Today's sports coverage is all about having an opinion. But what if there aren't enough facts to form an opinion? Why must there be a race to report or make a decision?
Texas Tech's Mike Leach was fired today after Adam James' allegations of mistreatment following a concussion.
Many people are angry that Leach was fired, while others empathize with James' allegations of mistreatment.
I do not think an injured player should be locked in an electrical closet. I also do not think a coach should be fired when an investigation is incomplete.
If you have watched ESPN's coverage of this story for the past two days, you might only see Leach as a cruel coach going outside of his bounds. I say this because, until today, I had only followed this story on ESPN.
I thought I had an opinion at that point; my mistake.
What is the first thing that pops up when you read this ESPN article regarding Leach from this afternoon? A video of Craig James, ESPN analyst and Adam's father, providing his commentary on the situation. I had to search the name of Ted Liggett, Leach's attorney, into ESPN's website, to find him speaking on Outside the Lines.
In "giving us both sides of the story," ESPN has provided us with an empathetic figure, a dad whose son has allegedly been mistreated, and an attorney, a profession that isn't too positively viewed, providing Leach's argument.
Yes, ESPN removed James from color commentary for the Alamo Bowl, featuring Texas Tech. That is an easy call. But if ESPN wants us to believe it is unbiased, why was James even on this telecast in the first place? Isn't there some inherent bias in an announcer who has a son on one of the teams in the game he's analyzing?
Where are the other players' complaints about being mistreated in Leach's ten years as head coach? We know from the Tiger Woods scandal that once one comes out of the woodwork, it does not take long for others to follow. Or is this just one egregious incident?
Did ESPN report something without enough evidence, as it has multiple times now? And even worse for them, did they report it so quickly because an employee's son was involved?
Today's journalistic culture rewards being the first to break a story. But many times it is done in haste and is not accurately reported or researched. Is it worth it to get your name on breaking news when you are going by one source and people's livelihoods are at stake?
So, I do not have a concrete opinion on this situation because we simply do not know all of the facts. While I do not have an answer, I do have another question. If an investigation is not complete, how can you fire the man at the center of it?
One thing I do know: the Leach story has been propagated by haste. Lots of coverage for a report that may have been hasty, then a firing that also may have been hasty.
Me? I have no problem waiting a little to make up my mind.
As a Jets fan, there have been many bad days of football this season, as recent as last week's disaster against Atlanta. There have been fourth quarter leads blown and painful last second touchdowns. The really good have been few and far between over the course of my just over a decade of Jets fanhood.
December 27, 2009, week 16 is one of the best I can remember in a long time. Usually, the Jets do not get the breaks. They haven't won a Super Bowl in 40 years. When they have a chance at the AFC Championship game, Doug Brien misses not one, but two game-winning field goals.
But this Sunday was a rare one, where EVERYTHING went the Jets way. Keep in mind, the Jets needed Dolphins and Jaguars losses, and a loss from either the Ravens or Broncos, to control their own destiny. So, look at the timeline of perfect events unfold:
1:00 - Here in NY we only get the Giants/Panthers game at 1:00. I'm not particularly excited, as this game does not hold any meaning to me. But it's the Giants' last game in Giants Stadium. Yes, the Jets also play at Giants Stadium. I do not like this fact. I also do not like the fact that the stadium has been a house of horrors for the Jets seemingly every December. And it just seems like the Giants have all the luck. Scott Norwood, wide right. Lawrence Tynes misses two field goals at Lambeau Field but gets a third chance and sends the Giants to a Super Bowl. David Tyree makes a miraculous catch using his helmet and the Giants win the Super Bowl.
So, there was something very cleansing about seeing the Giants not only lose in their final game at Giants Stadium but look absolutely bewildered. It was not a close game. The Giants were down 31-0 and lost 41-9. They got crushed in an important game they needed to keep their playoff hopes alive. A good start to the day.
- That game wasn't really important to the Jets...it was more just funny to see. But looking at the score ticker, the significant games all started to fall perfectly during the 1:00 hour. Houston up 24-0. Pats up 14-0, then 21-0. Texans and Pats both win. Then the Steelers hold on to beat the Ravens by three.
4:00 - The Jets go into the game against the Colts with control of their own destiny. Unbelievable. They are looking decent, but Manning is just so good. Brad Smith has an amazing return, the longest play in franchise history. But then Manning strikes back and gives them the lead...the point I said in my head, the Jets are good but he's just gonna beat them if he has the ball last. Then Santa Caldwell provides a Christmas miracle, the Colts starters come out, Painter's in and the Jets lead for the rest of the day. - The 4th quarter honestly may have been the most relaxing quarter of Jets football I've watched all season. There was nothing to complain about. They just ran the ball over and over, as the clock whittled away. Jets win. - To cap off this round of games, the Eagles win on an Akers field goal, beating the Broncos and giving the Jets a shot at the 5 seed.
SNF - Cowboys beat the Redskins, Giants are officially done. Week 17 is meaningless for them.
An all-around good day of football watching. But you know what, it was almost...too good. EVERYTHING went right. Next week, the Jets play Cincinnati in a win-and-in game on Sunday Night Football, the first time the Jets have been on SNF since it has been on NBC. All they need to do is win, against a Bengals team that may be resting starters. But Week 16 was so good that Jets history tells me it will all come crashing down in Week 17. I really hope not.
Other NFL notes:
- Jim Zorn said the Redskins were 4-13 in his post-game press conference. Someone is looking ahead to the 18 game season. Washington currently sits at 4-11.
- Enough of the 'Fire Jim Caldwell' nonsense. The guy is 14-1 as a head coach. I don't necessarily agree with his decision to pull the starters (as much as it did help the Jets) but he has earned the right to make that decision.
- Did the Saints seriously lose to the Bucs at home?
Same city, same result. Just like the MAC Championship at Ford Field, the Bobcats again fell short in the Motor City at the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl. Boy, would it have been tasty to get a first bowl win at the Pizza Bowl (and wow, isn't that cheesy). But again, the MAC gets off to a bad start during bowl season. My thoughts:
- Again, the Bobcats came out completely flat. The first half performance left the following adjectives in my head: disgusting, horrendous, embarrassing. Outside of two plays, the Shannon Ballard fumble return TD and the defense's fourth down stop, Ohio did nothing right. To give up 21 unanswered points to a 6-6 team on ESPN in a bowl game is embarrassing. There's no nice way to put it. Ballard's return and the 4th down stop were the only plays that kept Ohio from being completely finished.
- Despite the horror that was the first half, I have to give the defense credit for the second. They came out with intensity and shutdown Marshall's offense. They just couldn't stop the Herd when it counted most, on Marshall's 8 play, 35 yard final drive. Yes, the Herd missed the FG but the Bobcats only had 57 seconds left with no timeouts left, to get a TD, which leads me to my next point...
