There are six unbeaten teams ...

There are six unbeaten teams left in college football and at least 3 of them have no shot at winning a championship. Cincinnati has two interesting games left but a victory in both games wont put them in the title game. Boise St. has to play 3 games and Nevada is their toughest opponent and T.C.U. doesn't have a tough schedule remaining either. The only hope these teams have is if during rivalry week or Championship week 2 of the big three falls. Florida has to play Florida St. Alabama has to play Auburn and Texas has to play Texas A&M. The next big games after that will be Florida and Alabama and Texas probably against Nebraska. Kansas was supposed to be a threat to Texas but they have too much turmoil to get ready for this weekend. The system stinks as I have mentioned before in one of my blogs earlier this fall. Today it was confirmed that there will be no playoff in the near future. I listened to the new head of the B.C.S explain his reasons and I nearly fainted. He not only is a former college player but he really is a big fan of the B.C.S. He said today that he has talked to many players in the past and present and their experience at the Bowl Games were memories that they would never forget. He talked about going jet skiing and having fun at the Orange Bowl and the Bowl experience was amazing. In other words since his team wasn't playing for a championship having a chance to go jet skiing was more important than the game itself. Is he serious? He flat out said that he would be upset if he was a supporter of Cincinnati, T.C.U, and Boise St. if they went unbeaten and did not have a chance to play for a title. Trust me when I say this, THE PUBLIC DOES NOT WANT TO SEE BOISE STATE PLAY T.C.U OR CINCINNATI PLAY ANY OF THE TWO TEAMS EITHER!!!! What is the point? I would much rather see Cincinnati play Ohio St. or T.C.U play the loser of Alabama and Florida on a neutral field. Georgia Tech versus Boise St. would be even cool to see!!! No one wants to play Georgia tech with that triple option clicking. Forget about it!!!We have never had six unbeaten teams this late in the season and if everything goes to plan, there could be 5 teams unbeaten at the end of championship week. God I wish Notre Dame or USC had gone unbeaten just to see what the committee would have done then!!! Notre Dame had chances to beat all of the teams they have lost to this year. They should have beaten Michigan, Navy and had the ball at the goal line against USC. I just could not believe that this man was saying that he would be upset if his team was in the mix and not playing for a title. You would think that would make him want to create a playoff system. He is right on one angle though. Determining who plays in the game would be difficult because not everyone plays the same strength of schedule. Plus if you have want is happening this year 6 teams with an unbeaten record going into the final month of the season, you are panicking because you don't want the fans to think that the B.C.S is fraudulent. We all know that it is and the only reason there will not be a playoff in the future is MONEY!!!! I want his job.. I could create a playoff system right now that makes everyone happy. Plus stop using final exams as an excuse. Division1AA they and Divisions 2 and 3 do a playoff in December. Plus don't bowl games happen during final exams anyways? I believe the bowl season begins in mid December and goes through the end of the month.
You know I won a jet ski on a sports trivia show 6 years ago. I should have kept and rode it so that I would have gotten a feel of what it was like to play in a college football bowl game!!! Damn!!

Sometimes I dont know..

