Chris Petersen, the head coach of Boise State University's football team, finally came out and said it. Forget all the niceties and being polite. Forget being politically correct and being careful not to burn one's bridges. After having just explained to his football team how it shouldn't be disappointed to have come within a field goal of another undefeated football season, only to be burned by the Powers that Be and banished to the Las Vegas Bowl (again), Coach Petersen just came right out and said it: Everybody is sick and tired of the BCS.
The BCS - the Bowl Championship Series - keeps telling the fans that it's a fair system that shouldn't have to defend itself against antitrust violations. It must be fair, they tell us, since all 11 conferences in college football are on board. What they don't tell us is that the six power conferences put a virtual gun to the heads of the other five conferences: "Sign this agreement or lose for your league champion any chance of getting to one of our filthy rich bowls!" It must be fair, they tell us, since schools from the WAC and the MWC have gone to a BCS bowl for seven years running, prior to this year. What they don't tell us is that none of those undefeated schools has played in the BCS championship game.
This year, they said, would be different. Boise State began the year high in the polls. If the Broncos had a great year, they could really get there, to the BCS Promised Land. What Boise State got was the shaft, pure and simple. Even by BCS standards, this was a low blow, but the national media does nothing and says nothing, after shamelessly rooting for - and getting - a rematch of LSU and Alabama for the mythical national title.
The BCS is an inequitable and unfair system, and if you look at this year's final BCS standings, there is rampant unfairness and inequity. When an unbeaten team like Houston, which rolled through the regular season and scored points like it was going out of style, loses a game, it gets dropped like a piece of red hot coal. Before losing its conference championship game to Southern Mississippi, the Cougars were poised to possibly finish in the BCS top six and claim a spot in a lucrative bowl. After that loss, Houston was dropped to 19th in the BCS standings. Compare that to Alabama, which lost its regular-season matchup with LSU, dropped only a couple of spots in the BCS rankings, and was quickly elevated back to the very top. Arkansas of the SEC was riding high at third in the BCS, with its only loss to Alabama, before being ambushed by LSU in its regular-season finale. The Razorbacks conveniently dropped only to number six.
This was convenient to the BCS because Boise State, with its only loss by 1 point to a fine TCU squad that also finished in the BCS top 20, couldn't be allowed to make it into the top six, where it would have to be included. Thus, Arkansas and Oregon, each with two losses, both finished ahead of Boise State. Even so, with five BCS bowls needing 10 slots filled, even with the champions of the Big Six conferences and allowing for Alabama, that still meant three slots remained for the Powers that Be to find a place at the table for Boise State.
SEC champ LSU and its chief SEC West division rival, Alabama, were chosen for the BCS Championship Game. The Big 10 and Pac-12 champs, Wisconsin and Oregon, are Rose Bowl bound. The titlists of the ACC and the Big East, Clemson and West Virginia, were placed in the Orange Bowl against each other. Big 12 champion Oklahoma State was matched with Stanford, a worthy at-large selection, in the Fiesta Bowl. That left the Sugar Bowl to select both teams in its matchup from the remaining at-large squads. Arkansas (BCS #6) could not be chosen because there were already two SEC schools in the BCS, which is the limit. This rule also eliminated South Carolina (BCS #9) from consideration.
The right thing for the Sugar Bowl to do would have been to match BCS #7 Boise State with BCS #8 Kansas State. These schools had played by the BCS rules and posted excellent seasons. To finish ranked that high amongst the 120 teams that play major college football is a great achievement. A fair and equitable system would have rewarded these two outstanding football programs.
But, the Bowl Championship Series is neither fair nor equitable. The Sugar Bowl was allowed to look past Boise State, Kansas State, and Baylor (BCS #12), reaching instead for BCS #11 Virginia Tech and BCS #13 Michigan. Virginia Tech had just been beaten by Clemson for the second time this season. Michigan had lost to Michigan State and Iowa during the regular season. These schools were picked because they have fan bases that travel well and spend a lot of money. When you get right down to it, money is the bottom line that this is all about. This bypass of its own system by the BCS, a deal that smacks of back-slapping cronyism, is nothing short of shameless.
The message sent by the BCS to the Boise States of the world is, "Sure, you made BCS bowl appearances in the past. But, you are not one of us, and we can screw you any year we please." You can bet the Boise got the message: Today, it joined the Big East Conference, along with Houston, SMU, San Diego State, and Central Florida. These schools finally figured out that, when it comes to the BCS, you can't beat 'em, so you'd better just join 'em.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Our Ace In The Hole
The business of running Sportside Books slowed to a crawl during my mother's recent illness. This web log is a tribute to my mom, Theresa A. (Coleman) Armstrong, who passed away on the morning of Novemer 10.
My mother, the former Theresa Ann Conaway (born April 28, 1933 in New York City), was an independent thinker and she was strong, even to the point of being headstrong. This might have explained why she married my father, born Joseph Tracy Coleman, Sr., but known to many by the oh-so-appropriate nickname of Joe Slick. He and my mom grew up in the same building, a tenement apartment house on Elsmere Place in Bronx, New York. My father was five years older than my mom. When he came of age, he joined the U.S. Army, where, because of the times and other factors, he was able to advance only to the rank of sergeant in 20 years. Five years after enlisting, he came around the old neighborhood, finding that Terry Conaway was now 18 years old.
That my father showed up when he did was quite convenient for my mom. She'd been raised in a Catholic household by a strict disciplinarian of a father, Garrett W. Conaway, Sr., and his wife, the former Doris Gillman. Though she loved my grandfather dearly, my mother had come of age in the big city, and she no longer wanted to be held down or back. Young, headstrong, thinking she had all of the answers, she hooked up with my father, which was like jumping from a frying pan right into the fire. They were married in January of 1952.
My oldest brother, Joseph Tracy Coleman, Jr., was born a premie in August of that year, and my other brother, Michael Anthony Coleman, was born in March of 1954. Both were born in Fort Lee, New Jersey. Sometime in the next two years, my father was stationed in Frankfurt, West Germany, to aid in the ongoing reconstruction of the city following World War II. My sister, Mara Theresa Coleman, was born there at the end of 1956. After returning to the States in 1958, my father was sent back to Deutschland for a second tour. I (David Wayne Coleman) was born in Frankfurt in March of 1960.
Mother's marriage to my father was a rocky one, to say the least. I was the end result of one of their final attempts at reconciliation. Sometime soon after returning Stateside in late 1962, they split up for the last time. Their divorce was final in 1966. By then, my father had been stationed in Korea, where he became involved with a woman from a fishing village. My younger sister, Linda Coleman, was born to them in the interim. They later had my younger brother, James (J.J.) Coleman.
To support her four children, my mom worked as a surgical nurse (one of the best in her trade) at various New York City hospitals. Left with the bills from her first marriage, she worked two jobs until she had paid off her creditors, then she went right on working and saving her money. These years, 1966 to 1970, were rough ones if you were living in the ghetto in The Bronx. Drugs were everywhere, and my older brothers fell under their influence. Mother finally had enough money to move us away from New York during the summer of 1970. After four days of riding west on the Pennsylvania, Union Pacific, and Southern Pacific railroads, we arrived in California.
That first year in California, we lived in Oakland. Mother then moved us south to San Diego, where she would spend most of the next 33 years. In 1974, she met and married a U.S. Marine named Melvin D. Armstrong. Mother moved with him, and her youngest two children, to Northern Virginia, where they spend the next couple of years. Soon after Mel was stationed back in Southern California, he and my mom split up.
Back in San Diego and back on her own, Mother finished raising Mara and me. She never really dated again. Kids came and went, but her youngest son stayed an uncommonly long time. In fact, we bought a condo together in 1988. I finally moved out at age 37, after marrying my first wife in September of 1997. It was not a long marriage, at all. By the end of March, 1998, I'd moved back in with my mom, along with her first grandchild, Reina Coleman. I finally moved out for good after remarrying in 2002. Mother's second grandchild, David Coleman, Jr., was born in July of 2003. Her third and final grandchild, Amber Coleman, came along in March of 2006.
During 2005, Mother sold the condo during the height of the California real estate boom. We made a tidy profit, enough to purchase homes in Arizona. Mother moved to Mohave Valley; south of Bullhead City and across the Colorado River from Laughlin, Nevada. A haven for retirees, Mohave Valley was not a happening enough place for my mom, so she sold the house and bought a newer one in North Las Vegas. She lived there until almost the end. During her final six months, she had rented a home in Las Vegas, proper. Although 78 years old, Mother was still sharp as a tack, but she'd been a lifelong smoker. A heart ailment led to her death.
Through all she went through, from failed marriages to sky-high debt, whether helping her kids get off drugs, or picking one of us up whenever we'd fall, Mother always let us know how much she loved us, and that she was on our side. These were not mere words. Mother supported us, assisted us, encouraged us, forgave us, and sustained us for nearly sixty years, since she first became a mother. She was right there, in our respective corners, backing us up constantly and bailing us out, including financially, whenever she had to.
My mother gave her life to her children, and later to her grandchildren. All of the things a mother should be, she was. All the things a mother should do, she did. We could always depend on her, and we did. Since she has left us, however, I have felt her spirit more strongly than ever. Considering how close Mother and I always were, that is truly saying something. I had the greatest mother I could imagine anyone having, and I still have her. She is still inside of me, giving me strength, fortifying my resolve, and reassuring and comforting me. And, I know she is doing the same things for my siblings and for my children.
For the seven of us, Mother was a true and lifelong blessing, and the best friend we could hope to have. Her love will live on in all of us. Her struggle to improve her life, and the strength she showed in overcoming whatever difficulties, will always inspire us. Her devotion to us will warm our hearts for as long as we live. And, her legacy will live on through my children and through the further generations of her progeny. My siblings and I may have gotten the Joker in the deck, so to speak, when it came to our father, but in our mother, Theresa A. Armstrong, we were dealt an Ace of Spades. Her love trumped all of our troubles. She was our Ace in the Hole!
My mother, the former Theresa Ann Conaway (born April 28, 1933 in New York City), was an independent thinker and she was strong, even to the point of being headstrong. This might have explained why she married my father, born Joseph Tracy Coleman, Sr., but known to many by the oh-so-appropriate nickname of Joe Slick. He and my mom grew up in the same building, a tenement apartment house on Elsmere Place in Bronx, New York. My father was five years older than my mom. When he came of age, he joined the U.S. Army, where, because of the times and other factors, he was able to advance only to the rank of sergeant in 20 years. Five years after enlisting, he came around the old neighborhood, finding that Terry Conaway was now 18 years old.
That my father showed up when he did was quite convenient for my mom. She'd been raised in a Catholic household by a strict disciplinarian of a father, Garrett W. Conaway, Sr., and his wife, the former Doris Gillman. Though she loved my grandfather dearly, my mother had come of age in the big city, and she no longer wanted to be held down or back. Young, headstrong, thinking she had all of the answers, she hooked up with my father, which was like jumping from a frying pan right into the fire. They were married in January of 1952.
My oldest brother, Joseph Tracy Coleman, Jr., was born a premie in August of that year, and my other brother, Michael Anthony Coleman, was born in March of 1954. Both were born in Fort Lee, New Jersey. Sometime in the next two years, my father was stationed in Frankfurt, West Germany, to aid in the ongoing reconstruction of the city following World War II. My sister, Mara Theresa Coleman, was born there at the end of 1956. After returning to the States in 1958, my father was sent back to Deutschland for a second tour. I (David Wayne Coleman) was born in Frankfurt in March of 1960.
Mother's marriage to my father was a rocky one, to say the least. I was the end result of one of their final attempts at reconciliation. Sometime soon after returning Stateside in late 1962, they split up for the last time. Their divorce was final in 1966. By then, my father had been stationed in Korea, where he became involved with a woman from a fishing village. My younger sister, Linda Coleman, was born to them in the interim. They later had my younger brother, James (J.J.) Coleman.
To support her four children, my mom worked as a surgical nurse (one of the best in her trade) at various New York City hospitals. Left with the bills from her first marriage, she worked two jobs until she had paid off her creditors, then she went right on working and saving her money. These years, 1966 to 1970, were rough ones if you were living in the ghetto in The Bronx. Drugs were everywhere, and my older brothers fell under their influence. Mother finally had enough money to move us away from New York during the summer of 1970. After four days of riding west on the Pennsylvania, Union Pacific, and Southern Pacific railroads, we arrived in California.
That first year in California, we lived in Oakland. Mother then moved us south to San Diego, where she would spend most of the next 33 years. In 1974, she met and married a U.S. Marine named Melvin D. Armstrong. Mother moved with him, and her youngest two children, to Northern Virginia, where they spend the next couple of years. Soon after Mel was stationed back in Southern California, he and my mom split up.
Back in San Diego and back on her own, Mother finished raising Mara and me. She never really dated again. Kids came and went, but her youngest son stayed an uncommonly long time. In fact, we bought a condo together in 1988. I finally moved out at age 37, after marrying my first wife in September of 1997. It was not a long marriage, at all. By the end of March, 1998, I'd moved back in with my mom, along with her first grandchild, Reina Coleman. I finally moved out for good after remarrying in 2002. Mother's second grandchild, David Coleman, Jr., was born in July of 2003. Her third and final grandchild, Amber Coleman, came along in March of 2006.
During 2005, Mother sold the condo during the height of the California real estate boom. We made a tidy profit, enough to purchase homes in Arizona. Mother moved to Mohave Valley; south of Bullhead City and across the Colorado River from Laughlin, Nevada. A haven for retirees, Mohave Valley was not a happening enough place for my mom, so she sold the house and bought a newer one in North Las Vegas. She lived there until almost the end. During her final six months, she had rented a home in Las Vegas, proper. Although 78 years old, Mother was still sharp as a tack, but she'd been a lifelong smoker. A heart ailment led to her death.
Through all she went through, from failed marriages to sky-high debt, whether helping her kids get off drugs, or picking one of us up whenever we'd fall, Mother always let us know how much she loved us, and that she was on our side. These were not mere words. Mother supported us, assisted us, encouraged us, forgave us, and sustained us for nearly sixty years, since she first became a mother. She was right there, in our respective corners, backing us up constantly and bailing us out, including financially, whenever she had to.
