I post for Officer Guy as he is presently stationed in Qatar and can't post from the wasteland...
That being said, I hope they lose. The Giants came as close to beating them as anyone else has this year (remember the great match up in Wk17 that prevented Brady and Moss from getting to take a seat?), and stand a good chance of beating them this time around. Brady had a less-than-stellar performance against the Chargers and Moss only had one catch and one run for a total of about 30 yds. The Giants defense is not going to be timid and their offense should be able to brutalize the front line and run down the clock with Brandon Jacobs.
If Eli can play like he has so far in the playoffs, the Pats will be in poor shape to stop the NYG.
Then we get into the discussion about where this NE team ranks among the all-time greats. If they win, they are no doubt, bar none, hands down the best team ever. Their numbers and record don't lie, and they flat out embarrassed all but a few teams on their way to 18-0. However, if they lose it would hard to rank them anywhere in the top 42. They would be the best "also ran" in history, but the Lombardi Trophy is required for greatness. Great teams do not finish second.
It is my sincerest wish that NE loses next weekend and that we can push them out of our memories as a team that should-a and could-a but didn't. I love Junior Seau and do want him to get a ring, but I can't root for any team that cheated early in the season (signal stealing) to go down as the best of all time. Oh yeah, and Tom Brady played at Michigan.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Monday, January 21, 2008
Death of the Classic
Well after forgetting about this for nearly two months, it's time to come back to writing. A few minutes ago, OTL First Report did a quick story about the Chicago Cubs, who are in the process of being sold/looking to be sold/looking to be offloaded by the Tribune Corp. because the paper ain't what it used to be. Thing is that they are activly seeking naming rights for Wrigley Field. That's right, the one steadfast landmark in the age of the new spaceage stadia is going corportate. Now, I'm not stupid. I know that money makes the game go and the Cubs seem to be a little cash-strapped as of late. But to sell off Wrigley Field? They're cross-town rivals did the same thing a few years back when New Comiskey Park became U.S. Cellular Field. Comiskey, by the way, was the original owner of the White Sox and his name had been attached to the Sox home field since 1909 when he built the damn thing. Anyway, I am a bit of a baseball purist and this annoys me to no end. The over-corporatism is a necessary evil, but I can still complain about it. Besides, no matter what they call it, I refuse to call it anything but Wrigley. Just like it's the Gund not the Q.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
The Mitchell Report
The sporting world has been set ablaze by the release of the Mitchell Report on steroid use in baseball this afternoon. I have been listening to former Senator Mitchell, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig and the talking heads on ESPN. While all of this is expert analysis from sports journalists, I plan on withholding my opinions here, for now. As I write this, I am printing out the entire 409-page report for my consumption and as I slog through it, I will give my personal analysis here as well as my thoughts on what this means to the future of baseball as well as professional sports in this country. Stay tuned for more in the coming days as this will probably take me at least a week to effectively get through it.
Read this thing for yourself at espn.com.
It's currently on the front page as a .pdf file.
Also, you can download it from The Smoking Gun.
Read this thing for yourself at espn.com.
It's currently on the front page as a .pdf file.
Also, you can download it from The Smoking Gun.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Conflicted Ideas
So, I've spent the last few days arguing with myself over whether or not Ohio State backed into the BCS Title Game. And they did, true story, but only because everyone else above them couldn't handle their business. BTW, join me in spreading this one... from now on, choking and blowing a sure thing will be known as pulling a WV. Just throwing it out there.
But I fear that Ohio State will be run under the SEC buzzsaw again on January 8. Granted, they have an improved defense over last year, but I'm afraid to see LSU's offense just run over the Bucks. Other bowl thoughts: I was happy to see the Illiini get the Rose Bowl bid out of nowhere. I know many people are not with me here, but I am a tradition guy when it comes to the bowls. The BCS pissed me off on that principal, period. But the fact that they kept the PAC-10/Big-10 tradition going, rather than going with an Arizona State or a Florida. When I posed this point of view about the BCS to another sports guy at my station last night, guess what conversation popped up? A playoff. But here's how we agreed it could work. This Saturday is Dec. 8. The first bowl is the Poinsetta Bowl on Dec. 20. So there's two weekends in between the end of the regualr season where there is no college football at all. Ok, well there's no D-IA football. BTW, if you get a chance to catch any of the I-AA Quarters, watch it for the pure enjoyment of football. Anyway, here's how you can keep the current bowl structure, the current payout structure, while keeping purists, like me, as happy as we can be while crowning something much closer to an undisputed champion, as well as keeping the regular season relavant, ney, even more important. And I'll use this year's final BCS standings for an illustration.
