College Football 2011 - Week 7.....

A perfect 6-0 week for the first time this year. This week has four match-ups of ranked teams, including the battle for Michigan. Enjoy.

Week 7 games (Home team in CAPS)

Michigan (#11) over MICHIGAN STATE (#23) - This will be a tough game for the Wolverines on the road in East Lansing, but Denard Robinson will be too much for the Spartan defense.
Baylor (#20) over TEXAS A&M (#21) - Robert Griffin had 8 incompletions last weekend, but he'll bounce back from that down week and lead the Bears to a tough road victory over an Aggie team that is starting to hit some bumps.
Oklahoma State (#6) over TEXAS (#22) - A tough stretch here for Texas with their second straight game against an opponent from their neighbor to the north. The Cowboys might be able to match the Sooner output against the Longhorn defense.
OREGON (#9) over Arizona State (#18) - Looks like LaMichael James is out with the dislocated elbow, but the Ducks will tighten the ship and beat the Sun Devils who are looking to sneak the the Pac 12 upset.
Florida over AUBURN (#24) - The Gators, along with Florida State and Miami are not ranked for the first time in many years. Something tells me the Gators get it together and knock off the Tigers on the road.
Ohio State over ILLINOIS (#16) - Another "not sure why", but I think Illinois is vulnerable and this is the week they get knocked off by a Buckeye team licking their wounds after blowing their second half lead last week against Nebraska.

Week 6: 6-0
2011 season: 25-11

College Football 2011 - Week 3.....

What a game Saturday Night in The Big House between Michigan and Notre Dame. That was exciting and a great college football atmosphere. As for my pick of ND, well that wasn't as good. Couple of Top 25 match-ups this week, including top ranked Oklahoma visiting #5 Florida State.

Week 3 games (Home team in CAPS)

Louisiana State (#3) over MISSISSIPPI STATE (#25) - Would have been a more interesting match-up if MSU had not tripped up last week against Auburn. Will be good test for LSU.
Michigan State (#15) over NOTRE DAME - I hope not to hurt my legs jumping off the Notre Dame bandwagon. Of course this will be the week the Irish shine.
Texas (#23) over UCLA - The Longhorns go out west, but get a very down UCLA team. Texas likes that Rose Bowl turf.
Stanford (#6) over ARIZONA - Nice Pac 12 match-up, but this is a good Stanford team and should get a tough conference win on the road.
Ohio State (#17) over MIAMI - Game of two troubled universities. Ohio State looks like they have put the distractions behind them, while I am not sure the same can be said of Miami.
FLORIDA STATE (#5) over Oklahoma (#1) - Last time in Norman, the Sooners trounced the Seminoles, but I think it will be a much closer game this year in Tallahassee. That home field advantage gives Florida State that extra boost to sneak a victory over the nation's top ranked team.

Week 2: 4-2
2011 season: 7-5

College Football 2011 - Week 2.....

It was an interesting first week of the college football season as LSU showed that the distraction around losing their starting QB was not going to be a distraction at all. In Texas, TCU gave up 50 points to Baylor, which is more than they gave upon the road all last season. While in Atlanta, Boise State again showed they are serious about making the BCS boys sweat.

Week 2 games (Home team in CAPS):

USC over Utah - Trojan receivers dropped 8 passes last week against Minnesota. That doesn't happen again.
TEXAS (#24) over Brigham Young - Texas kicks off their season with positive highlights for their Longhorn Network.
South Carolina (#12) over GEORGIA - The two top teams in the SEC East meet early in the schedule. I'm a South Carolina believer and think they take control of the division with a tough road victory.
Alabama (#3) over PENN ST. (#23) - A tough way for Joe Paterno and the Nittany Lions to start the year by hosting Alabama. Penn St. may be a Top 25 team at year's end, but will look weak on Saturday.
Notre Dame over MICHIGAN - Notre Dame changed QBs after only one week. That is not a good sign, but just for Brian Kelly's blood pressure the Irish need to get the win. Michigan won easily last week, but gave up lots of yards.
Mississippi State (#16) over AUBURN - Another early SEC match-up, but I think we saw last week that Auburn will not put up much fight in defending last year's National Championship.

Week 1: 3-3
2011 Season: 3-3

College Football 2010 (Championship Week).....

College football has finally arrived at its final week with a few rivalry match-ups and the conference championship games. Auburn and Oregon are sitting with the BCS championship in front of them, but they can't trip up looking forward to January 10, 2011 and forget about this week's opponents. By Sunday night we will know the match-ups for the BCS games and all the other postseason bowl games.

Week 14 games:

ARIZONA (#23) over Arizona State
Auburn (#2) over South Carolina (#19) --- SEC Championship
Virginia Tech (#15) over Florida State (#21) --- ACC Championship
Oklahoma (#9) over Nebraska (#13) --- Big 12 Championship
Oregon (#1) over OREGON STATE
USC over UCLA

Week 13: 2-4
2010 season: 49-25

College Football 2010 (Week 11).....

Well, things are starting to get clearer with regards to the possible BCS champion at the end of this season. It looks like it is down to seven possible teams with Auburn and Oregon controlling their own paths to the championship game, while TCU and Boise St. wait and hope for one of the top two to fall and let them in. Then sitting further on the outside, LSU, Ohio St., and Wisconsin's only hope it a complete collapse from those top four teams.