My mother gave her life to her children, and later to her grandchildren. All of the things a mother should be, she was. All the things a mother should do, she did. We could always depend on her, and we did. Since she has left us, however, I have felt her spirit more strongly than ever. Considering how close Mother and I always were, that is truly saying something. I had the greatest mother I could imagine anyone having, and I still have her. She is still inside of me, giving me strength, fortifying my resolve, and reassuring and comforting me. And, I know she is doing the same things for my siblings and for my children.
For the seven of us, Mother was a true and lifelong blessing, and the best friend we could hope to have. Her love will live on in all of us. Her struggle to improve her life, and the strength she showed in overcoming whatever difficulties, will always inspire us. Her devotion to us will warm our hearts for as long as we live. And, her legacy will live on through my children and through the further generations of her progeny. My siblings and I may have gotten the Joker in the deck, so to speak, when it came to our father, but in our mother, Theresa A. Armstrong, we were dealt an Ace of Spades. Her love trumped all of our troubles. She was our Ace in the Hole!
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Conference Musical Chairs Redux
Another round of Musical Chairs has begun in NCAA college football's conference playground. I recently tweeted about the fact that the Western Athletic Conference, with 16 teams for a few seasons, was the first Super Conference. Things definitely seem to be moving in that direction. For right now, the race seems to be on to see which of the Football Bowl Subdivision conferences can successfully make it to 12 or 14 teams. The Big Boys at major college football's training table (that's the SEC, the ACC, and the PAC-12) are taking theirs, leaving the other conferences to fight amongst each other for the scraps and try to survive. Here's what's happened, lately:
The Southeastern Conference has taken Texas A&M from the Big 12. The Aggie community had tired of the "One Big Cowboy, nine Little Indians" mentality of the Big 12, where everything favors the University of Texas. So, they took their football and left. The Aggies are a good fit in the SEC, but the moves leaves the SEC with an unwieldy 13 members. Seeing this situation as its opportunity, Missouri has given its chancellor the authority to find a new home for its athletics. The Tigers are expected to apply for SEC membership within days.
The Big 12 had hoped to solve its membership problem by hijacking Texas Christian University. TCU had already made the move from the Mountain West Conference to the Big East, with play to start next season. But, the Big 12, down to nine schools after the departure of Texas A&M, snapped its fingers and the Horned Frogs jumped at the chance to rejoin Texas, Texas Tech, and Baylor for conference play. If Missouri leaves for the SEC, the Big 12 will once again be down to nine teams. It might need to go back to 12 teams, just for the sake of survival. The question is whether the top schools the Big 12 might target will still be available.
The Big 12 could get back to actually having 12 members if it added Houston, SMU, and BYU or Boise State, but those same schools are also on the radar of the Big East Conference. The Big East was recently raided (again) for two of its remaining crown jewels, with Pittsburgh and Syracuse bolting for the Atlantic Coast Conference, bringing ACC membership up to 14 teams. That left the Big East with only six football-playing members and there is plenty of gnashing of teeth going on. It's no secret that Connecticut also wants to join the ACC and is dismayed at being left behind. In fact, its women's basketball coach, Geno Auriemma, came right out and blamed Notre Dame for the Big East's woes, stating that if the Fighting Irish had joined the conference for football, Boston College, Virginia Tech, and the University of Miami would never have left!
The Big East is expected to soon add Central Florida and has an application in its hip pocket from East Carolina. After that, it's fair game, with Houston, SMU, Boise State, Army, Navy, and Air Force all being considered for membership. The Big East would also accept Notre Dame for football in a heartbeat. Notre Dame is a Big East member in all other sports.
Many of the schools being talked about as candidates to change conference, now reside in either the Mountain West or in Conference USA. After losing Utah to the PAC-12 and BYU to independence this year, the Mountain West had to add Boise State just to get back to eight members. The departure of Boise State would be another major blow to the conference's hopes of earning an automatic bid for its champion in football's Bowl Championship Series. Comparing its plight with that of C-USA, which has already lost Cincinnati, Louisville, and South Florida to the Big East (and TCU to the MWC), the Mountain West went into discussions with C-USA about a championship game between the two conferences. What they agreed on is a football-only alliance, including inter-league play.
While it is hoped that the MWC/C-USA champion might be extended a BCS bowl berth, the real reason for this mini-merger is survival. If Boise State and Air Force join the Big East, the MWC would be down to six schools. If Houston, SMU, Central Florida, and East Carolina also went to the Big East, that would restore the BEC to 12 members, but C-USA would only have eight schools left. If that were to take place, Conference USA and the Mountain West might just as well go ahead with a full merger and stand as one 14-team conference. Even if this new league lost a couple of other schools, there would still be 12 remaining members, which would be enough to stage a championship game in football.
This game of conference musical chairs might not stop until the Big Six conferences all have 16 members. That would make a total of 96 schools being big winners, with a chance to play for a national championship in football. Everybody else outside of that group, would be out of luck.
The Southeastern Conference has taken Texas A&M from the Big 12. The Aggie community had tired of the "One Big Cowboy, nine Little Indians" mentality of the Big 12, where everything favors the University of Texas. So, they took their football and left. The Aggies are a good fit in the SEC, but the moves leaves the SEC with an unwieldy 13 members. Seeing this situation as its opportunity, Missouri has given its chancellor the authority to find a new home for its athletics. The Tigers are expected to apply for SEC membership within days.
The Big 12 had hoped to solve its membership problem by hijacking Texas Christian University. TCU had already made the move from the Mountain West Conference to the Big East, with play to start next season. But, the Big 12, down to nine schools after the departure of Texas A&M, snapped its fingers and the Horned Frogs jumped at the chance to rejoin Texas, Texas Tech, and Baylor for conference play. If Missouri leaves for the SEC, the Big 12 will once again be down to nine teams. It might need to go back to 12 teams, just for the sake of survival. The question is whether the top schools the Big 12 might target will still be available.
The Big 12 could get back to actually having 12 members if it added Houston, SMU, and BYU or Boise State, but those same schools are also on the radar of the Big East Conference. The Big East was recently raided (again) for two of its remaining crown jewels, with Pittsburgh and Syracuse bolting for the Atlantic Coast Conference, bringing ACC membership up to 14 teams. That left the Big East with only six football-playing members and there is plenty of gnashing of teeth going on. It's no secret that Connecticut also wants to join the ACC and is dismayed at being left behind. In fact, its women's basketball coach, Geno Auriemma, came right out and blamed Notre Dame for the Big East's woes, stating that if the Fighting Irish had joined the conference for football, Boston College, Virginia Tech, and the University of Miami would never have left!
The Big East is expected to soon add Central Florida and has an application in its hip pocket from East Carolina. After that, it's fair game, with Houston, SMU, Boise State, Army, Navy, and Air Force all being considered for membership. The Big East would also accept Notre Dame for football in a heartbeat. Notre Dame is a Big East member in all other sports.
Many of the schools being talked about as candidates to change conference, now reside in either the Mountain West or in Conference USA. After losing Utah to the PAC-12 and BYU to independence this year, the Mountain West had to add Boise State just to get back to eight members. The departure of Boise State would be another major blow to the conference's hopes of earning an automatic bid for its champion in football's Bowl Championship Series. Comparing its plight with that of C-USA, which has already lost Cincinnati, Louisville, and South Florida to the Big East (and TCU to the MWC), the Mountain West went into discussions with C-USA about a championship game between the two conferences. What they agreed on is a football-only alliance, including inter-league play.
While it is hoped that the MWC/C-USA champion might be extended a BCS bowl berth, the real reason for this mini-merger is survival. If Boise State and Air Force join the Big East, the MWC would be down to six schools. If Houston, SMU, Central Florida, and East Carolina also went to the Big East, that would restore the BEC to 12 members, but C-USA would only have eight schools left. If that were to take place, Conference USA and the Mountain West might just as well go ahead with a full merger and stand as one 14-team conference. Even if this new league lost a couple of other schools, there would still be 12 remaining members, which would be enough to stage a championship game in football.
This game of conference musical chairs might not stop until the Big Six conferences all have 16 members. That would make a total of 96 schools being big winners, with a chance to play for a national championship in football. Everybody else outside of that group, would be out of luck.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Opening The Door For Bias
You saw the play late in the fourth quarter of last week's NFL game between the New York Giants and Arizona Cardinals. Giants QB Eli Manning threw a short completion to WR Victor Cruz in the left flat. Cruz stumbled, put his hand on the ground to steady his balance, then headed upfield to gain yardage.
But, Cruz again lost his footage. In the attempt to advance the ball and move the chains, he slipped and went to the ground. Not touched, Cruz let go of the ball, whereupon the Cardinals defense promptly scooped the ball up, which should have resulted in a victory for the Cardinals.
But, wait... The officials in the game ruled that Cruz had given himself up when he went to the ground, the play was dead at that point, and, with the ruling being a judgment call on the part of the officials, that ruling could not be challenged by Cardinals Head Coach Ken Whisenhunt.
This was a bad application of a bad rule. I understand that, desiring to keep the league's quarterbacks in serviceable condition, the NFL instituted the "slide rule" so that passers who take off running can give themselves up, without being landed on by a 350-pound defensive lineman. I get that. Also, any player has the right to give himself up. The usual ways this is done are by taking a knee, by calling for a fair catch, or covering a loose ball and not making any attempt to rise.
None of those situations applied to Victor Cruz. If he'd been giving himself up, he could have slid to the ground and covered up when he first stumbled, but he did not give up. He used his hand to re-balance himself. He was fighting to stay upright so that he could gain yardage. When he slipped and went to the ground, he should have covered the football and stayed still until he was touched by a defender or the whistle blew, ending the play. Instead, Cruz immediately rose, letting go of the pigskin. That should have made it the Cardinals' ball. If the officials were blowing their whistles as Cruz was rising, they shouldn't have been. He did not fall because he was giving himself up. He fell because he slipped trying to gain yardage. He may have made the decision to give himself up once he was on the ground, but that was not his intention in going to the ground.
Besides, a smart football player would never have taken a chance like that, jumping up and letting go of the ball without being touched, with the game on the line. You can bet that Cruz heard about his decision to not cover the football from Giants Head Coach Tom Coughlin.
Again, I understand the NFL's desire to protect players and prevent injuries, but what happened in this game, really, was silly. Cruz needed to be touched by a defender, for the play to be considered over. He didn't have to be crushed by the defense. That's what unnecessary roughness penalties are for.
The most troubling aspect of of the whole play, to me, is the knowledge that if the situation were entirely reversed and it was a Cardinals player who let the ball go under the same circumstances, the Giants would have been awarded the football. The referee on the field that day would made an announcement that the Cardinals player had been trying to advance the ball in falling to the turf, hadn't been touched, and the ball was still live and recoverable by the Giants.
There really is an East Coast bias in the world of sports and in its coverage by the national media. Can you just imagine the furor that would have arose if the Giants had lost the football on the same type of call? Can you imagine the number of complaints the NFL's league office would have been flooded with? The sports bloggers in the Big Apple would have made out the NFL to be a laughing stock! You would have heard a mid-week announcement this week, that the officials had erred. The rule book would be changed after the season.
The NFL is on a very slippery slope, here. Leaving game-changing calls to the whims of the officials' collective judgment, opens the door for bias to make its presence felt. Ask yourself honestly if there is any way a call like this would have gone against the Giants or the New England Patriots, with a team like the Cardinals or the Jacksonville Jaguars getting the benefit of the doubt. In the NFL, that just doesn't happen.
The bottom line is that the Arizona Cardinals got jobbed in this game. Ken Whisenhunt may have taken the high road and said it shouldn't have come down to that play, but his team should have had the chance to run at least three more plays, run the clock down, and perhaps get a first down and win the game without the New York Giants seeing the ball again. As it was, the Giants wound up winning the football game. They should have had to earn it.
But, Cruz again lost his footage. In the attempt to advance the ball and move the chains, he slipped and went to the ground. Not touched, Cruz let go of the ball, whereupon the Cardinals defense promptly scooped the ball up, which should have resulted in a victory for the Cardinals.
But, wait... The officials in the game ruled that Cruz had given himself up when he went to the ground, the play was dead at that point, and, with the ruling being a judgment call on the part of the officials, that ruling could not be challenged by Cardinals Head Coach Ken Whisenhunt.
This was a bad application of a bad rule. I understand that, desiring to keep the league's quarterbacks in serviceable condition, the NFL instituted the "slide rule" so that passers who take off running can give themselves up, without being landed on by a 350-pound defensive lineman. I get that. Also, any player has the right to give himself up. The usual ways this is done are by taking a knee, by calling for a fair catch, or covering a loose ball and not making any attempt to rise.
None of those situations applied to Victor Cruz. If he'd been giving himself up, he could have slid to the ground and covered up when he first stumbled, but he did not give up. He used his hand to re-balance himself. He was fighting to stay upright so that he could gain yardage. When he slipped and went to the ground, he should have covered the football and stayed still until he was touched by a defender or the whistle blew, ending the play. Instead, Cruz immediately rose, letting go of the pigskin. That should have made it the Cardinals' ball. If the officials were blowing their whistles as Cruz was rising, they shouldn't have been. He did not fall because he was giving himself up. He fell because he slipped trying to gain yardage. He may have made the decision to give himself up once he was on the ground, but that was not his intention in going to the ground.
Besides, a smart football player would never have taken a chance like that, jumping up and letting go of the ball without being touched, with the game on the line. You can bet that Cruz heard about his decision to not cover the football from Giants Head Coach Tom Coughlin.
Again, I understand the NFL's desire to protect players and prevent injuries, but what happened in this game, really, was silly. Cruz needed to be touched by a defender, for the play to be considered over. He didn't have to be crushed by the defense. That's what unnecessary roughness penalties are for.
The most troubling aspect of of the whole play, to me, is the knowledge that if the situation were entirely reversed and it was a Cardinals player who let the ball go under the same circumstances, the Giants would have been awarded the football. The referee on the field that day would made an announcement that the Cardinals player had been trying to advance the ball in falling to the turf, hadn't been touched, and the ball was still live and recoverable by the Giants.
There really is an East Coast bias in the world of sports and in its coverage by the national media. Can you just imagine the furor that would have arose if the Giants had lost the football on the same type of call? Can you imagine the number of complaints the NFL's league office would have been flooded with? The sports bloggers in the Big Apple would have made out the NFL to be a laughing stock! You would have heard a mid-week announcement this week, that the officials had erred. The rule book would be changed after the season.
