Nick Canepa

San Diego

Sports Columnist at The San Diego Union-Tribune

San Diego Union-Tribune sports columnist since 1984. Opinions are mine alone. Why would anyone else want them? And, please, as always, no wagering.

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Articles

Nick Canepa: ‘Prime Time’ could hijack first round of NFL Draft

3 weeks ago | sandiegouniontribune.com | Nick Canepa

Sez Me …The draft is about to waft through the NFL’s wide-open window of opportunity. And this one is unpredictable, bud. It’s either going to blow with hurricane force, or not be strong enough to fly a kite. How can it be predictable when the guy shooting the breeze is Deion “Prime Time” Sanders? Deion basically is in control of this lottery’s narrative and destiny.
Nick Canepa: Enough with the sports comparisons already

1 month ago | sandiegouniontribune.com | Nick Canepa

Sez Me …Sports should take a figurative enema and get rid of one word: Comparison. We compare the players. We compare the eras. For the most part, we have no idea what we’re talking about. “Oh, that guy couldn’t play today.”I say, “Yes, he could.” I say, “Well, could this current pitcher who can’t throw more than 50 pitches a game with an ERA of 6.50 get out Williams or DiMaggio?” Forget Williams. By the year 2100, people are going to be asking who was the last baseball player to hit .300.
Nick Canepa: Mid-majors still have a chance, no matter how chalky March has been

1 month ago | sandiegouniontribune.com | Nick Canepa

Sez Me …My warning went out as the madness began. There weren’t going to be many Cinderellas at this ball for aristocrats. So now the NCAA Tournament has reached its Final Four and Two, and not only has a Cinderella been out of sight this spring, the glass slipper has been crushed under the coach’s wheels and the good prince has turned to online dating.
Nick Canepa: College hoops is great, but it’d be better if I was czar

1 month ago | sandiegouniontribune.com | Nick Canepa

Sez Me …Do me a favor. Watch a basketball game and edit it by hand, with a blue pencil, instead of AI. There’s a week left in the NCAA Tournament, which means I’ve watched as much basketball this year than I did at this time last year. Which means the college game. It is far from perfect, but still full of meaning and great passion, especially in March and April.
Nick Canepa: After years of stupidity, Chargers making all the right moves

1 month ago | sandiegouniontribune.com | Nick Canepa

Sez Me … The NFL Team That Used To Be Here _ you know, the Judases/L.A. Lodgers _ has done nothing this NFL offseason. Nothing except help itself. The Judases’ talent pool has been quiet since the start of free agency. No splash. And they had like $90 million in cap space. But, did they have to cannonball into that pool? No, they did not. It’s not over, and they’ve been smart. And not cheap-smart. And still not finished.
Nick Canepa: Absent an overwhelming favorite, NCAA Tournament title is up for grabs

2 months ago | sandiegouniontribune.com | Nick Canepa

Sez Me …March Madness is the most maddening and exhilarating among American sports seasons. We have nothing else to match it in thrill ride unpredictability. There is no vacancy in the Heartbreak Hotel. For around four weeks and beginning Sunday with the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee’s seeding reveal, professional and amateur bettors and lookie-loos will fill out their brackets with all the confidence available, only see them brackets destroyed by next Sunday evening.
Nick Canepa: Presidential intervention could revive Pete Rose’s HOF chances

2 months ago | sandiegouniontribune.com | Nick Canepa

Sez Me …Pete Rose is back. Although he passed away at 83 last September, he never really left. Nor is he likely to, now that baseball’s all-time hits leader’s name is trying to dodge SpaceX debris from the Gulf of America to Cooperstown. Our president is about to pardon Pete, who gambled on games but did time for tax evasion.
Nick Canepa: Quarterbacks a risk that often aren’t worth taking in draft

2 months ago | sandiegouniontribune.com | Nick Canepa

Sez Me …Quarterbacks, NFL quarterbacks specifically, are overrated. I know you think I’ve forgotten to get my anti-stupid vaccination, but if you lay the facts out on the table, QBs are less than more. There’s no question they play the most important position in sports. You are nothing unless you have at least a good QB.
Nick Canepa: Streaming has me steaming, especially now that NFL games may move

2 months ago | sandiegouniontribune.com | Nick Canepa

Sez Me …At my age, “streaming” should have a different physiological meaning and not be as entertaining as simply watching over-the-top-video-on-demand. But the 2025 connotation cannot be avoided. Streaming has left the bathroom and parked in my living room. It is not for everybody, because it costs more money to add to cable and thus, naturally, much more than free TV. But it’s huge.
Nick Canepa: Eagles’ Super Bowl blowout unlike any win I’ve ever seen

2 months ago | sandiegouniontribune.com | Nick Canepa

Sez Me …The Superdome confetti has been vacuumed. Tom Brady has returned his $800,000 watch to the safe. The president has left the building. Taylor Swift is back making billions. The Super Bowl is over. I still can’t get over it. I remain stunned but satisfied, my belt unbuckled as though I’ve put down two Thanksgiving dinners. But I didn’t just watch Eagles-Chiefs as much as I felt it. As though I were out there, a Patrick Mahomes, getting the hell beaten out of me. I’ve been to 30 of these big games.