Tuesday, December 10, 2013

12/10 Tuesday Quickie

*I'm overly obsessed with seeing "older" athletes -- that's why he wouldn't qualify for most people's "must-see" lists, but I was thrilled to see Andre Miller in person last night, even if the Wiz blew the game.

*Mack Brown being out at Texas is a "when not if" situation. Just a good reminder that Texas is the single-best job in college football, and nothing else is even close. I'd put Florida a distant second, which makes Will Muschamp's failures all the more disappointing.

*If I'm Jerry Jones, I absolutely try to hire Kevin Sumlin from Texas A&M. (I do the same thing if I'm the Texans.) If the Cowboys can't win the NFC East in this kind of terrible down year for the division, it ain't happening under this regime.

-- D.S.

Monday, December 09, 2013

12/09 Monday Morning Quickie

*That was an amazing day of football yesterday. Between the snowy visuals and all the TDs and the record-setting (number of TDs, longest FG kick, McCoy Eagles rushing record), it was awesome.

*Of course, I got throttled in a regular-season fantasy finale in which I advance to the playoffs with a win but miss the playoffs with a loss. (Adding insult to injury, my opponent then thwacked me in QuizUp later in the evening.)

*My three most notable storylines from yesterday:
- The Ravens-Vikings final two minutes was as stunning as any final two minutes I have ever seen -- it is, statistically, even less probable than Auburn's "Kick Six."

- Peyton Manning is something to behold, but I still think the Broncos fall short of a Super Bowl win.

- Not many folks are saying it, but I will: Chip Kelly for NFL Coach of the Year (and right now I'd put Jacksonville's Gus Bradley as runner up).

*No surprises in the bowl reveals -- Auburn-Florida State should be a fun one, but I expect that the Tigers will roll.

*Kobe's first game back was a bit of a dud -- hardly a surprise -- but file away how much better the Raptors looked without Rudy Gay.

-- D.S.

Sunday, December 08, 2013

12/08 End of the BCS Quickie

The BCS is a pretty shoddy system, but last night was an epic reminder that -- yes -- college football's regular season IS one big playoff.

In addition to "Every Saturday counts," college football's motto should be "These things have a way of working themselves out."

And so we end this college football season with no controversy at the top -- it will be FSU vs. Auburn, and I fully expect Auburn to continue the SEC's dominance with another title.

Given that Auburn was 0-8 last season -- before Gus Malzahn got there -- it's a pretty solid argument that Malzahn has had the greatest first year at a school in college football history.

As for Ohio State, it's hard not to experience some schadenfreude. They'll be fine, but that's the reality of life at the top -- championship or fail.

Otherwise, let's all just marvel at Malzahn's offensive schemes, Tre Mason's game for the ages and a wildly entertaining SEC title game.

The SEC will be back in the national title game -- and will probably win again.

And, now that we're expanding the playoff to four teams -- with the SEC champ guaranteed a spot, no matter how many losses -- it's hard to see when the streak will end.

-- D.S.