Category Archive

Could it be?

Courtesy of Peter King in today’s Monday Morning Quarterback, Rush Limbaugh sticks his nose in the issue of race and sports yet again, for seemingly no reason at all. And you wonder why those of us on the left consider the conservative media elite (sorry, couldn’t resist) to be absolutely, flat-out insane. And stupid. Very, very stupid.

“And before we go to the break here, folks, I’ve got to get something off my chest. You know, the game was the game. And the game was what it was. But I - I can’t handle any more press criticism of Rex Grossman. They’re writing his name W-R-E-C-K-S. They’re just … worst quarterback ever to play in the Super Bowl. And it’s been like this since the Green Bay game — actually since the Arizona game, a little crescendo of it in the Green Bay game, the last game of the season for the Bears. And it’s just unrelenting! It’s just — they’re focusing on this guy like they don’t focus on anybody!

“And I tell you, I know what it is. The media, the sports media, has got social concerns that they are first and foremost interested in, and they’re dumping on this guy — Rex Grossman — for one reason, folks, and that’s because he is a white quarterback.’

This is the scene outside Littlejohn Stadium in Clemson trying to get tickets to the North Carolina game this Wednesday. Pretty cool. Hopefully, the team will come through. (And, for what it’s worth, I’ve got a lot of faith.)

Can’t think of a better illustration of what’s wrong with college football than this, courtesy of Sports Illustrated’s Peter King:

The Philadelphia Eagles have played eight games between the time Ohio State played its last regular season game and the BCS title game tonight.

Seriously, is anyone even remotely excited about this game tonight? What should be our best sport has become nothing more than a series of pointless exhibition games.

Slate Magazine, which I clearly read a lot, has a pretty good take on why Florida was the right selection for the BCS. Knowing that no one really wants to click through, I’ve excerpted the important parts for you:

Unlike TV commentators and sports columnists, the college-football voters understand, at least implicitly, that the season-long playoff that is the college football season should determine the single best team, not the best two teams. That’s why the voters in the Harris poll and coaches’ poll have consistently voted against a Michigan-Ohio State rematch. The voters cast their ballots for “not-Michigan” when they voted for USC, and they’ve cast their ballots for “not-Michigan” by voting for Florida.

Do we know if Florida is the second-best team in the country? Of course not. Here’s what we do know: Michigan is not the best. How do we know that? By the traditional criterion: They scored fewer points in a football game than Ohio State did. The only team that has the “right” to play in the BCS championship game is the best team, Ohio State. And the only teams that should be scratched without question are teams that have already been determined to be “not the best,” like Michigan.

On Sunday, Michigan coach Lloyd Carr had the gall to declare, “I hope that, in the future, we can have a system where all of the answers are decided on the field” and, “We need to get away from anything that’s not decided by the players themselves.” I’m fairly certain that Carr’s players were involved in Michigan’s 42-39 defeat at the hands of Ohio State and that it was played on a field.

I had the pleasure this season of watching in person as the Tigers lost two games that were eerily similar.  In each case, against Boston College and South Carolina, Clemson was outplayed and yet, because of the sheer amount of talent on our team, still had a chance to win at the end only to see Jad Dean kick it away. I’m frustrated by this seasons.
Here’s a pretty good take on the season from College Football News:

Despite winning eight games in Clemson, Tommy Bowden has to take some heat for a very poor body of work. Why? It became quite clear at points in the 2006 season that the Tigers had more horsepower than any other ACC team. With James Davis and C.J. Spiller in the backfield, Clemson had the clear ability to thunder past opponents with lightning-bolt home-run plays. The Tigers did in fact win at Florida State while crushing ACC Coastal champion Georgia Tech and defeating ACC Atlantic titleist Wake Forest. Clemson proved on multiple occasions how talented it was. Yet, the Tigers lost games they had no business losing (Maryland) while playing somnambulent football on some occasions (Virginia Tech). As is the case with Tom O’Brien at Boston College, Tommy Bowden had the horses to win a division title this season, but didn’t. In the bigger scheme of things, that represents a failure which should minimize the value of an eight- or nine-win year.

It’s a great analysis.  Bowden’s been at Clemson eight years now.  He’s convinced the university to build him new facilities, and that effort is underway in the spectacular new West End Zone.  He’s created incredible recruiting networks throughout the south (see Byrnes high school), and he’s got a group of assistants that would be the envy of almost any team not in the top 20.  Yet, he still can’t convert.

I’ve never put Bowden on the hot seat.  He always has had a shorthanded deck - bad facilities, a broken recruiting network, legacy issues at running back and on defense, or huge injuries.  This year, on the injuries front, we lost two first round linebackers in the first two weeks.  That’s too bad.  And it hurt us specifically against teams that could pass.  Both BC and USuC were able to run in ways that they were not previously able to simply because our inexperienced linebacker core had a tough time defending the run when the safeties spent all their time defending the deep ball.

