Hurricane Radio Sports

It's that time of year again...

2007-04-16T10:05:00.000-04:00

Announcing the 2nd Annual "We Really Suck At This" NFL Draft Prognostication game. Post below if you're in. Rules will be as such:

Prognosticate the entire 1st round of the NFL draft, including any trades you think might occur. 1pt for choosing the correct player to the correct team at the correct slot, 1/2 pt for choosing either half of the equation - (i.e. Tony Graziani 1st overall to the Raiders is your choice, but somehow, they choose Jamarcus Russell, or you pick Brady Quinn 3rd overall to the Browns, but the Dolphins trade up to 3 to pick him...)

1/2pt each for selecting round and team for UGA alums, and other 'notable' players, to be decided on shortly.

Prizes, you ask? Why, nothing other than a couple of sentences from the Effusive-Praise-Machine (tm).

The No-Fun-League strikes again

2007-01-26T11:52:00.000-05:00

Citing 'Safety and Security' concerns, the NFL has banned fans from tailgating at Dolphins Stadium for the Super Bowl.

Granted, there's probably loads better eats, drinks, and action in and around the Miami area than can be had sitting outside the stadium, but this just goes to show that once again, the NFL doesn't really care about the fan base that supports it.

I personally know that if for some reason I felt compelled to spend several hundred bucks per ticket, I'd probably want to cut my costs of attendance, and tailgate in the parking lot, as is traditional with football games. God help the NFL if the Packers ever get back to the Super Bowl...

Super Bowl Pickout

2007-01-23T11:17:00.000-05:00

This should look familiar.

There's only 1 game so we're going to go all out here. Not only are we going to pick final score, we're going to get into yards, rushing TDs, passing TDs, and FGs. The game will be broken down into a massive 20 categories. One category will be worth 5 points. Some categories will be worth 2 points. The rest will be worth 1. A tie will split the point unless otherwise stated. I'm looking for some really real indepth analysis. Here are the categories:

5 Pointer:
-Correctly name the Super Bowl XLI MVP.

2 Pointers:
-Closest to actual winner's score.
-Closest to actual loser's score.
-Closest to actual point spread.
-Closest to total points scored.
-Correctly picked the winner vs. the spread (This point will NOT be shared or split.)

1 Pointers:
-Chicago Team Rushing Yards
-Indy Team Rushing Yards
-Chicago Team Passing Yards
-Indy Team Passing Yards
-Chicago Rushing TDs
-Indy Rushing TDs
-Chicago Passing TDs
-Indy Passing TDs
-Chicago FGs
-Indy FGs
-Box Score for 1st Quarter*
-Box Score for 2nd Quarter*
-Box Score for 3rd Quarter*
-Box Score for 4th Quarter*

*Now for the Box Scores by quarter, I only want the points for that quarter. So if after 1 quarter the score is P 14 S 7 and after 2 quarters the score is P 17 S 14, the box scores are "Quarter 1: P 14 S 7" and "Quarter 2: P 3 S 7."

The standard line is Colts favored by 7 Over/Under of 48.5. That's probably going to come down some the closer we get to kickoff.

Oh and just so you know, I'm not going to enforce that the numbers should add up. If you want to give box scores that don't add up to your final score prediction or put any other contradictions in there, go right ahead.

We don't need no stinking merger!

2007-01-22T09:23:00.000-05:00

The Colts defeated the Patirots to earn the right to play in the 7th Super Bowl matchup between pre-merger NFL teams. For those not in the know, when the AFL merged with the NFL there was a little problem. There were more NFL teams than AFL teams. When the AFC and NFC were created from the AFL and NFL leagues, 3 NFL teams had to switch sides and become AFC teams. Those 3 teams were the Colts, Steelers, and Browns. Then there were 2 expansion teams added to the AFC at merger-time: the Dolphins and Bengals.

The first 4 Super Bowls were pre-merger so there were 4 pre-merger NFL teams and 4 pre-merger AFL teams. It wouldn't be until Super Bowl XI that a pre-merger AFL team went back to the Super Bowl (Raiders). Until that time, the expansion Dolphins and pre-merger NFL Colts and Steelers were the only teams going. In the Super Bowl's 41 year history, only 25 of those years fielded a pre-merger AFL team. 8 of the remaining 16 years were pre-merger NFL teams, 7 were merger-time AFC expansions Dolphins and Bengals, and 1 was the Baltimore Ravens expansion team.

Compare this to the pre-merger NFL teams who have had a slot in every Super Bowl except for 2.* Super Bowl XXXVII was between pre-merger AFL Oakland and post-merger AFC-turned-NFC expansion Tampa. Super Bowl XXXVIII was between pre-merger AFL Patriots and the post-merger Panthers. The only other time the NFC wasn't represented by a pre-merger NFL team was Super Bowl XL between pre-merger NFL Pittsburg and NFC-turned-AFC-turned-NFC post-merger expansion Seattle.

You may be asking how pre-merger AFL teams do when they get a shot at the Super Bowl. They've won 10 of their 25 appearences. Congratualations pre-merger NFL teams for shutting that other (inferior) league out of the Super Bowl once again.

* I originally had the following sentence: "Super Bowl XXXIII was between pre-merger AFL team Denver and the post-merger expansion Falcons." This was excised due to a factual error. The Atlanta Falcons are a pre-merger NFL team. Their team began play in 1967. The merger was not until 1970. The number was updated to reflect that.

Conference Championship Predictions

2007-01-21T10:46:00.000-05:00

Chicago 24 New Orleans 17
The Saints lucked out on weather conditions in the windy city. For starters, it's not all that windy with 7-10mph winds and there's only going to be light snow. And it will almost be above freezing. I still don't think it's enough. The Saints in the dome are a lock for the Super Bowl. The Saints outdoors away from home? Not so much. Rex does enough to tie it and the Bears D for the win. 24-17

Pats 35 Colts 31
Once again, a team in dome is good. Same team outside? Not so much. Foxboro is downright brutal right now but that should clear up by kickoff. I think that inspired Colts D runs out of gas and we have a bit of a shootout. The Colts kick a FG late to go ahead and the Pats march with little time left for the winning TD.

What I'd like to see? Bears vs. Colts in the Super Bowl. A nice pre-merger NFL matchup.

Post your own predicitons here but due to the 11th hour post, there will be no competition.

SEC

2007-01-09T08:36:00.000-05:00

So let's recape the SEC's bowl accomplishments this year:

-Mid-tier SCAR hung on to beat a Conference USA champion Houston team.
-Kentucky completely and totally dominated a Clemson team that thought it was a lot better than it really was.
-An unranked UGA came back to knock off a very ranked VT in the Peach Bowl.
-Aurburn held its own and beat a Nebraska team that is a lot better than it has been in a long time.
-LSU got to be the ones who gave Nortre Dame their bowl spanking.
-Florida absolutely destroyed media darling Ohio State for the national title.

The only losers are a coachless Bama and their 3 point loss to the Cowboys and Arkansas' 3 point loss to Wisconsin.

The SEC completely dominated the college bowl scene this year.

And speaking of UGA knocking off a ranked team, how many ranked teams does UGA have to beat (in a row) before they're ranked? If I had team X and I wanted to schedule the easiest game possible from the list of teams receiving ranking votes, I'd sure take Hawaii, Oregon State, or TCU over UGA.

In Case You Missed It

2007-01-07T23:26:00.000-05:00

Ain't YouTube & Blogger great? Even if I hadn't been able to catch the game on TV, I could have spent a worthwhile seven minutes of my life to see the highlights.

Woof.

Show Me the Money!

2007-01-03T13:46:00.000-05:00

How good is Nick Saban?

We're about to find out all over again. Apparently, the University of Alabama, tired of having egg on their face and switching coaches every time the wind changes direction, have signed Slick Nick to an eight year, $32 Million coaching stint.

Yeah, he won a National Championship at LSU (and beat Georgia twice), won two SEC Championships in three years, and has coached in the NFL. He is now the Boss Coach of the SEC at the Conference's most Royal school.

As if we needed more high profile coaches stepping up the game in the SEC.

Analysis? Predictions? Especially since Georgia has to play Bama on the rotation again soon?

Season Pickoff totals updated...

2006-12-28T09:43:00.000-05:00

Yeah yeah, I was WAY farther behind on this than I should have been.

Totals, pre-bowls.

paT 80-98 0.4494
Dante 44-53 0.4536
SAWB 113-125 0.4747

The summation of this is, we all suck. I'll update the final totals with the bowls and such, after the bowls.

Bowl Pickem...

2006-12-18T11:27:00.000-05:00

Yeah yeah, I know, I've been neglecting the sports desk. Things have busied up around here. Here's the rules, and 'payoff' for the bowl pickem. We'll score wins, losses, and pushes, because I'm tired of getting schooled by the pushes. If you don't pick the bowl tomorrow, no worries. We're late getting this up, and we apologise. Picks for games must be made prior to that game kicking off, so, you don't have to pick everything at once.

They payoff? Why, a few sentences of effusive praise, and bragging rights.

There's a blank in the comments, for you to use and abuse. As usual, we're going Against the Spread, and the O/U. Favorite in the game is on the left, O/U total is the big number on the right. Happy Picking.

SWC Recap

2006-12-04T09:34:00.000-05:00

Well it's been a pretty good year for the now-defunct Southwest Conference. I was hoping Arkansas would walk away with an SEC conference title but those are the breaks. An astounding 7 of 9 SWC teams will be going bowling with an 8th that is eligible. Here is a breakdown:

-TCU will play Northern Illinois in the Poinsetta Bowl.
-Houston will get a SWC vs. SEC matchup in Philly against Spurrier and the Gamecocks at the Liberty Bowl.
-Arkansas snags the Capital One Bowl against Wisconsin. (Is anyone else getting tired of SEC vs. Wisconsin bowls? This game is getting more tired than Police Academy movies not starring Steve Guttenberg.)
-Texas is set to play Iowa at the Alamo.
-The smallest campus in Div IA football (and probably the worst mascot) Rice gets to play Troy (not Troy State since adding State after a school name is apparently unfashionable now) in the New Orleans Bowl. I wonder if Pat will be in attendance?
-A&M lucked their way into the Holiday Bowl against Cal.
-And the Texas Tech Red Raiders get to play the Insight Bowl against Minnesota.
-Unfortunately, SMU went .500 and was not invited to any bowl games this year. That's what you get for going 0-3 against SWC opponents.
-Baylor stinks.

Sadly, the Cotton Bowl will not field a SWC team this year but the Cotton will get a Big 8 vs. SEC matchup in Nebraska vs. Auburn. This should still be an excellent game though. Looking at their bowl games, it looks like Arkansas made the right move in jumping to the SEC. They probably would've been one of the 4 invited to the Big 8 had they stayed but dollar for dollar, the SEC is just more lucrative bowl-wise.

Week 13 Picks

2006-11-23T00:13:00.000-05:00

Details inside. Updated totals Fridayish...

Going bowling (well, bowl eligible at least)...

2006-11-20T08:41:00.000-05:00

For the first time since the 1987 death penalty, SMU is bowl eligible. SMU went out to Tulsa and overcame a 17 point defecit to make it happen. With a win over Rice next week, SMU will have a bowl spot all but locked up. The most likely candidate is the Armed Forces bowl in Ft Worth against cross-Metroplex rival TCU for a 6-6 record. They may get other options if they go 7-5.

If you are interested in SMU's death penalty and want to learn exactly how a school ended up in such a mess or just want some interesting college football reading, I highly recommend "A Payroll to Meet" by David Whitford. It covers the ground thoroughly and is still a good read.

Week 12 Picks

2006-11-16T16:14:00.000-05:00

Post em if you got em.

Saving the Season

2006-11-13T12:19:00.000-05:00

I absolutely harassed all my coworkers Saturday night about the previously ranked #5 Auburn Tigers's National & SEC Championship hopes. None of them were fans, mind you, but they had to hear me talking about it all night. One Auburn fan I know vowed to hold me down and paint me Orange the next time I see him back in Georgia. My phone blew up for three hours straight as Georgia fans called to ask me if I had been watching the game, to ask me what this means, to wonder where this level of play had been and imagine what had been different this week.

No calls came from the state of South Carolina, either...

This was one of the best and most important Georgia games I have ever seen, and some folks think this could be one of the defining moments of Richt's career.

The Georgia Sports Blog rounds it up better than I ever could.

Week 11 Picks

2006-11-09T06:29:00.000-05:00

Ok, will the usual suspects please report in inside? I hope we all had a nice vacation this past week. Updates inside later on when I've got more time...

This has to be read to be believed.

2006-11-08T10:13:00.000-05:00

I am in shock that a person would do this. I really don't know what else to say. Here is a follow-up. Thanks to Gregg Easterbrook at ESPN for bringing this story to light. It really needs to be brought to light. I would nominate Dan Hinkle as Jackass of the Month for the Month of November but I don't think a monthly award is big enough for what he has done.

Georgia, what have you done?

2006-11-02T16:33:00.000-05:00

College football is being turned on its head thanks in large part to UGA's utter collapse in the first quarter of the Sugar Bowl last year. If you thought strength of schedule didn't matter before, wait until WVU or Louisville plays in a national title game because they're undefeated. You'll start to see schools beat up on their grandmas to impress the pollsters. Florida State's and Auburn's non-conference schedules will start to look tough in comparison. But when we try to plea that WVU and Louisville are unproven teams in an unproven conference, the Big East will point to their Sugar Bowl vistory last year and laugh. And the worst part is that they'll have a point. I for one do NOT welcome our new cupcake scheduling overlords.

Dare to believe it.

2006-11-01T10:33:00.000-05:00

With a 3-2 record in Conference USA and 5-4 overall, SMU could end up in a bowl game this year. It's too early to start making airline reservations but they did come up big in a win over UAB and are now looking to finish with Houston, Tulsa, and Rice.

Rice is a walkover even in C-USA terms so eligibility shouldn't be an issue. But even 6-6 won't clinch it for the Mustangs. There are only 5 (possibly 6) bowl ties for C-USA. They need one of those wins over Houston or Tulsa to clinch a bowl and even then I won't believe it until I see the invitation. Sadly, Tulsa is almost certaily a loss for the Mustangs. Tulsa is 7-1 and has wins over both Navy and UTEP. Houston is having a decent season, but Houston is playing SMU at home and that may mean trouble for the Cougars who are just as bad on the road as SMU is good at home lately.

The way the bowl ties work, it doesn't look like an SEC matchup is possible. SMU would have to come out #1 in C-USA to face an SEC team in the Liberty Bowl. The only way that happens is if SMU wins out and gets help from Houston, Rice, or Tulane in beating Tulsa. That's not going to happen. There is still a regionally interesting matchup possible if SMU and TCU meet in the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth. And maybe based on regional interest SMU could land a spot in the Texas Bowl in Houston and play a mid-range Big 12 team but the way the Big East is playing this year, I can't see SMU getting the slot over a Big East mid-leveler.

The season is far from over but Mustangs fans can finally be proud of the team. Maybe there is life after the death penalty.

Three things...

2006-10-28T19:26:00.000-04:00

...that give me solace after this weekend.