The NFL is on a very slippery slope, here. Leaving game-changing calls to the whims of the officials' collective judgment, opens the door for bias to make its presence felt. Ask yourself honestly if there is any way a call like this would have gone against the Giants or the New England Patriots, with a team like the Cardinals or the Jacksonville Jaguars getting the benefit of the doubt. In the NFL, that just doesn't happen.
The bottom line is that the Arizona Cardinals got jobbed in this game. Ken Whisenhunt may have taken the high road and said it shouldn't have come down to that play, but his team should have had the chance to run at least three more plays, run the clock down, and perhaps get a first down and win the game without the New York Giants seeing the ball again. As it was, the Giants wound up winning the football game. They should have had to earn it.
Monday, September 26, 2011
WAC Was First Super-Conference
The year 2011 may go down in history as the year that set in motion the dawn of the Age of the Super-Conference in NCAA athletics. Texas A&M is leaving the mighty Big 12 Conference for residency in the Southeastern Conference, which will now number 13 schools, with 14 or 16 on the horizon. The Atlantic Coast Conference has just raided the Big East, taking away two of its gems, Pittsburgh and Syracuse, and moving to 14 institutions. Last year, the PAC-10 Conference tried to become the PAC-16 by adding teams from the Big 12, which had just lost Nebraska to the expanding Big 10. Failing, it added only Colorado from the Big 12, then took on Utah from the Mountain West Conference, becoming the PAC-12. This year, those same teams that shunned the PAC-10 a year ago, Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State, came begging the PAC-12 for a new home. The move would have blown up the Big 12 in the same way the old South West Conference was blown up in 1996. The PAC-12 politely declined.
The Big East has already added Texas Christian from the Mountain West for next season. This prompted the MWC, which also lost BYU to independence and the aforementioned Utah, to raid the Western Athletic Conference, taking away Boise State, Nevada, Fresno State, and Hawaii (football only). The football conference has actually grown from nine teams to ten, even with the recent losses.
People are now wondering where this game of conference musical chairs will stop. The SEC may be on the verge of taking Missouri from the Big 12. The Big 12's major players (read: Texas and Oklahoma) have now vowed to keep the conference together. Their best chance of doing that might be to move back to 12 teams (the Big 12 is playing this year with 10 members, while the Big 10 is playing with 12 members). The Big 12 is said to be considering adding everyone from Boise State to BYU to Houston to Notre Dame. You heard correctly: Notre Dame! The Big East has an official application for membership from East Carolina, and may add service academies Army, Navy, and even Air Force. The depleted WAC is bringing up reinforcements like Northern Colorado and Texas-Arlington from the Football Championship Sub-division (the old Division 1-AA), just to stay afloat.
There seems to be a race to see which of the major conferences will be the first to expand all the way to 16 teams. Articles are being written, speculating on what the college football landscape might look like with five or six super-leagues of 16 teams, each. All of this is very interesting. But, the fact is, there has already been a super-conference. The idea was definitely ahead of its time - and it only lasted for three seasons - but it was the Western Athletic Conference that first made this bold move after the demise of the South West Conference in 1996.
The schools in the South West Conference had been playing football together for around 70 years, in one form or another, when the league expanded to nine teams in 1975 by adding the University of Houston. That was a move that made the SWC even stronger than it had been before, especially in basketball, where Houston has a top-tier program. The first blow, however, in the destruction of the conference came directly from the east. The SEC decided to add to a good thing in 1992, expanding from 10 to 12 schools by bringing in former ACC member South Carolina and taking Arkansas back from the SWC.
The old Big Eight Conference, seeing what the SEC had done (and noticing the mounds of cash that were being made in that league's nifty, new championship game), was not going to just sit idly by and be upstaged, and certainly not for long. Secret talks between university presidents were undertaken. Then, on February 25, 1994, came the blockbuster announcement: Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and Baylor would join with the schools of the Big Eight, becoming a new league, the Big 12, commencing with the 1996-97 academic and athletic school year.
While the new league and its new rivalries certainly excited the world of College Football as a whole, little consideration was given to the former SWC institutions that were left for dead: Houston, Rice, Texas Christian, and Southern Methodist. (SMU's football program receiving the NCAA's "death penalty" in 1987 for major recruiting violations, was another major blow to the conference.) It is quite ironic that Baylor University has made such a fuss, recently, about suing Texas A&M for its impending departure from the Big 12. Baylor is the same institution that turned its back on its former SWC brethren without so much as a damn in 1996, gladly accepting doormat status in the Big 12's southern division in exchange for the huge annual payouts that are earned by the league's Big Boys. The threatened dissolution of the Big 12 would have left Baylor face-to-face with membership in the Mountain West and its smaller distribution checks, and it was laughable to see the Bears, for a few tense weeks, sweating and whining like Pigs.
Looking back, it's really hard to understand why the Big Eight and SWC didn't just merge into a 16-team conference at that time. I guess they just didn't want to split the profits 16 ways. Oklahoma was not approving the move unless Texas was included, and Texas wasn't going anywhere without Texas A&M and Texas Tech as in-state rivals. Baylor only got an invite because the number of teams moving had to be an even number. Houston, coming from a major television market and being more competitive than Baylor in football and basketball, must have really ticked someone off (Texas), to be excluded from the mix. As it was, the previously-mentioned former SWC schools were left out in the cold. That was where the WAC came in.
The Western Athletic Conference was born in 1962 from a merger between former schools of the old Border and Skyline conferences. The six charter members were Arizona, Arizona State, Brigham Young, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. Colorado State and Texas-El Paso (UTEP)were added in 1968. In 1978, the old PAC-8 Conference invited Arizona and Arizona State to join, thus becoming the PAC-10. That same year, San Diego State joined the WAC, followed in short order by Air Force (1979), and Hawaii (1980). The addition of Fresno State in 1992 brought the membership up to 10 schools.
With four schools now available that had been considered by the press and public to be "major" programs, and with the conference also wanting to also be considered Big League, the WAC made a bold move, indeed, inviting all four of the Big Eight castoffs to join the league in 1996. Houston declined, forming the new Conference USA with Tulane, Memphis, Louisville, Cincinnati, and Southern Mississippi. The WAC's invitation was accepted by Rice, TCU, and SMU, with Houston's spot going to a formerly independent program, Tulsa. Also moving up, from the old Big West Conference, were San Jose State and Nevada-Las Vegas (UNLV).
The WAC's move to 16 teams was unpopular, mostly due to the long distances the schools had to conquer in order to play each other. The league footprint of the Super-WAC covered Honolulu to Houston and San Diego to Laramie, Wyoming. It was considered to be just too big and too awkward to be a success, and no one was really happy with it. The idea still might have worked, however, if the 16 athletic programs had at least all made it to "major" status. That just did not happen. Without Texas, Oklahoma, et al., the new WAC members who had been in the SWC were considered just additions to the also-rans. (Houston also did not escape, running into the same "small-time" status problem in its new league.) Early in 1999, eight of the stronger WAC institutions (seven of which had been in the nine-team WAC after 1980) seceded from the league, establishing the new Mountain West Conference.
UNLV was the only "new" member invited to join the Mountain West. Rice, Tulsa, UTEP, TCU, and SMU all eventually wound up in Conference USA, although TCU ultimately won MWC membership in 2005. The WAC, with Hawaii, Fresno State and San Jose State as anchor tenants, carried on, surviving by adding Nevada (2000); Boise State and Louisiana Tech (2001); and Utah State, New Mexico State, and Idaho (2005). With the upcoming departures of Hawaii and Fresno State, San Jose State will be left as the only school remaining of the eight schools that made up the WAC after the Mountain West split.
Conference USA is another league that changed, all the way to 12 teams, and at one time housed all of the former SWC schools that did not join the Big 12. Ironically, a new response by the Mountain West Conference and Conference USA to all of this change is the consideration of a football-only merger between them, with the champions of the leagues meeting for an overall championship and a hoped-for spot in college football's Bowl Championship Series.
The Big East has already added Texas Christian from the Mountain West for next season. This prompted the MWC, which also lost BYU to independence and the aforementioned Utah, to raid the Western Athletic Conference, taking away Boise State, Nevada, Fresno State, and Hawaii (football only). The football conference has actually grown from nine teams to ten, even with the recent losses.
People are now wondering where this game of conference musical chairs will stop. The SEC may be on the verge of taking Missouri from the Big 12. The Big 12's major players (read: Texas and Oklahoma) have now vowed to keep the conference together. Their best chance of doing that might be to move back to 12 teams (the Big 12 is playing this year with 10 members, while the Big 10 is playing with 12 members). The Big 12 is said to be considering adding everyone from Boise State to BYU to Houston to Notre Dame. You heard correctly: Notre Dame! The Big East has an official application for membership from East Carolina, and may add service academies Army, Navy, and even Air Force. The depleted WAC is bringing up reinforcements like Northern Colorado and Texas-Arlington from the Football Championship Sub-division (the old Division 1-AA), just to stay afloat.
There seems to be a race to see which of the major conferences will be the first to expand all the way to 16 teams. Articles are being written, speculating on what the college football landscape might look like with five or six super-leagues of 16 teams, each. All of this is very interesting. But, the fact is, there has already been a super-conference. The idea was definitely ahead of its time - and it only lasted for three seasons - but it was the Western Athletic Conference that first made this bold move after the demise of the South West Conference in 1996.
The schools in the South West Conference had been playing football together for around 70 years, in one form or another, when the league expanded to nine teams in 1975 by adding the University of Houston. That was a move that made the SWC even stronger than it had been before, especially in basketball, where Houston has a top-tier program. The first blow, however, in the destruction of the conference came directly from the east. The SEC decided to add to a good thing in 1992, expanding from 10 to 12 schools by bringing in former ACC member South Carolina and taking Arkansas back from the SWC.
The old Big Eight Conference, seeing what the SEC had done (and noticing the mounds of cash that were being made in that league's nifty, new championship game), was not going to just sit idly by and be upstaged, and certainly not for long. Secret talks between university presidents were undertaken. Then, on February 25, 1994, came the blockbuster announcement: Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and Baylor would join with the schools of the Big Eight, becoming a new league, the Big 12, commencing with the 1996-97 academic and athletic school year.
While the new league and its new rivalries certainly excited the world of College Football as a whole, little consideration was given to the former SWC institutions that were left for dead: Houston, Rice, Texas Christian, and Southern Methodist. (SMU's football program receiving the NCAA's "death penalty" in 1987 for major recruiting violations, was another major blow to the conference.) It is quite ironic that Baylor University has made such a fuss, recently, about suing Texas A&M for its impending departure from the Big 12. Baylor is the same institution that turned its back on its former SWC brethren without so much as a damn in 1996, gladly accepting doormat status in the Big 12's southern division in exchange for the huge annual payouts that are earned by the league's Big Boys. The threatened dissolution of the Big 12 would have left Baylor face-to-face with membership in the Mountain West and its smaller distribution checks, and it was laughable to see the Bears, for a few tense weeks, sweating and whining like Pigs.
Looking back, it's really hard to understand why the Big Eight and SWC didn't just merge into a 16-team conference at that time. I guess they just didn't want to split the profits 16 ways. Oklahoma was not approving the move unless Texas was included, and Texas wasn't going anywhere without Texas A&M and Texas Tech as in-state rivals. Baylor only got an invite because the number of teams moving had to be an even number. Houston, coming from a major television market and being more competitive than Baylor in football and basketball, must have really ticked someone off (Texas), to be excluded from the mix. As it was, the previously-mentioned former SWC schools were left out in the cold. That was where the WAC came in.
The Western Athletic Conference was born in 1962 from a merger between former schools of the old Border and Skyline conferences. The six charter members were Arizona, Arizona State, Brigham Young, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. Colorado State and Texas-El Paso (UTEP)were added in 1968. In 1978, the old PAC-8 Conference invited Arizona and Arizona State to join, thus becoming the PAC-10. That same year, San Diego State joined the WAC, followed in short order by Air Force (1979), and Hawaii (1980). The addition of Fresno State in 1992 brought the membership up to 10 schools.
With four schools now available that had been considered by the press and public to be "major" programs, and with the conference also wanting to also be considered Big League, the WAC made a bold move, indeed, inviting all four of the Big Eight castoffs to join the league in 1996. Houston declined, forming the new Conference USA with Tulane, Memphis, Louisville, Cincinnati, and Southern Mississippi. The WAC's invitation was accepted by Rice, TCU, and SMU, with Houston's spot going to a formerly independent program, Tulsa. Also moving up, from the old Big West Conference, were San Jose State and Nevada-Las Vegas (UNLV).
The WAC's move to 16 teams was unpopular, mostly due to the long distances the schools had to conquer in order to play each other. The league footprint of the Super-WAC covered Honolulu to Houston and San Diego to Laramie, Wyoming. It was considered to be just too big and too awkward to be a success, and no one was really happy with it. The idea still might have worked, however, if the 16 athletic programs had at least all made it to "major" status. That just did not happen. Without Texas, Oklahoma, et al., the new WAC members who had been in the SWC were considered just additions to the also-rans. (Houston also did not escape, running into the same "small-time" status problem in its new league.) Early in 1999, eight of the stronger WAC institutions (seven of which had been in the nine-team WAC after 1980) seceded from the league, establishing the new Mountain West Conference.
UNLV was the only "new" member invited to join the Mountain West. Rice, Tulsa, UTEP, TCU, and SMU all eventually wound up in Conference USA, although TCU ultimately won MWC membership in 2005. The WAC, with Hawaii, Fresno State and San Jose State as anchor tenants, carried on, surviving by adding Nevada (2000); Boise State and Louisiana Tech (2001); and Utah State, New Mexico State, and Idaho (2005). With the upcoming departures of Hawaii and Fresno State, San Jose State will be left as the only school remaining of the eight schools that made up the WAC after the Mountain West split.
