Shooting Youself in the Foot....errrr Leg

Life isn't fair sometimes.

That's the way it goes, deal with it.

Should athletes (or people in the public eye, in general) have to worry about being asked for autographs, pictures, or face harassment from over-served patrons in clubs?

The answer should be no.

But it isn't, and that is the reality of it all. It is part of the "deal" that you make with society.

In the case of pro athletes, they are paid gobs of cash to play a game. Along with the green comes a certain sacrifice of privacy. They are recognizable figures in the community in which they play.

It comes with the package that includes large salaries.

If I want to go out for a cold beverage, I can do that. Nobody knows me, nobody cares.

If a star NFL player wants to go out, he'll be a focus of where he is going. Sorry, welcome to reality.

Posses are nice, bodyguards are good too (except for Pacman Jones). Worried about a DUI charge? Get a limo (didn't help Darrent Williams). Ask Jacksonville Jaguar lineman Richard Collier what happens when you simply mind your own business.

Simply put, not a whole lot of good happens after midnight when you are out on the town. Not when your livelihood is at stake. That is the trade off here.......money, fame, adulation, more money, groupies, cars, and trouble.

For some, guns are included on that list. For most, guns are a form of protection, unless, reportedly, you are Plaxico Burress....we'll deal with the allegedly potential felony charges later.

For others, it is a magnet for trouble.

If you need a gun to go out and protect yourself, perhaps you should go somewhere else or simply stay home. Staying home cost Redskin safety Sean Taylor his life, but that is the exception to the rule.

Is it fair ? No, not even close.

But that is the way it is, deal with it.

Stop Whining

With a three-way tie in the Big 12 South now official, the division title will be left to the fifth tiebreaker which is BCS rank.

When the rankings come out later today, expect Oklahoma to jump Texas in the computer polls based on its 61-41 win over Oklahoma State. The strength of schedule matters in this case.

Texas fans are already groaning about the mere possibility of their beloved Longhorns being passed by Oklahoma.

True, Texas beat Oklahoma 45-35 on a neutral field in October. I'll give them that one.

However, this is a three team tie we are dealing with.

For Texas to cry fowl is ridiculous. Texas Tech beat Texas and they only have one loss. Why Texas fans, is your club more deserving than the team that beat you and has the same record?

I don't care that the game was in Lubbock and you lost on the final play. A loss is a loss. If the argument is that Texas is more deserving than OU, then finish the statement with the opinion that Texas Tech deserves it more than yourselves.

Then the discussion can turn to OU's beatdown of Texas Tech eight days ago. And around and around we go.

The eventual tiebreaker stinks, but so does the whole system.

Sorry, Charlie

Dude, you took a Ty Willingham-recruited team to within 10 seconds of upsetting a great USC team in 2005 and they were ready to nominate you for Pope.

.

Now, with the players you recruited and a much softer schedule, the Fighting Irish ain't getting it done. More importantly, the *****-star recruits aren't getting better under your watch.

.

Forget the USC loss, as ugly as it was. The Irish lost, at home, on senior day, to Syracuse. It doesn't get any lower than that - until you consider the players were pelted by snowballs from their own student body.

.

Period.
.

It is time for a change in South Bend

Mussina was solid, but HOF'er ?

Word is circulating that Mike Mussina is set to retire from baseball. Mussina was always a solid, but not dominate pitcher during his years with the Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees.

After struggling mightily in 2007, Mussina rebounded to win 20 games for the first time in his career for the Yankees in '08. Mussina has 270 wins in 18 years, during an era highlighted be offense and will finish with a career record of 270-153.

The Hall of Fame candidacy has already begun. I'd vote if I could, but nobody is knocking on my door with a ballot for me so I'm relegated to just an opinion.

Mussina was never considered to be one of the dominant pitchers of his era. That is something that should be taken under consideration when deciding the Hall of Fame legitimacy of a player.

Jack Morris was the winningest pitchers of the 1980's and is a post season legend for his performances with the '85 Tigers and '91 Twins. He isn't enshrined in Cooperstown. In 18 seasons, Morris was 254-186 and authored one of the greatest World Series performances with his 10-inning 1-0 shutout win in Game 7 of the 1991 series against Atlanta.

Until Morris gets to Cooperstown, Mussina's name shouldn't be discussed. Sorry, Moose

Pacman Returns




Serious ?

In defense of the Big 12

For those SEC fans who might be thinking the South has the best football, think again.

The Big 12 is the best conference this year, hands down.

I get a chuckle from those who bang on the Big 12 for its defensive stats. With a wide-open conference with QB's like Sam Bradford, Graham Harrell, Colt McCoy, Chase Daniel, Zac Robinson, and Joe Ganz, the defensive stats are bound to suffer.

This is the greatest collection of quarterbacks in one conference that has hit college football.

Look for the Big 12 to be a major player in the bowl season this year.

Prediction Time

Texas Tech has had the best season in school history. The Red Raiders have cleared all hurdles this year and erased all doubts as to their ability to win on the big stage. The Sooners are missing all-everything LB Ryan Reynolds and top DE Auston English.

I'm dying to pick the Red Raiders, but I can't. Oklahoma is playing as well as anyone in the country and are playing at home. Colt McCoy was the early leader for the Heisman Trophy, Graham Harrell of Texas Tech is the current front runner for the award. For now.

Oklahoma will win this game, 44-41. His performance Saturday night will be enough for OU quarterback Sam Bradford to hoist the Heisman Trophy next month in New York City.

Congrats to JJ

While I just can't grasp the allure to NASCAR, congrats to Jimmie Johnson on his third straight championship.

