There are a few ways you can tell its fall. The leaves start to change, the weather gets a little cooler, Sam Adams Octoberfest hits the shelves, and the Notre Dame football team implodes. It’s like clockwork.
It has to be heartbreaking for fans to see another highly touted Notre Dame team fail to meet early expectations. However, this has been the storyline for a while now in South Bend. While this probably occurred prior to the 2005 season, I’m using that as a jumping off point. The reason is the fact that Tyrone Willingham should never inspire confidence in anyone.
The Charlie Weis Era: The Brady Quinn Years (2005-2006):
While I may have no respect for Tyrone Willingham as a coach or recruiter, he did leave Charlie Weis with a pretty good team in 2005. Willingham was sort of like Ron Zook, but instead of doing his homework and recruiting high quality players, he sort of lucked into guys like Quinn.
While 2006 may have been the more hyped year, 2005 was the best year. The 2005 squad wasn’t expected to do much, with a new coach, new system, and coming off a 6-6 season. However, Quinn seemed to flourish under Weis’ pro-style offense while leading Notre Dame to a 9-3 record.
The 2005 team beat three ranked teams on the road (Pittsburgh, Michigan, and Purdue) and lost their two regular season games by a total of 6 points (Michigan State and USC). The Michigan State game was lost in overtime, but Quinn had rallied the team from a 21 point deficit to get it to overtime. As for the USC game, you can’t mention that to a Notre Dame fan without incoherent ramblings about the “Bush Push” (one of the greatest games ever played).
At the start of the 2006 season, hopes were high and Notre Dame was ranked number 3. Hopes were dashed when Michigan trounced Notre Dame at home by 26 points in the third game of the season. Then, in the final game of the season, Notre Dame got run over by USC by 20 points. They still received a Sugar Bowl berth, only to get blown out by LSU by 27 points.
The Charlie Weis Era: The Jimmy Clausen Years (2007-2009):
At the end of the 2006 season, the Fighting Irish lost a number of players to graduation and the NFL Draft, including Brady Quinn. This left room for freshman Jimmy Clausen to take the reins. Freshman starting quarterbacks usually don’t mean good things. I think you can tell where the 2007 season is heading.
Here is a quick recap of the 2007 season. Notre Dame went 3-9, starting out 0-5 before their first victory (UCLA on the road), then losing four in a row before back to back victories (Duke and Stanford) to end the season. As the season went on, Clausen started to show improvement, so things seemed to be turning around a bit.
The 2008 season was lackluster, but a definite improvement at 7-6. There was only one blowout loss (USC by 35 on the road). The remaining five losses were by a total of 42 points, which is respectable. Only two of those losses came at home, by a combined 4 points. Notre Dame managed a Hawaii Bowl berth and beat Hawaii 49-21. Hopes were high that Notre Dame could build off this and improve the following year.
In the 2009 season, Notre Dame started off 6-2, with close losses to Michigan (by 4 on the road) and USC (by 7 at home). At this point, the Fighting Irish were ranked 19, with four games remaining. Those four games were home against Navy, on the road against Pitt (ranked 8), UConn at home, and on the road against Stanford. Any right minded fan would think, based on the season at this point, that Notre Dame would go 3-1 in this stretch.
The Fighting Irish lost all four. I think the worst part was that they were all close games. They lost all 4 by a total of 17 points. The Stanford game pretty much ended the Charlie Weis era by giving up 18 points in the 4th quarter. It was so bad, that Notre Dame announced that they wouldn’t attend a bowl game that year, even though they were eligible.
The Brian Kelly Era: The Dayne Crist/Tommy Rees Years (2010-present):
After Charlie Weis was shown the door, Notre Dame hired Brian Kelly after his sterling year at Cincinnati. He immediately needed a quarterback since Jimmy Clausen decided he had enough and was going to the NFL Draft. Dayne Crist and his sketchy knee got the nod to run Kelly’s spread offense.
While the 2009 team was great to watch as a football fan (due to the close nature of nearly every game), the 2010 team needed to be watched just because you had no clue what the heck was going to happen from week to week. The 2010 season was a roller coaster ride.
Notre Dame started out 1-3, with the loss to Michigan coming on Michigan’s final drive and the loss to Michigan State coming in overtime on a fake field goal. The Irish then win 3 straight, making everyone think they turned it around. They then lose to Navy and Tulsa, with Crist blowing out his knew in the Tulsa loss.
Freshman Tommy Rees comes in beats number 15 Utah at home, beats Army at Yankee Stadium, and goes to Coliseum and beats USC. Just to end on a high note, he leads the Irish to a beat-down of Miami. They finish with a respectable 8-5 season. You could almost feel the anticipation by Irish fans for the start of the season.
In the off-season, the quarterback battle ended when Crist got the starting nod for the first game against South Florida. With a pre-season ranking of #16 and a pretty favorable schedule, some fans thought this might be the start of a return to a BCS Bowl. In the immortal words of Lee Corso, “not so fast my friend”.
Notre Dame got off to a slow start and underestimated the scrappy South Florida team. The ineffective Dayne Crist was replaced by Tommy Rees. Rees did better by comparison, but there were plays in the red zone that left you wondering if Crist would have gotten it done. With the three point loss at home, Notre Dame tumbled out of the top 25. They now have to man-up for a trip to Ann Arbor and Michigan.
The End Result:
Notre Dame has been awash with talented players and coaches since 2005. Minus the 2007 season, there really isn’t an excuse for the 43-33 record over that time period. The offense hasn’t really been the issue over that time, except for the times when Clausen looked like a deer in the headlights. They had two offense minded coaches who were quiet skilled at moving the ball.
The one explanation I have always heard has been the bad defense. I agree with that, to a point. Yes, Notre Dame had issues stopping teams. They also gave up points at inopportune times and couldn’t seem to stop good offensive teams. I fully agree that the defense bares a bulk of the responsibility.
However, the offense was never lighting the world on fire. The offense was riddled with bad play calling, bad execution, and dumb plays more times than I could count. I have trouble watching a Notre Dame game from start to finish because it just becomes grating to watch a receiver run a 5 yard out when they need 8 yards.
So, I have to feel bad for Notre Dame fans because the teams have the talent, they just can’t seem to make the final leap and capitalize on it. I guess I can sympathize because it’s kind of like being a New England Patriots fan right now. You know they have all the parts, you get excited before the season because of all the good things you’ve heard, but in the back of your mind, you’re wondering how they’re going to blow it.
Look on the bright side, maybe this was a one-time deal before the two headed monster of Rees and Crist lead the Irish to new heights. Of course, if you think that can actually happen, maybe you should buy some lottery tickets too.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Friday, September 2, 2011
Trent's Touchdown: Six Week 1 College Football Games to Watch
College Football is finally here! While my wife may be giving the sarcastic “that’s great” response, I couldn’t be happier. After enduring the most disheartening off-season in memory, we can finally start seeing games. Not only that, but there are a lot of quality games early, but more on that later. For now, let’s get to the Touchdown:
1) No. 3 Oregon vs. No. 4 LSU – 8:00 PM on ABC (in Arlington, TX)
Oh boy, a battle between two top 5 teams to open the season. I’m getting giddy just thinking about it. We are going to answer some big questions in regards to both of these teams.
Last year, when breaking down a LSU game, I said that deciding between Jarrett Lee and Jordan Jefferson was like trying to decide whether to drink spoiled milk or eat rotted meat. Well, a bar room brawl made Les Miles’ decision that much easier and Lee gets the start (LSU fans may cringe now).
LSU is going to try and limit the mistakes that Lee will make. This means, offensively, they will run the ball and use short, high percentage passes to move the ball. They will slow down the game and grind it out. The easiest way to stop the Oregon offense is to keep them off the field.
Oregon, on the other hand, is all about the run and gun. You’ll see Darron Thomas throwing all over the field and use LaMichael James to soften up the LSU defense. This Oregon team needs to prove that they can move the ball against tough SEC defenses, especially after last season’s National Championship Game.
Last year Oregon proved they could hang with the big boys of the SEC, just not beat them. As long as they don’t get too full of themselves, they should be able to turn the tables, starting Saturday night. Look for Oregon to roll and look for Lee to throw 3 interceptions.