Taking into account everything that stands in the way of a playoff, money, and all of the logistics and such, here's what my playoff proposal would look like if implicated this year.
Dec. 8 - Regional Quarterfinals (Sites selected much like the basketball regionals)
East - #4 Kansas vs. #5 West Virginia
West - #4 USC vs. #5 Hawaii
Dec. 15 - Regional Semifinals
East - #4/5 Winner vs. #1 Ohio State
#2. Virginia Tech vs. #3 Missouri
West - #4/5 Winner vs. #1 LSU
#2. Oklahoma vs. #3 Georgia
Jan. 2 - Fiesta Bowl - West Regional Final
#2/3 Winner vs. #1/4/5 Winner
Jan. 3 - Orange Bowl - East Regional Final
#2/3 Winner vs. #1/4/5 Winner
Jan. 14 - BCS National Championship Game
West Region Winner vs. East Region Winner
The regional finals would rotate, the West bouncing from the Fiesta and Rose every other year and the East going back and forth from the Orange and the Sugar. This way tradition can still be a part and we can get an undisputed champion. The non-tournament BCS bowls could then pick up a team that was knocked out of the tournament in the first two weeks or pick early and take a non-title tourney team. The current bowl system remains pretty much untouched, so that all of the secondary bowls get their money, the big schools get paid for being good, there's the mystique of the basketball tournaments because unlike football now, every single team in I-A starts the year with a shot at the National Championship. You can't tell me that right now, North Texas or New Mexico State kick off in the first weekend of September thinking that they have a shot. Realistic or not, all 119 teams have an open path to the title game to start the season. For the majority of them, the door will close within the first month, but it's still there where it's not now. As we speak, all of the Sun Belt, WAC, C-USA, MWC, and MAC, as well as half of the Big East, Vanderbilt out of the SEC, the independents (sans ND), half the Pac-10 and Big-10 and a chunk of the ACC start out the season knowing that the best that they are playing for is a bowl game. I'll tell you right now that the URI, Creighton, San Diego State, UC Santa Barbara, Georgia Southern, Central Arkansas, San Houston State, Butler, Gonzaga, and St. Mary's basketball teams are all small schools who are looking towards March with hope. In stark contrast to North Texas and Middle Tennessee who start every football season looking towards the New Orleans Bowl, the 2nd on the schedule, as the best they can get. Not to mention the upset factor that comes with the inclusion of the mid-majors. What if Boise State's win last year in the Fiesta Bowl was the upset that lead an undefeated team into the National Title Game?
Let's plug last year into the formula and see where the Broncos would have ended up.
Regional Quarterfinals
East - #4 Auburn vs. #5 Wisconsin
West - #4 Boise State vs. #5 Oklahoma
Well, that would have made for quite the opening round game. After seeing that one, wouldn't you have stuck around for the rest of the tournament to see if BSU can pull another one off? Or would you wait for any other upsets?
Regional Semifinals
East - #4/5 Winner vs. #1 Florida
#2. Michigan vs. #3 Louisville
West - #4/5 Winner vs. #1 Ohio State
#2. LSU vs. #3 USC
LSU and USC? How about that one? Ohio State getting shipped out west for the Regionals might have hampered them, but there's the possibility of an OSU/USC matchup in the next round...
Oy, I'm getting verkept. Talk amongst yourselves.
But I fear that Ohio State will be run under the SEC buzzsaw again on January 8. Granted, they have an improved defense over last year, but I'm afraid to see LSU's offense just run over the Bucks. Other bowl thoughts: I was happy to see the Illiini get the Rose Bowl bid out of nowhere. I know many people are not with me here, but I am a tradition guy when it comes to the bowls. The BCS pissed me off on that principal, period. But the fact that they kept the PAC-10/Big-10 tradition going, rather than going with an Arizona State or a Florida. When I posed this point of view about the BCS to another sports guy at my station last night, guess what conversation popped up? A playoff. But here's how we agreed it could work. This Saturday is Dec. 8. The first bowl is the Poinsetta Bowl on Dec. 20. So there's two weekends in between the end of the regualr season where there is no college football at all. Ok, well there's no D-IA football. BTW, if you get a chance to catch any of the I-AA Quarters, watch it for the pure enjoyment of football. Anyway, here's how you can keep the current bowl structure, the current payout structure, while keeping purists, like me, as happy as we can be while crowning something much closer to an undisputed champion, as well as keeping the regular season relavant, ney, even more important. And I'll use this year's final BCS standings for an illustration.
Taking into account everything that stands in the way of a playoff, money, and all of the logistics and such, here's what my playoff proposal would look like if implicated this year.
