College Football vs. NFL

If there is a line drawn somewhere in the sand, chances are I’m standing on one side of it. Simply put, I’m an opinionated person. I very rarely find myself straddling the line unable to form an opinion on a controversial topic. I don’t mean to suggest that I don’t see both sides of an argument, just that I typically lean one way or the other.

But now I find myself at a crossroads on a topic which I never thought would draw such a line in my sandbox: college football vs. the NFL.

As with all significant issues facing this world today, there are two distinct sides to the football world: fans of college football and fans of the NFL. Both sides could passionately state their case why their version of the game is superior or why the other’s format is inferior. There are people, like myself, who truly enjoy both forms of the game. However, if you are sitting in a pub on a fall weekend and the issue comes up, you’re going to have to choose a side. So which side do you choose: college football or the NFL? Which game is more suited to your liking in its current format? While I was formally in the college football camp, I now find myself struggling to choose a side.

NFL:

Quality of Play:

Professional football offers and opportunity to watch the most talented athletes in the world compete on the biggest stage. The competitors in the National Football League are some of the most talented, athletically gifted specimens on earth. They possess unmatched skills and speed compared to any other form of the game. There are far fewer dropped passes, missed field goals and unforced errors in the NFL compared to college football. The hits are harder, the players are faster, and every aspect of the game is generally more polished at the professional level.

Atmosphere:

While there are always exceptions to the rule, the atmosphere at NFL games is typically less electric than that on a college campus. Games are mostly played on Sunday afternoons which can sometimes limit the fun. The stadiums are usually very nice and modern, offering great amenities and the kicker: they sell booze! The stadiums do get loud, especially in the playoffs, but walking around outside of the stadium just doesn’t feel the same in the professional version.

Schedule:

Another huge bonus for the NFL is that you know your team’s complete schedule months ahead of time which allows for concrete travel plans, etc. Other than the rare “flex option” that the NFL has instituted, game times and dates will not be changed. The downside of the NFL schedule is that it can be difficult to attend road games since most games are on Sunday and would require a day off of work or school to attend. Having a Monday Night Football game once or twice per year is a good change-up as well.

Postseason:

The Superbowl is the biggest spectacle in all of American sports. It is the most watched and largest grossing event in sports. The format for the postseason is clear: win enough games to be in the top six teams in your conference (or the top team in your division) and you make the playoffs. The outcome is decided on the field with the winner advancing to the next round. There is no room for interpretation, bias or financial influence: championships are won and lost on the field, not in a corporate boardroom.

Other Intangibles:

Fantasy football is one of the greatest creations in all of sports. It turns the moderate NFL fan into a slightly more knowledgeable, slightly more intense NFL fan. It makes games in which you have no rooting interest much more watchable and exposes you to players that you had no idea about before you started playing. Other sports offer fantasy leagues but none can hold a candle to fantasy football. This should be a major talking point in the argument why the NFL is better.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL:

Quality of Play:

College football features the future talent of the NFL, so there is definitely something to be said for that. The quality and speed of the college game are adequate enough to allow for spectacular moments and unforgettable displays of athletic ability. Rosters are not full of superb talent from top to bottom, like the NFL, but there is enough in the BCS conferences to make the games very enjoyable to watch.

Atmosphere:

The atmosphere at a college football game is unmatched in any sport in the United States. Gamedays are an overwhelming spectacle involving marching bands, live mascots, cheerleaders, choreographed fight songs and cheers, as well as a younger crowd which has a different feel from an NFL game (typically comprised mostly of men above the age of 30). Stadiums are generally historic and blend into campus which makes for a very beautiful scene. You won’t find state-of-the-art amenities, but you will feel the sense of history and tradition as you walk through college stadiums. The whole town just feels special during the week of a big game. It really is indescribable; you have to experience to understand what I’m talking about.

Tailgating/Pre-Game:

One of the best parts of college football is the tailgating experience. Game times in college range from 11A.M. to 8:00 P.M. local time, so tailgating can be done before games, after games, or both. Nothing beats tailgating all day before a big game, something that is extremely rare in the NFL since most games are played at noon or 1:00PM local time.

Schedule:

Every game is important in the college football season. Every. Single. Game. This can work as both a positive and a negative for the sport. If you have championship aspirations and lose at the wrong time, your whole season can be ruined in one week. However, that makes every game exciting, whether you are playing against the #1 team in the country or a cupcake, you feel that sense of urgency to win. A loss in the NFL can be easily shrugged off since you can lose eight games and still make the playoffs during certain years.

Postseason:

The college football postseason can be summed up in one word: terrible. The fate of each program is decided by voters, not by wins and losses. It is a beauty pageant in which only a select few actually have a chance to compete. Of course, the consolation to the 118 teams which are excluded every year consists of meaningless (and usually excruciatingly boring) bowl games such as this year’s Roady’s Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, ID between Idaho and Bowling Green. Other than the BCS National Championship Game, the college football postseason is meaningless and essentially unwatchable.

Other Intangibles:

When you go to a college football game, it is more of a total experience involving special traditions and local bar scenes which are usually a great time. Also, points must be awarded for stunning co-eds that can be seen in abundance at college games.

RESULTS:

Quality of play: NFL

Atmosphere: College

Pre-game/Tailgating: College

Schedule: Tie

Postseason: NFL

Other intangibles: NFL

The NFL nudged out college 3-2 on the graded categories. With some adjustments to the postseason format, college football could become the most intriguing form of the sport. But until the system is fixed, it is too broken to be declared the winner. I still don’t know which side of the line I’d be standing on if forced to pick my favorite form of the game, but based on the criteria above, the NFL makes a stronger case.

Year End List: Top 10 Events

Let's keep the year-end lists coming with.....

The Top 10 Events I Attended During 2009

10. ACC Basketball Tournament @ The Georgia Dome- Atlanta, GA: my first taste of the ACC tourney. I got to see second round games ofWake Forest vs.Maryland, as well Duke vs. Boston College. I was glad to see those teams and especially to see Jeff Teague who was projected as a high draft pick, which he was to the Atlanta Hawks. I actually ended up in a lounge in the GA Dome watching Auburn upset Florida in the SEC tourney during part of the Duke game, but no one really likes Duke anyway, right?

9. Beach Trip – Destin, FL: not really an event, I know. Still it was a very fun weekend involving the ocean, a pickup football game on the beach, go karts, seafood, piano bars, and witnessing the most public debauchery I’ve seen in one night in public. I’m definitely planning on making it back to Destin as soon as possible, you should too.

8. Clemson vs. Georgia Tech @ Bobby Dodd Stadium- Atlanta, GA: shockingly, this was the only college football game that I made it to during 2009, so it had to be on the list. What started off as a Georgia Tech blowout ended up being a close game that came down to Tech kicking a game winning field goal in the game’s final seconds. Add to the excitement the fact that we got 50 yard line, 10^th row seats for free and it was definitely a good event.

7. Sick Puppies Acoustic Live-X @ 99X Studios- Atlanta, GA: I won some tickets on the radio to see the Australian rockers Sick Puppies play an acoustic set in the studio. It was a pretty a cool, intimate experience with about 30 people. I ended up buying their album while I was there, its pretty decent. You can check out the footage at 99x.com in the A/V room.

6. Various Braves Games @ Turner Field- Atlanta, GA: summertime, warm weather, tailgating and baseball; doesn’t get much better than that. I can’t single out a game as part of this top ten, but collectively I had a ton of fun at Braves games this year, as always. My one regret was that I didn’t get to pour a cooler full of ice water on anyone this year. There’s always 2010.

5. T.I.’s Going to Jail Concert @ Phillips Arena- Atlanta, GA: I scored some 4^th row seats to this wonderful rap extravaganza. The bass was so ridiculously loud up that close, I don’t think my hearing has been the same since. It was a great time though- my three companions and I definitely looked like the odd men out in our section, but that didn’t stop us from doing crazy white people dance moves and having a great time. We even had a Soulja Boy and Bonecrusher sighting!

4. Hawks Playoff Games- Phillips Arena- Atlanta, GA: nothing beats a playoff atmosphere, and basketball is one of the greatest sports to facilitate electric environments. Phillips Arena is actually a fun place to be during the Hawks playoff games. People arrive hours before tip-off to imbibe in my favorite new pregame ritual: oversized draft beer from Gorins (a little food joint inside CNN Center which I’ve never actually seen serve food, just beer). The fans get hammered, and thus really into the game and the Hawks feed off the energy. The 2008 Hawks/Celtics series was one of the best ever, but the 2009 home playoff games were amazing too. And this time around, the Hawks actually won a series. Next stop, Eastern Conference Finals!