2) No. 5 Boise State vs. No. 19 Georgia – 8:00 PM on ESPN (in Atlanta, GA)
Just last week, I had written how Boise State still had some magic left in the tank, but the more I think about it, the more I’m beginning to wonder.
Let’s be straight, Kellen Moore is still one of the best quarterbacks in the country. His career numbers are absolutely gaudy and he could crack the 50 win mark if everything breaks right for BSU this season. However, Moore’s numbers usually come against bad teams.
BSU has a tendency to give up too many points to moderately good teams and have thirties in points. They faced four good teams last year, beating Virginia Tech and Utah on neutral fields, beating Oregon State at home, and losing on the road to Nevada. They scored a total of 127 points, while giving up 91 points. While that seems like a good spread, the remaining totals are 459 points scored versus 75 points surrendered. Yeah, not so pretty now.
Georgia is a rebound team. After going a dismal 6-7 last season, they are back with moderate expectations. Aaron Murray has a serviceable season last year and fans are expecting big things this year. If he gets time, he can tear up this BSU team and make people sit up and notice them.
This will be a close game. BSU will get out on top first, but Georgia will battle back. I think Georgia pulls it out late.
3) South Florida at No. 16 Notre Dame – 3:30 PM on NBC
The Dayne Crist era begins again! The only one more excited that Crist about this is probably his surgeon. The kid has already had two knee surgeries, let’s see if he can stay upright for a full season.
With Crist back at the helm (after competent stewardship by Tommy Rees), Brian Kelly is more confident to take the reins off and let his offense go. As Crist has a year of the spread offense under his belt, he will be more confident and have more plays at his disposal this year than he did starting the season last year. Look to see Crist air out the ball and really challenge the USF defense.
However, the eight returning starters for the Irish will have their hands full with B.J. Daniels. While his numbers last year weren’t mind blowing, he kept them close in all their games with his ability to run and throw. The Achilles heel of the Irish the last handful of years has been the defense. If they can contain and control Daniels, that will give them a good confidence boost to start the season.
Unlike last year, Crist and the Irish will not find a way to blow the game in the final two minutes. Look for them to come out primed and ready and beat up on South Florida.
4) Tulsa at No. 1 Oklahoma – 8:00 PM on FX
The next couple of games will be fun to watch only if you are interested to see how teams respond to adversity. I’m going to start with the number 1 team in the land.
Normally, I don’t like Oklahoma. Nothing has changed, but for once I’m not going to complain about them being number 1. They’ll find some way to screw it up, they usually do. While Oklahoma has a lot of talent returning on both sides (as well as Heisman candidate Landry Jones), they have to deal with injury to Travis Lewis and the death of Austin Box.
Tulsa, on the other hand, is missing their big playmaker in Damaris Johnson, although he’ll be out due to stupidity. He is being investigated on a felony embezzlement charge. Tulsa was already going to have enough issues trying to break Oklahoma’s 36 game winning streak without being dealt this blow.
This game will give us all some insight in how well Oklahoma can cope with the death of Box. Strong emotions have been shown to both help and hurt teams. It will also give us a window in the type of team that will be playing Florida State in two weeks. Oklahoma rolls in this game.
5) No. 14 TCU at Baylor – 8:00 PM on ESPN (on 9/2)
It seemed like Andy Dalton has been in college for the past 10 years. Now, we get to see how TCU is going to replace the 4 year starter and all-around leader of the team.
TCU will be turning to Casey Pachall to take over for Dalton under center. Not only that, TCU also lost about half its starters from last year, so their final season in the Mountain West should be fun. Pachall will have help on the offensive side, with a veteran crew of receivers and running backs to make his life a little easier.
Baylor will be sporting the dangerous Robert Griffin III, who will start turning heads if you can lead Baylor to some wins in the Big 12. While Griffin has a quality crew of receivers, the big question is in the backfield and who will fill the shoes of Jay Finley. Expect Griffin to try and attack the TCU defense through the air and test out some of the new starters.
I think this will be a close game, but Pachall should be able to squeeze out a win on the road. As long as he stays calm and listens to his coach, he should be fine.
6) Akron at No. 18 Ohio State – 12:00 PM on ESPN
Dan Herron, DeVier Posey, Mike Adams, and Solomon Thomas are all suspended for the first five games of the season. Jordan Hall, Corey Brown, and Travis Howard are all suspended for this game. Terrelle Pryor left for the NFL and Jim Tressel resigned in disgrace. If all that wasn’t bad enough, Ohio State has Joe Bauserman as the starting quarterback. Things don’t look pretty in Columbus.
Extra Point:
I’ve always been one to complain about the marshmallow feel of early season games. However, in recent years, the trend has been toward tougher schedule strength. This season is a perfect example, when four of the top six teams play each other in the first three weeks of the season (Oregon/LSU in week 1 and Oklahoma/FSU in week 3).
I think teams are starting to realize that going undefeated isn’t enough these days. Two years ago, Cincinnati went undefeated yet got no higher than 4th in the rankings. The reason is that they rolled through a sub-par Big East Conference and their non-conference schedule was Southeast Missouri State, Oregon State, Fresno State, Miami (OH), and Illinois. That wasn’t exactly a Murderers Row. They showed their stripes when they got waxed by Florida in the Sugar Bowl by 27 points.
Boise State has been facing the same criticism over the last couple of years, though they have been making strides with non-conference games against Oregon (2009), Virginia Tech (2010), and Georgia (2011). Their problem is they are willing to face one big team, but that’s it. After Georgia this year, there other non-conference games are Toledo, Tulsa, Nevada, and Fresno State. No team is punching their ticket by playing two mid-level ranked teams and a bunch of unranked teams nobody knew played football.
On the other hand, you have a team like LSU, who is not only in the toughest division in the toughest conference in college football, but two of their four non-conference games are against ranked opponents (Oregon and West Virginia). Should LSU lose a close game early (say against Oregon), then run the table, I think the BCS will look lightly on that loss.
The point is that tougher schedules are slowly becoming the norm in college football. Going undefeated is no longer enough. I think this is probably the one valid argument against a playoff system in college football. With a playoff system, teams will be playing to be ranked in the top 8 (or however the system is set up), so they can easily schedule cupcake teams and coast into that ranking.
With the BCS, you have to be the top 2 to have your shot at the National Championship. Of course, if you give the fans a playoff, I don’t think they’ll care if the first two weeks is the equivalent of pre-season. I know I wouldn’t.
1) No. 3 Oregon vs. No. 4 LSU – 8:00 PM on ABC (in Arlington, TX)
Oh boy, a battle between two top 5 teams to open the season. I’m getting giddy just thinking about it. We are going to answer some big questions in regards to both of these teams.
Last year, when breaking down a LSU game, I said that deciding between Jarrett Lee and Jordan Jefferson was like trying to decide whether to drink spoiled milk or eat rotted meat. Well, a bar room brawl made Les Miles’ decision that much easier and Lee gets the start (LSU fans may cringe now).
LSU is going to try and limit the mistakes that Lee will make. This means, offensively, they will run the ball and use short, high percentage passes to move the ball. They will slow down the game and grind it out. The easiest way to stop the Oregon offense is to keep them off the field.
Oregon, on the other hand, is all about the run and gun. You’ll see Darron Thomas throwing all over the field and use LaMichael James to soften up the LSU defense. This Oregon team needs to prove that they can move the ball against tough SEC defenses, especially after last season’s National Championship Game.
Last year Oregon proved they could hang with the big boys of the SEC, just not beat them. As long as they don’t get too full of themselves, they should be able to turn the tables, starting Saturday night. Look for Oregon to roll and look for Lee to throw 3 interceptions.
2) No. 5 Boise State vs. No. 19 Georgia – 8:00 PM on ESPN (in Atlanta, GA)
Just last week, I had written how Boise State still had some magic left in the tank, but the more I think about it, the more I’m beginning to wonder.