Dec. 8 - Regional Quarterfinals (Sites selected much like the basketball regionals)
East - #4 Kansas vs. #5 West Virginia
West - #4 USC vs. #5 Hawaii
Dec. 15 - Regional Semifinals
East - #4/5 Winner vs. #1 Ohio State
#2. Virginia Tech vs. #3 Missouri
West - #4/5 Winner vs. #1 LSU
#2. Oklahoma vs. #3 Georgia
Jan. 2 - Fiesta Bowl - West Regional Final
#2/3 Winner vs. #1/4/5 Winner
Jan. 3 - Orange Bowl - East Regional Final
#2/3 Winner vs. #1/4/5 Winner
Jan. 14 - BCS National Championship Game
West Region Winner vs. East Region Winner
The regional finals would rotate, the West bouncing from the Fiesta and Rose every other year and the East going back and forth from the Orange and the Sugar. This way tradition can still be a part and we can get an undisputed champion. The non-tournament BCS bowls could then pick up a team that was knocked out of the tournament in the first two weeks or pick early and take a non-title tourney team. The current bowl system remains pretty much untouched, so that all of the secondary bowls get their money, the big schools get paid for being good, there's the mystique of the basketball tournaments because unlike football now, every single team in I-A starts the year with a shot at the National Championship. You can't tell me that right now, North Texas or New Mexico State kick off in the first weekend of September thinking that they have a shot. Realistic or not, all 119 teams have an open path to the title game to start the season. For the majority of them, the door will close within the first month, but it's still there where it's not now. As we speak, all of the Sun Belt, WAC, C-USA, MWC, and MAC, as well as half of the Big East, Vanderbilt out of the SEC, the independents (sans ND), half the Pac-10 and Big-10 and a chunk of the ACC start out the season knowing that the best that they are playing for is a bowl game. I'll tell you right now that the URI, Creighton, San Diego State, UC Santa Barbara, Georgia Southern, Central Arkansas, San Houston State, Butler, Gonzaga, and St. Mary's basketball teams are all small schools who are looking towards March with hope. In stark contrast to North Texas and Middle Tennessee who start every football season looking towards the New Orleans Bowl, the 2nd on the schedule, as the best they can get. Not to mention the upset factor that comes with the inclusion of the mid-majors. What if Boise State's win last year in the Fiesta Bowl was the upset that lead an undefeated team into the National Title Game?
Let's plug last year into the formula and see where the Broncos would have ended up.
Regional Quarterfinals
East - #4 Auburn vs. #5 Wisconsin
West - #4 Boise State vs. #5 Oklahoma
Well, that would have made for quite the opening round game. After seeing that one, wouldn't you have stuck around for the rest of the tournament to see if BSU can pull another one off? Or would you wait for any other upsets?
Regional Semifinals
East - #4/5 Winner vs. #1 Florida
#2. Michigan vs. #3 Louisville
West - #4/5 Winner vs. #1 Ohio State
#2. LSU vs. #3 USC
LSU and USC? How about that one? Ohio State getting shipped out west for the Regionals might have hampered them, but there's the possibility of an OSU/USC matchup in the next round...
Oy, I'm getting verkept. Talk amongst yourselves.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Bowls... Well I got 2 right so far...
Since last I have looked at this, a few bowls have offered bids. The teams in italics have accepted.
Dec. 20 - Pointsetta Bowl
Utah vs. Navy
Dec. 21 - New Orleans Bowl
Troy vs. Memphis
Dec. 22 - Las Vegas Bowl
BYU vs. UCLA
New Mexico Bowl
Fresno State vs. New Mexico
Papajohns.com Bowl
Cincinatti vs. Southern Mississippi
Dec. 23 - Hawaii Bowl
East Carolina vs. Nevada
Dec. 26 - Motor City Bowl
Central Michigan vs. Indiana
Dec. 27 - Holiday Bowl
Oregon vs. Texas
Dec. 28 - Emerald Bowl
California vs. Maryland
Champs Sports Bowl
Clemson vs. Penn State
Texas Bowl
TCU* vs. Houston
Dec. 29 - Alamo Bowl
Michigan vs. Texas A&M
Liberty Bowl
Central Florida vs. Mississippi State
Dec. 29 - Meineke Car Care Bowl
Connecticut vs. Florida State
Dec. 30 - Independence Bowl
Oklahoma State vs. Alabama
Dec. 31 - Insight Bowl
Colorado vs. Oklahoma State
Chick-a-fil Bowl
Boston College vs. Arkansas
Music City Bowl
Florida State vs. Kentucky
Humanitarian Bowl
Boise State vs. Georgia Tech
Sun Bowl
Oregon State vs. South Florida
Armed Forces Bowl
Purdue* vs. Air Force
Jan. 1 - Capital One Bowl
Illinois vs. Florida
Gator Bowl
Virginia vs. Texas Tech
Cotton Bowl
Oklahoma vs. Auburn
Outback Bowl
Tennessee vs. Wisconsin
Rose Bowl
Ohio State vs. Arizona State
Sugar Bowl
LSU vs. Kansas
Jan. 2 - Fiesta Bowl
USC vs. Hawaii
Jan. 3 - Orange Bowl
Georgia vs. Virginia Tech
Jan. 5 - International Bowl
Bowling Green vs. Rutgers
Jan. 6 - GMAC Bowl
Ball State vs. Tulsa
Jan. 8 - BCS National Championship Game
Missouri vs. West Virginia
* Teams replacing conference tie-ins that don't have enough bowl eligible teams
Look for the complete, real, rundown after Dec. 2 and then come back for my thoughts on every bowl game as they happen. By all means though, disagree with me now...