- TIMEOUTS! Game after game, I see Ohio burn through timeouts. It is probably my biggest frustration with Coach Solich. He used the first timeout with 7:53 left in the 3rd quarter, then the second timeout with 13:12 left in the 4th quarter. So for the final 13 minutes of a close game in which it was trailing, Ohio had only one timeout. It is just poor management to be down to one timeout at that point in the game. Marshall had all three of its timeouts for the final two minutes. I knew this was going to come back to bite them and it did, when Marshall ran the clock all the way down to :57 on its last drive because Ohio had just the one timeout.
- And this is not the first time it has happened...
- In the MAC Championship game, trailing Central Michigan, Ohio had one timeout left for the final 9:09. - Down seven against UConn, Ohio had one timeout for the final 5:05. - Down 6-3 against Kent State, Ohio used its final timeout at the 13:13 mark of the 4th quarter.
This is an alarming trend. Yes, timeouts are there to be used but when you are behind in close games, you really have to be judicious with using them.
- That said, I'm not sure if 10 minutes and three timeouts would have been enough for the Ohio offense to drive down the field. The rushing game has been a weak link but today was really bad. 24 carries, 12 yards. Just 123 total yards. Terrence McCrae made an excellent TD catch but the Bobcats' only TD drive of the day was aided by great field position from a blocked punt. Their longest drive of the day was 12 plays, 61 yards and 28 of those yards came from Marshall personal fouls.
- Didn't you just have a feeling it wasn't going to be the Bobcats' day when LaVon Brazill barely overthrew an open Taylor Price for what would have been a TD? Ohio thrives on big plays and after just missing out on one, did not score on that possession or again.
- What else? Matt Weller shockingly misses a 29-yard FG. Chris Garrett gets nothing on a 4th and 1 at the Marshall 25. A lot just didn't go the Bobcats' way.
- And with all of these issues, the Bobcats still had a chance at the end and only lost by four. Yes, they did a lot wrong. The pass game was stagnant and the run game non-existent. The special teams had its good (the punt block) and bad (Booker's punt return TD for Marshall, Weller's missed FG). The defense came out slow but held the Herd scoreless in the second half. But the comeback effort showed good resiliency and prevented the Bobcats from being blown out with people watching on ESPN.
- It has been a good season. Ohio gave UConn and Tennessee a test, won the MAC East and played some really good football in the last few regular season games. But the Detroit trips have been a disappointment. I did not expect a win over Central Michigan. I was truthfully glad to see them get there and give the Chippewas a game. I did think the Bobcats would beat a 6-6 Marshall team led by an interim coach. Maybe it says something about the MAC, which hasn't won a bowl game since 2006, that a middle of the pack C-USA team is better than the MAC's second best. I'm not sure. We'll see how the MAC performs in the next two weeks. But overall, the Bobcats have a lot to be proud of, despite today's loss. They rebounded after a tough 2008 and put together some performances in 2009 to build on for 2010.
- Finally, kudos to this senior class. Lee Renfro, Theo Scott, Taylor Price, Chris Garrett, to name a few, will be missed.
You saw 20-11 on my list of best bowl games of the decade but here come the heavy hitters. The real water cooler games that have produced some of college football's best memories this decade and, in some cases, ever. 10. 2000 Independence Bowl- Miss State 43, Texas A&M 41 OT While it was almost ten years ago, I actually remember watching this game. I was still kind of young, trying to stay up on New Year’s Eve and watch a new millennium begin; oh the excitement! This snow-filled affair in Shreveport (yeah, Shreveport and snow) helped keep me up, despite how difficult it was to see the Mississippi State players wearing all white. A couple unique bits...Mississippi State’s blocked PAT returned for 2 points in OT followed by Wayne Madkin scoring the last TD of the 20th century to win the game.
9. 2001 Holiday Bowl- Texas 47, Washington 43 After a scoreless first quarter, an air show broke out in the 2001 Holiday Bowl. Texas and Washington threw the ball 109 times and completed 69 passes. Major Applewhite threw for 473 yards and 4 TDs. Washington led 36-17 before Applewhite and the Longhorns stormed back with 23 unanswered points. Willie Hurst gave the Huskies a three-point lead with just 1:38 left but again Texas would come back. Applewhite brought the Longhorns down the field on a game-winning seven play, 80-yard touchdown drive to cap another Holiday Bowl shootout.
Highlights 8. 2005 Alamo Bowl- Nebraska 32, Michigan 28 A matchup between two storied programs produced a near-classic finish at the Alamo. The game was a good, yet relatively normal contest until down 32-28, Michigan had one last chance at the win...and Cal-Stanford part II almost broke out. It’s hard to explain all the details of the seven-lateral shuffle down the field...just watch what could have been "The team is on the field."
7. 2006 Orange Bowl- Penn State 26, Florida State 23 3 OT College football’s two winningest coaches, Bowden and Paterno, squared off but it took awhile for either to get a win. Four missed kicks and five hours later, it was coach Paterno who walked out of the Orange Bowl a winner, as Kevin Kelly kicked a game-winning FG in the 3rd overtime. It was a sloppy game with lots of penalties (21 combined) and missed opportunities but still a tense, memorable one between two historic coaches.
6. 2009 Fiesta Bowl- Texas 24, Ohio State 21 It was fitting that the last laugh would go to a Texas receiver named Cosby. Although the Longhorns were controversially left out of the National Championship Game in favor of Oklahoma, they still got a BCS shot. The underdog Buckeyes trailed 17-6 going into the 4th quarter but scored 15 straight points, including the much-maligned quarterback Todd Boeckman throwing a TD to the freshman who took his spot on the depth chart, Terrelle Pryor. Ohio State held a 21-17 with 2:05 left, too much time for Colt McCoy to work with. With 28 seconds to go, McCoy connected with Quan Cosby, who jolted free into the end zone. Ohio State inexplicably had no defenders playing deep when all that could beat them was a touchdown.
5. 2005 Rose Bowl- Texas 38, Michigan 37 The granddaddy of them all was not the traditional Pac-10/Big 10 matchup but it sure was exciting. In a prelude to future triumph at the Rose Bowl, Vince Young took over the game. He had four TD runs and one TD pass. Young gained 192 yards on the ground and 180 passing. There was offense all around with Michigan’s Chad Henne, Steve Breaston and Braylon Edwards doing their best to match Young. Michigan took a two-point lead with 3:04 to go but Texas’ Dusty Mangum snuck a winning 37-yard FG over the crossbar and inside the right upright as time expired.