1 - We played a solid game, turnovers not withstanding. Tackling was better, offense was improved, special teams were ok.

2 - Matthew Stafford will lead us to victory in two of the next three years.

3 - There's a hell of a lot of assholes in Jorts that lost a hell of a lot of money today.

Week 9 Picks

2006-10-25T09:45:00.000-04:00

I'm going to try something new for NFL picks. A volley of praise to anyone who spots my picking trend for those games.

Week 8 Pickoff

2006-10-21T10:41:00.000-04:00

A much better showing in week 7 by two of our three contestants. Picks and updated totals inside.

National Title games and the SEC

2006-10-16T10:21:00.000-04:00

Leave it to Tommy Tubberville to cry about how tough it is to play in the SEC:

" "That's why we need a playoff," said Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville. "It's just so unfair to this conference. To go undefeated, it's got to be a miracle. You've got to be lucky, and then everyone's going to start politicking.

"That's the way it is, and probably the way it's going to be every year. It's just so tough." "

You know what, Tommy? You're free to leave any time you want. The SEC is a tough place to play. Period. You know the rules and you know how polling works. If you don't like your odds here, maybe you can go join the Sun Belt. I'm sure you can go 12-0 every year there. The SEC just isn't going to produce a whole lot of national title teams. There are too many good teams to overshadow the bad ones any given year. In fact, if I remember correctly the last SEC National Title Champ was a 1-loss team.

If you want to see some of those unbeatens in other conferences struggle, then take matters into your own hands and bully them into playing you. I do applaud Auburn for their somewhat recent games against USC but that's just not enough. Get at least two "overrated" teams on your schedule each year and show them how good they really are. Make great offers to them and be very public if they turn you down with their tails between their legs.

I'm pretty neutral on playoffs but they're not going to happen no matter how hard you wish them to. There are entirely too many schools that would take a pay cut on bowl appearences.

Giant Killers

2006-10-15T17:42:00.001-04:00

Gotta hand it to Vandy. They've been looking for a win over one of the royal East Division foes for a while now. I know they got Tennessee last year, but that was at the end of the season. They almost got Florida last year in the Swamp. This time, it was the Dawgs' turn.

Eventually, the coin comes up tails instead of heads, and we are reminded why Vandy still gets to play in the SEC.

So, is this what the road to 6-6 looks like, or are we going to salvage a little bit of pride against either Auburn or Florida? Tech is going to give us all they have. Is this what a rebuilding year is? Will the coaching staff get all shook up?

I haven't felt this way since 1998, maybe 2000. But it ain't good. Hopefully, we can get this ship righted and quick.

Go Dawgs!

Giant Killers

2006-10-15T17:42:00.000-04:00

At Least We Aren't...

2006-10-15T17:40:00.000-04:00

...Miami, who looked like their old Dade County COPS episode selves by brawling with FIU (of all cupcake opponents).

Week 7 pickoff

2006-10-12T19:06:00.000-04:00

Let's not speak of week 6, shall we? Picks inside...

Week 6 Pickoff Picks

2006-10-07T11:46:00.000-04:00

Okeydoke. Let's see if we can have a real week, instead of an abomination like last week. Picks and updated totals inside.

Week 5 Pickoff

2006-09-29T22:32:00.000-04:00

Hokay,
bad week all around last week. updated totals inside, along with this week's round of monkeydarts.

It's NOT a double reverse!

2006-09-26T10:39:00.000-04:00

NFL.com: "Devery Henderson scored New Orleans' second TD on an 11-yard double-reverse, taking a handoff from Bush and cutting inside the pylon with help from a gutsy block by quarterback Drew Brees."

ESPN.com: "And after Devery Henderson scored the Saints' second touchdown on a reverse called "Superdome Special," where Brees play fakes to McAllister, then Brees gives to Bush on the end around, and finally Bush hands off to Henderson, the Falcons were forced to respect the reverse action with Bush the rest of the game."

It annoys me to no end when folks who write about this stuff for a living don't know what a reverse is. To make matters worse, this is the official wire copy from nfl.com. Kudos to ESPN for correctly identifying the single reverse when you see it. Nfl.com called the Henderson TD a double reverse when it was very obviously not one. For there to be a double reverse, there would have to be a single reverse that's reversed. Brees handing the ball off to Bush is NOT a revese. Therefore Brees handing to Bush handing to Henderson can't be a double reverse. The only reverse that happens is when Bush hands the ball off to Henderson. If Henderson hands the ball off again, that is a double reverse. It's not that hard to figure out, especially since the last time a true double reverse was run in the NFL it was at the request of Richard Nixon and Dallas lost the ball on a fumble in the process. There are too many handoffs and too much time spent in the backfield for a double reverse to be a viable option in today's NFL (or yesterday's NFL for that matter). When you hear the words "double reverse" uttered, they're usually wrong. We now return you to the non-rant items on the board.

While I've got a minute (Week 4 Picks)

2006-09-20T13:07:00.000-04:00

While I've got a minute, I'm going to go ahead and make my weekly pics so I don't forget. Post picks here...

Blog Poll Round Table: After the Darkness

2006-09-20T09:26:00.000-04:00

There's a Blog Poll going around and I figure Dante ought to throw his 2 cents in.

1. Its only the third week of the season and we've already seen some highly ranked favorites drop out of national championship contention. Preseason favorite Cal dropped to #21 after a loss and a pair of underwhelming victories. Who's your pick as the next NC contender to take a fall?

Florida. Florida plays LSU, Auburn, and Georgia consecutively this year and that run starta in two weeks. They do get a bye before Georgia but even so, this is absolutely brutal. Add to the this to the fact that Meyer's spread formation had some success in Tennesse (on a very limited basis) so he'll be cocky enough to try and use it again when he really shouldn't.

2. By that same token there are several schools hanging around without a loss that all of a sudden look like surprise contenders. There are also a few one loss teams with a legit shot at getting back into it. Looking at the rankings who's the team no one's talking about with the best shot at crashing the party ?

They certainly won't get a national title shot, but there's a good chance TCU will end the season as the only undefeated or maybe as 1 of 2. They only play one ranked opponent and they already won that one. The rest of the schedule is a who's who of mediocre mid-major teams.

3. Every team has their quicksand away game. You know. That place you should win but somehow find ways to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory or at least scare the &*%^ out of you every year. Did you know that over the last 21 years Kentucky wasn't won once in Knoxville? Where is your team's yearly sandtrap?

Of course it's Jacksonville. Usually my conversation with people on why I don't even go to the game anymore goes something like this:

Other Guy: "So are you going to Jacksonville this year?" (Of course this question doesn't need to be qualified with "for the Georgia Florida game" because there's no other reason a well-balanced person goes to Jacksonville.)

Me: "No. If I want to watch Georgia not play, I can do that for free and without a 6 hour car trip. I'm watching them not play RIGHT NOW! Look! Is that Quincy fumbling the ball on the 2 yard line?" (Other Guy turns around to look and I run off into the sunset.)

4. Now that you've looked into the darkest place in your football soul, free Escalades aside, turn and look into your crystal ball. Conference play is either just starting or a single game in. Based on what you've seen so far, give the order of finish in your conference, and if you've got a Conference Championship game tell us who the winner will be. Independents must predict the remainder of their schedule. The results your predictions will be held against you at the end of the season.

SEC East
1. Georgia (1 SEC loss to FL)
2. Florida (2 SEC losses Aub and LSU)
3. Tennessee (2 SEC loss to UGA and FL)
4. South Carolina
5. Kentucky
6. Vandy

SEC West
1. Auburn
2. LSU
3. Arkansas
4. Bama
5. Ole Miss
6. There is no 6th SEC West team.

SEC Title Game
UGA over Auburn. I just can't believe Auburn will run well against Georgia's defense.

5. In keeping with the spirit of Maize n Brew, name your beverage of choice on game days and why. It need not be alcoholic, as there are some of us who choose not to imbibe on game day. Further, it need not be limited to a single brand/type/category. If you enjoy drinking PBR and Kraft Turkey Gravy at the same time (which I have personally witnessed), please, elaborate. Finally, if you should feel so inclined, and this is not a requirement, add an anecdote involving said beverage choice.

Beer. More specifically, Coors Light or the almighty Coors Original if it's an early kickoff.

In our dormatories in college, we got pretty belligerent about smuggling beer in. The RAs didn't have much of an ability to search you if you didn't want them to so we used to stuff 12ers of Coors under our t-shirts and walk nonchalantly into the dormatory. One time, the girl working the door questioned me as to what I had under my shirt but backed off after I angrily accused her of calling me fat.

Bad News Monday - At Least He's Not Paralyzed or Dead Edition

2006-09-19T13:38:00.000-04:00

With such a great college football weekend, it's hard to find much more than the obvious bad news.

Pollack is out for the season with a broken neck. At least he's still alive. Would you strap on a helmet and go back after a potentially fatal injury like that? I might just take the money I have and call it a career.

Notre Dame got absolutely trounced by a Michigan team that's not that great. Of course, sports pundits are talking like Michigan can actually win a national title this year but that's just because they refuse to admit they were all absolutely flat out wrong about Notre Dame being an elite team. I'd like to see if Michigan can put those kind of numbers on any of our 3 (4 depending on who you talk to) elite SEC defenses (or even post a win for that matter).

Coutu tweaked his leg a bit while nailing that 55 yarder but it looked like he didn't even get all his weight behind the kick. Hopefully he'll be ok in the next week or so. It made me laugh later that evening when everyone was making a big deal out of Tennessee's 50 yard FG. Is that all?

In the battle of suck, TCU outshined TT and held them to 3 points. Way back when, I always questioned why the Big 8 took TT instead of TCU. TCU being in a lesser conference has hurt their talent and personnel pools since the SWC broke up. Good to see them contending anyways.

I would say something about the offense in the Auburn LSU game but the offense wasn't nearly as bad as the defense was good.

Atlanta has a kicker who can nail 50+ yarders but can't seem to hit 35 yard glorified chip shots.

How many more NFL teams are going to get shut out this year?

Will Rex Grossman be the Florida QB who breaks the curse of Florida players sucking in the NFL? Maybe but he's played some pretty easy teams so far.

A big mantra of not having playoffs in college football is that without playoffs every game counts. Has West Virginia played a game that counts yet? Other than their yearly clash with Virginia Tech, do they play any game at all that really counts? It must be nice to have a 1 game season.

That's just sad...

- SCar only won their "take it out on the little guy because last week a real team whipped us good" game by 7 points. They had to fight to keep the almighty Wofford from coming back for the win.

- Is it just me or did Ainge throw for fewer TD passes than his WR?

- Miami lost to Louisville. 'Nuff said.

- For the first time in 25 years, a defending Super Bowl champion was shut out.

- Tampa Bay lost to a team that missed 4 FGs.

Wherefore Art Thou, Gameday?

2006-09-15T00:36:00.000-04:00

My roommate Jerz let me hear the almost inexplicable news that ESPN's College Gameday will be MIA as far as the biggest games this weekend.

They're going to be in sunny California, broadcasting from the Western division game, two timezones removed from the giant battles taking place to the east. LSU v Auburn? No Gameday. Florida v Tennessee? No Gameday. Notre Dame v Michigan? No Gameday.

No, they go for the song girls, and place themselves in LA-LA land to watch USC crush the Cornhuskers.

Now, if the Corn Fed Ones are somehow able to topple the Profilactics, the programmers in charge of this move are going to look like geniuses. But for all the "ABC owns ESPN" rationalization, I just can't remember, for the life of me, the last time Gameday picked such an inferior game on such an important weekend. Maybe that's my failing. Maybe they do this all the time. But I don't think that is the case. Even if it was, I still think it is crap.

Third Battle of New Orleans thinks its crap too, as does my favorite sports blog, EDSBS.

EDSBS even provides links that mention the late date of the change, as Gameday was scheduled for Knoxville until the last minute....

Week 3 Picks

2006-09-14T19:22:00.000-04:00

Picking below. Getting an early start on this week...

Bad News Monday - Hey, back off! At least I'm doing one this week,

2006-09-13T10:50:00.000-04:00

NFL:
Did anyone see Atlanta completely shred the Panthers O-line? That was pathetic. Too bad Abraham has an injury that could conceivably nag him all season. And Kerney said he'd be able to play this week but that didn't stop Atlanta from signing an additional DE.

Did anyone see Atlanta completely shred the Panthers D-line? Equally pathetic. Here's a word of advice: Even if you're afraid of the cut block scheme Atlanta is using, don't go public with your feelings. That's just going to make the o-line more confident.

The popular rumour is that the Cardinals hand picked the 49ers to christen their new stadium. If true, how the mighty have fallen. The once proud 49ers to become Arizona's whipping boy. We're talking about the same Arizona team that the georgraphically challenged NFC East chucked out of their division. I still doubt this rumour though given the number of other divisional games being played in Week 1 (which is kind of an oddity).

Can Tomlinson carry the entire San Diego offense against sure-to-be better defenses coming their way this season? How can Oakland let San Diego shred them like that when they know full well the run is coming? What ever happened to making a team beat you with their passing?

MLB:
The Braves have officially ended their division winning streak.

College Football:
South Carolina got shut out and we heard all about it. I'd sure hate to be Wofford this week. If blowing out such a team improves South Carolina's morale then I can see why they are this bad to begin with.

SMU showed that they have no business in Div I-A football by getting blown out at the hands of North Texas.

Colt McCoy looked like a real Big 12 QB. He threw into heavy coverage, showed off his lack of arm strength, and hit the checkdown when receivers were wide open but he can run some. Texas really should be an option team this year. They don't belong in the Top 10 and I think we'll see them drop accordingly in the next few weeks.

When did Ohio State learn offense? Their D still looks a little fishy to me but they have some weapons on the other side of the ball, especially in the passing department.

Can we stop the nonsensical notion that Joe Paterno will ever be a good coach again? His glory days are over. He should take solace in being the winningest head coach of real college football games. Bowden should be ashamed of claiming Howard victories.

Can we stop the nonsensical notion that Notre Dame beating up an old has-been who had a small glimmer of glory last year is a big deal? The Big 11 has some strong football programs but Penn State isn't one of them anymore.

Speaking of Bowden, did anyone see the glory that is Florida State offense? I really thought they were turning a corner this season but the good folks at Troy showed us that Florida State's offense is as bad as it's been since Richt left the team.

That's just sad (South Carolina Items):
-South Carolina couldn't make a single point off 3 turnovers.

-Statisticlly, For Spurrier to match the offensive output of Lou Holtz, you have to count the offensive things he's said about his team.

-One of the ESPN commentators who picked South Carolina publicly apologized after the game. UGA still won the game despite Corso picking them to win (which is typically a kiss of death).

-Much like the two more recent Clemson games, Georgia Southern, and the last Auburn game where Tubberville got to hold the offensive clipboard, UGA fans were terrified of how their team would do against a vastly inferior team.

-Who though Holtz would make a good TV commentator? Are these the same folks who gave jobs to Deion Sanders and Jerry Glanville? Can Holtz be more of a homer for teams he's coached?

That's just sad (other items):

-Atlanta showed they may have the best D-line in football just in time for an anchor of that line to get injured.