Dec. 20 - Pointsetta Bowl
Utah vs. Navy
Dec. 21 - New Orleans Bowl
Troy vs. Memphis
Dec. 22 - Las Vegas Bowl
BYU vs. UCLA
New Mexico Bowl
Fresno State vs. New Mexico
Papajohns.com Bowl
Cincinatti vs. Southern Mississippi
Dec. 23 - Hawaii Bowl
East Carolina vs. Nevada
Dec. 26 - Motor City Bowl
Central Michigan vs. Indiana
Dec. 27 - Holiday Bowl
Oregon vs. Texas
Dec. 28 - Emerald Bowl
California vs. Maryland
Champs Sports Bowl
Clemson vs. Penn State
Texas Bowl
TCU* vs. Houston
Dec. 29 - Alamo Bowl
Michigan vs. Texas A&M
Liberty Bowl
Central Florida vs. Mississippi State
Dec. 29 - Meineke Car Care Bowl
Connecticut vs. Florida State
Dec. 30 - Independence Bowl
Oklahoma State vs. Alabama
Dec. 31 - Insight Bowl
Colorado vs. Oklahoma State
Chick-a-fil Bowl
Boston College vs. Arkansas
Music City Bowl
Florida State vs. Kentucky
Humanitarian Bowl
Boise State vs. Georgia Tech
Sun Bowl
Oregon State vs. South Florida
Armed Forces Bowl
Purdue* vs. Air Force
Jan. 1 - Capital One Bowl
Illinois vs. Florida
Gator Bowl
Virginia vs. Texas Tech
Cotton Bowl
Oklahoma vs. Auburn
Outback Bowl
Tennessee vs. Wisconsin
Rose Bowl
Ohio State vs. Arizona State
Sugar Bowl
LSU vs. Kansas
Jan. 2 - Fiesta Bowl
USC vs. Hawaii
Jan. 3 - Orange Bowl
Georgia vs. Virginia Tech
Jan. 5 - International Bowl
Bowling Green vs. Rutgers
Jan. 6 - GMAC Bowl
Ball State vs. Tulsa
Jan. 8 - BCS National Championship Game
Missouri vs. West Virginia
* Teams replacing conference tie-ins that don't have enough bowl eligible teams
Look for the complete, real, rundown after Dec. 2 and then come back for my thoughts on every bowl game as they happen. By all means though, disagree with me now...
Monday, November 26, 2007
Who'da Seen That One Coming?
Arkansas outlasting LSU? Missouri manhandling KU? Well, I called that one. But didn't think the Tigers would fall...
You know, I had a point to this when I started it, but it disappeared.
Just keep Sean Taylor in your prayers.
UPDATE: Taylor passed away early Monday morning after being shot in the leg during a home invasion. He leaves behind an 18-month old daughter and the thoughts and prayers of everyone here are with his family and teammates as they cope with this tragic loss.
R.I.P. 21
You know, I had a point to this when I started it, but it disappeared.
Just keep Sean Taylor in your prayers.
UPDATE: Taylor passed away early Monday morning after being shot in the leg during a home invasion. He leaves behind an 18-month old daughter and the thoughts and prayers of everyone here are with his family and teammates as they cope with this tragic loss.
R.I.P. 21
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Thoughts on The Border Battle, or, We Brought the Damned Noise
A few years ago, when it looked like I was going to be relocating to Cary, North Carolina (right outside of Raleigh) to live with my ex, people would invariably quiz me--politely--on my allegiances to sports teams. When I'd mention that I was an Ohio State Buckeyes fan, I'd get asked, almost without exception, "What's the deal with Michigan?" or "Do you guys really hate Michigan THAT much?"
