Couch potato season begins – what are you watching?

With colder weather hitting northwest Ohio, the time for sports watching heads indoors. To be fair, if there is a sporting event on TV that I want to see during warm weather months, the couch is a welcoming place. In my case I'm not sure there is a couch potato "season" but one might feel a little less guilty about whiling away time in front of the tube in the winter.Believe it or not, my wife enjoys watching things other than sports on television. Yeah, I don't get it either, but each to their own. We do watch Jeopardy together every evening and I choose not to tell you who is the better player. It's a tie – right honey?A week ago yesterday I made my way to Columbian High School to take in a girls basketball game. Bellevue topped the Tornadoes in a game that was interesting for this old girls basketball coach. I enjoyed the game. Sitting on the bleachers for a couple of hours… not so much.By Saturday the couch was beckoning and I would spend the rest of the weekend taking in the action. What sports was I watching, you ask? Well, I think I have just enough time (and space) to tell you.Much of Sunday was devoted to the NFL. My fantasy league was the main reason for tuning in. Watching the dreadful Cleveland Browns would be akin to sitting on those bleachers. Painful is the term that comes to mind.As for the games, there were several teams that got behind by double digits only to come back to win the game. Alas, the Browns were not among them. Many games had serious playoff implications, but the real story last Sunday may just have been the injuries suffered by a couple of league standouts.The dreaded torn ACL struck in two different games and the names of those players were significant. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was the first victim and the loss by Kansas City meant they would not be going to the playoffs this season. It would be the first time in 14 years that K.C. would be absent from the post season.Browns fans can not comprehend that statistic and have little sympathy for Chiefs fans. Welcome to our world!The second player to suffer a torn ACL was the Green Bay Packers edge rusher Micah Parsons. His absence will hurt the Pack's chances at success, but they will be heading to the playoffs. Next man up anyone?I also took in some golf this past weekend. The Grant Thornton Invitational was held in Naples, Florida. This event pairs a PGA player with a LPGA partner. Sixteen teams make up the field and notable names in the event included Lexi Thompson, Jason Day, Charlie Hull, Wyndham Clark, Brooke Henderson, the Korda sisters, Billy Horschel and Lydia Ko.The format consisted of a scramble on Day 1, with alternating shots on the second day. It was that Saturday play that got most of my attention. My buddies and I used to play an alternation shot format for six holes during one day of our Ft. Wayne golf trip. It is both pressure packed and hilarious as you do not want to let your partner down.I once hit my drive into a pond and while my playing partner was searching the rough for the ball I located it. My opponent came up when I spotted it and, noting that it was near the edge of the ground in shallow water, he pointed out that I could play it if I wanted to entertain the clients. My response… "it's not my shot!"It was interesting to hear the announcers point out how even the pros did not want to leave their partners in the lurch. I get it!Finally the sport that had me watching with more intensity than any other was the NCAA's volleyball regional championships. Sixteen teams would vie for the regional title at four sites. The number one seed in each regional would host the games. Fair or not, that is how it is done.The four top seeds were Pitt, Kentucky, Texas and Nebraska. The Panthers and Wildcats held service (get it), took care of business and moved to this week's finals. The other two regional tilts would go down to the wire.Texas would play Wisconsin in the Austin Regional Final. With former NFL lineman Marcus Spears in attendance to watch his daughter perform with the Longhorns, the Badgers were not intimidated. That man is huge and would have definitely made me nervous. His daughter is pretty good too.Alas, Wisconsin prevailed in five sets and we won't get to see Mr. Spears this week.In the last regional, Nebraska was undefeated and ranked number one in the country. They were heavily favored in their match up against Texas A&M. The Aggies took the first two games 25-22 before Nebraska took game three 25-20. It was the fourth gamethat had everyone on the edge of their seats. Exchanging points throughout the match, Nebraska would eventually win by a score of 37-35. What a breathtaking game. A&M would come back in the deciding set to win the title by a 15-13 score.The semifinals were contested Thursday with Texas A&M defeating #1 Pitt 3-0 and Kentucky topping Wisconsin 3-2. The Aggies have a chance to beat a #1 seed for the third time in a row and secure a national championship. The game takes place Sunday afternoon.If you want to tune in, get the remote handy as there are some NFL games being played at the same time. Of course, if you are watching something else – that's OK too. Not everyone has the same interests.Hey, gotta go. It's time for Jeopardy!