3. Ravens vs. Vikings @ Metrodome- Minneapolis, MN: you can see the full recap in the October section of the X-Marc’s-The-Spot blog, great trip. My only NFL game of the year was certainly a good one. Bad outcome, but great overall experience and way more purple than should be allowed in a building full of 70,000 grown men.

2. Cruefest @ Lakewood- Atlanta, GA: 20-plus years later and Motley Crue is still bringin’ it, and bringin’ it HARD. After a huge letdown from Aerosmith earlier in the year, I didn’t know what to expect from Crue. But the rebellious rock quartet definitely did not disappoint. This was one of the best live performances I have ever seen and we’re talking over twenty years since these guys were in their prime. I would have loved to see a Crue show in the 80’s, but unfortunately the only songs I knew were by the Smurfs and Carebears during that time. I read Nikki Sixx’s book earlier in the year and figured I should check out the show too- got tickets for $20 and I can easily say that was the best value I’ve ever gotten out of a concert. Godsmack put on a great show before Crue as well. I will most definitely be returning to Cruefest in the future if they roll back through Atlanta.

1. Braves vs. Red Sox @ Fenway Park- Boston, MA: da sawx, Fenway paaaak. I feel like the Fenway experience is something that every sports fan should enjoy at least once in their lifetime. Boston is a great city to visit (made sure I went in the summer) and the sports fans up there, which is pretty much everyone, are very knowledgeable and a fun crowd to be around. The Bravos lost a pitching duel in the game that I attended but I had an amazing time nonetheless. The moment you step into the stadium and see the field for the first time is almost surreal at Fenway and its something that I will always remember.

Other notables not ranked:

Going to the unemployment office, Karaoke/Piano bars in Nashville (took about 3 years off my life that night), and a few Thrashers games.

Year End List: Top 10 Movies

You can refer to my month rankings to see what I think about December (here: http://xmarcspot.blogspot.com/2009/12/ranking-months.html). No matter how you feel about the month, you have to respect the year-end lists that we get in December. I am going to share a few of my lists with you. Let's get it started.

Top 10 Movies of 2009

10. Watchmen- graphic novels aren’t really my thing, but this was a well done flick. The characters are intriguing and it had some very relevant political undertones that weren’t in-your-face like a lot of movies try to pull off.

9. Star Trek- I had no interest in seeing a Star Trek film until it was made and marketed in way that appeals to non-trekkies. This was the film that will reenergize the franchise. I knew nothing about Star Trek going into the movie and never felt like the film was over my head. Good action, good casting and it never got boring. I will probably check out the sequels.

8. Taken- The acting was mediocre at best, and the plot could have been written by high schooler, but Taken held my complete attention from start to finish. Here’s why: after learning that his daughter has been abducted in France, Liam Neeson, who has served as a cover operative for the US government for his whole life, travels to Europe to find the abductors and save his daughter. Not a mind-blowing plot, but the style of which it was carried out impressed me. Neeson goes over there and just kills EVERYONE. He takes no prisoners; he just kick ass and saves his daughter. He even takes out a few innocent people in the process just because it had to be done to save his family. That’s the way it would be done in real life, yet it is very seldom done that way in a movie. Props to the writers.

7. District 9- This one made the list mainly because of its unique style. This movie had a high stock due to producer Peter Jackson’s attachment. I thought he did a good job of creating something new, but the film won’t be remembered as an all-time great. If you look deeper into the movie’s themes of privatization and xenophobia, you’ll realize that there was a special meaning of setting the film in South Africa. This film may be a little ahead of its time, but definitely worth watching.

6. The Informant- while it was never really “laugh-out-loud” funny, I found myself enjoying the subtle comedy in this Matt Damon flick. Damon’s character, although frustrating at times, is simply a likeable guy. His A.D.D. and personal mannerisms that recur throughout the movie make it too hard for you to get mad at his actions. This is a movie that can be enjoyed by people of all ages (as long as they understand some of the corporate concepts involved) and certainly does a good job of satirically mocking some of the notorious scandals that have plagued corporate America.

5. The Blindside- As a Ravens fan, I felt obligated to see this movie. I thought it was going to be very over-the-top cheesy, but it wasn’t. The movie was ok, but the story is just amazing. I felt like, at times, the film was too focused on Sandra Bullock as opposed to the actual characters about which the story was written. But in the end, The Blindside delivered an inspirational message and made you leave the theater thinking that maybe society isn’t always as bad as we tend to think.

4. Public Enemies- In addition to being an enjoyable organized crime type flick, this movie was a great reminder about how our generation is simply slacking in the nickname department, featuring characters known as Baby Face, Red, and Pretty Boy. I thought Johnny Depp phenomenal portrayal of John Dillinger really satisfied the wide range of emotions that you feel toward his character. Christian Bale and Billy Crudup were also very convincing. I’m not sure how it will fare when it comes to re-watchability, but I find myself wanting to see it at least once more.

3. The Hurt Locker- great independent film which chronicles the experiences of a U.S. Army bomb disposal unit in Iraq. This movie didn’t get much hype and wasn’t released nationwide, but it was a treat for those who were fortunate enough to see it. The cinematography was simply brilliant. Moviegoers had an eerily realistic depiction of what these guys go through on a daily basis. The film’s star, played by Jeremy Renner, was fearless and inspirational, yet he made you question his sanity at the same time. The character depth and development, along with the way in which the scenes were shot, really grabbed my attention and made me feel like I was actually there watching the chaos unfold. If you don’t come away from this one thinking about how brave our troops are and how lucky you are to be sitting in an air-conditioned theater while they are thousands of miles away from home and risking their lives, you don’t have a pulse.

2. Zombieland- absolutely great film. Not since Shaun of the Dead has a movie successfully blended two aspects on such opposite ends of the spectrum into one fabulous film watching experience. It managed to mix comedy and horror in a way that wasn’t cheesy; a task that is almost impossible in a movie. The film would be hysterical one minute and have you on the edge of your seat in suspense the next. Woody Harrelson turns in an outstanding performance along with the rest of the cast, including one of the best cameos of all time from Bill Murray. The movie is certainly re-watchable and definitely worthy of a DVD purchase. I know a lot of people probably didn’t see it in theaters, but trust me on this: Zombieland is one of the best films of 2009.

1. The Hangover

one of the top ten comedies of all time which makes it the default #1 movie for 2009. I typically enjoy most movies involving one of the following: Vegas, bachelor parties, groups of friends going on vacation together, and ridiculous amounts of partying that result in memory loss. This movie combined all of those elements. The Hangover quickly became the go-to movie for references and quotes, the mark of a popular film. A few stars were born from their performances in this film and will most likely be vaulted into upcoming comedies as a result. The Hangover definitely left its mark on Hollywood as well as claimed its spot as one of the best comedies of all time.

Movies still to come in 2009 that I didn’t see before I made the list:

Avatar and Sherlock Holmes both have serious potential to land in my top 10 for 2009, but unfortunately they come out very late in the year and can’t be included. Do you think they plan it this way to maximize Oscar hype? Hmm….

It is Chaos That We Need

We were so close.
 
So very close. Barely two feet away from complete and utter BCS chaos. One second and two feet saved Texas from throwing away a chance to play for the national title. I’m still trying to process what happened and trying to figure out what was going through the minds of Mack Brown and Colt McCoy during the end of the Big-12 title game. If the clock would have stayed at zero, or the game winning field goal would have held two more feet to the left, we’d still be trying to sort out the mess. The real chaos would have come when the selection committee had to select which team would play Alabama in the title game. 
 
These are the things that we need to have happen in order for there to be any changes to the system. Unfortunately, Texas held on and had their mediocrity rewarded with a ticket to the BCS Championship Game. It is hard to argue with the teams that were included in the BCS, but some of the matchups are questionable.
 
The BCS Championship Game will once again feature two teams from BCS conferences (the SEC and Big-12). There were three other teams which finished the year undefeated but were not afforded a chance to play for the national title. Cincinnati has the biggest gripe since they are a member of BCS affiliated conference. A conference which finished with just as many teams ranked in the top 25 as the SEC and Big-12. You can’t make the argument that the Big East is the inferior conference based on those results, so why is Cincinnati the team that is left out? Simply because Cincinnati doesn’t sound quite as “sexy” as Texas or Alabama. If you watched how Texas handled the last two minutes of the Big-12 title game, how can you feel confident that the Longhorns are the second best team in the nation? It just can’t be explained- another arbitrary selection from the BCS.
 
