Pulled from a newspaper in my head
Despite the "tragic" loss of the New England Patriots to an outbreak of Syphillis linked directly to star quarterback Tom Brady, the sports' world moves on. First and foremost, the Division I-A (Formerly Bowl Subdivision) playoffs and Division I-AA(Formerly Non BCS schools) get underway this Saturday, and as usual selection Sunday brought out the usual amount of frustration amongst coaches and players as teams who had good but not great seasons argued their case for inclusion in the Sweet Sixteen field. But in the end, the pairings were very fair and no one sitting on the outside lost fewer then three games in the I-A field, and no one in the field lost to a I-AA squad. All games will be televised nationally by ABC, CBS, and ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU,CSTV & Versus. FOX forfieted their right to televise the games when no one at the network could properly identify more then four mascots of any major conference. The possiblity exists that the championship game participants will be playing in 17 games, or one more then the Texas High School State Champions. The pairings are as follows:
All First Round Games Saturday, December 8th
All games televised by CBS
Atlanta Region(Games to be played at the Georgia Dome, hosted by the Peach Bowl Comittee)
5:00 MST, #2 National Seed LSU(11-2) vs #15 Clemson(9-3)
11:30 MST, #7 National Seed Kansas(11-1) vs #10 Arizona State(10-2)
San Diego Region(Games to be played at Jack Murphy Stadium, hosted by the Holiday Bowl Comittee, with special appearance by National League MVP Matt Holliday.)
All games televsied by ESPN2/ESPN(late game)
3:00 MST, #3 National Seed Virginia Tech(10-2) vs #14 Texas(9-3)
8:00 PM MST, #6 National Seed USC(10-2) vs #11 Florida(9-3)
San Antonio Region(Games to be played at the Alamo Bowl, hosted by the Alamo Bowl Comittee)
Both games televised by ESPN
10:00 MST, #1 National Seed Ohio State(11-1) vs #16 Cincinnati(9-3)
3:00 MST, #8 National Seed West Virginia(10-2) vs #9 Missouri(11-2)
Orlando Region(Games to be played at Orlando, hosted by the Outback Bowl Comittee)
Both games televised by ABC
12:00 MST, #5 National Seed Georgia(10-2) vs #13 Illinois(9-3)
5:00 MST, #4 National Seed Oklahoma(11-2) vs #12 Boston College(10-3)
Quarterfinals, All Games Saturday December 15th
ABC 10:00 MST, Atlanta Regional Winners, at Jacksonville(Hosted by the Gator Bowl Comittee)
CBS 1:30 MST, Orlando Regional Winners, at Dallas (Hosted by the Cotton Bowl Comittee)
ABC 6:00 MST, San Antonio Regional Winners, at Tampa(Hosted by the Citrus Bowl Comittee)
CBS 6:00 MST, San Diego Regional Winners, at Tempe(Hosted by the Fiesta Bowl Comittee)
Semifinals, All Games Saturday December 22nd
CBS 2:30 MST, Tampa winner vs Dallas winner, at Miami(Hosted by the Orange Bowl Comittee)
ABC 6:00 MST, Tempe winner vs Jacksonville winner, at Pasadena(Hosted by the Rose Bowl Comittee)
Championship, January 1
ABC 4:00 MST, Semifinal winners, at New Orlenas(Hosted by the Sugar Bowl Comitttee)
Certainly there will be some controversy surrounding the selections from 13 thru 16, as Virginia, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Connecticut, South Florida and Michigan were all hoping to secure one of those bids. However, unlike his basketball counterpart, Selection comittee czar Jarvis Redwine was more then happy to address those schools feeling snubbed directly.
"With Virginia, it's very simple, they lost to #&%#ing Wyoming. Had they been able to beat Virginia Tech and take their division championship we may have been, well I may have been, willing to overlook that. They weren't, so I didn't."
"Tennessee and Michigan were more then talented enough to be there, but Michigan lost their last two games and got beat by Appalachian State and Tennessee seemed to just squeak by Vandy and Kentucky when they had so much on the line and then they let LSU off the hook in the conference championship game. I just didn't see any reason to let them into the field with four losses."
"There were only going to be two Big East teams in the tournament. That's just the only fair way to do it based on relative strength at this point. And neither South Florida, nor UConn did enough to overcome the fact that Cincinnati beat both of them head to head. And then it came down to Wisconsin and Cincinnati and I didn't think Wisconsin had done enough to justify denying the Big East a second bid. But I'll accept any criticism that comes of that, if any Wisconsin fan can look me in the eye and say they thik the Badgers could have won four straight in this tournament. I didn't think so."
The I-AA playoffs are spiced up a bit this year, by the inclusion of four 1-A teams at the request of the I-AA schools to bring more interest, and let's face it ratings, to their playoffs. The one concession the big schools made was that in 2008, the #1 team in I-AA will be allowed to play in the I-A playoffs. In perhaps the most interesting move of the day, lame duck Michigan Head Coach Lloyd Carr declined a bid to play in the I-AA playoffs, "I did not go to Michigan to travel around playing the Hawaiis and Troys of the world. Screw'em."
1st Round, Saturday December 8th
Memphis Regional, at the Liberty Bowl(Hosted by the Liberty Bowl Comittee)
ESPN2 10:00 MST #2 Seed Wisconsin(9-3) vs #15 Houston(8-4)
Versus 3:00 MST #7 Seed BYU(10-2) vs #10 Navy(8-4)
Shreveport Regional, (Hosted by the Independece Bowl Comittee)
ESPNU 3:00 MST #3 Seed Tennessee(9-4) vs #14 Tulsa(8-4)
ESPNU 10:00 MST #6 Seed Connecticut(9-3) vs #11 Troy(8-4)
El Paso Regional, at Sun Bowl(Hosted by the Sun Bowl Comittee)
CSTV 12:00 MST #5 Virginia(9-3) vs #12 Fresno(8-4)
CSTV 5:00 MST #4 Boise St(10-2) vs #13 Air Force(9-3)
Detroit Regional, at Ford Field (Hosted by the Motor City Comittee)
ESPN2 7:00 MST #8 Central Florida vs #9 Central Michigan
ESPN2 11:00 MST(At Hawaii) #1 Hawaii vs #16 Bowling Green(8-4)
Quarterfinals, Saturday December 15
10:00 MST CBS Shreveport winners, at Nashville, (Hosted by Music City Bowl Comittee)
10:00 MST ESPN El Paso winners, at Reliant Stadium, Houston(Hosted by Texas Bowl Comittee)
1:30 MST ABC Memphis Regional winners, at Charlotte(Hosted by Meineke Bowl Comittee)
8:00 MST ESPN Detroit Regional winners, at San Franciso(Hosted by the Emerald Bowl Comittee)
Semifinals, Saturday December 22
1:30 MST ESPN San Francisco winner vs Houston winner, at Tempe(Hosted by Fiesta Bowl Comittee)
8:00 MST ESPN Charlotte winner vs Nashville winner, at Tempe(Hosted by Fiesta Bowl comittee)
Championship, December 31
7:00 MST ABC Semifinal winners, at New Orleans(Hosted by Sugar Bowl Comittee)
If only...
Monday, December 03, 2007
Why couldn't we live in this world?
Bill Callahan & Bo Pellini
And so here were are, nearly full circle.