Let’s be straight, Kellen Moore is still one of the best quarterbacks in the country. His career numbers are absolutely gaudy and he could crack the 50 win mark if everything breaks right for BSU this season. However, Moore’s numbers usually come against bad teams.
BSU has a tendency to give up too many points to moderately good teams and have thirties in points. They faced four good teams last year, beating Virginia Tech and Utah on neutral fields, beating Oregon State at home, and losing on the road to Nevada. They scored a total of 127 points, while giving up 91 points. While that seems like a good spread, the remaining totals are 459 points scored versus 75 points surrendered. Yeah, not so pretty now.
Georgia is a rebound team. After going a dismal 6-7 last season, they are back with moderate expectations. Aaron Murray has a serviceable season last year and fans are expecting big things this year. If he gets time, he can tear up this BSU team and make people sit up and notice them.
This will be a close game. BSU will get out on top first, but Georgia will battle back. I think Georgia pulls it out late.
3) South Florida at No. 16 Notre Dame – 3:30 PM on NBC
The Dayne Crist era begins again! The only one more excited that Crist about this is probably his surgeon. The kid has already had two knee surgeries, let’s see if he can stay upright for a full season.
With Crist back at the helm (after competent stewardship by Tommy Rees), Brian Kelly is more confident to take the reins off and let his offense go. As Crist has a year of the spread offense under his belt, he will be more confident and have more plays at his disposal this year than he did starting the season last year. Look to see Crist air out the ball and really challenge the USF defense.
However, the eight returning starters for the Irish will have their hands full with B.J. Daniels. While his numbers last year weren’t mind blowing, he kept them close in all their games with his ability to run and throw. The Achilles heel of the Irish the last handful of years has been the defense. If they can contain and control Daniels, that will give them a good confidence boost to start the season.
Unlike last year, Crist and the Irish will not find a way to blow the game in the final two minutes. Look for them to come out primed and ready and beat up on South Florida.
4) Tulsa at No. 1 Oklahoma – 8:00 PM on FX
The next couple of games will be fun to watch only if you are interested to see how teams respond to adversity. I’m going to start with the number 1 team in the land.
Normally, I don’t like Oklahoma. Nothing has changed, but for once I’m not going to complain about them being number 1. They’ll find some way to screw it up, they usually do. While Oklahoma has a lot of talent returning on both sides (as well as Heisman candidate Landry Jones), they have to deal with injury to Travis Lewis and the death of Austin Box.
Tulsa, on the other hand, is missing their big playmaker in Damaris Johnson, although he’ll be out due to stupidity. He is being investigated on a felony embezzlement charge. Tulsa was already going to have enough issues trying to break Oklahoma’s 36 game winning streak without being dealt this blow.
This game will give us all some insight in how well Oklahoma can cope with the death of Box. Strong emotions have been shown to both help and hurt teams. It will also give us a window in the type of team that will be playing Florida State in two weeks. Oklahoma rolls in this game.
5) No. 14 TCU at Baylor – 8:00 PM on ESPN (on 9/2)
It seemed like Andy Dalton has been in college for the past 10 years. Now, we get to see how TCU is going to replace the 4 year starter and all-around leader of the team.
TCU will be turning to Casey Pachall to take over for Dalton under center. Not only that, TCU also lost about half its starters from last year, so their final season in the Mountain West should be fun. Pachall will have help on the offensive side, with a veteran crew of receivers and running backs to make his life a little easier.
Baylor will be sporting the dangerous Robert Griffin III, who will start turning heads if you can lead Baylor to some wins in the Big 12. While Griffin has a quality crew of receivers, the big question is in the backfield and who will fill the shoes of Jay Finley. Expect Griffin to try and attack the TCU defense through the air and test out some of the new starters.
I think this will be a close game, but Pachall should be able to squeeze out a win on the road. As long as he stays calm and listens to his coach, he should be fine.
6) Akron at No. 18 Ohio State – 12:00 PM on ESPN
Dan Herron, DeVier Posey, Mike Adams, and Solomon Thomas are all suspended for the first five games of the season. Jordan Hall, Corey Brown, and Travis Howard are all suspended for this game. Terrelle Pryor left for the NFL and Jim Tressel resigned in disgrace. If all that wasn’t bad enough, Ohio State has Joe Bauserman as the starting quarterback. Things don’t look pretty in Columbus.
Extra Point:
I’ve always been one to complain about the marshmallow feel of early season games. However, in recent years, the trend has been toward tougher schedule strength. This season is a perfect example, when four of the top six teams play each other in the first three weeks of the season (Oregon/LSU in week 1 and Oklahoma/FSU in week 3).
I think teams are starting to realize that going undefeated isn’t enough these days. Two years ago, Cincinnati went undefeated yet got no higher than 4th in the rankings. The reason is that they rolled through a sub-par Big East Conference and their non-conference schedule was Southeast Missouri State, Oregon State, Fresno State, Miami (OH), and Illinois. That wasn’t exactly a Murderers Row. They showed their stripes when they got waxed by Florida in the Sugar Bowl by 27 points.
Boise State has been facing the same criticism over the last couple of years, though they have been making strides with non-conference games against Oregon (2009), Virginia Tech (2010), and Georgia (2011). Their problem is they are willing to face one big team, but that’s it. After Georgia this year, there other non-conference games are Toledo, Tulsa, Nevada, and Fresno State. No team is punching their ticket by playing two mid-level ranked teams and a bunch of unranked teams nobody knew played football.
On the other hand, you have a team like LSU, who is not only in the toughest division in the toughest conference in college football, but two of their four non-conference games are against ranked opponents (Oregon and West Virginia). Should LSU lose a close game early (say against Oregon), then run the table, I think the BCS will look lightly on that loss.
The point is that tougher schedules are slowly becoming the norm in college football. Going undefeated is no longer enough. I think this is probably the one valid argument against a playoff system in college football. With a playoff system, teams will be playing to be ranked in the top 8 (or however the system is set up), so they can easily schedule cupcake teams and coast into that ranking.
With the BCS, you have to be the top 2 to have your shot at the National Championship. Of course, if you give the fans a playoff, I don’t think they’ll care if the first two weeks is the equivalent of pre-season. I know I wouldn’t.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
The Great Debate: Should College Football Athletes Be Paid?
Ever since the unpleasantness in Miami exploded, the big debate in college football has been “should athletes get paid”. Most analysts use the term “stipend”, but it is essentially paying kids to play football. There are even coaches like Steve Spurrier coming out and offering to pay athletes out of his salary. So, is this a good idea? I’ll take a look at both sides of the debate.
Argument for Paying College Football Athletes:
With the recent issues at Ohio State and Miami coming to light, it seems like now is the best time to visit the issue of paying football athletes at stipend to cover expenses. A large number of these athletes come from inner city areas where money is tight and times are tough. By providing players with some money, it lowers the chance that the player or their extended family will take money from other outside sources (agents, boosters, etc).
Since athletes would be less apt to take money, it lowers the cost to the NCAA to investigate these issues. The NCAA could then turn around and use that money to pay off commentators to stop saying the word “playoff”. But seriously, fewer investigations would lead to less off-field distractions for team. It would also mean fewer abrupt firings of ADs and coaches, as well as fewer suspensions for athletes.
While most detractors would hide behind the “they get an education” defense, top tier players almost always leave college early before finishing their degree. The main reason is money. They want to be able to start providing for their family and are tired of living like a pauper even though they are stars. By paying a stipend, athletes may be more willing to stay an extra year to complete their education and have a marketable skill that doesn’t include throwing a ball.
The NCAA and colleges make billions from college football. It seems only fair that the athletes get a small piece of the pie. Players should be able to go out with friends or companions without having to worry about being able to pay for the experience. A player should be able to go to McDonald’s if they want to grab a quick bite to eat. It is easy for resentment to grow if the college is making money on an athlete’s hard work while the athlete in question can’t even buy a Big Mac.
Argument against Paying College Football Athletes:
With the recent issues at Ohio State and Miami, now, more than ever, it is important for the NCAA to stick to their guns and reinforce the rules that college athletes are not to be paid for their services. Life is about rules and regulations and the sooner kids in their late teens learn this, the better.