Next year, though, he gets no excuses.  He’s stacked at running back, wide receiver, linebacker, the d-line, the secondary, and tight end.  He’s got what some consider the second best quarterback recruit in the country starting classes in January, and his o-line, while not experienced as starters, averages over 300 pounds and had plenty of playing time this year. Barring any horrible injuries, he really should win. If he doesn’t, I would imagine he’ll be squarely on the hot seat.

Clemson fans and the school have made enormous committments to the program.  They’ll expect to go to Jacksonville in December and play bowl games in January.  We’ve got the talent, we’ve got the facilities, we’ve got the recruiting, we’ve got the experience.  Do we have the coach?

This system is terrible. Who would’ve thought that the BCS could screw up the national championship in yet another way? In past years, legitimate number 2s have been denied a chance to play in the BCS championship. Now, the BCS will dictate that a number 2 who doesn’t deserve to play must get another shot.

I won’t shed any tears for USC, Florida/Arkansas, or Notre Dame if they don’t get to play. Michigan is the second best team in the country. But Big Blue had its chance and lost — in the last game of the season, in a conference that doesn’t have a championship game. Why the re-match should be conclusive of the national title is beyond me. OSU is going to get screwed here.

And, right now, South Carolina is up by six on Florida with just a few minutes to go. Boy, the SEC is tough.

See if this gives you some sense.

And so, evidently, is Ellen.

And, before you go giving me a big whopping “boring,” read this quote from collegefootballnews.com:

Throughout this year, we’ve heard over and over again about how strong the SEC is and that a one loss team from that conference is better than an undefeated team in, say, the Big East. One other thing that we’ve heard all season long is how poor the ACC is this season. Well, before you go denigrating the ACC one more time this season, take a long, hard look at Clemson. The Tigers put on a show against Georgia Tech and with the running game that they have, they’re not going to be taken down easily. There aren’t many BCS teams who could handle Clemson right now. Think Auburn is the best one loss team in the country? Wonder if they could handle James Davis and CJ Spiller right now – they didn’t stop Arkansas. Texas? If they couldn’t stop Nebraska RB Brandon Jackson, how are they going to stop Lightning and Thunder? Florida? Is Florida’s defense stout enough in the middle to stop the Tigers or could Chris Leak and Tim Tebow handle defensive end Gaines Adams and a fast, physical defense? Notre Dame? Please. It’s fun to project how these teams will fare against one another, but conference strength opinions often cloud our judgment as to what teams ‘deserve’ to be in position to play in a BCS game. Unfortunately, the reputation of the ACC is that it’s having a down year, just like last year was for the Big East. And, tell me what happened when the Big East champ took the field against the big, bad SEC in the Sugar Bowl last year? I’m just saying, be careful not to let conference pride cloud the reality of the situation – the reality is that Clemson is for real this year, just as West Virginia was last year.

Coming to Clemson, he and his cronies are.

A couple of days ago, Matt linked to his version of Taranto gold. Peter King quoted him in a Sports Illustrated article. Here’s part of King’s quote of Matt’s e-mail:

“So you asked Mets fans how do we like Pedro’s $51 million contract now? We still love it. Pedro has brought legitimacy to a team that desperately needed it, respect to a franchise that looked beaten from top to bottom. Remember Cliff Floyd’s quote at the end of the 2004 season, that it was hard to see any light at the end of the tunnel? Pedro not only brought wins and excitement, he made the Mets a legitimate destination for elite free agents, helping attract Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, Paul Lo Duca and Billy Wagner.”

Matt wrote that. Here’s Ian O’Connor in a USA Today column he wrote a couple of days ago:

Minaya stepped in and ended all that dog-ate-my-budget bunk. The $53 million he spent on Pedro Martinez amounted to a wise investment, even though Pedro’s mummified remains find no place on the NLCS roster. Martinez gave the Mets something they had forever lacked: credibility. It only allowed them to land Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, Billy Wagner and the rest.

That’s not plagiarism, but I think I know where he got the idea.

We’re begging you. Please. We can’t take it anymore. Now that Torre has announced he’ll be back, now that Terrell has played Philly, can we just have one week, one measly week, without hour after hour after hour of commentary, analysis and news about the Yankees and T.O? You’re killing us out here. If you don’t stop, we’ll be forced to watch Dancing With the Stars. Please, it’s the least you can do.

Sincerely,
The Sports Fans of America

It’s time. The Vols visit Sanford this weekend for a battle of top 15 teams. Clemson’s got a huge one against . . . wait for it . . . an undefeated Wake Forest. South Carolina is going to play football, if you can call a game between the Gamecocks and Kentucky football.

A couple of quick football notes: the ACC isn’t as bad as everyone said. Five teams in the Top 25 and an undefeated team that’s not. No, we’re not the SEC, but we’re better than the WAC.

Also, the new clock rules suck - badly.

The Times has a great article about tailgating at Ole Miss. As usual, there’s a little bit of that “look at how cute the Southerners are” tone that the Grey Lady so often imports when writing about anything not northern. But, it’s also got a money line:

“We may not win every game,” she said. “But we’ve never lost a party.”