After 35 years with only two head coaches, 16 conference and Five National Championships, the Huskers will enter the 2008 season with their 3rd head coach in 10 seasons and only one conference title to show for a decade of football. The standard of the past simply hasn't been even close to met, and almost shockingly, Husker Nation turns its desperate eyes to Bo Pellini.
But first a few words about the departed Coach Callahan, and the strangest four year period in Nebraska history. It pains me to write that conventional wisdom was correct almost immediately with respect to Bill, but certainly not in the way anyone predicted. When he brought the "West Coast Offense" to Nebraska in 2004, that was supposed to be his downfall, the arrogance of changing a system of offense that worked so well for "forty years"(Which is utter bullshit, Nebraska was not even a triple option team until 1980. But you know, the truth is difficult for some people.). And in point of fact, the 2004 season was a miserable offensive football team with sad ass Joe Dailey "leading" the Huskers to a 5-6 record. But even in that debacle, there were moments where the offense provided a glimpse of what was possible and after a struggle to start the 2005 season, Zac Taylor started pointing the way to the kind of offense it would take to win conference and national honors against Kansas State, Colorado and Michigan. The 2006 season, clearly Callahan's best, showcased the offense at times as the well oiled machine it was capable of being. But it also showed Callahan at his very worst, when a hungry for victory Husker nation piled into USC, and quite simply tried to run out the clock for four quarters. The 28-10 loss was emblematic of the Husker football program in many ways, not trying to win but trying to salvage some dignity. One other, probably more impactful, issue continued to crop up on the other side of the ball. An awful performance against a "spread" offense on the road in Stillwater produced a big time beating. The failure to win close games against Texas, Auburn and Oklahoma was a clear case of lowered expectations in Lincoln (For all the talk of the demanding fan base.). I was even sucked into this. The bottom line is, those games were all winnable, and they didn't win them. A program like Nebraska can not afford to be satisfied with that many missed opportunities.
But then the one constant "positive" theme of the Callahan administration, false hope, blared loudly in the aftermath of the 2006 season. "Look how close we were", "And now we add Sam Keller", "And the recruiting just keeps getting better" were the common themes coming out of Lincoln from a regime that acted less like football coaches, in retrospect, and more like a congressional candidate trying to spin for re-election. Never were the players taken to task, never was their play openly criticized or scrutinized and ultimately that may have been what destroyed them and their coaches along with it. 2007 was a season of big expectations for three valid, but sketcky reasons:
-2006 had been the best Husker team in five years
-Sam Keller was a terrific QB who had a year to grasp the Husker system
-The expectations couldn't be delayed any further so the staff went along with them
More then any game in the post-Osborne era there was an expectation, a feeling really, before the USC game on Sept 15. I was in Lincoln that day and it was palpable. The town was ready for the old days, they didn't know if it was possible, so there was a very obvious sense of apprehension in Lincoln, but they knew that if it was going to happen it would happen that day. Not even necessarily that they won the game, it was possible that USC was just THAT good(They weren't, as it turned out, but that was certainly possible on 9/15), but that Nebraska would meet USC's intensity and play them on an even keel, give as good as they got against a truly outstanding football team and take their shot at getting back to their rightful place in college football. And USC gored them. Running essentially the same four or five counter and power leads they ran the ball right up Nebraska's ass then entire game and completely stomped the life out of the Callahan Cornhuskers. It was over at that very moment. Amazingly, the staff had no ability to change, no ability to stem the tide or make any sort of impact on the game at all. The simple fact of the matter is that if the Nebraska coaches had stayed in the locker room, it would have had little impact on the outcome of the game. Especially on defense. Callahan's close friend Kevin Cosgrove, overmatched at times in his first three years, simply lost all hope of handling the role of defensive coordinator that night. He may as well have tendered his resignation Sept 16, because that was all she wrote for Cosgrove. Leaving Lincoln and driving home the next day, I was upset, but I had no idea that the defeat would prove to be more total and complete then any defeat I've witnessed since Super Bowl XXIV. (Where the Broncos, clearly the best team in the AFC in 1989, went 5-11 in 1990 and looked as though they could have cared less.)
The rest of the 2007 season was a shot football team, that never again showed any signs of life, save for a bizzarro 73-31 domination of Kansas State, and a terrific first half in Boulder. And Callahan and co went out with a whimper, 5-7. At Nebraska. Perhaps nothing tells the story of Bill Callahan's career at Nebraska more then this. Harrison Beck, Josh Freeman, Blaine Gabbert and Sam Keller all agreed to play quarterback for him at Nebraska at one point. They will have combined to win 4 games for him as starting quarterback. Nothing can sum up the wasted hope and the "Sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground" feeling I have right now more then that.
The numbers tell the entire story
Callahan vs the Big XII North: 12-8
Nebraska vs Big XII North 1980-2003: 107-12-1
Callahan Huskers allowed 30+ pts: 18 times(3-15)
Post McBride Huskers(00-03) allowed 30+ pts: 12 times(3-9)
1980-1999 Nebraska allowed 30+ pts: 17 times(7-10)
The defense has been in decline since Charlie McBride retired following the 1999 season, and really has never been able to stunt that decline for any longer then half of a season. And at the same time, the intensity and focus of the other Big XII North schools has tripled, and quite frankly it would not matter how many times they beat us, that won't dissipate because that's how much they hate Nebraska for being so much better then they were for so long. So the new coach had to understand two things; Intensity & Defense. Enter Bo Pellini.
Bo Pellini was passed over in favor of Bill Callahan in 2004, so Pellini simply went and learned as much as he could about big time football from two fo the best programs in the business.
While I would like to make bold pronouncements of greatness or at least jump up and down about the hire and beat my chest as a Husker fan, that's just simply not where I am with this hire. I think if anyone on the planet had made this hire, except the man that did, I would be criticizing the hell out of it, because it was the easiest hire out there. Now that doesn't change the fact that Pellini could be a terrific head coach with just the right amount of intensity and desire to augment the superior recruiting done in the past three seasons. But it also doesn't ignore the fact that Bo Pellini has won one football game as a head coach, and it was an Alamo Bowl against a crappy Michigan State team.
There are as many questions, far more actually, as answers today. The one thing that is certain is that there are no doubts as to what's at stake for Bo Pellini. Everything. He can bring Nebraska back and be an instant legend, or he can absolutely bury this program at the bottom of a deep well and leave Turner Gill to the biggest salvage job in history in 2012.
10 Things I Would Do if I were Bo
1) Retain Shawn Watson as Offensive Coordinatory, with one caveat. The terminology and sheer amount of verbiage and motion and shifting and shit needs to be cut in half. We can't have 6-4 220lb WRs who take three years to get the playbook sititng on the bench while the Nate Swifts and Todd Petersons of the world are out there averaging up the place.
2) Spend every waking moment from now until signing day offerring a scholarship to every single front seven defensive player on the planet and making a show out of it to the guys on campus to let them know they're all more then expendable. They still have a place on the team, but if they want it to be permanent they better play 300% tougher then what they played in 07. (I can't imagine Pellini throwing on the film of this defense, I...I just don't what kind of explosion that would be for someone as intense as him to watch these pussies tap dance through a 65 or 76 point disaster.)