The argument that by giving athletes some money will deter them from taking more money is flimsy. If a town has a problem with murder, the town doesn’t say “well, murder is still illegal, but you can beat the crap out of someone and be fine.” No, you draw the line in the sand. If it gets crossed, you call down the thunder; you don’t redraw the line further back.
I would postulate that NCAA investigations would be tougher, more expensive, and more time consuming if athletes were paid than if not. Right now, a college athlete walking down the street with gold chains jumping into his new car is going peak some interest and lead to tough questions. If athletes start getting paid, then instead of stammering, they can say that they saved up their stipend money to buy the chains and car. Then it becomes a game of follow the money.
While not trying to hide behind the “they get an education” defense, education is not cheap. The average undergraduate tuition and fees for Ohio State University for 2011-2012 is $19,926 for Ohio residents and $34,974 for out of state residents (with the disclaimer that students should expect a 5 to 10 percent increase yearly). So, that means that for 4 year, and out of state student would pay around $150,739 (figuring a 5 percent annual increase).
That means that an 18 year old athlete would be given $150,000 worth of services for in exchange for his services on the football field. Seems like a fair deal when you consider he has a four year audition for the NFL while classmates graduating are faced with a tough job market and the specter of college loan payments.
I think the biggest argument against paying college athletes is the logistical nightmare it creates for the NCAA and the furor it will create from the schools. In order to be fair, all colleges have to pay all players the same amount of money. Meaning the redshirt freshman punter gets the same as the star quarterback. Not only that, but the third string running back at Baylor has to be paid the same as the starting wide receiver at USC. You need to sit each and every college down and figure out a price that works for all of them; otherwise it just becomes a lower level professional league with teams trying to outbid each other.
Now, if by some miracle, every college agreed upon a price to pay each college football athlete, and this was instituted, then a whole other fight would begin. College basketball, baseball, and hockey players would be demand equal treatment. It would then trickle down to sports like lacrosse, swimming, and any other sport you can think of. Plus, let’s not forget the inevitable Title IX lawsuit that would come with women’s sports demanding equal treatment as well. It would be an absolute disaster.
Conclusion:
Both sides have valid arguments. Personally, I feel that the NCAA will stand pat and come down hard on all offenders. They have a monopoly on amateur football and they know it. They are going to make rules that benefit the most number of people. Cutting checks to every student athlete does not benefit the most number of people. So, while this was a fun debate, it’s all moot since the NCAA isn’t going to reward offenders.
Argument for Paying College Football Athletes:
With the recent issues at Ohio State and Miami coming to light, it seems like now is the best time to visit the issue of paying football athletes at stipend to cover expenses. A large number of these athletes come from inner city areas where money is tight and times are tough. By providing players with some money, it lowers the chance that the player or their extended family will take money from other outside sources (agents, boosters, etc).
Since athletes would be less apt to take money, it lowers the cost to the NCAA to investigate these issues. The NCAA could then turn around and use that money to pay off commentators to stop saying the word “playoff”. But seriously, fewer investigations would lead to less off-field distractions for team. It would also mean fewer abrupt firings of ADs and coaches, as well as fewer suspensions for athletes.
While most detractors would hide behind the “they get an education” defense, top tier players almost always leave college early before finishing their degree. The main reason is money. They want to be able to start providing for their family and are tired of living like a pauper even though they are stars. By paying a stipend, athletes may be more willing to stay an extra year to complete their education and have a marketable skill that doesn’t include throwing a ball.
The NCAA and colleges make billions from college football. It seems only fair that the athletes get a small piece of the pie. Players should be able to go out with friends or companions without having to worry about being able to pay for the experience. A player should be able to go to McDonald’s if they want to grab a quick bite to eat. It is easy for resentment to grow if the college is making money on an athlete’s hard work while the athlete in question can’t even buy a Big Mac.
Argument against Paying College Football Athletes:
With the recent issues at Ohio State and Miami, now, more than ever, it is important for the NCAA to stick to their guns and reinforce the rules that college athletes are not to be paid for their services. Life is about rules and regulations and the sooner kids in their late teens learn this, the better.
The argument that by giving athletes some money will deter them from taking more money is flimsy. If a town has a problem with murder, the town doesn’t say “well, murder is still illegal, but you can beat the crap out of someone and be fine.” No, you draw the line in the sand. If it gets crossed, you call down the thunder; you don’t redraw the line further back.
I would postulate that NCAA investigations would be tougher, more expensive, and more time consuming if athletes were paid than if not. Right now, a college athlete walking down the street with gold chains jumping into his new car is going peak some interest and lead to tough questions. If athletes start getting paid, then instead of stammering, they can say that they saved up their stipend money to buy the chains and car. Then it becomes a game of follow the money.
While not trying to hide behind the “they get an education” defense, education is not cheap. The average undergraduate tuition and fees for Ohio State University for 2011-2012 is $19,926 for Ohio residents and $34,974 for out of state residents (with the disclaimer that students should expect a 5 to 10 percent increase yearly). So, that means that for 4 year, and out of state student would pay around $150,739 (figuring a 5 percent annual increase).
That means that an 18 year old athlete would be given $150,000 worth of services for in exchange for his services on the football field. Seems like a fair deal when you consider he has a four year audition for the NFL while classmates graduating are faced with a tough job market and the specter of college loan payments.
I think the biggest argument against paying college athletes is the logistical nightmare it creates for the NCAA and the furor it will create from the schools. In order to be fair, all colleges have to pay all players the same amount of money. Meaning the redshirt freshman punter gets the same as the star quarterback. Not only that, but the third string running back at Baylor has to be paid the same as the starting wide receiver at USC. You need to sit each and every college down and figure out a price that works for all of them; otherwise it just becomes a lower level professional league with teams trying to outbid each other.
Now, if by some miracle, every college agreed upon a price to pay each college football athlete, and this was instituted, then a whole other fight would begin. College basketball, baseball, and hockey players would be demand equal treatment. It would then trickle down to sports like lacrosse, swimming, and any other sport you can think of. Plus, let’s not forget the inevitable Title IX lawsuit that would come with women’s sports demanding equal treatment as well. It would be an absolute disaster.
Conclusion:
Both sides have valid arguments. Personally, I feel that the NCAA will stand pat and come down hard on all offenders. They have a monopoly on amateur football and they know it. They are going to make rules that benefit the most number of people. Cutting checks to every student athlete does not benefit the most number of people. So, while this was a fun debate, it’s all moot since the NCAA isn’t going to reward offenders.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Seven Things You Need to Know for the 2011 College Football Season
The college football season is nearly upon us and I, for one, couldn’t be happier. Since I was a Boy Scout in my younger days, I believe in the credo “Be Prepared”. As such, I have prepared a list of the top seven things you need to know for the upcoming season. Let the fun begin.
1) Rules are NOT meant to be broken
I don’t think I have ever seen an off-season like this one. It seems like every program is being investigated or sanctioned in one way or another. You have teams vacating wins, vacating championships, firing coaches, firing ADs, facing post-season bans, facing scholarship loses, and even one team (Miami) facing the “death penalty”.
As much as I hate to give ESPN credit for anything, that 30 for 30 on SMU showed the stark realities of what the “death penalty” means to a college football program. That said, the NCAA needs to take a hard line here. They need to show that rule breaking of any kind will not be tolerated and will be dealt with extreme prejudice.
The time to talk about stipends or payments for players can be dealt with later. The culture of corruption needs to be dealt with now.
2) Andrew Luck and then everyone else
I was listening to a radio interview with Todd McShay the other day. I don’t think there is any talent assessor that I respect more than McShay (Mel Kiper Jr. and Mel Kiper Jr’s hair are a close 2 and 3). He spent a good chuck of the interview extolling the virtues of Andrew Luck.
Anyone who watched college football last year knows the kid is the real deal. He’s durable, has a strong, accurate arm, and is a good leader. The Heisman Trophy is his to lose. There is no one else in college football right now who is at his talent level.
I do question how the loss of his coach and the increased pressure will effect his game. Did Harbaugh build a system for his quarterback or is Luck really that talented? Will the season long pressure of being “the man” weigh on him? Time will tell, but I think he’ll be just fine.