4. 2005 Capital One Bowl- Iowa 30, LSU 25 You might be wondering why this game is ranked so high. It wasn’t a national championship game or even a BCS one. But it was a New Year’s Day contest and it had an awesome final few minutes. It was Nick Saban’s last game as LSU coach (before going to the NFL) and his team was on the brink of sending him away a winner. Freshman JaMarcus Russell came off the bench and sparked the Tigers, throwing two TD passes to bring them from down 24-12 to up 25-24 with only 48 seconds left. But then the Hawkeye magic ensued. Last play of the game, 56 yards, and all you have to say in Iowa is Tate-to-Holloway, as the underdog Hawkeyes win on the unbelievable bomb.
Now before reading this top three let me just preface it by saying it is incredibly difficult to rank these next three games. It’s like trying to rank Huntington pizza places; they’re all really good in different ways. But here’s my best go at it... 3. 2003 Fiesta Bowl- Ohio State 30, Miami 23 2OT In its fifth year, the BCS finally produced a classic championship game. Miami was an 11.5 point favorite and stocked with stars...Winslow, McGahee, Vilma, Wilfork, Sean Taylor, Andre Johnson, D.J. Williams, Devin Hester. A squad riding a 34-game win streak. The opponent, the underdog Buckeyes, with Jim Tressel and his sweater vest, in just his second year as Ohio State head coach. The drama was at a fever pitch in this game. There was Maurice Clarett’s strip, McGahee blowing out his knee, Miami’s comeback and Todd Sievers’ 40-yard FG as time expired…and that was just regulation. In the first overtime, Miami scored on its possession then thought it had the game won when Craig Krenzel’s 4th down pass fell incomplete, until a flag came out...a controversial pass interference on Miami. Ohio State tied it at 23 and then scored another TD in the second OT to take a 30-23 lead. On Miami’s possession, Ken Dorsey came out with an injury and then back in. But on 4th and goal at the 1, Cie Grant pressured Dorsey and his desperation heave fell to the Tempe grass.
2. 2006 Rose Bowl- Texas 41 USC 38 Perhaps the greatest college football championship game ever played, the 2006 Rose Bowl was the second BCS championship game to feature two undefeated teams. Vince Young returned to the Rose Bowl where he matched his impressive performance from a year ago. The game was close throughout, as USC took the biggest lead at 38-26 in the fourth. But like it has many times in this decade, the Longhorns came back in a bowl game, this time for a title. A pivotal moment came on 4th and 2 at the Texas 45 with just over two minutes to play. The Texas defense stopped LenDale White short and got the ball back, down five.
Just like the previous year against Michigan, Young led a game-winning drive in Pasadena. On 4th and 5, with the title on the line, Young darted into the end zone for the winning score. While White, Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush and Dwayne Jarrett all put up good numbers for USC, Young’s performance is one of the greatest in college football history. 30/40, 267 yards passing; 19 carries, 200 yds, 3 TD; for the night, 467 total yards. An unbelievable performance on the sport’s biggest stage.
1. 2007 Fiesta Bowl- Boise State 43, Oklahoma 42 David vs. Goliath was not for a national championship but it was chock-full of meaning. Utah had beaten Pittsburgh in the BCS two years before, but Pitt does not have the same national prestige of Oklahoma, a team that had been in the title game two of the three years prior to 2007. Boise State was the ultimate little guy, seen by many as just a horse-and-pony show on the smurf turf in Idaho.
The 2007 Fiesta Bowl saw the Broncos jump out to a first quarter lead that they would maintain until a Jared Zabransky pick was returned for a TD and Oklahoma took a TD lead with 1:02 remaining. It was over; the underdog had finally succumbed, right?
Wrong.
What makes this game the best of this decade and one of the best I’ve ever seen is a series of three unbelievable Boise State plays. First, the hook-and-lateral on 4th and 18 to send the game to overtime. Then, in OT, WR Vinny Perretta’s TD pass on 4th and 2 and finally the game-winning two-point conversion Statue of Liberty by Ian Johnson. And if that wasn’t enough drama, Johnson then proposed to his girlfriend, a Bronco cheerleader, in the postgame. This game is number one for the scrappiness and craftiness of the underdog to outsmart the big dog Sooners not once, not twice but three times. Games and moments like this are why we sit through hours and hours of sports.
So, yes, I still hate the BCS. Yes, college football still needs a playoff system. But in spite of all that, the 2000s have been home to some unforgettable bowl games and moments.
In the past decade, hundreds of bowl games have been played. Dozens of sponsors have come and gone. We’ve gotten to the point where there are two bowls not just sponsored by but named after pizza companies. But in the midst of this annual craziness, there have been some awesome, memorable moments. Those times that you get caught up in a game and completely stop what you’re doing. Those games that you get invested in and have to talk about with friends as soon as possible.
2009’s bowl season started with a bang today, as 11-point underdog Wyoming won the New Mexico Bowl in 2OT. And since it’s a blizzard here in NY and I’m stuck inside what better to do then make a list! So, I’ve sifted through the decade of bowl games, the good, bad and ugly, and, outside of something epic happening in the next week and a half, have decided my top 20 of the 2000s. Relive some fun bowl moments...here’s 20-11: 20. 2007 Chick-fil-A Bowl- Auburn 23, Clemson 20 OT Auburn unveiled a new spread attack and ended Clemson’s 2007 on a sour note. The explosive C.J. Spiller broke off an 83-yard TD run for Clemson. But the difference was Auburn quarterback Kodi Burns, who saw more playing time in the new offense, and ran in the game winner in overtime.
19. 2004 Liberty Bowl- Louisville 44, Boise State 40 This was the 2004 bowl season’s best non-BCS game matchup, with Boise State ranked 9th in the BCS and Louisville 10th. The high-powered offenses put points on the board but it was Louisville’s Stefan LeFors who led the way with two TDs through the air and one on the ground. Michael Bush controlled the 4th quarter with impressive runs and the Cardinals snapped Boise’s 22-game winning streak.
18. 2008 Capital One Bowl- Michigan 41, Florida 35 Lloyd Carr went out with a win in his last game as Michigan head coach and the Wolverines’ senior class got its first bowl victory. Percy Harvin, Tim Tebow and Andre Caldwell on the Gators side and Chad Henne, Mike Hart and Adrian Arrington for the Wolverines accounted for much of the over 900 yards of offense, striking back and forth. But Michigan overcame a four-point deficit with under 6 minutes in the game, holding Tebow to just four yards on the Gators’ final two possessions.