3) Bring in the baddest, most intimidating monster in the world to coach defensive line. I don't give a shit if he even knows what a zone blitz is. I mean like, Leroy Selmon intimidating, Steve Entman intimidating. Crazy, insane. These guys have been coddled by two straight sets of "Players" coaches. They need a mentally insane wack job who scares them so fucking bad they'll go through brick walls and eat glass before they'll go back to the sideline after fucking up. Jason Peter would be my pick.
4) Find a defensive coordinator that is older and savy. (Monte Kiffin? Make Oz guilt him into it!) Someone who's been around in the SEC or Big XII and seen a ton of different kinds of offenses and gives you a dissenting voice that you will listen to in meetings.
5) Resist the temptation to please the media and a segment of the fan base by overly recruiting the state of Nebraska. The salvation of the program, and your career, does not lie in in-state recruiting. It just doesn't. If an Eric Crouch or Ahman Green comes along, so be it.
6) Raid the Oklahoma staff or Texas staff for at least one coach. Just to piss them off, and to use it in recruiting.
7) Spend time locked in a room every day analyzing the spread offenses at Texas Tech, Missouri and Kansas. Stopping them is the key to ressurgance.
8) Don't talk about "reclaiming the Big XII North". Don't dignify their existence, don't do it in the media, don't do it in recruiting. You have a better program, you have more money, you have better facilities and you have a better AD. Any time you mention their name, even if it's to wack them, it's good for them. They don't have anything you want, and they never will. I wouldn't even mention their name during the week you play them. You watch how fast they'll go away if you start just tending to your own business and ignoring them. On the flip side, when you have them down at the end of a game, you must be ruthless. Especially in your first 3-4 years. There is nothing wrong with running up the score for the next four years, because some people need a reminder of who they are and what you are. There were two seperate teams that tried to kick field goals late in games they led by 35 and 37 points this season against NU. I'd file that away.
9) Blackshirts are not awarded until a player has earned it. They've all lost that right by the way they played in 2007. If a guy has 4 sacks against San Jose St in the opener, then he can have it. But it has to be earned. Today's players have just simply lost the right to be given anything that special.
10) Spring and Fall camp should both be about developing an attitude to run the ball and stop the run. It only works at Nebraska if we're the most physical team we can possibly be, if teams hate coming to Lincoln because win or lose they're going to get beat the fuck up. I would consider it a failure if you didn't have at least three kids quit during spring ball because the camp is just that tough.
So good luck, Bo. Any differences I've had with you in the past are hereby absolved. You have absolutely no time, and a lot of work to do...go get'em.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
College Football thoughts and whatnot...
I've attempted to make some earthly sense of this nonsensical mutation and haven't really come to anything. But some of this might be mildly cogent.
-I keep hearing people say things, definitively, like "LSU would destroy Kansas" or "Missouri's going to beat the crap out of Kansas". Really? You really have that much faith in your own eyes after this abortion of a season? Stanford 24 USC 23. Appalachian State 34 Michigan 32. Kansas 76 Nebraska 39. South Florida ranked #2. Ron Zook 28 Jim Tressel 21. Colorado 27 Oklahoma 24. Kansas State 41 Texas 21(In fucking Austin). Navy 46 Notre Dame 44. Boston College ranked #2. Arizona 34 Oregon 24. Louisiana Monroe 21 Alabama 14(At Bryant-fucking-Denny Stadium). Mississippi State beat Auburn AND Alabama. Virginia 48 Miami 0(In the last game fucking ever at the Orange Bowl.). Wyoming 32 the same Virginia 13. Troy 41 Oklahoma State 23. Western Michigan 28 Iowa 19. I could go on. Really? You still have that much faith in how much you know about who's gonna win these games? Well, I don't. And I don't feel lesser for admitting that.
-And for everyone in the Connecticut sports & entertainment network who just doesn't get it. THis is BAD for college football. A couple upsets in a season, sure that's good. But we're sitting here two days to Thanksgiving and I can't definitively tell you that there's one legitimately GOOD football team. Forget greatness. So way to go 85 scholarship limit, you're just as shitty as the salary cap in the craptastic NFL. (Okay, you're not that bad.) You could very easily have a one loss West Virginia team (from the awful big east, no disrespect to WVA, just the big east sucks and if this West Virginia team was special, they'd have won out.) playing a two loss team from a legit BCS league. Hell, Georgia got their ass beat by Tennessee, they'll probably lose the SEC East to the Vols and they're NOT OUT OF IT! This is bad. Unless Kansas beats Missouri, Oklahoma and then LSU(Or whomever) in the title game, I can't really award anyone a National Championship out of this mess. Maybe you can get a purple "Field day" ribbon or something.
-Same goes for the Heisman. You're either voting for the best player(Darren McFadden) who plays on a 4-loss team that's gonna git it's coach fired. Or you're voting for the winner of the showdown Saturday between KU and Mizzou. And 2 grand says less then 10% of the voters had seen both guys play before Nov 1. Or you're a fucking retard and you're voting for Colt Brennan. Which brings me to...
-Everyone not rooting for Boise State on Friday night is dead to me. Forever. There are no excuses for rooting for Hawaii, there are no excuses for rooting for them against Boise. None. However, Boise(And Washington the following week if the Broncos should fail.) aappears to need some added motivation. Here it is, this blog will be a "Boise State" themed blog should they go to sucktown and beat the Rainbows on Friday. (And a Purple Husky themed blog should Washington do it the next weekend.)That's right you heard it here, the Woodshed goes Boise on Saturday if they beat the Rainbows, (Yeah, here...you're still Rainbows, queers) and thankfully deliver us from the hands of the Banana Republic Rainbow Queers going to the Sugar Bowl. (PS. Fuck you, Hawaii. Just in case your wonderlic scores were a little too low to follow that one. You can use that to buy some more blonde hair extensions.)
So a top 10, cuz after about 13 it would be ridiculous to try and sort, anyway, and some picks for the week.
1. Kansas. Embrace the suck, people. (TM Matt Saracen) KU's a damn good football team and I fully expect, not that any expectation I've had since 9/1 has come true, the Red'n'Blue chickins to blow up Gary Pinkel's defenseless Tigers. Also, make mine Reesing for Heisman. He's the most valuable player in the nation, he's got the numbers, he's lifted a .500 type football team to at least an 11-1 season. He's the guy.
2. LSU. Why is Les Miles the favorite for the Michigan job? What happened from the middle of last season when his dumb ass essentially gave away two games with a made hand of a team and now that he's only given away one(So far)? Somewhere in the last twelve months, he became a genius and a slam dunk choice to get his ass Tressell'd for the next decade. Jeff Tedford is still a better coach, Michiganders. Trust me, when he arrives on campus, he ain't bringin' Nick Saban's hard ass recruits, nor will his connections in the Bayou help the Wolverines recruit head to head in the crucial Ohio recruits Michigan needs to get back to beating Ohio State regularly. (And as for game day acumen, didn't they blow a 13 point lead to Kentucky?) (This had nothing to do with LSU's rank, but hey they're loaded and fast and huge, what more do you need to know. Stop McFadden, root for Tennessee to beat Kentucky for the 1132nd time in a row and they'll cruise to New Orleans.)
3. Missouri. I'll say it again, that wasn't a championship defense that played K-State on Saturday. Daniel's a good player, Macklin's scary good and those tight ends are like Mike Shanahan's wet dream. But eventually they will have to stop Reesing and co.