3) The Top 5: parity or pathetic
Let’s take a look at the Top 5 in the Preseason USA Today Coaches Poll. In order, Oklahoma, Alabama, Oregon, LSU, and Florida State. I thought it was a joke at first. Then, after I thought about it, it sort of made sense. The reason I thought it was a joke is because there is no clear cut dominant team here.
Any water carrier for any of those five teams knows that they have flaws. I don’t trust the quarterbacks of any of those teams. The only team that is moderately balanced is Oklahoma. Alabama and LSU will rely on defense, Oregon will rely on offense, and FSU will rely on luck.
I think this is more of a statement that there is parity in college football now. I don’t think there will be two teams that make it though the season undefeated. It is going to come down to who is the best one loss team. And of course, that leads to my favorite subject: bashing the BCS.
4) Conference realignment rocks
I’ll be the first to admit I was a little skittish about conference realignment. Keeping track of all the moves and potential moves is dizzying at times. All you need to know is that the Pac 10 is now the Pac 12, the Big 10 has twelve teams, and the Big 12 has ten teams.
We finally get Pac 12 and Big 10 Championship Games. Finally we will get a definitive champion for two of the tougher conferences in college football. I was getting tired of having to watch Oklahoma or Texas beat up on whatever cream puff the Big 12 North put into the Big 12 Championship Game.
Next year, TCU will be moving to the Big East, which will give them a springboard to an automatic BCS Bowl without having to go undefeated. Though, on a talent level, it almost seems like a step down.
Also, the SEC seems to be looking to poach Big 12 and ACC teams to make some sort of super-conference. I love the suspense and intrigue. Also, makes for fun speculation.
5) Era of BCS busters TCU and Boise State not quite over
Now, I’m not saying that Boise State or TCU will run the table and end up in a BCS Bowl. Truth be told I don’t think either team will do it this year. However, both are still dangerous and need to be taken seriously. TCU has the easier schedule, but have to go to Boise State late in the year. Plus, TCU will be breaking in a new quarterback to replace Andy Dalton.
Boise State, on the other hand, goes on the road and opens up against an unrated Georgia team. That game and the aforementioned showdown with TCU will not be easy. Boise State is the better team with a lot of returning starters (including Kellen Moore), but TCU will still be dangerous. Don’t sleep on either of these teams.
6) We don’t have Christian Ponder to kick around anymore.
One of the things I’ve enjoyed over the last couple of seasons was everyone trying to sell me on Christian Ponder. You knew the season was close when you got the obligatory “This is his year!” article. Yet, every time I watched him play, I came away thinking everyone was crazy. He had all the skills, he just wasn’t that good.
So, now that Ponder is gone, the “experts” need a new quarterback to tout as being great but is actually just mediocre. This leads me back to the McShay interview I mentioned earlier. After playing cheerleader for Luck, he was asked who else was good, beside Luck. He named Matt Barkley and Landry Jones.
After I picked myself up off the floor from laughing so hard, I realized he was serious. I know for a fact both of these quarterbacks will be pushed on us as type tier quarterbacks. While Barkley has made improves from his freshman year, he still lacks the ability to lead his team. As for Jones, he throws bad interceptions at bad times and pads his stats against lousy teams.
Of course, there is also the possibility we will get a few weeks of hype on E.J. Manuel and Denard Robinson. Both are poor man versions of Tyrod Taylor (and that’s not a compliment).
Now to the most controversial portion, which are my top 5 quarterbacks (after Andrew Luck). In only the order I remember them in: Dayne Crist (Notre Dame), Kellen Moore (Boise State), Nick Foles (Arizona), Kirk Cousins (Michigan State), and Zack Collaros (Cincinnati). I’d take these five over Jones or Barkley any day.
7) Remember one thing: anything is possible
If college football has taught me anything, it’s that you need to expect the unexpected because anything can happen. My advice is to just sit back and enjoy. It’s going to be a great season.
1) Rules are NOT meant to be broken
I don’t think I have ever seen an off-season like this one. It seems like every program is being investigated or sanctioned in one way or another. You have teams vacating wins, vacating championships, firing coaches, firing ADs, facing post-season bans, facing scholarship loses, and even one team (Miami) facing the “death penalty”.
As much as I hate to give ESPN credit for anything, that 30 for 30 on SMU showed the stark realities of what the “death penalty” means to a college football program. That said, the NCAA needs to take a hard line here. They need to show that rule breaking of any kind will not be tolerated and will be dealt with extreme prejudice.
The time to talk about stipends or payments for players can be dealt with later. The culture of corruption needs to be dealt with now.
2) Andrew Luck and then everyone else
I was listening to a radio interview with Todd McShay the other day. I don’t think there is any talent assessor that I respect more than McShay (Mel Kiper Jr. and Mel Kiper Jr’s hair are a close 2 and 3). He spent a good chuck of the interview extolling the virtues of Andrew Luck.
Anyone who watched college football last year knows the kid is the real deal. He’s durable, has a strong, accurate arm, and is a good leader. The Heisman Trophy is his to lose. There is no one else in college football right now who is at his talent level.
I do question how the loss of his coach and the increased pressure will effect his game. Did Harbaugh build a system for his quarterback or is Luck really that talented? Will the season long pressure of being “the man” weigh on him? Time will tell, but I think he’ll be just fine.
3) The Top 5: parity or pathetic
Let’s take a look at the Top 5 in the Preseason USA Today Coaches Poll. In order, Oklahoma, Alabama, Oregon, LSU, and Florida State. I thought it was a joke at first. Then, after I thought about it, it sort of made sense. The reason I thought it was a joke is because there is no clear cut dominant team here.
Any water carrier for any of those five teams knows that they have flaws. I don’t trust the quarterbacks of any of those teams. The only team that is moderately balanced is Oklahoma. Alabama and LSU will rely on defense, Oregon will rely on offense, and FSU will rely on luck.
I think this is more of a statement that there is parity in college football now. I don’t think there will be two teams that make it though the season undefeated. It is going to come down to who is the best one loss team. And of course, that leads to my favorite subject: bashing the BCS.
4) Conference realignment rocks
I’ll be the first to admit I was a little skittish about conference realignment. Keeping track of all the moves and potential moves is dizzying at times. All you need to know is that the Pac 10 is now the Pac 12, the Big 10 has twelve teams, and the Big 12 has ten teams.
We finally get Pac 12 and Big 10 Championship Games. Finally we will get a definitive champion for two of the tougher conferences in college football. I was getting tired of having to watch Oklahoma or Texas beat up on whatever cream puff the Big 12 North put into the Big 12 Championship Game.
Next year, TCU will be moving to the Big East, which will give them a springboard to an automatic BCS Bowl without having to go undefeated. Though, on a talent level, it almost seems like a step down.
Also, the SEC seems to be looking to poach Big 12 and ACC teams to make some sort of super-conference. I love the suspense and intrigue. Also, makes for fun speculation.
5) Era of BCS busters TCU and Boise State not quite over
Now, I’m not saying that Boise State or TCU will run the table and end up in a BCS Bowl. Truth be told I don’t think either team will do it this year. However, both are still dangerous and need to be taken seriously. TCU has the easier schedule, but have to go to Boise State late in the year. Plus, TCU will be breaking in a new quarterback to replace Andy Dalton.
Boise State, on the other hand, goes on the road and opens up against an unrated Georgia team. That game and the aforementioned showdown with TCU will not be easy. Boise State is the better team with a lot of returning starters (including Kellen Moore), but TCU will still be dangerous. Don’t sleep on either of these teams.
6) We don’t have Christian Ponder to kick around anymore.
One of the things I’ve enjoyed over the last couple of seasons was everyone trying to sell me on Christian Ponder. You knew the season was close when you got the obligatory “This is his year!” article. Yet, every time I watched him play, I came away thinking everyone was crazy. He had all the skills, he just wasn’t that good.
So, now that Ponder is gone, the “experts” need a new quarterback to tout as being great but is actually just mediocre. This leads me back to the McShay interview I mentioned earlier. After playing cheerleader for Luck, he was asked who else was good, beside Luck. He named Matt Barkley and Landry Jones.
