Trent's Touchdown - BCS Bowls

Well, here we are, the last Touchdown of the season. Fear not loyal readers, it will be back in August. You know what that means, more articles about poor sci-fi shows. But let’s not think about that; let’s think about the upcoming BCS bowls. Oh, they may look like lop-sided match-ups on paper, but someone slapped this all together, so it’s got to be worth something. Right? Anyone?

1) The Allstate BCS Championship Game (in New Orleans) – LSU (2) vs. Ohio State (1) (FOX at 8:00 on 01/07) – Do I have to put this as the number 1 game? If I want to see Ohio State get overmatched by a far superior team, I’ll just watch highlights of last year’s National Championship team. The only way I see OSU winning this game is if the LSU players get caught in some FSU scale cheating scandal. LSU is better in every fashion (offense, defense, special teams, coaching, female population…). I would say that OSU doesn’t even deserve to be there due to there less than stellar schedule (and that’s putting it lightly). Of course, nothing short of a playoff would be sufficient to sort this season’s mess out.

2) The Rose Bowl (in Pasadena) – USC (7) vs. Illinois (13) (ABC at 4:30 on 01/01) – I picked the second game by pulling it out of a hat. USC is basically playing a home game against a team that should be playing in the Capital One Bowl. I’m thinking Missouri should be here, but what do I know. This game may be fun for two reasons. One, USC is overrated. I mean seriously, this team got here because Dennis Dixon blew out his knee and ASU collapsed. I don’t trust John David Booty at all. Minus the cool name, the only redeeming quality he has is that he’s not Mark Sanchez. The USC defense got them here. Two, Juice Williams. I finally get to see this kid in action. If what I’ve read is true, it’ll be like watching Michael Vick (minus the “I Love Dog Fighting” tattoos). Of course, everyone gets over-hyped. Plus, Illinois has never faced a defense this fast. USC should have it sealed up early.

3) The Allstate Sugar Bowl (in New Orleans) – Hawaii (10) vs. Georgia (5) (FOX at 8:30 on 01/01) – The whole nation finally gets to see Colt Brennan without either having to stay up past midnight to do it or having to find ESPN8 on your cable system. I don’t think I’ve heard one thing about this game without Boise State coming up. Everyone wants to think that what Boise State did can be duplicated. You can’t get into a shoot-out with an SEC team and hope to win. You can do it against a Big 12 team. Brennan has never seen anything like what Georgia will throw at him. This is going to be a very good test for him. Hawaii’s strategy will be simple. It’s going to be “fire at will”. They have a slight glimmer of hope because Georgia might be feeling slighted because they didn’t get into the BCS Championship Game and might be too focused on what might have been.

4) The FedEx Orange Bowl (in Miami) – Kansas (8) vs. Virginia Tech (3) (FOX at 8:00 on 01/03) – This might actually be fun; except I don’t think Kansas can run with VT. I mean, the big Kansas game against Missouri was kind of a bust, except they made this furious comeback that made everyone sit up and take notice. Kansas can’t fall down to VT, because the VT defense isn’t going to get lit up like Missouri’s was (they learned there lesson against BC). I think Kansas can hang with VT offensively, but they may have issues on the defense side. VT is all about fundamental football, while Kansas is riding a high of easy schedules and blowouts. VT needs to control this game (which they are fully capable of doing) and play there style of football. They can’t get dragged into a shoot-out.

5) Watching Paint Dry

6) The Tostitos Fiesta Bowl (in Glendale) – Oklahoma (4) vs. West Virginia (9) (FOX at 8:00 on 01/02) – Is this game going to be any fun at all? I would rather watch grass grow than Oklahoma’s “offense”. I figured WVU would make this fun, but they don’t have a coach anymore. I mean, I guess I get to see Steve Slaton and Pat White (if he stays healthy), but other than that, this is just a throw away game. However, I will stay up to watch this game, if only for the off chance that Oklahoma gets embarrassed.

Extra Point:

7) What a pathetic BCS bowl schedule. I really can’t get excited over any of these games. I mean, I like that fact that teams like Illinois, Kansas, and Hawaii got to these games, but I just don’t like the match-ups. All of these games look like walks in the park. Are any of these going to be close? I know you can’t do this, but a Kansas/Illinois or an Oklahoma/Georgia match-up would be more exciting. This proves even more why we need a playoff, because no team really stands out as deserving a shot. We had a great college football season with upsets and tremendous victories, too bad it has to end with pitiful bowl match-ups.

To Watch or Not To Watch, That Is The Question

Last week, in order to spread Christmas cheer to sci-fi geeks far and wide, the USA Network cancelled “4400” and “The Dead Zone”. I, being a sci-fi geek, knew of these shows but never watched them (minus the occasional “Dead Zone” episode). My buddy Seamus on the other hand was quite put off (and by put off, I mean belligerent). He went on to inform me that he had all of last years “4400” on DVR, and was questioning where to actually watch it or not, seeing as it ended with a cliffhanger. So, should he watch?

This is a very interesting debate. On one hand, you have a full season of a show you know you enjoy. On the other, you know at the end you’re going to get screwed by the network. But haven’t we all watched a show and just known that it was going to get screwed (or as I like to call it, “get FOX-ed”). When we all sat down and started watching “Firefly”, “Miracles”, “Wonderfalls”, “John Doe”, “Invasion”, and “Reunion”, didn’t you know it would be lucky to last one season? It wasn’t that the writing was poor; it was just that the slack-jawed viewing public is more in love with cookie cutter crap like CSI and reality shows than anything that might actually be new and fresh. Of course, the other issue is that shows are considered “sci-fi”. You can put a new and fresh spin on the same old crap, and people will think its gold (see “Grey’s Anatomy”). So why do we keep coming back? I think it’s the ingrained hope in all of us. We see something we really like and just hope that this time, it will survive. Unfortunately, most of the time, natural selection takes hold and the wounded gazelle is mauled by the lions. Hey, we can’t blame the networks for wanting to make money; I just wish I could have gotten some resolution to some things.

So, what do you do? Well, I was faced with the same dilemma last year when “Jericho” was cancelled. I went ahead and just deleted it off my DVR. However, I’m going to go against that and tell Seamus to watch it. If he enjoys the show then he should enjoy the final season of it. Who knows, maybe Sci-Fi Channel will pick it up. God knows their Sci-Fi Friday needs all the help it can get, but that’s a rant for another day.

Trent's Touchdown - Non-BSC Bowl Week

Welcome to the best time of the year. No, I don’t mean the time to exchange all your crappy Christmas gifts for cool stuff (yeah, loved the sweater). I’m talking about college bowl time. It’s the time when mediocrity in college football is rewarded with millions of dollars. This week, we’ll just go with the non-BCS bowls, and then right before the BCS showdowns, I’ll give my breakdowns on those big games.