Very slow week as there are only two match-ups this week that involve Top 25 teams and all those teams are outside the Top 10.

Week 11 games:

ALABAMA (#11) over Mississippi State (#17) - Alabama gets knocked out of the National Championship debate in losing to LSU. Have to wonder if they will be up for MSU, but I think that Nick Saben gets them ready and back on the winning path.
FLORIDA (#24) over South Carolina (#22) - The battle for the SEC East crown. Coach Spurrier would love to get the victory over his old team in The Swamp, but coming off the bye will be a plus for the Gators and they take down the Gamecocks and get their season back on a positive note.
Oregon (#1) over CALIFORNIA - Now it is just up to Oregon to keep rolling and while early in the season this looked like it could be trouble, this now looks like it could get ugly.
AUBURN (#2) over Georgia - Auburn must make sure they don't look ahead to their Black Friday meeting against Alabama and if this game was on the road, I might be worried, but because it is a home game, Cam Newton and the Tigers roll over a disappointing Georgia team.
Iowa (#13) over NORTHWESTERN - Iowa can look back at two tough losses on the road to a "what could have been", but they need to take this Northwestern team seriously as they play tough Big Ten football. The Hawkeye defense is just too tough and they get the road victory.
Virginia Tech (#16) over NORTH CAROLINA - This is not the same Virginia Tech team that came out of the gate 0-2 and while North Carolina has played respectfully despite all their problems, they are missing too much talent to keep up with the Hokies.

Week 10: 2-4
2010 season: 38-22

College Football 2010 (Week 9).....

Last Saturday marked the third week in a row where the #1 team in the country lost a road conference game. The latest victim was Oklahoma dropping their game to an undefeated Missouri team. This week it is Oregon on top of the polls traveling to face USC, while the BCS #1 is Auburn and take it to the road against Mississippi State.

Now let's see if I don't fall off the perch after last week's 6-0 record.

Week 9 games:

Oregon (#1) over USC (#24)
Auburn (#3) over Mississippi State
Michigan State (#5) over Iowa (#18)
Nebraska (#14) over Missouri (#7)
Florida State (#16) over North Carolina State
Michigan over Penn State

Week 8: 6-0
2010 season: 33-15

College Football 2010 (Week 7).....

A rough week for some college football favorites last week, including South Carolina knocking off the top team in the nation, Alabama. Major kudos to Steve Spurrier for getting his Gamecock team back to the ready after their heartbreaking loss to Auburn. Plus for the second week in a row both Florida and USC lost on the same weekend. Yikes.

Week 7 games:

Ohio St. (#1) over Wisconsin (#20) - I thought Alabama was going to run the table, but after their loss, I started to wonder if we might see even more shuffling at the top of the rankings. Don't think it happens this week and the Buckeyes protect their #1 ranking. Key for the Buckeyes is to keep the Badger running game contained and I think their defense is good enough to do it.
Nebraska (#5) over Texas - Nebraska's revenge game, but they won't even breathe a word of it. Texas is on a down year and will get run over by this tough Husker team.
Auburn (#8) over Arkansas (#12) - I am leary making this choice, but the Tigers look strong and seem to be getting better each week. Ryan Mallett needs to step up for the Razorbacks to get the victory and I'm not sure he has it in him on the road in a tough envirnment.
Iowa (#15) over Michigan (#18) - The Wolverine offense was shut down by the Michigan ST. defense last week and Iowa has a better defense than the Spartans.
North Carolina State at East Carolina - NC State looking to get back into the Top 25 and a non-conference win against an in-state rival will boost them back into that position. Tom O'Brein has a healthy Wolfpack team and is showing what the fan base expected when he first arrived in Raleigh.
USC over California - Just because I can't see Lane Kiffin suffering a three game losing streak. The offense is good and I think dad tweaks the defense enough to get the win.


Week 6: 2-4
2010 season: 24-12

Down goes Alabama - The SFB Podcast (10/11/2010).....

So there is some life with the "Ol' Ball Coach", as Steve Spurrier coached his South Carolina Gamecocks to an upset victory over #1 Alabama. Ohio St. now takes the top spot, but will they be on top of next week's first BCS ranking? Anyone have Florida and USC losing again on consecutive Saturdays? I'll take a look at the college games from this weekend.

Plus, the Yankees and Phillies have advanced after each swept their Divisional Sereis, but for me the Yankees advancing was a "yawn". Will anyone but Yankee fans care if they keep moving forward? Also, besides ratings for Fox, are the Yankees winning good for baseball? We'll explore. Enjoy.

The SportsFan Buzz: October 11, 2010 (right click to "save as target)

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Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.

Sanction the NCAA - The SFB Podcast (9/17/2010).....

Reggie Bush and USC, conference realignment, agents on campuses, The BCS, and a rulebook that can be used as a step ladder with some ridiculous pieces to it. The NCAA is easy to beat on and although it does some things right, many times they make you scratch your head. Rich Ramos joins the podcast to discuss the NCAA and college football. Rich has many thoughts about the NCAA and how it runs college sports. Plus, how will his USC Trojans do under Lane Kiffin and without a year end bowl game to play for the next two seasons? Enjoy.