After I picked myself up off the floor from laughing so hard, I realized he was serious. I know for a fact both of these quarterbacks will be pushed on us as type tier quarterbacks. While Barkley has made improves from his freshman year, he still lacks the ability to lead his team. As for Jones, he throws bad interceptions at bad times and pads his stats against lousy teams.
Of course, there is also the possibility we will get a few weeks of hype on E.J. Manuel and Denard Robinson. Both are poor man versions of Tyrod Taylor (and that’s not a compliment).
Now to the most controversial portion, which are my top 5 quarterbacks (after Andrew Luck). In only the order I remember them in: Dayne Crist (Notre Dame), Kellen Moore (Boise State), Nick Foles (Arizona), Kirk Cousins (Michigan State), and Zack Collaros (Cincinnati). I’d take these five over Jones or Barkley any day.
7) Remember one thing: anything is possible
If college football has taught me anything, it’s that you need to expect the unexpected because anything can happen. My advice is to just sit back and enjoy. It’s going to be a great season.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
The Killing Season Finale Failure
Now, I hate Bill Simmons. I have for years. Hell, in 2008, I wrote an article in which I called him a “self-aggrandizing ass clown”. I still stand by those words; however, he occasionally makes good points. His article on the season finale of The Killing is a perfect example. It pretty much took the wind out of my sails on the literary smack-down I was going to lay on the episode. I will try and keep my points brief now.
The finale was a kick in the nuts (or for you ladies, a punch in the baby maker). I made a lot of excuses for this show over the past few episodes. I should have been put on payroll as a show apologist (you know, like all those people who still fawn all over Glee). When it started, I loved the three interwoven stories. They all compelled me, made me not upset when they moved from one story to the next. Then, it started to drag, where the only storyline I wanted to see was the police storyline, but only if I didn’t have to deal with Linden’s family issues.
I think I gave up during the episode “Missing”. It was hard to justify the episode at all. It was 45 minutes of Linden and Holder trying to track down her idiot kid. Um, don’t you have a murder to solve? The show finally dissolved to the point where I was only watching for the identity of the killer and any scene with Holder. That guy cracked me up. Plus, he was the only character I actually cared about. I got sucked into his storyline and nearly cheering for him when Linden pretty much anointed him a good detective. Then, the skullduggery started.
I actually liked the second to last episode, with Linden in Richmond’s home office, seeing her email continually pop up, and then Richmond shows up at the door. Classic stuff that made me want to watch the finale right then and there. However, I knew at that point that he didn’t do it. It was too easy. While watching the finale and seeing the noose tighten around Richmond, I kept thinking to myself that this is a very anti-climatic finale. With ten minutes left, I figured one of two things was going to happen. Either Richmond was the killer and the story would be lame or we wouldn’t know who the killer was and enrage the fan base. At this point, the lame ending would have been better.
I hated the fact that Holder’s betrayal came out of left field. I mean, with most major plot twists, you can look back and be like “how did I miss that?!” With this, you were thinking “huh?” After Holder’s confession of being a former addict and every sketchy thing being explained, there was no indication he wasn’t straight. Let me say that again, there was NO INDICATION HE WASN’T STRAIGHT! So, the only thing I know now is that Linden and Richmond didn’t kill Rosie. After that, it’s a crap shoot. Hell, thanks to the closing scene, we don’t even know if Richmond will survive; consider the writers had Belko rip off Jack Ruby. It’s like the writers were stuck with how to end it and were watching the History Channel, and then an idea struck.
Oh yeah, one more thing. Shame on the writers for having Mitch leave her husband and kids. That makes absolutely no sense. Did they even accurately explain why she did it? Or at least give us a reasonable explanation? I know the thought is that she needs to fulfill her dreams and that everyone gets on without her, but are you serious! Her sister is playing mom for a few weeks until she gets past the crippling depression. Sis is a stopgap, not a replacement. You think the family might need their mother? Of course, Mitch is the whole reason her husband is in jail, but that’s beside the point.
You know, that sad thing about all this was that Seamus and I were talking about the possibilities of a second season. I didn’t think it would work because it would capture the characters that helped make this season good. You couldn’t have an election as a backdrop. You couldn’t rely on the budding friendship/partnership of Holder and Linden. You couldn’t rely on Michelle Forbes being Michelle Forbes. They would need to reinvent the wheel. Well, now they don’t have to.
Instead, they are going to beat a dead horse and drag out this storyline for another season. I would have been apprehensive about reinventing the wheel, but would have come in with an open mind. Now, I’m going to be going into season 2 already pissed off and that’s not what you want. Nothing good can come from this and there really isn't any way to salvage it.
The finale was a kick in the nuts (or for you ladies, a punch in the baby maker). I made a lot of excuses for this show over the past few episodes. I should have been put on payroll as a show apologist (you know, like all those people who still fawn all over Glee). When it started, I loved the three interwoven stories. They all compelled me, made me not upset when they moved from one story to the next. Then, it started to drag, where the only storyline I wanted to see was the police storyline, but only if I didn’t have to deal with Linden’s family issues.
I think I gave up during the episode “Missing”. It was hard to justify the episode at all. It was 45 minutes of Linden and Holder trying to track down her idiot kid. Um, don’t you have a murder to solve? The show finally dissolved to the point where I was only watching for the identity of the killer and any scene with Holder. That guy cracked me up. Plus, he was the only character I actually cared about. I got sucked into his storyline and nearly cheering for him when Linden pretty much anointed him a good detective. Then, the skullduggery started.
I actually liked the second to last episode, with Linden in Richmond’s home office, seeing her email continually pop up, and then Richmond shows up at the door. Classic stuff that made me want to watch the finale right then and there. However, I knew at that point that he didn’t do it. It was too easy. While watching the finale and seeing the noose tighten around Richmond, I kept thinking to myself that this is a very anti-climatic finale. With ten minutes left, I figured one of two things was going to happen. Either Richmond was the killer and the story would be lame or we wouldn’t know who the killer was and enrage the fan base. At this point, the lame ending would have been better.
I hated the fact that Holder’s betrayal came out of left field. I mean, with most major plot twists, you can look back and be like “how did I miss that?!” With this, you were thinking “huh?” After Holder’s confession of being a former addict and every sketchy thing being explained, there was no indication he wasn’t straight. Let me say that again, there was NO INDICATION HE WASN’T STRAIGHT! So, the only thing I know now is that Linden and Richmond didn’t kill Rosie. After that, it’s a crap shoot. Hell, thanks to the closing scene, we don’t even know if Richmond will survive; consider the writers had Belko rip off Jack Ruby. It’s like the writers were stuck with how to end it and were watching the History Channel, and then an idea struck.
Oh yeah, one more thing. Shame on the writers for having Mitch leave her husband and kids. That makes absolutely no sense. Did they even accurately explain why she did it? Or at least give us a reasonable explanation? I know the thought is that she needs to fulfill her dreams and that everyone gets on without her, but are you serious! Her sister is playing mom for a few weeks until she gets past the crippling depression. Sis is a stopgap, not a replacement. You think the family might need their mother? Of course, Mitch is the whole reason her husband is in jail, but that’s beside the point.
You know, that sad thing about all this was that Seamus and I were talking about the possibilities of a second season. I didn’t think it would work because it would capture the characters that helped make this season good. You couldn’t have an election as a backdrop. You couldn’t rely on the budding friendship/partnership of Holder and Linden. You couldn’t rely on Michelle Forbes being Michelle Forbes. They would need to reinvent the wheel. Well, now they don’t have to.
Instead, they are going to beat a dead horse and drag out this storyline for another season. I would have been apprehensive about reinventing the wheel, but would have come in with an open mind. Now, I’m going to be going into season 2 already pissed off and that’s not what you want. Nothing good can come from this and there really isn't any way to salvage it.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Winners and Losers of the Stanley Cup Finals
Oh man, the Bruins won the Stanley Cup last night. Like most of the city of Boston, I watched most of it (missed maybe the last 5 minutes of the 1st period due to class). Instead of writing about last night’s game and trying to flush out “Luongo choked” in a full article, I figured I would break down the winners and losers of the Stanley Cup finals. Canucks fans beware; I am a Bruins fan and a bit of a homer. You have been warned.