1) The Pacific Life Holiday Bowl (in San Diego) – Arizona State (11) vs. Texas (19) (ESPN at 8 PM on 12/27) – This game is going to answer a lot of questions. Is ASU overrated and Texas underrated? (possibly). Did ASU deserve a BSC bowl bid over someone like Illinois? (definitely). Is Colt Brennan a good quarterback? (not really). Even after the gag job against USC, I think ASU is being unfairly maligned. They are a good team that came together at the right time under the right coach. Are USC and Oregon (with Dixon) better? Definitely, but they are still the class of the Pac-10 this year and deserve to be rewarded. Texas took advantage of a soft Big 12 (it’s always soft) to get where they were going, it’s just the Kansas and Missouri took better advantage of it.

2) The Chick-Fil-A Bowl (in Atlanta) – Clemson (15) vs. Auburn (23) (ESPN at 7:30 on 12/31) – Everyone wants to talk about the Clemson offense against the Auburn defense. I want to talk about the Clemson defense against the Auburn offense, since this will be the key to the game. Will Clemson’s offense put up points? Probably. I just don’t think Auburn will score on Clemson’s defense. That is probably the must underrated facet of the Clemson football team. They are a bunch of speedy ball-hawks who will knock people around. Auburn’s offense has been sketchy all year. You didn’t know if they would have a great game or stink up the joint. I think Clemson wins, but they have a knack of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

3) The Outback Bowl (in Tampa) – Tennessee (16) vs. Wisconsin (18) (ESPN at 11:00 AM on 01/01) – Brace yourself everyone, but I’m going to finally admit it. Erik Ainge isn’t that bad of a quarterback (get me to say the same about Drew Weatherford, and it just might be the end of the world). He managed the game very well in the SEC Championship and his defense kept them in it. Wisconsin is tailor made to lose to Tennessee. They are a one trick pony (the run game) and once you take that away from them, you have them beat. A competent defense should be able to beat them (which explains why they only had 3 conference losses).

4) The AT&T Cotton Bowl (in Dallas) – Missouri (6) vs. Arkansas (Fox at 11:30 AM on 01/01) – Oh boy, when you talk about one dimensional teams, Arkansas has to be at the top of the list. And when you talk about teams getting screwed out of a BCS Bowl, Missouri has to be at the top of the list. Missouri is a team that used the softness of the Big 12, coupled with the bias shown to the Big 12 to its advantage. Unfortunately, they lost to Oklahoma twice and everyone fell in love with Kansas. When it comes to Arkansas, you have to talk about McFadden, Jones, and their running game. Yeah, they beat LSU, but lost to Alabama, Kentucky, Auburn, and Tennessee. They beat most teams but slugging it out offense to offense. Missouri is not going to let you do that, as their offense is too prolific and Chase Daniels is too good.

5) The Capital One Bowl (in Orlando) – Michigan vs. Florida (12) (ABC at 1:00 on 01/01) – I think more people would have believed this to be the National Championship Game at the beginning of the season instead of the Unfulfilled Expectations Bowl. Both teams had there problems. Michigan had hubris and injuries going against them. Florida had hubris and a lack of talent (polished talent, not athletic talent). All you really needed to do was just watch both teams to realize they didn’t have it. Michigan just seemed off all year, and Florida was great the first few games, then just sort of leveled off. As much as I would want Michigan to win this one, I don’t think they can, for one reason. Tim Tebow. Say want you want about the Heisman Trophy winner, but Michigan has shown all season long that they can’t stop a running quarterback. Thankfully for them, they were able to mask that in the Big 10. Put them in the SEC, they would have lost 8 games.

6) The Brut Sun Bowl (in El Paso) – South Florida (21) vs. Oregon (CBS at 2:00 on 12/31) – Welcome to the Your Bubble Got Burst Bowl. South Florida came out of the shoot and beat teams like Auburn and West Virginia and climbs to number 2 in the polls, then they lose three straight and no one cares about you anymore. Oregon came out and beat Michigan, USC, and ASU and get to number 2 in the polls, then Dennis Dixon blows out his knee and the Ducks lose three straight and no one care about you anymore. With USF, it was just because they weren’t that good talent wise, but smart play let them exploit people. With Oregon, the injury to Dennis Dixon was the worst possible thing to happen at the worst possible time. He wasn’t only the quarterback; he was the emotional heart and soul of that team. When he went down, the whole team crumbled around him. If Dixon stays healthy, he’s the Heisman Trophy winner and the Ducks are in the National Championship Game.

Extra Point:

7) Minus my joke at the beginning, I like the lesser valued bowls outside the BCS Bowls. They give us all one last shot to see our favorite teams. To lament one or two bad breaks and to celebrate the classic plays and victories. To see the teams that burst on to the scene and made us believe that a nobody could contend for a place on the big stage. To see players play for that one last shot at glory. To see fans bonding one last time as they watch their team play one more game for one more victory. I’ll be watching the Chick-Fil-A Bowl on 12/31. I’ll be sitting on the edge of my seat, rooting for Clemson, watching them beat the crap out of Auburn. Lamenting the loss to BC, but celebrating the victory over FSU. Years from now, I won’t remember that Clemson played in some bowl named after a fast food restaurant; I’ll remember that they played another game in a very good season. This is an experience I’ll share with ever fan of a team not in a BCS Bowl.

Tony Romo Shouldn't Take His Dates To Work

For the first time, I’ve found a reason to write about the NFL. Now, I’m a big time Pats fan. I’m not one of those idiot bandwagon jumpers either. I lived through the 1-15 and the 2-14 seasons. I remember when Hugh Millen was the first Pats player to make $1 million a year. I remember when there was serious talk of moving the team to St. Louis (it was so serious; I actually had a conversation with my Dad asking if we would still be Pats fans). Anyway, since the Brady/Belichick era, those days are gone and its all milk and honey. With that all said, I’m going to go ahead and rip on Tony Romo.