-Aaorn Brooks somehow went to a team with a worse offensive line. At least he's getting better at the one step drop.

-Houston's running game. Especially given the game Bush had for NO.

-Every other team in the Braves division should be ashamed to let them walk away with 14 titles in a row, especially those between 9 and 14.

Credit Where It's Due

2006-09-11T10:08:00.000-04:00

So Saturday I ended up helping my cousin move to her new house in Dahlonega, GA. At 7:30PM we're supposed to be wrapped up and at her brother's house to watch the game. Of course we went over on time and I ended up missing most of the first half. We did have radio and since Jeep makes the best antennae anyone has ever put on an automobile, even out in the backwoods of Dahlonega I could at least listen to the game. But that meant listening to Munson and I have mentioned in the past my problems with Munson broadcasts.

I don't know if he's been taking flack from everyone or if he's just decided to step up his game on his own but the UGA vs. Scar Munson radio broadcast was very good. We knew exactly who was going in to what plays. We knew the formations (more or less) and when Larry was wrong about a spot, he corrected himself. He even mentioned who was going in motion and in what direction they were moving. Minus a few times when the reception started cutting out, I never had to ask myself what was really going on. Larry actually kept us very informed. Keep up the good work.

Week 2 Picks

2006-09-09T09:55:00.000-04:00

Week 2 picks here.

Bad News Monday - Late Edition

2006-09-05T09:24:00.000-04:00

We're back for a new season here at Bad News Monday. In addition to the usual bad news roundup, we'll also be adding a new section: "That's Just Sad." To get you used to it, this week will be an all out "That's Just Sad." Please feel free to add your own.

That's Just Sad:
- Ole Miss had to whip out a trick play against Memphis that made the difference between victory and defeat.

- You know those crappy teams universities schedule to get back in the swing of things? Colorado lost to theirs.

- A team people were saying could possibly win the Pac 10 lost big to a team people thought would finish anywhere from 5th to 8th overall in the SEC.

- Thanks to Georgia, in interdivisional games, Div IAA schools have more safeties than their Div IA opponents.

- Brady Quinn looked better on the ground than he did in the air.

- (ND 2fer) Charlie Weiss, who knows all about zone blitzes from his NFL days, couldn't handle Georgia Tech using it as a one-trick-pony their defense utterly relies on.

- NFL teams who feel good about 3rd and 4th quarter come-from-behind preseason victories. All that means is that if every NFL starter and 2nd stringer died in a car crash on the same day, your leftovers would win.

And the BIG that's just sad goes to...

- Houston, who was so sure they had their running back situation locked up that they passed on both Reggie Bush and LenDale White, is now looking to Ron Dayne to come in and help them with rushing duties while Wali Lundy is the favorite to be the starter.

Pickoff Week 1

2006-09-02T00:59:00.000-04:00

Late to the party with this, but, it's been a busy week, and the pros don't start til next week anyway.

My lines are coming from pinbet.com.

Michigan -26.5 vs Vandy
Marshall +21.5 vs WVU
Alabama -15 vs Hawaii
Alabama v Hawaii - Over 52
Florida Atlantic +32 vs Clemson
FAU v Clemson - Over 44

And even though it doesn't count in the standings, I'll call UGA v WKU at 45 - 7 for UGA.

Football, Football!!!

2006-08-30T17:06:00.000-04:00

The start of college football is merely hours away, and even Flagpole is talking about it.

I'm so excited, I've got to get my TOP 25 out on the web. This is not a ranking of where I think teams are going to be at the end of the season. This is how good I think particular teams are.

1. Auburn: The best college football program in the best college football conference. Their sociology department notwithstanding, Auburn is elite. They may loose one or even two games, but it won't be by much, and it will be because other teams got lucky. If the fumbles bounce Auburn's way, they can end up being the big Southern Buzzsaw for this year.

2. Notre Dame: This guy can coach, and now that this team has tasted victory, and has a shot at a legendary season, they won't let people down. This whole team will play with their hair on fire from September to January and that will keep them high in the rankings.

3. Texas: That defense is sick, and we all know about defenses and championships. The new guy at QB isn't the brightest star yet, but he's good enough not to loose games, and that will allow returning star power to do their work.

4. Florida State: That defense is sick all over again, and they appear to have a bit of competency on their offensive squad for the first time in a while. Baby Bowden's plays can work now that he doesn't have an offense committ seppukku.

5. Ohio State: They've got some serious offensive chops, but I think linebackers are the most important players on the field, and the Buckeyes were carried last year on the backs of the best. Now that the defenses' mad core division is gone, that will weaken this team significantly on the defensive side of the ball. But that offense is going to be a juggernaught.

6. LSU: Their only loss may be to Auburn. Les Miles may screw up this program eventually, but Saban left them with so much talent, Miles might not even have to call a play this year. Without so many distractions, this team (not unlike Notre Dame) is going to be playing with their hair on fire all season.

7. California: Hippie Bears beat USC, UCLA & Tennessee, but get crushed by the Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl. Counting Crows release a new album six months later.

8. Clemson: The second most important group of players on a field (after linebackers) are the offensive line. Clemson's has some good experience, a running back and a good enough defense not to melt down. Those close games from last year fall in their favor this year.

9. Georgia: Underrated linebackers stack with the stud defensive line and the raw talent of the secondary to produce the best defesne in the SEC. The offense, no matter what QB we go with, will be based around power rather than finesse, and that will keep winning in the SEC.

10. Louisville: Offensive fireworks and defensive speed will win this team the Big East, and their out of conference schedule. They will look like FSU of the 90's and put up unreasonable numbers.

11. Oklahoma: A running game and a Hiesman candidate can take you a long, long way. It won't take you all the way, but it will give you some power as a team.

12. Florida: Will win the 3 way tiebreak for SEC East champion, and have the pleasure of losing to Auburn twice. Chris Leak was the best SEC QB after Jay Cutler and DJ Shockley last year, and now both of them is pros. He will quiet critics with his numbers, and the defense will be stout.

13. West Virginia: I don't believe in ranking teams based on their lousy schedule. When WV loses one game it shouldn't and then to revenge minded Louisville, that easy schedule will be the only thing that keeps them ranked this high.

14. Miami: Used to be a stellar team playing in a crappy conference, now a good team playing in a real conference.

15. Michigan: This is a good team that won't have a special season.

16. USC: They've been up so long, they don't know down. I sense a Miami or Oklahoma like collapse. Western league will feast on this team, as will Notre Dame. Then they get to play Oklahoma in the Holiday Bowl...

17. Iowa: This is a good team that won't have a special season.

18. Virginia Tech: Rebuliding year for a very good program.

19. TCU: Will try to play gate crasher, but won't be able to get over the hump this year.

20. Fresno State: Will try to play gate crasher, but won't be able to get over the hump this year.

21. Nebraska: Good enough to win the Big 12 North.

22. South Carolina: The other team in the 3 way tie for SEC East champ. Will take whole state to Outback bowl to beat Iowa.

23. Arkansas: The most underrated team in the best college football conference.

24. Penn State: They had enough experience from last year to do some damage, but not enough depth to do a lot of damage.

25. Georgia Tech: Will win games in spite of selves.

Announcing the First Annual WHRG-Sports Pigskin Prognostication Pickoff

2006-08-14T17:52:00.000-04:00

Hokay, kids. Here's the skinny. We's gonna have us a piggyskin prognostication hoedown. Or something to that effect. Here be the rules:

1 - You will pick at least 100 games over the course of the NCAA Division I-A and NFL regular seasons. NCAA games must be between two D I-A foes. Tech v Furman is not allowed, etc.

2 - You can pick ATS (Against the spread), or the O/U. If you pick both for the same game, and miss one of the two, you get credit for one of the two. Miss both, you're 0-2.

3 - You must provide where you are getting your lines from. Pinbet.com, bodog.com, etc. Any legitimate booking agency will show lines for free.

4 - This is NOT an open gambling contest. This is a prognostication contest amongst friends. There will be no money exchanged as a part of this contest.

5 - There will be one winner. Should there be a tie, the person who picked a larger number of games will take the win. (i.e. i pick 100 games and go 50-50. paT picks 102 games and goes 51-51, paT wins.)

If i've left anything out, lemme know. Otherwise, this commences with the first NCAA games. See comments for other details.

At long last, Falcons Football

2006-08-11T09:02:00.000-04:00

So it's finally here. Tonight at 8PM, we once again have real football in the state of GA. No more Arena or Arena II. Real NFL football. And to top it all off, it's preseason. I love preseason. Part of the reason is that I really like 2nd and 3rd string QBs. My favorite 90's Cowboys QB is Jason Garrett. My favorite QBs in the NFL right now are Schaub, Volek, and Vick in that order. And I'm suprememly proud that Volek will probably start for TN after years of riding the pine behind McNair.

I also love seeing new people play. For example, given that Vick is only going to be in for 2 series, it is very likely that young UGA star DJ Shockley will get to take a few snaps tonight in a fight for the 3rd string Falcons QB slot. I'll also have to check out the Seahawks preseason so I can watch Greene take a few snaps from under center.

Am I the only one who loves preseason? What preseason games are you looking forward to? What players do you want to see play?

Internet Unmaskes OU Conspiracy

2006-08-09T23:47:00.000-04:00

This ain't good. I worry that, even though someone got the Bom-head scandal right, the NCAA will now create a witchhunt division to scour the message boards of teams, looking for the thousands of unfounded rumours that surely must circulate.

Thoughts?

Dynasty Mode

2006-07-31T22:18:00.000-04:00

JMac at Safe As Houses stirned up a hornet's nest when he started exploring the question: Who's got the greatest college football program of all time. The man challeneges the Notre Dame narrative and mythos, and a veritable army of Gold Domers desend upon him from the ether.

Dang. It went so far that JMac had to post an additional explanation with even more research.

Wow. Props to McGinty for this one.

Though I was wholly unable to dedicate the time needed to follow the commentary fully.

Anybody got a rhyme for Floyd?

2006-07-21T09:57:00.000-04:00

Have you heard the one about the Tour de France cyclist who's riding on one hip? Floyd Landis, he who will need a hip replacement come the end of this tour, chewed up the field and spit them out yesterday, in what may possibly be the greatest single ride EVER in TdF history.

For Landis to make up nearly 8 minutes on the leaders without the benefit of a crash is unthinkable, especially considering his performance the previous day, where he dropped over 10 minutes to fall from first to eleventh.

I'm rooting for the greatest time trial in the history of time trials tomorrow.

AFC Preseason Rankings

2006-07-18T15:02:00.000-04:00

Without further ado, here are Dante's AFC Preseason Divisional Rankings:

North
1. Pittsburg - Yeah, I don't like it either but they are the best talent in this division.
2. Cleveland - I don't really think Cleveland will have a great season. They had a good draft but they still have a long way to go before those draftees are ready for prime time. However, I expect a Cinci implosion and nothing better from Baltimore than they gave last year. That puts the Browns at #2 in this division.
3. Cincinatti - Palmer coming back from injury and their defensive stud out for 1/4 of the season? Very bad things will happen to this team this year.
4. Baltimore - They still can't pass and as of last season it seems they can't run either. That's just not good.

South
1. Indianapolis - Yeah, I know I said they're a doomed team but how doomed do you have to be to not come out on top of a conference consisting of the Titans, Jags, and Texans?
2. Tennessee - Volek is just better than McNair. I'm glad he's finally going to get the chance to start. They're going to do just fine.
3. Jacksonville - A few years ago Jacksonville ran up the score on Miami during Marino's last game. Afterwards one of the team boasted that they were one of the greatest teams ever and a good portion of that team bought into it. They spent the next five or six years in the football wilderness or that. Now they think they're all big and bad because they won 12 games last year ignoring that 4 of them were against totally inept teams in their conference and at least one of the Indy games came after Indy had given up on the perfect season. Jacksonville needs some humblin again and that's just what they're going to get.
4. Houston - Good draft. If those o-linemen work out for them, they'll have a good defense in a few years. A few years in not now. Now they still finish last in the division.

East
1. New England - They're starting to slide but they're a long way from finished. They still win this lowly division.
2. Miami - Miami finished strong last year after its defense found it's footing and its offense started making some strides. Brown has a year under his belt and they have a decent QB in Culpepper. Defense has never really been as issue here.
3. NYJ - This division was given a gift last year when New York's entire QB corps got injured. Now they're all healthy but none of them are particularly talented. There's also the small matter of the Jets hiring a new coach this year.
4. Buffalo - A whole entire off season and they never really did what they should've to beef up their o-line. Team owner Crier McCrybaby (unofficial name) will have plenty to cry about this year.

West
1. Denver - Repeat after me: Denver wins division titles. Period. They'll muff the playoffs again but they'll make it back there.
2. Chiefs - Larry Johnson is one bad hombre but he's not enough to overcome that pitiful defense. The Chiefs may make the playoffs but they're not a divisional contender.
3. Oakland - Oakland made some decent moves in the off season and I think it will be enough to keep them 8-8 or better but I wouldn't expect too much out of the Oakland Retirement Castle.
4. San Diego - Rivers just isn't proven enough to have a good season. While I agree Brees had to go, I don't think Rivers is going to jump in immedeately and fill his shoes. I do think San Diego will have the best record of any last place team in their division though.

NFC Preseason Rankings

2006-07-18T08:23:00.000-04:00

Well, it looks football is just around the corner. Time for Dante's NFC Divisional Rankings. Just to prove I don't have any sort of East Coast bias (even though I do), I'm going to start with the NFC West:

West
1. Seattle Seahawks - I don't like putting an NFC Super Bowl team at #1 due to their spotty season afters lately but they've been selling fake Arizona hype for so long that I just can't buy it again this year.

2. Arizona Cardinals - Like I've already said above, on paper this team looks better this year than they probably ever have but I'm not buying into it. I do put them at #2 though for reasons outlined below.

3. St Louis Rams - I expect the Rams to do some good things in the next few years now that they have a coach that actually cares about defense instead of just making them the whipping boy but it'll take some time. They're still better than...

4. San Francisco 49ers - This team is bad and it's not getting better any time soon. Alex Smith will be an NFL bust but that won't matter because the rest of the team is so pitiful nobody will notice.

North
1. Chicago Bears - The Bears will only be hurt by the health of Rex Grossman, but that's ok because he hasn't played a full season yet and he's not going to this year. He'll break his leg eating a ham sandwich and be out for 12 weeks. Their defense is top notch and isn;t going to get worse any time soon.

2. Green Bay Packers - Brett Farve will have a terrible year but so will the rest of this division.

3. Minnesota Vikings - Well, at least they got rid of any talent the team has ever had over the last two to three years so when they lose a lot of games, they have an excuse.

4. Detroit Lions - I couldn't for the life of me remember the other NFC Norht team. I had to look the Lions up on ESPN because I was drawing a blank. They're that good.

South
1. Atlanta Falcons - It's an odd-numbered year. That's all Atlanta needs to do well. There are so many question marks in this division. It'll probably be one fo the more competitive divisions this year. Mora has finally figured out the only way to win with Vick is bulk up the defense at all costs, even if it means ignoring the offense somewhat. I think it's a sound strategy and will pay off when Vick's inevitable injury comes.

