Brett Favre (pronounced Fav-re in my book) answered the questions on America’s Mind last night, and some with a resounding yes. What questions you might ask? Simple, Am I over-rated (a little bit), Should I have retired 3 years ago when my QB rating dropped into the 70s (yes), Do I really deserve all of this MVP consideration that I am getting (absolutely not).
I know, I know, disrespecting Brett Farve is a sin, or at least it would seem so in Bristol, CT where Mr. Painkiller Addiction is revered as “Godlike” by every analyst. “He is the greatest Quarterback ever to be involved with the game, period, no one deserves to hold his jock.” Or so I have heard year after year for the last decade and a half.
Now, do I think that Brett is one of the top quarterbacks of all-time? Statistically, I say yes, he has records to back up that statement. Is he a Hall of Famer? Absolutely, no doubt in my mind. But if you really take a look at Mr. Farve he is likely the most selfish quarterback to play the game. You can look at next Sunday for proof when he steps on the field injured with a separated shoulder and has a subpar performance but plays anyway because he’s “tougher than woodpecker lips” (a quote I recall from him about 8 years ago). He’ll cost his team the game but keep his streak and tough image alive. You can look at his countless mistakes where he tries to make something out of nothing and winds up turning the ball over. The fact that, though he is having a resurgence this year, he should have retired after his 4-12, 2005 season is glaring evidence. To look at that season and say something is wrong here maybe Brett should hang it up. It actually goes further back though for BGB.
“Big Game Brett” in the last decade does not have the most amazing numbers especially in the post season. In fact since the Cheeseheads won Super Bowl XXXI after the 1996 season Brett really has barely been average let alone a Hall of Fame caliber quarterback. In the year following their SB XXXI victory, Green Bay lost to the Broncos in Farve’s 2 Turnover performance leading to 10 Denver Points. Since then there haven’t been a whole lot of high points for Brett. The following season throwing for 23 INTs and losing on a 2 INT performance against SF in the NFC Wildcard game. In the combined next two seasons Farve accumulated 39 INTs to 42 TDs as well as 18 fumbles (of which 9 were lost) and no playoffs either year for the Pack. In 2001 The Packers returned to the playoffs after Farve’s seemingly resurgent year, passing for 32TDs and only 15 INTs (and 16 fumbles/6 lost) and Farve’s 2 TD 1 INT performance in the 1st round sent them to play the offensive super power, the St. Louis Rams. Those same Rams picked off Farve 6 times in the 2nd to last time the Pack made it past the 1st round in the playoffs. The next year he threw 16 regular season picks, and added on 2 more in a 1st round loss to Atlanta. In ’03 the Pack got out of the 1st round in OT against Seattle but lost in a close OT game against the Eagles in the 2nd round. ’04 was the last time Brett would see the postseason and a QB rating higher than 73 flaming out with a 1 TD 4 INT performance against a Minnesota team that had 11 interceptions all season. During this stretch of post-season futility Farve’s numbers are 149/249, 1,804 yards, 11 TDs, 5 INTs, 3 fumbles, 2 lost and a HoF caliber 70.1 QB rating.
Heading into the 2005 season the Packers sensed Brett was in the waning years of his career after declining numbers and efficiency and decided to take a top quarterback in the draft, Aaron Rodgers from Cal was the answer. Rodgers could learn under Farve for a year and be the future of the franchise. Unfortunately for him he had to sit back and watch Farve up close declining. In Rodgers’ rookie season the Pack went 4-12 and Farve had his worst statistical year as far as QB Rating (70.9) goes since he entered the league ending with 9 more interceptions (29) than TDs (20), and 10 fumbles, 7 of which were lost. It was at this time that Farve should have stepped down and let Rodgers take over for the good of the team.
Unfortunately for the city of Green Bay, in 2006 he came roaring back to show that it was a fluke bad season and in a stuffing display of mediocrity, finished with 18 TDs tied for the lowest since joining the Packers in ’92 and 18 INTs for a whopping 72.7 QB Rating. Tag onto that the 8 fumbles with 5 lost, and a mediocre 8-8 record without a shot at the playoffs. In Comparison the QB who many thought was among the league’s worst last season, Rex Grossman, threw for 23 TDs and 20 INTs and an overshadowing 73.9 QB Rating, along with 8 fumbles, 5 lost and a 13-3 regular season record, capped by a trip to the Super Bowl.
Sure he’s having a decent season right now, but last night is the perfect example of what he is capable of. Always trying to make the big play. The Pack are down by 3 and Farve forces a deep bomb on 1st and 10 that gets picked off. Now down 20-10 Farve continues to try to make something bigger happen to get back into the game, after two deep incomplete passes on 1st and 2nd and 10 he finally connects on a deep pass on 3rd and long, then proceeds to throw his second INT of the night. Luckily for Cheeseheads, Farve goes down with a shoulder/elbow injury and Aaron Rodgers enters the game. Down 17 Rodgers takes the game slowly and starts the comeback, the rushing game starts to pick up, Rodgers starts completing passes and brings them within a score and in striking distance until former Kitty Kat Nick Folk connected on a 25 yarder (which he could barely make with consistency in Tucson, and yes I am still bitter) to seal the game by 10 with less than 3 minutes remaining.
Rodgers: 2 ½ quarters, 18/26, 201 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT
Farve 1 ½ quarters, 5/14, 56 Yards, 0 TD 2 INT
If I’m a Packer-fan I’m hoping Farve’s consecutive games streak ends, and Aaron Rodgers gets hot going into to post season.
More after the jump...
Friday, November 30, 2007
Breaking News: Farve remembers he's 50
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Who's #1: '85 Bears '07 Pats
Now it has been said, many times over the last 20 years, that the 85 Bears were the best team to play the game. And those ranking shows/articles/whatever that don't have them at number one have consistently put them in the top 3. With an 11-0 record and the fact that this team is destroying everyone, the 07 Pats are coming into that debate. I think it appropriate to analyze these two teams to determine once and for all based on many different factors which team was better.
One thing to consider is a bigger league with more players means lesser competition for these ’07 Pats to go up against, as well as training room quick fixes and techniques that get players out onto the field faster, and miss less time, and a changed game revolved around explosive offenses rather than stout defenses. And that is without mentioning the substance problems associated with many of today’s players, sure there were illicit substances in the locker rooms in the 80’s but it wasn’t HGH it was in the form of fine white powder.
First the position by position matchups:
Head Coach: Bears, No argument necessary but Ditka did it without a telescopic lens.
Coaching Staff: Bears, Buddy Ryan was a great defensive coordinator, he engineered the unstoppable 46 defense.
QB: Pats. McMahon’s QB rating in ‘85 was 82 and change, and Brady’s about to set some serious passing records.
RB: Bears, Payton and Suhey were dangerous, and you could probably add Perry in this category. Maroney has 2 TDs on 105 carries, “Fridge” had 2 TDs in 5 regular season carries.
OLine: Bears. They protected McMahon and led Payton to over 1550 yards rushing.
WR: Pats, come on Randy Moss when he wants to play is as good as anyone in the game right now. And though Willie Gault was a world class sprinter and averaged over 21 y/c, it’s no contest, not to mention that the Bears leading receiver was Payton with 49 receptions.
TE: Bears, Moorehead and Wrightman combined for 59 catches and over 15 y/c, NE’s Watson has more TDs but a lower y/c and he is in a pass happy offense.
LB: Bears, Samurai Mike is in the Hall, Otis Wilson should be and if Wilbur Marshall wouldn’t have been slowed by injuries he was on pace for a HoF career, the three combined for 20 sacks in 85. I love former Kitty Kat Tedy Bruschi but I don’t think he’ll be in the Hall anytime soon, and no one really fears or game-plans around the Pats Linebackers.
DLine: Bears with a slight edge. Mongo McMichael was the originator of the quick Lineman, “Fridge” was one of the biggest to play the game at the time and he still managed to run a sub 5 second 40, and who can forget this years HoF inductee and SB XX MVP Richard Dent who had 17 sacks that season.
DB: Bears, Gary Fencik led the storied 46 defense out onto the field and Lesley Frazier had 6 picks on the year, the Bears DB’s had 20 INTs total. The only Pats DB anyone knows is Rodney Harrington and it’s because of his involvement with HGH.
