When I pay attention to national (or international) weather forecasts, I'm reminded of how amazing our technology has become to follow storm patterns and track systems across the globe.
As a child, I was fascinated by weather systems. It was my early childhood dream to be a meteorologist, looking at charts and tracking how storms developed and moved across the United States.
Obviously, sports happened to come into my life, thus ending that childhood dream and replacing it with the one where I sit in front of a microphone and yell at you for a living.
I don't get paid to be a weatherman and I am by no means a trained meteorologist, but I think I know what I'm looking at when I see it splashed across my television.
Folks in Florida and throughout the southeastern U.S., please be safe.
So.... that went well yesterday.
Ezekiel Elliott will most likely play this Sunday night when the Dallas Cowboys host the New York Giants in the season opener, but his status beyond that remains in doubt.
Some of that doubt will be alleviated this week when a Texas judge determines whether a temporary restraining order will be granted on the 6-game suspension upheld yesterday by arbitrator Harold Henderson.
The suspension, which was handed down on Aug. 11, states Elliott violated the league's personal conduct policy, citing "persuasive" evidence that Elliott committed physical abuse against Tiffany Thompson, a former girlfriend, at least three times in July 2016.
That "persuasive evidence" however, has been largely in dispute, for a number of reasons.
Thus, Elliott's attorneys as well as lawyers representing the NFL Players Association, are hoping to take their case to court, which would likely allow Elliott to continue to play while the appeals case goes forward.
If all of this sounds eerily similar, it should. The name Brady should come to mind.
So, where do we go from here?
We'll know more on Friday regarding Elliott's future beyond this weekend. My suspicion is -- barring something unforeseen -- Elliott's appeal will be granted and we'll shelve this story for another few months.
Because that's always fun.
Both current and former NFL players have now added their names to the roster of people chiming in on the Colin Kaepernick saga.
And why not? The story does still need to be told.
Newton, who is looking to lead a rebound season as quarterback for the Carolina Panthers, was asked about Kaepernick and whether he should be on an active roster.
"In my opinion, do I think Kaepernick is better than some of these starting quarterbacks in this league? Absolutely. Should he be on a roster? In my opinion, absolutely. There's no question about it. Is he good enough to be on a roster? Is he good enough to be a starting quarterback? Absolutely."
Kaepernick remains unsigned by an NFL team on the eve of the kickoff weekend.
Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller expressed similar thoughts when asked about Kaepernick earlier this week.
"If John Elway and Joe Ellis and the great leadership we have here brought Colin Kaepernick here to our team I'd welcome him with open arms. It would be great to have Colin here. We have a lot of different types of personalities... He's definitely better than a couple of these quarterbacks in the National Football League. There's not 64 quarterbacks that are better than him -- and in the National Football League that's what it's about -- what can you do for me, how can you perform for me on the football field. So, I don't see why he's not on a team."
Meantime, former Baltimore Ravens linebacker and Super Bowl champion Ray Lewis places the blame for Kaepernick's lack of a roster spot not on anything the player did on the field, but on more personal matters.
Lewis told Showtime Television's "Inside the NFL" that a tweet posted by Kaepernick's girlfriend Nessa Diab in early August that halted any opportunity he had of signing a contract with the Ravens.
The tweet compared a picture of Lewis hugging Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti to a scene from the film "Django Unchained," where Samuel L. Jackson's loyal house slave held Leonardo DiCaprio's cruel plantation owner.
Lewis explained how this tweet most likely was the dealbreaker.
"His girl [Kaepernick's girlfriend] goes out and put out this racist gesture and doesn't know we are in the back office about to try to get this guy signed," Lewis said. "Steve Bisciotti has said it himself: 'How can you crucify Ray Lewis when Ray Lewis is the one calling for Colin Kaepernick?'"
Look, I've beat this story to a fine powder. We all know where we stand.
Kaepernick made choices which have affected his ability to work in the NFL.
People both within and outside the NFL have made sure to remind him of those choices.
We'll talk opening NFL weekend storylines with Ryan Van Bibber from SB Nation, we'll talk FedEx Cup Playoffs with Golf News Net's Ryan Ballengee, we've got the first Fox Flush and we'll get our first glance at this weekend in college football.
It's all coming up this morning on FIRST SPORTS, 9am-Noon ET on the I Heart Radio app and on the radio dial at AM1340/93.9FM.