Pairing TCU and Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl is probably the biggest mistake of the year. By matching two of the so-called “BCS Busters” in the same game, the committee has removed any opportunity for either team to prove that it belongs in the same category of the nation’s elite. These teams, who have both had phenomenal seasons, deserve a chance to compete against the big time programs. Take the Fiesta bowl between Boise State and Oklahoma, for example: it was one of the best BCS games of all time, and it legitimized the Broncos program as a school which could compete with the big boys. While the winner of this game can claim a BCS victory, it will not have the same effect as a win over a team from one of the big six conferences. Why not let TCU play Georgia Tech and Boise State could play Iowa? This was a terrible decision by the committee which will likely result in one of the lowest rated BCS bowl games ever.
 
            One of the better non-BCS games is the Capital One bowl featuring LSU and Penn State. Both teams hovered around the top ten all year but just couldn’t get to that next level. I think they are evenly matched and this could end up being one of the best bowl games of the year. Other notable games are Virginia Tech vs. Tennessee in the Chick-fil-A Bowl; again, two teams who seem evenly matched, both featuring pretty bad quarterbacks who have shown flashes of decency. The Sun Bowl, Oklahoma vs. Stanford, is another game that should be a fun watch and could actually feature the 2009 Heisman winner in Stanford runningback Toby Gerhart.
 
            Bobby Bowden’s last game is definitely a fitting way to send out one of the game’s greatest coaches: the Gator Bowl, in Jacksonville, will feature the Seminoles vs. West Virginia, the team that Bowden coached at before FSU. This matchup never happens if Bowden doesn’t announce his retirement, but most would agree that he deserves this game as a farewell party.
 
Pittsburgh has to be feeling pretty down after almost shocking Cincinnati in what was essentially the Big East tile game. A critical missed extra point was the difference in the Panthers playing in the Meineke Car Care bowl as opposed to the Sugar Bowl (roughly a $17 million difference in payouts). The future is bright in Pittsburgh with Dion Lewis, a true freshmen, looking like he’ll be one of the country’s superstars in the coming years.
 
The Trojans suffered an extreme fall from grace, going from the preseason number four team in the nation to playing on December 26th in the Emerald bowl against Boston College. It was definitely an irritating year for USC fans who struggled to explain why their team wasn’t producing wins.
 
I have a genius idea to spruce up the bowl season: since we are at the mercy of the selection committee doing an awful job of picking the BCS games, and the political process of schools vying for individual bowl bids, don’t you think it would an awesome idea if the fans got to vote on a bowl game between two teams who didn’t get make a bowl game? We nominate all of the non-eligible teams and vote on the matchup that we wanted to see the most. This year: Michigan vs. Notre Dame would easily be the winner. The regular season meeting was awesome and both teams have nothing better to do, so why treat the fans to this bowl game. It would probably be better than 80% of the matchups that will be shoved down our throats in December anyway. Maybe someone should vote my as the College Football Fan Ambassador.
 
My first item of business when I take office: changing the color of Boise State’s field, then maybe I’ll eliminate automatic bids to bowl games. Someone has to induce enough chaos to cause the elimination the BCS. This year, we were so close…..

Final Rankings

Here is a quick comparison of the final AP Poll rankings with the team’s preseason rank which is in parenthesis:
 
1-Alabama (#5)
2-Texas (#2)
3-TCU (#17)
4-Cincinatti (unranked)
5-Florida (#1)
6-Boise State (#14)
7-Oregon (#16)
8-Ohio State (#6)
9-Georgia Tech (#15)
10-Iowa (#22)
11-Penn State (t-#9)
12-Virginia Tech (#7)
13-LSU (#11)
14-Miami (unranked)
15-BYU (#20)
16-Oregon State (unranked)
17-Pittsburgh (unranked)
18-West Virginia (unranked)
19-Stanford (unranked)
20-Nebraska (#24)
21-Oklahoma State (t-#9)
22-Arizona (unranked)
23-Utah (#19)
24-Wisconsin (unranked)
25-Central Michigan (unranked)
 
 
Preseason Top-25 teams that dropped out of the final AP Poll:
 
Oklahoma (#3), USC (#4), Ole Miss (#8), California (#12),  Georgia (#13), Florida State (#18), North Carolina (#21), Notre Dame (#23) and Kansas (#25)
 
 
Only three of the preseason top 10 teams finished in the final top, while the number of preseason top ten teams who finished unranked is also three. One team who started unranked snuck into the top five, while eight others made the final poll. 
 
The pollsters missed BAD on USC and Oklahoma, as well as Cincy, TCU and Boise. How many more years of busted rankings do we need to eliminate this mess? More thoughts on the bowl games coming soon….

Ranking the Months

December has arrived and didn’t waste any time bringing it’s freezing cold temperature along with it, at least in Atlanta. As I woke up freezing cold, I saw the date on my phone: 12/1/09 and I started thinking about what all December holds in store for me. I decided that there was only one thing left to do: create a ranked list of the best months of the year. I ranked the months using three main criteria: holidays, sports, and overall other attributes. (Note: I use the term “sports” loosely with a few of the events, but you get the point)

#1 OCTOBER
Perfect weather: not too hot, not too cold. I actually get to turn my heat/AC off too so I save a few bucks on the power bill which is a nice extra bonus. Somedays I get to wear shorts, others I get to wear a hoodie (my favorite clothing item, so comfortable). October is the basically the best of all worlds. The clear cut #1 month in my book.

Holidays: My favorite night of the year is in October: Halloween. There is no better night of the year to go out to a bar. You end up talking to almost everyone at the bar and taking pictures with strangers, its just a fun night. And who doesn’t love discounted candy? If Halloween doesn’t do it for you, maybe Columbus Day will.

Sports: Football in full swing, the NBA and NHL both start, you have college basketball midnight madness, and of course baseball playoffs. Easily, 100%, hands down, inarguably the greatest month for sports. This month has something great to offer a fan of just about any sport. There’s only one October….each year anyways.

#2 SEPTEMBER
I can't even think what I want to say about September, all I can think about at this point is that football is here! And yeah, beautiful weather. But FOOTBALL!

Holidays: We get a much appreciated long weekend with Labor Day. Cookouts, pool parties and consistently being able to wear shorts come to an end during September. And don’t forget to put those white pants away.

Sports: Finally! Football arrives, real football! No more preseason rankings (college) and training camp drama, we get to watch actual games on Mondays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, YESSSSSSSS! We also can get somewhat excited about baseball again with the final stretch of the regular season. And for racing fans, the NASCAR Chase begins. I don’t know what else to say about that.

#3 JUNE
June is always a good month to take a vacation which automatically moves it way up the list. You are guaranteed some beautiful weather.

Holidays: Father’s Day is always an enjoyable way to spend some quality time with the family. If you aren’t all partied out from Father’s Day, you can really have a blow out on Flag Day (182nd best drinking day of the year).

Sports: NBA finals and the Stanley Cup, not bad. Also we wrap up the Triple Crown with Belmont (most fun I’ve ever had in Vegas was watching Big Brown lay an egg against a huge money line in the ’08 Belmont race, cha-ching!). And get out your cream and berries because the first must see tennis tourney of the year, Wimbledon, beings. Baseball fans continue to see MLB action along with the College Baseball World Series.


#4 NOVEMBER
Food and football are what make November what it is. I know this is basically looking into the next to criteria, but we have to look at the month as a whole, and the theme of November is food and football. Nice weather too, for the most part. The leaves changing colors is a nice touch until the go brown and fall all over the ground. There is nothing better than sitting on the couch and watching three straight football games and a basketball game while trying to guess how many pounds of food you just ate.

Holidays: I’ve already hit on Thanksgiving, which is usually a nice short week at work. For those of us who work in the financial world, we get another little break in Veteran’s Day. Also a great day to be thankful for what you have as well as the sacrifices others make so you can sit at home and get fat while watching sports. Thanks Vets!!!!!

Sports: again, touched on football and basketball. Also we get to celebrate the end of NASCAR, I’m thankful that it no longer occupies time on Sportscenter. Although I couldn’t bring myself to watch this year due to hating both teams, the World Series is now played in early November. I think its ridiculous that the season goes this long, but hey, more to be thankful for during November.

#5 DECEMBER

December is definitely scoring some points for days off of work (even if you aren’t given holidays, people usually take off anyway). People are generally more friendly during this time of year too.