The SportsFan Buzz: September 17, 2010 (right click to "save as target)

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Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.

College Football 2010 (Week 3).....

No real "heavyweight" games this weekend, but any Saturday with college football is a good Saturday. Last week's games looked good on paper, but were disappointments with so many blowouts.

Week 3 games:

Notre Dame over Michigan State - The Irish defense were exposed as still a bit slow, but I think Brian Kelly gets them back on track against the Spartans.
Iowa (#9) over Arizona (#24) - Only match-up this week of top 25 teams. Iowa will have a tough test traveling west, but this is a good football team that will get the job done in a hostile environment.
Nebraska (#8) over Washington - The Cornhuskers travel up to Washington to face an improving Huskie team. The Husker defense is very good and is able to control quarterback Jake Locker.
LSU (#15) over Mississippi St. - A tough loss for MSU at home last week against Auburn and it doesn't get any easier with the Tigers coming to town. LSU needs to take advantage of a MSU team that may still be upset by that loss.
Arkansas (#12) over Georgia - Tough SEC game with the Razorbacks traveling to Athens. Georgia already lost one SEC game in dropping last week's contest to South Carolina. Ryan Mallett leads Arkansas to road SEC victory.
Florida (#10) over Tennessee - Florida has looked shaky in their first two victories, but I think they get healthy against a Volunteer team that will keep the game close, but doesn't have enough talent to beat the Gators.

Week 2: 5-1
2010 season: 10-2

"This & That" - The SFB Podcast (9/1/2010).....

A little bit of "this & that" on this first day of the ninth month. Manny Ramirez makes his White Sox debut, Aroldis Chapman makes his big league debut, and can we have a three-way NL Triple Crown race? Plus some news from around the NFL, PGA Golf and a college football preview. Also, a look at watching football at home as compared to at the stadium. Enjoy.

College Football 2010 preview

The SportsFan Buzz: September 1, 2010 (right click to "save as target)

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Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.

Coaching Crazy.....

This football season sure has seemed to focus on the coaches more then any other time that I can remember, and not always in a good or flattering way. In fact, it would make you wonder why anyone in their right mind would want this job?

In the college game we have had big name coaches fired (Charlie Weis), let go before their time (Bobby Bowden), leave for the NFL (Pete Carroll), go to court to keep their job and fail (Mike Leach), resign for health and family reasons and then rescind all of it 24 hours later (Urban Meyer), and just in the past week one coach leave a high profile program after only one year at the helm to coach another high profile program and was only able to have a one minute press conference at the old job because there was concern about the reaction to his move (Lane Kiffin). Plus we had the normal hiring, firing, resigning, and jumping to other schools that seems to happen every off season.

On the professional side, it has not nearly been as strange, but they seem to be in the news for one reason or another each week. We have had the crazy on field decisions (4th and 2 anyone?), the replacement of a coach’s play calling duties by someone who was calling Bingo games in a senior center a week prior, then that same coach fired at 4am in the morning the day after the season ended. One was given a contract extension, then blew the division and a week later the playoffs to their most heated rival, while that rival coach’s job, which seemed to be on the ledge, was actually saved and extended because of those particular games.

Another picked up his new star quarterback at the airport in his own personal vehicle, then during the season seemed to lose the keys to the team to that same quarterback because the star didn’t want to leave a game.

Then for the topper, we have a coach who was supposed to get his year end review almost ten days ago, but has been told it is postponed indefinitely as of now. That wouldn’t be so bad, but there are now reports that the owner is actually interviewing new coaches before meeting and firing his old one (got to love Al Davis).

All of this has to make you wonder if you have to be a little crazy to want to coach football on either the college or professional level? Maybe, but all that craziness gets washed away whenever a coach gets that Gatorade shower and for them that makes it all worth the insanity.

Coaching Carousel Turning Stomachs.....

The USC and South Florida coaching jobs have been filled by Lane Kiffin and Skip Holtz which means that the Tennessee and East Carolina jobs are now open because these coaches have left for “greener pastures”. It is quite possible those jobs will be filled by current head coaches, which will leave those schools without a head coach and just start the merry-go-round up again.

Yes, this seems to happen every year in college football, but this year just feels different. Maybe it is because the jobs available since early December were at schools that we are not used to seeing open, or thought we would not see open for quite some time. If on December 1st I was to have told you that the following head coach positions would be available, you would have laughed me out of this column, but look what schools have had the “help wanted” sign up these last six weeks.

Notre Dame
USC
Tennessee
Texas Tech
Cincinnati

Plus, let’s not forget that for 24 hours the Florida coaching job was vacant. You could have had three of the top ten, maybe even top five football universities with different head coaches next year. Crazy.

Add in the other “name” schools that have replaced coaches since the season’s end (Virginia, Kansas, and Louisville) and then a dozen or so smaller schools, and that is a bunch of coaches moving around.

But this isn’t about the coaches leaving and who replaced them, it is about the process surrounding these coaching changes and how this “coaching silly season”, and especially this week’s events, have really brought into focus the need for change in how and when coaches change jobs and that the NCAA, which is supposed to be looking out for these “student athletes”, actually turns their back on them during these times.