2. Carolina Panthers - They would be #1 but I just don't see them getting the run support they need out of their oft injured running backs. If one of their running backs can stay healthy, they can easily be #1.

3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - I get the idea that Gruden just doesn't care as much now that he's won a Super Bowl. I like Sims (which is interesting because I was firmly pro-Applewhite) but he still has a long way to go. He does have great support around him. Maybe Buick (he's not a Caddy in NFL terms just yet) can string together an entire season without getting tired now that he's had a full year of NFL training under his belt.

4. LA Saints - There's a reason San Diego was willing to give up Brees for some guy who's barely played. The Saints will figure it out sooner or later in the season. They're still not back to pre-hurricane condition and they weren't exactly great then. It also won't help that their first game back in their own stadium will be against a team that owns them. If they can win that game they might be able to climb out of #4. If not, it's the same old story with the Saints.

East
1. Dallas Cowboys - I hate TO. He's a good player though and he has some stiff competition from Glenn. It's going to be hard to cover both of them. There are finally enough passing targets that Dallas can get a good running game going. And defense hasn't been a big issue in Dallas as long as the offense is productive.

2. NY Giants - Eli Manning and Brandon Jacobs are only going to get better. This is a tough division but I think the Giants have enough youth and enough experience on this team to make things happen.

3. Washinton Redskins - The Redskins are a good team but they're saddled with quaterbacks who are either too old, too green, or just plain awful. This is not the year for the Redskins to excel. They'll do the same thing they did last year: start with a bang, suck in the middle, and pick it back up in the end.

4. Philadelphia Eagles - That team needed TO and after they lost him they didn't do much to replace him. That leaves the Eagles in trouble. This is probably going to be the most talented division in the NFC this year and the Eagles will be the odd man out.

As far as I'm concerned, it's a miracle

2006-07-13T23:34:00.000-04:00

Robert Edwards is back playing professional football. Granted, it's with the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL, but he's their starting tailback. His brother Terrence is on the team as well, and contributing.

To me, this deserves a big, fat, loud, GODAWGS!

Oh, hell, Odell...

2006-07-13T23:19:00.000-04:00

For some reason, I'm not real happy to be breaking this one early in the blogosphere world. Granted, we may never know what the violation was (i.e. a missed test, failure to produce, actual positive test), but this doesn't bode well...

Wow.

2006-07-11T19:51:00.000-04:00

What do you get when you combine the Zidane World Cup controversy, smack talk about American football, and New Orleans? You get Dangerblond, that's what!

Italy Wins World Cup

2006-07-09T23:27:00.000-04:00

So, ESPN says this wasn't a World Cup for the ages, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Of course, I think it completely classless that Zidane decided to throw in the towel, and with losing his cool probably cost his team the game. I mean, is it just me, or did France look like the better team in the Final?

I was really impressed with Germany, and though they were the host team, I thought they were the ones who absolutely played the best.

I was, of course, disappointed with the US's early exit, and I wonder what it would take to make the US consistently competitive into the later brackets. While there is the constant growl of getting US talent to play for the big Premier league clubs in Europe, I wonder if we don't just hamstring ourselves at home earlier on.

Some brainstorms:

- Get some serious Men's collegiate soccer clubs going at big, state universities.

- Participate in the Copa America consistently.

- Expand the MLS to include some Central American and Carribean squads.

I know soccer will never be the big dog sport here in the US, with the football/basketball/baseball triumvirate so dominant. But we saw this time with the Staples Center being rented out to watch South Korea's games and the crowd today in Boston rooting for Italy that there are serious fans here.

Anyone interested in flying to South Africa in about 4 years?

You Must Read This

2006-07-07T17:54:00.000-04:00

It is possibly the funniest blog post I've ever read about on any subject. This particular one is about sports, but you need not know sports to enjoy it.

You must click here. Dissapointment will not follow. Be sure to read the comments. Have tissues handy.

(Hat tip to Georgia Sports Blog)

Georgia, Georgia, Georgia!

2006-07-05T16:40:00.000-04:00

The Georgia Sports blog has unearthed an absolutely hilarious column concerning Georgia Tech. It seems the papaer in Albany is comparing GT to a certain middle Brady sister. I don't normally like to blog about a blog but this one is worth it.

Peyton went and doomed his team

2006-07-05T08:44:00.000-04:00

I was in shock after watching Peyton Manning's most recent commercial for NFL Sunday Ticket. For those who aren't familiar, they've taken some real footage from a game in which the Colts were leading the Titans 28-3, and imposed Peyton telling the viewers that this game is a blowout and they should switch to another NFL game on the Sunday Ticket. Oh, wow. If there's one thing the football gods hate, it's grandstanding. He might as well be crying about having to play such an easy team in a bowl game. Indy and specifically Peyton Manning are doomed this year. I don't know how it will unfold but it will. Maybe Tennessee will knock Indy out of the playoffs or maybe Manning will break something like a leg, but it's coming and it's not going to be pretty. What really surprises me is that Peyton Manning of all people should've known better. He's not typically one for boasting.

Two More

2006-06-28T00:02:00.000-04:00

Reasons to love the World Cup.

Wish the US would play in the Copa America, then we'd have reason to travel to Brazil...

1961

2006-06-27T08:50:00.000-04:00

In 1961, Kennedy is inaugurated as president. Eisenhower states the US has broken its relations with Cuba. Ham the chimpanzee is launched into space, followed months later by our first astronaut Alan Shepard. The Peace Corp is established. DC residents are allowed to vote in presidential races. The disasterous Bay of Pigs invasion occurs. The Freedom Riders ride in Jackson, and martial law is imposed in Alabama. Kuwait becomes an emirate as the Arab League takes over protection of the area, British troops leave, and the USSR vetoes their application to the UN. Construction of the Berlin Wall begins. Who can forget that Tanganyika becomes an independent country. The Vietnam War begins. And the Marshall Plan expires after billions of dollars in relief and rebuilding had been granted to Europe. Princess Diana, George Clooney, Meg Ryan, Billy Ray Cyrus, and The Edge are born, and for s.a.w.b., Henry Rollins is also slapped on the buttocks in a maternity ward. Sean Hannity and Ann Coulter are both unbound in Hell, led across the Lethe River, and once again unleashed upon the earth.

In sports, Wayne Gretsky and Mark Messier are born days apart. Other births in 1961 include Isiah Thomas, Don Mattingly, Davey Allison, Dennis Rodman, Paul Coffey, Carl Lewis, Dan Marino, Greg LeMond, the late Reggie White, and the now infamous Ben Johnson.

The Packers and the Oilers win their respective football leagues. The Chicago Blackhawks win their last Stanley Cup. And while the Reds lose to the Yankees, the Cincinatti Bearcats win in the NCAA basketball championship. Also in 1961, a university wins its first and only championship in any sport by winning one in the hallmark of collegiate sports: cross country.

Oregon State's dynasty of ineptitude ended last night in a thrilling 3-2 victory over North Carolina. North Carolina didn't do itself any favors by committing four errors, two of which directly led to scores for Oregon State, including the game-winner. However, let's not forget that Oregon State won coming out of the losers' bracket, beating Rice twice by shutouts (Rice's 23 scoreless innings is an NCAA tournament record). After losing to UNC in game 1 of the best-of-three, OSU became the first team to lose twice in Omaha and still win the championship.

Pat yourselves on the back, Oregon State baseball. It may be another 45 years before you do anything else, but don't let that little issue get in the way of a hardy celebration. Too bad you had to pick a summer championship do win or else ther may have been a little property destruction in Corvallis.

The hardest spot to fill on the field is...

2006-06-26T15:46:00.000-04:00

I thought we might take a break from the world-cup breakdowns, and other ruminations, to have a run at a wide-open topic:

What is the hardest position to fill to have a successful team in each of the major sports?

Your categories are:

Baseball -
Basketball -
American Football Offense -
American Football Defense -
Hockey -
Football/Soccer -

I don't think i'm leaving anything out in the cold, major team sport wise.

Have a crack at it in the comments...

With refs like these...

2006-06-26T13:03:00.000-04:00

Who needs to even play?

At first, it seemed upsetting, but not completely terrible.

Then it seemed really bad, but maybe it's just the world's against us type issues.

Now it's official: the refs are completely rooning this World Cup.

I didn't disagree with the refs needing to buckle down a little more and call some of these penalties. But they're calling hair-thin fouls. There's a fine line between rough play and fouls, and, granted, they'll get a few they shouldn't call wrong, but this many? And worse, at critical junctures in the game? They need to be more blatant.

The foul against the US in the Ghana match? The Australia call to end the game? Both bogus. And that Portugal-Netherlands match? Even the FIFA president was upset about it. So FIFA, whatcha gonna do? The world is watching and these refs are making all results almost illegitimate. What now?

One more article from across the pond.

Hapsburg Cup

2006-06-23T18:59:00.000-04:00

Mundial Copology

Stack 'em up, folks. It is now time for single elimination World Cuppage. Here's my bracket, and I predict a wildly incestuous result:

Germany vs.
Sweeden ---------- Germany vs.

Argentina vs.
Mexico ---------- Mexico --------- Germany

England vs.
Ecuador ---------- Ecuador vs.

Portugal vs.
Netherlands ------ Netherlands ------ Netherlands

Italy vs.
Australia -------- Australia vs.

Switzerland vs.
Ukraine -------- Switzerland ------ Switzerland

Brazil vs.
Ghana ----------- Ghana vs.

Spain vs.
France ---------- Spain ---------- Spain

With Brazil and Argentina eliminated, you come down to four nations of the olde world who all may be playing at similar levels once the dust settles. Then there is the re-bracket.

Germany vs. Switzerland

Netherlands vs. Spain

The Germans and the Spaniards's experience and stamina garnered from their respective home leagues will put these two over the top in to-the-wire and penalty kick matches.

That means third place will be decided: Switzerland vs. the Netherlands
The Swiss take this one back to the Alps

And El Final for all the glory will be Germany vs Spain, in what might touch off a major European war, and what will set EU negotiations back at least three years.

I just don't see Germany loosing this one on their home turf. You thought France's celebrations were big back in 1998? You ain't seen nothin,' baby.

World Cup Crashout...

2006-06-23T10:55:00.000-04:00

By now, as I'm sure you've heard, the US Team has crashed out of the World Cup in rather spectacular fashion. Going in, the US team was picked by many to repeat, or exceed, the 2002 squad that made a surprising run to the quarterfinals, and was a missed-handball-shoulda-beena-penalty-kick-for-us from reaching the semis.

What was the problem? Well, we had a few, and these are the ones that FIFA can't address with their officiating...

1 - Team Selection - It became apparrent very quickly that we had no creativity up front or in the midfield. Taylor Twellman should have been on this team. He's the most electric scorer in the MLS right now, and did a fine job in the friendlies and qualifying stages for the US team. Freddy Adu could have made an impact as a last 30 minute sub in some of the games. Particularly the Italy game. He's blindingly fast, and would have pushed the Italians, and perhaps drawn some key fouls.

2 - Formations and gameplan - Why in the hell, knowing that we needed to beat the Ghanans, did we come out in a completely defensive 4-5-1 formation? Why did we stick with that formation after it didn't work in game 1 against the Czechs? We looked so bad in the middle at times, it reminded me of Steve Sampson's ill-fated 3-6-1 that we used to legendary results in the '98 cup. Why not go for broke in the Ghana game with a 4-3-3, or a 3-5-2 if you wanted to keep more folks in the middle? We needed bodies up front other than Brian McBride. Ifin it were me, we'd have seen this lineup in the Ghana game -
G - Keller
D - Cherundolo, Onyewu, Conrad, Bocanegra
M - Dempsey, Reyna, Convey
S - Wolff, McBride, Johnson

this lineup would have been an all out sell out for attacking, but it also leaves us with Landon Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley on the bench, which is where they deserved to start the 3rd game. It would also have allowed us to go to a 3 man back line should we have needed to throw another man forward, which we did.

For the record, guys, kicking the long-ball and hoping you hit someone in stride is no way to win a World Cup Game.

What does the future hold? Well, it has become apparrent to me that the MLS needs to go forward and bring in as many European players as possible, to show the US players how the European/world game is played. We need to get our top guys into the top levels of European football. Oguchi Onyewu going to Middlesborough in the EPL is a good start. Now let's find a new home for Eddie Johnson, Clint Dempsey, Eddie Pope, Ben Olsen, and some others...

Good News Friday: what's so good about it edition

2006-06-23T10:33:00.000-04:00

Oh, the summer doldrums are definitely here. The Diamond Dogs ousted from Omaha by Oregon State. The US teams booted from Germany at the hands of World Cup virgins Ghana. No "real" NFL news. For you Braves fans, they still stink this year. NASCAR folks in a tax scandal and introducing unleaded (say it ain't so), and it's a slow race week. Golf, tennis? Yawn.

So what good news do we have this week to start our weekend right? Oh, let us decend deep into the sports stories for this weekend.

Diamond Dog Josh Morris has signed a contract with the Braves. Hopefully, Bulldog fans will be able to see him relatively soon cranking out homeruns in the majors.

World Cup coverage continues this weekend. Us old folk remember when the US didn't even make the group finals, so keep watching and see how far the US still needs to go. There are some spectacular matches ahead starting tomorrow with host Germany facing Sweden and then Argentina (chachacha) against Mexico. I personally hope the Ceruleans ANNIHILATE our urine-flinging Osama-lovin' neighbors to the south. Then Sunday we have England vs. Ecuador and Portugal vs. the Orange of the Netherlands. Should be interesting.

For those who would rather have a more "American" sport, the finals of the College World series have two first time finalists meeting when Oregon State and North Carolina begin their best-of-three series tomorrow at 7 PM on ESPN.

Hockey enthusiasts can look forward to the NHL draft, which is also being held tomorrow. The Thrashers select 12th.

And lastly, the NBA season is over.

Hockey: Southern style

2006-06-21T09:26:00.000-04:00

If two states south of the Mason-Dixon, east of the Mississippi win the Stanley Cup back-to-back, and Canadians and northern folk won't recognize it, does hockey still belong only up North?

This year marks the second consecutive season a Southeastern division team has won the Stanley Cup. Sure, neither of the finals had powerhouse clubs like Detroit, Dallas, or Colorado, but guess what? Those teams lost in their divisionals. "The Eastern Conference is weak." But you don't see the Eastern Conference of the NBA winning their championship even though it is by far weaker (the Pistons have been the only non-Michael-Jordan Eastern team to win the NBA finals since Boston in 1985).

Let's hope this puts to bed the idea that the South is only good for college football, sweet tea, and 'nana pudding. There's a good and growing hockey product developing here in the South. Two Cups. That's two cups more than two of the original six since the time of expansion. And by the way, remember, Carolina started in Hartford. Which of those two cities has been more successful in terms on winning in the playoffs? 'Nuff said.