Conference USA is another league that changed, all the way to 12 teams, and at one time housed all of the former SWC schools that did not join the Big 12. Ironically, a new response by the Mountain West Conference and Conference USA to all of this change is the consideration of a football-only merger between them, with the champions of the leagues meeting for an overall championship and a hoped-for spot in college football's Bowl Championship Series.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Last-Minute NFL Predictions
Another National Football League season is upon us. We've all endured an off-season like no other, wondering if the players and owners would be able to come to a new collective bargaining agreement, or if a player strike/owner lockout would cancel the season and eradicate pro football's bedrock of fan loyalty. In the end, a deal was struck and a new CBA agreed to. Still, the effect of the lockout was pervasive, with players out of shape because of the cancellation of organized team workouts, and with a shortened free agency period that was a real free-for-all. Changes abound on the field and on the sidelines, but someone has to win the NFL's eight divisions. Here are my choices, with teams listed in predicted order of finish:
AFC EAST The New England Patriots should be the choice to win the division, until someone actually beats them. Some of the parts seem interchangeable, but the team still has head coach Bill Belichick devising the game plans and driving the troops. QB Tom Brady can win any football game, anywhere at any time, and he still has devastating weapons like WRs Wes Welker and Chad Ochocinco. The defense has been reloaded and is rapidly improving. I think they'll win every division game and cruise to another division title. The New York Jets beat the Patriots in the playoffs and made it to the AFC title game last year, in head coach Rex Ryan's breakthrough season. QB Mark Sanchez will be a year wiser and will also have elite targets in WRs Santonio Holmes and Plaxico Burress. RB LaDainian Tomlinson is back for a final year of inspiration, and Ryan always runs a great defense, with Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie forming one of the league's top cornerback tandems. The Jets will sneak up on no one this year, however, and least of all the Pats. The Miami Dolphins have improved under head coach Tony Sparano, but are nowhere near the level of the division's leaders. Nor is QB Chad Henne even approaching the level of play that Brady and Sanchez have achieved. The Buffalo Bills have been stuck in a rut in this division since its inception, with no end in sight. QB Ryan Fitzpatrick is slowly improving, but having the worst quarterback play in the division is no way to escape this abyss. The Bills have nowhere to go, and that includes, "up"!
AFC North This will be another war between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens. Both teams play grind-it-out, smash-it-up, old-school football. Ben Roethlisberger versus Joe Flacco will again be the top intra-division quarterback matchup. But it's the defenses, led by linebackers James Harrison and Ray Lewis, that really drive this rivalry. The Steelers usually win this division because they always have such a big home-field advantage, but both teams should make the playoffs. The Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals will again fight it out for third place. I have to give the Browns the edge, because Cincinnati is going to have to get used to life without both QB Carson Palmer and WR Chad Ochocinco.
AFC South With the Indianapolis Colts playing without Peyton Manning, the Tennessee Titans starting over without head coach Jeff Fisher and QB Vince Young, and the Jacksonville Jaguars having just released starting QB David Garrard in favor of Luke McCown, I can only pick the Houston Texans to win their first division title. Houston is loaded on offense, with QB Matt Schaub, WR Andre Johnson, and RB Arian Foster (if he's healthy). Indy brought in previously retired QB Kerry Collins to fill in for Manning, but there is something very unequal about that tradeoff! Jacksonville will be playing for head coach Jack Del Rio's job. They should be hungry enough to grab third place. Tennessee will have stud RB Chris Johnson back, but who is the quarterback?
AFC West Even with suffering through the worst special teams play in the history of the NFL last season, the San Diego Chargers still would have won this division if they'd beaten the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1. (They crushed the Chiefs 31-0 in the Week 14 rematch.) QB Philip Rivers led the NFL in passing yards, despite needing a scorecard to tell who his receivers were. This year, TE Antonio Gates looks good after being injured and WR Vincent Jackson looked great in pre-season after holding out in 2010. SS Bob Sanders, newly signed from the Colts, brings attitude after missing time in recent years with injuries. Watch out! The Chiefs have a rapidly improving young defense and should be good enough to hang on for second place. The Oakland Raiders and Denver Broncos will both have new head coaches in Hue Jackson and John Fox, respectively. Jackson inherits a team that went 6-0 in the division last year and still missed the playoffs! The Raiders are improving and could pass the Chiefs. Sacrificing a 3rd-round draft choice to pick up QB Terrelle Pryor in the supplemental draft could be the best move this team has made in years. After the Josh McDaniel debacle, Denver needed an experienced hand at head coach. However, I wonder if Fox can still relate to today's NFL players?
NFC East Locking up QB Michael Vick with a long-term contract, trading former starting QB Kevin Kolb to Arizona for CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and more, and signing the top free agent available in CB Nnamdi Asomugha, shows that the Philadelphia Eagles are serious about staying on top, today and tomorrow. Nnamdi and Dominique form a scary, sick cornerback combo, and another great corner, Asante Samuel is still on the roster! The Eagles will be the Beast of the East. I give the Dallas Cowboys the edge over the New York Giants for second place. Jason Garrett is a good, young head coach who will lead his players to a better overall performance and a playoff spot in 2011. On the other hand, New York's head coach, Tom Coughlin, can be so abrasive that he may lose the locker room, if things start to go badly. As for the Washington Redskins, they keep trying to make the right moves. They simply do not match up with the other teams in this tough division, making last place their destiny.
NFC North The Green Bay Packers were lucky to even make the playoffs last year, but they peaked at just the right time and won the Super Bowl. Led by QB Aaron Rodgers, the Pack will have that winning swagger. This year, they will take the division. The Detroit Lions have done all the right things since their infamous 0-16 season. The offense, led by QB Matthew Stafford, is fast improving and the defense, spearheaded by DT Ndamukong Suh, is a lurking monster that will soon be one of the best in the NFL - maybe even this year. Detroit's long-suffering fans deserve a winner, but the competition for the final playoff spot in the NFC will be stiff and the Lions will miss out, for now. The Minnesota Vikings have one of the game's top running backs in Adrian Peterson, but new starting QB Donovan McNabb has shown his age in recent years. He'll be an improvement over the poor showing Brett Favre put up in his final season, but the Vikes will do well to finish 8-8. As for the Chicago Bears, I believe they are going to sink with error-prone Jay Cutler at quarterback, all the way to last place. If this does happen, it will probably cost head coach Lovie Smith his job.
NFC South This is the toughest division to win in the NFL. Since its inception in 2002, the NFC South has seen no team repeat as its division champion. That's not good news for last year's winners, the Atlanta Falcons. With an offense spearheaded by QB Matt Ryan, RB Michael Turner, and WR Roddy White, and with an improving defense, the Falcons will likely break that trend, this year. I see the New Orleans Saints, led by QB Drew Brees, repeating as an NFC wild card team, despite the questions brought on by their poor defensive showing in last year's playoffs loss to Seattle. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be an improved team overall, but I call for them to plateau this year, as QB Josh Freeman hits a bit of a wall against opposing defenses. Like the Lions, the Bucs are a likely breakthrough team in 2012. The Carolina Panthers have hired the right man in new head coach Ron Rivera. Rivera was the defensive coordinator of the NFL's top-ranked defense last year in San Diego. He will bring intensity and toughness to the Panthers, but this is a hard division in which to try and make progress. Even with QB Cam Newton, the Heisman Trophy winner, taking over the offense, Carolina has a long way to go to make it back to the top.
NFC West I had been thinking that the Arizona Cardinals were doomed for another last-place finish due to quarterback woes, but shortly after the lockout ended, they traded for Philadelphia's erstwhile starter, Kevin Kolb. Kolb looked good in the Cards' pre-season games. He and All-World WR Larry Fitzgerald already seem to have a healthy chemistry between them, and both are locked up with multi-year, multi-million dollar contracts. RB Beanie Wells looks ready to shine, now that he will no longer share the football with the traded Tim Hightower. And, let's face it, the competition is weak in the worst division in pro football. Arizona gets my vote for first place. The St. Louis Rams and Seattle Seahawks will both be improved, but both may wind up with worse records than they had in 2011. The defending division champion Seahawks will have improved morale after the upset playoff win, but it remains to be seen if QB Tarvaris Jackson can step in and be the team's on-field leader. I think the Rams, led by QB Sam Bradford and RB Steven Jackson will slip by the Hawks for second place. Bringing up the rear will be the San Francisco 49ers, who have a top-notch running back in Frank Gore, but who are again going to start Alex Smith at quarterback. The Niners are said to be considering adding QB David Garrard, recently released by the Jaguars and who'd probably be an upgrade over Smith.
My wild card teams are the Cowboys and Saints in the NFC and the Jets and Ravens in the AFC. In the NFC playoffs, I see the Eagles and Packers meeting in the championship game, with Michael Vick leading the Eagles to a surprising win on the frozen tundra at Lambeau Field. In the AFC, I think finishing out of the playoffs in 2010 will be good for San Diego. I see the Chargers bowling over the Patriots in the AFC title game in San Diego, and finally hoisting the Lombardi Trophy for the first time with a convincing Super Bowl win over the Eagles in Indianapolis, a place where they always seem to play well!
AFC EAST The New England Patriots should be the choice to win the division, until someone actually beats them. Some of the parts seem interchangeable, but the team still has head coach Bill Belichick devising the game plans and driving the troops. QB Tom Brady can win any football game, anywhere at any time, and he still has devastating weapons like WRs Wes Welker and Chad Ochocinco. The defense has been reloaded and is rapidly improving. I think they'll win every division game and cruise to another division title. The New York Jets beat the Patriots in the playoffs and made it to the AFC title game last year, in head coach Rex Ryan's breakthrough season. QB Mark Sanchez will be a year wiser and will also have elite targets in WRs Santonio Holmes and Plaxico Burress. RB LaDainian Tomlinson is back for a final year of inspiration, and Ryan always runs a great defense, with Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie forming one of the league's top cornerback tandems. The Jets will sneak up on no one this year, however, and least of all the Pats. The Miami Dolphins have improved under head coach Tony Sparano, but are nowhere near the level of the division's leaders. Nor is QB Chad Henne even approaching the level of play that Brady and Sanchez have achieved. The Buffalo Bills have been stuck in a rut in this division since its inception, with no end in sight. QB Ryan Fitzpatrick is slowly improving, but having the worst quarterback play in the division is no way to escape this abyss. The Bills have nowhere to go, and that includes, "up"!
AFC North This will be another war between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens. Both teams play grind-it-out, smash-it-up, old-school football. Ben Roethlisberger versus Joe Flacco will again be the top intra-division quarterback matchup. But it's the defenses, led by linebackers James Harrison and Ray Lewis, that really drive this rivalry. The Steelers usually win this division because they always have such a big home-field advantage, but both teams should make the playoffs. The Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals will again fight it out for third place. I have to give the Browns the edge, because Cincinnati is going to have to get used to life without both QB Carson Palmer and WR Chad Ochocinco.
AFC South With the Indianapolis Colts playing without Peyton Manning, the Tennessee Titans starting over without head coach Jeff Fisher and QB Vince Young, and the Jacksonville Jaguars having just released starting QB David Garrard in favor of Luke McCown, I can only pick the Houston Texans to win their first division title. Houston is loaded on offense, with QB Matt Schaub, WR Andre Johnson, and RB Arian Foster (if he's healthy). Indy brought in previously retired QB Kerry Collins to fill in for Manning, but there is something very unequal about that tradeoff! Jacksonville will be playing for head coach Jack Del Rio's job. They should be hungry enough to grab third place. Tennessee will have stud RB Chris Johnson back, but who is the quarterback?
AFC West Even with suffering through the worst special teams play in the history of the NFL last season, the San Diego Chargers still would have won this division if they'd beaten the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 1. (They crushed the Chiefs 31-0 in the Week 14 rematch.) QB Philip Rivers led the NFL in passing yards, despite needing a scorecard to tell who his receivers were. This year, TE Antonio Gates looks good after being injured and WR Vincent Jackson looked great in pre-season after holding out in 2010. SS Bob Sanders, newly signed from the Colts, brings attitude after missing time in recent years with injuries. Watch out! The Chiefs have a rapidly improving young defense and should be good enough to hang on for second place. The Oakland Raiders and Denver Broncos will both have new head coaches in Hue Jackson and John Fox, respectively. Jackson inherits a team that went 6-0 in the division last year and still missed the playoffs! The Raiders are improving and could pass the Chiefs. Sacrificing a 3rd-round draft choice to pick up QB Terrelle Pryor in the supplemental draft could be the best move this team has made in years. After the Josh McDaniel debacle, Denver needed an experienced hand at head coach. However, I wonder if Fox can still relate to today's NFL players?
NFC East Locking up QB Michael Vick with a long-term contract, trading former starting QB Kevin Kolb to Arizona for CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and more, and signing the top free agent available in CB Nnamdi Asomugha, shows that the Philadelphia Eagles are serious about staying on top, today and tomorrow. Nnamdi and Dominique form a scary, sick cornerback combo, and another great corner, Asante Samuel is still on the roster! The Eagles will be the Beast of the East. I give the Dallas Cowboys the edge over the New York Giants for second place. Jason Garrett is a good, young head coach who will lead his players to a better overall performance and a playoff spot in 2011. On the other hand, New York's head coach, Tom Coughlin, can be so abrasive that he may lose the locker room, if things start to go badly. As for the Washington Redskins, they keep trying to make the right moves. They simply do not match up with the other teams in this tough division, making last place their destiny.
NFC North The Green Bay Packers were lucky to even make the playoffs last year, but they peaked at just the right time and won the Super Bowl. Led by QB Aaron Rodgers, the Pack will have that winning swagger. This year, they will take the division. The Detroit Lions have done all the right things since their infamous 0-16 season. The offense, led by QB Matthew Stafford, is fast improving and the defense, spearheaded by DT Ndamukong Suh, is a lurking monster that will soon be one of the best in the NFL - maybe even this year. Detroit's long-suffering fans deserve a winner, but the competition for the final playoff spot in the NFC will be stiff and the Lions will miss out, for now. The Minnesota Vikings have one of the game's top running backs in Adrian Peterson, but new starting QB Donovan McNabb has shown his age in recent years. He'll be an improvement over the poor showing Brett Favre put up in his final season, but the Vikes will do well to finish 8-8. As for the Chicago Bears, I believe they are going to sink with error-prone Jay Cutler at quarterback, all the way to last place. If this does happen, it will probably cost head coach Lovie Smith his job.