4. West Virginia. Had to be some couches'a'fire in them thar hills when OU went down on Saturday night. Now all they need is for OU to bow up and win the Big XII title game and they're likely home. (Oh and they have to beat the University of Bristol or Hartford or whatever then the Wanstaches.) But what an example of how the standards are not where they should be for a National Title shot. West Virginia's played well, to be sure, but they aren't killin' folks the way you would have expected a National Champion West Virginia team in this Rich Rodriguez era to kill folks. Ultimately I'm hoping they get Virginia Tech in a BCS game, Bud Foster's D vs that spread is a game I'd pay to watch.
5. Ohio State. That Illinois game is going to be with sweatervest for a long, long time. And that gameplan, as it were, against Michigan was the most disrespect I've ever seen any coach show another coach in a big game in my memory. They threw the ball twice in the second half, with a four and eleven point lead. It was essentially the Waterboy offense, where they just downed it because Bobby Boucher couldn't beat them if his team had the ball. All those platitudes after the game can't replace the fact that Tressell essentially said, "You can't score a touchdown on us, loser." for the final 3 quarters.
6. Arizona State. Another team that, incredibly, still has a chance to go to the big one. Of course, beating USC on Thursday night(And suddenly scary Arizona Dec-1) looks to be a bit much.
7. Georgia. Were they even ranked after Tennessee throttled them? And now you wouldn't be able to get an opponent to volunteer to play them for all the money in the world. Praying for a Georgia-Texas Sugar Bowl.
8. Oregon. But they're not gonna finish here, Leaf's little brother looked as shaky in a Pac Ten game as big bro looked in San Diego. UCLA and Oregon State have to be seriously excited about getting the Ducks sans Dixon.
9. Oklahoma. I'd hate to be like anybody near Bob Stoops this week. He looked more red assed then someone who stopped short in front of Rudolph in Lubbock Saturday night. All they had to do was beat EITHER a crappy CU team or a standard Texas Tech team and they'd be right in the middle of this thing. Beat both and they'd be in the driver's seat. For a coach who's that competitive, giving away a chance like this in a year where there is no 2004 USC or 2005 Texas has to just piss him off.
10. USC. And suddenly they're an Oregon loss, which looks fairly likely, away from another Rose Bowl birth. (Which is okay, because USC-Ohio State is a lot better for my traditional eyes after this f'd up year.)
Picks
Nebraska 144 Colorado 144(Game called due to darkness, despite a 10am local kickoff.)
Kansas 42 Missouri 31
LSU 34 Arkansas 21
West Virginia 41 UConn 10
USC 27 Arizona State 10
Georgia 31 Georgia Tech 17
UCLA 27 Oregon 24
Oklahoma 34 Oklahoma St 24
Texas 24 Texas A&M 14
Boise State 76 Hawaii 49
Kentucky 38 Tennessee 27
CSU 23 Wyoming 17
Mississippi State 27 Ole Miss 17
Virginia Tech 27 Virginia 23
Florida 55 Florida State 24
Auburn 45 Alabama 14
And that will leave us with the following Championship games
ACC: Boston College vs Virginia Tech
Big XII: Oklahoma vs Kansas
SEC: Georgia vs LSU
USC will need to beat UCLA to lock up the Pac 10 title
Ohio State has won the Big 10
West Virginia will have locked up the Big East
So the BCS/Big January Bowl games should look like this...
National Title: LSU vs Kansas
Rose: Ohio State vs USC
Sugar: Georgia vs Shit, I don't know
Fiesta: Texas vs Arizona State
Orange: Virginia Tech vs West Virginia
Cotton: Oklahoma vs Florida
Citrus: Tennessee vs Illinois
Outback: Auburn vs Wisconsin
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
The Nuggets First Salvo of 07-08
What's working...
-Melo and AI, both players look invigorated and both players have to acknowledge that they haven't forced a goddamn thing during this six game winning streak and it's a big factor in that winning streak. There will still be nights when one or both of them have to drop 35 for the Nuggets to win. But to be the kind of consistently dominant team that the Nuggets should aspire to be, they need to remember how much more effective they are when they get the other players involved, and create easy looks for themselves. For Iverson, I am seriously leaning towards the Nuggets shutting him down for a few games every month or so to keep his legs for the playoffs. If you look at #3 in blue and yellow out there on the floor right now, he doesn't look like the scuffling, struggling warrior who left 25 layups and free throws short in the playoffs last year. He looks like the quick handed, energized warrior that can lead this team all the way. They need the second guy in May and June, no matter if it costs them a few games along the way. A 50 win number 5 seed with a completely healthy and energized Allen Iverson is better then a 60 win number 1 seed with a dead legged AI. And forget scoring numbers, if Melo can maintain his 5 assists/game number and slightly reduce his 3.3 TO/game number, then he is TRULY a first team all star. He could score 17 pts/game for all I care if he's learned how to distribute the basketball. (And he wouldn't, because if he can dish the ball like that, he'll get so many easy baskets it's ridiculous. Why it took five years to sink in...no idea.)
-Never has the arrogance, stupidity and downright short-sightedness of George Karl been more on display then to behold the play of one JR Smith the past six games. If you think the Nuggets were right to not pick up the option on Smith, you're fucking stupid. There's no way around it. He's flat out the most physically gifted athlete on the team. If George Karl can't teach JR Smith how to play baskteball, then George Karl needs to go to Carolina help Dean Smith roll backy. Once again, he's shooting 45% from the 3-pt line on a team that shoots poorly(35%) outside of him. And that's with the flash in the pan that is Diawara and Bobby Jones both shooting nearly 50%. That won't hold up, folks. And the most obvious and glaring attrocity about the poor mouthing of JR is that his defense has gone from borderline invisible to something he can take pride in. Yeah, he commits some dumb fouls, and he makes some silly passes...but he also makes some terrific plays in the passing lanes and finds people out on the break. And he's going to leave Denver at the end of the season for jack shit. Way to go, George. You're an idiot.
-The emerging floor game of Linas Kleiza and the all out speed with which he plays the game, combined with the fact that his inside-out ability to finish is better then anyone San Antonio or Utah will be able to throw at the Nuggets makes him maybe the most important player on the team. Is there a big guy on the Spurs that can run the floor with LK? Is there a more explosive player coming off the bench at the 3-4 spot with his kind of size? I don't think so. And the guy hasn't been on the mark from 3-pt land so far in 07-08(33.3%).
What has me worried...
-K-Mart has played pretty good basketball and is, as always, a physical deterrent to hacking away at Iverson and Anthony. But once again, we're left with a frail and fragile body at the #4 spot, and Nene's 12 million dollar candy ass luxuriating on the bench with some form of pussitus. I have no doubt that if K-Mart is healthy, he's better for the team in the playoffs this season. I have very little doubt that he won't be healthy when the playoffs start, and that Nene's growth, so evident in San Antonio last summer, will suffer.
-There still is no, or very little, recognition in the half court defense. It's a bad defensive team overall, with Najera and Bobby Jones the only legit on-ball defenders in the regular rotation. But the simple things this team doesn't do could drive a mediocre high school basketball coach insane. Right now, with the way they're playing up-tempo and flying up and down the floor it doesn't really matter. But they aren't going to beat San Antonio 122-103 in playoff games. And you don't think they will either so stop shaking your head. This one is on Melo, AI and Camby more then anyone else. I believe that this basketball team has good chemistry, or as good as you can have in 2007 NBA-land, and if the three of them would start making the simple plays, and start holding everyone else accountable for said simple plays, this could be an average defensive basketball team. And with the other talents they have, that might be enough.