Now, I have nothing personal against Romo, he’s a good QB, but he’s not great. He’s not a top tier QB, and he should never be mentioned in the same sentence with Tom Brady, unless the sentence is “Tom Brady is significantly better than Tony Romo.” Throw all the stats out the window for a minute, and let’s talk about ability to get it done. Brady, in his second year in the league, he lead his team down the field in the Super Bowl with less than 2 minutes left to set up his kicker for the game winning field goal. He also did it in his second Super Bowl appearance. Brady has proven over and over again that he gets it done in the clutch. Romo is a different story. In the NFC Wild Card game last year against the Seahawks, Romo botched a simple hold on a field goal attempt that would have won the Cowboys the game. Plus, he had a horrible game with Carrie Underwood in the stands rooting for him. Just when you thought he might have got it under control, Hurricane Jessica rolls through town. Jessica Simpson, decked out in her pink Tony Romo jersey, attended last weeks Cowboys game. To put it mildly, Romo stunk up the joint. Someone should have waved a skunk at him. It was so bad; you have his number 1 receiver saying that she should stay away from Texas Stadium. The man can’t play when a cute girl is cheering him on.?!?! Brady has gone on the Tara Reid express (a popular ride for NFL QB’s), dated and impregnated Bridget Moynahan, and is currently dating Gisele Bundchen, yet he keeps rolling along.

Romo is soft. If he can’t play well when an American Idol winner and a Publicity Whore are rooting for him, I would hate to see him in the Super Bowl. Actually, if he’s playing the Patriots, I wouldn’t mind seeing him, and neither would the Pats secondary.

As a side note, due to the holiday season, I won't be posting again until next Thursday, when I will do a rundown of all the bowl games. I know you care.

Communism Sounds Good In Theory Too

I figured sooner or later I would need to throw my 2 cents in on the writer’s strike, so let’s have at it. The main point of contention is the Internet. The Writer’s Guild of America (the union) wants residuals for “new media” (basically, the internet). The companies want more time to study the situation, but are willing to set up Internet sales the same way DVD sales are set up now (0.3% of gross profits). The WGA feels they got douched with that deal, and want 2.5% of the distributor’s gross for new media sales and distribution. Basically, that’s what all the hub-bub is about. But let’s break this down scientifically.

Most people support the WGA. Most people are sheep. They see the hard working, underpaid writer versus the evil old corporations. This is the view presented to you by…..a bunch of writers. True, 95% of them turn out swill like “CSI” or “Cavemen”, but there are a few good shows out there. These people can spin a yarn if they want. Also, the public as a whole wants to put up the front that they care about others, that they are compassionate. It’s like the have some guilt complex, where they have to feel guilty if things are going there way. Or it’s a simple transference thing, where your life sucks and these people’s lives suck, so you relate to them. These people make money for doing a job they love. How many people can honestly say that? It’s not like they graduated college and was like “Damn, I can’t get that entry level office job, I guess I’ll have to write a sitcom now.” Basically, they feel they don’t make enough money doing their dream job. While the companies, on the other hand, are run by old white people. These people treat technology like my parents, they know it’s out there, they know they can make money off it; they just don’t know how to do it or how much they can make. So, the writer’s are asking rich people (who didn’t get rich by giving money away) to sign away a percentage of gross profits, yet no one knows just how much those gross profits will be tomorrow or ten years from now. Does that make sense to anybody?

Now, on to the union system as a whole. As my title suggests, it’s good in theory, but in actual practice, it’s a cess pool of human greed and corruption (much like communism). Actually, in the beginning, it worked as it should. The unpaid employees were able to bargain with the companies on a level field to get better wages and safer working conditions. I mean, we all want that. Now, unions are nothing but a figurative criminal with a gun to the head of big business, demanding more money and benefits or work stoppages and smear campaigns will begin. Do unions even have a place in today’s society, since with the Internet and well organized worker first groups, workers have the bargaining chip of bad publicity. Look how Wal-Mart is maligned on a daily basis. Employers do have one trump card in all this, and it’s the card that the companies in this dispute may play shortly. They can move their business overseas, or in TV’s case, they can get into production agreements with entities such as CTV in Canada or BBC in England (the wheels are already moving here). Nothing would please me more than having the writers get the rug yanked out from under them. I, for one, want these production deals to take place because now we get reality shows like “American Idol”, “So You Think You Can Dance”, and “Generic FOX Reality Show That Panders To The Lowest Common Denominator”. That’s not reality and it sure isn’t entertainment, it’s what the writers have given us. Can you support them now?

The BCS Screwjob

Everyone wants to find fault with the way the BCS shook out this year. However, no team this year would make the BCS Top 5 Screwjob List, which I have just created as it’s much better than doing any real work. Anyway, on with the list.

5) Kansas State – 1998 season. K State is the only team on this list that didn’t get screwed out of a National Championship shot, but makes the list because they had a rule named after them. K State was ranked third in the final BCS poll prior to the bowl games, but got regulated to the Alamo Bowl, while Ohio State (4) and Florida (8) got BCS Bowl bids. They instituted the “Kansas State rule” stating that teams ranked third and fourth in the BCS will get automatic bids to BCS bowls. Amazingly, something about the BCS started to make sense.

4) Auburn – 2004 season. Auburn came into the season undervalued in the polls because they had been overvalued the year before. What happened? Auburn ran the table. Unfortunately, so did USC and Oklahoma, who had been ranked ahead of Auburn all year long. Auburn’s strength of schedule did not come into play because that stat had been diminished in the BCS prior to the season. Auburn went on to beat Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl while USC dominated an overwhelmed Oklahoma team.

The next 3 are really tough, considering they were all pretty egregious.

3) USC – 2003 season. At the end of the 2003 season, USC (Pac-10 champs) had one loss, but was ranked number 1 in the AP and Coaches Poll. However, the computers deemed that USC has a weak schedule. LSU (SEC champs) also had one loss and was ranked number two in both polls and had a stronger computer ranking than USC. Oklahoma, previously ranked number 1, had lost their only game in the Big 12 Championship Game, dropping them to third in both polls, yet still number 1 in the BCS. Thanks to this genius, LSU played a team that didn’t even win their conference in the National Championship Game. You think they would have made a rule after the first time this happened (we’ll get to that later). So, LSU went on to beat Oklahoma and USC beat Michigan in the Rose Bowl. So, the AP kept USC at number 1 and the BCS gave LSU its number 1 ranking. So we get a split National Championship, something the BCS was created to avoid. Once again, Big 12 bias ruins college football (which is the theme in the next screwjob) as anyone with a brain would have had USC play LSU. Interesting footnote on this, 3 coaches actually violated their contractual obligations by voting USC number 1 in the Coaches Poll.

2) Oregon – 2001 season. At the end of the 2001 season, Oregon finished as Pac 10 champs with only 1 loss and was ranked second to undefeated Miami. Nebraska was ranked fourth in both polls with one loss, that being the final game of the season to two loss Colorado by 26 points. With that win, Colorado, not Nebraska, won the Big 12 North Division and went on to play and win the Big 12 Championship Game. Despite all this, Nebraska jumped ahead of both Oregon and Colorado to the number 2 spot in BCS polls. So, a team that didn’t even win its division jumps ahead of 2 conference winners to play in the National Championship. To add a little extra insult to Oregon, Nebraska beat out Colorado (with 2 losses) for the number 2 spot (by 0.05 points), and Oregon finished fourth. But have no fear, Miami went on to beat Nebraska for the National Title (no one was beating Miami that year) and Oregon went on to destroy Colorado in the Fiesta Bowl in a “how do you like me now!” statement game.