NFC South This is the toughest division to win in the NFL. Since its inception in 2002, the NFC South has seen no team repeat as its division champion. That's not good news for last year's winners, the Atlanta Falcons. With an offense spearheaded by QB Matt Ryan, RB Michael Turner, and WR Roddy White, and with an improving defense, the Falcons will likely break that trend, this year. I see the New Orleans Saints, led by QB Drew Brees, repeating as an NFC wild card team, despite the questions brought on by their poor defensive showing in last year's playoffs loss to Seattle. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be an improved team overall, but I call for them to plateau this year, as QB Josh Freeman hits a bit of a wall against opposing defenses. Like the Lions, the Bucs are a likely breakthrough team in 2012. The Carolina Panthers have hired the right man in new head coach Ron Rivera. Rivera was the defensive coordinator of the NFL's top-ranked defense last year in San Diego. He will bring intensity and toughness to the Panthers, but this is a hard division in which to try and make progress. Even with QB Cam Newton, the Heisman Trophy winner, taking over the offense, Carolina has a long way to go to make it back to the top.
NFC West I had been thinking that the Arizona Cardinals were doomed for another last-place finish due to quarterback woes, but shortly after the lockout ended, they traded for Philadelphia's erstwhile starter, Kevin Kolb. Kolb looked good in the Cards' pre-season games. He and All-World WR Larry Fitzgerald already seem to have a healthy chemistry between them, and both are locked up with multi-year, multi-million dollar contracts. RB Beanie Wells looks ready to shine, now that he will no longer share the football with the traded Tim Hightower. And, let's face it, the competition is weak in the worst division in pro football. Arizona gets my vote for first place. The St. Louis Rams and Seattle Seahawks will both be improved, but both may wind up with worse records than they had in 2011. The defending division champion Seahawks will have improved morale after the upset playoff win, but it remains to be seen if QB Tarvaris Jackson can step in and be the team's on-field leader. I think the Rams, led by QB Sam Bradford and RB Steven Jackson will slip by the Hawks for second place. Bringing up the rear will be the San Francisco 49ers, who have a top-notch running back in Frank Gore, but who are again going to start Alex Smith at quarterback. The Niners are said to be considering adding QB David Garrard, recently released by the Jaguars and who'd probably be an upgrade over Smith.
My wild card teams are the Cowboys and Saints in the NFC and the Jets and Ravens in the AFC. In the NFC playoffs, I see the Eagles and Packers meeting in the championship game, with Michael Vick leading the Eagles to a surprising win on the frozen tundra at Lambeau Field. In the AFC, I think finishing out of the playoffs in 2010 will be good for San Diego. I see the Chargers bowling over the Patriots in the AFC title game in San Diego, and finally hoisting the Lombardi Trophy for the first time with a convincing Super Bowl win over the Eagles in Indianapolis, a place where they always seem to play well!
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
The Fight For Recognition
There is a famous and very old saying, that Rome wasn't built in a day. That is so true!
My first e-book, a biography on the early part of the boxing career of Muhammad Ali called "The Cassius Clay Story," was published on June 1. There has been a whole crazy-quilt of activity surrounding the project since my last update in mid-July. There were no other sales in July, but four copies of the book have sold, so far, in August, which is very encouraging. The marketing of "The Cassius Clay Story" is still just in its infancy. Barely anyone knows who I am or about the existence of my book.
A big step in the right direction was the publishing of the Clay Story on Smashwords.com. In order to do this, I had to re-format my manuscript, add hyperlinks, and perform a complete proofreading of the original copy. This took some time, but it was a labor of love. It took about three weeks to finish all of the changes I had to make, but the good news is that the revised version was accepted into the Premium Catalog at Smashwords, making it easier for the millions of people in the world with smart phones and tablet and palm computers to find and access the book.
My Twitter account had five followers on my previous blog update. I am now up to 13 followers, which makes it easier for me to spread the word. Anyone who follows me, I follow them right back! My most recent tweet, earlier today, announced that I am translating my book into Spanish. This is important for increasing the number of potential buyers. While the many Latino/Hispanic peoples around the world have certainly heard of Muhammad Ali, I doubt that a book of this type is available in Spanish. I am hoping to fill a niche.
Sportside Books has its own Facebook Page (http://on.fb.me/nKZ0B0). Facebook is an amazing creation. In addition to helping me to promote my book, it has enabled me to re-connect with old friends and even with family members I haven't spoken to for a while. It is a powerful way to spread news and information. And, practically every day, someone sends me a new friend message, or I hear from a new person I've sent a friend message to. My friend base at Facebook will continue to grow. The sky is really the limit on it. That's also good for my book.
I recently got the book listed on a Web site called Kindle Mojo. This was a victory, in that it was the first time "The Cassius Clay Story" was promoted in the lead position on such a site. Kindle Mojo has more than 7,000 Twitter followers, so that's gained me some visibility. I also joined a couple of author services called Goodreads and Wattpad. On these Web sites, independent authors go to have their books listed, and avid readers frequent these sites to find new, independent material to read. This is a good matchup of needs. While I'm busy converting the manuscript into Spanish, I am also formulating a plan to maximize my marketing clout using sites such as these.
My hope is that by the time it's been out for a year, thousands of people will have heard of "The Cassius Clay Story," whether in its English or Spanish incarnation. This will not be easy. It will be a long, hard fight to be recognized as a good author and to have my book recognized as a superior product. However, I stand behind my work and I am more than willing to push, for as long as it takes, to get that work into the spotlight. Rome, after all, wasn't built in a day.
It would be nice to make some money with this endeavor. For right now, I would settle for the satisfaction of knowing that someone took a gamble, dropped ten bucks to buy the book, read it, liked it, and thought it was good enough to post a positive review. How good would that feel?
My first e-book, a biography on the early part of the boxing career of Muhammad Ali called "The Cassius Clay Story," was published on June 1. There has been a whole crazy-quilt of activity surrounding the project since my last update in mid-July. There were no other sales in July, but four copies of the book have sold, so far, in August, which is very encouraging. The marketing of "The Cassius Clay Story" is still just in its infancy. Barely anyone knows who I am or about the existence of my book.
A big step in the right direction was the publishing of the Clay Story on Smashwords.com. In order to do this, I had to re-format my manuscript, add hyperlinks, and perform a complete proofreading of the original copy. This took some time, but it was a labor of love. It took about three weeks to finish all of the changes I had to make, but the good news is that the revised version was accepted into the Premium Catalog at Smashwords, making it easier for the millions of people in the world with smart phones and tablet and palm computers to find and access the book.
My Twitter account had five followers on my previous blog update. I am now up to 13 followers, which makes it easier for me to spread the word. Anyone who follows me, I follow them right back! My most recent tweet, earlier today, announced that I am translating my book into Spanish. This is important for increasing the number of potential buyers. While the many Latino/Hispanic peoples around the world have certainly heard of Muhammad Ali, I doubt that a book of this type is available in Spanish. I am hoping to fill a niche.
Sportside Books has its own Facebook Page (http://on.fb.me/nKZ0B0). Facebook is an amazing creation. In addition to helping me to promote my book, it has enabled me to re-connect with old friends and even with family members I haven't spoken to for a while. It is a powerful way to spread news and information. And, practically every day, someone sends me a new friend message, or I hear from a new person I've sent a friend message to. My friend base at Facebook will continue to grow. The sky is really the limit on it. That's also good for my book.
I recently got the book listed on a Web site called Kindle Mojo. This was a victory, in that it was the first time "The Cassius Clay Story" was promoted in the lead position on such a site. Kindle Mojo has more than 7,000 Twitter followers, so that's gained me some visibility. I also joined a couple of author services called Goodreads and Wattpad. On these Web sites, independent authors go to have their books listed, and avid readers frequent these sites to find new, independent material to read. This is a good matchup of needs. While I'm busy converting the manuscript into Spanish, I am also formulating a plan to maximize my marketing clout using sites such as these.
My hope is that by the time it's been out for a year, thousands of people will have heard of "The Cassius Clay Story," whether in its English or Spanish incarnation. This will not be easy. It will be a long, hard fight to be recognized as a good author and to have my book recognized as a superior product. However, I stand behind my work and I am more than willing to push, for as long as it takes, to get that work into the spotlight. Rome, after all, wasn't built in a day.
It would be nice to make some money with this endeavor. For right now, I would settle for the satisfaction of knowing that someone took a gamble, dropped ten bucks to buy the book, read it, liked it, and thought it was good enough to post a positive review. How good would that feel?
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
An Open Letter To Tiger Woods
How are you? How are your kids? I was glad to hear that you are doing a lot better, physically.
I was sorry to see you struggling so badly in the heat at last week's PGA Championship golf tournament. I know that you are not accustomed to missing the cut in a tournament, but this was your first time back after rehabbing your injuries. Give yourself time.
I'm concerned about you, Tiger. People have been saying things about you, lately, that you may have heard and that may be upsetting you. I've heard or read people saying that you're no longer the player you once were; that you're finished as a major player in golf; that you'll never be able to win the four major golf tournaments that would let you pass Jack Nicklaus, whose 18 major wins is the all-time record. They talk as if breaking that record would be the ultimate measuring stick for your career, as if they'd consider you some kind of a failure if you do not break it. I know you can not say this, Tiger, so I will say it for you: You don't need that record!
Even if you never win another tournament in your career, you've done enough to this point that you are probably already the greatest golfer who ever lived. Golf used to be considered a sport for the elite class. A system was in place to prevent people of color from being allowed to compete. You bucked the system easily because you started golfing at such a young age, and you were so good, that the Powers that Be in golf had to let you compete. Your game was too strong. Coming out of high school, you were already one of the very best amateur golfers in the world. Stanford University could either offer you a scholarship, or they could watch you accept one from some other elite educational institution.
You continued to wreak havoc on the world of amateur golf, so doors that are usually shut to Black golfers had to be opened for you. There would have been a fierce competition among golf's major sponsors to help you turn professional, except that Nike knocked the ball so far out of the park with their offer, you could only accept. Then you went out and tore up The Masters the first time you played Augusta National as a pro. Just like that, a star was born, and game of golf will never be the same.
So, you changed golf for the better, Tiger. That unfair system may still be in place, but never again will anyone be able to say that a person of color can't be the very best golfer in the world. Your dominance of pro golf for more than a decade was so thorough that it was practically intimidating to your peers on tour. You set the bar for golfing excellence so high that young players, such as Kory McIlroy, had to adjust their goals and set their sights higher than ever before. And, they are playing great golf.
In recent years, though, you have gone through some personal problems that unfortunately went public. The destruction of your marriage has rattled you and the resultant negative publicity has embarrassed you. Those who seem to take such joy in poking holes in a star's reputation were just ready to pounce. You have been belittled. You have been ridiculed. You have been cast as a punchline in their classless jokes. Don't despair, Tiger. Remember that most of those people doing the laughing, haven't done in their given field even a tenth of what you've done in yours. And, how many of them would still be around if their dirty laundry had been aired so publicly?
Watching your current struggles on the links, Tiger, sometimes you seem very much alone. It seems like you are putting pressure on yourself to win; to prove them all wrong. It must be tempting to feel that way, since you know how fickle the press and the public are. Let you score a big tournament win; the kind you used to enjoy during your heyday; the kind where it's Sunday and you lead by 11 strokes on the front nine and can just cruise into the clubhouse, and all of your detractors will come running back, just as they did with Kobe Bryant. Your personal and professional redemption must seem tantalizingly close, like it's just one win away.
But, it's not that simple, Tiger. There is no easy road back from where you've been. Professional redemption, for you, will not come until you have accepted personal forgiveness. And, that forgiveness will not be forthcoming from the public or the press without the accompanying wins, so it will have to come from another source. The one who must forgive you, Tiger, is you.
Give yourself a break, Tiger. Your troubles proved that you are human, after all. You are not the first famous person to fall into one of the many traps that are out there, and you won't be the last. However, you are still one of the very best golfers on the planet. Take the weight off of your shoulders, Tiger. Let go completely of any pressure you feel inside to prove yourself, all over again. Simply play your game, and let your natural abilities rise to the top and take you where they may.
It may not immediately be the way it was. You may have to be satisfied with what others would call insignificant victories. But, you don't owe your critics anything, nor the press, nor the fans. The only important things you owe, you owe to yourself, and those are self-forgiveness and self-acceptance. Give yourself those things and truly turn your back on anyone else's expectations, and you will win again, Tiger. It might not be at Augusta National. It might not be at the U.S. Open. But with self-love and self-respect back in place, the small victories you will gain just might be the greatest wins of your entire career.
That's all the advice I have for you, Tiger. I hope you'll consider it to be constructive and in good spirits. I wish you the best of health, physically and mentally. Please give your children a big hug, for me.
One last thing, Tiger: When you do make it back to the winner's circle, remember the ones who stuck with you when you were down.
Respectfully,
David W. Coleman
I was sorry to see you struggling so badly in the heat at last week's PGA Championship golf tournament. I know that you are not accustomed to missing the cut in a tournament, but this was your first time back after rehabbing your injuries. Give yourself time.
I'm concerned about you, Tiger. People have been saying things about you, lately, that you may have heard and that may be upsetting you. I've heard or read people saying that you're no longer the player you once were; that you're finished as a major player in golf; that you'll never be able to win the four major golf tournaments that would let you pass Jack Nicklaus, whose 18 major wins is the all-time record. They talk as if breaking that record would be the ultimate measuring stick for your career, as if they'd consider you some kind of a failure if you do not break it. I know you can not say this, Tiger, so I will say it for you: You don't need that record!
Even if you never win another tournament in your career, you've done enough to this point that you are probably already the greatest golfer who ever lived. Golf used to be considered a sport for the elite class. A system was in place to prevent people of color from being allowed to compete. You bucked the system easily because you started golfing at such a young age, and you were so good, that the Powers that Be in golf had to let you compete. Your game was too strong. Coming out of high school, you were already one of the very best amateur golfers in the world. Stanford University could either offer you a scholarship, or they could watch you accept one from some other elite educational institution.
You continued to wreak havoc on the world of amateur golf, so doors that are usually shut to Black golfers had to be opened for you. There would have been a fierce competition among golf's major sponsors to help you turn professional, except that Nike knocked the ball so far out of the park with their offer, you could only accept. Then you went out and tore up The Masters the first time you played Augusta National as a pro. Just like that, a star was born, and game of golf will never be the same.