Sometimes I don't if when I am watching or listening to sports radio if what they are saying is shtick or how they really feel. I listen to the Dan Patrick show every morning as i am getting Miracle acclimated to her new day and I wonder sometimes if what he is saying is from the heart or if he is trying to get attention. When he was at ESPN, it seemed like if one person at the network does not like an athlete, then the entire network has to hate them.. I remember one time Dan was on the radio in Arizona and he was bashing about Barry Bonds and then later on that day he grabbed the p.a. mike and announced Bonds was coming to the plate, doffed his cap to him and then Bonds hit a monstrous home run grabbed his bag of bats and left. The next day on air Dan could not stop talking about how honored he was that Bonds had done that. The recent villain in sports is Larry Johnson. Larry Johnson got into some trouble over some comments he made about his coach. He also had some trouble because he had a couple of incidents involving women in a nightclub. The chiefs released him and now he is Bengal and the bashing has begun. Now i don't excuse anyone who makes sexual sensitive comments about people, but in the sports culture femininity and homosexuality is joked about in every locker room. My high school told me once that I throw like a girl. I hear people daily refer to men as a "wuss" if they cant "take " certain things. So when I here so many people bash Larry Johnson because he made a statement that in "public " insulted so many I ask myself if these networks are serious or is this a shtick. I write about this today because I don't understand the hypocrisy that we live in. He teammates all said that he was a positive player in the locker room. No player has spoken out against him in fact some were stunned that he was released. So now that he is a Bengal and he contributes well with the Bengals will that shut people up about him? NO.. the public will criticize him and call him a brat because he did not stick it out with his failing teammates.
Terrell Owens comes to mind today because I couldn't believe that Linda Cohn asked John Clayton if Owens had anything to do with Dick Jauron getting fired today. T.O. was seen this weekend having a fit because he felt that he was open and did not get the ball enough. The replays showed that he was right.John Clayton had to disappoint Linda when he told her that T.O. had nothing to do with it. Do athletes do things that make you scratch your head? Of course they do. Today Dan and the boys were talking about how Tiger Woods threw his club into the gallery and that the tantrums need to stop. I may agree but I guarantee you if Tiger walked past Dan and the boys they would flock to him like bees on ....Of course you are allowed to criticize people, just play both sides equally. Don't rip T.O. and want him on your show to help you boost your ratings. Don't tell the world that you hate Randy Moss and then he joins the Patriots and all of sudden he is your favorite player. When Vince Carter was with Toronto many people felt he quit on them and forced his way out of town. He went to New Jersey and reinvented himself and now he is in Orlando. He gave his soul to the Nets so when I hear negative stuff about him I say that these people are just crazy at ESPN. Allen Iverson is the next victim. He went to memphis and basically discovered that he is better than everyone on that team and simply did not want to sit on a bench on a bad team. We know that he has lost his superstar card but you have to rip him for being exiled by the league this season? I hope the Knicks do sign him.

and in the nfl..

Could we be heading for the weirdest super bowl match up in history? Last years game was a strange with Arizona, the worst division winning team in history getting hot and was probably a minute away from winning damn thing, playing the all-time winningest team Pittsburgh. This year could have the New Orleans Saints and Cincinnati Bengals in the game. Or how about the Indianapolis Colts against the Minnesota Vikings. San Diego and Dallas? The games yesterday were unbelievable. The Patriots should be so angry with how that game ended. Coach Bill is a genius and defensive savant. Why dont you kick the ball and make Peyton Manning Drive 60-70 yards to beat you? I remember the year when both teams were unbeaten going into the game and the Colts had the ball under 6 minutes to go in the game. They had the lead too. They got called for a holding or illegal hand in the face penalty and put them in a 2nd and 17 and they could not get the first down. The Patriots got the ball and scored a touchdown and won the game when Colvin I think forced a fumble when the Colts were trying to get a drive going. The point is the Patriots always seem to make a play to beat the Colts or the Colts self destruct and lose the game so why not make them drive 60-70 yards and beat you coach?What are you thinking? You give Manning 29 yards to figure out a way to beat you with tons of time on the clock. Not smart!!!!
Jacksonville is crazy too. Remember when Brian Westbrook did the same thing against the Cowboys last year? They did not need points so that was a brilliant play. Don't you remember Tony Romo dropping the ball against the Seahawks on a sure game winning field goal? Also what if a Jets player would have come from behind and as MOJO is slowing down pops the ball out from behind him and he fumbles? Adrian Petersen had that happen to him during the Lions game. When it works, you are a genius. When it fails you are ego-maniacal.
Philadelphia and Dallas crack me up... The Eagles throw for like twenty five miles and only score touchdowns against the Giants. They had first and goal at the one three times and could not score a touchdown. The shredded the Chargers secondary and lost a very important game. The Cowboys dont know what prosperity means. Everyone is bestowing compliment after compliment to them and then they lose to a team who just lost to Tampa Bay. They fumbled the ball, dropped passes, and just flat out did not show up. The Saints are the luckiest team in the league. They have played poorly three weeks in a row and have won all of the games. The Rams gave them fits and Stephen Jackson is a beast.
The story of the day are the Bengals!!! Beating both Pittsburgh and Baltimore twice in the same season is an incredible accomplishment!!! Carson Palmer and the offense did not even score a touchdown yesterday. The defense has finally played like a Marvin Lewis defense is capable of playing. They have a pretty easy schedule left and could possible win 13 games this year!!! What would happen if Tennessee runs the table? Would they be the biggest fools for not letting Vince Young not play sooner? Gotta love the owner flipping off his fans and anyone else who was looking yesterday. The Broncos are free-falling and playing San Diego and New York in the next two weeks could be a disaster... Cant wait for next week.. Brett Favre and Peyton Manning are going to be Co- M.V.P's