17. 2008 Alamo Bowl- Missouri 30, Northwestern 23 OT Some called this the Journalism Bowl, for the schools' esteemed journalism programs. Of course, Ohio University would have to be involved for it to be a true journalism bowl but this game was fun to watch nonetheless. Jeremy Maclin returned a punt, LB Sean Witherspoon was sick (in the good way) and the Northwestern defense flustered Chase Daniel. But the key was special teams. Northwestern’s Amado Villarreal missed a third quarter extra point and Missouri’s Jeff Wolfert missed a 44-yard FG at the end of regulation. Either going through would have sealed the deal. Instead, Chase Daniel got another shot in overtime and finished his senior season with a TD to Maclin that would end up as the deciding score.
16. 2005 Sun Bowl- UCLA 50, Northwestern 38 Northwestern jumped out to a 22-0 lead but UCLA responded with 36 unanswered points in a wild one in El Paso. There was lots of scoring and offense, 1,037 yards combined, a Sun Bowl record. The weirdest and most memorable moments… UCLA’s Brandon Braezell returning not one but two onside kicks for TDs. Yes, two onside kick returns were the deciding scores. That is wacky even for the more than occasionally crazy world of college football.
15. 2003 Insight Bowl- Cal 52, Virginia Tech 49 In a football game played in a baseball stadium, this was anything but a pitcher’s duel. Played at the home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, the 2003 Insight Bowl featured the passing proficiency of Cal’s Aaron Rodgers and the playmaking of Virginia Tech’s DeAngelo Hall. A 4th quarter punt return by Hall tied the score at 49. But Rodgers had the ball in his hands at the end and led the Bears into position for a Tyler Fredrickson winning FG as the clock hit zero.
14. 2006 Sun Bowl- Oregon State 39, Missouri 38 It takes guts to go for two with the game on the line. Ask Tom Osborne or Chris Petersen. Mike Riley did just that and it paid off for Oregon State. After Matt Moore threw his 4th TD with 22 seconds left, Riley sent out the offense to go for the win. Yvenson Bernard ran it in through the middle and with the two-point conversion the Beavers were the victors.
13. 2000 Orange Bowl- Michigan 35, Alabama 34 I am a bit young to remember Shaun Alexander playing his last collegiate game but the 2000 Orange Bowl still deserves to be mentioned on this list. Tom Brady was at the helm for Michigan and led them back from down 14 twice. Alexander and Brady were the stars of the night. Each had three TDs. In overtime, Alabama had a chance to tie it and send it to a second extra period but kicker Ryan Pflugner flubbed the extra point wide right.
12. 2003 Hawaii Bowl- Hawaii 54, Houston 48 3 OT Hawaii and Houston fought through three overtimes before a winner was decided...then they fought each other on the field after the game. Kevin Kolb threw for 332 yards, while Timmy Chang topped him with 475 passing. Kolb hit Vincent Marshall on an 81-yard TD strike to tie the game and send it to overtime. After three OT periods, the hometown Warriors finished off Houston. But this Hawaii Bowl is also remembered for the post-game extracurriculars, where words were exchanged and punches thrown.
11. 2001 GMAC Bowl- Marshall 64 East Carolina 61 2 OT 125 total points, 102 of those in regulation. That’s a bowl game record. Byron Leftwich’s 576 yards passing...also a bowl record. Defense may have been at a premium but drama certainly was not. After overcoming a 30-point halftime deficit, Leftwich drove the Herd down the field and connected with Darius Watts for a game-tying TD with seven seconds left. Marshall could have won with the extra point but Curtis Head missed his seventh of the season. So, both teams got a chance to score some more and Marshall prevailed with a TD in the second overtime.
Yes, voters do not like to give the award to defensive players (just one in 75 years) but Suh was dominant. Suh may not have had enough hype to win it but he was 2009's best college football player. Just ask Colt McCoy.
Most college football fans know we don’t want the BCS anymore.
So if we want a playoff, the questions arise: how many teams? How will it be set-up? Will the bowls be involved?
I’ve gone through some potential proposals. I had an interesting 10-team playoff idea sent to me, I’ve looked at 12-team, even as many as 16 teams. So to help me decide which number might be best, I looked at the past three years’ final BCS standings to see where the cutoff would be for teams that should be considered for a playoff.
2009 1 Alabama 2 Texas 3 Cincinnati 4 TCU 5 Florida 6 Boise State 7 Oregon 8 Ohio State 9 Georgia Tech 10 Iowa 11 Virginia Tech 12 LSU
What should be the cutoff: After the 8th team, Ohio State. However, you could also make a good argument for Georgia Tech’s inclusion.
2008 1 Oklahoma 2 Florida 3 Texas 4 Alabama 5 USC 6 Utah 7 Texas Tech 8 Penn State 9 Boise State 10 Ohio State 11 TCU 12 Cincinnati
What should be the cutoff: After the 9th team, Boise State. I don’t think Ohio State has that compelling of an argument after its loss to Penn State.
2007 1 Ohio State 2 LSU 3 Virginia Tech 4 Oklahoma 5 Georgia 6 Missouri 7 USC 8 Kansas 9 West Virginia 10 Hawaii 11 Arizona State 12 Florida
What should be the cutoff: After the 10th team, Hawaii (looking back we know Hawaii was not quite BCS-caliber but at the time we didn’t). This was a crazy season, as a two-loss team won the national championship. The top 10 all consists of teams with 2 losses or less. However, when you get to 11 and 12 you get to three loss teams, which dilutes the pool too much.
My endorsement: 10 teams It is tough for me to choose between an 8 and 10 team playoff. But I’m going with 10 teams because it allows 7-10 to play itself out on the field and prevents a deserving 9th place team from being left out. Plus it means more meaningful December college football.
- First round games will be played at campus sites. - #7 will play #10 and #8 will play #9. Seeds 1-6 will all have first-round byes. #1 will face winner of 8 v. 9 and #2 the winner of 7 v.10.
- This year’s first round matchups would be: o #9 Georgia Tech at #8 Ohio State- Fri. Dec. 18, 8 PM o #10 Iowa at #7 Oregon, Sat. Dec. 19, 8 PM
- Quarterfinal games will be played no sooner than five days later, also at the home stadium of the higher seed. This will ensure that fans will not have to travel for potentially three straight weeks to different parts of the country, especially during the holiday season.
- This year’s quarterfinals (with my predictions) would be: o #8 Ohio State at #1 Alabama- Thu. Dec. 24, 8 PM o #5 Florida at #4 TCU- Thu. Dec. 24, 3:30 PM o #7 Oregon at #2 Texas- Sat. Dec. 26, 8 PM o #6 Boise State at #3 Cincinnati- Sat. Dec. 26, 3:30 PM
- Seminfinal games will consist of two current BCS bowls. Each of the four BCS bowls will be a national semifinal twice every four years. The third year it will be the national championship game. The fourth year it will not be included in the BCS Playoffs. It will have first choice of any teams not included in the 10-team playoff and the time/date of the game.