Holidays: Christmas and New Year’s Eve- both fun and enjoyable for obvious reasons. December never offers a reason to slack off on having a good time.

Sports: we have the NBA, NHL and NFL in full swing. It’s the key stretch for NFL teams who are hoping to make the playoffs, so we usually get some good football. We also get college football championship games and the start of bowl season toward the end of December. The majority of the good bowl games are played in January, but we get at least a few decent matchups before year’s end.

#6 MARCH
The weather starts getting a little more bearable in March, although I think it snowed in Atlanta last year during March. Can’t beat drinking green beer and the leaves starting to come back on trees.

Holidays: St. Patrick’s Day is always a good time. Sometimes Easter? That’s all I could really come up with. Unless you’re in school and still get a spring break, in which case I hate you.

Sports: March Madness is really the highlight of the month. Fire up the office pools! Nothing will beat the time I was at work and the entire server shut itself down because too many people were streaming the games online- you know it’s a good event when that happens. Also we have the start of the very long NBA and NHL playoffs, but those are both marathons.

#7 JULY
Pool parties, cookouts, crazy heat, sun burns, and an indescribable itch for football are things that come to mind when I think about July. Its usually at this point in the year where I bust out old Madden or College Football games and update the rosters and act like its current, even though I know its not. The new games usually come out later in the month which helps, but I’m jonesing bad for some football in July.

Holidays: Independence Day is definitely one of the better holidays throughout the year. Not only do most people get the day off, you get a combination of patriotism, overeating/drinking,

and explosions! What could possibly be better than that?!

Sports: The MLB All-Star Weekend is a good watch. We also get the finals at Wimbledon, the Tour de France, and the British Open. Great month for international sports as well as America’s favorite pastime.


#8 MAY
May flowers, ahhhhhhh. Probably the 2nd best month of the year as far as weather goes. The temperature is just right and the pollen has usually cleared. Its amazing the effect weather has on your mood, I just find myself usually happy in May for some reason.

Holidays: We are treated to a nice long weekend for Memorial Day, perfect time for a beach trip. We also get to spend some quality time with mom for Mother’s Day. Anytime I can make my mom feel special is a good day for me.

Sports: The NBA playoffs are booming in May. Fans of the ponies are treated to the Kentucky Derby and Preakness; both are always fun to watch. Auto racing fans also get to enjoy the Indy 500. MLB is at full speed too, not a bad month for sports fans.

#9 APRIL
Time to bust out the shorts and t-shirts again once April arrives. The weather is nice, definitely able to start hosting cookouts by this point. Although, there is that whole rhyme about April showers, so don’t get too excited about perfect weather just yet. Also, pollen can be really annoying. You’re losing points for pollen, April!

Holidays: Sometimes Easter and Earth Day, not the greatest month for Holidays. If the government was serious about going green they should look into making Earth day a national holiday, don’t you think?

Sports: America’s favorite pastime kicks off its regular season in April. We also get to see The Masters, which is the one must watch golf tournament of the year for me (even though I end up watching several others- I always catch the Masters). We also have the ever-changing event known as the NFL draft. This year the first round is on a Thursday night, 2nd and 3rd rounds are on Friday and the remaining rounds are on Saturday. Good ‘ol Roger likes to mix things up.

#10 JANUARY
Not a bad month, although it starts getting way too cold for my liking. There is still enough positive stuff during the month to put it too low on the list due to awful weather.

Holidays: New Year’s Day and MLK Day, two days off of work, thank you very much. New Year’s Day is reserved for watching football and nursing hangovers while MLK day is usually just spent nursing hangovers, no football that day.

Sports: Not a bad sports month since we get the college football bowl games and the NFL playoffs. The NBA and NHL are still in full swing as well. But, here’s the kicker: WWE Royal Rumble! How can you not love the Royal Rumble? It is the one wrestling event that I won’t miss every year, and usually the only pay per view I buy all year (unless there is a can’t miss boxing match or something, but even those don’t compare to the Rumble). There is nothing more amusing than watching a living room full of people who are gambling on a fake wrestling match screaming “FIVE! FOUR! THREE! TWO! ONE!” every couple of minutes in anticipation of who is coming out next, only to have the guy who drew The Miz shake his head in shame after realizing that his hopes of winning the Rumble pool are in shambles.


#11 FEBRUARY
Cold. Freezing cold. Not good. A month can’t hurt itself any worse than being miserably cold. However, we do have one of the biggest sporting events of the year, as well as my birthday and Mardi Gras. February definitely overcame its awful temperatures with a slew of exciting events.

Holidays: One of the year’s greatest consumer holidays, Valentine’s Day, highlights the month. Although I’m not a big fan, Valentine’s Day is usually very popular for women who are typically treated to nice dinners, flowers, candy and expensive gifts. Men usually get a bottle of cologne and a nice huge credit card balance. I’m scoring V-Day for the ladies. Also, if you are lucky enough to get it, February offers the President’s Day holiday which allows for a nice long weekend. And if you want to get picky, Groundhog’s Day is also in February.

Sports: the Superbowl, doesn’t get any bigger than that. We also get the NBA All-star Game as well as the NHL All-star Game, both entertaining weekends. If you’re into racing (…..anyone?) the Daytona 500 is your bright spot here. Also not included in the sporting events, though it should be, is the Mardi Gras beer funneling competition.


#12 AUGUST
August is the only month of the year without a notable holiday. It basically lacks an identity and doesn’t have anything major to look forward to, other than school starting back up (which means college football is on the way!).

Sports: Basically limited to MLB during August but we do get the start of NFL training camp and the US Tennis Open. By this point in the baseball season, I’m far more interested in preseason NFL games than any baseball games. Shorten the season already!


There you have it. October wins the month of the year award and August is in the dog house. Let’s hear how you rank the months in the comments section. If you don’t have any input I’ll just assume you agree with my flawless rankings.

Quick note to women: do NOT have your wedding during football season. Seriously. Do us all a favor and have it in August or April when we are bored. If you have any questions regarding scheduling a wedding around a sporting event, feel free to give me a call. Consultations are free.

Only 10 months until next October….

2009 College Football Regular Season Recap

Much like Chinese food, the 2009 college football season initially had me satisfied, but as we reach the end of the regular season, I find myself empty and wanting more. Perhaps we have been spoiled the past few years by an abundance of memorable moments and games:, the Crabtree catch against Texas, an epic Heisman race, Appalachian State upsetting Michigan, countless last second/overtime decisions involving LSU,  Charlie Weis tearing an ACL while standing on the sidelines.
 
Ten years from now, what will we remember about the 2009 regular season? Due to the outcomes, we won’t remember how Texas A&M and Auburn ALMOST shook up the BCS picture during rivalry week. We’ll simply remember that Florida, Alabama and Texas all ran the table and went into the conference title games undefeated. Looking back, I honestly cannot think of a defining moment for the season. One can only hope that something so incredible will happen during the postseason which casts a shadow on the dull regular season.
 
Perhaps one reason for the season being a little less exciting than usual was poor play of from a lot of teams who typically in the national championship picture. Oklahoma, Florida State, Michigan, and USC all had disappointing seasons. Even some of the teams you expect to compete for their conference, such as Tennessee, Miami and LSU, also didn’t necessarily perform as expect. A few of the preseason top 25 teams had major letdowns early in the year. Ole Miss, USC and Oklahoma never did play like top ten teams, yet all three were in the top eight to begin the year. But you already know how I feel about preseason polls, so I won’t climb back on that soap box.
 
The Heisman race this year was one of the least interesting in the past decade. We began the year with two Heisman winners returning which is unheard of. Also returning was Colt McCoy who had a ridiculously high completion percentage and gaudy stats worthy of the trophy last year as well. It was almost a foregone conclusion that Tebow, Bradford or McCoy were going to win the Heisman in 2009. But then Bradford got banged up, Tebow started distributing the ball to teammates more often, and McCoy decided to put up mediocre numbers instead of the eye popping stats from last year. There were a handful of running backs, and a few other skill position players, who made a decent claim for the award as well. But there just wasn’t any one player who you could watch week in and out and say ____ is simply the best college football player every single game. Nobody stepped up and stood out. The Heisman race mirrored the rest of the season: mediocrity and forgettable moments.
 
But it wasn’t all bad- it was still college football, after all. The postseason could totally redeem the less than stellar regular season for all we know. We won’t be returning two Heisman trophy winners next season, that much is safe to say.
 