So, you changed golf for the better, Tiger. That unfair system may still be in place, but never again will anyone be able to say that a person of color can't be the very best golfer in the world. Your dominance of pro golf for more than a decade was so thorough that it was practically intimidating to your peers on tour. You set the bar for golfing excellence so high that young players, such as Kory McIlroy, had to adjust their goals and set their sights higher than ever before. And, they are playing great golf.
In recent years, though, you have gone through some personal problems that unfortunately went public. The destruction of your marriage has rattled you and the resultant negative publicity has embarrassed you. Those who seem to take such joy in poking holes in a star's reputation were just ready to pounce. You have been belittled. You have been ridiculed. You have been cast as a punchline in their classless jokes. Don't despair, Tiger. Remember that most of those people doing the laughing, haven't done in their given field even a tenth of what you've done in yours. And, how many of them would still be around if their dirty laundry had been aired so publicly?
Watching your current struggles on the links, Tiger, sometimes you seem very much alone. It seems like you are putting pressure on yourself to win; to prove them all wrong. It must be tempting to feel that way, since you know how fickle the press and the public are. Let you score a big tournament win; the kind you used to enjoy during your heyday; the kind where it's Sunday and you lead by 11 strokes on the front nine and can just cruise into the clubhouse, and all of your detractors will come running back, just as they did with Kobe Bryant. Your personal and professional redemption must seem tantalizingly close, like it's just one win away.
But, it's not that simple, Tiger. There is no easy road back from where you've been. Professional redemption, for you, will not come until you have accepted personal forgiveness. And, that forgiveness will not be forthcoming from the public or the press without the accompanying wins, so it will have to come from another source. The one who must forgive you, Tiger, is you.
Give yourself a break, Tiger. Your troubles proved that you are human, after all. You are not the first famous person to fall into one of the many traps that are out there, and you won't be the last. However, you are still one of the very best golfers on the planet. Take the weight off of your shoulders, Tiger. Let go completely of any pressure you feel inside to prove yourself, all over again. Simply play your game, and let your natural abilities rise to the top and take you where they may.
It may not immediately be the way it was. You may have to be satisfied with what others would call insignificant victories. But, you don't owe your critics anything, nor the press, nor the fans. The only important things you owe, you owe to yourself, and those are self-forgiveness and self-acceptance. Give yourself those things and truly turn your back on anyone else's expectations, and you will win again, Tiger. It might not be at Augusta National. It might not be at the U.S. Open. But with self-love and self-respect back in place, the small victories you will gain just might be the greatest wins of your entire career.
That's all the advice I have for you, Tiger. I hope you'll consider it to be constructive and in good spirits. I wish you the best of health, physically and mentally. Please give your children a big hug, for me.
One last thing, Tiger: When you do make it back to the winner's circle, remember the ones who stuck with you when you were down.
Respectfully,
David W. Coleman
Friday, August 5, 2011
The Rites of Autumn
It is with fond reverance that I recall the days of my young adulthood, when the coming of the fall meant that I would be watching football all weekend long! It started on Friday nights, when my high school team would play its home games at a nearby community college. There was something about watching these kid footballers playing this game in a place where grown men also played. It made the players seem bigger and it made the whole prep school football scene seem more mature. The cheerleaders were young and oh-so-enthusiastic. The popcorn at the concession stand was fresh. The Associated Student Body or the Parent-Teacher Association would be selling authentic school souvenirs. And, oh yes, the team, the Kearny High Komets, was usually pretty good on the field.
Saturday nights were reserved for watching the Aztecs play at San Diego Stadium. (I still can't call it any other name!) During these years, San Diego's pro team, the Chargers, had fallen on hard times. It seemed that everyone who was anyone had "stepped on up" to watch the winning major college program. Don Coryell had long since departed to coach the NFL's Cardinals, but Claude Gilbert's troops were still winning 9-10 games each year. Some people still think that firing Gilbert was the biggest mistake the Aztecs ever made, although switching the games soon after that to daytimes, and changing the home uniforms from black to scarlet did not help.
Eventually the games played on Sundays became more enjoyable, as the Chargers began to stockpile talented young players. In 1975, they drafted 3/4 of a defensive line, in the persons of Gary Johnson, Louie Kelcher, and Fred Dean. Five years later, all three of them were starters for the AFC in that year's Pro Bowl. In the same draft, the Chargers added a starting cornerback (Mike Williams), a starting safety (Mike Fuller), a starting offensive tackle (Billy Shields), and a starting running back (Rickey Young) who led the team in rushing three straight years before being dealt to Minnesota for an all-pro level starting guard (Ed White).
I was all of 15 that year. By the time I was grown and could afford to buy season tickets, this talent nucleus had coalesced around a maturing quarterback named Dan Fouts. Awesome targets for Fouts came when Charlie Joiner arrived in a trade with Cincinnati in 1976, and John Jefferson (Arizona State) and Kellen Winslow (Missouri) were drafted in 1978 and 1979, respectively. Don Coryell returned to San Diego to coach the Chargers offense during the 1978 season, but was promoted to head coach after Tommy Prothro was fired four games into the seaon. There were a few mis-steps, but the team caught fire at the end of the year, scoring big wins in its last three games over Chicago (40-7), Seattle (37-10), and playoff-bound Houston (45-24) to finish at 9-7.
Those Chargers made the playoffs the next four seasons, twice advancing to the AFC championship game. I was at the playoff win following the 1980 season over the Buffalo Bills. The Chargers were trailing late in the fourth quarter. As Fouts released a long pass in the direction of a streaking Ron Smith, I saw Bills safety Bill Simpson start to fall to the turf and Smith move into the clear. I jumped out of my seat and held my hands high over my head, screaming "TOUCHDOWN!" while the ball was still in the air. As the stadium went crazy, the ball settled softly into Smith's grasp. We all watched ecstaticly as he ran the last 30 yards to the end zone! Too bad the Chargers lost to the Raiders in the AFC title game the next week!
Who could ever forget the playoff win the following year, in Miami? Winslow made 11 catches in that game, scoring a touchdown and blocking a field goal to save the game at the end of regulation. The Chargers won on a Rolf Benirschke field goal in overtime. But, again, they lost in the AFC title game, this time to the Bengals in Cincinnati. As the good times for the team again began to fade, I was able to move up the waiting list for season tickets, finally buying them in my own name in 1986. (The previous three years, I'd bought some else's season seats.)
I relinquished my prized season tickets in 1997, after learning I would soon become a father for the first time. The daughter I had that year will soon be 14 years old! I later had a son and then another daughter.
My son shares my name. Last year he turned seven years old. One of my presents to him was to buy season tickets for us to watch Arizona State University football. I am fortunate enough to be able to share the Rites of Autumn with David, Jr., as I never could with my own father, growing up.
Our football days are all-day affairs. We get up around 10 a.m. We have a quick, small breakfast, then drive from the west side of the Phoenix Valley to an area just southeast of downtown, where we park the car and ride the light rail system the rest of the way to Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe. We get there early, so we can be sure to be on time for the Devil Walk, where the players arrive at the stadium and walk through a long lane lined with the blaring band, the shrieking cheerleaders, and the fired up fans!
Next, it's time for the tailgate party, which is held at the nearby basketball arena because it's too hot in Phoenix for anyone to be outside for a couple of hours. David always feasts on a sandwich from Chick-fil-A (saving room for a brownie for desert is a big priority for him). I usually opt for a barbecue plate. We sit in the arena stands and watch big-time college football games being broadcast on big-screen televisions by the major networks. We give each other high-fives for great touchdowns we see, and we root for the underdogs!
With about 20 minutes until game time, we make the long walk into the stadium, where our seats are on the upper level. Last year, our seats were on about the 10-yard line. This year, we are moving to about mid-field. We watch the player introductions. David is really into the Sparky character, and loves to watch the poor guy do all of those push-ups after touchdowns, especially if it's a high-scoring game!
We wanted to go to Los Angeles last year for the game at USC, but we had to settle for going to Tucson to see the annual Territorial Cup showdown with the University of Arizona. It was the last game of the year, and David really got into it. I think he really got a sense of "us-versus-them," being in a foreign stadium and seeing 70,000 Wildcats fans rooting against the 10,000 Sun Devils fans who were brave enough to go. I think he was proud to be there and represent the team he'd been rooting for all year. The fact that the Sun Devils blocked an extra point kick that would have won the game for the Wildcats at the end of regulation, then won the game by blocking another point-after-touchdown in overtime, was that much more gratifying. David actually willed the Sun Devils to victory. Right after I told him that extra points aren't blocked very often in big-time college football, he told me that they could do it. And then, the team went out and did it - twice!
So, this year, we will have better seats and one extra home game to root for our Devils. The Wildcats will be coming to our stadium, so David will get to see the rivalry from the other side. And, this year, we're going to make it to Los Angeles, though it will be at the Rose Bowl against UCLA. The USC Trojans come to visit Tempe, this year.
When the game is over, we ride the light rail (we actually call it a trolley) back to the car. I drive us home. The actual games begin at 7 p.m. or 7:30, so it is approaching midnight by the time we are on the freeway heading west. David is asleep by the time we get to the west side of town. We have been together all day.
These are the Rites of Autumn. We root for our team, win or lose. We talk, man-to-man and sometimes son-to-son. We pick our favorite players and watch their exploits on the field. We count the number of total push-ups Sparky had to do today. We have fun, plain and simple. If it's time-consuming and if it's costly, it's worth every second and every penny. These are the days and these are the times that I so anticipated, when I could only dream of being a father.
And if it's a Saturday night and anyone wants to know where I've been all day, tell them I've gone to the stadium to watch a ballgame with my son!
Saturday nights were reserved for watching the Aztecs play at San Diego Stadium. (I still can't call it any other name!) During these years, San Diego's pro team, the Chargers, had fallen on hard times. It seemed that everyone who was anyone had "stepped on up" to watch the winning major college program. Don Coryell had long since departed to coach the NFL's Cardinals, but Claude Gilbert's troops were still winning 9-10 games each year. Some people still think that firing Gilbert was the biggest mistake the Aztecs ever made, although switching the games soon after that to daytimes, and changing the home uniforms from black to scarlet did not help.
Eventually the games played on Sundays became more enjoyable, as the Chargers began to stockpile talented young players. In 1975, they drafted 3/4 of a defensive line, in the persons of Gary Johnson, Louie Kelcher, and Fred Dean. Five years later, all three of them were starters for the AFC in that year's Pro Bowl. In the same draft, the Chargers added a starting cornerback (Mike Williams), a starting safety (Mike Fuller), a starting offensive tackle (Billy Shields), and a starting running back (Rickey Young) who led the team in rushing three straight years before being dealt to Minnesota for an all-pro level starting guard (Ed White).
I was all of 15 that year. By the time I was grown and could afford to buy season tickets, this talent nucleus had coalesced around a maturing quarterback named Dan Fouts. Awesome targets for Fouts came when Charlie Joiner arrived in a trade with Cincinnati in 1976, and John Jefferson (Arizona State) and Kellen Winslow (Missouri) were drafted in 1978 and 1979, respectively. Don Coryell returned to San Diego to coach the Chargers offense during the 1978 season, but was promoted to head coach after Tommy Prothro was fired four games into the seaon. There were a few mis-steps, but the team caught fire at the end of the year, scoring big wins in its last three games over Chicago (40-7), Seattle (37-10), and playoff-bound Houston (45-24) to finish at 9-7.
Those Chargers made the playoffs the next four seasons, twice advancing to the AFC championship game. I was at the playoff win following the 1980 season over the Buffalo Bills. The Chargers were trailing late in the fourth quarter. As Fouts released a long pass in the direction of a streaking Ron Smith, I saw Bills safety Bill Simpson start to fall to the turf and Smith move into the clear. I jumped out of my seat and held my hands high over my head, screaming "TOUCHDOWN!" while the ball was still in the air. As the stadium went crazy, the ball settled softly into Smith's grasp. We all watched ecstaticly as he ran the last 30 yards to the end zone! Too bad the Chargers lost to the Raiders in the AFC title game the next week!
Who could ever forget the playoff win the following year, in Miami? Winslow made 11 catches in that game, scoring a touchdown and blocking a field goal to save the game at the end of regulation. The Chargers won on a Rolf Benirschke field goal in overtime. But, again, they lost in the AFC title game, this time to the Bengals in Cincinnati. As the good times for the team again began to fade, I was able to move up the waiting list for season tickets, finally buying them in my own name in 1986. (The previous three years, I'd bought some else's season seats.)
I relinquished my prized season tickets in 1997, after learning I would soon become a father for the first time. The daughter I had that year will soon be 14 years old! I later had a son and then another daughter.
My son shares my name. Last year he turned seven years old. One of my presents to him was to buy season tickets for us to watch Arizona State University football. I am fortunate enough to be able to share the Rites of Autumn with David, Jr., as I never could with my own father, growing up.
Our football days are all-day affairs. We get up around 10 a.m. We have a quick, small breakfast, then drive from the west side of the Phoenix Valley to an area just southeast of downtown, where we park the car and ride the light rail system the rest of the way to Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe. We get there early, so we can be sure to be on time for the Devil Walk, where the players arrive at the stadium and walk through a long lane lined with the blaring band, the shrieking cheerleaders, and the fired up fans!
Next, it's time for the tailgate party, which is held at the nearby basketball arena because it's too hot in Phoenix for anyone to be outside for a couple of hours. David always feasts on a sandwich from Chick-fil-A (saving room for a brownie for desert is a big priority for him). I usually opt for a barbecue plate. We sit in the arena stands and watch big-time college football games being broadcast on big-screen televisions by the major networks. We give each other high-fives for great touchdowns we see, and we root for the underdogs!
With about 20 minutes until game time, we make the long walk into the stadium, where our seats are on the upper level. Last year, our seats were on about the 10-yard line. This year, we are moving to about mid-field. We watch the player introductions. David is really into the Sparky character, and loves to watch the poor guy do all of those push-ups after touchdowns, especially if it's a high-scoring game!