- This year’s national semifinals (with my predictions) would be: o Orange Bowl- Alabama vs. TCU- Fri. Jan. 1, 8:30 PM o Fiesta Bowl- Cincinnati vs. Oregon- Fri. Jan. 1, 4 PM
- Each BCS bowl will be the national championship every four years. o The 2009 BCS National Championship at the Rose Bowl #1 Alabama vs. #3 Cincinnati, Mon. Jan 11, 8 PM
Imagine the fun of heated college football during the weeks leading up to New Year’s Day. Then you get two national semifinals on New Year’s Day. Once again, meaningful games will be brought back to the first of the year. This playoff system gives us some mouth-watering potential matchups. You could have rematches between Florida/Alabama and Oregon/Boise State and traditional teams facing off with Ohio State against Alabama. And most importantly, the computers only set the rankings. The top two teams and ultimately the champion are decided through games played on the field, the way it should be.
Annual December rituals: playing in the snow, buying a Christmas tree, New Year’s eve, the failure of the BCS.
Each year I enjoy a college football season until the end of the final weekend. It’s like watching a movie that you’re really liking, thinking might be worth the $10…then comes the stupid twist at the end.
The final BCS standings are college football’s stupid twist.
They say college football has the most meaningful regular season. Well, it also has the most meaningless postseason.
We have two undefeated teams going to the BCS National Championship game (surprise, the two with the most money and tradition). As Texas slipped by Nebraska, it “earned” the right to play Alabama.
And this time, the two BCS busters have been paired against each other. So, we will have no David vs. Goliath, no idea if TCU or Boise State is better than its BCS-conference counterparts. But we do get the mouth-watering matchup of Georgia Tech and Iowa in the Orange Bowl…
Let’s get this straight: three teams that won all of their games have absolutely no chance at winning a title. Doesn’t something about this strike you as wrong? Would this ever be possible in any other sport?
There better be some anger about this. But there probably won’t be. Because the teams left out are TCU, Cincinnati and Boise State. I guarantee you if it were Ohio State, USC and Notre Dame that were undefeated and left out of the championship game, there would be some ire.
Supporters will say we have two big-name, traditional championship powers in the title game and they’re both undefeated, so the system worked.
Well, that’s flat out wrong. Once again, this system will leave us with more questions than answers. Tell me why Texas is better than TCU, Cincinnati or Boise State. Two of those are non-BCS schools but Cincinnati won the Big East. Why is another undefeated BCS conference champion not even realistically considered?
It’s not like the Big XII was a far-and-away superior conference this season. It finished the season with two ranked teams. Texas played no one of merit in its out-of-conference schedule. TCU scheduled and beat Clemson. Boise State beat Oregon. Cincinnati played at Oregon State and won. All of those opponents, eight or more win BCS schools.
Texas’ toughest out-of-conference opponent? UCF, in Austin. That’s a joke. The only two ranked teams Texas beat were Oklahoma State and Nebraska.
TCU beat BYU and Utah. Cincinnati beat West Virginia, Pittsburgh and Oregon State. Cincinnati beat more teams that finished over .500 than Texas and the Longhorns had an extra game.
This is why I hate the BCS. It rewards being favored in a poll based on preseason hype made three months ago and simply living up to your hype. If you’re not in the preseason top 25, good luck. You not only have to win all your games but you need the big names ahead to fail. So, a Cinderella national champion in the BCS is pretty much impossible.
You can make a case for Texas going to the national championship. They’re a good team that went undefeated. The problem with this system is that name always wins out. There was no doubt that Texas would go to Pasadena, which would be fine if three other teams also hadn’t lost a game.
In eleven years, the BCS has produced two good national championship games. That’s less than 20%. That kind of approval rating gets you kicked out of office.
College football’s postseason has 34 games; only one means anything. ONE out of 34.
I know it’s not happening soon but kicking this money-driven, greed-ridden BcS to the curb for some sort of playoff is the only way to determine a real champion. Every other major American sport has some form of one; to maintain its respectability, college football must follow that lead.
So, I was thinking of doing a big preview or predicting the many conference championships on deck this weekend. We've already had one in the Pac-10...an exciting Oregon victory over Oregon State in the Civil War to send them to Pasadena. That wasn't even an official championship game. It just turned out to be a deciding one. Same goes for Cincy and Pitt in the Big East.
But instead of trying to determine the outcomes of these games, I'm just gonna sit back, get some chips and have my remote at hand. There will be a lot of flicking to do. Here's one reason I'm excited for each game of which I'll be watching at least a little:
Friday
MAC Championship, Ohio vs. Central Michigan Can my Bobcats, 12-point underdogs, slay LeFevour and the perennial MAC West power? Saturday Big East Deciding Game, #5 Cincinnati at #15 Pitt To see if Cincy can hold up its perfect season against a Pitt team that will want to bounce back after losing the Backyard Brawl and is undefeated at home. Conference USA Championship, #21 Houston vs. East Carolina I haven't really watched Case Keenum yet and I want to see if this 500-yard wonder really should be a Heisman candidate.
SEC Championship, #1 Florida vs. #2 Alabama Well, there's a lot more than one reason I want to watch this one: - Essentially a BCS semifinal game - Can Tebow bull his way through Cody, McClain and that 'Bama D? - Will we see the Greg McElroy of the last drive in the Iron Bowl? - Mark Ingram, Trent Richardson and the Alabama run game vs. the stout Florida D - The speed and quickness of Florida against a top flight D - Urban Meyer vs. Nick Saban - How many times Verne and Gary will say 'Tim Tebow' - If Tracy Wolfson will be wearing eye black again to honor Mr. Tebow - The potential of the Tebow clutch factor in the 4th qtr - Because we've been waiting for what seems like an eternity for this game to actually happen. I feel like a kid waiting for Christmas morning, except Christmas eve has lasted an entire college football season.
Big XII Championship, #3 Texas vs. #22 Nebraska To potentially witness BCS chaos break out if Texas somehow loses (the Big XII Championship Game has spoiled title hopes before) and (gasp) a non-BCS school (TCU) in line to go the BCS title game in Pasadena. ACC Championship, #10 Georgia Tech vs. Clemson Two dynamic running attacks...CJ Spiller for Clemson and Dwyer, Nesbitt and Allen running the triple option for Ga. Tech.
So, yeah, I have no idea what's gonna happen this weekend. I'll spare you a bunch of lame predictions. But the above is why I'm excited for this final weekend of college football before the bowls. I hope you're excited too. Have the remote ready, snacks handy (you won't want to make unnecessary trips from the couch) and settle in for a weekend that hopefully presents some great, memorable moments.