the number 55 was powerful this weekend

The second thing that stood out to me this weekend is the number 55. Two college football teams this weekend introduced themselves to the world with emphatic results that have many of us scratching our heads today. Texas Christian University demolished Utah 55-38 and The Stanford Cardinal scored more points in one game against USC than any team in history. 55-21. I left my house during the USC game and it was a 7 point game with the 4th quarter to play. I came back to find out that Stanford not only won, but they were actually running up the score. I hear that they went for 2 point conversion when the were up 48-21 with 6:47 to go in the game. I remember watching USC play Arkansas in 2004 and won something like 70-17. I said that someday some school is going to make them pay for this beating but at least USC was not trying to score. They had their bench players in the game and they just could not be stopped. I once watched Penn St. beat Cincinnati 81-0. They could have scored 100. But what the hell has happened to USC. They have defeated some really good teams this year and to be smashed twice in the last three weeks is unheard of. They have given up 106 points in their last two losses.Stanford went into the game and said that even though they just beat Oregon, they hadn't accomplished anything until the beat USC. They clearly proved that they are more than for real. They have to play California and Notre Dame who USC defeated quite easily. What are they going to do to them?
TCU is probably the best team in the country that no one cares about. Boise St. and Cincinnati are undefeated but they seem to be a bigger story than TCU. TCU beat Boise St. last year and ended their chances of going unbeaten. This year TCU has beaten BYU and Utah by a ton of points. They went to Clemson University and beat the Tigers. They will not get a chance to play for a title because they don't play in a power conference and their conference is not a BCS conference. They line up every week and whack everyone that is put in front of them. What the hell is a horned frog anyway? So as Texas, Florida, and Alabama march towards a championship, TCU sits at home and will wonder what they could do in a game against the big boys!! Last year Utah smashed Alabama. Boise St. defeated Oklahoma in a big bowl game. Hell this year BYU beat up Oklahoma and ruined their season before it could started. TCU beat BYU at BYU this year by 27 points and it wasn't even that close. Two great academic schools whipping ass on the big boys.
The third 55 that caught my attention this weekend was turned in by NBA super rookie guard Brandon Jennings. Now anytime a person scores 55 points it is a big deal whether he is a rookie or a veteran. Golden St. Warriors are not a defensive juggernaut either. This kid was blasted for going to Europe last year and not going to college to learn his profession. Ten teams are all sitting at home asking themselves why did they did not choose they special player. Whether he hits the wall in March or April is irrelevant. He is combination of Kenny Anderson and Nick Van Exel. Milwaukee hasn't had this much excitement since Ray Allen was there. I mean when you approaching Wilt Chamberlain records that says a lot about you. No one saw this coming. The Timberwolves drafted Ricky Rubio and Johnny Flynn. Dont let me mention the who the Knicks drafted.. i cannot find a NBA photo of him. that should tell how unexpected all this is.

alot to say today..