Bad News Monday Extravaganza

2006-06-19T09:08:00.000-04:00

The Bulldogs did lose to Rice last Saturday like almost everyone expected but they did keep it exciting. That silly Rice teams just doesn't have weaknesses. They're probably not the best at anything in this tourney but they just don't have any holes. I've said it before and I'll say it again: This baseball tounrament is Rice's to lose. Georgia can hang on by beating the Beavers today at 1PM.

GT was ousted by Cal State Fullerton but that's sort of a neutral item. I got fed up with Cal State's constant substitutions in the 8th and switched channels but I guess it paid off for them because they rallied to beat Tech.

Of course it's easy to tout Rice after Clemson's collapse at the hands of UNC. UNC's pitcher Woodard pitched a three-hitter shutout and went the distance. I only saw the last two innings and assumed Woodard was a closer because of how fresh he looked on the mound. Not bad for a guy who doesn't usually last more than 5 or 6 innings. Good job of landing Clemson firmly in the loser's bracket.

I'm working on a baseball joke right now. It starts: "Three teams located within 100 miles of each other go to a baseball tournament in Omaha." The punchline will be: "Well so far, they're 1-4!" I haven't yet worked out a way to tie the opener into the puncline or make it funny. Suggestions are welcomed.

Phil Mickelson channeled some of his old self and urinated away a US Open victory on the 18th by going for the green through a forest of trees. He was leading at the time on the toughest US Open round played in a LONG time. +5 won it. Go for the fairway, man! Your closest opponent was already in the clubhouse. You have the shots to use. You are such an idiot.

The US got manhandled by a card-happy ref in World Cup action. They did play well though and hang on to tie Italy but that means that the US will have to beat Ghana and Italy will have to beat the Czechs for the US to move on. There are some tie scenarios I'm leaving out but I'm sure Laddiator or SAWB can fill us in on those ramifications.

Bah!

2006-06-17T17:45:00.000-04:00

In the interest of keeping this blog 'PG', I now submit the following:

Not only do we have to beat a Ghana team that abused the Czech Republic today, we have to root for the ****E* ****I** *A** *O* Italian team to beat the aforementioned ****E* ****I** Czechs. Oh, and, the Uruguayan referee who 'called' the USA/Italia game can FALL IN A WELL AND DIE IN A FIRE...

/two absolute crap red cards...

Good news Friday: Last weekend of Spring edition

2006-06-16T10:57:00.000-04:00

Between helmet-less star QBs, MLB still on roids and enhancers, the Big Unit getting kicked to the curb, the NBA still going on, the NHL's joke for a substance-free proclaimation, the US getting spanked by Czech Republic, injuries, cuts, justice being served at Penn St. and coersion by the NFL (see article below), where's the good news?

Ah, HRS continues to plug away looking for bright spots in sports. As always, local news first.

The Athens Pirates are back in action. Correction to our last report on them: this year they are no longer in the SCBL, due to travel costs. They've already started play against the Norcross Astros and the (I kid you not) Atlanta Crackers. They have a double-header tomorrow vs. the Atlanta Yankees here in Athens. It's free so if you're in the WalMart/HomeDepot westside area, go check them out:

Smith Field - Athens Pirates Home Field
Near Athens, Ga. Home Depot Store (Epps Bridge Road & Hwy 316). Off Old Epps Bridge Road. Take Athens Perimeter Hwy (Loop #10) or Hwy 306 from Atlanta. Exit at Epps Bridge Road. Turn right onto Jennings Mill Parkway and make first left turn onto Old Epps Bridge Road. Field is on the RIGHT about a mile. Look for large CELL TOWER and ball field lights on the right.

So it begins, UGA travels to Omaha to begin their attempt at the national baseball title. They start with the truly scary Rice team (#2 in the country). The tournament is double-elimination, until the finals which is best of 3. Final series play begins next weekend. All games will be on the ESPN or ESPN2. Georgia-Rice is Saturday at 2PM, which sucks because...

The US men's team faces Italy tomorrow at 3PM. After a 3-0 shellacing by the Czech Republic, the US team needs to show why they are ranked #5, why the Czech team is really that good (#2 in the world), and why Italy today isn't the Italy of yesteryears. A loss sends the boys packing. Here's hoping for a solid game from our Yanks.

The US Open starts this weekend. Woods, Mickelson...whatever. Will the 15-year-old kid make the cut? Now that would be entertaining (if only as a footnote).

Roger Clemens has been looking good in the minors. Houston fans, rejoice. He looks like he'll be back before next weekend.

As much as HRS has admitted "we don't like the NBA", the NBA fans are getting a good run for their money in the finals. Dwayne Wade with scoring 2 shy of 80 in the last two games, and is averaging 32 ppg in the series. He's looking to be series MVP is the Heat can pull this out. He's been the reason for the last two wins. Does he have the gas to finish? Will the rest of his team wake up? And can either team win on the road? Miami will HAVE to.

Lastly, Team Croatia needs some motivating, so who else would YOU turn to? Motivational speakers? Old coaches? Old players? Oh, silly me, how could I overlook the obvious? Let's get an old fart rock band, and who else but: Deep Purple! Coincidence that their next team is Japan?

FIRE IN THE SKY!!!

NFL bother

2006-06-16T08:32:00.000-04:00

NFL bigwigs, obviously coersion isn't a big issue to you. Mr. (Lame Duck) Tagliabue, why do you have this massive hard-on regarding a team in Los Angeles?

If I'm not wrong, the PEOPLE of New Orleans want the Saints to stay in NO. Also if memory serves me correctly, Los Angeles not only lost one but BOTH of their franchises in the same year due to LA's inability to work with the Rams, coupled with Al Davis' final understanding of why the Rams moved from the Coliseum in the first place (stadium capacity vs. blackout rules). Back in 1995, Tagliabue felt that the Rams organization did not display "good faith" in negoiating with the city of LA. Tagliabue made a strong concerted effort not to move the Rams from LA (and actually had the support of most of the NFL owners at the time). But did the NFL come in and help pay for a new stadium for the Rams, so they could stay in LA? No. So after some threats and no promises, the Rams club was allowed to move.

While the NFL didn't exactly help St. Louis get the team they wanted (they wanted an expansion team that was instead won by Jacksonville) and tried to stop the Rams at every turn, we forward to today to see the NFL is sure making sure that the city of New Orleans DOESN'T get what they already have, and that a city that gave two craps about either of their old teams gets what it doesn't even want to pay for. But that's okay. The NFL is ready to give them money hand-over-fist for this to happen:

"Parks and other defenders of the financing arrangement said the tax dollars would be spent in the surrounding area only because of the stadium construction, and emphasized that no general fund money from the city (of LA) or county would help pay for the stadium. The projected $800-million stadium construction cost would be borne by the NFL."
(emphasis added)

Not only that, but the NFL is trying to coerce the people of Louisiana by stating effectively, we'll help pay for repairs to the Superdome to the tune of $20 mil if you reduce your "exit fee" rule by "$15 or 20 million". Or to rephrase, "We'll pay you $20 million so we can turn (you) around and buy Benson a golden(-plated) boot to shove up your..."

And it's ironic that the Rams threat to sue back in the early '90s has made it impossible to stop an owner from moving a team today. It's strange how these things come around. First in Baltimore we had Irsay rip a team from a city, only to find Baltimore on the receiving end of a similar collusion. Now we have LA courting Benson who will likely try to use threat of a lawsuit as leverage to move the Saints (only this time against Louisiana), much like Frontiere threatened the NFL when they attempted to block her from moving the team from LA.

It's no secret that Tagliabue has wanted a team in LA forever. What really puzzles me is why he just didn't decide to expand there instead of Houston. He's had opportunities to get a team there. But the real question is: does LA even care? Some (myself included) think the answer is no. But who am I kidding? This isn't about a city of fans. It's about a city of MONEY.

And there is one other option.

Summer's On

2006-06-14T14:16:00.000-04:00

And that means college football talk can start again.

Jmac rounds up some SEC previews from I'm A Realist including IAR's Georgia Bulldawg rundown.

I can almost taste the tailgate beer...

Here's some rough and early thoughts about how the SEC is going to shape up, totally too early:

SEC East

1. Florida
2. Georgia
3. South Carolina
4. Tennessee
5. Vanderbilt
6. Kentucky

SEC West

1. LSU
2. Auburn
3. Alabama
4. Arkansas
5. Miss State
6. Ole Miss

OK, now that you're mad at me, let me explain. The Western Division is going to come down to LSU vs Auburn. Whoever wins that game wins the West, and maybe has a shot at the National Title. Florida, Georgia and South Carolina end up in a three way tie for 1st place (UGA beats UF beats SCar beats UGA) and the tiebreak goes to Florida because they always get that tiebreak somehow. Georgia or Auburn ends up in a BCS at large this year, putting Missippi State into a bowl.

Bad news Monday: Tuesday morning hangovers

2006-06-13T08:40:00.001-04:00

Quoted (from a 2005 interview): "Because you don't have to. It's not the law. If it was the law, I'd definitely have one on every time I rode."

"I think it can be a risk. It depends on how you ride. I don't ride a sport bike. If I'm riding a sport bike and trying to do tricks, and going 200 miles down the highway, that's probably pretty stupid. But when you're riding a Harley or a chopper and you're riding with a group of people and you're not on the highway and you're cruising, you're relaxing. I don't think its as much of a risk as people make it out to be."

"I don't ever ride by myself. We always have at least one other guy there. They say 'I'm not worried about you riding, I'm worried about the other people,' and it's true. People don't see motorcycles as much because it's a smaller vehicle."

"(In) everyday life, there is a risk no matter what you are doing. And yeah, there is a risk if I'm out there doing wheelies on a motorcycle. But I'm being the safest rider I can be."

Who knew it would take a year later for this to play in a terrible manner. Hopefully, Ben's on the field come September.

Has anyone informed the US team that these games aren't friendlies?

UGA got a heck of scare Saturday in baseball. Oh, well, South Carolina fans, welcome to hangover Tuesday.

Did I say Shaq would take the Heat to glory?

Onterrio Smith, how was Canada?

Good job, MLB, muscling your players to keep their yaps shut when talking to the feds. If you think Grimley got suspended using HGH (versus admitting to federal investigators he used HGH), I got a bridge to sell you. The 50-game suspension is punishment for squealing, not for using.

Bob Huggins back in coaching? Only in America.

Good news Friday: World Cup edition

2006-06-09T14:45:00.000-04:00

Terrible news isn't bountiful this week, as baseball is baseball (read: on steroids, HGH, and whatever else they can get their hands on), basketball finals are here (yawn), and the NHL final (I hear a lot of you yawning) is over before it really started now with Roloson out.

So that in and of itself would constitute good news. But that's not the purpose of this weekly.

As will hopefully be a trend, let's start local.

UGA Athletics is indeed continuing their "Bulldogs Battling Breast Cancer" Golf Tourney. Details are in the article. Proceeds to go Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk to Find A Cure and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer.

The Diamond Dogs will play their best-of-3 Super Regional against South Carolina this weekend, the winner going to Omaha for the College World Series playoffs. If you're hoping for tickets, good luck. It's Standing Room Only for Kudzu Hill and the left field foul side fence ($6/ticket). Get there early as they go on sale 2 hours before the game, but you know how UGA kids camp out for stuff. You'll need to be in line at like 3 am for just a 50-50 chance of getting any. Then again, it is summer. And remember, that means it's H_O_T. Or you can watch it on ESPN2 or ESPN, while you're in between breaks from watching...

WORLD CUP action started today, with hosts Germany trouncing the weak Costa Rica team 4:2. If you missed the first 16 minutes, you probably saw a normal soccer game as, after the 3-goals-in-16-minutes flurry of action, Germany settled in and took control of the game. All games will be televised on ESPN, ESPN2, or ABC depending on the day and match importance. Most games will be on ESPN2. The most exciting game of the day (just forego the obvious quip, you non-soccer fans) will be on ESPN Classic later that evening. USA had a terrible group drawing with formidable Italy and the Czech Republic, as well as nothing-to-sneeze-at Ghana being the fourth. The first US game is Monday, 11 AM vs. CR. Good luck to our team in Germany. If you don't watch soccer, you should go to a local pub with the games on and watch. It will change your enjoyment. And you don't even have to drink. (Btw, several Athens places are showing them, two notables being Achim's and Little Italy's.)

Kudos to Clijsters for sticking to her guns, maintaining that she will retire in 2007 due to residual effects of injuries. Remember, Clijsters is #2 in the world. It's not that she's gotten old (at 22!!!) or has fallen off as a player. "My main decision is just that I want to still be able to be healthy when I'm older," Clijsters is quoted as saying. We're hearing this more and more in pro sports. I want to be healthy when I get older. I've mentioned this before: it's called perspective. My health later, or play a GAME now to get even more money but the cost is to be on painkillers the rest of my life. Game now, future health. Tough choice, granted. But good for those athletes who make a choice and stick to it. And the NFL is starting to kind of see it (see: Bettis as one example). I'm not taking a side on the issue. If she said she's playing until she's 50, fine. Do it. Good for her. You play until you are ready retire or when "it's time." There's a big difference between "quitting" and retiring to save one's future health, especially if you're gathering a long list of injury in a short time. It's good to see a player stand by her convictions. It'll be interesting, though, to see if she "unretires" in 5-10 years...

I think that's it for this week. Feel free to post more Good News sports in the comments section.

Your Super Diamond Dogs

2006-06-06T09:21:00.000-04:00

I don't know why I only get interested in baseball when the college world series/playoffs come around, but I do. Actually, I do know why but that's irrelevant. And, yes, it stinks that they use metal bats.

If you missed last night's game, where UGA defeated FSU, you missed a heck of a game. The game was a good defensive battle, but for the baseball faithful out there, you have to be concerned with the Dogs stranding 11, one inning left scoreless with bases loaded. However, you have to be glad that pitching closer Fields finally got some pitching action to knock some of that bench rust off. He got the save, but it wasn't pretty. This loss for FSU marked their first time not making a Super Regional since the current system was instated.

So next Coach Perno and his squad will host South Carolina here at Foley Field this weekend. The Dogs should have their way the Gamecocks, being they beat them all four times they met this season, but hey, that's why they play the games.

Check with the Georgia Dogs web site for start times. General admissions will be $24. Television coverage hasn't been published, though AM960 will have the play-by-play.

And by the way, Dave Johnson does a heck of with play-by-play for their games, so if you're watching, you may want to turn down the sound on the TV and turn on the radio.

Congratuations, Mavericks (this is NOT an NBA story)

2006-06-03T23:58:00.000-04:00

You know they're not walking away with the Title. Heck, they're not even going to the big dance. I'd still like to congratulate the Dallas-Ft Worth Metroplex's real Mavericks team for making it to the college baseball regionals after they pulled of a big upset in the Southland Conference tournament. Sure, University of Texas at Arglinton is no match for Texas at Austin. The Wolfpack finished them off for good even though UTA managed to hold a lead into the 6th. Still, congratulations for making it to the big boy baseball tournament. And congratulations for giving an ACC team a scare.

So while everyone else is patting the back of the NBA team that didn't even have the decency to look further than 15 miles away to steal a team name (much to the consternation of UTA students at the time), I'd like to take the time to recognize the real Mavericks, who got to play among giants for a day or two.