The Bears Defense was #1 in points allowed, held teams to a 47% comp. rating, allowed only 22 total scores (16 passing, 6 rushing), just over 6000 total yards and were #1 or 2 in 7 major defensive categories, including 34 INTs. They also made it through the entire post season giving up 10 total points, all 10 in the Super Bowl rout and 7 of which were off of a turnover. And who can forget they went through opposing quarterbacks like that one girl at a Frat House.
Their offense wasn’t the most potent they were only #2 in points scored, #1 in 3/4 top rushing categories, and scored 44 total TDs on offense and 16 INTs (5 of which belonging to the backup Fuller).
The 2007 Pats (with 5 games remaining) have already allowed 21 total scores (15 passing and 6 rushing), 3400 yards, and a 60% pass completion rate. They have 16 INTs and are ranked 8th or lower in 7 major defensive categories.
The Pats are a dominating offensive force this season there is no doubt. They have put in 51 TDs with 5 games to play, and are just under 4900 yards for the season. They rank in the top 3 in 6 major offensive categories and #1 in 3/6 passing categories.
But many of those points have come in the waning minutes of a blowout game while the Pats are running up the score, where as when the Bears where winning by large margins they were not trying to set records. And the ’85 Bears were missing their staring QB for 3 games, I doubt the ’07 Pats would be nearly this successful without their GQ coverboy.
The numbers don’t matter, everyone can look at this astounding offense that the Pats are fielding and give them a lot of very deserved credit but when the chips are down that Bears defense would have eaten Brady’s lunch, and the Colts proved this season that if you get to Brady you can rattle him by picking him off twice (half of his season total). Plus their running game is so rusty from Maroney never seeing the field that the Pats would never get anything going. The Bears offense would definitely struggle against the Pats defense, but stopping Payton just would not have happened. The ’07 Pats are allowing over 4 y/c and that isn’t to anyone of Walter Payton’s status it’s to Cordell Buckhalter and Jamal Lewis. This game would be a first half slugfest but the ‘85 Bears would quickly take over.
The last thing to consider is environment, since Chicago and New England aren’t the nicest places to play in February this game would be in a very neutral territory and everyone loved the ’85 Bears, they were brash, fun, popular, and even recording artists. No one outside of New England likes the Pats and most wish their demise. People loved Ditka and hate Belichick.
The Bears would win this game, they’re Grabowskis.
More after the jump...
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Random Ramblings
Sore Throat today, which means that making 40-50 phone calls is not my idea of a good time. So in an effort to kill time at work between the occasional call here is a list of things that are going through my head.
If you haven't read my proposed NCAA playoff system, I would suggest it, if you have read it and think I'm wrong, or an idiot, please email me and let me know. CTDomschke@gmail.com. It will become much more clear when the regular season is over and conference champions have been decided. Also it would take some schedule adjustments that I am essentially ignoring in this primary bracket, but let's be honest who doesn't want to see Hawai'i get a shot at Mizzou or West Virginia, the combined score would be over 100, and Brennan and White/Daniel would combine for at least 80 but more likely 90+ passes in the game. It's a shame that game won't ever happen, and especially not before the Heisman voting.
Last night I watched the movie Never Been Kissed, not my choice I hate Drew Barrymore. Does anyone else have a problem with the fact that the teacher has a romantic interest in the student (Drew) and then actually gets angry that she lied about being 17. We're supposed to find this romantic? And Molly Shannon as always makes me wish very bad things for her.
Speaking of very bad things. Is it just me or does every man picture that movie happening at their bachelor party?
Apparently Tood Sauerbrun is pulling a Kevin McHale and secretly helping out his old team. The "Former" Bear said the Broncos would kick to Devin Hester and that they were paid money to make tackles. Apparently, he wasn't referring to himself since he botched a tackle on Hester's punt return. 21 of the Bears points Sunday were the result of the "Former" Bear. A Kick Return TD, Punt Return TD, and a TD run for A.P. a few plays after the Blocked Sauerbrun punt deep in Bronco territory.
Good News for whoever draws Kansas in a Bowl Game. The team that was #2 and lost (which has happened a few times this season) has gone on to lose their next game (in the cases of Oregon to UCLA, BC to Maryland) their next 2 games in the case of South Florida to UConn and Cinci, and Cal to UCLA and ASU.
Let's see 5 days since he started practicing again, 6 carries later in game and...he's done for the year. Let's hear it for Ricky Marley err Williams. 758 yards on 174 carries over the last 3 seasons for a total of 4.36 yards per carry with 2 100 yard games. Probably what was expected of the former Heisman Trophy winner. Ladies and Gentlemen the ultimate me-first player.
And I was just informed that I can get fired for blogging at work.
See ya around sports fans.
GO CATS!
More after the jump...
Making it rain...
The main stories in the NFL right now happen to have been the Patriots undefeated season in progress, or even the Dolphins throughly defeated season, unfortunately in my mind, the main story for today is the sudden death of Redskin's safety Sean Taylor. After being shot in the groin, damaging a major artery causing significant blood loss. What the hell is going on in the sports world today? It hasn't even been a year since the Broncos lost a player to some idiot "Making it Rain".
Understandably some of these players have troubled pasts that follow them through their success into professional sports, and even after leaving the "hood" sometimes the hood follows them. Not to say this was the case in Michael Vick's conviction or "Hurricane Pacman", but Taylor was at assaulted at his own home by a guy who had apparently already broken in a few days before. Taylor, who had been making strides in his maturity, had become an extremely valuable asset to the Redskins during the past seasons.
I'm getting real sick of this stuff, it's one thing when I heard about Vick and his scenario at the airport/dog fighting rings, or Pacman in front of the strip club, even Tank Johnson...but aggravated violence towards athletes is just ridiculous. I hope that bastard gets caught and gets some type of medieval torture done on his ass. Probs something like water torture...who's raining now bitch?
More after the jump...
Monday, November 26, 2007
the 2007/2008 NCAA Football Bracket
Continuing from an earlier post where a playoff system is mentioned, by me, I have decided to give an example of how this might work. Here is a mock 16 team playoff system following the idea I outlined earlier.
Recap: 16 spots with 11 designated to the 11 Major Div I "FBS" leagues (ACC, Big XII, Big East, Big Eleven, C-USA, MAC, MWC, Pac-10, SEC, Sun Belt, WAC) with 5 open spots for the remaining top teams.
Stipulation 1: This would also cancel out the "Notre Dame Rule" that states that Notre Dame goes to a BCS bowl if they have 8 wins, which further proves the greed of the Bowl System because ND has been vastly outplayed the last 9 times they've been to a bowl game and it's because they bring in revenue to everyone and get beat on Nat'l TV in front of a huge audience.
Stipulation 2: If a Conference does not have a team in the AP/Coaches Top 25 they would forfeit their bowl spot.
Stipulation 3: At the end of the season 1 poll of Equal Strength would be completed for playoff positioning. 2 votes would be given to each member the Las Vegas Poll I have mentioned before, 1 vote to each voter in the AP Poll, and 1 vote to Each member of the ESPN/USA Today's Coaches Poll.
Now to put that in place with today's teams, the pool would consist of the following (subject to chenge with the upcoming week):
ACC - BC/VT game winner
Big XII - Mizzou/OK game winner
Big East - WV
Big Eleven - The Ohio State University
C-USA - Does not Qualify a team (Unless 9-3 UCF makes a beliver out of folks with a win over 9-3 Tulsa and creeps into the top-25)
MAC - Does not Qualify a team
MWC - Brigham Young (Unless 4-7 SDSU can take them down and out of the top-25)
Pac-10 - USC, holds the tiebreaker over ASU (but this could get interesting if USC and ASU lose and Oregon wins this weekend to rivals. It would be a 3 way tie and Oregon is 2-0 against USC and ASU, taking the Pac-10.
SEC - LSU/Ga have identical records of 10-2, 6-2, but LSU still has one game to play, a W gets them in the tourney and an L has them waiting for an At-large.
Sun-Belt - Does Not Qualify a team, unless a lot happens and Troy sneaks into the top-25 after a victory this weekend at home against Florida Atlantic, not enough to change some votes.