-I am always worried when I read or hear people talking about Melo getting to be the 1st team all-star. Who gives a shit? Well, what worries me, is that Melo does. And the last thing this team needs is any incentive to take bad or forced shots. It's like a viral infection with this team, it rears it's ugly head and next thing you know, Boston's up 63-34 at the half. If Melo wants so desperately to be a first team all star, then he has to win playoff series(PLURAL). And if he does that, I think he'll find he'll either no longer care if he gets 1st team all star and that he will be one. But this also goes to coaching, and how little influence George Karl seems to have on his still very young, very impressionable, young star. Melo's not, for all my complaints, Stephon Marbury, he's not a bitch and he should be able to understand that for him to get what he wants and for the Nuggets to get what they want, both things lie down the same path. And none of them involve shooting 25 times a game. Doesn't mean you won't have games where you shoot 25 times, you will. Hell there should be games where Melo has 15 layups if this team is playing the way they can. This is a dangerous time for Melo, the temptation to answer LeBron's finals appearance and Wade's championship with a ton of 40 point explosions has to be great. But it's not the answer to that problem or to winning a championship.
-Marcus Camby is still an overrated douche. Stop dribbling the ball up the court, Marcus. Oh, and mix in a few possessions where you actually guard your man. I could go for a few less "20 rebound, 5 block performances"(With 10 layups given up by lunging at shots 10 feet away and leaving your man under the rim to take a bad angle at a rebound.) and a few more "Marcus had a solid game 10pts, 10 boards, couple blocks and didn't get burned like Terrell Buckley five times."
Keep the Faith...
Jarvis Out...
Saturday, November 10, 2007
An Open Letter to George Karl
Mr. Karl,
I respect you. You have overcome effing cancer. Your son overcame cancer, and we all root for him like crazy. If he blows up huge in the NBA at some point, I think all of us will take off our cynical robes and get behind little Karl. You've had success at this level, just not in the playoffs which we know are a little finicky. (Cuz, I kinda think if you could've traded Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton for MJ, you probably would have won the 96 Finals. )
So now that you know it's not personal, may Jarvis please give you some advise? You have two titans, two giants of basketball wizardry. But you can't win in the 2008 Western Conference playoffs, with just AI and Melo. And at your heart, you know that. You know that AI is not the ridiculous player he was to get Philly to the finals against the Lakers and scare their ass by winning the first game in LA. You know that Melo is a scoring juggernaut, but he doesn't have the overall game to LEAD.
That means your chances for a championship, in Denver, fall to JR Smith and Linus Kleiza. Which I know scares the shit out of you, but there it is. JR is the most talented 2-guard we've had since David effing Thompson. Kleiza is WAY more talented then any euro on the San Antonio Spurs' roster.
You lecture us, all the time really, about "teaching", well here's your fucking chance to teach. If you can't teach JR and Kleiza to be championship players, then seriously, fuck you.
Put your, and Melo's, giant ass ego aside for a day....just a day, and think about how good those two can be as your fourth and fifth or fifth and sixth, best players. Think about why you decided to be a coach. If you can't coach them...then step aside, right NOW, and let us get a coach who CAN work with them.
The Denver Nuggets are better suited, talent wise, to go deep in the playoffs then the Colorado Rockies were, and George Karl is smarter on his dumbest day then Clint Hurdle is on his Most Smartest. C'mon GK, recognize the talent. Be the coach we know you can be. Get JR back in the fold, teach Kleiza how to play. They have too much talent for it to be this hard. Stop bitching about how today's players are different. Be a man, George. Be a fucking man, and this town will love you forever. Just ask fucking Shanahan how long their love lasts.
Monday, November 05, 2007
Fresh from Hell: Top 25
Woodshed Rankings
1. Ohio State(10-0), Quite simply this Buckeye team is better then the one that overwhelmed teams in 2006 because they're based on a foundation that works a helluva lot better with Tressel-vest's essential defense-first philosophy. Todd Boeckman takes care of the football, and because he's not a once in a generation type talent at QB Tressel doesn't feel the need to throw the ball too much. Chris Wells has developed into a legit Heisman contender, if he can stay healthy, he's got a heavy dose of prima-donna in him as far as nicks and little injuries go. This week: Ohio State hosts Ron Zook's improved Illini. Ohio State wins that game 31-14 or somewhere thereabouts and sets up another "winner takes the Big Ten" bout with Michigan. He gets more shit then any successful coach in the country, but you cannot deny Jim Tressel is just an incredible coach.
2. LSU(8-1), wow really took LSU a long time to get back to the top 2 after their loss, didn't it? Once again they let a team with less talent hang in (This time due to an horrific second quarter by Matt Flynn), but in an electric stadium with a riled up fan base pleading for a landmark win the Tigers came up huge in the second half. You still get the sense that Les Miles is a checker player in a chess world, but the 85 scholarship athletes he rolls out every week are simply the best in the country. The tightrope act will probably go away the next two weeks with La Tech and Ole Miss next up, and only Darren McFadden and Felix Jones stand between LSU going to the SEC title game in the #2 spot(Maybe #1 if Michigan mans up against the Buckeyes.). This Week: A nuclear level beating of instate buddy La Tech, followed by the castration of The Orgeron.
3. Kansas(9-0), they scored touchdowns on 10 straight possessions on Saturday(Granted it was against the worst defense in any sport, anywhere in the world right now), and are feeling the positive vibes all over the place right now. Mangino's offense is as disciplined and hard to diagnose as Mike Leach's and KU has more explosive athletes in skill positions then Texas Tech ever has. Reesing is the player of the year in the Big XII in my eyes. He elevates Kansas and has better feet and poise inside and outside the pocket then any quarterback in the country. Quite simply he's a superstar who has elevated a good football team to a team that can legitimately contend for championships. This Week: DANGER, DANGER!! Oklahoma State's offense will give KU all kinds of hell down in Stillwater and there were some holes that were exposed by the poor Husker offense(Imagine throwing for 400 yards and five touchdowns in your first start as a quarterback and losing by 37 points, Joe Ganz, I am sorry my friend.) and they did not respond very well to a quarterback who could run as well as Ganz did. Now Oklahoma State is about as stable and consistent as Michigan State, so I don't believe they'll upset the Jayhawks, but this will be a four quarter shootout. And Reesing wins that kind of game. With Iowa State next, that means it's down to the KU-Mizzou rivalry game to actually decide a FOOTBALL championship.
4. Oklahoma(8-1), is just a weird football team. The two horrible performances against Iowa State and Colorado(the only loss) make you somewhat skeptical that OU can win a championship, but there are just so many big, fast, pissed off Sooners flying around the field every play, I just can't believe the Oregon team I watched on Saturday is better then they are. Texas A&M had no shot on Saturday, they just took it and took it and had no answer until it was over. They'll be plenty of stories as this goes on about Sam Bradford and he's played much better then anyone could have expected, but lord the gigantic targets that can run like bastards after the catch and the full house in the backfield make his job pretty effing easy. I mean Duke Robinson the right tackle, looked like an NFL tight end rumbling up the field with that deflected pass he caught. The one and only question mark as I see it is focus. OU should be 9-0 right now and sitting at #1, but they lapsed away a 17 point lead in Boulder and slept through a 17-7 win over Iowa State, so they could certainly drop one to Texas Tech, Oklahoma State or KU/Mizzou in the Big XII Title game. This Week: Baylor. Yeah.