Winner: Tim Thomas
What can be said about Tim Thomas that hasn’t already been said? It’s like he threw on the Superman cape before every game. He single-handedly kept the Bruins in every game by making some inhuman saves. He had the Conn Smythe sown up by the end of game 5, whether the Bruins won the cup or not. Remember, this was a guy who was being questioned about his style by most after game 2 and by one mentally deficient goalie after game 5. This is a big middle finger to all who questioned him.
Loser: Roberto Luongo
You know it’s bad that even after winning a gold medal; your fan base is still scared that you’ll fold like a lawn chair. Oh, did he fold. Did you see the look in his eyes after the goals that got scored on him (and there were a lot of opportunities)? He looked lost. Plus, he questioned Thomas’ style after game 5. Seriously? You allow 14 goals in 5 games and have the stones to question a guy who has given up 6 goals in the same period?
Winner: Nathan Horton - the symbol
As a symbol, Nathan Horton will forever be associated with this Stanley Cup. He is the Dave Roberts of the Boston Bruins. He shows up in the locker room after game 4, travels to Vancouver on game 7, even dressed and skated with the team after they won the cup. He was a rallying point, not just for the team but the fans. What happened to him made it very easy to root against Vancouver.
Loser: Nathan Horton – the player
Now, as a player, you have to feel for Horton. He was the lynch pin of the team through the playoffs. He scored the game winners in the game 7’s against Montreal and Tampa Bay. If the Bruins needed a goal, you have a feeling it would be Horton that came through. Due to the injury, he won’t be remembered for that.
Winner: Mark Recchi
At 43, he gets to go out on top. Now, he was questioned about his ability to get it done throughout the playoffs, but seemed to intensify during the first two games of the Finals. However, the 3 goals and 4 assists in the Finals were key, even getting an assist in game 7. He was a leader in that clubhouse and definitely what they needed for these playoffs.
Losers: the Sedin twins
Has a set of Swedish twins ever disappointed more than the Sedin twins? All Bruins fans heard about prior to the series was how great the Sedin twins were. Where the hell were they? Chara and Seidenberg made them a non-factor. It wasn’t just that. They had no heart. They took punches, didn’t fight back, and didn’t get backed up by any of their teammates. It’s just plain sad.
Winners: Kevin Bieksa and Raffi Torres
They were the only Canucks who seemed to be trying out there and the only Canucks who I actually feared after it was a foregone conclusion that the Sedin twins and Kesler decided to turn invisible. Bieksa was always scrapping and looked like he would wreck you if you tried anything stupid. Torres seemed to want to try and jump start the offense every time he was on the ice. They both get thumbs up from me.
Losers: Alex Burrows, Maxim Lapierre, and Aaron Rome
Three guys who can never, EVER, walk the streets of Boston without armed guards. Absolute punks of the highest order. Burrows is an idiot for biting Bergeron. Lapierre is a tool for taunting about the bite. And Rome! Don’t even get me started on Rome. It’s bad enough he severely injured someone on a blatantly obvious illegal hit, but they he opens his pie hole and says that he didn’t deserve to be suspended and the hit was borderline illegal. Ugh, I’m fighting the urge to lay down expletives right now.
Winners: Duck Boat operators in Boston
A Championship in Boston means one thing! A rolling rally! Put the whole team on duck boats, roll them through the city with the Cup, and bask in the glory. Basically it’s an excuse for people to start drinking before noon. As if you need a reason!
Loser: Boston Mayor Tom Menino
The doughy, semi-literate mayor of the city of Boston put the kybosh on a Bruins viewing party at the Garden last night. I guess he thought we were all from Vancouver or something (more on that later). He also asked bars in the area to stop serving alcohol by the second quarter and black out the windows so people couldn’t see inside. What is this, communist Russia! Although it will be funny to hear him struggle with players names. Every time he speaks, he battles to the English language…and loses.
Losers: The City of Vancouver
So, I was watching the postgame last night and they showed a shot of Vancouver. A car was flipped over and on fire. I thought all Canadians were laid back and chill with funny accents and good beer. Little did I know about the sleeping beast that lies below. I’m kinda scared to go there in August now. I’m not letting anyone know I’m from Boston, I’ll tell you that much. Stay classy Vancouver, stay classy.
Winner: Tim Thomas
What can be said about Tim Thomas that hasn’t already been said? It’s like he threw on the Superman cape before every game. He single-handedly kept the Bruins in every game by making some inhuman saves. He had the Conn Smythe sown up by the end of game 5, whether the Bruins won the cup or not. Remember, this was a guy who was being questioned about his style by most after game 2 and by one mentally deficient goalie after game 5. This is a big middle finger to all who questioned him.
Loser: Roberto Luongo
You know it’s bad that even after winning a gold medal; your fan base is still scared that you’ll fold like a lawn chair. Oh, did he fold. Did you see the look in his eyes after the goals that got scored on him (and there were a lot of opportunities)? He looked lost. Plus, he questioned Thomas’ style after game 5. Seriously? You allow 14 goals in 5 games and have the stones to question a guy who has given up 6 goals in the same period?
Winner: Nathan Horton - the symbol
As a symbol, Nathan Horton will forever be associated with this Stanley Cup. He is the Dave Roberts of the Boston Bruins. He shows up in the locker room after game 4, travels to Vancouver on game 7, even dressed and skated with the team after they won the cup. He was a rallying point, not just for the team but the fans. What happened to him made it very easy to root against Vancouver.
Loser: Nathan Horton – the player
Now, as a player, you have to feel for Horton. He was the lynch pin of the team through the playoffs. He scored the game winners in the game 7’s against Montreal and Tampa Bay. If the Bruins needed a goal, you have a feeling it would be Horton that came through. Due to the injury, he won’t be remembered for that.
Winner: Mark Recchi
At 43, he gets to go out on top. Now, he was questioned about his ability to get it done throughout the playoffs, but seemed to intensify during the first two games of the Finals. However, the 3 goals and 4 assists in the Finals were key, even getting an assist in game 7. He was a leader in that clubhouse and definitely what they needed for these playoffs.
Losers: the Sedin twins
Has a set of Swedish twins ever disappointed more than the Sedin twins? All Bruins fans heard about prior to the series was how great the Sedin twins were. Where the hell were they? Chara and Seidenberg made them a non-factor. It wasn’t just that. They had no heart. They took punches, didn’t fight back, and didn’t get backed up by any of their teammates. It’s just plain sad.
Winners: Kevin Bieksa and Raffi Torres
They were the only Canucks who seemed to be trying out there and the only Canucks who I actually feared after it was a foregone conclusion that the Sedin twins and Kesler decided to turn invisible. Bieksa was always scrapping and looked like he would wreck you if you tried anything stupid. Torres seemed to want to try and jump start the offense every time he was on the ice. They both get thumbs up from me.
Losers: Alex Burrows, Maxim Lapierre, and Aaron Rome
Three guys who can never, EVER, walk the streets of Boston without armed guards. Absolute punks of the highest order. Burrows is an idiot for biting Bergeron. Lapierre is a tool for taunting about the bite. And Rome! Don’t even get me started on Rome. It’s bad enough he severely injured someone on a blatantly obvious illegal hit, but they he opens his pie hole and says that he didn’t deserve to be suspended and the hit was borderline illegal. Ugh, I’m fighting the urge to lay down expletives right now.
Winners: Duck Boat operators in Boston
A Championship in Boston means one thing! A rolling rally! Put the whole team on duck boats, roll them through the city with the Cup, and bask in the glory. Basically it’s an excuse for people to start drinking before noon. As if you need a reason!
Loser: Boston Mayor Tom Menino
The doughy, semi-literate mayor of the city of Boston put the kybosh on a Bruins viewing party at the Garden last night. I guess he thought we were all from Vancouver or something (more on that later). He also asked bars in the area to stop serving alcohol by the second quarter and black out the windows so people couldn’t see inside. What is this, communist Russia! Although it will be funny to hear him struggle with players names. Every time he speaks, he battles to the English language…and loses.