WAC- Hawai'i
That gives us 8 locks with 8 at-large bids, trying to figure out that at-large is near impossible right now seeing as how a lot of teams still have big games to play. The leading candidates for the 8 remaining spots would be the loser of the ACC title game, Kansas, Georgia, ASU, Oregon, Tennessee, Florida, Illinois, loser of the Big XII game, and Clemson or Wisconsin might be able to sneak in. We will revisit this next week when the regular season has come to a close and there are no more ifs.
More after the jump...
The BCS 60% of the time...
...it works every time.
That doesn't make any sense. And neither does the BCS. In NCAA football the now 9 year old cure for the common split title is the equivalent of Sex Panther. It reeks and needs to be stripped down, cleaned, and possibly burned. I'm not saying we need to institute a 64 team playoff or even 16 teams but something needs to change.
Let's look at the last (almost) decade of college football and the glory that the BCS has bestowed upon us, and I'm not just talking about the BCS title game:
1998/99 season: #3 Kansas State is passed over for a BCS game (11-1 regular season record) for #'s 4 and 8, Ohio State (10-1 regular season record) and Florida (9-2 regular season record).
The number 3 team in the land and they don't even go to a BCS game, I'm not even talking the Nat'l Championship here, but how does this work? Oh and C-USA champion, undefeated #7 Tulane did not go to a BCS bowl game either, and they beat 3 Big East teams (a BCS Conference), did I mention they were undefeated.
2000/01 season: FSU, Miami, and Washington all had a valid reason to expect to play undefeated Oklahoma in the Nat'l Championship game. They were all 1 loss teams and the kicker? FSU lost to Miami (#2 in both human polls) who lost to Washington (#7) who lost to 2 loss Oregon. How was FSU able to leapfrog the team that was ahead of them in the polls and that they had lost to? the BCS at its' finest.
2001/02 season: 1 loss Nebraska (#2 in BCS, #4 in both Human polls) selected to play in the Nat'l Championship despite not winning their division or conference championships. Meanwhile, 1 loss Oregon (#2 in both Human polls, #4 in BCS) beat Colorado by 22 points (the same Colorado who beat Nebraska by 36) and Nebraska fell to Miami 37-14.
2003/04 season: At season end there were 0 teams undefeated and 6 teams with 1 loss. Oklahoma, Louisiana State, and Southern Cal in the major conferences, and Miami (OH), Boise St., and TCU also stood with 1 loss. USC was #1 in the AP and Coaches Poll but had a "weak schedule" according to the computers, and though Oklahoma lost to KState in the Big XII Championship they were #1 in the BCS but #3 in the Human poll and LSU was #2 in both. LSU upset "#1" Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl earning the Nat'l Championship, BUT the Human polls still thought that USC should have been in that game (seeing as how they had SC ranked #1 before the game anyways) and in a lopsided vote gave USC the #1 ranking at the end of the season and LSU the #2 ranking giving us the first split championship in the BCS which had promised...No Split Championships. To further confuse things, in the Coaches poll, LSU did not get unanimous #1 votes, though the coaches are Contractually Obliged to do so. 3 votes went to USC to show that they thought USC was the best team in the country and the there were a few coaches who were not recognizing the BCS as a legitimate answer to the championship problem.
2004/05 season: 5 undefeated teams ended the regular season, #1 USC, #2 Oklahoma, #3 Auburn, #5 Utah, and a surprising #10 Boise State team. Auburn was undefeated in tough SEC play. Really, Boise State and Utah had less convincing regular seasons but were nonetheless without a loss and deserved a shot at the title as much as the 3 other undefeated teams. And with Bowl wins by Utah and Auburn USC, Auburn, and Utah all ended the 2004/05 season without a loss, but there was only one Nat'l Champion and only 2 teams that had a shot.
2006/07 season: Undefeated Boise State, 1 loss Louisville, Michigan, Wisconsin and Florida all worthy choices to play undefeated #1 Ohio State in the BCS Championship game. Human polls had Florida higher than Michigan (perhaps because Michigan had lost in the Big 11 finale vs Ohio State), Computer polls had Michigan and Florida tied for #2 spot. After all was said and done Florida upset #1 Ohio State convincingly, and Boise State upset Oklahoma leaving a mess at the end of the season. Ohio State, Florida, Louisville and Wisconsin all had 1 loss, and lowly Boise State was undefeated, without even a chance to play Florida. Florida received all but one 1st place vote at the end of the season, with the one remaining vote going to Boise State. .
That's a lot of information. In Summation, there is something seriously wrong with the BCS and the "quality wins" and "strength of schedule" and everything else that goes into it. Hawai'i is undefeated right now and might not even get into a BCS game let alone having a chance at the Nat'l Championship. Meanwhile in the BCS rankings there are 4 1 loss teams in front of them 6 2 loss teams and a 3 loss Florida. #11 Boston College lost to unranked Maryland and Florida State, #10 Florida lost to Georgia, LSU, and Auburn in the way overrated SEC, #9 Oklahoma lost to unranked Colorado and unranked Texas Tech, USC lost to Oregon and unranked Stanford, LSU lost to Kentucky, barely beat an unranked Auburn, and lost to an unranked Arkansas (not to mention their coach doesn't even want to be there anymore), #6 VT lost to BC and LSU (who were both #2 at the time and both have 2 losses since then), #5 Kansas lost in their only tough game of the season thus far to Mizzou (beating teams with names like Central, South Eastern, International, and Toledo don't really count for too much, especially for a BCS division team), #4 Georgia's losses are to unranked S Carolina and Tennessee, #3 Ohio State dropped one at home to previously unranked Illinois, #2 W Virginia couldn't get past South Florida who since starting 6-0 is 3-3 with wins over Syracuse and Pittsburgh, and #1 Mizzou on the capable Heisman winning arm of Chase Daniel lost to an average Oklahoma team as discussed earlier. Now Hawai'i doesn't have a whole lot of quality wins but did beat a ranked Boise State team this past weekend. In fact their schedule looks awfully similar/similarly awful, compared to #5 Kansas. This season more than any other should prove that there needs to be a playoff.
One idea is 16 teams. Each of the 11 major conferences sends their champion with 5 other at large bids for the independents and high ranked other teams. There could be stipulations that if the minor conferences (C-USA, MAC, MWC, WAC, and Sun Belt) don't field a top 25 team, their playoff spot would be given to one of the other top teams instead. Based on the ranking playoff games would be set as one would expect 16 vs 1 and so one. It could even be scaled down to 14 teams or 12 teams and allow for byes and follow a typical bracket set-up. This way teams like Hawai'i or last years Boise State squad can prove that they deserve a shot or that the voters/computers are right in rating them where they are. Yes this, or something like it, has been suggested and the bowl tradition would be ruined and there would be less impact of a loss in the regular season, and universities would lose money. This just goes to show that there isn't a perfect solution here. I said earlier that a playoff is not necessarily the answer, and it's true but I can't think of a better one at this point. A playoff would make the BCS and other voting and ranking obsolete, who cares you can play these playoff games at neutral sites and call them bowl games, and can even award a trophy if you want. Something needs to change.
Am I saying Hawai'i is the best team in the land, no. Am I suggesting they deserve a chance to prove everyone wrong and that they very well might be the best team in the land, absolutely. So did Utah and Auburn a few years ago, and a USC vs LSU would have been nice to watch in '03.
A playoff would once and for all end all post season speculation, vote changes, and there would never be a split championship.
Wait, wasn't that what the BCS promised not too long ago?
More after the jump...
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Pulling a Pistol on Redick
I thought it was over. I thought I could move on. How furious was I every time anyone hyped J.J Redick forcing ludicrous statements about him being best shooter in college basketball down my throat? There are no words. Duke Bias is out of control. Almost 2 years after he leaves the world of college basketball its back and now Rick Torbet is to blame.
Torbet has introduced a new line of instructional basketball videos named “Better Basketball” the shooting installment of which features Redick. I am not even going to touch Torbett credentials, but I will attack the first 10 seconds of the video preview in which they claim that Redick is “College Basketball’s all time greatest shooter”. False.
www.betterbasketball.com
I know I sometimes get stats crazy, but its appropriate for this situation so you’ll get over it. I’ll try to keep it to Career stats since were talking about all time greatest shooters.