What an incredible weekend of sports. Many things to write about so i will spread it over two or three different blogs. The top item on my mind today may surprise you. When I was growing up in Yonkers, N.Y. I used to think that I was as good as anyone in every sport. When I would see someones name in the faces in the crowd section in Sports Illustrated I thought that the stories were fake and in most cases thought how lucky the kid was to be called a prodigy or special. The first prodigy that I can remember was a girl by the name of Tracy Austin. She was this 15 or 16 year old Tennis phenom that was supposed to be the face and star of tennis for years to come. I was so naive that I thought the she was related to Steve Austin the "Six Million Dollar Man". Other people followed in her footsteps. Some to the detriment and some to the benefit of the game. Monica Seles and Jennifer Capriati became household names at a very young age. Jennifer's story is pretty sad and Monica's was worse. Who knows what Monica could have been. She won several Major Championships and was really dominating her sport as a 17 year old. Capriati had moments of greatness but never became the player that people thought she would. Not too mention problems with her father and her own personal demons. We watched her grow up and I thought it was a train wreck until I heard about a 11 year old girl named Michelle Wie.
When she was 11 they were talking about her like she was going to be the person to beat both men and women in golf. Then at age 13 she started playing in U.S amateur events and doing real well. For some crazy reason, her parents and advisers thought that she was ready to go pro. She has been destroyed as a child. She competed against men for a couple of years and didn't win. She competed against women and didn't win. She competed against amateurs and did not win. Everyone was in awe of her length and her ability to strike a golf ball that they forgot that she was a child. A CHILD!!! She did not go to school. She had tutors. She did not have a normal child life. Only Micheal Jackson could relate. Tiger's dad made him go to school. He trained him to play the game with distractions and rewarded him for completing tasks. The Wie's just kept sending this child out to play.Morgan Pressel, Paula Creamer, Natalie Gulbis got fame because of winning and competing well in tournaments. They had their childhoods. Remember Justin Rose and Ty Tryon? Justin Rose had a British Open to remember as a 17 year old turned pro and hasn't done anything since. He has had a few good results overseas. Not much over here. Ty Tryon was supposed to be this new phenom and he has fallen off the face of the earth. He was in a commercial with Aaron Baddeley another phenom. Neither of them has had the success that was expected of them..
Michelle Wie finally won a tournament this weekend!!! Isnt it sad that it is not front page news? This poor young girl started this journey almost 9 years ago and now she is a winner. Was all the pain and criticism worth it? Was the humiliation, loss of childhood, ridicule worth it? i hope she goes on and wins every tournament she enters for the next 20 years and tells the world to kiss her ass..I saw today that Espn then compared her to tiger because he did not win his first tournament until he was 20 also. What a dumb comparison. Just because they went to Stanford does not mean that they need to be compared. Leave her alone!!! Let her live her life in Peace!!! I am begging you world!!! Do not compare her to Serena Williams, Martina Hingis, Tiger Woods, Morgan Pressel or Paula Creamer!!!!! Let her be Michelle Wie.

should they retire Micheal Jordans number?

The greatest basketball player ever to live in most people's eyes is Micheal Jordan. Wilt and Bill Russell are in the conversation. Oscar Robertson, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Dr.J deserve to be there as well. Some will say that Connie Hawkins and Earl "the Goat" Manigoat created a basketball art form that Jordan and Dr. J perfected. Kareem had the most unstoppable shot in the game, but he was 7 feet tall. The height issue is what kills Wilt. Many people don't credit his stats because he was bigger than everyone and stronger than everyone. If he played in today's NBA he would be as dominant if not more because of the rule changes and superstar calls. The interesting part of this is that most of us never saw some of these greats play so we cannot really assess who was the best. So does Micheal Jordan's number being retired league wide really need to happen? I don't know if I think so and here are a couple of reasons for both sides of the story.
Wayne Gretzky is recognized as the greatest hockey player ever to play. He too has people that say otherwise and feel that there were a couple of players who should be in the same conversation. Mario Lemieux and Bobby Orr are usually the 2 players who get mentioned with Gretzky. On paper and in on the ice it is hard to argue against Gretzky. He hold most of the records in the game, whether it is season or playoff or even career. He was hockey's greatest ambassador and tried to bring the game to the states and give us the same excitement that he did for the Canadian people. His number being retired is a tribute to his contribution to the game on and off of the ice. Micheal Jordan essentially raised the last 2 generations of basketball fans. Every kid said screw the jump shot, I want to dunk. At most high schools, colleges and A.A.U. teams around the country, the player usually wearing 23 was usually the teams best player. Has Jordan been the ambassador to NBA that Gretzky has been? Hell No. Most people think that Magic Johnson would be that person. As an executive and team owner Micheal has not enjoyed life as he did as a player. To me that hurts him in getting his number retired because he has not been to his league what Gretzky has been to his. When they retired Jackie Robinson's number in baseball it was because of the social change and pioneering aspect of his career. Jackie was a great athlete. Baseball wasn't even his best sport. Just because Michel was the greatest ever does not mean his number should be retired.
Now the one way they could honor him is the way Syracuse does with the number 44. If you have a superstar player like Lebron, he can wear 23. Marcus Camby is a very good player but he is no Jordan. Jodie Meeks may someday be Jordan like but he should have to earn the number. Jason Richardson won a college title and won a slam dunk contest so he has potential but he should change his number. Kevin Martin has been a star on the Kings. I think that there are 11 players currently wearing the number. Can you believe that only one player is wearing the number 16 in the NFL? I believe that Joshua Cribs on the Cleveland Browns is the only player wearing 16. I remember Chris Weinke and Matt Cassell wore the number but that is it in recent years.No starting Quarterback is wearing 16. Most of the players wearing 56 are actually really good players but none of them are in L.T.'s league.I was surprised to see that not many receivers wear the number 80 and not many running backs wear 32. I think Lebron should wear 23 or put on a number gives him autonomy over that number. I guess some players just have respect for the numbers mentioned and choose to create their own legacy.
I will conclude and say this. If they do retire Micheal's number it should be in all sports. He was the first athlete since O.J. Simpson to make corporate America take notice that an athlete can help you make money. He has his own line of clothing and accessories that make him millions of dollars too. As a global Icon he is probably the second most famous person on the planet. Ali is the 1st and Tiger is catching both of them. Because of his endorsement appeal, Jordan has made it possible for athletes in all sports to flourish. What do you think?