1) Miami and Washington – 2000 season. One of these teams was screwed, I’m not sure which. The case I’ll make for Miami is the same as for Washington. Oklahoma was undefeated and number 1, but there were 3 one loss teams with their claim to play Oklahoma. You had one loss Florida State, which actually ended up playing Oklahoma. The problem with FSU was that they lost to Miami (who was ranked number 2 in both polls at the end of the year) earlier in the year. The problem with Miami was that they lost to one loss Washington, the Pac 10 champs. In my mind, Miami got screwed, but Washington had their claim too. Anyway, both Miami and Washington won their bowl games, and Oklahoma beat FSU. Thanks to this debacle, we got the “Miami rule” which added a “quality win” bonus for beating a top 10 team.

Did You Ever Wonder.....

Whatever happened to S Club 7?

How did Seth Cohen choose between Anna Stern and Summer Roberts?

If Cameron Diaz ever thought about marrying James Cameron, just for hilarity’s sake?

Why does the music of rock bands suck after they get happy (I’m looking at you Staind)?

Is Canadian and Australian TV as good as British TV?

While you can explain why Obi-Wan and Yoda were able to appear to Luke through the force (in “Revenge of the Sith”), how did Anakin pull it off?

How is “Borat” funny?

Why the best show on TV is a “reimagining” of a cheesy show from the 70’s?

How do musicians justify bitching and moaning about things like Napster being a bad thing, yet keep quite when record companies collude to raise prices of CD’s?

Why you can’t find the caber toss on ESPN anymore?

How in God’s name did Eric Gagne get $10 million from the Brewers? Do they not have NESN in Wisconsin?

Does the Patriot’s offensive coordinator draw up plays after watching kids playing in the school yard?

How come Samantha Sanders never had any paparazzi following her around in 90210?

One If By Land, Two If By Sea, Three If By Television?

Upon my arrival home the other day, I noticed the new TV Guide in my mailbox. As I flipped through it, I noticed a review of the up-coming season of one of my favorite shows. “Life on Mars”, premiering on 12/11 on BBC America, is about a Manchester police office (DCI Sam Tyler) who is involved in a car accident and wakes up in 1973. Say what you will about the plot, but it extremely well written and beloved by critics. David E. Kelley is even producing an Americanized version of it (it’ll be crap because it’s Kelley). It got me thinking that the British really know there television. BBC America is a virtual treasure trove of quality programming. Let’s run down the list of quality British programming that us Yanks have been privileged to watch over the last few years.

First, you have to mention “MI-5” (or “Spooks” as it is know across the pond). It is about MI-5, the UK intelligence organization (think the FBI). The first 4 seasons were on A&E, before they realized that the quality of the programming didn’t match there line-up of “Dog the Bounty Hunter” and reruns of “CSI: Miami”. It makes “24” look like “Emmett Otter’s Jug-band Christmas”. I think I figured that out when the leader of a racist terror group put an agent’s head in a deep fryer in the second episode. But it’s not all about deep fryers, as there is an intricate plot that needs your undivided attention. Also, within the first three seasons, they lost there three main characters and didn’t skip a beat. No American show can seem to do that.

Other classics included “Hustle”, the show of a group of high-end grifters in London who only con those who deserve it. This gem was brought to us by the good people at AMC. You also have “Murphy’s Law”, about an on the edge undercover police officer. The great thing about this is that the show completely changed gears and it’s still great. It started off with Murphy as a slightly unbalanced police officer who had recently lost his child to an IRA bombing coming back to work, and had a slightly comedic tone. It completely turned into a dark and brooding series when season 2 opened with his girlfriend dying in his arms. “Robin Hood” was yet another retelling of the classic story of Sherwood Forest. A list like this would be remiss without the mention of the classic “Doctor Who” and it’s spin-off “Torchwood”. “Doctor Who” started off cheesy, but had a great story behind it and made me want to tune in. As I have yet to see “Torchwood” yet (it’s waiting on DVR), my boy Seamus told me that it went more “X-Files” than cheesy, and was really well done (Seamus has never been wrong about these things).

Now, its not all dramas as they have given us two of the classic comedies in recent years (both Americanized, one failed, one succeeded). Start with “Coupling”, which is basically “Friends”, except good. Three guys and three girls, frank and funny. Basically, it starts with the start of the relationship between Steve and Susan. You have Jane, who is Steve’s psycho ex; Patrick is Susan’s ex, plus Sally (Susan’s best friend) and the exceptionally funny Jeff (Steve’s best mate and Susan’s co-worker). Its one big incestuous relationship between the 6, but it makes for high comedy. The second is “The Office”, which if you watch NBC, needs no introduction. Basically, we see life at paper company Wernham Hogg through the eyes of a documentary team following the daily work of the company. It is hilarious for anyone who has ever had an idiot manager and Ricky Gervais is a comic genius.

Basically, the Brits do it right. They keep most series short, with only about 6 to 10 episodes in a season, and only about 2 or 3 seasons per show. That keeps things fresh and they don’t beat a concept into the ground. They aren’t afraid to kill off main characters and it never affects the show in any major way. Maybe that’s why producers keep ripping off the concepts and putting them on American TV.

The BCS - Drop The C For An Apt Description

I wanted to wait at least a day before I wrote anything about the BCS fiasco that occurred Sunday night. I didn’t want to be a rambling, incoherent, hypocritical mess. You know, someone who didn’t write for ESPN. Now, this season of college football has redefined the term “whacky”. Thirteen top 5 teams lost to unranked teams, the number 1 and 2 teams in the nation lost on the last day of the season, and the two teams that finish at the top of the BCS are a team that hasn’t played in two weeks and another that has been ranked in the top 2 twice already this season. Unlike past years, there isn’t controversy because there are three deserving teams and one got left out. The controversy lies in the fact that no team is truly deserving, which opens up the discussion to who is the most deserving of the unworthy? If this doesn’t make the argument for a playoff, nothing will. Let’s breakdown the teams, shall we?

