All’s clear

Not a cloud in the sky.

Like most of you, my life is super busy. So much so, I rarely get a chance to update The Rainout Blog for the seven people who visit this blog. (That number may be a bit inflated.)

Often, a sports/weather event will occur or be forecasted – remember: Game 3 of the ALDS was rained out – and I’ll cringe just a little because there’s no time to grab the laptop and write a post and share a photo or two.

Today, I have a little free time. So, what’s happening? Nothing.

Weather in Kansas City for the first two games of the World Series have been perfect.

We have Thursday night NFL action in Denver, where it looks like there will be a better chance of Peyton Manning NOT adding to his touchdown record than there is a chance of rain drops or snowflakes – you never know in Denver.

The low in the Mile High city tonight will be around 48. It’ll be a little chilly, but it shouldn’t be enough to affect Manning’s performance. He’s not a cold-weather quarterback, ya know?

There are a couple of college football games scheduled for tonight. Miami travels to Blacksburg for an ACC showdown – more likely a “letdown” for the home team – with Virginia Tech. Temps will dip to the mid 40s, which is about as cold as the Hokies’ offense.

You’ll see about the same weather conditions in Greenville, North Carolina if you tune into tonight’s East Carolina home game with Connecticut. (Why would you do that?)

And you know what? Sunday’s NFL slate looks pretty unspectacular too, meaning no rain, no mud, no snow, no fog… no nothin’.

More Manning, more cold... this is getting old

Hey, guess what. Our guy Peyton Manning gets yet another chance tonight to prove he’s a winner in cold weather. That’s right, Manning and his Broncos host the ‘Bolts from sunny San Diego in tonight’s NFL Network Thursday night game.

Temperatures throughout the game should be in the mid 30s with no chance of precipitation … blah, blah, blah. Oh, I should mention that with a mild wind, it will feel like low 30s.

(That’s warmer than it was at my house this morning, but then I didn’t have big defensive linemen chasing me down looking to knock snot bubbles out of my nose.)

I don’t think Manning and the Broncos will have much trouble with the Chargers on a clear, but cold night in Denver. I can see it being one of those games where the Broncos’ defense gives up a lot of yards and points, but the Denver offense scores a lot more.

I’m not in the prediction business, but I’ll say Broncos 45 Chargers 31.

Upon further review... Opps! I really should stay out of the prediction business. Chargers 27 Broncos20

Peyton says 'shove it'

Associated Press

If you think Peyton Manning can’t win cold weather games, you can shove it!

That’s what the Denver Broncos’ quarterback, notorious for his struggles in the elements, said to a Denver radio station Sunday after tossing for 397 yards and four touchdowns in a 51-28 victory over Tennessee.

“Whoever wrote that narrative can shove that where the sun don't shine," Manning said to KAO-AM in Denver.

Manning, who obviously is sick of the notion that his play cools with the outdoor temps, is apparently fed up with the criticism. Sunday’s win gets him to 11-12 in games when the temperature is 40 degrees or below. The kickoff temperature Sunday in Denver dipped below 20.

Sunday's win for Manning at home over the mediocre Titans is nice for now, but the QB still has a way to go to prove he's not simply a fair-weather competitor. The Broncos host the Chargers Thursday night – I'm guessing it's going to be cold on a December night in Denver – plus they're likely to host a couple of playoff games in the Mile High city in January.

If he passes those tests, then one big one remains. This year, the biggest game of all, the Super Bowl, will be played outside in New Jersey. If you believe the Farmer's Almanac – I don't – the game could look a lot like Philadelphia did on Sunday.

If Manning can get past those – particularly the final three – every one of his critics should take his suggestion and shove it in a not-so-sunny place.

-- cold --

Titans say let it snow

Associated Press

So, the Tennessee Titans are hoping for a blizzard Sunday when they venture a mile high into the sky to face the Broncos in Denver.

You know, because Peyton Manning simply stinks in cold and inclement weather.