I love homers..

Before the invention of the satellite dish I never knew what a "homer" meant. A "homer" could be short for a home run in baseball but today I am using the colloquial meaning of the word. A "homer" is someone who roots for his/her team so blindly and blatantly that it makes you nauseated just listening to them. The interesting part of the is rant to me is how every city has a "homer" but New York. When you listen to the White Sox announcer Ken Harrelson he does not hide who he roots for. He refers to the opposing team as the bad guys and the White Sox as the good guys. He is complimentary to opponents which allows me to listen to him but he does not do the same home run call for visiting players. He may say the same phrase every once in a while but he will not do it with any enthusiasm. It actually sounds like he is at a funeral if the White Sox lose. Contrast that with Gary Cohen who is the voice of the Mets and he seems to give the opponent and Met player the same courtesy. So does Micheal Kay from the Yankees. They speak glowingly of the opponents and don't have a problem interviewing them before or after the games. If you listen to a Red Sox, Patriot, or Celtic announcer you not only hear their passion for their teams but you all feel the pain when something does not go right. Johnny Most, Tommy Heihnson would go way over the top in the calls of the Celtic games. Tommy is great though. He does not hold his tongue for nobody. The late great Johnny Most was the same way. Chick Hearn was that way for the Lakers too. The interesting thing is that Vin Scully is not that way with the Dodgers. He bleeds Dodger blue don't get me wrong but he treats the opposing team with the same respect. He is a New Yorker after all. Johnny Most is from New york too which I find surprising that he became a such a homer for the Celtics.I remember during the Bonds home run chase, him calling several Bonds home runs and being impressed that he did the calls pretty enthusiastically.
There is nothing wrong with a "homer". I think that if you bleed a certain color then bleed it baby. What I don't like are people who are fans of teams from several different states in different sports. For example. Half of my friends are Dallas Cowboy fans, but like the Lakers in basketball and the Yankees in baseball. I have a friend here in L.A. who is a Cowboy fan, Yankee and Celtic fan. What the heck is that? How can you be a fan of Yankees and Celtics? Now I know why half the country is Cowboy fans. They have been forced down our throats since 1974 and the Thanksgiving Day Games and they were always on television when I was a kid. The Raiders were on a lot too, but the style they played forced them off of the mainstream t.v. Detroit is always on Thanksgiving day too but since they haven't been consistently good, very few fans outside of Michigan care.
Now the reason for the rant today is Mack Brown of the University of Texas. A few years ago, Urban Meyer did a press conference and was asked several questions about the B.C.S. title game and he answered by saying that an S.E.C. team will be in the game, I guarantee it. He was right and Florida beat Ohio St. in the big game. Then the next year, L.S.U. did the same thing. Mack Brown is so pro University of Texas, that i want to get him a tissue every time he is on the air. He has been interviewed by ESPN every week since the season has started. He talks only about his team and even if they win by a fluke play and someone else loses by a bad call or fluke he only talks about Texas. He wont comment about any other team no matter how many times he is asked. He reminds me of George Bush. He talks like and even looks like him. He is funny. He is a walking sound bite about his team. He does not even talk about preparing hi players for life, or for the NFL. He wants that championship. He beat USC in 2005 and wants to end Tim Tebows' legacy in Florida. And you know what, I love IT!!!
I wish more coaches would come out and say that their program is the best in the world and if you don't like it tough. I would love for Pete Carroll or Urban Meyer to stand at the podium and say we are better than you and we expect to be playing for it all at the end. I am still waiting for Mack Brown to say "don't mess with Texas". I will wet my pants if he does it. By the way the worse "homer" fans in the world are from the lovely state of Massachusetts. They will literally fight you over their teams. It does not matter what sport either. They know everything about their players. Remember that movie Celtic Pride? that was no embellishment... I have never seen anything like them.