Ohio State:
Pros – Big 10 conference champs. Quality win against Michigan on the road.
Cons – Lost to Illinois at home. Very easy schedule.
On the surface, you would think Ohio State is a clear cut choice, but let’s dig a little deeper. The Big 10 was on the downturn this year, so there quality in conference was poor. There out of conference schedule was Youngstown State, Akron, and Kent State at home and Washington on the road. If you’re looking to with the Ohio state title, this is fine, but we are talking about the National Championship here. Give the top 10 of the BCS this schedule, and they run the table.

LSU:
Pros – SEC conference champs. Quality wins against Virginia Tech (home), Florida (home), Auburn (home), Alabama (road), and Tennessee (neutral).
Cons – Two losses, on the road against Kentucky and at home against Arkansas.
Of everyone in the BCS, LSU has the best argument to be in the National Championship game. They won the toughest conference in college football. However, they have been sporadic at best throughout the year. Due to the late loss to Arkansas, they had been considered out, but due to the losses of 1 and 2, voters gave LSU the benefit, bumping them over two idle teams on one team that also won.

Virginia Tech:
Pros – ACC conference champs. Quality wins against Clemson (road), BC (neutral), and Virginia (road).
Cons – Two losses, on the road against LSU and at home against BC.
Virginia Tech got the douche more than anyone in the BCS. They were ranked ahead of LSU to start the day on Saturday, and beat a higher ranked opponent by a larger margin of victory. Yet, at the end of the day, everyone was talking about LSU, Georgia, USC, and even Oklahoma as playing OSU, but not VT (my girlfriend will tell you that I yelled VT out a few times while watching ESPN). However, there schedule was relatively easy, as the ACC was down this year, and they lost to there only quality opponent, LSU.

Georgia:
Pros – Quality wins against Alabama (road), Florida (neutral), Auburn (home), and Kentucky (home).
Cons – Didn’t win conference championship. Two losses, at home to South Carolina and on the road to Tennessee.
Georgia seems to be the easiest one to disqualify, as they didn’t win there conference. I’ll be the first one to say that I’ve wanted a rule in the BCS that states you need to be a conference champ to be in the National Championship Game. However, I’m not going to act like I just saw a whore in church when talking about, especially when I don’t remember the fuss when both Nebraska and Oklahoma did it, shutting out superior teams (I’m looking at you Mark May).

Oklahoma:
Pros – Big 12 conference champs. Quality wins against Missouri (once at home, once on neutral site) and Texas (neutral).
Cons – Two losses, on the road in Colorado and Texas Tech.
Everyone loves Oklahoma, but why? They really don’t have quality wins, and there losses are mind boggling. I hate this Big 12 bias, and it’s been going on forever (see what I wrote about Georgia). The Big 12 is a weak conference and any team from the SEC and Pac-10 could move in and contend right away (even Ole Miss and Washington State).

I’m not going to rehash the argument I made for Georgia with Kansas and Missouri (yet, Missouri got douched out of a BCS bowl all together) and I really can’t bring myself to make some sort of defense for USC. You can really make a case for most of these teams. So, what does this mean? You got it, playoff. I think the only way to find a true champion this year is with a playoff. It would be fun, considering USC and Georgia are both playing amazingly right now. But why have a playoff when you can have a cruel and arbitrary system made up of coaches and computers deciding who will face off in a National Championship Game?

Trent's Touchdown - Week 14

Oh my God, it all comes down to this. After 13 weeks of utter madness, we come to the final week of the year, with 7 BCS Bowl bids up for grabs (Ohio State, West Virginia, and USC are definitely going). Let’s not discount anything this final week. Especially after LSU lost to Arkansas (which, despite what I said last week, shocked me). Remember, FOX has the BCS Selection Show at 8PM on Sunday night. On to the match-ups:

1) The Big 12 Championship Game - Oklahoma (9) vs. Missouri (1) (at San Antonio) (8:00 on ABC) – Missouri is the number 1 team in the BCS, yet they are underdogs to Oklahoma. If you think about it, Missouri really should have beaten Oklahoma in there first meeting, but all that matters is the W. Missouri is a better team that finally had the opportunity to showcase their talent against Kansas last weekend. Plus, I seriously think that Missouri had a tougher schedule than Oklahoma. Now, before you get all riled up, I think Oklahoma is a good team, but they are not great. Everyone wants to make Oklahoma something they aren’t. Missouri is just a better team, and they should win (I can’t believe I actually like a Big 12 team not lead by Major Applewhite).

2) The SEC Championship Game - Tennessee (14) vs. LSU (7) (at Atlanta) (4:00 on CBS) – I can’t believe Tennessee actually went to the SEC Championship Game with Erik Ainge as the QB. This would be like Peyton Manning beating Florida during his tenure. It’s unheard of. Anyway, this game should feature LSU and Georgia, but for some reason, Georgia tanked to Tennessee earlier in the season. Of course Georgia is now fourth in the BCS, but that’s not the point. I only trust Tennessee when I look at the final score and they are listed as the winner. Then you have LSU. They were ranked number 1 two separate times this year and then lost games they should have won (the OT losses to Kentucky and Arkansas). This could be for any number of reasons, but I think the Kentucky game was a trap game and the Arkansas loss was due to the Les Miles to Michigan distraction. The distraction is still there and Tennessee could win this one.

3) The ACC Championship Game – Virginia Tech (6) vs. Boston College (11) (at Jacksonville) (1:00 on ABC) – If this rematch is anything like the regular season game these two played, it’ll be very close and Matt Ryan will lose his lunch on the sidelines (yes, still bitter about Clemson). In the last game, VT left Tyrod Taylor on the bench, but BC won’t be that lucky again. VT is all about playing the game and finding a way to win the big games. I do not expect VT to lose again, if only because they will do all the little things they need to do and won’t make dumb mistakes.

4) Pittsburgh at West Virginia (2) (7:45 on ESPN) – The reason this goes here is because West Virginia needs to win go to the BCS title game. This is something I picked last year for WVU, but I was dumb. The old saying is you can throw out records when it comes to rivalry games, but WVU should thrash Pitt, and do it with style. Pitt can’t run with WVU, they can’t even run with the team at my old high school, and they sucked.

5) UCLA at USC (8) (4:30 on ABC) – Remember last year when everyone was waiting to announce the USC/Ohio State National Championship Game and then USC went and doused their drawers against UCLA? That should have been everyone’s first hint that USC was a flawed team and John David Booty is a flawed QB. USC has back-doored their way to the Pac-10 championship by taking advantage of Dennis Dixon’s ACL and an overmatched ASU team. USC is not that great, and now I’m going to have to watch a Rose Bowl with an overrated Ohio State team that had a schedule that was easier than Britney Spears on a bender, and USC, which got there because some guy blew out his ACL. That doesn’t sound like fun to me.