Well, as my friend Corky used to say, the Titans can hope in one hand and @#$% in the other and see which one gets full faster.

Oh sure, the weather is going to be hellacious in Denver Sunday – the forecasts is calling for a high of 20 and a low of 6 with a chance of snow – but the mediocre 5-5 Titans are going to need more ammunition than a little cold and snow to stop Manning and the Broncos’ industrial strength offense.   

“Hopefully it’s a big snowstorm and it will give us a great chance to win,” said Titans coach Mike Munchak.

Yeah, because when it’s not-freezing cold outside, the Titans are like a raider in the autumn winter wind. 

They’ll knock you ‘round and upside down and laugh when they’ve conquered and won.

Oh, wait. I must be thinking about another team.

According to a story in The Tennessean, the baby blue-clad boys from Nashville have been outscored 89-21 in the last two games they’ve played when temperatures have dipped below freezing at kickoff. The last was a 55-7 trouncing from the Packers nearly a year ago in Green Bay.

But, Munchak wasn’t talking about freezing cold. He said “snowstorm.”

Ok, let’s hop into our mental time machine and think back to when we last saw the Titans play in snow. Oh, yeah. It was 2009 when the Super Bowl-bound Patriots dropped the Titans 59-0. Tom Brady threw six touchdowns.

Good luck, Titans. Don’t let the snow fort door hit you on the can on your way out of Denver.

-- snow --

Tebowing in the Rain? Not in the Sunday Forecast

Yep. I'm trying to capitalize on Tebow Mania, too.

Hey, you know what would be great for increasing page views to The Rainout Blog?

Rain in Denver Sunday when the Broncos host the New England Patriots, that’s what.

I’m not above capitalizing on Tebow Mania, ya know.

Alas, (I can’t believe I just wrote the word “alas”) the Sunday forecast for Denver calls for a sunny day with a high temperature around 51 and only a 10 percent chance of rain.

Crap!

Oh, well. I’ll just put Tebow’s name in the tags below and watch the page views roll up like the QB’s passing yards. Wait. I’m already at that pace. Never mind.

By the way, the above photo was taken during Florida’s 45-15 win over Florida State on Nov. 29, 2008, when 1.34 inches of rain fell on Doak Campbell Stadium  in Tallahassee. Tebow passed for three touchdowns that day.

Snow Is A No Go

I'm going to be a way for a bit and I hate to leave a soccer story atop the blog. Nothing against soccer, but that last item (See below) was not the most exciting story ever posted here. With that said I'll leave you with the forecast for tonight's Monday Night Football game between the Broncos and Packers in the Mile High City. Alas, no snow… and no World Series Game 5. Skies will be partly cloudy when you tune in for kickoff tonight with low temperatures in the 50s. There's a 10 percent chance of precipitation. In other words, nothing's gonna fall from the sky except maybe a SkyCam. Oh, wait. That was NBC. Never mind.

You Are Not Looking Live

The possibility of rain and therefore rain delays existed last night in Cleveland for Game 4 of the ALCS, and I, a dude who operates a sports/weather blog, was all set to do my first ever live blog of the event. I was sitting on my couch with my laptop on my, uh, lap and eating popcorn left over from Sunday's Patriots at Cowboys game. However, before Paul Byrd could finish his warm-up pitches, my wife and two kids quickly reminded me that I sort of have a life and the words "live blogging" did not, and could not ever exists in my universe.

Speaking of blogs, my favorite blogger, sports media and business columnist Neil Best of Newsday in New York, has gotten into the sports weather spirit today with a post about the Rockies and Broncos possibly playing on the same night (Oct. 29) in Denver. The Broncos have a game that Monday night, and the Rockies are scheduled to play Game 5 of the World Series, if it goes that far, at Coors Field. Best is looking forward to the possibility of an October snow storm in the Mile High City that night, making for a "highly entertaining TV evening," he said.