While some like seeing this game of “move a coach here, place a coach there”, I for one am getting tired of it, especially after seeing what has gone down these past couple of days with USC and Tennessee recruits. Because of the timing of these changes, eighteen year old kids have to play games with the schools they committed to if they now decide they don’t want to honor that commitment, and that just stinks. On Wednesday, some had to resort to not attending classes at the school of commitment, just so they can transfer without having to sit out a year. Does the NCAA think it is a good idea for these kids to skip classes just to keep from losing that year of playing time?

So coaches come and go as they please, but a player, who may have been highly influenced to attend a certain school because of the coach, will get punished if he wants to leave to follow said coach, or just attend another school that he had previously considered. While I am concerned about the player who already has attended the school for a year, I am more bothered by those kids who are ready to commit and attend the school for the upcoming year / season. As shown this week, some of these kids are being tugged every which way when a coach leaves a school, and besides thinking about just staying with the school they committed to, if they decide to change their commitment, they must do so in quick fashion.

Look at four star recruit defensive tackle Brandon Willis who was committed to Tennessee. On Tuesday he was on his way to Knoxville to start classes when he heard the news of Kiffin leaving. The coaches leaving with Kiffin tried to persuade him to go to USC, but he was having nothing of it. On Wednesday, he decided to attend North Carolina. How fair is it for this kid to have his mind made up, then have it swept away because the coach that recruited him leaves before he even gets on campus, then he has to make another decision on where he should attend school? If Willis had stepped on campus, and attended a class, he would have been stuck at Tennessee, or if he wanted to transfer would have had to sit out a season at the other school.

By the way, if you are wondering how coaches can just up and leave their contracts they have with a school, it is because in most cases these coaches have buyout clauses that allow them to buy their way out of the contract, so in most cases it is the school that puts themselves in this position by allowing those clauses.

While I don’t want these kids moving around from school to school just to follow a certain coach, or chase playing time, I think the NCAA needs to make it available to them as a one-time exemption during their years of playing eligibility. Yes, I know it is supposed to be about their education, but let’s be adults here and know that for a few it has absolutely nothing to do with education, and all about playing football, or basketball, etc. Brandon Willis is a perfect example of someone who wanted to play for Lane Kiffin, but once Kiffin left, Willis wanted nothing to do with Tennessee and also nothing to do with Kiffin because he felt betrayed by him.

The feeling of betrayal or being deceived by coaches who tell these kids and parents that they will be at a program is not even a part of this discussion, and can be a whole new column for another day.

My idea would be to allow each student/athlete one free transfer, without having to sit out a year, if the coach that recruited them to a school leaves that school, whether on their own or because they were fired. Any other transfer attempt following the first one would play by the current rules and the student would have to sit out one season before being eligible to play for their new school. Not all players on a team would use this “out”, but it would make it fairer for the athletes, instead of them having to watch that coach who promised them everything walk away from them and go onto to a different place without any consequences, while the same could not be the same for them. Personally, I don’t think too many players would use this “escape clause” because most of these kids get comfortable with their college surroundings and would not want to “start over” again at another school.

While not a perfect solution, and maybe addressing the coaches’ buyout clauses maybe the solution for some, it would at least give a little something to a player who made a commitment to a coach, but whose coach truly didn’t make a commitment to the player.

The SportsFan Buzz Podcast (1/2/2010).....

Flying solo on this podcast to start the New Year. Among the topics I cover are the fantastic NHL Winter Classic, Urban Meyer's health, and Texas Tech's coach/athlete problems in the news. Also, the very good College Bowl season we have had up to this point, including the final game for coaching legend Bobby Bowden. Finally, the final week of the NFL season, week 17, is previewed. Enjoy.

The SportsFan Buzz: January 2, 2010

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College Bowl Picks.....

34 Bowl Games starting tonight, and wrapping up with the BCS Championship on January 7th. And, no, I did not make up some of these bowl game names. Here we go. Enjoy.

December 19
New Mexico Bowl --- Fresno State Bulldogs over Wyoming Cowboys
St. Petersburg Bowl --- University of Central Florida Knights over Rutgers Scarlet Knights

December 20
R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl --- Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles over Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders

December 22
MAACO Las Vegas Bowl --- Brigham Young Cougars (#14) over Oregon State Beavers (#18)
*** First game with ranked teams. Tough match-up to call. Should be a close game and I would not be surprised if it goes the other way.

December 23
San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl --- Utah Utes (#23) over California Golden Bears
*** It's not the Sugar Bowl like last year, but Utah caps their second consecutive good season with another bowl victory.

December 24
Sheraton Hawaii Bowl --- Southern Methodist Mustangs over Nevada Wolf Pack

December 26
Little Caesars Pizza Bowl --- Ohio Bobcats over Marshall Thundering Herd
Meineke Car Care Bowl --- Pittsburgh Panthers (#17) over North Carolina Tar Heels
*** North Carolina playing close to home, but Pittsburgh caps their nice season and gets their tenth win.

Emerald Bowl --- USC Trojans (#24) over Boston College Eagles
*** Emerald Bowl and USC? Who saw that coming? Although disappointed, Pete Carroll gets his team ready for the game, and they roll over Boston College.