6) Navy vs. Army (at Philadelphia) (12:00 on CBS) – I’m including this for two reason. One, it’s a tradition. Two, Bill Belichick said that is was the best game of the year, and when has he ever been wrong…..about football. Navy will win.

Extra Point:

7) For one of the very few years in existence, the BCS has it right. Missouri and West Virginia deserve to play in the National Championship Game. Now, don’t get me wrong, these are by no means the two best teams in the Nation, but they have don’t something no other team could do. They won when it counted. Can you think of another team that deserves it? Ohio State has a horrid schedule. Georgia can’t even get into the SEC Championship Game. Kansas lost to Missouri and has a cupcake schedule. Everyone else has two losses. Now, if one of them loses, then that opens the door for controversy. Also, it opens the door for more playoff talk. Isn’t that what we all want? Of course, with the playoff, we wouldn’t have the ability to bitch about how the BCS sucks. But we would get to complain about the bubble team that doesn’t get into the playoff. In this case, everyone is a winner.

Harbinger of Death – The Kara Thrace Story

Do you know how hard it is to find good TV nowadays? The throng of mediocre TV is enough to lead you to exclusively watch BBC America. However, every now and then you have a show come along that completely blows you away. You sit on the edge of your seat throughout and curse the network execs at the end due to the fact that you have at wait over a year for a new episode (damn you Sci-Fi). If the title didn’t give it away, I’m talking about Battlestar Galactica.

When if first hit the airwaves, I was less than enthused. This was due to my good friend’s less than pleased views of the re-imagined BSG. Of course this was due to his rose colored view of the cheesy BSG from the late 70’s. After the first season, he and multiple others told me I had to watch. That this was the best thing since sliced bread. Since I like my bread sliced, I decided I would give it a whirl and watch the first season on DVD. I went through the whole thing in three days. Minus a few hiccups in season 2 (cough*Black Market*cough), every show is a homerun. Three moments stick out in my mind as utterly mind blowing (I’m not including Sharon shooting Adama because I knew about that before it happened). The first was the “Adama Maneuver” from “Exodus Part 2”. This was when Adama jumped the Galactica into the atmosphere of New Caprica, dropped his Vipers, and then jumped back out. Back in space, he’s getting hammered by Basestars, his son arrives out of nowhere commanding the Battlestar Pegasus and flies right down the middle and absorbs the blasts and sacrifices his own ship for the Galactica. The second is the end of “Crossroads Part 2”, when we find out four of the final five Cylons and Starbuck, seemingly, comes back from the dead and tells Lee that she knows the way to Earth. Then we get the year long hiatus. The third was first appearance of Admiral Cain and the Battlestar Pegasus. This leads to the TV Movie “Razor”.

“Razor” is a flashback movie that deals with Lee Adama’s first mission as commander of the Pegasus as seen through the eyes of Kendra Shaw. She flashes back to her time on Pegasus when Admiral Cain was in charge. Basically, the movie gives fans of my third moment what they always wanted. We finally found out how Pegasus survived, we get to see how Fisk became Cain’s XO, and we get to see Gina’s role before her imprisonment. Most importantly, we get more Admiral Cain. My favorite part was probably Admiral Adama giving Cain a morality when talking about all the choices she had to make to survive. She didn’t have the same restrictions and support that Adama had, and he shutters to think about the choices he would have made in her position. The end, as referenced in my title, was only part of the lines spoken to Shaw by the hybrid, and speaks volumes about what we might see in the final season. When I heard about this movie, I was ho-hum, because we hadn’t seen a new episode since March. Slowly but surely, I found myself back at the edge of my seat, pissed when the credits rolled and cursing the network execs because I wouldn’t be seeing any new material until March of 2008. So, I speak for all fans of great TV when I say “Damn you Sci-Fi, damn you.”

Trent's Touchdown - Week 13

So, do you think Week 13 will mean more bad luck for top 5 teams, or will we actually get a ho-hum week? Week 12 gave use two more top 5 teams losing to unranked teams (that makes 11), the top Heisman contender going down with an ACL injury (which he sustained in the ASU game), and Notre Dame actually winning another game. You know what? I’m not shocked by any of it, thanks to everything that’s happened so far. My shock senses exploded with Appalachian State 34, Michigan 32. Anyway, to the early rundown, thanks to the Thanksgiving holiday:

1) Missouri (4) vs. Kansas (2) (in Kansas City) (8:00 on ABC) – The Border War actually means something this year. Two undersized, under-recruited QB’s lead their teams into the biggest game of their careers (until the Big 12 Championship and a possible National Championship Game). Todd Reesing and Kansas have been just filthy, making scores in the 40’s, 50’s 60’s, and 70’s (poor Nebraska) seem like child’s play. Their defense has been holding teams to paltry numbers. Of course, the flip side is the only team they played that was in the top 25 at the time was Kansas State (24). There out of conference schedule is Central Michigan, SE Louisiana, Toledo, and Florida International. Stop laughing, I’m not joking. Chase Daniel and Missouri have kept consistent with scores in the 40’s and a defense that keeps teams in the 20’s. There schedule is tougher with Illinois and Ole Miss out of conference, and Oklahoma (their only loss) and Texas Tech. I think people are underestimating Kansas in this one. Of course, it’s happened all season and look where they are.

2) USC (11) at Arizona State (6) (8:00 on ESPN on Thurs) – Oregon’s loss last week has opened the door for ASU to not only win the Pac-10, but also may be able to backdoor their way into the National Championship Game. Step one begins on Thanksgiving with the game against USC. USC has to be the most lackluster 2 loss team in the country. They don’t seem to do anything really well. I think they are following the formula of Miami right before their collapse (minus all the random violence). Basically, get a bunch of blue chip prospects, slap them together, put them on the field, and hope for the best. Seriously, can you tell between Sanchez and Booty (minus the fact that Sanchez sucks and Booty has a cool name)? They are all nameless, faceless blobs. No more Bush and White in the backfield. It’s just a hodgepodge of interchangeable parts, that do the job, but you’re not going to trust them at big times. ASU, on the other hand, is a good team that came together at the right time under the right coach. Gee, who do you think I’m rooting for here?

3) Connecticut (20) at West Virginia (3) (3:30 on ABC) – If you had told me at the beginning of the season that the UConn/WVU game would decide the Big East, I would have laughed in your face, then politely tell you that UConn is about a year away from doing anything dynamic. But then they go and slap together this season. They didn’t have a great schedule, but it’s not Hawaii’s. Of course, they only quality non-conference game scheduled they lost (Virginia), but Tyler Lorenzen quietly put together a respectable season. Not quietly was the season that WVU put together, considering they were the top team in the conference and have that high powered offense that has highlights featured on Sportscenter. But remember that last week WVU had a little trouble with a tenacious Cincy team. However, Cincy is better than UConn.