5. West Virginia(7-1), they've just been quietly(As quietly as you can with Pat White and Steve Slaton) winning games since the South Florida debacle and now they get to the meat of their schedule and it doesn't look as meaty as it did two months ago. Everyone can shift their focus to the nice litte story in Storrs,CT, this is still the best team in the Big East and they will be 11-1 when the BCS bids are handed out. White's averaging 8.2 yds/pass and 6.8 yds/rush. He doesn't have enough attempts to really consider him for the Heisman at this point, but he's got four games to blow up huge with a lot of spotlight. When they wreck UConn's neat little season he'll have the national klieg lights and maybe the potential to take the trophy, along with a shot at the one he really wants. This Week: The still warm carcass of Louisville comes to Morgantown and WVA will be looking for payback. The Ville's defense, nearly Nebraska-awful through the first half of the season, has been better the past month, but I don't see them stopping this Rodriguez whup-ass machine more then a couple times all game.
6. Oregon(8-1), does not really look as great as the platitudes I've been hearing over the ASU game. I really felt like Arizona State took themselves out of the game by not handling the crowd early (And Rudy Carpenter was not making hot reads very well against the blitz, hence the 9 sacks), and hey all credit to the Oregon fans for that, but will be shocked if Oregon finishes this thing out at 11-1 despite the ease of their schedule. This defense can be had and Dennis Dixon will have to be terrific over the next two road games to get it done. The running game, which I thought would carry them over ASU was not all that effective, Stewart ripped off one 33 yard TD run an other then that was 20-66. Don't get me wrong, it was good, but it hardly dominated the game, which was what I was expecting. People have to remember that Arizona State, while a good football team, certainly didn't expect to be 8-0 in year 1 of Dennis Erickson, they're not that talented. This Week: A suddenly mega-explosive Arizona offense in Tucson, when Oregon's coming off two of the biggest wins in school history. Sound like a recipe for yet another monumental upset in the season of the monumental upsets? Maybe. Cats QB Willie Tuitama's thrown for 851 yards(at 9.8 yds/pass!) and eight tds in the past two weeks. And the Ducks gave up 10 yds/pass to Carpenter at home on Saturday. Expect at least 90 points combined in this one.
7. Missouri(8-1), the maturity of this football team was proven once and for all with the performance in Boulder, in my eyes. CU's a pretty good football team, with a pretty good defense, and they were obliterated. Holding CU to 4.0 yds/pass on the road and 2.8 yds/rush, that's not the Missouri defense we're used to seeing when the games count. And as for the offense, yeah. Daniel was another QB who put up just a shade under 10yds/pass on Saturday. The two tight ends are probably the best weapons they've had at Mizzou since James Wilder and Kellen Winslow, and it allows them to be a good ball control team in addition to the explosion-type offense they get from the wideouts and running back in the passing game. This Week: Texas A&M limps in after the beating they took in Norman, and on Senior day in Columbia, they're getting ass hammered again. One thing to look for, though, is how Missouri deals with the physical running game from A&M. The Tigers won't be in any danger of losing the game, at any point really, but if they can completely shut down Lane, Goodson and McGee that's a good sign with the Kansas showdown looming.
8(3 way tie). Boston College (8-1), admit it, you're as thrilled as I am that BC went down Saturday. The spectre of Boston College soiling the National stage with their east coast nonsense would have been too much. Bad enough we have to live with the Patriots stealling the game yesterday, and the Red Sox sweeping the Rockies...BC playing for the National Championship would have been too much. There's a gathering cloud of "smug" over the greater Boston area and it would have reached South Park-ian levels had BC won that one. The offense continues to struggle against better defenses(Like, say, UMASS!). This week: Maryland is circling the drain, so I expect a fairly easy win for BC. BUT, if they do not get say a 34-14 win on cruise control and have to struggle to get this one, there's no way anyone can expect them to go to Clemson and beat the Tigers with the division title on the line. And I don't anyway, but they could get their chowd asses whupped down by Howard's Rock.
8, also, Arizona State(8-1), another team that ran into a little bit of reality revealing itself on Saturday. ASU had lots of opportunities in Eugene, and they have to be kicking themselves about the horrific start. In only their third road game of the season, the Sun Devils looked ill-equipped to handle crowd noise at all. Defensively, I was mildly impressed by the performance even though they gave up 400 yards and 35 points. Dennis Dixon's creativity and athleticism was their biggest problem, and they certainly gave the offense chances to get back in and win a game that everyone knew would be a shootout. This week: Now they have to go back on the road and play a desperate UCLA team that, incredibly, still controls their own destiny in the Pac-10. Definite upset alert, but it's also a good chance for Arizona State to demonstrate the same maturity that Missouri did in Boulder against a similarly dangerous team on the road. I don't think they'll get the 55-10 definitive mandate in their favor like Mizzou, but they'll pass the test.
8, finally, Connecticut(8-1), another year, another least coast team jumps up from nowhere and beomes a big 'ole obnoxious story with their best season in school history. In the last three weeks they've nailed Louisville, South Florida and Rutgers so you have to at least take them semi-seriously, an let's face it they're 1 play against Virginia from being undefeated. UConn is also extremely consistent, no one has scored 20 points on them this season. Pretty amazing stuff from a team that went life and death with Temple back in September. This week: Things stay serious as the Huskies go to the Nati to brawl with Brian Kelly's Bearcats. Cincinnati saved their season last week by hanging on by their very fingernails after taking a 38-17 halftime lead in a 38-33 win over South Florida. Should be a defensive struggle(But that's what I thought South Florida v the Nati was going to be, as well, WTF do I know?), and it's certainly a winable game for UConn. I just don't think they will. But really the main thing is, UConn can win the conference title and the BCS bid in Morgantown in three weeks. I know, fucking crazy. We could still end up with a disgusting UConn-BC Orange Bowl, folks.
11. Georgia(7-2), Knowshawn Moreno. He's, uh, pretty good. But If there's anyway to explain how completely idiotic this season is, and how completely full of shit you are if you profess to have any clue as to what's gonna happen on a week to week basis in this manic and awful season...I present you with the past two weeks of Georgia Bulldog football. Week 1, Georgia 42 Florida 30 at Jacksonville. Week 2, Georgia 44 TROY 34 in ATHENS! So essentially Troy gave Georgia more problems then a team quarterbacked by Timmy, timmy, timmy, timmy TEEEEEEEEEE-BOW! And how the hell did Moreno not get all the carries starting immediately this season? The guy has about 540 yards in the past three games after about 460 yards in the first six combined. Hello? Mark Richt? Whatcha doin' there big guy? This week: Another hate-fest with ancient rival Auburn. So it's Will Muschamp's brutal whup-ass defense versus the most physical running back in college football right now. The collisions should be better then anything Nascar's ever had to offer.