We wanted to go to Los Angeles last year for the game at USC, but we had to settle for going to Tucson to see the annual Territorial Cup showdown with the University of Arizona. It was the last game of the year, and David really got into it. I think he really got a sense of "us-versus-them," being in a foreign stadium and seeing 70,000 Wildcats fans rooting against the 10,000 Sun Devils fans who were brave enough to go. I think he was proud to be there and represent the team he'd been rooting for all year. The fact that the Sun Devils blocked an extra point kick that would have won the game for the Wildcats at the end of regulation, then won the game by blocking another point-after-touchdown in overtime, was that much more gratifying. David actually willed the Sun Devils to victory. Right after I told him that extra points aren't blocked very often in big-time college football, he told me that they could do it. And then, the team went out and did it - twice!
So, this year, we will have better seats and one extra home game to root for our Devils. The Wildcats will be coming to our stadium, so David will get to see the rivalry from the other side. And, this year, we're going to make it to Los Angeles, though it will be at the Rose Bowl against UCLA. The USC Trojans come to visit Tempe, this year.
When the game is over, we ride the light rail (we actually call it a trolley) back to the car. I drive us home. The actual games begin at 7 p.m. or 7:30, so it is approaching midnight by the time we are on the freeway heading west. David is asleep by the time we get to the west side of town. We have been together all day.
These are the Rites of Autumn. We root for our team, win or lose. We talk, man-to-man and sometimes son-to-son. We pick our favorite players and watch their exploits on the field. We count the number of total push-ups Sparky had to do today. We have fun, plain and simple. If it's time-consuming and if it's costly, it's worth every second and every penny. These are the days and these are the times that I so anticipated, when I could only dream of being a father.
And if it's a Saturday night and anyone wants to know where I've been all day, tell them I've gone to the stadium to watch a ballgame with my son!
Thursday, July 28, 2011
The Agreement That Had To Be
Maybe Roger Goodell was inspired by the legendary tenures of his predecessors as Commissioner of the NFL, Paul Tagliabue and Pete Rozelle. Perhaps DeMaurice Smith was channeling the spirits of the recently late former NFLPA presidents, Eugene Upshaw and John Mackey. Whatever it was, the stewards of the opposing sides in the National Football League's labor war finally made up their minds to forge a ten-year agreement. This was the kind of solution where neither side got all it wanted, but where both sides won. This agreement had to be. There was far too much at stake for it not to happen.
Pro football has supplanted baseball as America's Number One sport. It is ingrained in our society. It has almost become America's newest Sunday religion. We fans of the game are riveted by it. We watch it. We bet on it. We play fantasy football. We enter office pools. We decorate our cars and desks and we even dress in our team's official colors and logos. We go to saloons and sports bars devoted to our teams.
When our team wins, we have a great day. We scream. We shout. We Dance. We exult. When they lose, we are down. We question strategies. We question effort. We hurl questions and insults and epithets at our wide-screen TVs, as if the players and coaches can hear and heed us. We angrily call the local all-sports radio station to voice our frustration.
But mostly, we attend. Those of us who live near the team and are lucky enough to be able to afford it, can buy season tickets and support the team in person. And season ticket holders do, literally, support their teams. And so do television viewers. The advertising money brought in by high TV ratings for the NFL is staggering. Put it all together, and there are nine billion reasons each year for the NFL to keep playing the game we all love.
So, the agreement had to be made. I don't know the exact moment it happened. I don't know the exact words that were said, but in one of their private meetings, one or both of Goodell and Smith said to the other, "You know what? This isn't going to work as long as our two sides are fighting one another. We are about to blow the sweetest deal ever granted a sport. And the only way we can stop that from happening is by working together!"
Americans are living with an economic quandary of almost impossible proportions. I think it's safe to say that many of us have less disposable income than we've ever had. And yet, like pizza, football never seems to grow unpopular, no matter the overall economic forecast. Forget the Golden Goose. Pro football has been like a Giant Golden Cash Cow that showers its participants with untold millions of dollars. Take that away from the fans - the consumers whose dollars make this gigantic money-making machine go - for a year, and you run the risk of those consumers realizing how much their NFL habits are costing them, each year. You run the risk of those fans sinking their money into something else; something entirely more necessary. If this year's NFL season had been wiped out by a strike, some of those fans might never have come back. After using the unspent money to buy a new home or save the one they already live in, some of those fans might not have been able to come back.
So congrats are in order for Goodell and Smith and all of the players and owners. Instead of trying to break the other side in this dispute, they all realized that their Giant Golden Cash Cow was suddenly in danger of becoming extinct. And they worked together; listened to each other; helped one another. The agreement that resulted is historic, and its length means that the fans won't have to be bothered with labor negotiations for a long, long time. Management and players in pro basketball's labor dispute should look at what pro football did, and take heed.
Pro football has supplanted baseball as America's Number One sport. It is ingrained in our society. It has almost become America's newest Sunday religion. We fans of the game are riveted by it. We watch it. We bet on it. We play fantasy football. We enter office pools. We decorate our cars and desks and we even dress in our team's official colors and logos. We go to saloons and sports bars devoted to our teams.
When our team wins, we have a great day. We scream. We shout. We Dance. We exult. When they lose, we are down. We question strategies. We question effort. We hurl questions and insults and epithets at our wide-screen TVs, as if the players and coaches can hear and heed us. We angrily call the local all-sports radio station to voice our frustration.
But mostly, we attend. Those of us who live near the team and are lucky enough to be able to afford it, can buy season tickets and support the team in person. And season ticket holders do, literally, support their teams. And so do television viewers. The advertising money brought in by high TV ratings for the NFL is staggering. Put it all together, and there are nine billion reasons each year for the NFL to keep playing the game we all love.
So, the agreement had to be made. I don't know the exact moment it happened. I don't know the exact words that were said, but in one of their private meetings, one or both of Goodell and Smith said to the other, "You know what? This isn't going to work as long as our two sides are fighting one another. We are about to blow the sweetest deal ever granted a sport. And the only way we can stop that from happening is by working together!"
Americans are living with an economic quandary of almost impossible proportions. I think it's safe to say that many of us have less disposable income than we've ever had. And yet, like pizza, football never seems to grow unpopular, no matter the overall economic forecast. Forget the Golden Goose. Pro football has been like a Giant Golden Cash Cow that showers its participants with untold millions of dollars. Take that away from the fans - the consumers whose dollars make this gigantic money-making machine go - for a year, and you run the risk of those consumers realizing how much their NFL habits are costing them, each year. You run the risk of those fans sinking their money into something else; something entirely more necessary. If this year's NFL season had been wiped out by a strike, some of those fans might never have come back. After using the unspent money to buy a new home or save the one they already live in, some of those fans might not have been able to come back.
So congrats are in order for Goodell and Smith and all of the players and owners. Instead of trying to break the other side in this dispute, they all realized that their Giant Golden Cash Cow was suddenly in danger of becoming extinct. And they worked together; listened to each other; helped one another. The agreement that resulted is historic, and its length means that the fans won't have to be bothered with labor negotiations for a long, long time. Management and players in pro basketball's labor dispute should look at what pro football did, and take heed.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
College Football's New World Order
The sports equivalent of Jack Kirby's Great Disaster hit major college football earlier this year. The unprecedented events nearly swallowed up the mighty Big XII Conference. The fallout and the reverberations are still being felt months later, as another football season is upon us. You really can't tell the conferences without a scorecard, anymore. So, just in case you missed it:
The Big 10 Conference got the ball rolling by inviting mighty Nebraska to come over from the Big XII. The Cornhuskers, who took maybe a minute to think about it before saying, "Yes," thus moved into the coveted spot in the Big 10 that had been being held, ostensibly, for Notre Dame. If the Big 10 couldn't get the Fighting Irish (And it couldn't. Notre Dame's contract with NBC is just too lucrative.), it got the Next Best Thing with Nebraska. The Big Red bring a ton of tradition to a truly super conference, which also contains football powers Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State, plus not-too-shabby Wisconsin and Iowa.
The initial thought was that the Big XII might make a play for the Fighting Irish, but Notre Dame remained independent in football. The Irish are joined in independence this year by Brigham Young, the usually-detested-by-all former Mountain West Conference and Western Athletic Conference member, which strives to be the "Notre Dame of the West." (Right. Good luck with that, Cougars.)
The other shoe dropped on the Big XII, however, when the PAC-10, looking to increase its national relevance, decided to expand by inviting Colorado, with its massive following in the Denver metropolitan area. There was once again a rapid courtship. That two schools of the stature of Nebraska and Colorado would leave such a powerful league with barely two blinks of an eye, says something about the state of the Big XII and the status of those institutions. The Cornhuskers and the Buffaloes were tired of playing second fiddle, in the eyes of the national media, to Texas and Oklahoma. So, the Huskers turned their backs on their longtime rivals, the Oklahoma Sooners, and bolted east. With Nebraska gone, the biggest thing holding Colorado in place was also gone. It was just so easy for the Buffs to move, as the westernmost member of the league, with its next-closest rival at least two states away.
To achieve its goal of gaining a conference championship game, however, the PAC needed to invite another school. It set its eyes on mighty Texas, with its iconic status in the Lone Star state and throughout the nation. Amazingly, there was a courtship. Stunningly, the PAC responded to some misgivings by Texas of losing its traditional rivalries, by inviting Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Texas Tech to join. Astoundingly, there was some real discussion about blowing up the Big XII, with Texas A&M moving on to the Big East Conference and Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Iowa State, and Baylor being left to fend for themselves (other than the Mountain West Conference, which was oh-so-eager to extend an invitation to the Big XII leftovers).
After a couple of weeks of serious consideration (and after some major league genuflecting to Texas by the others in the conference) it was decided to keep what was left of the Big XII intact. There had first been talk about inviting former Southwest Conference members Houston and Texas Christian aboard, to keep the league's membership at 12. Ultimately, this idea was scrapped, and a way was devised to keep the Longhorns' pockets lined with cash, even with the sacrifice of the league's championship game. Texas will now have its own television network, which will do major business deep in the heart of Texas and nationwide. The advantages Texas owns over most of its league brethren will only grow bigger under this new arrangement.
And to think, all of this was done to cater to a football program that disappointed the nation last season. The Longhorns finished with a 5-7 record in all games, including a league mark of 2-6, good for dead last in the Big XII's South Division. It sounds like a slippery slope to me, but even if Texas again underachieves, and even if the Longhorn Network is somehow a failure, the Big XII can always add two more members and re-institute its lost title game, somewhere down the line.
Spurned by the Big XII members, the PAC scrapped its proposed 16-team model and went back to its initial plan of expanding its membership to 12. Utah, one of the high-profile members of the Mountain West Conference, was quickly added to what is now the PAC-12. After that, it was like a big game of dominoes, with one school falling right after the school before it. The Big East Conference, left at the altar by Texas A&M, also raided the Mountain West, picking up another of that league's crown jewels, Texas Christian. Before you could say "cutthroat," the MWC grabbed all of the top programs from the WAC, first luring Bowl Championship Series-busting Boise State, then Nevada and Fresno State, and finally Hawaii. Utah State, which for some reason declined its invitation to join the Mountain West this year, is still a possibility, along with Houston, for further MWC expansion to 12 schools in the future. The WAC, meanwhile, has tried to stay afloat by adding some schools from the next division down (Texas State, Texas-Arlington, Texas-San Antonio, Denver, and Seattle), which was its only option.
Most of this dizzying array of changes will take place for the coming football season, but some of the above won't happen until the 2012 campaign. It will be interesting to see how all of this movement shakes out on the national level. The biggest question within this fascinating scenario has to be: Can Texas regain its stranglehold on the pinnacle of prominence in the Big XII? Any way you slice it, there is now a New World Order in major college football. Let's face it: Any time the Big 10 Conference has 12 members and the Big 12 Conference has ten members, something wild and crazy must be going on!
The Big 10 Conference got the ball rolling by inviting mighty Nebraska to come over from the Big XII. The Cornhuskers, who took maybe a minute to think about it before saying, "Yes," thus moved into the coveted spot in the Big 10 that had been being held, ostensibly, for Notre Dame. If the Big 10 couldn't get the Fighting Irish (And it couldn't. Notre Dame's contract with NBC is just too lucrative.), it got the Next Best Thing with Nebraska. The Big Red bring a ton of tradition to a truly super conference, which also contains football powers Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State, plus not-too-shabby Wisconsin and Iowa.
The initial thought was that the Big XII might make a play for the Fighting Irish, but Notre Dame remained independent in football. The Irish are joined in independence this year by Brigham Young, the usually-detested-by-all former Mountain West Conference and Western Athletic Conference member, which strives to be the "Notre Dame of the West." (Right. Good luck with that, Cougars.)
The other shoe dropped on the Big XII, however, when the PAC-10, looking to increase its national relevance, decided to expand by inviting Colorado, with its massive following in the Denver metropolitan area. There was once again a rapid courtship. That two schools of the stature of Nebraska and Colorado would leave such a powerful league with barely two blinks of an eye, says something about the state of the Big XII and the status of those institutions. The Cornhuskers and the Buffaloes were tired of playing second fiddle, in the eyes of the national media, to Texas and Oklahoma. So, the Huskers turned their backs on their longtime rivals, the Oklahoma Sooners, and bolted east. With Nebraska gone, the biggest thing holding Colorado in place was also gone. It was just so easy for the Buffs to move, as the westernmost member of the league, with its next-closest rival at least two states away.
To achieve its goal of gaining a conference championship game, however, the PAC needed to invite another school. It set its eyes on mighty Texas, with its iconic status in the Lone Star state and throughout the nation. Amazingly, there was a courtship. Stunningly, the PAC responded to some misgivings by Texas of losing its traditional rivalries, by inviting Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Texas Tech to join. Astoundingly, there was some real discussion about blowing up the Big XII, with Texas A&M moving on to the Big East Conference and Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Iowa State, and Baylor being left to fend for themselves (other than the Mountain West Conference, which was oh-so-eager to extend an invitation to the Big XII leftovers).
After a couple of weeks of serious consideration (and after some major league genuflecting to Texas by the others in the conference) it was decided to keep what was left of the Big XII intact. There had first been talk about inviting former Southwest Conference members Houston and Texas Christian aboard, to keep the league's membership at 12. Ultimately, this idea was scrapped, and a way was devised to keep the Longhorns' pockets lined with cash, even with the sacrifice of the league's championship game. Texas will now have its own television network, which will do major business deep in the heart of Texas and nationwide. The advantages Texas owns over most of its league brethren will only grow bigger under this new arrangement.
