in, as Pressly, Cristian Javier, Abreu, and José Urquidy specialize in throwing breaking pitches over a third of the time. That’s dangerous water for the Yanks.

There likely won’t be much of a reprieve for the Yankees when they return to the Boogie Down tomorrow, as McCullers and his curve and slider are likely to be waiting in Game 3. Only Javier has heavy fastball ways, if he starts in Game 4, then the whole cycle will start all over again. McCullers already gave Yankees fans the willies in Game 7 in 2017 when they couldn’t solve his ways.

The Astros’ production line on the mound is unmatched, and why they’ve remained on top even through the “losses” of George Springer and Carlos Correa (it’s not really a loss when you simply let them walk out the door because they want real money). It’s why they’ve been able to surf the playoff 0-fer that Jose Altuve is currently on. It’s why they have a two-game lead when Alvarez has to have a big moment in this series like he did in the last one.

Could they be cheating on the mound, too? Let’s just say it before everyone else does, led by very bitter Yankees fans who are staring down the barrel of a third ALCS loss to them.