4) Virginia Tech (8) at Virginia (18) (12:00 on ESPN2) – These two are playing for the right to beat BC in the ACC Championship Game (yes, I’m still bitter over the Clemson game). VT had a horrible start to the season, when they struggled against Eastern Carolina and got whooped by LSU. Then they righted the ship and got back to getting it done. The only slip up was against BC, when they went to the prevent defense, which I think prevents the defense from stopping anyone. They are very good at fundamental football, which is the reason they win. Virginia started off with the loss to Wyoming (I forgot they had a football team) then went ahead and started to shock the world, until they came back down to earth against NC State. They have a very good defense; it’s just there offense doesn’t always help them out. VT wins this one, but Virginia’s defense makes it interesting.

5) Boise State (19) at Hawaii (15) (9:00 on ESPN2 on Fri) – Part of me wanted to avoid this game, but I just couldn’t. Its last year’s darling vs. this year’s darling. Hawaii’s hopes are resting with Colt Brennan, who took a whopping two snaps last game. He’s starting this game, but who knows how long he can go for. Boise State got derailed earlier this year against Washington (who plays Hawaii next week), but then got back to their winning ways. Basically, the winner of this wins the WAC, and possibly gets a BCS bowl invite. Hey, I’m all for anyone who is willing to beat on a Big 12 team.

6) Tennessee (18) at Kentucky (1:30 on CBS) – The one thing Georgia needs to claim its rightful place in the SEC Championship Game would be a Kentucky win. I’m not a big Georgia fan, but I really dislike Tennessee (for no apparent reason). I seriously don’t know what to expect from them. They get blown out by Cal, Florida, and Alabama, barely get by Vandy, but beat the holy hell out of Georgia. I would ask if that made sense, but considering the year we’ve had. Kentucky, on the other hand, just imploded on themselves after beating LSU, with there only win since then coming against Vandy. Kentucky can win, they just need to stop this downward spiral and play there game.

Extra Point:

7) You want to know how whacky this season has been. In two weeks time, we could have Ohio State, UConn, Virginia, Arizona State, Tennessee, and Kansas as the conference champions, with Kansas and ASU in the National Championship Game. Isn’t this an argument for a playoff? Don’t give me that bull that the whole season is a playoff either. The fact that UConn and Virginia could be playing in the Orange Bowl should be enough to shock anyone into pulling for the playoff system. The problem with the BCS is the same problem college football has always had, it’s completely arbitrary. It’s letting coaches and sportswriters with agenda’s and computers with no concept of sports to decide the champion, instead of the kids on the field. I know they are in school for an education, but if you’re going to do something, do it right.

Superman Lives Even If "Smallville" Dies

I know everyone was just waiting for me to say something about “Smallville”, but I just couldn’t bring myself to write anything until now. Why you may ask? It’s been tough to wrap my head around the episodes. I think we can all agree it’s bad when you rip off old episodes, but when you acknowledge it, it’s even worse. I just want to know what the hell is going on. It’s like the CW is showing episodes out of order. Case in point, the last episode “Blue”. The episode before that one we had Lana Lang steal Clark’s power, nearly kill Lex, and get threatened by Chloe. The following episode it was like nothing had happened. You know, if I had superpowers that my girlfriend acquired, tried to kill her ex, and my best friend threatened her, I think that would have repercussions down the road. But hey, that’s just me.

If you look at the season as a whole, it’s just been crappy. It’s like the writers said “hey, let’s add in a hot girl and just throw a bunch of stuff against the wall and see what sticks”. Seriously, is there any overall story arc? I figured the last episode would give me something, but all that happened was Kara get’s teleported to the Motor City and Lois probably has crabs. And what was up with Kara going to Detroit? I mean, I know its hell on earth, but it makes no sense. I’ve also figured out that the CW doesn’t waste a lot of money on Tom Welling’s wardrobe. A red shirt and blue shirt is all he gets. We know he’s going to be Superman; you don’t have to keep jamming the imagery down our throats.

So you ask why I stick around? Why do I keep watching? It’s not because I’m hoping for the reappearance of Sam Jones III. I want it to get good again. I keep hoping it gets good again. Maybe I just have blind faith here, but anything is possible.

"Finish the Job" Means Winning the Game

“Finish the Job”. This was Clemson’s slogan all year long, after last year’s strong start and horrid collapse. This was the slogan that followed them from the first game against FSU, to last night’s game against BC. I guess they’ll need the slogan again next year. This wasn’t like the other two losses by Clemson. The loss against Georgia Tech was because they went away from what worked for them, the run and wide receiver screens. The loss against Virginia Tech was just them being overmatched on both sides of the ball by a superior team. The BC game was all about lack of execution.

I would be the first to blame Tommy Bowden, but I think that’s the easy way out. I hate to put the blame on 18 to 22 year old kids, but that is where it belongs. Bowden and his staff put them in a position to win, and the team didn’t execute. Actually, BC let them off the hook, since the run and running back screens were working against the Clemson defense, and BC didn’t take advantage of it as much as they should have. I will say that the play calling in the goal to go situations for Clemson during the first drive of the second half are unforgivable. Everyone and their mother knew that as soon as Harper spread out, Davis was taking it, just like he did on the first TD. But after that, the offense couldn’t find a good rhythm, even after the defense kept finding a way to get Ryan and the BC offense off the field. My major gripe with the defense was that huge TD pass to Gunnell. How do you get that open? The final drive from Clemson was just horrid. First, you have Aaron Kelly letting the go ahead (and probably winning) TD hit him in the hands and he drops it. Then, the very next play, Grisham drops a pass that would have gotten them close to a first down (true, they got the first down, but every play counts). The last play was the problem. They were on the edge of field goal range, Harper should have felt the pressure, and should have gotten rid of the ball. I was physically ill when he took that sack. My remote control would have exploded against the wall if my girlfriend weren’t there. I was pissed, first at Bowden, and then just at the fact that my team, the one I was rooted for, didn’t finish a team they should have beaten. Then my girlfriend said something to me, the dreaded thing no sports fan wants to hear.

“There is always next year”. The lament of following a perennial loser. But if you look at it, all could be rosy for the Tigers next year. If they get Harper, Kelly, Grisham, Davis, and Spiller back next year, that could mean huge things for this team. The best quarterback, the best wide receiver, the best running back combo. This could do wonders. That team should roll in the Atlantic Division. Let Bowden coach that team. If it fails, I’ll be the first one showing him the door.