12. Clemson(7-2), think team psychotic would like to have that two week brainfart against Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech back, yeah me, too. Cullen Harper now has 23 tds to 4 ints on the season, must be nice to have Davis and Spiller taking up all of the defense's attention. They scored 47 points against Duke and DavisSpiller had 16 total carries, Harper averaged all of 7.1 yds/att passing. But how do you trust Clemson and Tommy Bowden coming down the stretch? We've literally been here before. Win two home games and in spite of their awful play in two conference games earlier in the season Clemson can take the division title and play for a BCS bid. This week: Clemson tries to stomp out the hopes and dreams of a repeat ACC title for Wake Forest. There is no logical reason that Clemson shouldn't wipe the turf with Wake, but there was no logical reason for them to score 3 points in Atlanta against the Ramblin' Wreck, either.
13. USC(7-2), playing in BCS bowls has just been a formality for Carrol's Trojans since '02. If they want to get one this year, it's time to start playing like the 85 high school all-americans they have on the roster. Their lack of production on offense is mind-numbing. Throw out the two games against awful Nebraska and putrid Notre Dame, and USC's averaging 28 points per game. That's fine if you're an average football team, but USC's got hand picked players at every single position and should overmatch every single team they stepped on the field with. This week: The march to an at-large BCS bid must begin this week at Strawberry Hill against the Cal Bears. In a game that looked for all the world like a top 5 showdown in September, both teams are now playing just to salvage seasons that had sky high hopes. I wonder about USC's motivation now that the National title is a pipe dream and the Pac-10 title is probably gone, too. These kids didn't come to USC to try and take 2nd place and get to the Fiesta Bowl. However, Cal's been awful since they left Eugene sky high and ranked #2 in the country, so USC will still be playing for big stakes when they go to Tempe Thanksgiving night.
14. Virginia Tech(7-2), this is a testament to great coaching. Because Va Tech is not a very good football team, in my opinion. They're certainly not much of a threat when they have the ball. But here they sit, 7-2,(And a ridiculous gag job against BC away from being 8-1 and in the driver's seat in the Coastal) and just three wins away from the ACC title game. They have a total of nine touchdown passes and 13 rushing touchdowns through 9 games. (Steve Slaton has 13 rushing touchdowns by himself. Hell, Kansas nearly threw for nine touchdowns in 60 minutes on Saturday.) And the schedule gets nasty from here on in, so they'll have to find some way to be more effective on offense. This week: They probably catch Florida State at a really good time, since the entire world is patting them on the back for ridding us of the harrrar that was Boston College. But with these two teams, I fully expect a game that only a masochistic defensive guy would even remotely enjoy. It is crucial, though, because VT must win at least one of the two home games against the Noles and Canes in the next two weeks to play for the division title at Virginia in the finale. I have no prediction for this game, save for Beamer-ball making a big kick block or int return to win the game at some point.
15. Florida(6-3), Gator hopes for an SEC title and BCS bid depend on both Georgia and Tennessee losing a game down the stretch and then Florida winning a tiebreaker for the East. And that's certainly possible.And Florida has only one conference game left, so they'll be in the clubhouse at 5-3 should they win. Another example of how crazy this season is, Florida lost three of four games and didn't eliminate themselves from contention. This week: Some guy named Spurrier and a road game against a desperate bunch of Cocks. (I'm sorry, I'm better then that...nah, I'm not.)
16(Tie). Texas (8-2), Once again the Horns spotted an inferior opponent a double digit lead and swooped in like Errol Flynn to save the season. Both comebacks highlight everything that's wrong and right about Texas' football team right now. Big ups to them for getting it together in time to rally from 17-3 down to beat NU and 35-14 down to beat Okie St, but how the hell does a team with all that talent fall behind like that, to those teams? I don't know, and neither do you. This week: With plenty of money still on the table, including an outside shot at a BCS bid, the Horns host Mike Leach's roving band of Red Raiders. Just a suggestion, Horn players and coaches...don't spot Leach 21 points.
16(Tie). Michigan(8-2), Michigan State is like the gift that keeps on giving all year round. I was so shocked to see them blow a 10 pt 4th quarter lead against their biggest rival, just so out of character for the Spartans. And so now a team that got ass mastered by Oregon at home, and lost to Appalachian State will definitely play for the Big Ten title and a Rose Bowl bid in two weeks against Ohio State. Lloyd Carr deserves a lot of credit for stopping the bleeding, and a lot of blame for the fact that they were bleeding that bad to start with. But this season could've gotten completely away from them and turned into something like what we're seeing in Lincoln and South Bend. This Week: A trip to Madison to lay the Baaaadgers feels like a complete setup. Michigan's really not playing for anything, since win or lose they'll still play Ohio State for the conference title. And Wisconsin should be very motivated given their disasterous 4th quarter in Columbus. Michigan goes down this week, but that might not be the worst thing for them with Buckeye looming.
18. Auburn(7-3), perhaps the Tigers would like to play South Florida and Mississippi State, again. If they were sitting at 9-1 with their only loss at LSU, well they'd have a lot of money still on the table and a dangerous, physical football team. Throw out the LSU game and they're giving up less then 13pts/game. Consistency and explosiveness are still not there for the offense, and with only a 10-9 td/int ratio, the passing game has not come around like they would have hoped. But with their two biggest rivals left on the schedule the Tigers can still have a monster season. This week: They step between the hedges for a showdown with the surging Dawgs. Georgia's got more to play for then Auburn, but it won't be motivation that loses the game for the Tigers. It'll be the dual threat of a running and passing attack from Stafford/Moreno.
19. Virginia(8-2), I still am skeptical of Virginia's actual ability, they did get soundly beaten by Wyoming, y'all. But they continue finding ways to win close games and sit in excellent position to play in their first ACC title game. A home win versus rival Va Tech in two weeks will cement the division title. Virginia is 6-1 in games decided by a TD or less, 5-0 in games decided by a field goal or less. This week: Virginia travels to the Orange Bowl to play the barely conscious Canes in a game where strangely Miami may have more motivation with their bowl eligibility at stake, where Virginia's division title hopes will likely be decided against Va Tech on 11/24 win or lose.
20. Cincinnati(7-2), the Bearcats won a big game for a struggling team down in Tampa last weekend, stopping a two game slide and keeping their fading Big East title/BCS game hopes alive. They merely need UConn to lose one game to West Virginia or Syracuse to control their own destiny. The losses to Louisville and Pittsburgh are going to really sting for Cincinnati if they don't get it done. This week: They can start UConn's inevitable backslide by beating the Huskies at home. I also expect a close, low scoring defensive brawl in this one.
21. Alabama(6-3), the way the Tide lost that game on Saturday is going to sit with them for a long time. John Parker Wilson's fumble was as painful a way to lose as anything since Clint Stoerner tripped and fumbled against Tennessee in 1998. Bama has two big "grudge match" type of games with "Alabama guy" Sylvester Crooms and his resurgent Mississippi State Bulldogs up next and a trip to Auburn which should be outstanding in two weeks. This week: Mississippi State should be sky high and jacked up with a chance to get bowl eligible at home. And Bama is coming off an uber-disappointment against LSU.
22. Penn State(7-3), the Lions are just a couple plays away from a really big season. The Michigan and Illinois games will stick in their craw at the end, as this is a team that could've been BCS eligible if they win those games. (Not that they are good enough to be in a BCS game or that they should be there, but they would have had the record.) This week: Temple and an their 8th win.
