Throughout the course of this week a phrase has been in my mind. That phrase is “it’s that time of year again.” With daylight saving time ending and the college basketball season beginning.

The start of the college basketball season is among the few nice things about the end of daylight-saving time. Beyond that, it’s a strange time of the year to me. With the sun setting around 6 PM in the Cincinnati area. Along with this, America decides to roll the clocks back the Sunday before election day. Instead of rolling the clock back an hour. Some might think the U.S. rolled the clocks back eight years this week. Whether you think that’s a good or bad thing isn’t the point of this article.

From now through March, fans will often have several games a day of local interest to keep them entertained. Sure, some of these early games will be lopsided or overshadowed by college football. Along with having tournaments in various places to keep up with. Giving fans a diversion in case the Thanksgiving dinner conversation gets weird. Nevertheless, these are fun diversions from the post-election day pundits and earlier sunsets.

Beyond basketball, the Cincinnati Bengals provided another reason to think about time this week. With the Bengals playing on Thursday night. Losing on the road 35-34 to the Baltimore Ravens. It was as Yogi Berra would put it “deja-vu all over again” for the Bengals on Thursday night.

When the Bengals hosted the Ravens back on October 6th. Cincinnati let a lead slip away from them to force overtime. The Bengals took a 24-21 lead into the fourth quarter of that game. The Bengals ultimately lost that game 41-38. Cincinnati did it again on Thursday in Baltimore without facing overtime.

The Bengals took a 21-14 lead into the fourth quarter on Thursday. Baltimore came back on Thursday in practically the same manner they did on October 6^th. The Bengals’ defense didn’t contain Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson in crunch time. Now the Bengals face a mini bye week. With their next game coming up on November 17th.

The Bengals will face the Los Angeles Chargers in California that day. This mini bye gives the Bengals time to rest and practice. As they try to keep their playoff hopes afloat. Heading into this mini bye with a 4-6 record. Putting them into third place in the AFC North standings.

Meanwhile, FC Cincinnati faces a pivotal match this Saturday. Hosting New York City FC in the deciding third game of their MLS Eastern Conference’s quarterfinals. There’s one concern for FC Cincinnati heading into Saturday’s match. Whether FC Cincinnati’s offense is effective enough to advance. FC Cincinnati only managed to score one goal in each playoff match so far. They hosted and won game one in this series 1-0 on October 28th. Then lost 3-1 on November 2nd in New York.

The last time FC Cincinnati scored more than one goal in a match was October 2nd. In a 3-2 win on the road against NYCFC. Outside of that, FC Cincinnati’s offense has been mostly dormant since late September. Saturday’s winner will face the New York Red Bulls in the single-elimination eastern semifinals. The Red Bulls upset the Columbus Crew in their quarterfinal series. If they advance to it, FC Cincinnati will host that match.

So, while we face the early days of the college basketball season. With teams trying to get into the rhythm of the regular season. The Bengals and FC Cincinnati face crunch time. Both facing a sense of urgency heading deeper into November.