Football season arrives

The 2014 gridiron season is upon as college and professionals tee it up along with high schools engaging in their scrimmage contests this week.

Green Bay will be playing the Seattle Seahawks tomorrow in the official opening of the professional season. The game will be a rematch of the 2012 game which was billed as the "Failed Mary" pass.

There were 8 seconds left in the game with the Packers holding a narrow lead. A Seahawk "Hail Mary" pass went into the end zone but the receiver was covered by Green Bay. The Seahawk player pushed the defender to the ground and caught the pass, a most obvious offensive pass interference viewed by millions on TV. If the officials don't call it, and they didn't, the lack of a call gave Seattle the win as the clock ran out. Officials reviewed the play and shockingly enough, they allowed the score, saying that the way the rules were written, they could not overturn the play.

The Kansas City Chiefs will be hosting the Tennessee Titans Sunday with the St. Louis Rams also at home. A Chiefs fan since my youth, I enjoyed last season's winning campaign albeit coming in a soft schedule. Their schedule is much tougher this year and I hope the resurgent Chiefs can keep the winning going.

Razorback fans are upbeat and excited as they see an improved team, hoping for an upset when the Hogs take on highly ranked Auburn. Arkansas went winless in the SEC last season for the first time in history, getting smacked pretty good by SEC champion Auburn in the process.

The Tigers are heavy favorites to beat Arkansas again, ranked by many in the top six of the nation after losing a squeaker to Florida State in last year's national championship game. While I believe that Bret Bielema is a really good coach and that he will make the Hogs a much better team in '14, I personally believe that Auburn coach and Arkansas native Gus Mahlzahn is a better coach with better and more experienced talent. Auburn should win and could win by a wide margin, though college football can be unpredictable.

I think the Hogs will win most of their games this year and make it to a bowl game, but it is rough starting the year with Auburn.

Several SEC teams are starting out with tough games on their schedule. South Carolina is ranked ninth nationally and they are taking on No. 21 Texas A&M. Game coach Steve Spurrier thinks he might have his best team ever at SC while the Aggies are in their first year post Johnny Manziel season, now with the Cleveland Browns.

No. 12 Georgia is battling No. 16 Clemson in their opener while No. 13 Louisiana State is testing No. 14 Wisconsin. This many games involving ranked teams will be certain to jumble the national rankings in the early going.

No. 24 ranked Missouri will have an easy game with South Dakota State with No. 2 Alabama expected to easily win in their game with West Virginia. The Mountaineers, though, have been known to pull the major upset from time to time.

Closer to home, the Blackhawks scrimmaged Greenland on Monday to have a dress rehearsal prior to their opener with Elkins at home next week. Greenland was expected to be a decent team this season, so the 'Hawks most likely made the most from their opportunity.

Injuries have taken a little away from the Blackhawks' offensive arsenal, but they have enough to be effective until the team can be at full strength further into the season. The schedule's final game with Shiloh will likely be the most important game of the season with playoff implications riding on the outcome.

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Editor's note: John McGee is an award-winning columnist and sports writer. He is the art teacher at Pea Ridge elementary schools, coaches elementary track and writes a regular sports column for The Times. He can be contacted through The Times at [email protected].

Sports on 08/27/2014