Redick’s Career Stats:
Games Played: 139 FG-FGA: 825-1906 (.433) 3PT Attempts-Made: 457-1126 (.406) Free Throw Attempts-Made: 662-726 (.912) Points: 2769 (19.9 per game)
Impressive to say the least, but you come up short by a long shot on being the greatest of all time. I would be embarrassed if I was you to even make such a claim. As you know the greatest shooter in the history of college basketball is “Pistol” Pete Maravich:
Maravich’s Stats:
Games Played: 83 FG-FGA: 1387-3166 (.440) Free Throw Attempts-Made: 893- 1152 (.780) Points: 3667 ( 44.2 per game)
At one point or another Pistol held 11 NCAA scoring records, and 34 SEC scoring Records, not to mention every LSU scoring record.
Note: Not only did Pistol play WITHOUT a three point line, but he didn’t have a freshman season due to the fact that at that time they still had separate freshman and varsity teams.
He was the greatest player to ever play college basketball and translated it into a hall of fame NBA career and was named on the 50 greatest players in NBA history. This was about shooting but he was beyond a complete player… Redick show some respect and if you want to be the best shooter you might pick up a real mans videos:
www.pistol-pete-videos.com
4Real Out....
More after the jump...
Musical Coaches...
So it's that time of year again, the leaves are turning, the weather is changing, in some parts of the country snow is falling. It's the most wonderful time of the year...ish. The college football regular season is coming to a close and every football program is figuring out ways to improve their teams which usually means firing or hiring coaches. With Carr announcing his retirement from Michigan, the game of musical coaches begins. Les Miles, a Michigan Alum, has been drawing all kinds of media attention involving leaving LSU, however with LSU sitting a top the BCS rankings there may an interesting debacle in Louisiana.
However, I speculate that Coach Erickson from ASU may be licking his chops at this Michigan job as well, seeing as how he loves leaving programs after quasi-developing them. For Erickson however, the Michigan job will be completely different from his normal jobs, seeing as how Michigan is hardly ever at the bottom of the Big-10 and usually already ranked in the top 25 at the beginning of the season. Honestly, I think that Glory-Hog Erickson would not last at Michigan or even make it past the first few interviews due to his lack of commitment to his prior programs, and if anything would bring shame to Michigan name seeing as how his predecesor controlled the helm for over a decade. Big-10 football is all about long-term legends, not short-term solutions.
Moving on to the Big-12, the Callahan debate is still going on. I personally respect the man for going down with the ship that is Nebraska football. Even though he's had a rough season, he's stuck with his team and defended his team through the rough times. However, as in most of the large football programs, the re-occurring question of "what have you done for me lately?" usually brings the ultimate demise of a struggling coach within 2 years. Bandwagon's are so selective these days...
Lastly, UCLA head coach Karl Dorrell's job is in jeopardy after losing out during the 2nd half of the season for the last 4 years. A disasterous turnout for the usually impressive Bruins. However, with this program in shambles and plagued with injury. The same can be said about Nick Saban, as this bridge-burner hasn't produced in one of the most high stress programs in the country. Expect his head on a chopping block by the end of the year, if not chased out of the state by people in white hoods.
Quite honestly, I think the coaching controversy is a huge bore, however extremely important for the programs. Apparently these job openings are also starting to affect the coaches in question...starting with Les Miles forgetting his alma mater is Michigan and pronouncing Arkansas as R-Kansas... whoops...
More after the jump...
Hit the Bull...
...Get a Free Steak
With the December meetings coming our way and all the talk of trades and possible line up shifts, I decided to put together what I think would be one of the most successful line ups in the history of the game. There might be some names you don't recognize, but they are being named more for their ability as a role player. Now for the sake of compiling the greatest line up to be assembled, some necessary jumps had to be made as far as players playing in different eras, but we do have both the youngest and oldest rookies to play Major League Baseball. Without further ado I present the greatest assembly of baseball pitchers in history.
Rotation:
RHP Henry Rowengartner, "Pitcher's got a big butt! Pitcher's got a big butt!"
RHP Ebby Calvin "Nuke" LaLoosh "Why's he calling me meat? I'm the one driving a Porsche."
LHP Steve Nebraska
RHP Eddie Harris, "Crisco, Bardol, Vagisil. Any one of them will give you another two to three inches drop on your curve ball. 'Course if the umps are watching me real close I just rub a little jalapeño juice up my nose"
RHP Billy Chapel, "God, I always said I would never bother you about baseball, lord knows you have bigger things to worry about. But if you could make this pain in my shoulder stop for ten minutes, I would really appreciate it."
Relief Pitcher:
RP Sam "Meydey" Malone, "A lot of people may not know this, but I happen to be quite famous."
RP Montgomery Brewster
RP Chet "Rocket" Steadmen, "Henry, don't take this serious. But its nothing to joke about. But one day, your gift will be gone. "
CP Ricky "Wild Thing" Vaughn, "No matter how far out of first we are, it's cool. You know, it keeps us from getting shut out at our favorite hotels and restaurant-type places."
Infield:
C Crash Davis, "Relax, all right? Don't try to strike everybody out. Strikeouts are boring! Besides that, they're fascist. Throw some ground balls - it's more democratic"
1B Okie (RoY)
2B Tanner Boyle, "Hey Yankees, you can take your apology and your trophy and shove it straight up your ass!"
SS Benny "The Jet" Rodriguez, "Man, this is baseball. You gotta stop thinking. Just have fun. I mean, if you were having fun you would've caught that ball. "
3B Roger Dorn, "Oh come on, cut the rah rah shit Taylor! Year after this I go free agent. Plus me and my agent got a couple of plans for life after baseball. So I am not about to risk major injury or deface this property for a collection of stiffs! "
Outfield:
RF Roy Hobbs, "And then when I walked down the street people would've looked and they would've said there goes Roy Hobbs, the best there ever was in this game."
CF Willie Mays Hayes, "Willie Mays Hayes. I hit like Mays, and I run like Hayes. "
LF Bobby Rayburn, "I mean, come on, let's be real here, you know. What are we doin'? We're not curin' cancer, you know. We're playin' a game. That's all it is - just a game!"
Bench:
OF Pedro Cerrano, "Bats, they are sick. I cannot hit curveball. Straightball I hit it very much. Curveball, bats are afraid. I ask Jobu to come, take fear from bats. I offer him cigar, rum. He will come."
OF Bartholomew "Bump" Bailey
C Jake Taylor, "I'm hung over, my knees are killin' me and if you're going to pull this shit at least you could've said you were from the Yankees."
OF Juan Primo
C Billy Brubaker, "Wood bats suck! Why do you think God invented aluminum?"
1B Stan Ross, "You don't like me because I sign autographs, You don't like me because I tell you what's on my mind, But you love me because I am the greatest hitter alive!"
OF The Whammer
1B Heddo (RoY), "This one's for mommy, mommy!"
BB: Bobby Savoy
Manger: Lou Brown, "Nice catch Hayes, Don't ever fucking do it again"
Play by play: Harry Doyle, "JUST a bit outside"
More after the jump...
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
It's that time of year again to show your loved ones you care...
...by ignoring them and sitting in front of hours of football all day on a Thursday.
It's holiday season again sports fans and guess which one comes 2nd (the 1st being Homecoming passing a couple weeks ago) it's Thanksgiving. So with that it's time to sit back and thank those who have made these last weeks, months, and years so important to me. Here comes my list. of things that I'm thankful for.
Michael Vick going to jail for harming dogs in the name of "sport".
OJ Simpson maybe going to jail for life for conspiracy charges and aggravated kidnapping charges, I just want him locked up the remainder of his life. I don't know how he got off after cutting two people's heads clean off 14 years ago, but hopefully this time around he gets what's coming to him.
The chance that the distinguished Henry Aaron will once again be the Home Run king, maybe Barry will have more, but at least Hank will hold the record for most Home Runs for someone who never served time.
My family and friends.
The fact that this year's Territorial Cup game between the Cats and the Scum Devils in Tempe will be one of the biggest yet, and a Kitty Kat victory means a Bowl Game.
Birthdays at work, Bagels, Cake, or Donuts in the Kitchenette, good stuff, makes the day a little bit better.
Caddyshack, Animal House, Fletch, Boondock Saints and most of the Kevin Smith movies, you cannot be overly thankful for such great things.
Bowl Season.