Recap of my SEC predictions:
 
The SEC played out almost exactly as I predicted, from a standings aspect at least, records were a little off and I swapped UGA/UT and Arkansas/Ole Miss in standings. Overall, I feel like I had a pretty good grasp of the conference before the year started. Here is a recap:
 
EAST:
 Florida
Actual: 12-0 (8-0) 1st Place
Predicted: 11-1 (7-1) 1st Place
Tennessee
Actual: 7-5 (4-4) 2nd Place
Predicted: 6-6 (3-5) 3rd Place
UGA
Actual: 7-5 (4-4) 3rd Place
Predicted: 7-5 (5-3) 2nd Place
South Carolina
Actual: 7-5 (3-5) 4th Place
Predicted: 6-6 (2-6) 4th Place
Kentucky
Actual: 7-5 (3-5) 5th Place
Predicted: 4-8 (1-7) 5th Place
Vanderbilt 4-8
Actual: 2-10 (0-8) 6th Place
Predicted: (1-7) 6th Place
 
WEST:
Alabama
Actual: 12-0 (8-0) 1st Place
Predicted: 10-2 (7-1) 1st Place
LSU
Actual: 9-3 (5-3) 2nd Place
Predicted: 10-2 (6-2) 2nd Place
Ole Miss
Actual: 8-4 (3-5) 3rd Place
Predicted: 9-3 (5-3) 4th Place
Arkansas
Actual: 7-5 (3-5) 4th Place
Predicted: 8-4 (5-3) 3rd Place
Auburn
Actual: 7-5 (3-5) 5th Place
Predicted: 6-6 (3-5) 5th Place
Miss St.
Actual: 5-7 (3-5) 6th Place
Predicted: 4-8 (1-7) 6th Place
 
 
I already have a good feeling how things are going to shake out next year in the Southeastern Conference, but you might just have to wait until August before you find out. Next year promises to be a little more exciting across the country than this year. There are some high impact guys who are going to be freshmen in the fall and I think a few of them could make some serious noise in the SEC.
 
Tired of reading about my predictions? Welp, here is one more batch before the bowl game pick ‘em extravaganza (winners in caps): 
 
Oregon State @ OREGON
CINCINNATI @ Pittsburgh
WEST VIRGINIA @ Rutgers
Arizona @ USC
FLORIDA vs. Alabama
TEXAS vs. Nebraska
CLEMSON vs. Georgia Tech

College Football: Week 13

Polls, conference championship games, and the BCS: not quite the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria, but these are the devices that get us where we are going in the world of college football. Whether you are thankful for them or not, their sails have caught wind and there is no turning back now.

As we enter rivalry week, and the final weekend of the regular season, it is pretty clear what needs to happen for each team to arrive at their destination. Only three teams control their fate to play for the BCS National Championship: Florida, Alabama and Texas. The rest of the contenders must win their games and hope for a miracle at the top. There will certainly be a lot of people pulling for FSU, Auburn and Texas A&M this weekend, particularly in Cincinnati, Boise and Forth Worth.

Rivalry week is great. We get to watch more heated, competitive games this week than the past three weeks combined (maybe more). You can throw out records, postseason implications and recruiting class rankings this week. This is a player’s week, a week where the game is personal, a week where a loss leaves a sour taste in your mouth for an entire year. To the winner goes bragging rights for 365 days, and to the loser: the humility of arguing that “there’s always next year.” This is the week where a coach can save his job with a single win, even if the rest of the year has been disappointing. This is the week that is circled on calendars as soon as the schedule comes out. It’s a week where statements are made, recruiting battles are won, and the will and determination of the two teams is tested until the final whistle. This is must see TV for college football fans.

And now it’s the time where I normally talk about how Charlie Weis should be fired. But this week I think enough other people have said it, so I’ll spare you. I feel vindicated. If only most athletic departments had the same insight. If they did, maybe LSU’s staff would have made sure that Les Miles knows that you can’t take timeouts to the grave with you and that maybe someone should make sure that Les knows how to manage the clock at the end of a game. Nah, he’s got a national championship on his resume, he’ll be fine. Whoops. What was Les thinking, letting 17 seconds run off the clock before calling timeout. Most of the time you can’t blame a loss on a single event or coaching decision (with the exception of the rare 4th and 2 on your town 28 yard line incident). But this loss is hard to pin on anyone except for the mad hatter. At least Miles manned up to his mistake and shouldered the blame for the loss. Good thing that LSU was already out of the SEC race or this could have been grounds for a firing in Baton Rouge.



There really is an awesome slate of games this weekend. I am going to try my hardest to watch them all, unless Auburn gets massacred by Alabama on Friday and I have such a bad taste in my mouth for football that I can’t stomach any more. Let’s just hope that doesn’t happen. You’re hoping for me, right? Here come the picks (winners in bold):




Texas @ Texas A&M
Pittsburgh @ West Virginia
Oklahoma State @ Oklahoma
Miami @ South Florida
Virginia Tech @ Virginia
Arizona @ Arizona State
Boston College @ Maryland
Missouri @ Kansas
Utah @ BYU
Notre Dame @ Stanford
UCLA @ USC

Alabama @ Auburn
Clemson @ South Carolina
Mississippi @ Mississippi State
Florida State @ Florida
Arkansas @ LSU
Tennessee @ Kentucky
Georgia @ Georgia Tech

Crazy thought for the weekend

Kansas State plays Nebraska Saturday. The winner goes on to play Texas in the Big-12 Title Game.

However, if Kansas State loses they will not be bowl eligible because they played two D-1AA schools and only have five eligible wins going into this weekend.

Let's get this straight: two more wins and Kansas State plays in a BCS bowl, but a loss on Saturday eliminates them from any postseason?

Yeah, this BcS thing is working out just fine.

Quick Thought During Lunch...

If you are a head coach in football, and your name begins with "MANGIN" and ends with I or O, you will lose your job this year.

If it ends with an A, well that's just hilarious.

Top Five Resons Why Brady Quinn is a Tool

As if you didn't already know that Brady Quinn is awful, here are the top five reasons why I think he's a tool:
 
1. He is second cousins with Brad from Home Improvement (Zachary Ty Bryan). Honestly, does anyone like Brad? Mark was probably the least likeable of the three brothers just because his entire role was based on sympathy, except for that short period of time when he turned goth, but Brad was definitely a tool. Brady Quinn exerts many of the same qualities as Brad Taylor: stupid hair, unwarranted cockiness, and also they both seem underachieve with the ladies. Did Brad ever bring home a hot chick on that show? Nope- a few that were decent, but the star of the soccer team should be doing way better. I don’t even need to mention Brady Quinn’s girlfriend that we had to see for 8 straight hours on the day that Quinn was drafted. You could do better Brady, if you weren’t a tool.
 
2. Myoplex Commercials- probably the most annoying line ever “Now I’m Done!” Do I really need to say anything else about this? A commercial that was tailor made for, and by, tools.
 
3. He is a Terrible NFL Quarterback: career stats- 52% completion, 3 TDs, 7 picks, QB rating of 58. He can’t beat out Derek Anderson (who is completing only 42% of his passes for 2 TDs and 9 picks this yer) for the starting job on a consistent basis. His team never won anything impressive during college and he certainly won’t win anything during his professional career with numbers like that. Maybe spend less time on making awful commercials and more time working on your game. Also, spend less time doing things like this:
 
4. The Taunting Incident at a Cleveland Gay Bar: Politics aside, this just wreaks of being a tool. If you don’t like a particular group of people, just stay away from them. Don’t show up at a bar where you know they will be and start taking out your frustration about being a terrible quarterback out them. That’s what the practice squad is for. Sorry, that’s what the practice squad should be for, but you are so bad that you probably eve make them look good.
 
5. The Chop Block on Terrell Suggs: Dear Brady Quinn, I know your team is 1-8 and you’ve scored less touchdowns than the Baltimore Ravens defense. I understand that you drink your Myoplex and you’re so jacked up during a game that you want to hit someone, which you typically have plenty of chances to do since you throw so many interceptions. But you can’t dive at people’s knees like a little punk! Especially when the NFL goes to extreme lengths to protect quarterbacks, a guy like Quinn better be very careful when trying to deliver a hit on an opponent. What does he do? He dives for the knees and delivers a dirty chop block. Congratulations on injuring Terrell Suggs and most likely ending his season, along with any hope the Ravens had of making the playoffs. Your tool-ness has become full circle.
 