Disclaimer: My father is a UTA alumni and he was one of those consterned UTA students mentioned above. Just throwing my biases out there so that they are known.

Good news Friday: Trivia Edition

2006-06-02T13:31:00.000-04:00

Now that you've had your fun over answering those questions, riddle me this, you web reading masses:

"Which one professional sports team is the ONLY team in pro sports to have TWO Heisman trophy players on their roster?" (Edit: current roster, not all-time)

A thank you to ESPNews for that ditty (the answer is in Jumbles format in the comments section).

We'll start at home. The Georgia Bulldogs earned a regional, so that's a sweep. Both baseball and softball had playoff action right here in Athens. Not to disparage the ladies, but let's hope the boys of summer do a little better in their effort. They may already be sold out, but check the Georgia Dogs website for ticket information.

To the NHL players, even us fans knew the owners would be right. You held out for NOTHING.

The NCAA did something right. They've eliminated the "calling timeout while in the air going out of bounds" in men and women's basketball. Bringing back the "you have to try to bounce of their chins" is okay in my book!

The "Not Good News but notable stories of interest" section:

A farewell to Wayne Chrebet, one of the better possession receivers the NFL would run across. A guy who knew his role and didn't complain because of it.

I hate the NBA, but Shaq. Man. He's a guy I HATED (H-A-T-E-D) when he was at LSU. And over time, I came to tolerate him. Then appreciate him. Now, he's by far one of my favorite sports athletes in any sports. "I am the best 34-year-old athlete in the world. You can quote me on that. In any sport." Honestly: possibly, but if nothing else, definitely one of the funniest, especially with his one-liners. "Shaq... ah-ah. He'sthegreatest of the universe." (see: Queen's "Flash's Theme") "I would like to be refered to as 'The Big Aristotle'." "Dampier is soft. Quote it, underline it, tape it, send it to him. Don’t ask me about that guy again, ever." And that's just off the cuff. (Googled: "Me shooting 40% at the foul line is just God's way to say nobody's perfect") And when he leads the Miami Heat to the championship (and he will), it will be good and bad. Good because he will finish his legacy. Bad because it will show why the NBA stinks. And don't forget, he did Kazaam.

Lastly, the Athens Pirate Kings (wooden bat baseball team for college men) are having open tryouts. For information on the Southern Collegiate Baseball League, check out their web site. Okay, they don't have the Pirate Kings on their Web site, but they are a part of the league in some way, and this gives an idea of the league and its purpose. The Pirate Kings play off of Old Epps Bridge by the Home Depot/new WalMart area. I think games are free.

Are any major sports ready for this?

2006-06-01T09:29:00.000-04:00

Let me start this now by saying the question below is NOT about PLAYING sports, but being on the business side of it.

Dante brought it up in the previous (though brief) discussion regarding the NFL commissioner opening. Dante could have been half-serious or half-joking or completely joking. That's not the point. Could a woman like Condi Rice have a snowball's chance in Hades to even be considered for a league commissioner's opening? And while the obvious answer is "NO", this question isn't just in football, but in any major men's sport. Could Pat Summit, for example, be seen as NBA commissioner? Would men's professional sports admit a woman into its administrative roles? And the more politically dangerous question is should they?

I was discussing this issue with my better half, and it came down to this for us: is this the right time? (Which always leads to when is ever the right time for change.) I felt if Rooney, who is a serious mover in the NFL on the issue of "diversity", really wanted to move and shake, he could at least request her to apply. Ms. Better Half said even asking her would almost be an insult since it would be a token gesture with no chance at all. Why have her apply when you know before the ink was dry, she'd be rejected? To me, the symbol at this time would be more important even though the concept in reality is years beyond the present. Now I grant completely that NFL ownership probably doesn't even have women in the NFL on their radar for near future discussions. However, introducing the idea now may make the idea less novel or inciteful later, after more women gain pro sports business credentials.

Women like Pat Summit and Donna Orender (WNBA commish) have great experience which could make them experienced enough to make a possible try at a major position in the NBA. And again, this discussion isn't only about football but any major sport. So it's possible to note that it wasn't until 22 years ago that Marge Schott was the first woman to outright buy into principal ownership of a professional sports team (as opposed to inheriting it or gaining control by court order (see: 49ers)). Maybe getting more female in front offices and as owners (which baseball has been working to do) is a first step.

So the questions are:
1) Is the sports world ready to work women into, if nothing else, key roles in the front offices? Even on the college level, "big time" Div IA schools like Tennessee, Arkansas, and Texas have Women's sports Athletic Directors. Only Cal-Berkeley, Arizona State, and Maryland have female ADs over men and women's sports. (There are 2 other ADs in smaller DI institutions). If on the college level, women aren't well represented in the big time AD function, commissioner in pro sports league?? Eh...

(Question 1-B) If UGA selected a female for AD (let's say Yoculan), how do you think alumni would react?)

2) Would fans leave if something like this happened, especially in a sport like football?

3) What would be a proper first step to a woman becoming a commissioner in any male pro sports league? Ownership? GM? Scouts? Where should leagues start when trying to incorporate women into the men's sports business?

And finally
4)Do you think on the business side that women should stay in women's league or does it really matter?

Discuss. And remember, this isn't about women playing in men's sports, just about them in positions on the business side.

Bad News Tuesday - Wrong Day Memorial Edition

2006-05-30T08:43:00.000-04:00

In honor of Memorial Day (and indirectly in honor of mowing the yard and drinking), I've decided to hold off the bad news until Tuesday. We'll start with a whopper (though non-sports-related).

Actor Paul Gleason dies over the weekend. He was 67. You probably remember him from "Breakfast Club," "Die Hard," "Trading Places," "Johhny Be Good," or even "Van Wilder." He only really had one part but he played it so well.

So is the bad news that JP Lossman is right back where he started last year battling it out for a starting position or is the bad news that Kelly Holcomb might not get the starting position over JP Lossman and Craig Nall? I'll let you decide.

Bad news for Vince Young fans: He's not starting as long as Billy Volek is on that team. Billy's a better QB and he's getting 50% of the snaps as compared to Young and Mauck who are each getting 25%. I'd take Volek over anyone who started for Buffalo, Arizona, San Francisco, or Miami last year.

Babe Ruth has fallen to #3 on the career homeruns list. Is he still #1 for carrer strikeouts at bat?

Cubs fans have to be mortified after the Braves win last Friday. It's not often you see 5 hits generate 6 runs. I listened to part of the game on the way home from work and from what I can tell, none of the 9 players for the Cubs have any idea how to field a ball. During an extremely uncomfortable stretch for the Cubs, their 2nd baseman Perez drops the cut-off throw from right field and then muffs the throw to the catcher to give the Braves 2 runs off 2 errors. Then the top of the inning ended and who was first at bat? Cubs 2nd baseman Perez. And for what it's worth, I'd love to cover other baseball moments in detail but until I can get other games on the radio dial, I guess I'll be stuck covering Atlanta.

As a poster child for restructuring the divisions, the Texas Rangers are not only leading their division with 27 wins, they're 4 games up. The only other teams with that kind of a lead are the Mets and Cards with 31 and 33 wins, respectively. It must be nice to only have to worry about 3 other divisional rivals. Major league baseball needs to get over themselves and realize that interleague play isn't the novelty it once was. Ship an NL team over to the AL and just have an interleague game going on at all times.

I hear the NBA season is still going on. That's bad news in and of itself.

Georgia's baseball team got knocked out of the SEC tourney by Vandy. Georgia lost kind of early but then hung on for a while in the loser bracket.

Don't worry, Quincy...

2006-05-26T09:11:00.000-04:00

There's always af2...

So, it looks like Captain Burnout didn't quite cut the hash in Montreal. Too bad, since I thought he would have been a perfect fit for the Canadian game, what with his years of practice bouncing balls in front of recievers while he was at UGA...

Note: you may want to use bugmenot.com to view the above story...

No Fun League, indeed...

2006-05-25T15:30:00.000-04:00

if everyone's favorite (former) FCC man Michael Powell is voted in as commissioner of the NFL.

And also Jeb Bush? Wha'?? I was listening to ESPN Radio and one of their hacks was saying "What's wrong with Jeb Bush? You don't have to know anything about football to be commissioner." And that's where I'd disagree. See, Tagliabue had two things going for him. 1) He knew sports. He played sports. Maybe not pro sports, but he still played on a "real" college team. 2) The bigger points winner: he was a lawyer... for the NFL. Game. Set. Match. Lawyer. For the NFL. I'll take that guy over a no-real-sports-knowledge politician any day of any month of any year.

And let's go back to Rozell. Rozell wasn't a footballer either. But he was a PR man and had worked with the LA Rams. By the time he became commish, he'd turned the LA Rams into a profitable team after 10 years since their move from Ohio.

It's not about politics. Not about business. It's about knowing sports AS WELL as knowing the business and business politics of sports and sports management. Neither Jeb nor Powell know sports enough to be a commissioner. Yes, they have connections and contacts. They have business experience and understand business politics, but there are plenty of sports-politicos out there who would be better suited for the job. If you're looking for a politics-type man, Lynn Swann anyone?

My thought is keep the list to people who know sports, and have played sports seriously, at the very least on a college level. Else, the NFL could become like the NBA. Players keep flirting the lack of control line in the NFL, and the lack of a strong leader who understands sports in and out cannot maintain the line like Tagliabue (and to be fair the NFLPA exec director Gene Upshaw) have done. And I personnally think Rich McKay is the man for the job. But of course, they don't ask me, but of their short list, he's the man who has help right a ship in a major city with the Falcons. He has connections and the sports knowledge to do well. There may be someone out of nowhere who may be nominated and may be more suited, but they should have SOME knowledge of sports and/or sports business.

This is why I don't gamble

2006-05-22T08:41:00.000-04:00

As much I think I know about setting a good line, parlaying, and evaluating, you can't predict injury.

This is why I don't gamble

Good News Friday: School's out edition

2006-05-19T08:19:00.000-04:00

With the usual arrests, teams advancing or being knocked out of the playoffs, the continuing Duke saga, hazing, playoff suspensions, Indy racing restrictions, and yachting deaths (oh, yes, we look everywhere), this might be a week in which the good news has surpassed the bad.

In baseball, the Washington Nationals finally have an owner in Theodore Lerner, shopping-mall magnate and all-around rich guy. There's something not right about the league owning a team, and in a market like the DC/Alexandria/Baltimore area, there isn't a need for that to happen, regardless of the sport.

Michelle Wie is taking a step in the right direction, winning a local qualifier to advance to the next step in her attempt to qualify for the PGA US Open. It's not that Wie (or Sorenstam) shouldn't have taken earlier exemptions in previous tourneys (heck, the LPGA is giving Wie exemptions too, since she's technically not part of the LPGA). That's not what this commentary is getting at. If someone offered any of us to play in any pro tourney, would you really turn that down? The point moreover is that Wie understands that it is important to qualify, not just compete, in a men's tournament especially to gain access to a major. Will she do it? Maybe, though I doubt it. This is her first successful attempt in eight tries. The fact is qualifying in these men's tournaments is really really REALLY hard, man or woman. What I didn't know, and may be news to you readers as well, is that Wie is now the second woman to make the cut in a men's qualifier, after LPGA star Se Ri Pak made a cut in 2003. Will more women try to qualify on the PGA circuit if Wie ends up making the field. Probably. Is that really so bad? Not really. And lastly, is it fair that Wie or any LPGA golfer can play in both? That's a debate not for GNF. The point is Wie is taking the proper steps to achieve her goals, not asking for short-cuts, and has taken a first step by winning (or qualifying) on the course. And remember, guys, she's still only 16.

That last one was pretty long...for a golf commentary. So here's a short sweet one. The Gwinnett Gladiators are in the Kelly Cup Finals.

Three years removed from their abysmal 43-119 season, the Detroit Tigers lead the AL Central, scratch that, all of Major League in wins. Huh??? Yankees fans have to in some way love this type of situation as this can never help the cause for a salary control mechanism in baseball. I'm not sure if this is necessarily good news, but it is...well...puzzling.

Gamblers, rejoice! The Preakness is this weekend. 1-1 odds (yes, even-money odds) are on Barbaro because of some strange trend that no undefeated horse coming in has ever lost in the Preakness. That and the fact that Barbaro is considered a massively good horse. So start working your exactas and trifectas because a straight bet is almost pointless...unless you see an upset? An unlikely scenario unless you like the chances that the track will be wide open as the number of horses racing will be really small. Six? Maybe eight?

Finally, to college sports. While the men's baseball team has rattled off 13 straight wins, the women's softball team prepares to host the NCAA regional here in Athens this weekend. Play starts at 7:30 tonight against the Eagles from Statesboron. This is Georgia Southern's first NCAA softball appearance. I believe the regionals are double elimination play with the regional finals being Sunday. $8 - general admission. The men's team continue their series against Kentucky at Foley Field tonight, which is also their Seniors night, where they'll honor their seven seniors before the game. The third of the series is a day game on Saturday.

And lastly, stories which all colleges at this time of year are very interested in: who graduated? And this is especially important not only for the questions of who is leaving and which positions need filled, but that pesky APR. Not that UGA has had any problems regarding the Academic Progress Rate, but schools like Georgia Southern, Temple, and New Mexico State definitely will. UGA looks like they should be okay, since they came out pretty strong last year (though I wish anyone really trying to dicher that report good luck). And congratulations to all the graduates!

Have a great weekend, everyone.

Bengals fans Rejoice.

2006-05-18T11:25:00.000-04:00

Carson Palmer is already participating in light drills and doing a good job of it. I hope the Bengals fans out there realize that if Palmer can't play by the opener, Anthony Wright and former-Falcon Doug Johnson (or "The INT Squad" as I like to call them) will be filling in. Be very happy that Palmer is doing as well as he is.

Mike Adams sucks the fun out of football...

2006-05-16T12:00:00.000-04:00

...like a sorostitute sucks...nevermind.

Lifting from the fine, fine Georgia Sports Blog.

Any more thoughts?

Cuban w(h)ine

2006-05-16T09:49:00.000-04:00

This isn't about the NBA, though that's where it is originating. The outspoken Mark Cuban has whined his way to getting a change in the NBA playoffs (playoffs?!?). The reason for this change is due to the fact the 4th seed Mavericks are now playing the top seed Spurs. The Mavs had the second best record in the conference.

So Stern has changed the playoff rules for the following year and has come up with the most convoluted way to handle this. The top four teams are seeded by record, effectively saying that if you win a division, you may be seeded 4th, but no worse than fourth, and that record, regardless of seed, determines home advantage, so that 4th seeding doesn't matter if the 5th seed has a better record than you.

Yeah...

First, Cuban, whose tangents and antics are sometimes amusing, really needs to stop. If you're the best team, then they should be able to beat anyone. First round, semi-finals, finals. Doesn't matter. Beat the ones who step on the floor with you.

Second, the best playoff system in majors sports is the NHL. Best of 7 series and the playoff chart is re-done each round such that the highest seed always faces the lowest remaining seed. Division winners are top 3 regardless of record. No special exception for being good but not winning the division. Again, if you are what your record says you are, then you should win regardless. As much as I don't like the Steelers, they beat any comers in the playoffs, regardless of who or where.