Kevin Everett walking again, I don't know why I have taken such an interested approach to this story but as I have mentioned in earlier posts this is the story of the year in my book.
Rivalry Week/Rivalry Games.
Tom Emankski's instructional Baseball videos, without them I would never be able to throw a ball into a trashcan at home plate from left center. Thanks Tom. (Did you know that The Crime Dog Fred McGriff supports these videos, and he was one of the all time greats).
Beer, Whiskey, Deep Dish Pizza, Chicken Wings, Hot Dogs (done right), Brats, Sausages, Red Meat, Potatoes, and the invention of the BBQ Grill.
Chicago.
The comedy of Dennis Leary, Brian Regan, Dane Cook's early stuff, Steven Colbert, and the late Mitch Hedberg.
The Stones, The Beatles, CCR, 7 minute long solo's, DMB, Jack Johnson, Ben Harper, acoustic guitars, George Strait, Tracy Lawrence, Garth Brooks, Merle Haggard, Hank Williams, and the legendary Man in Black Johnny Cash.
The infield Fly Rule.
No DH in the NL.
2007 College Football season.
Top Chef: specifically Chef Collichio, Padma inferring that Gail Simmons of Food and Wine Magazine (I think that's actually her full name since that's all I've ever heard her called) is a slut, Harold, his Lisa Frank Pencil, "I'm a cook", gritty mushrooms, raw pepper, Dave "Chef Cry", Stephen the Sommolier, "It is what it is", everyone's hatred for Marcel a.k.a. Rocketboy, Cliff, Sam, Mike "Betty Crocker meets Charles Manson", and last but not least C.J. Big Time.
Bruce Willis refusing to let Det. John McLane go, I am all for Die Hard's being made until Bruno is on oxygen between takes.
Boston's MLS team losing (enough Boston teams winning constantly). I don't know what's more annoying, the fact that they are dominating every sport, the fact that they feel the need to let everyone know, constantly, that they're dominating every sport, or the fact they do it with that wicked awful accent.
Rushing the Field.
NOT having to hear John Madden talk about Mutant turkeys and circle yams and pumpkin pies with his telestrator on Thursday.
Turducken.
Seriously Turkey, Duck, Chicken, layers of stuffing in between. Also, there are variations where they throw in a Game Hen or Sausage just to further clog arteries.
Board games and trivia games, I haven't met a worthy adversary in awhile.
ESPN.
TV and Movie Marathons.
The Autumn months where football (NCAA and NFL) can literally be found on TV almost every night, and if it isn't on the World Series is or else there is (NCAA or NBA) basketball on.
Anthony Bourdain: Cook, Author, TV Personality.
Vic Chanko: Tony's alter celebrity ego, Vic doesn't climb mountains.
March Madness.
Spring Break.
The Hansen Brothers puttin on the foil.
Wireless Internet.
The Asterisk *
Tony Romo a.k.a. Bromo taking over the NFC and Jason Whitten scoring TDs sans helmet (and this coming from a guy who hates the Cowboys).
Kevin Costner movies: Bull Durham, Field of Dreams, The Untouchables, and Wyatt Earp, not Dances with Wolves or Waterworld
The slew of jokes that will follow the above statement.
Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, Harold Ramis, John Belushi, Dan Akroyd and their followers, Chris Farley, Will Farrell, Vince Vaughn, and sometimes the Wilsons or Stiller.
And of course the people who made me who I am today, through their teachings and morals I have become the man I am Thank You: John Wayne and Mike Ditka.
More after the jump...
I Put the Real in Reality TV....
Who cares who wins the Bachelor? I do. Unlike some people I am secure enough to watch every reality show no matter what kind of hit you think it takes to my manhood. Ever known a girl who reads ESPN to impress guys? Ever seen a guy talk Project Runway with the girls and see what kind of response it gets? That’s where I step in. Honestly it might be the fact that I am competitive to a fault or maybe it’s that I just have way to much time on my hands, but picking the winner of a reality show after the first week feels good…
I will now proceed to break down Season 4 of Project Runway giving the odds on who will be coming out on top….
Rami: 4 to 1
Christian: 5 to 1
Ricky: 6 to 1
Victorya: 7 to 1
Jillian 8 to 1
Kevin: 9 to 1
Jack: 9to 1
Kit: 10 to 1
Carmen: 11 to 1
Sweet P: 11 to 1
Marion 12 to 1
Steven: 13 to 1
Chris: 16 to 1
Elisa: 21 to 1
Simone: Eliminated
You can check any of your favorite sports betting sites (if you live outside the U.S) to see the difference in odds, but my track record speaks for itself…I think I might have a future in this…
4Real Out…
More after the jump...
Still The National Past Time...
Baseball season is 365 days a years, and sticking with that statement Selig has decided to release a different post season award every few days… I still maintain that it is the purest sport left ( look past this steroid era) only a true fan knows the intricacies that give it it’s aura.
American League Cy Young goes to…
C.C Sabathia (Voting: 19-8 over Josh Beckett): 19-7 3.21 ERA 241 innings pitched (Most in Majors)
Perks: $250,000 Bonus plus his base salary increases from 9 mil to 11 mil for 2008
Sabathia becomes a free agent after 2008 and this Cy Young season is going to give him substantial leverage when contract negotiations come around. He has made it clear that he wants to stay in Cleveland, but the problems comes down to the amount left over after he signs to keep Fausto and other contributors to the great Cleveland bullpen this year.
American League MVP goes to….
Alex Rodriquez (Voting: 26-2 over Magglio Ordonez): 54 HRs 156 RBIs 143 Runs
Perks: 1.5 million Bonus
ARod’s 3rd MVP solidifies his stature as the best in baseball, but the signing of a contract extension in NY solidifies ten more postseasons of him not performing up to standards. After opting out of his original contract that earned him 185.45 million over seven years, he was in search for a contract worth nearly 350 million. Unfortunately he had to settle for 275 million over ten years, breaking his own record for the biggest contract in history.
National League Cy Young goes to….
Josh Peavy ( Voting: Unanimous 32-0 over Webb receiving 31 2nd place votes)
Stats: 19-6 2.54 ERA 240 Strikeouts
Perks; $100,000 Bonus plus base salary increased 3 million to 11 million for 2008
Peavy is also the center of contract negotiations, but beyond being my hands down pick to win the Cy Young because of his dominant season he has now won my heart. In an interview with ESPN he was asked about the money he could draw in on the market, and what impact that will have on him to which he responded "I'm really not worried about it…The team has given me financial security for the rest of this old Alabama boy's life. ... I just want to be fair to the rest of my peers when I sign something." My hat is off to you.
National League MVP goes to….
Jimmy Rollins ( Voting: 16-11 over Matt Holliday)
Stats: .296 30 HR 94 RBIS 41 Steals
Perks: Not Specified by any Source I could find, Philly hook a brother up.
Rollins was the catalyst for a Phillies team that rallied late to win a tough eastern division title. I know what most people thing, and maybe Matt Holiday should have taken it. The problem is that this is the reason why the name MVPs of the the playoff series. The voting took place before the Rockies swept the Phillies, and Holliday was close to putting a cherry on top of the Cinderella run by the Rockies. Fact of the matter is Rollins wins, the Phillies have back to back MVPS on their team and still no one is watching them.
4Real Out...
More after the jump...
Random thoughts...
More after the jump...
Monday, November 19, 2007
In the Ruck...
So basically the College Football rankings are disgusting. #2, #4, and #15 got defeated this past week once again jarring the rankings like a retarded toddler pounding on an aquarium. Many attest the Oregon and Oklahoma losses to the injuries sustained by their starting quarterbacks. But a quarterback isn't the whole team last time a checked, and I figured as a team and football being a team sport, it took a whole team to get to that #2 position. So everyone stop crying about that, and blaming injuries to "key" players as reasons to losing to the underdogs.
As the end of the season comes closer every day, only two undefeated teams stand...Hawai'i and Kansas, but who knows what'll happen. Hawai'i plays Boise State and Kansas plays Missouri. I'm scared to make picks this week. God help me.
More after the jump...
No love
More after the jump...
Thursday, November 15, 2007
People like you
Sorry, work was slow and I decided (after some reading) a rant was in order.
To you Jacob Levine, English Major (my guess is you are a 5th year senior) shame on you and your whole family (of course there is the slight chance you still live with your parents).