Losers: The City of Vancouver
So, I was watching the postgame last night and they showed a shot of Vancouver. A car was flipped over and on fire. I thought all Canadians were laid back and chill with funny accents and good beer. Little did I know about the sleeping beast that lies below. I’m kinda scared to go there in August now. I’m not letting anyone know I’m from Boston, I’ll tell you that much. Stay classy Vancouver, stay classy.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Smallville Through the Ages
With the series finale of Smallville appearing tonight, I figured I would shake off my writer’s block and run down the good, the bad, and the ugly of 10 seasons of this show. This is dedicated to Seamus, who is positively giddy about tonight and I know I’ll receive at least 3 texts from him about it.
Best Episode – "Absolute Justice" (season 9, episode 11)
Written by the genius that is Geoff Johns, this two hour epic seems less like a TV show and more like a movie. Not only do we get the Justice Society, we get the Helm of Nabu, Checkmate, and actually storyline for Tess, and probably one of the best throw-downs in all of Smallville that happens in Watchtower. If that wasn’t enough, John Jones gets his powers back. It’s just an all around great episode that makes you see what Smallville could have been.
Worst Episode – "Stiletto" (season 8, episode 19)
This is the episode that nearly made me stop watching Smallville after 8 seasons. It was like a teenage boy’s best idea on how to get Erica Durance to dress in black leather. Anyway, the lame storyline was the fact that Lois fought off some muggers with her heel and felt that she should become a superhero. If that wasn’t bad enough, we still got Davis Bloom crying in a basement.
Most Campy Episode – "Spell" (season 4, episode 8)
There was a lot of camp in season 4, especially with the fact that Lana was being possessed by a 17th century French witch with a surprising grasp of the English language. It goes over the top with this episode. While Lana gets possessed, she helps two of her witch friends inhabit the bodies of Lois and Chloe. Hilarity ensures. I’m laughing just thinking about this.
Best Season – Season 4
This was a tough call, but there were so many good things that happened in this season. We had the previously mentioned witch possession of Lana (brought to its absolute apex with the fight between Clark and the witch Lana inside a Chinese temple), the beginnings of the Fortress of Solitude, Chloe finally learning Clark’s secret, Jensen Ackles, Lucy Lane, Alicia Baker, Lifehouse playing the Smallville Prom, and most importantly, the introduction of Lois Lane.
Worst Season – Season 8
This is the season that nearly killed Smallville. Let’s look at the bad. You had Jimmy’s marriage to Chloe, Doomsday, the most anti-climatic fight scene between Clark and Doomsday, Jimmy’s death (not because he’s dead, but because the real Jimmy Olsen was some 10 year old punk), the return of Lana, and any and every moment of Super Lana. The only bright spot was the episode “Legion”, again, written by the genius that is Geoff Johns.
Best Season Finale – "Covenant" (season 3)
Season 3 ended on such a high note. Kara from Krypton appears and tries to get Clark to accept is destiny. Clark also testifies against Lionel Luthor and he gets sent to jail and Lana finally answers all our prayers and leaves town (she comes back at the beginning of season 4 dammit). It all comes to a head in the end, as we see Lionel getting his head shaved in prison, while Lex is poisoned, Chloe and her dad go into a FBI safe house that explodes after they enter, and Clark gets pulled into the inter-dimensional gateway in the Kawatche Caves by Jor-El.
Worst Season Finale – "Arctic" (season 7)
The crapfest that was Season 7 finally ends with Lex going to the Arctic to find out about the mysterious Traveler and I don’t remember much after that since I drank bleach to try and forget it.
Best Villain – Lionel Luthor
Lionel always had something going on. Even when he was good, you still wondered when he would do something truly evil. The man was unstoppable. Just an evil guy that did the things that needed to be done. The best was he never really apologized for it. It was sort of an “I am who I am” sort of feel about him. And if he did apologize, he didn’t really mean it.
Worst Villain – Doomsday
One, he was defeated pretty easily. Two, his alter-ego was seen crying in a shower naked. Thanks to this, I can’t watch the American version of Being Human. You really don’t need to know anything more.
So, ten seasons have passed. There have been highs and lows. Overall, it was a fun series to watch but it has reached the point where it needs to go. It has provided countless hours of entertainment to me and the legion of geeks out there. So, I know I’ll miss it, but I’m glad that it’s going (if that makes sense, at least any more sense than anything else I’ve written).
Best Episode – "Absolute Justice" (season 9, episode 11)
Written by the genius that is Geoff Johns, this two hour epic seems less like a TV show and more like a movie. Not only do we get the Justice Society, we get the Helm of Nabu, Checkmate, and actually storyline for Tess, and probably one of the best throw-downs in all of Smallville that happens in Watchtower. If that wasn’t enough, John Jones gets his powers back. It’s just an all around great episode that makes you see what Smallville could have been.
Worst Episode – "Stiletto" (season 8, episode 19)
This is the episode that nearly made me stop watching Smallville after 8 seasons. It was like a teenage boy’s best idea on how to get Erica Durance to dress in black leather. Anyway, the lame storyline was the fact that Lois fought off some muggers with her heel and felt that she should become a superhero. If that wasn’t bad enough, we still got Davis Bloom crying in a basement.
Most Campy Episode – "Spell" (season 4, episode 8)
There was a lot of camp in season 4, especially with the fact that Lana was being possessed by a 17th century French witch with a surprising grasp of the English language. It goes over the top with this episode. While Lana gets possessed, she helps two of her witch friends inhabit the bodies of Lois and Chloe. Hilarity ensures. I’m laughing just thinking about this.
Best Season – Season 4
This was a tough call, but there were so many good things that happened in this season. We had the previously mentioned witch possession of Lana (brought to its absolute apex with the fight between Clark and the witch Lana inside a Chinese temple), the beginnings of the Fortress of Solitude, Chloe finally learning Clark’s secret, Jensen Ackles, Lucy Lane, Alicia Baker, Lifehouse playing the Smallville Prom, and most importantly, the introduction of Lois Lane.
Worst Season – Season 8
This is the season that nearly killed Smallville. Let’s look at the bad. You had Jimmy’s marriage to Chloe, Doomsday, the most anti-climatic fight scene between Clark and Doomsday, Jimmy’s death (not because he’s dead, but because the real Jimmy Olsen was some 10 year old punk), the return of Lana, and any and every moment of Super Lana. The only bright spot was the episode “Legion”, again, written by the genius that is Geoff Johns.
Best Season Finale – "Covenant" (season 3)
Season 3 ended on such a high note. Kara from Krypton appears and tries to get Clark to accept is destiny. Clark also testifies against Lionel Luthor and he gets sent to jail and Lana finally answers all our prayers and leaves town (she comes back at the beginning of season 4 dammit). It all comes to a head in the end, as we see Lionel getting his head shaved in prison, while Lex is poisoned, Chloe and her dad go into a FBI safe house that explodes after they enter, and Clark gets pulled into the inter-dimensional gateway in the Kawatche Caves by Jor-El.
Worst Season Finale – "Arctic" (season 7)
The crapfest that was Season 7 finally ends with Lex going to the Arctic to find out about the mysterious Traveler and I don’t remember much after that since I drank bleach to try and forget it.
Best Villain – Lionel Luthor
Lionel always had something going on. Even when he was good, you still wondered when he would do something truly evil. The man was unstoppable. Just an evil guy that did the things that needed to be done. The best was he never really apologized for it. It was sort of an “I am who I am” sort of feel about him. And if he did apologize, he didn’t really mean it.
Worst Villain – Doomsday
One, he was defeated pretty easily. Two, his alter-ego was seen crying in a shower naked. Thanks to this, I can’t watch the American version of Being Human. You really don’t need to know anything more.
So, ten seasons have passed. There have been highs and lows. Overall, it was a fun series to watch but it has reached the point where it needs to go. It has provided countless hours of entertainment to me and the legion of geeks out there. So, I know I’ll miss it, but I’m glad that it’s going (if that makes sense, at least any more sense than anything else I’ve written).
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