23. Tennessee(6-3), almost incredibly with three blowout losses, the Vols stand three wins away from the SEC title game. It seems hard to believe that Tennessee will win out with three fairly rough games on the way. The Vol offense has used ball control and a careful(I know) Erik Ainge to win five out of their last six games. The defense hasn't been very good at any point and disintegrated in the three blowout losses. This week: Freak-like D-mac, Felix Jones and the Arkansas Razorbacks come to Knoxville. Tennessee really needs a statement type game to angle for the SEC title game.
24. Kentucky(6-3), the Cats feel like they're backsliding quickly. The bye week could not have come at a better time for a team that got run over by Mississippi State. With three tough games to close the season, Kentucky's in danger of losing six out of seven to close the season and ruining all the momentum they had after the LSU upset. This week: They go to Vandy to face a Commodore football team that needs a win to get bowl eligible. With Georgia and Tennessee on the horizon, Kentucky must take care of bidness if they're going to get a good bowl slot. And they will, fairly easily.
25. Cal(6-3), the Bears' chances of salvaging a once-promising season hinge entirely on this week's USC game. Four straight subpar performances, keyed by a struggling offense averaging less then 22 points per game has seen Cal go from 5-0 & #2 to facing a potential Las Vegas Bowl bid. Nate Longshore's numbers are simply not very good (11td/8int, 6.8 yds/att) and the running game hasn't been much of a threat. This week: The Bears host USC in a "what might have been" type showdown. Cal wasn't able to beat USC with mature, professional teams the pat three years, I have no idea why they would beat them now. Cal should be able to stop USC's offense, somewhat, but their own offense is likely to be choked out by the Trojans' killer D.
Saturday, November 03, 2007
Fight night: Calzaghe vs Kessler
Taking a break from the torture to watch the fight of the fall, assuming my directv doesn't go down due to goddamn satan.
I am about 10 times less confident in making this pick as I was the Pavlik-Taylor fight. Calzaghe is on the back end of his championship career, but he hasn't shown a whole lot of wear and tear in his last few fights. I don't think either fighter is a big enough puncher to keep the other guy moving backwards. So I see a lot of punches being traded at center ring, I am very wary of headbutts in this one.
Kessler's hand speed and foot speed will likely carry him to an early lead. Calzaghe's experience and toughness will spur a second half run and I really believe the scorecards will be very close and disputed. And in that instance, you always go with the guy fighting in front of 30,000 of his home country fans.
Calzaghe by razor thin UD
Another one of the top 5 pound for pound guys fights on Showtime as Juan Manuel Marquez butts heads with American Rocky Juarez. Juarez has regressed, in my eyes, since his first fight with Barrera, which I thought he won. Marquez has so much money on the horizon in a rematch with Manny Pac, that I just don't see him being anything but sharp in dominating Juarez over 12 fairly easy, but brutal rounds.
Marquez by dominant UD
Postcard from Hell
A Tour of Hell
Greetings, bitches. I must apologize for the lack of posting, however, Comcast gives very little coverage in my new residence, which as you know is the third ring of hell. How else can you explain the events of the past month? I defy you. The Colorado Rockies win 13 of 14 to win a spot in a Wild Card playoff game, win in the 13th inning off of Trevor Hoffman and the entire nation talks about how lucky the Rockies were and what a joke it is that they're in the post-season. Meanwhile the Nebraska Cornhuskers could not stop a gang of one-legged dwarfs, or Ball State. They still beat Iowa State because hey, even the Devil knows there's limits. Everytime they play "Back in Black" on the scoreboard and throw up the "Blackshirts" logo, it mocks the entire program better then anything anyone in Boulder or Manhattan has tried to do in the nearly two decades they've actually attempted to be rivals. ANYTHING. The Denver Broncos continue to field a team coached by a man so frustratingly arrogant and stupid that he'd run a five tight end set on 3rd and 17 and glare at anyone with the audacity to suggest it didn't have a chance of working. And yet everyone around me continues to look at me with shock and awe when I suggest maybe it's time for him to seek employment elsewhere. The Rockies then sweep both the NLDS and NLCS in front of tens of viewers outside the greater Denver Metro area, and while we all enjoy our little team here the entire world around us yawns and laughs about Coors Field and the beating we're going to receive in the World Series. Then we get swept 4-0 in the World Series. Then Kansas scores 227 points in a football game against the Huskers. Hell. With Chowds and Cheeseheads. And Kevin Cosgrove. I've attempted to throw myself off of a cliff 750 times, and it never works, I'm right back in front of the TV and Kansas always has the ball.
I do not know what it was that sent me here, there is no explanation so be prepared for that, and I do not even remember the precise moment when I died. (If I did anything to wrong you while I was alive...Good, fuck you, at least I earned my trip.) I suspect it was on the road to Lincoln for the USC game in mid-September. I must've fallen asleep and smashed into a rabid badger or gigantic mosquito of some sort and died peacefully. (If so, dying peacefully is highly overrated and very confusing.)
There is some good news, it's not a 1000 degrees and the torment is not unyielding. Plus, there is beer. Perhaps it's the degree of hell that I'm in, or perhaps the devil knows that constant mercilous torture is really pointless after the first few days. I mean, seriously, after the first 5 or 6 hundred times you've been buried alive, dragged underwater by a giant shark or forced to watch 700 hours of Ryan Seacrest's "best" work, I would think the terror fades into "can we just move onto the next thing?".
No it's much worse to provide constant and everlasting hope to someone and then smash their face into a jelly at the very moment they expect to recieve pleasure. Also, if you are able to view and review the greatest moments of your life while you're in hell, it makes living in hell much, much worse. F'rinstance, being able to turn on the 1996 Fiesta Bowl and watch Tommie Frazier kick the high holy shit out of a spectacular Steve Spurrier Florida team while you're being obliterated by the Kansas Fucking Jayhawks, is not the comfort that one would think. In fact it makes the current butt-fucking all the more painful when it's put into perspective. Watching the Denver Nuggets rally from behind and score a victory in their first two wins is only more painful when you realize that Kenyon Martin's return is going to stunt the development of Nene and JR Smith's relegated to the bench so when the Nuggets inevitably run into the San Antonio Spurs this Summer, they have no answer other then to hope Allen Iverson shoots 60% and Carmelo Anthony becomes a defensive stopper. (Can't wait for the next 80 games.) And don't even get me started on the Avalanche goatender situation or the fact that Friday Night Lights actually lost viewers through the first five episodes and the best television show I've ever seen is destined to be cancelled to make way for extra "Deal of No Deal" and "Biggest Loser" episodes. (If you watch those shows, fuck you.)
And as such, while you might think that seeing joy and reward in your fellow man would make losing and loss in general seem temporary and would help you deal. It does not. A sea of Red Sox and Packer fans reveling in their team's conquest in your ballpark is like getting a piece of duct tape ripped off of a 3rd degree rug burn on your junk over and over again.
Maybe the most disappointing part of hell is the television announcers are the same maddening assholes that you wanted to throw urine bombs at in real life. They don't grow horns and start rattling off hateful shit about your teams, they just keep repeating the same cliches over and over again. Dave Lapham is very high up in Beezlebub's food chain, let me tell you.
I will try to press on, college basketball season's around the corner and I have no team for the Devil to either befoul completely or tantalize into the playoffs and then sucker punch in the rectum... maybe it's starting to turn around. (Shit, he's done it again.)
(PS keep your Itunes fully stocked. In hell you can only download Country, Western and Celine Dion.)