Quoted in today's Arizona Daily Wildcat:
Jacob Levine, a senior majoring in English and creative writing, had his Thursday night poetry class cancelled due to parking issues."I'm upset because the priorities of the administration are on the football game, and I didn't go to college to be a football fan," Levine said. "I came to be a student."
Mancheck 1
First off, last time I checked missing class was a good thing. It was one of my favorite things of my undergrad. And to continue on this, Poetry Class? Really, I feel like I know you based solely on your statement. I will preface this by saying I do not know Mr(s). Levine, I have never met him, and my statements are based solely on his statement. You most likely live with your parents, are in your 5th (possibly 6th) year of college, and are definately going to grad school because you don't know what you want to do when you grow up but you used to get B+'s in High School English. Of course the funny thing is the amount of money you spend getting this higher education in English and creative writing will most likely leave you sitting in the cubicle next to me (or someone like me) face it once you get into the real world, your college major or grad school hardly matters. Trust me, I know.
Mancheck 2
Priorities? The schools priorities lie in the bettering of student life and programs. Guess where money comes in to the school from. (O M G he ended a sentence with a preposition) You guessed right (non) sports fan from the sports teams, especially say on a huge Thursday night Pac 10 game vs. the #2 team in the country, perhaps. I don't recall Ralph Waldo Emerson or Walt Whitman doing much for this or any other university for that matter. And you didn't come to college to be a student. You are an english major. Go grab your frisbee and play some ultimate. Being a student is not just grades and bad union food it's the traditions, the bars, the sports, homecoming, march madness, painting your face and/or body, not haikus and couplets.
Mancheck 3
Sports > Poetry
The leaves were as green as her eyes,
But all I cared about was between her thighs.
(I can write poems too, and I didn't even take poetry class)
It is at this point I apologize to Mr. Levine, since I have never met him and he (hopefully) was misquoted and I am wrong....I strongly doubt it though. But this was not aimed directly at him but rather everything he and people like him stand for, unfortunately for him, he gave them a name and an identity to attack. This is what's wrong with U of A football, the quantity of people like Jacob Levine. In Florida you can't get a ticket on gameday at the box office. In Tucson you can get one after kickoff from the box office (60% of the time). This lackadaisical approach to sports by some of the students is the problem. If you didn't want to come to college to be a football fan then why did you come to a Pac-10 school, there are plenty of schools out there who don't even have a football team, and all the dirty poetry reading people just like you are out there too. Stop taking up space on the mall playing Frisbee and hackysack, cut your dreads and leave my school. Only true fans need apply.
Dom graduated in 4 years from the University of Arizona with a B.A. in History Education. You can read him daily/bi-daily on TheBearDown and his book Untitled will be hitting the stores as soon as it is written, published, and printed.
More after the jump...
Why Being Really Lonely Is Sometimes Super Awesome
Well, that's not exactly true but I find that quote from that show so funny I decided to make it the title for an article. And with that some quick hits:
Alone...
...On a Thursday night in an important football game THE University of Arizona Kitty Kats vs Oregon Ducks, all the spotlights are on them. F*&K the Ducks. Don't overlook U of A on this one. Here in the Stoops era the Cats have been very VERY inconsistent, and it seems like they never win when they're supposed to, on the flip side to that they have a habit of winning big when they're not supposed to. Don't get me wrong, I don't really foresee my beloved Kitty Kats taking down the Number 2 team in the country led by Heisman Candidate Dennis Dixon, but our boys know when to show up big for big games. Yeah Stoops record over the last 4 years (12-22) is not the greatest. But upon closer inspection:
2004, His first season defeats #20 ASU
2005, Defeats #7 UCLA 52-14 in a seriously impressive win (as I have mentioned before, great game)
2006, An impressive upset of #8 Cal (as well as a victory @ #25 Wazzu)
These all share a few characteristics:
Ranked Opponent: #20, #7, #8
Huge Games: Rivalry game, Homecoming, Homecoming
Where: Home, Home, Home
TV: Yes, Yes, Yes
Lets look at tonight's game:
Ranked Opponent: Check, #2
Huge game: Check, Big Thursday Night Game
Where: Check, Home
TV: Check, ESPN
And let's not forget Oregon is # 74 in Total Defense allowing over 400 ypg (yards per game) and over 5.4 ypp (yards per play) and they're 105th against the pass allowing almost 13 yards per completion and almost 270 ypg. Meanwhile in lowly Tucson, the Kitty Kats are 9th in the Nation in Passing offense averaging 316 ypg in the air. If the Arizona Defense led by Spencer Larson and Antoine Cason can shut down Dixon and Jonathon Stewart at all, they have a serious chance. Plus Arizona's passing attack centers on a couple of deep bombs to break up the Defense and short passes meaning serious Time Possession, limiting Oregon's time with the Ball will work out for Arizona.
By no means am I guaranteeing an upset, but it wouldn't be the first time Stoops Troops made some noise on the big stage.
Alone...
...at the bottom of the Eastern Central Division, the Chicago Bulls. It's time to make some noise and move up. No more trade talks, it's time boys you always start slow, well now's the time for that yearly push. Not likely though seeing that they are beginning their tumultuous November Road Stretch.
Alone...
...at the bottom of the NFL, The Miami Dolphins, really pushing for the 0-16, Running the table in the opposite direction, something many of us have been waiting a long time for, we just need a little help from a few teams (the Pats losing, and everyone else beating the Fish) and The Dolphins will not only have the only undefeated team in NFL history but on its' historic 25th Anniversary, they will have the only 0-16 team ever.
Alone...
...Atop the NBA the Boston Garnetts. This team is incredible. Three stars forming together at the perfect time for some outrageous chemistry and selflessness leaving them to dominate everyone else. I knew this team was going to be good, but not this good. And I have always liked Garnett so good for him. On a sidenote my early pick for GM of the year...not Danny Ainge who picked up Garnett and Allen to forge this unholy union, but other Former (and possibly current) Celtic, Minnesota GM Kevin McHale for guaranteeing a successful Celtics team with that trade. How did he let that deal happen. I know what he was thinking, I can take a job in Minnesota, sit around for a few years and the *BAM* ship my best player to the Celtics. I half expect to walk into his office and see a complete replica of the Parkay floors and Celtic Green everywhere. He's like Sting, everyone thinks he's joining the NWO then *BAM* hits Nash (or was it Hall) with a bat and stays a good guy.
Alone...
...at work. I just heard Star Wars Yoda impersonations between two of the guys I work with. Having a conversation. Why do I work at a software company. I'm the only one here under 30. I hate this place.
Alone...
...in the thought that Colt Brennan is not overrated and unfortunately plays for an underrated Hawaii team. This guy is a class act and will be a good pro quarterback in a pass first offense. Expect him to make some waves on Sundays.
Alone...
...in the thought that Reality TV needs to go bye-bye, especially the Dating shows. These people aren't looking for love. There is what one successful one out of all the Bachelor/Bachelorette/Flavor of Love/I Love New York/Joe Millionaire, etc shows. These people are looking for fame, and shame on you, America, for giving it to them.
Alone...
...at the bottom of their storied tradition, Notre Dame, playing for it's second win of the season, and it's not week 3 or 4. There are rebuilding years and there are tear it down, play somewhere else for a year and come back years. This is the latter, everyone knew it was going to happen, but who would have guessed they were going to lose 2 to the service academies. The fact that GaTech (6-4, 3-4) was ranked #21 after beating them and that team hasn't really impressed again all season, and really didn't deserve to be 21st, and especially didn't deserve to be 15th after defeating Samford to go 2-0.
I guess being lonely sometimes is Super Awesome (Pats, Celts, and hopefully another Huge Upset at Arizona Stadium tonight). As Always GO CATS!!
More after the jump...
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Lumberjacks?
With Lute Olson gone indefinately, the Cats seemed unaffected and confident in going into last night's game against NAU. Apparently Olson brings more than just good recruits to UofA, seeing as how the Cats barely won last night. There's alot of magic under those silver locks and UofA can't take that for granted. So all I have to say to all those people who think Lute is too old is, Wake the fuck up. Lute has brought the University of Arizona its most winningest prime-time team. He is actually actively involved in the campus and his team, and apparently is a very integral part of it. So you want to get rid of him? So we can put our faith in any sports confidence on our "developing" football team? Much love to our National Championship softball team but, bragging about that to other colleges is fastly becoming mudane. So don't take for granted one of our University's best sports icon, don't be that school. Much Love to Lute.