This brings to mind a conversation that I had when I was on Duke's campus (and proudly wearing one of my scarlet and grey shirts). I had about a half hour to kill, and ended up talking to a guy in a Duke Blue Devils hoops jersey. Not surprisingly, we had a good conversation about college sport rivalries, but I swear, he tried to logically dissect why OSU fans loathe/detest/wish fire on Michigan. Every time someone down there would ask me why I hate Michigan so much, I'd simply ask them why they hate UNC, to the point where I know it drives some of them into damn near a feeding frenzy. There's no rhyme or reason to it--it just simply IS. Browns and Steelers fans know what I'm talking about. Ditto Duke and UNC fans. Same with Yanks and BoSox people. You can't define why the rivalry--and the hatred/animosity that's part of it--drives us to curse at the TV, set Michigan shirts on fire, and constantly invoke the spirit of Woody Hayes. We're products of our environment--and our environment around here is largely delineated, especially in mid-to-late November, by the OSU/U of M game.
Me? I've been an OSU fan all my life. Blame my dad, if you must. But my allegiance fills me with a dark yearning to see my enemies from Michigan crushed like the cockroaches they are, and to hear the sobbing lamentations of their women and children.
I revel in it.
I know you do too.
That's why, last Saturday, nothing pleased me more than seeing over 100,000 Michigan fans weeping into their blue-and-gold clothing like little girls with skinned knees. It was glorious.
The game itself, however, was kind of underwhelming. It was cold, gray, and rainy at the Big House, and with the exception of OSU's Beanie Wells, both teams looked like they were phoning in their performances at best. Mario Manningham decided he wouldn't make any receptions. Todd Boeckmann had a little Slip n' Slide-style fun. Henne and Hart, Michigan's two offensive leaders who were taking their last shots at beating Tressel's boys, made the gutsy decision to play through their respective injuries, but were non-factors. OSU's defense stiffened up nicely after a while, though, and we went home with the win.
Only 360 days till the next one...
PS: it was one of those moments that was small but emblematic, but I thought it was appropriate for the coin toss that they used one that had Woody's face on one side, and Bo's face on the other. They had probably the greatest college sports coaching rivalry in recent memory--we're talking Luke Skywalker vs. Darth Vader level here--and it was a good way to immortalize the two of them.
This brings to mind a conversation that I had when I was on Duke's campus (and proudly wearing one of my scarlet and grey shirts). I had about a half hour to kill, and ended up talking to a guy in a Duke Blue Devils hoops jersey. Not surprisingly, we had a good conversation about college sport rivalries, but I swear, he tried to logically dissect why OSU fans loathe/detest/wish fire on Michigan. Every time someone down there would ask me why I hate Michigan so much, I'd simply ask them why they hate UNC, to the point where I know it drives some of them into damn near a feeding frenzy. There's no rhyme or reason to it--it just simply IS. Browns and Steelers fans know what I'm talking about. Ditto Duke and UNC fans. Same with Yanks and BoSox people. You can't define why the rivalry--and the hatred/animosity that's part of it--drives us to curse at the TV, set Michigan shirts on fire, and constantly invoke the spirit of Woody Hayes. We're products of our environment--and our environment around here is largely delineated, especially in mid-to-late November, by the OSU/U of M game.
Me? I've been an OSU fan all my life. Blame my dad, if you must. But my allegiance fills me with a dark yearning to see my enemies from Michigan crushed like the cockroaches they are, and to hear the sobbing lamentations of their women and children.
I revel in it.
I know you do too.
That's why, last Saturday, nothing pleased me more than seeing over 100,000 Michigan fans weeping into their blue-and-gold clothing like little girls with skinned knees. It was glorious.
The game itself, however, was kind of underwhelming. It was cold, gray, and rainy at the Big House, and with the exception of OSU's Beanie Wells, both teams looked like they were phoning in their performances at best. Mario Manningham decided he wouldn't make any receptions. Todd Boeckmann had a little Slip n' Slide-style fun. Henne and Hart, Michigan's two offensive leaders who were taking their last shots at beating Tressel's boys, made the gutsy decision to play through their respective injuries, but were non-factors. OSU's defense stiffened up nicely after a while, though, and we went home with the win.
Only 360 days till the next one...
PS: it was one of those moments that was small but emblematic, but I thought it was appropriate for the coin toss that they used one that had Woody's face on one side, and Bo's face on the other. They had probably the greatest college sports coaching rivalry in recent memory--we're talking Luke Skywalker vs. Darth Vader level here--and it was a good way to immortalize the two of them.
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