Each year, I try to drum up some interest in the sport but can't do it. Without the crashes, I just can't sit thru a race to care enough about it. I know there is a lot of strategy involved between the teams but there are too many left turns in this sport for me.

My lone enjoyment of NASCAR comes when I pump up the virtues of Jeff Gordon, who most NASCAR fans seem to hate. Not sure why, but it seems to get under the skin of those who detest the driver of the 2-4 car.

The only real positive I can put on NASCAR is that it isn't soccer.

Another Rant...I'm Upset This Time

Mark it down...Sunday, November 2, 2008.

Quite possibly, the worst day in the history of the Oakland Raiders.

At home - the boys in Silver & Black got buriedthe Atlanta Dog-Killers 24-0.

The Raiders were outgained 453-77 in total yards and allowed 30 first downs while amassing a whopping total of 3.

The first half was thrilling.......-2 yards of total offense and no first downs.

A total of 77 yards in 34 plays?????...c'mon, don't bother doing the math.... it sucks.

I think I'm going to hurl.

Is it a total wasted weekend? Well, the Huskers outscored Oklahoma to 28-27 points in the final 45 minutes of last night's game in Norman.

Now, if Big Red wasn't down 35-0 beforehand, it might have been a decent Saturday evening.

At least Texas Tech beat Texas, solidifying my upset pick on collegefootballnews.com....

Another silver lining.....at least the Cowboys are getting kicked around today. The only downside to it is that the Giants are the ones doing it. Living in New York, I can't stand the fact I get the G-men shoved down my throat if I want to watch football every week. Toss in NY Jets and Buffalo Bills football, you can understand why I don't get too excited on game days anymore....At least I can track games on the internet.....

The Bruins are playing well, I'll have to hang my hat on the boys from Beantown....

The NASCAR season is coming to a close. And still, nobody with teeth cares.

Almost that time......

I won't try to sway anyone with my political views...BUT
please get out and vote. It is the right of every American.
It doesn't matter who you vote for, just voting is enough.

Big 12 Observations

Just a few random thoughts on day after a great day of college football.

1-The Big 12 is the best conference in college football

Top to bottom, the Big 12 is the best and deepest conference in the country.

The SEC has been commonly referred to as the top conference for the last few years and does boast the last two national championship winners. In 2008, it’s all about the Big 12.

Half of the Big 12 teams are ranked in the top 16 teams in the national rankings, as of October, 12. Texas, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma State all are 6-0 while Oklahoma, Missouri, and Kansas are 5-1.

Nine of the Big 12 teams are averaging over 32 points a game. The level of quarterback play this year is what separates the Big 12 from the rest of the country.

Texas and Oklahoma State are battle tested while Texas Tech boasts the top passing offense in the country.

OU and Mizzou lost to Texas and Oklahoma State and Kansas’ blemish was a wild 37-34 road loss to South Florida in September.

The depth of the conference is shown in the lower tier. Nebraska, Kansas State, and Colorado have the ability to step up and pull an upset at any time and young QB’s Robert Griffin (Baylor) and Austen Arnaud (Iowa State) are giving a glimmer of hope the immediate future of their teams.

Texas A&M is the worst team in the conference so far but is in total rebuilding mode under first-year coach Mike Sherman.


2-A Big 12 quarterback will win the Heisman Trophy

Prediction – The quarterback on the Big 12 conference champion will win the Heisman Trophy.

Right now, the Heisman Trophy is Colt McCoy’s to lose.

The junior has been dominate all season and has played like the most valuable player in college football. McCoy has thrown the ball well and is capable of picking up big chunks of yards on the ground.

Graham Harrell (Texas Tech), Sam Bradford (Oklahoma), and Chase Daniel (Missouri) all have jaw-dropping stats that Heisman winners are made of.

Harrell leads the top passing attack in the country and if Tech is able to win the Big 12 South, Harrell will be the one leading the way.

For a player to drop from Heisman consideration, it typically takes a poor performance in a loss to do it. Bradford was sensational against Texas in the loss and definitely will take a backseat to McCoy unless the Longhorns stumble and McCoy plays poorly.
Daniel wasn’t great in the Oklahoma State loss and he threw three interceptions. He’ll drop from the contenders list for now but has time to move his way back up.

OSU’s Zac Robinson is the sleeper in the mix as is Kansas’ Todd Reesing. Both will have their opportunities to make a name for himself on the national stage.

3-The Big 12 won’t have any unbeaten teams, but it’ll have a team in the national title game.

The conference is just too tough and too deep to expect anyone team to run the gauntlet.

Because of the depth and balance of the Big 12, a one-loss conference champion will be rewarded with a spot in the national title game. The SEC champion has been afforded the same respect the last two seasons (LSU had two losses) so there is precedent.

Unbeatens Texas, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma State all still have to play each other. It is very possible they take turns knocking each other off. All are capable of beating the other two teams.

Oklahoma and Missouri still must win-out and get to the Big 12 title game. Missouri is in the better spot as the North Division isn’t as deep as the South. Mizzou still has this week’s road trip to Texas but the Tigers will be favored to win their remaining games.

Oklahoma was ranked number-one until the Texas loss. The Sooners are as good as any team in the country and have all the ingredients necessary to get back up in the polls.

Prediction – It is too early to project possible tiebreakers for a Big 12 South tie. There is an intense desire to pick Cinderella Oklahoma State…. but I’ll go with Oklahoma to beat Missouri in the Big 12 title game.

I picked Missouri at the start of the year but the Tigers showed they are not ready to be prime-time players with the loss to Oklahoma State. Missouri looked like a team not capable of embracing the lofty national status they had achieved.

Oklahoma will go on to play USC in the Orange Bowl for the national title.