Welcome to this week’s Six Pack! Each week, I’ll share a mix of thoughts (some sports-related, some not) and I’d love for you to jump in with your reactions, ideas, or recommendations in the comments. Here’s what’s on my mind this week.
- More Than A Long Weekend
I love Memorial Day weekend. The weather turns, pools open, kids are out of school, and summer starts to feel real. It is a long weekend that brings relaxing, grilling, a few drinks, and if you are my wife, plenty of yardwork too.
For a long time, I appreciated the weekend for those reasons alone. But a few years ago, I had a long conversation with someone who lost their son in the line of duty, and it changed how I think about this day. Honestly, it is a shame it took that conversation to shift my perspective, but it did. That same day I went out and bought an American flag. We fly it often in the summer, and always on Memorial Day weekend.
My wife is from Worthington, Ohio, and they host one of the best Memorial Day parades I have ever attended. Jamie took me a few years ago, and it was not only great for the kids, but also a meaningful and respectful tribute. It was a powerful reminder of what this weekend is really about.
So while I know you will see plenty of Facebook posts with similar messages this weekend, I still wanted to start this week’s Six Pack by saying thank you. Thank you to the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice so the rest of us can enjoy weekends like this, and every other day we get to live free in this great country.
2. A Hidden Gem Called Six
Keeping with the military theme but shifting to the fictional side, I have to share a TV show my daughter and I recently stumbled upon. It is called Six, which aired on the History Channel back in 2017 and 2018. The show follows a Navy SEAL unit through their missions and home lives, and I was not quite sure what to expect going in. But not long after I started watching, I was hooked.
There is plenty of action, military brotherhood, arguments, bonding, family tension, and, of course, a steady stream of bad guys both foreign and domestic. It balances the intensity of combat with the emotional weight of life at home, and it does it well.
Season 1 ends on a major cliffhanger, and Season 2 picks up right away. That second season also ends a little unexpectedly, but even so, I would absolutely recommend this series to anyone who liked Homeland, Jack Ryan, or really anything in that military-thriller genre. Eighteen total episodes and it is well worth the watch.
3. The Fading Glory of the Indy 500
When I was in fifth grade and living in Michigan, my best friend bragged about going to Indianapolis for Memorial Day weekend to see the Indy 500 with his family. I remember being so jealous and thinking, why doesn’t my family do cool stuff like that? I ended up watching the race on TV with my dad that weekend, wishing I could be there and thinking how lucky my friend was. The Indy 500 felt like a massive deal, and I was convinced I would go someday.
It is now 2025 and I have lived less than two hours from the Speedway for the past 35 years. And yet, I currently have no real urgency to go.
The three favorites to win this year were Pato O’Ward, Alex Palou, and Josef Newgarden. Palou ended up winning and apparently Newgarden had won the last two. The sad thing is I had never heard of any of them. When I was growing up, names like A.J. Foyt, Al Unser, Bobby Unser, Rick Mears, and of course Mario Andretti were not just racing stars, they were part of the larger sports conversation. These were names everyone knew.
Somewhere over the past few decades, the Indy 500 lost that mainstream buzz. Yes, they still pack in hundreds of thousands of fans, and I have no doubt the in-person experience is a great time. But for a race that started in 1911 and once sat near the top of every American sports fan’s bucket list, it just does not hold the same weight anymore.
Honestly, is there another American sporting event that has lost more national prestige over the past 30 years than the Indy 500? I am not sure there is.
4. The CFP Finally Got It Right
The College Football Playoff is officially changing, and for once, the decision makes sense.
Starting this year, the CFP will move to a straight seeding format for the new 12-team bracket. This means no more automatic top-four seeds for conference champions. Teams will now be seeded 1 through 12 based on their rankings, with the top four earning byes. Conference champs will still get financially rewarded, but the seedings will actually reflect on-field performance, not just affiliations.
This is a welcome change, especially after last year. The 2024 playoff gave us 11 games and only two were decided by single digits. Two! That is not playoff drama, that is bad football. And for a format many fans spent years begging for, it was a letdown.
So I am all for this. Reward the best teams, create better matchups, and let the rankings actually matter. This won’t fix everything, but it is definitely a step in the right direction. And hopefully, it spares us from another disaster like last year’s postseason.
5. Wait, Journey Never Had a #1 Hit?
I recently came across an article listing ten bands the writer could not believe never had a top 10 hit. Some of the names did not surprise me. Metallica is an all-time great, but never really a mainstream singles band. Nirvana helped define my college years, but even with their cultural impact, I am not sure they had the broad chart appeal to land a number one. And while I love both ZZ Top and AC/DC, I’m not sure many of their singles had a shot.
But three names on the list did shock me: Journey, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and Led Zeppelin.
Journey had 19 Top 40 hits, the second-most in history without a number one (trailing only Electric Light Orchestra, which also surprised me. ELO had way more time on the charts than I realized). Open Arms peaked at number two, and Don’t Stop Believin’, arguably their most iconic song, only reached number nine.
CCR is even more baffling. Between 1969 and 1971, they rattled off 14 consecutive Top 10 singles, including Fortunate Son, Proud Mary, and Lookin’ Out My Back Door. And still, not one reached number one.
And then there is Led Zeppelin. Widely considered one of the greatest rock bands of all time, they had just one Top 10 hit. Whole Lotta Love reached number four in 1970. That is it. I would have lost a bar bet on that one.
By the way, if you enjoy this kind of music nostalgia, check out our most recent podcast (episode #40 is titled Voice of an Angel), where in one of our segments we count down our Top 5 one-hit wonders of all time. Our co-host Pat Klett sings snippets of every song, often in hilarious alternate voices and I think you will enjoy it.
6. Pacers are Fun, but the Thunder are a Problem
I am not the biggest NBA fan, but I do enjoy the playoffs, especially when there are compelling storylines. Knicks vs Pacers feels like a throwback and brings up great memories of Reggie vs Spike in the 90s. I loved that rivalry back then. The Pacers are up 2-1 in the series, and despite the Knicks becoming the first team since 1998 to notch 3 20 point comebacks in the same postseason, Indiana feels like the team to come out of the Eastern Conference. They are feisty, hungry, and they believe they can win it all, which is a dangerous combination for any opponent.
But for my friends who are Pacers fans, I have to say I do not see anyone beating this year’s Oklahoma City Thunder in a seven-game series. They have been dominant all year. They became just the seventh team in history to win 68 games, outscored opponents by 1,055 points in the regular season (the most ever), went 29-1 against the Eastern Conference with the only loss coming in overtime at Cleveland, and had 51 wins by double digits.
They also have the league MVP in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who has been virtually unstoppable.
That said, my eyes did open a bit on Saturday night when the Timberwolves handed the Thunder a 42-point loss. If Oklahoma City goes on to win the title, that would be the largest margin of defeat ever suffered by an eventual NBA champion in the playoffs.
So maybe they are not invincible. But my money is still on the Thunder, and I have a feeling I will not be disappointed.
Thanks for checking out this week’s Six Pack, Sandman Nation! I’d love to hear your thoughts: what resonated with you, what you disagree with, or your own takes on these topics. Drop your comments and let’s keep the conversation going.
If you liked this one, here are some other recent Six Packs to check out:
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