Lastly, calling out your league in the middle of the playoffs is poor form, especially on such a trivial issue. Not that I would expect more of Cuban, but I have to give Stern credit when he said, "It's the kind of conversation I understand and it is an issue, but that's a conversation I would have privately with my owners." Stern isn't the greatest of commissioners but he's right on with that comment. Bring it to the owners' meeting, not on a friggin' blog. That's what us non-pro plebes are here to do.

All this said and aside, what do you all think of this new NBA format? Do you like the NFL format? How would you change it? Maybe we'll make a separate topic about the top 5 things you'd change about college football, so don't bring that one here. If you want that as a separate thing, create it.

Welcome to the NFL, Reggie.

2006-05-16T08:48:00.000-04:00

So Reggie Bush apparently can't even make it through rookie camp without getting hurt. I have nothing more to add. Just thought it was funny.

Good news Friday: ...

2006-05-12T11:04:00.000-04:00

Man, is there ANY good news out there in the world of sports? With Jimmy Smith retiring, failed trades, Casserly being run out on a rail (can't necessarily blame them), the NBA and NHL playoffs bringing good or bad news (depending on the side you root for), New Orleans getting crapped on again (see: Hornets), broken wrists, ankles, and noses, illegal car parts, plagarism(?!?), and various people dying, where's the good news??? Even Siegfried and Roy get in on the bad news by getting shot at by a former NFL kicker.

Ahh, we dig deep here.

On a personal level, I love when retired sports personalities get drunk and are put on the air. Harry Caray, Mike Vanderjagt, and Joe Namath. Now we have former Cy Young and MVP winner and former Rookie of the Year Rick Sutcliffe. This isn't necessarily a "good news" story and definitely not as funny as "I wanna kiss ya!", and while alcoholism itself isn't funny, by damn if what those folks have to say isn't hilarious I don't know what is.

And filing this one under the "So we don't have to hear about it again" folder, Texas A&M and the Seattle Seahawks settle their pissing match over the "12th man" lawsuit. Will you folks grow up?

Okay, on to the real good news stories, the Orange County Choppers crew gets in the charity action (again) by donating a new cycle to the Victory Junction Gang Camp, speadheaded by Kyle Petty and his wife Pattie. VJGC helps children with debilitating chronic illnesses.

Finally to round out the short list, the UGA Women's Softball team has advanced to the SEC Softball Tournament. Big whoop, right? Not quite so this year. If the softball team continues its winning ways, UGA well position itself for a bid to host a regional in the national tourney, if not this year, then next. With the newly renamed Turner Complex being a pretty nice facility, this is just the type of auxillary support any university likes to see outside of the success of the major two sports. These regionals bring not only attention to UGA which helps in recruit in all sports, but also adds money into the city of Athens if not for a weekend.

Don't forget to call your mommas (or have a nice breakfast in her honor), and have a great weekend.

Ridiculously early pre-pre-preseason top three

2006-05-11T10:30:00.000-04:00

The title says it all. The linked article has theirs. Let's hear yours.

Dante's Top 3
1. Ohio State - Solid recruiting. Solid players. Solid football. The Big 10 will be weak this year since I firmly believe that Penn State will hit not repeat last year's success and Michigan will get worse before they get better. That leaves Ohio State with a crease to come out on top if they can reverse their fortunes and knock off Texas this year. The o-line is suspect, but in an unproven sort of way.

2. USC - There's a lot of younger talent of this year's team but they're still a good team and unlike Oklahoma, in lopsided games Carroll actually plays a good chunk of his roster instead of running up the score with his starters.

3. Notre Dame - Are they really the 3rd best team in the country? Absolutely not. They'll be well on their way to yet another consecutive bowl loss this year thanks to a ranking way higher than they deserve. Since I think they are really a Top 15 team, the polls will firmly plant them in the Top 5.

The WHRG-Sports draft prognostication resultimatations

2006-05-05T10:01:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the delay, but it's been a busy, busy, week.

First off, paT gets the no-prize for his no-picks, even of UGA players. No-fun to you paT, your no-prize is a 3 hour lecture from Sprout on whatever he feels the voices are telling him is necessary.

Now, down to the real results.

The big winner was Dante, with 11 points in the main draft, plus the 10 for winning outright by a slim half-point over SAWB. Laddi was a not so distant third with 7.5 points.

With regard to the UGA players, and young Mr. Vick, SAWB and Laddi tied with 6 points, with Dante right behind at 5.5. All of us had half of the D.J. Shockley equation right, SAWB got a full point for Golston, and is also protesting the Raiders draft, since we all know they meant to draft Marcus Vick as Mr. Irrelevant.

Final totals -
Dante - 26.5
SAWB - 16.5
Laddi - 13.5
paT - 0.

TMQ's Draft Coverage Special

2006-05-03T11:32:00.000-04:00

Gregg Easterbrook has moved back to ESPN from the NFL Network and has provided his yearly draft coverage. Some of the highlights:

On teammates taken high:
"Tuesday Morning Quarterback has long been suspicious of cases in which two highly drafted players played similar positions on the same college team. In 1998, for example, quarterback Peyton Manning of Tennessee was a first-round choice, and wide receiver Marcus Nash of Tennessee also a first-round choice. Nash was a bust: Manning had made him look better than he was. Call it Nearby Nepotism -- beware of collegians who played near other good collegians. Nearby Nepotism ran wild at this year's draft. Ohio State linebacker A.J. Hawk went fifth, then Ohio State linebacker Bobby Carpenter went 18th -- most likely they made each other seem better. Three members of the Florida State front seven -- Ernie Sims, Kamerion Wimberly and Brodrick Bunkley -- went in the first 14 selections, and most likely made each other look better. The cake was taken when three of NC State's four defensive linemen went in the first 26 selections. NC State had a 6-5 record -- if its D-line was so fabulous, how come the team barely broke .500?"

On Buffalo:
"The only teams to vote against the CBA were Buffalo and Cincinnati, both low-grossing franchises that believe -- falsely, in all likelihood -- they won't be able to compete against high-grossing franchises as the salary cap skyrockets. In many areas of life, the key question is "compared to what?"" (There's a whole segment on this.)

On draft predictions:
"So far as I can determine, not one single mock draft in the entire local space-time continuum had Williams first. (Actually, mine did, but I didn't finish my board until late Friday night.)"

He also has a rundown of each teams' draft performance, some objective Buffalo and Oakland bashing, a few words about how SAWB still hasn't tallied up the winner of the draft progonstication (just kidding), and other odds and ends. It's certainly worth the rather long read.

They could have done much worse

2006-05-02T14:10:00.000-04:00

The Falcons actually salvaged a decent draft with only five picks. Sometimes it seems when teams are short on draft picks, they'll reach more especially when they won't pick again for another 64 selections. But the Falcons didn't, and that was pretty impressive.

Going in, I felt the Falcons needs were LB, WR, #2 CB, OT, and a solution for the Duckett problem. The Falcons attempted to address 4 of the 5, so that's not bad. Dante earlier stated something about an "oft-overlooked #3 QB", and obviously, someone noticed.

Getting Jimmy Williams, especially in the 2nd round was good value and a seemingly safe pick. Amazing. That's 1.

Then in Round 3, they grab Jerious Norwood, who was indeed a third round value. They didn't reach for another position. That's 2.

And really, anything after that would be a big question mark anyways, so taking Ojinnaka in round 5 and Jennings in the 6th may have been unnecessary (they probably were going to be UDFA), but they did take a tackle and WR, and obviously ones they value. So there's two more.

And sawb did ask for the Falcons to get at least one UGA dawg and they did, getting Shockley to hopefully backup the mobile Vick, because everyone knows Schaub is gone next year.

Not bad. Not stellar, but you won't get stellar with the picks the Falcons had anyways. The important thing is they didn't completely blow it by any means. I mean, crap, they drafted better than several other teams who had a full deck of picks. Now they've also added 12 UDFAs and will likely add that WR Bergeron guy from the Georgia Force, so it looks like they'll be doing okay. I got to hand to them dirty birds: it wasn't a bad weekend.

Bad News Monday: Buyer's Remorse Draft Edition

2006-05-01T11:00:00.000-04:00

So let's run down all the crappy things that happened over the weekend.

NFL Draft:
Buffalo went a long way in proving how salary cap is not what's keeping them down. A 3rd grader making draft picks by throwing darts at a list could've made better selections. And it's not even that they picked up bad players. They just picked them up WAY too high when they could've traded down for those same players plus a few extra picks.

Matt Leinart could've went #1 overall to San Francisco in 2005. Instead he waited a year, lost a national championship and went #10 to Arizona in 2006. I hope that senior year was worth the $10 million it probably cost him. At least he'll get to throw a lot to some pretty top shelf receivers in Arizona who already has an awesome receiving corps and just added a potentially great receiving TE.

Reggie Bush went #2 (heh, heh, I said #2). Nobody really thought Bush was going anywhere but #1, including young Reggie. Maybe he should've been a little more receptive to Houston's offer. Then again, he might not have gotten a big a bonus but at least New Orleans' o-line is a little better than Houston's. On a related note, Houston did commendably have a better rest-of-draft and pick up some good OTs that they desperately need.

Sports writes are so upset that Houston deep sixed their draft prognostications that they're already chiding Houston and telling them how Bush will be the next Michael Jordan. I thought Michael Vick was the next Michael Jordan? How many Michael Jordans will the NFL have? Apparently Jordan isn't that good at playing football. If Reggie will be such a superstar, then why was he riding the pine when USC was 4th and 2 with the game on the line in an obvious run situation? You'd think the last son of California would get teh ball there but he wasn't even on the field (and that was against a college defense).

Houston fans were upset enough that they didn't get either top-talent Reggie Bush or native son Vince Young, but to twist the knife a bit further, that treacherous Tennesse team that abondoned Houston some years ago (way back when Chris Chandler was their QB) snatched up the Texas hero and left Houston with a DE that should've gone at least 4 spots later than he did.
All that UGA talent, and Atlanta only picked up the not-ready-for-NFL QB from the mix. No Tim Jennings. No Greg Blue. Nothing but someone who probably won't make the summer roster cut unless he swallows some pride and switches positions. This smaks of the token Terrance Edwards pickup Atlanta made a few years ago.

I hear that Cleveland used their first round selection of Wimbley because they heard he could get them a sweet deal on shoes. (Couldn't resist)

Three Ohio State defenders went in the first round. Methinks that none will live up to first round expectations in the NFL. Any time that many players from one team go so high, it's usually because they all make each other look far better as a team than they would look as individuals.

On to baseball:
What do the Rangers, Mets, Reds, and Rockies all have in common? They're all leading their divisions. Shame on the other teams in those divisions.

One little exercise before I go. Give me the top 5 value picks in the draft and your reasoning. What I mean by value pick is the bet talent for where the team got him. I'll post my own shortly.

Good News Friday: Criterium Edition

2006-04-28T13:47:00.000-04:00

What a mess of a week. Ricky, good to some folks don't care what you do on your free time. But then again, they're Canadian. Watch that thumb. The NCAA makes the bowl season even less significant. Two people die at Talladega erecting something. Baseball still has steroids and still sucks. And 77-years-young ABC college sports play-by-play icon Keith Jackson takes his curtain call.

But there has been good news, so let's start the weekend right.

First, no one in Georgia cares about Green Bay, so the good news is we don't have to hear about that damn QB from Kiln, Mississippi again until hopefully July at the earliest.

Next, the absence of GNF didn't affect the Lady Gym Dogs as they flipped and tumbled their way to back-t0-back championships after going undefeated on the season. Now if their coach would tell her boyfriend to stop street fighting... oh whatever, it made for a good laugh. And the ladies defeated the UGA men's football team in the weight room as well.

Also, while the Thrashers couldn't quite close the deal and make it to the NHL playoffs, the Gwinnett Gladiators are in the midst of their playoff round two series after crushing South Carolina in a series sweep. Now they face the Florida Everblades. Winner of the series will advance to the playoff semifinals. The Glads lead 1-0. Tickets are still available for tonight's game.

Two other perennial events are happening this weekend which should hopefully bring joy to those in Athens.

Cyclists from all over the world will be coming to the Classic City to brave the downtown bums as they hope to bike their way to victory in the yearly Twilight Criterium. Anything that pisses old man Heery off is okay in my book. Plus, it's another reason to drink outside. And if you're not the drinking kind or have kidlets in tow, there is plenty for the family.

Then that night, there's the sixth(?) annual Twilight Delirium at the 40 Watt.

And for those stay-home types, I don't think I need to remind you that you'll probably be feeling a "draft" of a different sort. What other 48 hour period moves this many men from the mac-n-cheese caste to the "millionaire" category? God bless America.

If you have any good news, feel free to add in the Comments section. Have a great weekend!

The Georgia Football Dream Platform

2006-04-24T15:45:00.000-04:00

I'm tired of hearing about dream political platforms for parties who are more worried about buying votes than making our country a better place so I've decided to come up with my own dream platform. This is my UGA football dream platform:

Plank 1: Tackling
1. We need to tackle better. Period. Don't beleive me? Rewatch that WV game. I'm sure that could go under some other plank but it's such an important concept that I've given it its own plank. Like my high school coach always said, "If you can't tackle, they're going to score every time they touch the ball. Tackling is the most important thing in all of football." [Addition on 4/25:] I forgot coach's other saying about tackling: "It's the only thing that every single player on the field needs to know how to do."

Plank 2: Opponents
1. We need to stop playing non-Division-I schools. I know Georgia Southern likes to think of themselves as a rival but they're not. UGA and the Falcons aren't rivals. Neither are UGA and Georiga Southern. Division I-AA even has a playoff system instead of a bunch of bowl games. How backwards is that?
2. We desperately need a "pick a fight" mentality in scheduling. I'd rather see us have 8-4 seasons against the best college football has to offer than 10-1 against a weak non-conference schedule. Let's go out and challenge the best college football teams in the nation to play against us and then call them out for being the fraidy cats they are if they turn us down. I hate continually living in denial thinking to myself that we're not using the 10-win-guarantee non-conference school selection system that Richt is all too familiar with from his Florida State days.

Plank 3: Stadium
1. Make the stadium seating as uncomfortable as possible. Get rid of those stupid cushy seats. They're giving people the idea that it's ok (and maybe even expected) to sit during a football game and that's just wrong. Metal benches all around. Even in the skybox.
2. Either enforce seating or don't. I'd be fine with tickets that only had area designations on them. I'm not fine with whiners who complain about seating assignments that obviously don't exist. If they're going to enforce seating form the get-go then that's fine with me too.

[Added at Pat's request 4/25:]
Plank 4: Offense
1. Catching the Ball. I can understand not catching a ball thrown 3 yards wide, high or short. I cannot understand being open, being hit - in the hands - and dropping the pass.
[Courtesy of SAWB 4/25:] 2. The running game. Pehraps, given the successes of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and their ilk, we could try banging inside with a large back, Kregg Lumpkin comes to mind, for the first quarter or so, and then start running the cutesy off-tackle stuff. I know that the motion-run offense is a vestige of Richt's tenure at Free Shoes Unlimited, but as Auburn keeps proving, year after year, you can win games by wearing down the middle of the defense first.