More after the jump...
Monday, November 12, 2007
Enough already
Ok we get it, beware the upset, fear the low- and mid-major conferences, and don't forget about D-IAA or D-II schools (FCS in football). It was cute when Appy State took down Michigan in September. We were all schocked and amazed and it was like when your little cousin says something and it's so cute that everyone claps and awwwws. Once is enough. Or so I thought.
Now every week there are more than a couple outstanding upsets. Major upsets in college sports have become so common this football and very young basketball season that a ranked team beating an unranked team is starting to be the surprising part of the weekend. Texas actually beating Texas Tech surprises more people than say Maryland beating BC. Now when your cousin does that thing that made everyone laugh it's just not funny anymore and you really wish it would stop for your sanity sake.
It is expected that there will be more than a couple upsets every week. A year ago we would expect 1 maybe 2 upsets a week in the top 25 and usually somewhere in the neighborhood of 25-30 in a given season. Last season The Ohio State University went coast-to-coast as the consensus #1 the entire season and it wasn't too deep into the season when Michigan was #2 and rode that spot until they lost to OSU in the Big 11 Championship game, and OhState kept the #1 until the BCS Championship game vs Florida (who alledgedly shouldn't have been in that game) and lost, so too did Oklahoma lose to a "less worthy" opponent in Boise State and the Fiesta Bowl, maybe this was the start of it all, 2007 a wierd year for football. Things were just kind of expected last year, USC and Texas were the major powers ranked high early who fell to foes and dropped in the rankings in the big upsets and Florida just trudged along hanging out in the top 10 and top 5 for most of the season until the end. A few surprises and more than a couple upsets but an average College Football season. And as far as basketball is concerned, the upsets are a little more common since there are three times as many games but still it was a pretty typical season, especially early on when playing the softer out of conference schedules, almost no movement in the top 25 last season, Florida dropping in week three to #5 after a road loss to then #12 Kansas was a pretty common ocurrance, this is not a huge surprise on anyone's calendars.
Now fast forward to this year:
Appalachin State over #5 Michigan (@ the Big House), week 1, only major upset (Clemson also upset then #19 and highly overrated Florida State who barely see the top 25 again the rest of the season) and it was a pretty average week of College Football, but people who saw that game or score had a funny feeling. Sure Appy St. was an amazing FCS team and we all knew that Michigan was taking them lightly, but there is not enough excuses in the world to reason out why an FCS team should beat the #5 team in the country. Then week 2: #22 Boise State fell to Washington, #11 GA fell to South Carolina and #17 Auburn fell to S. Florida. still nothing setting off the Radar, this fulfilling the average about 1-2 upsets per week and we have 4 through 2 weeks with 1 huge surprise and 1 mediocre surprise (SF over Aub).
Then week 3 and the upsets started piling up but nothing too crazy, 3 more, Utah over #11 UCLA, Kentucky over #9 Louis-ville, and #21 BC over #15 Ga. Tech. People now start noticing this new trend of upsets.
Week 4: Miami over #20 Auburn, Syracuse over #18 Louis-ville, (left for dead) Michigan over #10 JoePa's, and #22 GA fighting back after the SoCar loss to upset #16 Bama. Starting to get a little stranger then ...
Week 5. The week that absolutely killed me in my poll:
#18 SF over #5 WVU, Illini over #21 JoePa's, Boulder over #3 Ok, Kstate over #7 Horns, GaTech over #13 Clemson, Maryland over #10 Rutgers, Noles over #22 Bama, and Auburn over #4 Florida. 5 top ten teams lose this week, 4 to unranked teams. Ok this season is officially starting to get crazy for the football fans but it can't continue at this pace.
Week 6: SoCar over #8 Kentucky, Illini over #5 Wisconsin, Kansas over #24 Kstate, Tennessee over #12 GA and Stanford over #2 USC. Two of the top 5 teams lost and 3 of the top 10, things aren't looking safe in the top 10 anymore. But all of the upsets are out of their system now, the rest of the season will go off with out a hitch right?
Week 7: Wake over #21 Noles, Iowa over #18 Illini, #17 Kentucky over #1 LSU, JoePa's over #19 Wisconisn, Oregon St. over #2 Cal, and Louis-ville over #15 Natti (from this point on Natti is almost always upset or upsetting someone else) Let me get this straight, Numbers 1 and 2 lose in the same week AND a # 2 loses in back to back weeks. For those of you counting at home in the last 3 weeks ELEVEN of the Top 10 teams (at any given week) lost.
For comparison sake let's look at Week 4's top 10 going into week 5: 1 USC, 2 LSU, 3 OK, 4 Fla, 5 WVU, 6 Cal, 7 TX, 8 OhSt, 9 Wisc, 10 Rutgers.
Now lets look at the top ten after week 7 was over (3 weeks later): 1 OhSt, 2 SF, 3 BC, 4 OK, 5 LSU, 6 SoCar, 7 Ore, 8 Kent, 9 WVU, 10 Cal
5 of the top ten fell out completely and others rebounded to only drop a couple spots. At this point all the upsets have to be over right. Wrong, we're in Conference Play where anything can happen, and this is usually the point of the upsets:
Week 8: Rutgers over #2 SF (third straight week #2 lost) Pitt over #23 Natti, Vandy over #6 SoCar, Bama over #21 Tenn, #15 Fla over #7 Kentucky, UCLA over #12 Cal, OkSt over #25 Kstate.
Week 9: MissSt over #14 Kentucky, #23 UCONN over #10 SF, #18 GA over #11 Fla, NcSt over #15 Va, Tenn over #16 SoCar.
Week 10: Natti over #18 SF, FSU over #2 BC (4th time #2 lost in last 5 weeks)
Week 11: Wisc over #12 Michigan (heartbreaking for Michigan after the effort to get back in the polls after 2 early losses to Appy St. and Oregon), MissSt over #22 Bama, Illini over #1 OhSt (at The Horseshoe, 2nd time #1 lost this season) and Natti over #13 UCONN.
Grand Total: 49 upsets this season, 19 top ten teams lost, 4 #2's, 2 #1's, 1 #4, 1 #3, and 3 #5s. And there's still a couple weeks and a few heated rivalry games and Conf Championships. Be prepared for more. Arizona over Oregon or Arizona State (quite possible in the Stoops era).
If that's not enought let's look at the first week of College Basketball Gardner Webb over #22 Kentucky, Mercer over #18 USC, Grand Valley State over #8 Michigan State, Findlay over Ohio State (though the last two were exhibitions, it's still an upset).
So how terrible is this to watch, that annoying cousin keeps saying and doing the thing/s that are driving you crazy. Every week someone is beating someone they're not supposed to. Well it completly ruins my football pool because you never know what's going to happen and there's nothing anyone can do about it. But as a fan, this has by far been one of the most exciting College Football seasons in recorded history, the Pac 10 getting some serious love, the Big East Fielding more than a couple ranked teams and climbing multiple teams into the top 10, the Big 11 fighting amongst each other constantly ultimately making the Big 11 Championship game between Michigan and OhSt less appealing as in past years but knowing each week Wisc, Illinois, Penn St, had a chance, that's fun. Watching highly touted programs falling to teams who before the game didn't even belong on the same turf.
And Then this can happen.
God I love this game.
On a side note this was one of the most fun times of my life being in the middle of that pack by the goal post after upsetting UCLA 52-14, and eventually just standing at the 50. Upsets and rushing the field are one of the highlights of college. If you never get to rush the field, I guess the only consolation is that your team is too good to necessitate such a thing, if it's because your team is so bad they don't win a game, then I'm just sorry.
More after the jump...
Thursday, November 8, 2007
The Nomination Show
As holiday season comes around it means the year it coming to a close and it's time to look back on the 2007 we all knew and some loved. So here for the first time are the announcements of the nominated parties in this years awards, Part 1. The first award "show" to document pop culture, movies, music, sports, and any other events I feel deserve recognition of some sort.