The Saints weren’t the only ones looking to continue their pursuit of perfection Monday night.
I was trying to reach an almost equally difficult and significant form of perfection: the Perfect Pick Week. For years, I have been picking NFL games in pocket-sized notebooks, on facebook applications or in Yahoo pick ‘em leagues. There are the bad weeks (fighting to reach .500) and the good (only three or four games wrong!). But never once have I reached that seemingly impossible perfect pick summit.
Going into the MNF game I was a perfect 15-0. Week 12 of the 2009 season had been the perfect combination of luck and skill, favorites winning and the right underdog picks. It took a 99-yard game-winning drive by Vince Young and overtime in Baltimore to maintain the perfection.
So for MNF, I decided to ride my perfect streak on the Saints losing theirs. I mean it’s the Patriots, Tom Brady, primetime…and the Saints have to lose sometime, right?
Wrong. 38-17 Saints.
15-1. So close to the perfect mark but just short, like Billy Cundiff’s end of regulation FG that gave me agita last night. Like a total solar eclipse, getting this close to the perfect week does not happen often. But I will continue my quest for pick perfection. I feel like Odysseus on his 20-year long journey home. It may take months or years (please football gods, not 20 more!) to reach this elusive pinnacle but if the Patriots can complete the perfect season, one day I will have the Perfect Pick Week. And I won’t cheat to do it…no sneaking a peek at competitors’ picks. Yeah, that’s right Bill Belichick…no spying from me.
From an 0-4 start, just three conference wins and a 4-8 record in '08 to giving UConn and Tennessee close games, only one conference loss and a 9-3 record in '09.
The Bobcats took care of the semifinals of their mini-playoff Friday and did so quite commandingly.
Ohio never trailed in a 35-17 win over Temple that decided the MAC East.
Theo Scott continued a fabulous senior season. Today's stat line: 17/21, 324 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT. It doesn't get much better than that. And this is a from guy who wasn't even the starter at the beginning of this season. Boo Jackson's injury opened the door for Scott to take all of the snaps and boy has he taken advantage.
It's fun watching a team that creates turnovers. The Bobcats' 35 takeaways lead the nation. Yes, you read that right, Ohio leads the nation in takeaways.
It's fun watching a team that wins games when they matter most. In the final two weeks, against its two best MAC opponents, the Bobcats have played their best football. The defense made huge stops against NIU in the 4th quarter and almost completely stymied Temple in the second half. The offense completed a late game, TD scoring drive to take the lead against NIU and never let up today against the Owls. Scoring 38 and 35 points in two "playoff" games always bodes well for your chances.
And it will be fun watching the Bobcats in Detroit Friday. Central Michigan will be a tough challenge and the Bobcats need to get healthy. But remember this...last year, that 4-8 Ohio team only lost by three to the 8-4 Dan LeFevour-led Chippewas.
More to come on the MAC Championship game later this week...
In this feature, I’ll look at questions that get sports fans talking. They’re those debates that you have with friends, family, random sports fans at the sports bar, on the couch, just about anywhere. Sometimes they get heated, go on for weeks and have no real winner. They dominate dinner conversations or Facebook news feeds. They are sports fan debates.
In this first edition, I’ll look at a topic that will certainly come up again…the BCS. Ohio State has secured the Big Ten’s automatic spot but one of the conference’s other contenders can still have BCS dreams. The rest will be left out. We know only two teams from a conference can make the BCS (See two years ago: Oklahoma, Kansas in, Missouri out).
Today’s question comes from faithful reader CJ:
Who should get a BCS at-large spot…Penn State or Iowa?
Iowa The 10-2 Hawkeyes started the season 9-0 but have lost two of their last three without injured quarterback Ricky Stanzi. However, they eeked out wins throughout the undefeated stretch. A 17-16 win over Northern Iowa, 24-21 over Arkansas State, 30-28 vs. Michigan and 15-13 to beat Michigan State. Yes that’s an FCS (I-AA) school, a 2-8 Sun Belt team, a 5-7 Big Ten team that has one conference win and a .500 Big Ten team. Those are teams you shouldn’t be squeaking out wins against. Needing to block two potential game-winning field goals against Northern Iowa or score on the last play of the game against Michigan State make you wonder about the strength of this team.
Nonetheless, Iowa came out winners in those close ones. It also has quality wins against 6-4 Arizona and 10-2 Penn State. That win over Penn State is a big one in this debate, as head-to-head the Hawkeyes were the victors.
Penn State The Nittany Lions share the same 10-2 overall and 6-2 conference record with the Hawkeyes. Penn State has taken care of business against teams they should beat and done so handily. It has crushed opponents in just about all of its wins. The Nittany Lions’ average points per game are 29.7 to 11.8 for opponents. Nine of their 10 wins have been by two touchdowns or more.
However, one can question the strength of Penn State’s victories. Only two of their nine FBS (DI) victories came against teams over .500 (vs. Temple, @ Northwestern). The rest were at home against the bad Akron and Syracuse and the bottom half of the Big Ten, including the three worst (Illinois, Michigan, Indiana).
The Nittany Lions have lost to the only two top 25 teams they played this season, Ohio State and Iowa. Both were at home and both were double-digit losses.
The Verdict: Iowa and Penn State both have their strengths and faults. Iowa has looked good against better teams but worrisome against the mediocre. Penn State has crushed the majority of its schedule but come out ghostly against the good teams.
Ultimately, though, the BCS decision must come down to the head-to-head factor. A lot else is equal but Iowa beat Penn State on the field. That should put the Hawkeyes, and not the Nittany Lions, in line for a BCS bowl, most likely a trip to Glendale and the Fiesta Bowl.
They say there is no playoff system in college football.
That is true...mostly.
The Ohio Bobcats are in the midst of a three-game playoff to determine the fate of their season.
Round 1 was today against Northern Illinois, with the Bobcats getting the win. The victory sets up round 2, a MAC East Championship game Friday between Temple (8-2, 5-0 MAC) and Ohio (7-3, 4-1 MAC).
A Bobcats win in that one would send them to Detroit and the MAC Championship against Central Michigan.
The win over NIU keeps the Bobcats' "playoff" chances alive (and enhances their bowl likelihood). There were still some headscratchers (playing conservatively with the score tied and timeouts before the half...just like in the Kent State loss) and the offense and defense both had its iffy moments. But they pulled it together when it mattered most.
It was the 12 play, 58 yard drive in the fourth quarter that was probably this team's drive of the year. Then it was the defense stopping the Huskies on 4th and 1 and Julian Posey's pick six when NIU got it back again. It has not always been pretty but the Bobcats have had a pension for pulling out close games.
