Stud and Scrub of the Week

Greetings No Scrubs Allowed faithful!  Travis is in the midst of a move and was not able to record this weekend, but we did not leave you without sports content, so we’re going back to our old roots with a written form of our longest running segment, the Stud and Scrub of the Week!

We start in the city of Tampa, located in West Florida for those that are directionally challenged. Ironically enough, that is where the University of South Florida plays.  The USF Cows…I mean Bulls…were predicted to lose to at home to Houston by yours truly on last week’s podcast as one of my upset picks. Well, the Green and Yellow Heifers did not disappoint, getting beaten in last minute fashion in front of the half empty Raymond James Stadium by the Cougars to ruin their perfect season.  If there is any solace for USF fans, it is that they were out done on Sunday by Jameis Winston of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  Playing in the same stadium but with double the fans, Winston laid an absolute egg in a game the Bucs had to win to have any fighting chance of getting back into the playoff race.  Instead, he led Tampa Bay to a 17-3 loss to the Carolina Panthers.  Jameis finished 21 of 38 for 210 yards, 0 touchdowns, 2 interceptions, and 1 fumble lost.  Altogether, that gave the 3rd year signal caller a pathetic QBR of 7.4 for the day.  This is the icing on the cake of an extremely disappointing campaign for Winston and the Bucs. One has to wonder if he will ever be the guy to lead the Bucs back to relevance.  What we don’t have to guess any longer is his current status: Scrub of the Week.

Our focus now turns to the NBA hardwood where a longtime All Star had what might have been his best week in the pros both in the winning column and in responding to the circumstances he was facing.  C/PF DeMarcus Cousins of the New Orleans Pelicans took his game to another level.  His first game of the week on Tuesday against the Portland Trail Blazers was great statically despite the Pelicans dropping the contest 103-93; Cousins shot 12 of 23 from the field, knocked down 12 of 17 free throws to finish with 39 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks, and 1 steal. Now, if the narrative ended here, it would seem silly talking about Cousins; after all, the Pelicans lost. However, what he did next was nothing short of extraordinary. Traveling back to Sacramento for the first time since last year’s trade, Cousins put up a ridiculous line of 41 points, 23 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 block, 1 steal as the Pelicans knocked off the Kings 114-106. It is never easy to go back to your old home and dominate like that; it requires harnessing your emotions and focus into the game.  If that wasn’t impressive enough, Cousins turned around two nights later and dropped 29 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists, and 3 steals on LeBron James and Co., leading New Orleans to a 123-101 victory over Cleveland.  With Halloween tomorrow, perhaps it’s only appropriate that the man who goes by ‘Boogie’ would play the best basketball of his career against “the King” and the Kings of Sacramento.  So without further adieu, congratulations to DeMarcus ‘Boogie’ Cousins on winning Stud of the Week.  As Travis would agree, it’s time for Boogie to play at this stud level year round; he has too much talent not to.