Brad Taylor would be proud.

College Football: Week 12

As we approach the final stretch of the 2009-10 college football season, I find myself ready for the conclusion that we’ve all been anticipating for a while now. How long have we known that the winner of the SEC Championship Game will be playing Texas for the national championship? Alabama claimed the #3 spot in the rankings during week 3 and hasn’t looked back. Talk about an anti-climactic ending. The real drama will deal with the outsiders: Boise State, TCU and Cincinnati. How will these teams be rewarded for phenomenal seasons? Their reward will be a bag of cash and a thank-you note from the BCS but those teams will still feel empty, especially if they win their bowl game and remain undefeated.

But for those who stand a chance to win this popularity contest, there is still work to be done. Florida and Bama both eat cupcakes this week before playing their rivals next week. Florida will host Florida State and Alabama travels to Auburn. Both teams essentially have a bye this week, except for the scout team guys who will likely get in a good workout. Texas hosts Kansas this week before traveling to Texas A&M to finish the regular season. A Big-12 championship matchup, most likely against Nebraska, won’t be a walk in the park, but the ‘horns should have no trouble making it to the BCS National Championship Game.

I can’t remember a year where the Heisman race was less interesting than 2009. The current top three (according to ESPN’s expert poll) are all running backs: Mark Ingram (the odds-on favorite), Toby Gerhart, and C.J. Spiller. Tebow, McCoy, and Kellen Moore (all quarterbacks) are the next three on the list. I can’t recall the last time that a QB wasn’t in the top three. I’m guessing ESPN’s “expert opinions” will not reflect those of the Heisman committee. The presentation will feature at least one quarterback, if not both McCoy and Tebow.

I’ll go ahead and officially state that Dion Lewis will win the Heisman trophy one day. It might not be next year, but he will win it before he heads to the league- take that one to the bank. Here is a good place to randomly insert: Charlie Weis should be fired and forced to return the money he’s stolen from Notre Dame. Ahhhh, I feel better now- that’s my mandatory Weis knock for the day.

This is a boring week for most schools who are gearing up for rivalry week. Again, not too much to get excited about when looking at the schedule. Ohio State and Michigan is normally interesting, but it couldn’t be much more meaningless than it this year with Michigan in the can and Ohio State already clinching a berth in the Rose Bowl. Oklahoma at Texas Tech would be phenomenal if it were 2008, but it’s a snoozer in 2009. If you were going off the preseason rankings, LSU @ Ole Miss would be a national championship caliber game. Who would have thought that the rankings were way off….. anyone?

Well there must be some good college hoops this weekend, right? You can watch Radford at Duke, or Rider at Kentucky! Ok, maybe this just isn’t the best Saturday for sports. But hey, next week is Thanksgiving and you will most certainly get to see a ton of good football, so hang in there. Until then, do whatever you can to avoid the movie theaters where there is sure to be hundreds of teenage girls in line to see some vampire movie. Bring on turkey day!

Arbitrary picks for the week (winner in bold):


Ohio State @ Michigan
Minnesota @ Iowa
Maryland @ FSU
Oklahoma @ Texas Tech
Penn State @ Mich State
California @ Stanford
Kansas @ Texas
Oregon @ Arizona

Chattanooga @ Alabama
Mississippi State @ Arkansas
Florida International @ Florida
LSU @ Ole Miss
Vandy @ Tennessee
Kentucky @ UGA

Random thoughts on a Monday

There is an old proverb about karma that states “before you begin on the journey of revenge, dig two graves.” I sure hope Stanford head coach Jim Harbaugh bought two shovels for his Saturday night victory against USC. Harbaugh made the call to go for a two-point conversion when the Cardinal were up 48-21 with 6:47 left in the fourth quarter. That can’t be good karma, especially against a program like USC who is typically dominant over the Pac-10. I’m sure the Trojans will remember that moment when Stanford week rolls around in 2010.
 
Switching gears towards teams that have no conference to dominate or be dominated by: have we finally reached the end of the road for Charlie Weis at Notre Dame?! I think the Irish’s 27-22 loss at Pittsburg may have sealed the fate of Mr. Weis (or as my diehard ND fan friend Andrew calls him, “front-butt”). After continually recruiting the top talent in the nation and squandering countless opportunities for should-have wins, the Irish better come up with the cash to pay off Weis’ contract and move in a positive direction. I know Notre Dame has been bad under Chuck, but here is a crazy fact I just learned this week: under Weis, the Irish haven’t beaten a team that finished the season with less than four losses. In laments terms: they haven’t beat a team that anyone would consider “good.”
 
How awesome was the Florida/South Carolina game? Although it was an extremely cheesy way to do so, I thought it was cool that the Gamecocks wore uniforms to honor the troops. Instead of wearing their names on the back of their jerseys, the Cocks put inspirational words associated with the military on the back of their uniforms. For example, South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia’s jersey said “Service” instead of Garcia. It provided four hours worth of witty jokes about the words on the back of their uniforms, like this one before the opening kickoff:
 
My friend Tony (Gator fan): “I can’t wait until we see Courage run out of bounds to avoid a big hit.” He then made faked a Constanza-like exit for another laugh and then actually pulled a Costanza-like exit later on which really confused us.
 
I kept waiting for Garcia to throw a pick so I could yell “TREASON!”, but it never happened while we were watching. How many households were making the exact same jokes during those four hours? Has to be in the millions.
 
Only two weeks left of college football- it has gone by crazy fast this year. I hope you are ready for some rambling, un-objective opinions on random things like movie reviews and top 10 reasons why I hate the Beastie Boys. I’m going to try to start posting several times per week, so try to keep up. Be sure you didn’t miss my BCS hate piece below.
 
Off to the Hawks game (best record in the NBA- hell must be freezing tonight), and then watching the Ravens play the Brows on the lowest rated Monday Night Football game of the season. Holler back.

Wise Words from Billboards

“It's all about the Benjamins baby
Now, what y'all wanna do?
It's all about the Benjamins baby
Wanna be ballers, shot-callers
It's all about the Benjamins baby”

-Puff Daddy (P.Diddy/Diddy/Sean Combs)

Puff Daddy probably had no idea how relevant his hit single would be to the world of college football when he wrote the above lyrics. The shot callers of college football clearly only care about one thing: the Benjamins (AKA “money” for you old timers). While this fact is hardly breaking news, it is becoming harder and harder to swallow as we continue to see injustice year after year in college football. We cannot simply point fingers at the BCS and claim that all problems would be solved by its elimination. We have to fight for a reform of the sport in several aspects, including the postseason/bowl process.

BCS:

Since its inception in 1998, the BCS has continually produced controversial results. Whether leaving out undefeated teams or including eventual champions with multiple losses, there has not been a single year where at least one team did not have a legitimate gripe about how the BCS Bowl Games were chosen. Smaller schools have no chance of making it to the national championship game.

Demonstrated Exclusivity:

In 11 years, there have only been 11 teams to appear in the BCS National Championship Game: Oklahoma (4), Ohio State (3), Florida State (3), Florida (2), LSU (2), USC (2), Miami (2), Texas (1), Tennessee (1), Nebraska (1), and Virginia Tech (1). There has never been a team play in the national championship game that was not one of the six conferences that are affiliated with the BCS. In fact, of the 94 total BCS Bowl bids that have been handed out to date, only four teams who were not affiliated made an appearance (excluding the 3 appearances from Notre Dame who receives an automatic BCS bid by finishing in the top eight).

Statistics alert: 4.25% of the teams who have played in these bowls were not conference affiliates. That number is astounding. There are 66 schools in the BCS conferences receiving 95.75% of the bids which equates to 7.66 bids out of the 8 per year. That leaves .34 bids per year for the 54 at large teams.

What does this mean in terms of whole numbers?

It means that only one team which is not affiliated with the BCS will make a BCS Bowl Game roughly every 3 years.

Of course that is speaking from a numbers standpoint only, since parity has become more and more widespread since 1998. It looks as though there will be at least one non-BCS team in the bowl games this year. But that just shows the extreme bias that BCS inflicts on college football.