In the technical category of Best Online Blog the Nominees are
1) http://www.wwtdd.com/ - What Would Tyler Durden Do
2) http://my.nba.com/forum.jspa?forumID=400032200&start=0 Agent Zero Gilbert Arenas' Blog
3)http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/simmons/index Bill Simmons (thogh I think this might be his last hurrah as an actual Blog, but that's where it's roots are)
4) http://www.withleather.com/ - With Leather
5) http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=27753303&blogID=320297910 - Jenna (Pam) Fischer's Blog, maybe just because of the insider Office stuff, and her love for Friday Night Lights
Best (scripted) TV Show
1) Friday Night Lights
2) The Office
3) Scrubs
4) Lost
5) Entourage
Biggest Political Surprise
1) Former Senator/Actor Fred Thompson running for President
2) Nachos presents Actor/political correspondent/NYTimes bestselling author Stephen Colbert Running for President
3) Jon Stewart not running for President
4) Hillary still being in the race (and not being called out on her obvious pandering stating what the crowd wherever she is wants to hear)
5) John McCain not running away with the Republican nomination
Biggest Hollywood Surprise
1) Actors Fred Thompson and Stephen Colbert running for President
2) Lance Bass out of the Closet
3) Neil Patrick a.k.a. "NPH" a.k.a. "Doogie Hauser" Haris coming out of the closet
4) Three different amateur singing reality shows
5) Nicole Richie in jail and pregnant, at the same time
At this point I would like to announce the sad passing of Robert Goulet while waiting for a lung transplant. Goulet and your devil's martini's you will be missed 1933-2007.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecIFYSTqMxI
Biggest NCAA Football upset
1) (Then) No. 1Ohio State routed by Florida in the BCS titile game 41-14
2) (Then) No. 5. Michigan losing to FCS Appy State (@ home) 34-32
3) (Then) No. 22 Kentucky losing to Gardner Webb (@ home) 84-68
4) (Then) Unranked University of Arizona beating (Then) No.3 University of Oregon 49-17
*Wait that didn't happen yet, well if it does it's on the list
5) (Then) No. 2 Cal upset by Oregon State 31-28 (@ home leading to a 3 game losing skid by Cal)
Biggest 2007 draft bust
1) Portland's Sam Bowie errrr Greg Oden (No.1 over all 0.0 PPG 0.0 BPG 0.0 APG and 0.0 MPG)
2) Oakland's JaMarcus Russell (No. 1 overall Passing 0 attempts for 0 yards 0 TD and 0 INT for a rating of 0.0 and 0 rushing yards for 0 TD)
3) NFL teams with the picks 1-6 passing up on Adrian Peterson, shame on you
4) All 32 teams of the NFL for not drafting Jeff Samardzija in the 6th round of the draft his Minor league numbers: 4.36 ERA and a 7-13 record for Boise and Dayton the Cubs A and AA affiliates, if this keeps up he will re-enter the world of football because he could be putting up some serious numbers in the NFL right now
5) Milwaukee drafting Yi Jianlian, just wait, this one is prime to be one of the worst in history
Lifetime Achievement award this year is presented to Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Rodney Dangerfield, the Late Ted Knight, Michael O'Keefe et. al. for their work in Caddyshack. It is the 27th anniversary and if this movie can't be honored by the world every year it should at least be honored in all years divisible by 9.
Most unlikely to happen in 2008
1) Kobe setting the NBA record for Assists in a season while leading the Seattle Sonics to the Larry O'Brien Trophy
2) Notre Dame winning a BCS bowl game on the capable arm of Jimmy Claussen
3) Joe Paterno retires saying it was just his time
4) Samuel L. Jackson appearing in less than 4 movies
5) Someone finishes a round of golf without quoting Caddyshack
Best story of the 2007 year in sports
1) Ohio State making a run at fixing last years mistakes
2) Tom Osborne returning to Lincoln to fix Nebraska Football (don't be surprised if he goes back after Frank Solich or installs himself as "interim" Head Coach come January)
3) Kevin Everett able to walk with assistance and predicted to make a full recovery month after being told he would never walk again (take note Street you can do it without the shark stem cells)
4) Priest Holmes proving once again you can never count him out, first he goes undrafted 10 years ago and makes a name for himself, then he comes back after almost 2 years out of the game due to a neck injury and is leading the Chiefs again
5) Florida simultaneously holding both major NCAA championships. (As much as I hated it we will never see it again in our lifetime)
Well it's 5:00 which means it's time to hit the rush hour traffic, look for Part Deux later this week and the remainder of nominees. And I'm looking for a name so I'm listening to any and all ideas on possible names for the awards.
More after the jump...
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Can't Nobody Hold me Down...
So just after getting re-instated after being suspended for his less than stellar off field manners, Chris Henry is making noise all over again. Give the man a break, he's just fighting the man.
"The parking attendant states Henry went chest to chest with him....saying...."F-you....F-this....don't you know who I am?". The parking attendant states Henry then threw a five dollar bill onto the ground and said, "You better pick that up bitch"
Even though the police are not investigating this matter, it goes to show you that Chris Henry is speaking for all these stellar NFL athlete's by telling that meter maid that he's no punk bitch. Go get him Chris, if you decide to whoop his ass, atleast the Bengals will have beat someone down this year.
More after the jump...
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Heisman Inconsistency
As inconsistent as the media has been with the polls this year they have been as equally inconsistent with their candidates for the Heisman trophy. Flip flopping back and forth saying there is no true front runner for the most prestigious individual award in sports is turning it into a joke instead of the blessing that it rightfully should be. As history would tell us the winner usually comes from “the best player on the best team” instead of the actual best player. This is where I start getting confused. Below are the top 5 candidates and stats as assembled by the experts over at ESPN. These may be some of the best players, but not all of them on the best team.
Top 5:
1. Dennis Dixon ( 1 Loss #3) Passing: 2,074 YDS 20 TD 3 INT 67.9 CMP% Rushing: 549 YDS 8 TD
2. Darren McFadden (3 Losses NR) Rushing: 1,314 YDS 12 TD Passing: 65 YDS 2 TD Receiving: 97 YD 0 TD
3. Tim Tebow (3 Losses #15) Passing: 2,228 YDS 21 TD 4 INT 67.7 CMP% Rushing: 598 YDS 14 TD
4. Matt Ryan (1 Loss #8) Passing: 2,841 YDS 21 TD 11 INT 59.5 CMP% Rushing: 35 YDS 1 TD
5. Pat White (1 Loss #7) Passing: 1,070 YDS 9 TD 2 INT 70 CMP% Rushing: 656 YDS 9 TD
There is no denying the talent there but in a season like this, with the media treating the Heisman the way that they are, shouldn’t there be a number of other candidates worthy of consideration and air time? Below are a couple of guys that I believe should get some recognition, especially considering they are on the best teams, and that’s the way this usually works.
4Real’s Disrespected Candidates
Quarterbacks:
Todd Boeckman (0 Losses #1) Passing:1,965 YDS 23 TD 8 INT 65.8 CMP% Rushing: 8 YDS 0 TD
Todd Reesing (0 Losses #4) Passing: 2,339 YDS 23 TD 4 INT 61.2 CMP% Rushing: 203 YDS 1 TD
Chase Daniel (1 loss #6) Passing: 2,954 YDS 23 TD 9 INT 68.6 CMP% Rushing: 233 YDS 3 TD
Running Backs
Mike Hart (2 Losses #12) Rushing: 1188 12 TD Receiving: 7 for 43 YDS
Chris “Beanie” Wells (0 Losses #1): Rushing: 1165 10 TD Receiving: 5 for 21 YDS
Note: Neither Has fumbled in Collegiate Career
I’m not saying that any of these players should win or that all of them should be ranked above the ESPN top 5, but they need some credit. All three quarterbacks have brilliantly stepped up and led their teams into the upper echelon of teams, with similar stats and less losses. As for the running backs, Michigan’s Mike Hart is the only reason why they have climbed back into the rankings as fluidly as they did. As for Beanie it’s a bit of a homer pick but he has comparable stats to Hart and his team is ranked number one and undefeated, at least mention his name. I feel as if there is a bias to stay with the players and teams that were supposed to be there from the beginning instead of looking at this upset season for what it is. Why shouldn’t the Heisman Trophy be an upset pick…would you really be surprised?
4Real Out
More after the jump...
Posts