December 27
Gaylord Hotel Music City Bowl --- Clemson Tigers over Kentucky Wildcats

December 28
AdvoCare V 1000 Independence Bowl --- Georgia Bulldogs over Texas A&M Aggies

December 29
Eagle Bank Bowl --- UCLA Bruins over Temple Owls
Champs Sports Bowl --- Miami Hurricanes (#15) over Wisconsin Badgers (#25)
*** Nice match-up of Miami's speed versus Wisconsin's power, with the Hurricanes speed being the difference.

December 30
Roady's Humanitarian Bowl --- Idaho Vandals over Bowling Green Falcons
Pacific Life Holiday Bowl --- Nebraska Cornhuskers (#22) over Arizona Wildcats (#20)
*** Nebraska's defense showed the nation they are good, actually very good in the Big 12 championship game, and I think they keep the momentum against a good Arizona team.

December 31
Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl --- Houston Cougars over Air Force Falcons
Brut Sun Bowl --- Stanford Cardinal (#21) over Oklahoma Sooners
*** Stanford ends their surprise season with another victory over a known football school.

Texas Bowl --- Navy Midshipmen over Missouri Tigers
Insight Bowl --- Minnesota Golden Gophers over Iowa State Cyclones
Chick-fil-A Bowl --- Virginia Tech Hokies (#11) over Tennessee Volunteers
*** Lane Kiffin has done a nice job in his first year at Tennessee, but Virginia Tech is better in all aspects and will get their tenth win of the year.

New Years Day 2010
Outback Bowl --- Auburn Tigers over Northwestern Wildcats
Konica Minolta Gator Bowl --- Florida State Seminoles over West Virginia Mountaineers (#16)
*** This one is all with my heart. FSU pulls it out in the farewell game of Bobby Bowden's great career.

Capital One Bowl --- Penn State Nittany Lions (#13) over LSU Tigers (#12)
*** Now starts the games matching up higher ranked teams. Penn State beats a LSU team that never looked as well as their ranking claimed during the season.

Rose Bowl --- Oregon Ducks (#7) over Ohio State Buckeyes (#8)
***Oregon's speed will be too much for Ohio State to handle, as the Buckeyes will have no answer for the Ducks quarterback, Jeremiah Masoli and his run or pass threat.

Allstate Sugar Bowl --- Florida Gators (#5) over Cincinnati Bearcats(#3)
*** Could Florida suffer the same fate as last year's SEC Championship game loser, Alabama? I don't think Urban Meyer and Tim Tebow allow that to happen to the Gators. Cincinnati wants to finish undefeated and show they belong with the "big boys", but the loss of Coach Kelly may still be in the back of the team's minds.

January 2
International Bowl --- South Florida Bulls over Northern Illinois Huskies
Papajohns.com Bowl --- South Carolina Gamecocks over Connecticut Huskies
AT&T Cotton Bowl --- Oklahoma State Cowboys (#19) over Mississippi Rebels
*** Both teams thought their season would end better then this, especially Ole Miss which was ranked as high as #4 early in the season.

AutoZone Liberty Bowl --- East Carolina Pirates over Arkansas Razorbacks
Valero Alamo Bowl ---Texas Tech Red Raiders over Michigan State Spartans

January 4
Tostitos Fiesta Bowl --- Texas Christian Horned Frogs (#4) over Boise State Broncos (#6)
*** Seems like the bowl game at the kiddies' table. Both these teams wanted to play bigger conference opponents in their bowl game, but instead will face each other. TCU's offense has been very good all year, and that will be the difference in the "Little BCS" game.

January 5
FedEx Orange Bowl --- Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (#9) over Iowa Hawkeyes (#10)
*** Georgia Tech's speed and option offense will be too much for a gritty Iowa team.

January 6
GMAC Bowl --- Central Michigan Chippewas over Troy Trojans

January 7
BCS National Championship --- Alabama Crimson Tide (#1) over Texas Longhorns (#2)
*** Alabama's offense was able to move the ball and score against a good Florida defense, while Texas' offense struggled against Nebraska's defense. While the Longhorn offense will play better then they did in the Big 12 championship game, Alabama will play even better. Mark Ingram helps put a BCS championship title on his resume by showing the country why he won the Heisman Trophy for this season.

The SportsFan Buzz Podcast (12/14/2009).....

Today's podcast (taped Friday, December 11th) is all college football. I am joined by my friend Richard Ramos as we discuss Bobby Bowden (Rich lives in Tallahassee), how we both dislike the BCS and maybe a solution, and Rich's beloved USC Trojans. Enjoy.

The SportsFan Buzz: December 14, 2009

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New Year's Bowling.....

Five undefeated teams after the regular season and conference championships have all been played out. Not what the head honchos who run the Bowl Championship System (BCS) wanted to see when they checked the boxscores Sunday morning. Neither was it the scenario that college football fans wanted to see, because we knew what was coming next. Computer generated standings that would place the top two teams (meaning top two conferences) into the championship.