As if it weren’t bad enough to exclude 45% of the teams that play D-1A football from competing in the cherished post-season competition, the BCS has also had several instances of screwing teams that are affiliated with the conference. I couldn’t possibly discuss all of miscues caused by the BCS over the years, but for a complete listing, as well as how they affected the system, check out this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BCS_controversies

The system doesn’t work for its affiliates or for the outsiders. So who exactly does it work for? The BCS is a money making machine for the conference affiliates, but not the specific teams in those conferences. It benefits the television networks who get to air these over-hyped, meaningless (all but one) games. It does financially reward the teams who are selected to participate, but I’ve already demonstrated how exclusive the selection process is. In a nutshell, the BCS is a system which benefits very few and harms the vast majority of schools, fans, players and teams. But the people calling the shots see nothing but dollar signs as they select the same teams over and over again to compete for their highly coveted awards.

Now that I’ve made clear the inadequacies of the post season system in college football, it is time to consider other flaws which are harming the sport.

Preseason Rankings:

As early as June or July, college football fans rush to newsstands across the nation to pick up a copy of their favorite season preview magazine, sometimes as early as 3 months before the season begins. Gaming fans pre-order their copy of the yearly college football video game weeks in advance and stand in line at midnight of its release. ESPN runs is programming specials during the middle of summer, while no students are on campus, predicting how each conference will play out. Media days are held across the nation so that reporters can interview players on their thoughts and predictions.

What do all of these events have in common? They are fueled by arbitrary preseason rankings. The magazines can’t be sold without the opinion of the expert writers as to who should be ranked #1 before a minute of college football is even played. The talking heads on ESPN have to dissect the rankings. The video games have to have a hierarchy to tell which teams should be better than others: all based on undignified predictions.

Before the season begins, certain teams are given an unfair advantage through their preseason ranking. Think about the end result: in December, the BCS committee has to decide between several undefeated, one loss, or two loss teams. How do they pick who gets in and who misses out? Rankings! And how did these teams arrive at their rank at the end of the year? Either they climbed from the bottom and fought an uphill battle all year, or they rode the free ride of their high preseason ranking. Guess which team is more likely to get picked, even if both have teams have the same record and strength of schedule? You guessed it- the team with the higher preseason ranking.

Why not just wait until the third or fourth week and then decide which teams are actually playing the best instead of guessing and then having to stick with those predictions until they make you look stupid? Money, that’s why! The pundits have to have something to talk about on their shows, the magazines and video games have to have something to sell, and the BCS needs to kick start its agenda months before preseason camp has even begun. Preseason rankings are simply the match which lights the BCS fire.

Weak Schedules

Why play 12 games if you are going to fill the schedule with teams like Charleston Southern or Louisana Monroe (sorry, Bama)? No one is excited to see Tim Tebow destroy a D-1AA team for one half and then watch the second and third teamers continue to dominate. With the occasional exception, wins are a foregone conclusion in those types of games. Yet, teams like Ole Miss schedule two D-1AA opponents this year. Fans aren’t excited, TV networks aren’t excited, and the schools aren’t impressing the BCS- so why do it? Ticket revenue and money spent traveling, that’s why. The money is important to the towns, the schools and the programs.

The broken system currently employed by college football is ruining one of the country’s greatest sports. The game day experience across college campuses is unmatched in any other sport. My love for college football will always be strong, but the ongoing injustice that we see on a yearly basis is causing it to waver. Simply steps can be taken to right the wrongs. But who will step forward and lead the charge for change? It certainly won’t be anyone affiliated with the BCS, and the reason is simple:

“It's all about the Benjamins baby”

College Football: Week 11

The sports gods continue to curse me: Alabama has secured a spot in the SEC Championship Game and controls its own fate to play in the national title game as well. The Tide may very well have the #1 contender for the Heisman trophy, as well, in running back Mark Ingram.

Let’s recap:

-Steelers win the Superbowl

-Yankees win the series, Phillies win the NL

-Bama wins the SEC West

-My fantasy football team just above the cellar

-Ravens are just about out of the playoff picture

…..yep, that’s about the worst year I could have hoped for when it comes to sports. I think I am going to sacrifice a lamb or have some other ritual this weekend to ensure that the evil Tide doesn’t win the national championship (bama fans: don’t hate- this is actually very, very good that I’m rooting against your team).

But it’s not about me. It is about the sport- what’s good for the sport. Maybe that is why the SEC has its officials blow calls on a weekly basis in favor of the conference’s undefeated teams. But I digress….

If I were voting for the Heisman, Case Keenum would be my guy. His 71% completion percentage, and 3,815 yards, 28 TDs to 5 interceptions are eye popping. He has overachieved by leading a mediocre Houston team to 8-1, including a road win at then #5 Oklahoma State and against SEC foe Mississippi State. If the Cougars win out, he deserves the award more than anyone. But the system just isn’t fair and objective, so this won’t happen. If he had the exact same stats and record at a big name school, it’d be in the bag already.

I’ve been talking about it this all season, and it has almost reached full circle: Rich Rodriguez and Charlie Weis better have those resumes updated. I predict that one of them will be fired before national signing day in February, if not both. Rich Rod managed to weasel in a huge buyout clause into his contract, even after Michigan paid over $2 million to buy out his old contract at West Virginia. Red Flags anyone?

Auburn and Georgia both have a lot at stake this weekend. The Tigers and the Dawgs have been mediocre in league play, and both teams will have a very tough time defeating their rivals in Alabama and Georgia Tech, respectively. A win this weekend would put Auburn at 8-3, surpassing most people’s expectations during what is supposed to be a rebuilding year. It would be disastrous for UGA to drop to 5-6. Mark Richt is in for a long offseason as it is; a loss this weekend will inevitably bring out thousands of Chicken Littles in Athens.

Here's what I'm thinking this week (winners in bold):

West Virginia @ Cincinnati

Michigan @ Wisconsin

South Dakota @ Minnesota

VA Tech @ Maryland

Stanford @ USC

Iowa @ Ohio State

Miami @ UNC

Utah @ TCU

Notre Dame @ Pittsburgh

Arizona @ California

Florida @ South Carolina

Kentucky @ Vandy

Tennessee @ Ole Miss

Alabama @ Miss State

Louisiana Tech @ LSU

Auburn @ Georgia

Troy @ Arkansas

College Football: Week 10

Hang in there, Oregon: at this point last year, the Florida Gators were ranked #8 in the BCS standings before going on the win the national championship. So should the currently ranked #8 Ducks feel encouraged by that fact? Probably not. Boise State, the only team who beat Oregon and a team that remains undefeated, is ahead of the Ducks in the BCS poll. It would be a tough sell for Oregon to jump an undefeated Boise team under any scenario since we’ve already seen the Broncos defeat the Ducks. Speaking of the BCS….

My new #1 argument for why preseason rankings are worthless: Ole Miss is in danger of not making a bowl game. The same Ole Miss who was ranked in the top ten before the year began. Under the current NCAA rules, a team must win at least six games to be bowl eligible. Ole Miss currently has five wins with remaining games against Northern Arizona, Tennessee, LSU, and a road trip Mississippi State. Here’s the catch: you can only count one win against D1-AA competition toward bowl eligibility. That means this weekend’s matchup against Northern Arizona is meaningless for the Rebs, which means that Ole Miss will have to win at least one out of the Vols, LSU and Miss State. While this is a very attainable goal, it seems like the wheels have come off in Oxford. The players and fan base are deflated after a beating in Auburn this past weekend. Tennessee is red hot, LSU can play very well when they want to, and the Egg Bowl is in Starkville this year- never discount a team in a rivalry game.

More to come on my growing hatred for the system very soon. But for now, on to other current events.

This is a big week for the Alabama Crimson Tide when LSU travels to Tuscaloosa for one of the biggest games of the year in the SEC. Both teams, although faint for LSU, have national championship aspirations. A win this week would vault either team closer to that goal while a loss would all but eliminate either of them for contention. The winner of this game is likely to appear in the SEC Championship Game in December to face Florida with a BCS bid on the line.

The game is also loaded with personal history for Alabama head coach Nick Saban who formerly coached LSU to a national championship before jumping ship for a short lived NFL career. Tiger fans are still bitter about how Saban treated the situation as well as some comments that he has made along the way. LSU would love nothing more than to stick it to Saban and the Tide and ruin their perfect season. They have the defense to pull it off, but can the LSU offense outplay a stingy Tide defense that has held opponents to 20 points or less in seven of eight games, including single digits in four of those wins? It will be an extremely tough task for Les Miles offense this Saturday in Tuscaloosa.

There really isn’t a whole lot to get excited about this weekend other than the marquee SEC matchup. We have Ohio State visiting Penn State- that is about as good as it gets this weekend. We are at the point in the season where teams either have byes or cupcakes on the schedule to gear up for rivalry week and other big time conference matchups. Fortunately, we at least those have two games with national relevance.