The 2006 NFL Draft Prognostication Pontification Contesterelation

2006-04-24T12:30:00.000-04:00

Ok, draft date is Saturday, so, get your pick sheets in before noon Saturday. Rules are as follows.

Predict the first round, including trades.

10 pts for coming closest to correct in the overall draft order 1-32. Ties will split these points.

1 pt for selecting the player in the right slot

0.5 pts each for selecting the right position/wrong player (i.e. LenDale White goes #1, you picked Reggie Bush)

0.5 pts each for selecting the right player, wrong team(i.e. Reggie Bush goes #1 to the Jets who trade down, you picked Bush to the Texans).

For the purposes of scorekeeping, please post your picks, 1-32, in the following order.

1 - Texans - Marcus Vick
2 - Saints - Tony Graziani
etc...

Also, there will be 1 bonus point added for picking the round and team for each of the following players (0.5pts for each portion correct, non-split.)

Leonard Pope
Max Jean-Gilles
Demario Minter
Tim Jennings
Greg Blue
D.J. Shockley
Kedrick Golston
Dennis Roland
Russ Tanner
Gerald Anderson
Will Thompson
Marcus Vick

Mock drafts and other things can be found at the following locales:
ESPN
SI.com

Save any commentary for after the list if you would. Should be an interesting draw...

Winter Sports thoughts...

2006-04-19T10:41:00.000-04:00

Alrighty, as we close out the NHL and NBA regular seasons, I have a few thoughts to throw around. And yes, I really am going to talk about the NBA.

First, the Hawks. Yes, they still do exist, and yes, I actually watched about 3 games worth of telecasts, put together. It's a very, VERY, young team. It's also a very, VERY, fast team. With the potential for 27 wins on the season with a win tonight, the Hawks will have more than doubled their win total from last year's abysmal season. I'm not going to even begin to speculate on the Hawks draft choices in June/July/whenever the hell the NBA drafts, suffice to say, ifin I were the GM, I'd draft the biggest, best, inside-banger/glass-cleaner on the board, and try to trade one of the eleven 2-3 tweeners we have for a veteran point guard. If that works out, we could see a return to the playoffs with a young, exciting team.

I really want to like the Hawks again, and I really want them to win. Do this right, guys.

On the Thrashers. Heartbreaking the way the season ended, as 90 points will usually get you into the playoffs, but, it's a GIANT leap forward. What would I have liked to have seen different? Kari Lehtonen getting a couple nights off after Dunham was whole again. I'd have liked to seen the lines shaken up earlier (who'd have thought that a rookie with the speed of Jim Slater would have done well with two old, wily, cagey vets like Bobby Holik and Peter Bondra?)

Thoughts for the upcoming year? Keep as many of the vets as humanly possible. Bring up Braydon Coburn. He's ready to make several impacts. Get new groins for the goaltenders, preferably the stretchy kind that don't get hurt all at once. If you're going to sell off any assets, sell some of the young wings/forwards we have in the minors, perhaps one of the younger goalies, and bring in that 'A' level defenseman.

The NFL draft contest is coming up soon. Be ready.

Thoughts?

Good News Friday: Good Friday edition

2006-04-14T12:55:00.000-04:00

Since the major three aren't really churning anything good out, and there's not much good news in the college ranks, we'll shift to the lesser known sports and happenings.

Now this is a good news record: Kevin Alderton of Kent, England set the world record for downhill skiing speed...blind. I can't ski well seeing. This guy went 100 mph downhill. Yowzas!

In the world of the NHL, the Thrashers are keeping their playoff hopes alive after a 5-3 win over division foe Washington. In last nights game, Marc Savard played his 500th career game, in which he tallied his 400th career point. Also, rookie phenom Alexander Ovechkin topped the 50 goals mark and became only the second player in NHL history to have 50 goals and 100 points in their rookie season.

Tomorrow night over in California, Athens' own Forrest Griffin faces Tito Ortiz in a Ultimate Fighting Championship bout that's dubbed "Reality Check." For those who may not know, Forrest attended UGA, became a UGA Policeman, and then went out to Nevada to compete in the UFC Ultimate Fighter "reality TV" contest. He won in the light-heavyweight class after fighting Stephan Bonner, which launched his pro career with UFC. He's good. Should be interesting.

His training partner Rory Singer is now trying to follow Forrest's footsteps in the recent season of "The Ultimate Figher."

Going too far in sports

2006-04-12T11:05:00.000-04:00

Update:
Wait wait wait, let me get this straight. You walk in as a police officer and see what you would call a brutal murder, and then come a day later and say it was "an accident" and he "tripped while carrying a salad and soft drink up a set of stairs". Now I may have fallen off the turnip truck yesterday, maybe last weekend, but falling down the stairs, even with a iron railing, the worse I would imagine is maybe a minor cut or at worse a cut and a broken arm. But even if there could be a cut, one such that in the aftermath "the victim was so badly disfigured his body would have to be identified through fingerprints or dental records", we're supposed to believe this guy, instead of calling for help, goes back upstairs to his bedroom? "He walked past several telephones but didn't place an emergency call, Scott said." Baffling.

I smell fish.

/Update

As one who is an Auburn fan, it is easy E-A-S-Y for me to write about the ills of boosters. With Emporer Lowder pulling the strings in the plains while all-that-is-evil Bama has Paul Bryant Jr., there isn't anything more ridiculous to me than utilizing influence for a game. But that is their side hobby, and they do it well...kind of... and that's their perogative.

Nonetheless, for any NCAA transgression they may take (and let's not kid, they ALL have at some point), I would never EVER EVEREVEREVER think murder as an appropriate measure of recourse. Granted, this is speculative on my part. However, is it coincidence that just last year, Logan Young Jr. was sentenced to prison time for serious recruitment violations? You'd think justice was served, right? Well, months later, Mr. Young has been found dead after, what police are calling, a brutal murder.

Granted, Mr. Young may have been a little too late on money owed to Guido down the road or was caught in the wrong bed at the wrong time. From what I've read, doubtful. We really won't know until the investigation is done. Again, I'm being speculative.

But that said, there are lines in everything. And if this is related to the violations, someone has crossed it, way way beyond the limit. And it's sad on many levels. First, the tragedy of death in itself. Then second is the level of ... passion (for lack of a better word) some fans have over a game. I'm a diehard football fan, but there is that thing called perspective that I like to utilize, recognizing that in the end, it's a game. Fun to discuss, great to play, and thrilling to watch, but in the end -- A GAME. Many men and women make money either playing it, owning it, or betting on it. Big big money, yes. And it's fun enough to write blogs over. But enough to kill over? I'm sorry, run that past me again. Seriously. No. Maybe I'm not rich enough, dumb enough, or angry enough of a person or maybe a combination of all three to understand. Given the threats people have made to players like Barry Bonds and Hank Aaron (just to name two of many) or the not-so-threat-like killing of the Colombia soccer player in the 90's, stabbing of Monica Seles, and the Nancy Kerrigan incident, I'd say it could be all three. But they do say the love of money is the root of all evil.

Condolences to the Young family on this tragedy.

A big middle finger from me, a Tiger fan, to the person(s) who did this. You really really suck and are worse than everything else wrong with sports combined. Hopefully, with any eternal justice there is a special place in Hell for you and sports "fans" like you.

Bad News Monday

2006-04-10T09:24:00.000-04:00

Since Laddi did his best to leave us with a high note on Friday, I thought it a good idea to drag us back into the mud now that it's Monday.

After going to the women's NCAA tourney during her first year as a coach for Army, Coach Maggie Dixon suddenly died at age 28.

That was last week's news but I was throwing it out there to soften the blow of Georgia's absolutely pitiful QB and receiver performances at G-Day. When the QB's weren't busy throwing picks, they were hitting receivers who have apparently never handled a football before. Sure it was wet and the throws weren't always the best they could be, but there were quite a few not-perfect-but-catchable passes that simply weren't caught (unless you're counting the defense). I don't put any faith in running performcance on a scrimmage game so no telling how they'll do in the regular season.

Ricky Williams is probably out for next year for the usual reason. Saban should've gotten rid of him when he had the chance. Then again, Saban shouldn't have a big say in personnel at all but he does. Only being in the NFL for two or three seasons now, somebody else should be making the big boy personnel decisions.

Favre still won't make a decision about next year (but will hold a press conference to announce his lack of decision). If I were in the head office at Green Bay, I'd cut him. It's not like he's going to sign with anyone else. Go ahead and cut him and let him know the door is open for him to try out for the QB position any time he wants. Green Bay can do better than Brett Favre in his current condition.

Buffalo can't even get the players they do have to show up at mini-camp. Maybe they can let Nate Clements play under the old defensive system and just get the rest of the defense to adjust to that.

The Atlanta Braves are off to another slow start. They're going through 3 to 4 pitchers a night. And for some reason, there are still 6 teams in the NL Central while the AL West has only 4 teams. My advice is to drop two teams. My secondary advice is to get over the idea that interleague play is anything special now and shuffle an NL team over to the AL and just have one interleague series going on at all times.

Good news Friday

2006-04-07T13:07:00.000-04:00

Pat, if this isn't something you want to do, that's okay. But with all the crap news, I would like to install a good news Friday as a way to start off the weekend right.

The San Francisco baseball Giants had survivors of the 1906 earthquake which rocked the bay area throw out the first pitch(es) in the home opener versus the Braves. The youngest of these whippersnappers was a spritely 99-years-old. Kudos to the Giants for a nice feel-good story. They need one.

Oh, and G-day is tomorrow here in Athens. While that means the return of drunk alumni (coughpatrickcough), it also means the football season is upon us, and that's always good news, no matter who you root for.

More Sports Jackassery at Duke

2006-04-07T08:08:00.000-04:00

It isn't bad enough that the Duke and its lacrosse team has the sexual assault issue to work through. Now, it seems that there were threats made for, and I kid you not, DRIVE-BY SHOOTINGS of the lacrosse house, so much so that all students living in the area are warned to be on guard due to a preported shooting earlier:

"[Police officials] said the incident is unrelated to two gang-related, retaliatory shootings earlier Friday in Walltown, several blocks from East Campus."

Drive-bys?!? And we worry about IM fields being torn up by drunk alumni. Since no one knows who's making the threats, I don't necessarily have one jackass to specifically call out. And no lacrosse player has been charged in the alleged incident. But the whole situation and aftermath smell as if there are a lot of jackasses in the vicinity, hiding in a deep blue background. Those devils...

Btw, I'm sure this is doing wonders for their admissions at this time of the year.

More Reaction

2006-04-05T13:54:00.000-04:00

To a Florida Basketball Championship

Thanks to Jmac for these babies: Post Tenebrous Lux captures reaction in Gainesville. And EDSBS talks about what this championship means to the Gator Nation.

ROFL Seal of Approval.

Undermining yourself to failure: the possible future of the Bills

2006-04-05T08:41:00.000-04:00

So this is about the Bills, and really, who gives a rat's backside? Well, with all the hub-bub about the CBA, a little write-up on the most vocal dissenter wouldn't be bad. We'll exclude Cincy because the modern Brown family are idiots. How Paul Brown is the patriarch of that clan is beyond me.

Anyways, Ralph Wilson is crying to Pataki about the unfairness of the CBA. I wouldn't doubt that Pataki said, "We have a team in western NY?? Did the Jets move?" Obviously, Ralph Wilson is concerned about the viability of his club. Here's the deal:

You have to really admire Bills fans/taxpayers for keeping the Bills afloat in previous years. I'm being honest here. And this is important because the NFL should NEVER, EVER let another Cleveland Browns incident happen again. It was wrong when Al Davis did it. It was wrong when the Irsays did it. And f*** Modell. The Bills should not lose their team over money. They've funded renovations in the late 90's and will likely have to shell out for a new stadium at the end of the decade. IF Wilson is going to Pataki to plant that seed early, good for him. Otherwise, he's looking like a crybaby.

It's interesting that before the 1993 CBA was signed, the Bills led the league in attendance SIX STRAIGHT SEASONS, with those final four seasons being their Super Bowl seasons. Then it fell off. Afterwards, they still averaged +65K in ticket sales per game per season, with this past year having an all-time high of over 72K tickets sold per game. He obviously is making money on a losing team, but I'm sure in 1994 and beyond he blamed the team's failures on that CBA. Shame on the Buffalo fans for giving to the Ralph Wilson welfare fund. Yet in some ways you have to admire those diehards.

In team terms, Ralph Wilson cannot keep up with the NFL. That is fact. Since the CBA was first changed to the salary cap free agency model, the Bills only made the playoffs three years and only one of those sans Jim Kelly (who retired in after the '96 season). I'd be shocked if Wilson didn't oppose the 1993 CBA at that time.

"I don't understand this CBA." Granted, you can't learn a novel in 45 minutes, but these ideas were not new. You didn't get it because you didn't want to. Because it wouldn't allow you to keep your team $14M under the cap, lose, and you still make out like a bandit. I hope with the new CBA teams like the Bills, the Cardinals, and the Saints can't keep losing on the field and still win big on the money side.

Ralph, you're throwing up your hands and throwing a hissy instead of going out and improving your team. You've allowed only Nate Clemens to be kept, releasing DT Sam Adams and S Lawyer Milloy. You sign Andre Davis (who sucks) and trade away Eric Moulds (who sucks a little less). You've made NO moves. Your team sucks, yet you still have $14 MILLION left in salary cap money!!! There is NO excuse except you and your management when your team goes 6-10 or worse again (only 4-4 at home with a stadium full of your fans), and that in a powderpuff division. And the team will sell tickets, and Wilson will continue being the losing genius.

Wilson seems to be thriving on selling crap wrapped in gold paper. Each year he adds more and more crap into the box, and is now crying how "the system" will be the reason. Modell tried this. He really really tried to run the Browns into the ground, saying the team was losing money and couldn't stay with the league because of it. He ran the star QB out on a rail and hired several new coaches in a short time frame to try to make things worse. Yet the Browns kept winning, and Modell kept losing money. Without an excuse to hang himself with and as owner of the rope, he hung the city. Wilson though seems to be making sure the team continues its downward spiral. He'll keep making token moves to undermine himself until the team sucks so bad he can blame the system as the reason. Note his recent venture to take has-been from the Patriots. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and is a losing strategy in sports. I'd be pissed this season to see my team's owner take a sledgehammer to the car and try to sell it to me as new. But Wilson's already got his excuse ready: it's the CBA.

Ralph Wilson is making it sounds as if he has no control over the viability of this team. He'll be playing the song of "I did the best I could" upon his death/retirement, so he can be vindicated if the team is moved to LA after he is gone. Us non-fans and especially us Browns and old-time Colts fans can see through that, though. We weren't high school drop-outs, either, and even if we were, we ain't dumb. You are making your team a target for relocation. Maybe, maybe it's not intentional, but at best, you're starting a self-fulfilling prophesy by being so negative and not adjusting to the new rules.

And I believe I hear a fiddle being played in Buffalo.