So, it's not the BCS. But the MAC's 'Cats are in the midst of their own playoff run. Take notice to a little college town in Ohio, watch the MAC's mini-playoff unfold and imagine the fun of one for all college football.
As a Jets fan, I am sad to see Bills coach Dick Jauron go.
There was a good feeling knowing that your team would automatically be at a coaching advantage. Sure, the Jets lost to the Jauron-led Bills last time they faced them but that was because both teams played putrid.
Jauron and his coaching staff almost single-handedly kept the Jets in the playoff race last year. Remember Week 15 of last season?
The Jets were on a two-game losing streak and on the brink of seeing their playoff hopes collapse. All the Bills had to do was run down the clock. They couldn't even do that. The Jets called a timeout right before the two-minute warning and the Bills inexplicably called a play-action rollout for J.P. Losman. Abram Elam knocks the ball away from Losman, Shaun Ellis picks it up and runs it 11 yards to the house. Jets take the lead, Jets win, Bills lose.
No one had a knack for giving away games like Jauron did with the Bills. And they did it under the brightest lights.
There was the Week 5 Monday night game in 2007. Bills up 24-13 with 3:46 left in the game. Yet they allow Dallas to kick a FG, score a TD, recover an onside kick and then lose on a Nick Folk game-winning field goal.
Then they did it again in a Week 1 Monday night game this season. Bills up (deja vu much) 24-13 with 5:38 to go. New England scores a TD. Buffalo's Roscoe Parrish fumbles the kickoff, New England recovers, scores a TD. Pats win, Bills lose.
Maybe it wasn't all Jauron's fault. He wasn't the one who fumbled the ball in the New England game. But Jauron's teams showed a propensity for failure when it came to closing out games, on multiple occasions. For that, I will miss you, Dick Jauron. May you eventually end up back in the AFC East. And may the Bills please hire Romeo Crennel.
The opponents have not been too difficult yet but the Bobcats are taking care of business in the early going. Tuesday night it was a 93-82 win over NC A&T. My thoughts: Positives - Each game it is a different freshman stepping up. Sunday it was Ivo Baltic. Tuesday night he wasn't at his best but it was Jay Kinney who took over. Kinney scored a game-high 23 points. This kid is a scorer. Sometimes you watch a player and you can just see a look in his eyes that he wants to be the one to score. Kinney has that. He's also got a sweet touch from beyond the arc, where he was 5-9 in this one. It was only his second game and Kinney's performance gave Bobcats fans something to be excited about.
- Four Bobcats, including Kinney, scored in double-digits. They are not facing defensive juggernauts but the offense is looking good. Ohio can run the ball up the court and is putting up big point numbers.
- K.V.K. didn't particularly impress me in his 22 minutes on the floor but the big man ended up with a quiet 11 rebounds. If he can provide the Bobcats with something productive in his minutes in the floor, it will be a definite improvement.
- Free throw shooting. Once again, the Bobcats were very good from the line. They hit 80.8% of their free throws. Converting those opportunities at the line often set apart middle of the pack from contending teams. Negatives - While the Bobcats came out on fire and controlled the first half, the same cannot be said for the second. Ohio was outscored 52-45 but NC A&T and again got sloppy when faced with the press. Teams will see this on film and keep testing Ohio, so the young guards have to adjust.
On a basketball-related note, not to this particular game, John Groce appears to have brought in another stellar recruiting class. He inked four more to the Bobcats today.
Look at the rankings (from ESPN.com) for the 2010 and 2009 (this year's freshmen) classes:
Man, talk about building a talented young core in Athens. That's eight well-rated players in just two recruiting classes and we are already seeing the talent of this year's freshmen. Groce has been a great recruiter in other places and he's establishing that here too. Bobcat fans can only hope he doesn't get swooped away too soon, as women's coach Sylvia Crawley did.
Today is "Reading Day" for me. It's that special quarterly day that falls between the last day of classes and the first day of finals. It's a day to study or for many (and my purposes), sleep in. But this year it is also another very special day...ESPN's now annual 24-hour college hoops tip-off marathon.
And it is literally 24 hours...live. For the first time, the Worldwide Leader televised live college basketball games at 6 AM and 8 AM eastern. Both were played at locations in the eastern time zone, the first at St. Peter's in New Jersey and the latter at Niagara in New York.
Franky, I'm surprised the schools involved agreed to such early start times, despite the publicity they could possibly receive. I'm not sure how many people were up to watch those games; I know I was still well asleep. But then again, if Ohio were to play at 6 AM, I would be setting my alarm for 5 AM and heading right over to the Convo. And think about the fun promotion possibilities! Pajama party, coffee chugoff, bagel eating contest, etc.
So, no complaints on my side about the early starts. The more college basketball, the better. I got to watch Cal State Fullerton defeat UCLA in 2OT before I went to bed and then woke up to Siena playing Northeastern. Am I full yet from this all-day buffet of college basketball? Certainly not. Let the madness begin!
I hate commercials. I usually don't even watch them. One of the prime functions of the remote is to allow my brain to avoid processing these thirty second pieces of advertising drivel.
But every once in awhile I'm too lazy to find the remote and a commercial catches my attention. So here comes an insightful new feature to look forward to...Commercial of the Week.
Is there anything really special about this HTC ad? No. Is it on every time I'm watching TV? Just about. So why does it even matter?
Well, because it features at its outset one of the most painful sounds in the human sound bank....the alarm. It's that miserable noise I hear every Monday and Wednesday morning at 7:15. And the alarm used in this commercial sounds just like mine (and surely many others). While I'm innocently watching Monday Night Football, I do not want to be brought back to the pain of rolling out of bed for class. It's almost bad as starting a commercial with fingernails scratching a chalkboard. Spare us this scare...it's hard enough watching the Browns offense!
First DI opponent of the season, second win of the season for Ohio. It got a little precarious in the final minutes of the second half but the Bobcats pulled away for an 81-68 victory. A few thoughts:
Positives - The return of Steven Coleman paid huge dividends. The offense looked completely different, as Coleman drove through the defense to the hoop. He scored 21 points for the night. Coleman is going to be someone I think takes a big step forward in year two . Watch for more games like the one he had against Miami at home last season.
- After hitting less than half of their free throws against Ohio Valley, the Bobcats were stellar from the stripe against the Blue Raiders. They shot 72.5% from the line.
Negatives - Bad officiating. There were a bunch of questionable calls in the first half and for the game, the teams combined for a sum of 53 fouls.
- Trouble with the press. As in the Ashland game, the Bobcats looked bewildered when faced with the press late in the second half. They could not get the ball up court and did not execute well in these situations. Coach Groce needs to hammer home drills with this or it will be exploited. The Bobcats offense also slowed down when Middle Tennessee State went to a zone, so that is an area that could be improved.