College football fans have seen this story before and no matter how many times it plays out, it is never well received, and this year is no different. While Alabama against Texas is a nice match-up, there are questions about whether any of the other three undefeated teams, TCU, Boise St., and Cincinnati should or could match-up with the two “big boys”. Unfortunately, we will not know the answer to the question in the championship game, and in only one of the other bowl games when Cincinnati takes on Florida in the Sugar Bowl, because TCU and Boise St. were matched up in the Fiesta Bowl.

The BCS Bowl games spread out over seven days look like this:

January 1st - Rose Bowl: Ohio St. vs. Oregon
                    Sugar Bowl: Florida vs. Cincinnati
January 4th - Fiesta Bowl: TCU vs. Boise St.
January 5th - Orange Bowl: Georgia Tech vs. Iowa
January 7th – BCS Championship: Alabama vs. Texas

The BCS was set up to help avoid the arguments that used to take place when we were dealt “split championships” and no true champion for the college football season. It has not done what it set out to accomplish, as we now have annual arguments over who ends up and how they ended up in the BCS Championship and more cries for a playoff format. While we have gotten the best team as the winner of the championship game in most cases, it has not always been matched up against the best opponent, so that does not make for a clear cut champion.

With no playoff and none anywhere in sight, arguments about the championship game participants, and bowl games spread out over seven days, it is not an appealing set-up for many college football fans. I think it is time to scrap the BCS and do something drastic, and that is to go back in time, but with a little tweak. Why not go back to New Years Eve and Day bowl games to wrap up the college season?

Here is my proposal for these “elite” bowl games to be played on those two days / nights. First, there would be six bowl games in this group. They would include the four we already showcase with the Rose, Orange, Sugar, and Fiesta, with the two additional games being the Cotton and Chick-Fil-A, which I would rename The Peach Bowl, brought to you by Chick-Fil-A.

I would bring back conference affiliations with each of the bowls, except for the Fiesta, which I would keep independent from a conference tie-in. The Rose would keep the Pac 10 and Big 10, while the Sugar would keep the SEC, and the Cotton would get the Big 12. For the Orange and Peach, they would get the ACC and Big East as their associations, but I would put the Peach Bowl as a New Year’s Eve game, and they would get the lower of the two ranked champions as the host team.

Then just like the old system, the bowls would recruit schools to get the best match-up or full stadium.

So under my bowl system, here is what New Years Eve and Day would look like in three weeks.

New Year’s Eve:
Peach Bowl – Iowa vs. Georgia Tech
Fiesta Bowl – Penn St. vs. LSU

New Year’s Day:
Cotton Bowl – Boise St. vs. Texas
Rose Bowl – Oregon vs. Ohio St.
Orange Bowl – Florida vs. Cincinnati
Sugar Bowl – TCU vs. Alabama

How is that for a New Year’s Day line-up of games? There probably is still no clear cut #1 team, but when you have five undefeated teams going into the bowl games, you are never going to get a consensus top team.

We are not going to have five undefeated teams each year, so we also need a way to have the top two teams play each other if the scenario warrants it. Actually, that is my tweak or adjustment to make this different then the old system. Once every four years a conference champion can “challenge” another team, which could and should allow more top team match-ups. Yes, this leaves their bowl game with no affiliation for that year, but in that case, the affected bowl game would get first pick of all other available teams in trying to put together its bowl match-up. Not perfect, but nothing is at this point, and there are smarter people then me that might find a little better way to get this to happen.

With going back to this system, the big bowl games are back to where they belong on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day (If the holiday falls on a NFL Sunday, then they just play those games on January 2nd.) just like they started, when we used to celebrate the college game on the holidays. It also gives more of a chance, albeit slim, for the smaller conferences to face off against the larger conferences for the National Championship.

College football fans deserve better then what we have, so while not perfect, going back in time might be the best solution we have available to us. Also, getting back New Year's Day with wall to wall college bowl games involving the top college teams sounds like a great way to recover from the night before and the ringing in the of that New Year.

The SportsFan Buzz Podcast (12/8/2009).....

Another two part effort by Mike and I as we cover this weekend's sport happenings, and get through it all without a mention of Tiger Woods. In Part A, we cover the baseball winter meetings and the college football conference championship games that took place on Saturday. In Part B, the NFL's week 13 action is the discussion point, and Mike gets through the Steelers segment with minimal heartache (well not really minimal). Now with additional audio drop-ins for your listening pleasure.

The SportsFan Buzz: December 8, 2009 (Part A)

The SportsFan Buzz: December 8, 2009 (Part B)

This & That (Monday 11/9/09).....

A Podcast of this column with an expanded take on events can be downloaded here.

The SportsFan Buzz: November 9, 2009


--- What a difference a week makes in college football. After praising Oregon for its big win over USC and how they could play with anyone in the country, they come crashing to earth with a 51-42 loss to Stanford. Add to it #4 Iowa losing to Northwestern 17-10, and you have two "National Title" dreamers awakened from their sleep.

What about Charlie Weis and Notre Dame? Losing to Navy, 23-21, for the second time in three years, and both in South Bend. Besides knocking them from a any possible BCS bowl game, it could been the final nail for Weis' time at ND. Not sure that an upset win over Pittsburgh this weekend would do anything to sooth over these wounds.