Trent's Touchdown - Week 12

Wow, we’re at Week 12 of the college footbal season and yet another number 2 team has lost. The thing is, I’m not surprised. There is nothing that could happen in college football that would surprise me, well, except maybe Notre Dame winning a game. Anyway, on to the rundown:

1) Ohio State (7) at Michigan (21) (12:00 on ABC) – There are two reasons this game gets top billing over the BC/Clemson tussle. One, at the end, we will actually know who’s going to the Rose Bowl. Two, this may be Lloyd Carr’s last game, if you believe the rumors (and when are rumors ever false?) This game has gone over so many makeovers this year. First, it was going to be the last game Michigan would need to win to get to the National Championship (then the season actually started). Then, it was just a ho-hum game. Then, it was going to be the last game Ohio State would need to win to get to the National Championship. Now, it decides the Big 10 champ and Rose Bowl contestant. I would say OSU has been playing very well this year, but they haven’t really played anyone. My old high school football team could beat half the teams the OSU beat. The same could be said about Michigan, if not for the non-conference game against Oregon. When it comes to this game, throw everything you think you know out the window, except one thing. Lloyd Carr has never beat Jim Tressel. However, his boys may step up and give him this one if it truly is his last game.

2) Boston College (17) at Clemson (15) (7:45 on ESPN2) – I remember when Clemson lost two straight to Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech and I wrote them off for the year. Not only because they had back to back conference losses, but I didn’t think anyone could be the juggernaut that was Boston College. Then I remembered that they only beat UMass by 10, but realized Matt Ryan was just too good to let his team fold under the pressure. Then the Virginia Tech game happened. Matt Ryan led BC from 10 down to win the game with two drives in the last few minutes of the game. I was in awe, until Matt Ryan threw up on the sidelines. I realized at that moment he could be beat. Then FSU and Maryland proved me right. Will Clemson getting a bye week after there two losses, they rebounded and became an entirely new team, blasting there way throw opponents like a hot knife through butter. I’m not going to bore you with the fact that Clemson has a better ranked offense and defense, and the fact that their QB has better numbers than Ryan. You only need to know two things. One, they are playing in Clemson, one of the toughest places to play in college football. Two, BC is completely demoralized after those back to back losses, and they have no time to recover, like Clemson did.

3) Kentucky (23) at Georgia (9) (12:30 on ESPN Gameplan) – Remember when Kentucky beat LSU and had a good site on a possible National Championship shot? Now, they don’t even have a shot at the wacky SEC East, but they can play spoiler. I can’t believe Georgia has just found another gear. They had that massive team celebration after the first touchdown in the Florida game and haven’t looked back since. They even busted out the black uni’s last week. I’m just finding it hard to believe that Tennessee controls their own destiny. Are you serious? In this game, either one of these teams can win. If Kentucky plays the way they are capable of playing, Georgia better watch out.

4) West Virginia (6) at Cincinnati (22) (7:45 on ESPN) – I never would have guessed that Cincinnati would be ranked, but the Big East sucks and they actually have a very good QB. Sure, the transferred from Wake Forest, but that’s not the point. Plus, if you told me that the West Virginia/UConn match-up next week could possibly decide the Big East, I would have laughed in your face. West Virginia plays like they get extra points for style. They are run and gun, all out, lets score and do it in bunches. Cincinnati just wants to win, and they consistently do it.

5) Oklahoma (4) at Texas Tech (8:00 on ABC) – Please tell me I’m not the only one hoping Oklahoma takes the pipe in this game. I seriously cannot deal with Oklahoma in the National Championship Game. They get overvalued by the BCS, and they aren’t that good. LSU will wipe the floor with them, if it gets to that. They are lead by a QB that I wouldn’t trust a Pop Warner game to. I mean, the NFL scouts see that Oklahoma has below average QB’s, that’s why none of them are in the NFL. Texas Tech is a complete trap game for Oklahoma, except for the fact they can’t play defense. Any team with defensive speed (any team in the SEC or Pac-10) can give Oklahoma troubles. Texas Tech will try and beat them the old fashioned way, in a shootout. You can’t beat Oklahoma that way.

6) Miami at Virginia Tech (10) (3:30 on ABC) – Remember when this was a huge game in the Big East? Then the Larry Coker era happened and Miami went to pieces. This is totally a game that VT might overlook because they are looking ahead to the big tussle against Virginia next week (I never thought that would be possible). Miami isn’t horrible, but they are rebuilding, and it’s tough when you are relying on Kyle Wright. Miami will be much better once the Kyle Wright era is over. As for VT, they are just a good team. They go out there and take care of business on both sides of the ball, unless they are playing LSU.

Extra Point:

7) I was going to write about how we were finally going to get a championship game without a team from the Big 12, but Oregon crapped the bed on me, but it gave berth to a new weekly rank. The number 2 position is cursed this year. If I had a team, I would want to stay in third until the last possible second. Five different teams have held the position and have all lost. But they’ve all lost for specific reasons. USC lost because John David Booty broke his finger and Sanchez sucks. Cal lost because Nate Longshore was injured and they had a freshman QB running the 2 minute drill. South Florida and BC both lost for the same reason, they were ranked higher than they deserved and they came crashing down to Earth. Oregon lost last night because Dennis Dixon went down with a knee injury and Brady Leaf wasn’t comfortable with the new offense scheme. So, to recap, two teams lost because they never should have been there in the first place, and three lost because they couldn’t fully rely on their back-ups. Here’s a newsflash, INJURIES HAPPEN. You have to be prepared for your best player to go down at the worst possible time. That’s what practice is for. USC, Cal, and Oregon could have all held on to their rankings if they let there back-up QB’s take a few snaps with the first team. Hey, I’m just saying.

The Beginning is Here

Okay, let me first start off by saying that this isn’t going to be one of those wuzzy blogs where I talk about my feelings or how I saw a cloud that looks like a bunny today. There will also not be any talk about politics. Politics is horrible to talk about because everyone has their own opinions, everyone is wrong, and no one thinks they are wrong. Should I really think you’re the anti-Christ because you don’t believe the same thing I do politically? Well, possibly, but that’s not the point.

The Spot is going to be your place for sports, TV, and whatever else I feel like talking about. I’m going to write about the baseball (the Red Sox), the NFL (the Patriots), college football (anybody but Ohio State and Texas), soccer, any dumb TV shows I’m watching (and how they could be better), and possibly and music or movie information you should know about. My first real entry will be tomorrow about the upcoming weekend in college football. Here’s a little preview. Clemson rules and BC sucks. I might even write something about “Smallville”, if Kristen Kruek’s acting doesn’t send me into an epileptic fit.