Ohio men's basketball played its first regular season game Friday night, a 101-72 win over DII Ohio Valley. Here are some of my thoughts:
- The Bobcats must continue to find a way to get Tommy Freeman open from downtown. He was the MAC's most accurate three-point shooter last season. Freeman sunk six of his 10 three-point attempts to net all 18 of his points.
- D.J. Cooper reminds me of Akron's Humpty Hitchens. The freshman PG Cooper scored 13 points, had 12 assists, seven rebounds and three steals. He only had three turnovers in this game but in the last against Ashland he gave the ball away eight times. Hitchens struggled with ball control early in 2008 but got better in that aspect as last season progressed. This season, he is on the preseason All-MAC team.
- The big men need to work on their stroke from the stripe. The team as a whole hit just 48.5% of their free throws. Of the bigs, DeVaughn Washington was 5-10, Reggie Keely was 3-6, Ivo Baltic was 4-9 and KVK 0-2. These guys are going to draw contact all year and Ohio is going to have problems if it can't make even half of its tries from the line.
- Ivo Baltic has a ton of potential. He is a long, agile forward and showed scoring ability with 20 points. Take it with a grain of salt, as Ohio Valley was a small team, but Baltic looked the best of all of Ohio's big guys, going strong to the hoop.
- Best of luck to freshman Marquis Horne, who has left the team due to personal reasons.
- Middle Tennessee State will be Ohio's first DI opponent tomorrow and a much greater litmus test of this team's ability. The Blue Raiders were picked to finish third in the Sun Belt's East Division in the conference preseason poll.
First, it was Eric Mangini declaring Brady Quinn his starting quarterback after a preseason battle.
Then, after two weeks, Mangini decided Derek Anderson was the guy.
Well, now Mangini has changed mind....again.
Per the course, nothing has been announced or made official because Mangini guards a secret like a teenage girl petrified of losing her best friend if she squeals.
But reports say that Brady Quinn will now start week 10's Monday night contest at Baltimore.
My words of wisdom for Coach Mangini: make up your mind already!
I know neither of the two are a particularly appealing option but Mangini with quarterbacks is like a confused kid waiting on line for food at the carnival. He can't make a choice.
Cotton candy or popcorn? Kellen Clemens or Chad Pennington? Brady Quinn or Derek Anderson? He was saved a quarterback dilemma last season when Brett Favre was brought to New York but this quarterback competition carousel has become an annual ritual.
The quarterback is the team's offensive (and many times the team) leader. If the coach doesn't know who that guy is, how are the players supposed to? What kind of message does that send?
But, for now, Quinn is back. Two weeks from now? It could be Derek Anderson. It could be third-stringer Brett Ratliff. It could be the ball boy. I don't know...and nor will anyone else 'til the last possible moment.
The Roady's Humanatarian Bowl is played in Boise on the fabled blue 'smurf turf.' The tie-ins for the game are the WAC #1 vs. the MWC #5. However, right now, only four MWC teams are bowl-eligible.
If San Diego State, Wyoming and UNLV fail to reach the six-win plateau, the Humanitarian Bowl will be able to select an at-large. So, even though the MAC only has three guaranteed tie-ins (Little Caesars Pizza, GMAC and International Bowls), the Bobcats could go "bowling" (can that be a college football term, like dancing for the NCAA Basketball tourney?) in Boise.
And if not this year, there is a chance the MAC will be lining up a guaranteed spot out west for 2010 and beyond. The WAC has produced a national contender in Boise State and programs such as Nevada, Idaho and Fresno State are gaining respect, so this could be a nice tie-in for the MAC.
Yeah, the Yankees spend a lot of money but that is given in baseball's current structure and frankly, I'm tired of hearing about.
There are some things you know will be consistent in sports each year. The Lions won't make the playoffs, Cleveland won't win a championship, Al Davis will say/do something crazy, and the Yankees will have a bloated payroll.
So, why is anyone acting like this is something new? The Yankees have spent the most money for years and years. They haven't won every World Series. Sure, they have won the lion's share but it's not just about the dollars and cents.
If it were, the Yankees would have the greatest dynasty in all of sports. After winning in '96 , '98, '99 and '00, they wouldn't have stopped. They would have beaten the Diamondbacks in 2001 and won all subsequent titles including their latest here in 2009.
Why didn't the Yankees win in 2007 when they spent a record $218.3 million? Why didn't they the next year in 2008 when they eclipsed their own record with a $222 million payroll?
It's because money alone isn't everything. It is the choices you make with that money that matter. When you give big bucks (and overpay) Kevin Brown, Kei Igawa, Carl Pavano and Jaret Wright, you don't win a World Series. When your big signings are C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Mark Teixeira, you are propelled toward a championship.
But even still, it's about chemistry and having the right group of guys together. The 2009 Yankees had that. They had the huge contract of A-Rod but they also had Nick Swisher, who changed the clubhouse dynamic. And all they had to give up for him was Wilson Betemit and a couple of minor leaguers. They had Teixeira and his big money but they also had Brett Gardner and his speed and pension for stolen bases.
So, don't blame the Yankees for spending money; blame baseball's system. Yes, it's unfair. Yes, it does not encourage parity. But in the end, a good front office can do a lot with a little money (the Twins and A's) and a bad front office can do little with a lot of money (the Mets and Cubs).
World Series are not won by the sum of your players' contracts; they're won by cohesive teams. The 2009 Yankees were a team...and that's something that fans didn't see for eight years, $200 million or not.
So, with the ever-rising world of Internet journalism and blogging, I felt it was time to create a consistent blog. I mean everyone has one now, right?
In my thought process for creating this, I went through many a number of topics I could cover: the bickering between adult men and women on Capitol Hill (known as "politics"), baby puppies, the American Presidency, the nutritional value of bananas, mythical creatures and Harry Potter (to name a few).
But there was one topic that just sort of stuck out...sports. Yeah, it might be general but it's what I most like to talk about. In this very spot, I will cover my musings on the sports world (and occasional facets of other realms).
Now, you may ask, why musings? Isn't Muse a band? Well, yes it is. But in my context, musings can be thoughts; they can be abstractions; they can even be dreams. It's a pretty nice, encompassing word.
I'll hope to provide you some food for thought. Isn't that a weird phrase? Thought is not animate. What food would it eat? How would it eat? Who came up with that phrase?
Maybe you'll come away with a new insight or perspective. Or you may vehemently disagree with something I write or just think it's weird or boring. But I'm gonna give it a try. Hopefully I can give you a reason to keep on reading. So, stay tuned for more soon...