TCU moved up to fourth in the BCS standings, with Cincinnati and Boise St. sitting behind them and all three hoping that the top three (Florida, Texas and Alabama) will fall to upsets in the next week or two.

--- Normal hockey schedule this past weekend, and there were no unusual uniforms were on display. The Capitals are still playing well with Alex Ovechkin sidelined (7-1-2 in last ten games), while the hottest two teams over that same time period are the New Jersey Devils (8-2) and San Jose Sharks (8-1-1).

The biggest story coming out of the weekend was the Carolina Hurricanes losing goalie Cam Ward for the next 3-4 weeks when a skate (either Rick Nash's or one of his defensemen) accidently cut him on his upper left leg. While it looked like a "normal collision" in the crease, Ward sprawled on all fours, before trainers arrived and helped him from the ice. That was when the small pool of blood was noticeable on the ice.

This is the second time in the past three years Ward has suffered a cut. The last time came in 2007 against the New York Rangers at MSG.

With bodies flying around and players falling to the ice in corner piles, the NHL is lucky that more of these injuries do not occur on a regular basis.

--- In the NBA, The Boston Celtics are still off to their hot start at 7-1, with a point differential of 14.1 in their eight games. That is over six points better then the next best team, the Miami Heat (at 5-1), and just shows how important Kevin Garnett is to the Celtics, and how his presence greatly helps their team defense.

The Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers are pacing the Western Conference at 6-1 records.

Seems like Allen Iverson is upset with his playing time with the Memphis Grizzlies. Iverson, averaging over 12.3 a game, but playing only 22 minutes a game. Iverson, who knew he would be coming off the bench when signed by Memphis, would like more playing time. Not even ten games in and AI is already causing headaches.

--- Discussion that came up on my Facebook page. Joe Namath, Hall of Famer or overrated?

My take is that if he was playing in any other city, we would not be discussing his greatness, or lack there of. Style and charisma, and being in New York, helped boost this above-average, at best, quarterback into the superstar status.

What do you think?

--- Buccaneers are the last team to get a win as they beat the Packers 38-28. Aaron Rodgers again sacked a half dozen times in the loss. Good for Tampa Bay, as no team should go 0-16 (said same about Detroit last year). I feel sorry for the punishment Rodgers has endured this season, and there is still eight games to go. Packers need to get this settled soon, or it will be another lost season.

Excuse me Bengal fans, but is there room on your bandwagon? Cincinnati impressed in their 17-7 win over the Ravens. Cedric Benson again went over 100 yards rushing against that Baltimore defense, and the Bengals defense bothered Joe Flacco all day. I thought the defense was in trouble when they lost Antwan Odem, and they have been fine. We will see now that they lost WR Chris Henry how the offense responds, but all signs this year point to them chugging along. Up next for them will be Pittsburgh.

And yes, I like Chad Ochocinco's "bribe" attempt of the referee. While I thought he talked too much when the team was losing and he was not doing well, I do enjoy his playful antics and his having fun.

Excuse me Bear fans, but I am leaving this wagon. A 41-21 loss at home? The Bear defense was awful, plain and simple, and Tommie Harris getting ejected a minute into the game did not help. Bears problem on offense is that they need a top notch wide receiver. Kurt Warner goes from five interceptions last week, to five TD passes this week. Cardinals winning on the road, which is a turnaround from last year.

Colts hold off Texans 20-17, as Kris Brown misses a 42 yard FG to tie the game. Peyton Manning through 40 first half passes in the game, but Houston hung tough. The Texans and had the 4th quarter lead, but could not put the game away, allowing the Colts to come back and win. That is the difference between a veteran team that knows how to win, and a younger team learning how to get victories.

Vince Young and Chris Johnson lead the Titans to a 34-27 win over the 49ers. San Francisco still needs more time, but I do like the core of their offense. They just need to sure up the defense, and get a little "older". This two game winning streak is making people ask if Young can be the future of the Tennessee franchise. I say he can be as long as he has big #28 running the ball behind him.

The Saints are sloppy on offense (2 turnovers), allowed rushing yards (182), and fall behind again (down 11 at halftime) for the third week in a row, this time to Carolina, but right the ship in the second half to beat the Panthers 30-20. The New Orleans defense scored for the 7th time this season, which is one more TD then the Browns have scored all year. Next up are the Rams and Bucs, who have 2 wins combined, so a 10-0 start for the Saints is a real possibility.

The Cowboys took control of the NFC East with a 20-16 win over the Eagles. Dallas executed a few more plays, including the winning 49 yard TD pass from Tony Romo to Miles Austin, in getting a tough road win against a division rival. Neither team was able to run, but the Philadelphia being on 4 for 12 on third down, while Dallas went 7-15, was a big factor in the Eagles loss. Both teams have tough games ahead as the Cowboys go to Green Bay, while the Eagles go to the west coast to play the Chargers.

Speaking of the Chargers, they drove 80 yards in 1:46, capped off by a Philip Rivers to Vincent Jackson touchdown pass, to stun the Giants 21-20 in the Meadowlands. That is the fourth loss in a row for New York, and puts them behind the Cowboys and Eagles in the NFC East standings. The Giants picked off Rivers and returned it to the Charger 4 yard line with 3:14 to go. After a holding call on first down (a game killer), and a no gain pass after the penalty, Giant coach Tom Coughlin decided to play it safe and run Brandon Jacobs twice to force San Diego to use their timeouts, and set up a field goal that put the Giants up 20-14. Too much time for Rivers & Co. The Giants played well, but this loss will sting more then the previous three because the game was theirs for the taking.

