Hurricane Joaquin is baring down on the Eastern seaboard, and right now, people aren’t quite sure which way the tropical storm is going to travel. At least, the experts differed in opinion as of last night. This is a very fluid situation. It could be upgraded to a Category 4 storm by the time you read this, but downgraded to a Category 1 by the time it makes landfall, which should be in the Carolinas or Virginia sometime Monday.
Hurricane Joaquin is a major national weather event that will impact several states; far beyond the eastern seaboard and south. The Midwest will get slammed with torrential downpours.
Here’s the latest projection from the Weather Channel.
Track of #Joaquin shifted east, whether it makes landfall or not, #flooding major issue https://t.co/jBtYV57Z3A pic.twitter.com/kDNt1gRu8y
— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) October 1, 2015
Although Hurricane Joaquin is a serious situation, you have to see this Joaquin Phoenix joke, you new the internet was going to come up with some punchline along those lines, and this doesn’t disappoint.
Here's the latest storm track for #Joaquin pic.twitter.com/QGOMZi9sdw
— Doug Mataconis (@dmataconis) October 1, 2015
All the rain will have a huge impact on Big Ten football games, as Saturday is the day that conference play truly begins in full force for the league. (Here’s a really interesting survey of Big Ten football players about who their least favorite opponents are by the way)
Via a press release from Big Ten Network:
“Due to the potential impact of Hurricane Joaquin, Saturday’s University of Maryland football game against No. 22 Michigan will now be played at noon ET on BTN. The game was previously scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.
The Minnesota at Northwestern game will remain in the noon ET window.”
The Big Ten has been in counsel with Maryland and Michigan throughout the week on the course of Hurricane Joaquin and its possible effects on Saturday’s game. The three entities agreed that moving the game time was the appropriate decision.
“The weather experts are still dealing with uncertain probabilities for the course of Hurricane Joaquin,” said Michigan A.D. Jim Hackett.
“Thus we remain vigilant on developments and will err on the side of safety for all participants and fans.”
More changes in start times due to Hurricane Joaquin. Via the University of Illinois Sports Information Department:
“In addition, the Nebraska at Illinois contest will now kick off at 4:02 p.m. ET/3:02 p.m. CT on BTN. The game was originally slated to begin at 3:42 p.m. ET/2:42 p.m. CT but will now start 20 minutes later to accommodate any potential weather-related delays in earlier games.”
On another Hurricane Joaquin sidebar, the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina led to this must read piece from FOX Sports about a high school football team destined for greatness; until the category five storm hit, the levees broke, and their lives were forever changed. It’s an account of surreal events as candidly told by members of a high school football team that resided in the ninth ward of New Orleans, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
An excerpt from Flinder Boyd’s “The Lost Season”:
All summer under the most extreme Louisiana heat, Carver head coach Ricky Williams — or Coach Ricky, as he was known — worked his players past the point of exhaustion. They would arrive at the practice field at 6 a.m. and wouldn’t get home until close to 10 p.m. — every day. In July they dominated two statewide 7-on-7 tournaments. Their entire lives revolved around the upcoming season.
“We were going to win state that year,” defensive end Brad Watkins said. “It was going to change our lives.”
When the players arrived on campus before the Jamboree, they made their way to the cafeteria, a spacious room with six long rows of tables. Spaghetti marinara and cold cut sandwiches were laid out.
The offense took one table. Tailback Terrance Salvant was there, and speedy Corey McKnight — names that should have been etched into the folklore of the Ninth Ward. Larry Congress — “Fat Boy,” they called him — was on the end. He was ranked one of the best quarterbacks in Louisiana.
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and sometimes writes The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. The website is also featured on News Now.
Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes to the Chicago Tribune RedEye. He also appears regularly on numerous talk shows all across the country. Catch him Tuesdays on KOZN 1620 The Zone.
Follow him on Twitter and Instagram