And to think, all of this was done to cater to a football program that disappointed the nation last season. The Longhorns finished with a 5-7 record in all games, including a league mark of 2-6, good for dead last in the Big XII's South Division. It sounds like a slippery slope to me, but even if Texas again underachieves, and even if the Longhorn Network is somehow a failure, the Big XII can always add two more members and re-institute its lost title game, somewhere down the line.
Spurned by the Big XII members, the PAC scrapped its proposed 16-team model and went back to its initial plan of expanding its membership to 12. Utah, one of the high-profile members of the Mountain West Conference, was quickly added to what is now the PAC-12. After that, it was like a big game of dominoes, with one school falling right after the school before it. The Big East Conference, left at the altar by Texas A&M, also raided the Mountain West, picking up another of that league's crown jewels, Texas Christian. Before you could say "cutthroat," the MWC grabbed all of the top programs from the WAC, first luring Bowl Championship Series-busting Boise State, then Nevada and Fresno State, and finally Hawaii. Utah State, which for some reason declined its invitation to join the Mountain West this year, is still a possibility, along with Houston, for further MWC expansion to 12 schools in the future. The WAC, meanwhile, has tried to stay afloat by adding some schools from the next division down (Texas State, Texas-Arlington, Texas-San Antonio, Denver, and Seattle), which was its only option.
Most of this dizzying array of changes will take place for the coming football season, but some of the above won't happen until the 2012 campaign. It will be interesting to see how all of this movement shakes out on the national level. The biggest question within this fascinating scenario has to be: Can Texas regain its stranglehold on the pinnacle of prominence in the Big XII? Any way you slice it, there is now a New World Order in major college football. Let's face it: Any time the Big 10 Conference has 12 members and the Big 12 Conference has ten members, something wild and crazy must be going on!
Sunday, July 17, 2011
World Cup Final Impressions
Here are some random thoughts after viewing the final game of the Women's World Cup between the U.S.A. and Japan in Frankfurt, Germany:
The U.S.A. outplayed Japan throughout regulation time, extra time, and overtime. Japan never led in the actual match, which ends officially as a 2-2 tie, won by Japan on penalty kicks. It seemed to me that the U.S. squad relaxed just a little bit after scoring its goals. Perhaps, on some subliminal level, the U.S. women, having beaten Japan twice earlier this year, expected the ladies from the Land of the Rising Sun to give in. This may have let Japan back into the match.
Certainly, the U.S. can look to its own missed scoring opportunities from the first half. Convert a couple of those and the match would have been over in regulation time. There seemed to be quite a bit of anxiousness in the American attack. The aggression our women showed in keeping play in the Japanese end no doubt led to their twice taking the lead, but a bit more controlled aggression might have put the game out of reach.
Holding a 1-0 lead with time running down in the second half, the U.S.A defense let down in an inexcusable fashion. Know where your goalkeep is and let her do her job. The ball was struck in panic by the first defender just as Hope Solo was about to grab the ball. The second defender, not expecting the ball to come her way, only managed to get a foot on it, keeping the ball in play for Japan. The rest was history.
Both U.S. goals and the second goal by Japan were things of beauty. Women's World Cup competition has become every bit the equal of the men's sport, in terms of overall play. The U.S. was the aggressor and possibly deserved to win in regulation, but Japan must be commended for not showing any sign of panic, twice scoring when desperation might have undermined the effort of a lesser team. In particular, Japan's second goal was drawn up beautifully and played to perfection. Solo had no chance. It was not so much a poor defense by the Americans as it was a great play by the Nipponese. To execute a set play so accurately, with the game literally on the line, is a credit to the Japan squad.
Finally, our women just seemed depleted during the penalty kick phase. After having dug so deep to pull out wins repeatedly in the tournament, there just wasn't enough left in the tank. The U.S.A. took the first shot, which is a great advantage if you can make it. Missing it, the air just seemed to go out of the Americans' balloon. Both sides deserved to win this World Cup, but Japan was more prepared mentally, at the very end, to succeed in the penalty phase's pressure cooker.
Still, it was a great run by an American team which was the last to qualify for World Cup play and which scored the latest goal in World Cup history to save a game against Brazil. Congrats to our women for the grit and the fight and the moxie they showed throughout the tournament. And further kudos to Japan's women for never giving up and showing the kind of resolve it takes to bring home a world championship.
The U.S.A. outplayed Japan throughout regulation time, extra time, and overtime. Japan never led in the actual match, which ends officially as a 2-2 tie, won by Japan on penalty kicks. It seemed to me that the U.S. squad relaxed just a little bit after scoring its goals. Perhaps, on some subliminal level, the U.S. women, having beaten Japan twice earlier this year, expected the ladies from the Land of the Rising Sun to give in. This may have let Japan back into the match.
Certainly, the U.S. can look to its own missed scoring opportunities from the first half. Convert a couple of those and the match would have been over in regulation time. There seemed to be quite a bit of anxiousness in the American attack. The aggression our women showed in keeping play in the Japanese end no doubt led to their twice taking the lead, but a bit more controlled aggression might have put the game out of reach.
Holding a 1-0 lead with time running down in the second half, the U.S.A defense let down in an inexcusable fashion. Know where your goalkeep is and let her do her job. The ball was struck in panic by the first defender just as Hope Solo was about to grab the ball. The second defender, not expecting the ball to come her way, only managed to get a foot on it, keeping the ball in play for Japan. The rest was history.
Both U.S. goals and the second goal by Japan were things of beauty. Women's World Cup competition has become every bit the equal of the men's sport, in terms of overall play. The U.S. was the aggressor and possibly deserved to win in regulation, but Japan must be commended for not showing any sign of panic, twice scoring when desperation might have undermined the effort of a lesser team. In particular, Japan's second goal was drawn up beautifully and played to perfection. Solo had no chance. It was not so much a poor defense by the Americans as it was a great play by the Nipponese. To execute a set play so accurately, with the game literally on the line, is a credit to the Japan squad.
Finally, our women just seemed depleted during the penalty kick phase. After having dug so deep to pull out wins repeatedly in the tournament, there just wasn't enough left in the tank. The U.S.A. took the first shot, which is a great advantage if you can make it. Missing it, the air just seemed to go out of the Americans' balloon. Both sides deserved to win this World Cup, but Japan was more prepared mentally, at the very end, to succeed in the penalty phase's pressure cooker.
Still, it was a great run by an American team which was the last to qualify for World Cup play and which scored the latest goal in World Cup history to save a game against Brazil. Congrats to our women for the grit and the fight and the moxie they showed throughout the tournament. And further kudos to Japan's women for never giving up and showing the kind of resolve it takes to bring home a world championship.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Back On The Block
I always enjoyed having a place where I could spout off about any subject I'd like to. Since the subject matter with me always seemed to be about sports, I called my blog, AmericanSportsHog. I set this blog aside in the fall of 2009 because I was at a crucial part of my life: I had just been graduated from the University of Phoenix with a degree in business. I wanted to use what I'd learned and start a business of my own that would be both satisfying to myself and profitable. I had to figure out how to do that. The one thing I knew was that writing for free in my blog wouldn't make me a rich man!
Throughout the 11 courses I took online to complete my education, one thing was very clear: My ability as a writer contributed greatly to my being able to finish each class, and also to my achieving a grade point average which I was proud of. I had always advised other to try to make money at something they enjoyed and that they would do for free. Thinking about it, I realized that I had been writing for free for a long time. I've posted nearly 100 music reviews at Amazon.com. I've been a correspondent on one of those Web sites where the fans become the reporter and write game stories and commentaries on various sports and teams. And, I've had this blog.
I realized I needed to follow my own advice. I needed to take all of the free writing I'd been doing and think of a way to write for myself, yet still have a chance at making a profit. When I heard about the Kindle and other electronic reading devices, I knew I'd found my target area. Kindles are the best-selling item on the entire Amazon.com Web site. The publishing and sale of electronic books (e-books) are exploding, yet are still in their infancy. E-books can be read with many different devices, including e-readers, smart phones, Android-type devices, palm computers, tablets, and more.
Thus, I determined to write e-material for consumer who are hungry for quality reading for their e-device. My first thought was to write short articles on a variety of subjects. However, after hashing it out for a long time, I realized that I would feel more comfortable writing as an expert in a field I know; sports. And, I wanted to write books; books in which sports fans and just plain avid readers could immerse themselves.
I named my publishing company, Sportside Books. I devoted most of the year 2010 learning how the publishing program for Amazon Kindle works, and posting a few public domain works to get the hang of it. I started work on my first e-book in August. I decided to write about the most popular sports subject I could think of: Muhammad Ali. While I was still writing the book's introduction, I realized that if I wanted the book to be finished sometime in 2011, I'd need to somehow shorten it. "Muhammad Ali" is a subject both vast and complex. I settled on limiting my focus to the beginning of Ali's boxing career, when he was still known as Cassius Clay.
I'm proud to say that I published The Cassius Clay Story for the Kindle this year on June 1 (amzn.to/jDEX9v). The Barnes and Noble Nook edition was published about three weeks later (bit.ly/p2evgA). Since then, I've established accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Bitly, and Smashwords. Now, I've created a new e-mail account devoted to the business, and I have re-activated AmericanSportsHog. A Web site devoted to Sportside books is still to come. It is all part of a process of getting my name exposed and promoting my company and my book. I have about 50 Facebook friends in less than three weeks, and already five followers on Twitter, none of whom I had ever heard of before!
The first fruit of my labor came this week! Someone bought a copy of The Cassius Clay Story over this past weekend, purchasing it on Amazon.com's UK Web site. My plan is to publish the book in English in as many formats as is possible, then to do the same with a translation of the book into Spanish. It's a long process, and I am learning more every day. So, in addition to popping off about any sports subject of my choosing, I will also give updates on how the process of selling books and becoming a well-known sports writer is going. If you would like to come along, you are welcome to follow me on Twitter: @sportsidebooks.
Throughout the 11 courses I took online to complete my education, one thing was very clear: My ability as a writer contributed greatly to my being able to finish each class, and also to my achieving a grade point average which I was proud of. I had always advised other to try to make money at something they enjoyed and that they would do for free. Thinking about it, I realized that I had been writing for free for a long time. I've posted nearly 100 music reviews at Amazon.com. I've been a correspondent on one of those Web sites where the fans become the reporter and write game stories and commentaries on various sports and teams. And, I've had this blog.
I realized I needed to follow my own advice. I needed to take all of the free writing I'd been doing and think of a way to write for myself, yet still have a chance at making a profit. When I heard about the Kindle and other electronic reading devices, I knew I'd found my target area. Kindles are the best-selling item on the entire Amazon.com Web site. The publishing and sale of electronic books (e-books) are exploding, yet are still in their infancy. E-books can be read with many different devices, including e-readers, smart phones, Android-type devices, palm computers, tablets, and more.
Thus, I determined to write e-material for consumer who are hungry for quality reading for their e-device. My first thought was to write short articles on a variety of subjects. However, after hashing it out for a long time, I realized that I would feel more comfortable writing as an expert in a field I know; sports. And, I wanted to write books; books in which sports fans and just plain avid readers could immerse themselves.
I named my publishing company, Sportside Books. I devoted most of the year 2010 learning how the publishing program for Amazon Kindle works, and posting a few public domain works to get the hang of it. I started work on my first e-book in August. I decided to write about the most popular sports subject I could think of: Muhammad Ali. While I was still writing the book's introduction, I realized that if I wanted the book to be finished sometime in 2011, I'd need to somehow shorten it. "Muhammad Ali" is a subject both vast and complex. I settled on limiting my focus to the beginning of Ali's boxing career, when he was still known as Cassius Clay.
I'm proud to say that I published The Cassius Clay Story for the Kindle this year on June 1 (amzn.to/jDEX9v). The Barnes and Noble Nook edition was published about three weeks later (bit.ly/p2evgA). Since then, I've established accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Bitly, and Smashwords. Now, I've created a new e-mail account devoted to the business, and I have re-activated AmericanSportsHog. A Web site devoted to Sportside books is still to come. It is all part of a process of getting my name exposed and promoting my company and my book. I have about 50 Facebook friends in less than three weeks, and already five followers on Twitter, none of whom I had ever heard of before!
The first fruit of my labor came this week! Someone bought a copy of The Cassius Clay Story over this past weekend, purchasing it on Amazon.com's UK Web site. My plan is to publish the book in English in as many formats as is possible, then to do the same with a translation of the book into Spanish. It's a long process, and I am learning more every day. So, in addition to popping off about any sports subject of my choosing, I will also give updates on how the process of selling books and becoming a well-known sports writer is going. If you would like to come along, you are welcome to follow me on Twitter: @sportsidebooks.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Klitschkos All-Time Greats?
Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko have jointly ruled the heavyweight division in pro boxing for many years. With their combinations of size, power, and formidable jabs, they have been able to overcome the rigid, robot-like mobilities they displayed in their early years, and today stand dominant. The time has come to discuss how they would have fared against some of the division's recent all-time greats. Muhammad Ali, I feel, would have outpointed either of the brothers rather easily, due to his speed, quickness, mobility, and solid chin. George Foreman would have out-slugged either Klitschko within three rounds, the difference being that Foreman had the edge in raw power and a better chin than either brother. Lennox Lewis and Larry Holmes both had the natural ability to come out on top against the Klitschkos, but either Lewis or Holmes also could be kayo victims if they were to get nailed. Joe Frazier, on the other hand, wouldn't have been able to get past the jab and get inside on Wladimir or Vitali. His lack of an outstanding chin would have gotten him kayoed within five rounds against either Klitschko brother. Mike Tyson? That could have gone either way. Tyson in his early days certainly could have intimidated either Klitschko, especially early in their careers. He would have had all kinds of trouble against a more mature Wladimir or Vitali. As for Evander Holyfield, I think he was simply to small to stand up to the brothers. He would have been battered and stopped late in a fight against either one. Who would win between the brothers? I hope we never find out. Vitali and Wladimir should continue to honor their mother's request that they never fight. Besides, brothers should be brothers! The Klitschko brother belong where they are, right now: on top of the world and in each other's corner. (For more on Muhammad Ali, please read the free sample of my e-book!) amzn.to/jDEX9v (Kindle) or bit.ly/p2evgA (Nook) (Please copy and paste either link to your browser's address window if no hyper-link appears.)
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