The Giants will be off next week for their bye, along with the Texans, so we will have an almost full slate of games back in the NFL. Thank goodness, as I do not like bye weeks. Also, weekly Thursday night games start this week, when Chicago goes to San Francisco.

This & That (Monday 11/2/09).....

--- Sunday, November 1, 2009 was the first day that the NBA, MLB, NHL and NFL all had games scheduled on the same day. The day before, October 31st was just as good as you could swap the NFL for college football. Great weekend to be a sports fan. Your remote batteries still work?

--- The NFL Game of the week was "The Return of Favre" in Green Bay, but Minnesota took care of business 38-26, with Favre throwing four TD passes in his Lambeau return. The Packer fans did boo him with a little extra zest then a normal visiting player, but Brett got the last laugh with the victory. Aaron Rodgers played well and through three touchdowns, but Rodgers' biggest problem was that he was sacked six times, and in the two Viking games he has been on the turf fourteen times.

The Broncos suffered their first loss at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens, 30-7. The Ravens stepped up after 3 consecutive losses, and took control in the second half, which in the first six games had been Denver's strongest time in grabbing their victories. Be interested to see how the Broncos respond next Monday night against Pittsburgh.

The Colts had a tough time with the 49ers, but remained undefeated with a 18-14 fourth quarter victory. The Colts needed a bit of deception for their final score, as the winning TD pass to Reggie Wayne came from Joseph Addai on a halfback pass, and not a traditional Peyton Manning connection.

The Tennessee Titans (30-13 over Jacksonville) and St. Louis Rams (17-10 over Detroit) both got their first victories of the season, and both rode their monster running backs to the wins. Chris Johnson had 228 yards rushing and two TDs for the Titans, while Steven Jackson had 149 and one TD in the Rams win. In Jacksonville's losing effort, Maurice Jones-Drew had 177 yards on only 8 carries. Amazing running days for these three excellent running backs.

Meanwhile the Giants lost again, this time the Philadelphia Eagles 40-17, and just look confused on defense, not in sync on offense. Did we over value this team, or is it just a slump?

--- The Yankees take the two weekend games in Philadelphia to take total control of the World Series.

What a difference a year makes, especially in the cases of Cole Hamels and Brad Lidge. Last year both had complete confidence in their pitching and were on the top of their games, and this year it is a 180 degree turnaround.

Hamels was pitching pretty well on Saturday night up until the 3-2 pitch to Mark Teixeira. Yes, it was close, but it was inside for ball four. Perfect sense that Hamels wanted it, as the camera caught his reaction to the ball call, but he needed to get back on track. The 2008 Hamels would have done just that, but the 2009 Hamels let it effect him. Once the Alex Rodriguez drive was ruled a home run (which I disagree with, as there was no conclusive evidence that the ball does not come down and hit the fence if the camera was not there), Hamels was completely lost. I knew watching that he would implode, and Hamels certainly followed his 2009 pattern. To me that was the turning point of the series.

As for Lidge, his confidence thread snapped in the 9th inning of game 4 as soon as Johnny Damon stole second base, then took third when no Phillie (Lidge) was covering the bag. As soon as that happened, Lidge went away from his slider and was only throwing fastballs. Huge mistake and the Yankees took advantage as both Rodriguez and Jorge Posada's hits were against Lidge's fastball.

Cliff Lee starts tonight trying to send the series back to Yankee Stadium. I think the defending champions will have enough pride in the tank and will send it back to New York for a Game 6.

Game 3: Yankees 8 / Phillies 5
Game 4: Yankees 7 / Phillies 4

--- Biggest news or event out of the NBA this weekend was Manu Ginobili swatting a bat out of the air during the Spurs game against the Sacramento Kings on Saturday (Halloween) night. Of course PETA has made a statement about the tragedy of the event.

--- The NHL had a quiet weekend, but a few of its biggest stars are banged up right now. Evgeni Malkin (shoulder), Alex Ovechkin and Eric Staal (both upper body) all will miss some time, and are needed by their teams and the NHL back and healed soon.

Some separation is starting to take place between teams as each club has played about a dozen games. Two teams, Carolina and Anaheim, have been huge disappointments so far, and need to start looking at how they want to correct their problems.

I don't want to see them every night, but I did get a smile from seeing the Montreal Canadiens' 1912 uniforms on Saturday night.

--- Florida and Texas tried to set themselves apart from the other top college teams on Saturday, with more impressive victories then they have had in prior weeks. The story out of Florida's win over Georgia was that linebacker Brandon Spikes was caught trying to gouge the eyes of Bulldog running back Washaun Ealey while making a tackle. Spikes has been suspended for the first half of next week's game against Vanderbilt.

The game of the weekend was Oregon putting it to the USC Trojans 47-20 to take control of the Pac 10. The loss was USC's worst of the Pete Carroll era, and biggest losing margin since 1997.