In coaching news, the seat that had previously cooled for Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez is starting to catch on fire now. Losing to an inept Illinois team is inexcusable for a program like Michigan. Rich Rod better have his sales pitch ready and come out hitting hard early next season or the sun may be setting on the Rich Rod era in Ann Arbor. Despite his best efforts to butcher every game, Charlie Weis’ team is playing pretty well with two losses so far. I guess having a potential Heisman candidate can make any coach look good (hey, even Joe Cain made James Caan seem like a good coach).

Random thought of the week: Minnesota probably won’t win another game this year without stud wideout Eric Decker. Out for the rest of the year with an ankle injury, Decker’s college football career is most likely over. Decker will have to choose between a pro baseball or football career. I think he could be a solid possession guy in the NFL, but depending how he heals up and what kind of numbers he shows if he makes it to the combine, I have a feeling he might lean toward baseball. He has taken a beating while being the only option on the Gopher offense for the past few years.

I hope no one has been keeping score on my predictions. I haven’t really been putting much time into researching them and it is really showing with some of the picks. But again subjecting myself to more embarrassment and criticism, here are my picks for the week (winners in bold) :

Week 10:

Purdue @ Michigan

Illinois @ Minnesota

Navy @ Notre Dame

Oregon @ Stanford

Ohio State @ Penn State

FSU @ Clemson

UConn @ Cincinnati

SEC GAMES:

South Carolina @ Arkansas

Tennessee Tech @ UGA

Eastern Kentucky @ Kentucky

Furman @ Auburn

LSU @ Alabama

Memphis @ Tennessee

Vandy @ Florida

Northern Arizona @ Mississippi

Good to be a home team in the SEC this week. Hopefully I just gave Alabama the kiss of death.

Do you know what this Saturday is? I’ll wait a second while you think about it….. that’s right, Saturday is the long awaited battle between Middle Tennessee State and Florida Atlantic, woooo!! The Hilltoppers and the Mean Green, two of college football’s most unique mascots. In addition to this lovely affair that college football is treating us to, Saturday is also one of my favorite days of the year: Halloween!

Halloween is an exciting holiday because you get to pretend that you are something, or someone, totally different from your true identity. Several football teams are pretending to be something they are not by appearing to be national championship contenders at this point in the year. But as the 2009 season approaches its final stretch, which teams are true contenders and which are merely pretenders hiding behind a mask and weak schedules?

With no playoff in place for college football, many teams’ fate are left at the mercy or arbitrary polling and computer formulas. Unlike any other sport, only two teams have a chance to play in the title game. You can tell your daughters and your little sisters that there will be no Cinderella after Halloween this year, at least until March Madness rolls around. Several teams, however, will need to keep their beauty pageant contestant costumes ready if they play to make it to the big game. Here is a list of pretender vs. contender for teams who have a decent shot at making the BCS Title Game through week 8:

Contenders:

Florida #1: the Gators have one ranked team left on the schedule (@ #22 South Carolina) but they also play tough games against UGA and Florida State. A matchup with the winner of the SEC West, either Alabama or LSU, will most likely decide which SEC team will play in the BCS Title Game. The Gators will definitely be the better team in every game they play until the SEC Title Game, which could go either way. But at this point, the Gators are as real as it gets.

Alabama #2: the tide squeaked out a win against Tennessee to remain undefeated in week eight. A loss would have been devastating to the tide’s national championship ambitions. It won’t get much easier for bama this week as they host #9 LSU (a game which will decide who represents the SEC West in the title game. Bama just seems to have an answer for every question their opponents pose this year.

Texas #3: The Longhorns face their toughest remaining test this weekend when they travel to #14 Oklahoma State. Coly McCoy, although not as gaudy as last year, is putting up some impressive numbers (1806 yards and 14 TDs). Other than the game against Oklahoma, the ‘horns have scored at least 34 points in each of their games and have held opponents to 20 points or less in six of their seven contests so far. While this weekend will likely forecast the team’s fate, Texas certainly looks like they are on their way to the BCS Title Game.

USC #5: anytime USC is in the top five of the BCS standings before December, there is a good chance the Trojans will keep climbing to the top. A tough remaining schedule for USC has its advantages (impressing voters with potential quality wins over #10 Oregon, #20 Arizona, Arizona State, Stanford, and UCLA) and disadvantages (risk of losing to any of those capable squads). While it will be tough to justify a one loss USC over an undefeated team currently in the top 3, the Trojans still have a shot. And if they get chance, the talent and coaching at USC makes them a contender.

Cincinnati #8: I’ve been saying this for weeks now: Cincinnati is sneaky good. Although they are no longer flying under the radar, the Bearcats continue to impress voters. While averaging 40.7 points per game and holding opponents to 13.7 points per game, Cincinnati has been dominant all year (their closest victory being an 8 point win against Fresno State). Like USC, the Bearcats will need a loss or two from the current top three teams to continue to climb the BCS standings. The schedule looked a lot easier earlier in the year than it does now for Cincy: #21 West Virginia and #15 Pittsburgh, still on the schedule, have been shockingly good thus far. If the Bearcats run the table in the Big East (and win an out of conference matchup against a struggling Illinois team), it will be tough to keep them out of the national championship picture.

Pretenders:

LSU #9: Let me start by saying that LSU and Alabama could easily swap roles if LSU comes away with a win this week. However, LSU has been far too consistent on offense to be considered a true contender at the moment. With a subpar performance against Mississippi State and only scoring 3 points against Florida, LSU has shown that they don’t necessarily bring their A-Game week in and out. When they do, LSU is tough to beat. The problem is, LSU still has to play #2 Alabama, #25 Ole Miss, and a tough Arkansas team, as well as Florida in the SEC Championship game (assuming they make it that far). That is a rough gauntlet for an unfocused team that doesn’t play to its potential every week.

Boise State #7: The Broncos have been getting an awful lot of mileage out of a week one win against Oregon (at home). Climbing to #7 without playing a ranked team or even so much as another BCS conference opponent is a little ridiculous for Boise State. I understand that they will most likely be undefeated, but to justify an appearance in the BCS Title Game with that schedule is almost impossible. I wouldn’t feel bad about BSU getting left out in January.

TCU #6: TCU deserves more respect than Boise State, having played Clemson, Virginia, BYU and still Utah remaining on the schedule. But there is really only room for one BCS buster, and an undeserving Boise is standing in the way of the Horned Frogs. Almost zero percent chance TCU gets the chance to win a national title this year.

Iowa #4: There is just something about this team that I can’t buy into. A last second win over Michigan State, barely beating Northern Iowa and Arkansas State, and an overall weak schedule (Penn State and Ohio State are the only teams they’ve faced who will be ranked at the end of the year): I’m just not sold on the Hawkeyes. On Tuesday came news that their starting RB is out for the rest of the year and their best offensive lineman is also out for an extended amount of time- its going to be an uphill battle for the Hawkeyes. Iowa is sitting pretty at #4 in the current BCS standings, but a November 14^th visit to Ohio State will most likely change that.

Oregon #10: The Ducks offense came to life after an embarrassing (in more ways than one) showing in Boise. Its better to lose early in the world of college football, so the Ducks got that one right. Just as Oregon is gaining back respect, USC is on the docket this weekend. It doesn’t get much easier after this week as Oregon still must play Arizona State and Oregon State at home, as well as Stanford and Arizona on the road. Better crank up the “quack, quack, quack” underdog chant if Oregon has a prayer of making it through the rest of the year unbeaten.

Georgia Tech #11: The only team outside of the top 10 that I decided to include and here is the reason: Tech is sitting at #11 with an extremely manageable remaining schedule, probably easier than any of the top 10 teams. With home games against Wake Forest and Duke and road trips to Vandy and Georgia, there isn’t a huge challenge left for the Jackets. They have a long, long way to move from 11 to 2 in just four games, but if the chips fall right, I think Tech is capable (but not likely) of contending for a title. If they win out, they could very well be a one-loss ACC champ stuck on the outside looking in. That is, unless a few miracles happen.

Here are my picks for the week (winners in bold):

UNC @ VA Tech (Thurs)

West VA @ USF (Fri)

USC @ Oregon

Texas @ OK State

Mich @ Illinois

Mich State @ Minnesota

UGA @ Florida

South Carolina @ Tennessee

Ole Miss @ Auburn

EMU @ Arkansas

Miss State @ Kentucky

Georgia Tech @ Vandy

Tulane @ LSU