One of a series of posts written late last night about tonight's game.
This has been the most enjoyable season I have ever had as a Florida fan. (Yes, yes, folks -- go ahead and say it: "All eight of them, Dan?" Emotionally, that makes me like a 13-year-old in "fan years.")
Every season, I immerse myself more and more -- I think about previous seasons and each is better than the last. The awareness with which I experience the emotions of the season feels so much more heightened than before.
Yes, that had something to do with the team's smashin success this year, but consider the seminal moment of the season -- for me, for Tim Tebow, for Florida -- that loss to Ole Miss.
Remember my reaction? God, I was freaking devastated. That, more than anything, was the most memorable moment of the season for me -- how horrible I felt.
I still thought the team could and should win the SEC, but I figured that even if the SEC champ deserved a crack at the national title, there was no way that there wouldn't be two unbeatens.
Then Tebow made his instant-classic statement and fates changed: Florida went on an insane roll -- each win seemingly more impressive than the last. Meanwhile, BCS rivals in the Big 12 and elsewhere slipped.
I made it to Gainesville twice: The week of the season-opener and the week after the SEC title game (where I missed seeing any football but got to actually step onto the field at the Swamp).
My wife had our second kid, and the due date was the day of the LSU game -- the baby held on until the Tuesday afterward, though that made the date of the bris too close to gameday for Tebow to attend as the mohel. (You all thought my offer to him wasn't serious?)
I introduced my older son to the tradition of watching Florida -- all college football -- on Saturdays. A year ago, he was too litttle -- I could get him to say "Tebow!" but that was about it.
This year, he knew enough to jump on me -- or avoid my enthusiastic tackles -- when Florida scored. He got a toddler Tebow jersey but remained partial to his Harvin jersey.
It was the first year I really felt like I and my wife -- who, of course as you all know, is the real Florida fan -- could share the fandom with him. I think that made it exponentially more fun.
I watched a game from the Swamp, from my couch, surrounded by friends and even an entire game in the car -- thank you, Sirius/XM -- during the worst Jersey Turnpike traffic ever.
I was able to frame and articulate my fandom in new ways -- not necessarily here, where believe it or not I tried not to stretch TOO thin your patience for my bias.
(But I am going to try to take the month after the season to finally put it all in perspective and see if anything interesting comes out of it.)
As always, thank you for coming along for the ride this season. With all due respect for KSK's love of the NFL or Leitch's love of baseball or Shoals' love of the NBA, college football is -- to me -- the perfect sport (even with, or perhaps a little because of, the mess at the end).
Would it be this enjoyable if my team wasn't in the national title game? Hey, there's still time for them to lose tonight and ruin things....
The beauty of the sport is what has always made it great: Every week is a playoff. (Well, MOST every week. Obviously not weeks ending in "45-35.") Theoretically, every team has a shot, as long as they keep winning. (well, MOST every team. Obviously not teams outside of the BCS conferences.)
And even if your team loses its title shot -- or even loses a couple times (or more) -- the individual games feel more precious than they do in other sports. It is a perfect season.
Perhaps except for the maddening finish. We will see tonight, won't we?
-- D.S.
Next hour: What's on the line for Florida.
UPDATE: I cannot possibly sum it up as awesomely as EDSBS's Holly did in this video. If you love college football, you will love this. Thank you, Holly:
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Tailgate: Final BlogPoll Ballot of 2008 Season
One of a series of posts written late last night about tonight's game.
The final BlogPoll ballots are due tomorrow morning -- I'll probably file mine overnight tonight. And, as usual, I want your help.
If Florida wins, let's assume they'll be No. 1. But how do the rest line up behind them, including Oklahoma? (Same thing in the scenario -- gack -- that Oklahoma wins.) Anyway, this is how I'm sizing up the final list:
1. Florida/Oklahoma winner
2. Utah
3. USC
4. Texas
5. Florida/Oklahoma loser
6. TCU
7. Alabama
8. Ole Miss
9. Penn St
10. Georgia
11. Cincinnati -- Whoops. Will adjust this for sure.
12. Texas Tech
13. Ohio St
14. Boise St
15. Oregon
-- D.S.
P.S.: One other complication, based on yesterday's post. Let me pose a hypothetical: Let's say that Florida wins, but I honestly think that the only team in the country that could beat Florida is Utah. Am I obligated to rank Utah at No. 1? Or is the "could" simply not enough enough to nullify what would be a Florida win -- potentially a big one -- over a very good Oklahoma team?
(Note that this is not the same as the bullshit being thrown around that voters should pick Utah as some sort of protest vote, where they don't actually believe Utah is the best team, but just want to stick it to the BCS. I actually think Utah would give Florida a game. A hell of a game.)
Next hour: I go on the couch about this past season.
The final BlogPoll ballots are due tomorrow morning -- I'll probably file mine overnight tonight. And, as usual, I want your help.
If Florida wins, let's assume they'll be No. 1. But how do the rest line up behind them, including Oklahoma? (Same thing in the scenario -- gack -- that Oklahoma wins.) Anyway, this is how I'm sizing up the final list:
1. Florida/Oklahoma winner
2. Utah
3. USC
4. Texas
5. Florida/Oklahoma loser
6. TCU
7. Alabama
8. Ole Miss
9. Penn St
10. Georgia
12. Texas Tech
13. Ohio St
14. Boise St
15. Oregon
-- D.S.
P.S.: One other complication, based on yesterday's post. Let me pose a hypothetical: Let's say that Florida wins, but I honestly think that the only team in the country that could beat Florida is Utah. Am I obligated to rank Utah at No. 1? Or is the "could" simply not enough enough to nullify what would be a Florida win -- potentially a big one -- over a very good Oklahoma team?
(Note that this is not the same as the bullshit being thrown around that voters should pick Utah as some sort of protest vote, where they don't actually believe Utah is the best team, but just want to stick it to the BCS. I actually think Utah would give Florida a game. A hell of a game.)
Next hour: I go on the couch about this past season.
Tailgate: Florida O vs. Oklahoma D
One of a series of posts written late last night about tonight's game.
Florida's offense is better than the best Oklahoma has seen this season (Texas or Texas Tech) -- you could argue the Florida's offense is every bit as good as Oklahoma's.
Oklahoma's defense is perhaps the 8th or 9th best defense that Florida has seen this season -- Oklahoma winning a national title with that low-ranked of a D would defy all sorts of BCS history.
Will Florida hit home runs? Even if Harvin is "only" 90 percent, Jeff Demps is ready for a BCS break-out. Chris Rainey
But I actually think Florida's success comes in simply moving the chains, even 5 yards at a time. Drain the clock; keep Oklahoma's offense off the field. Wear down the D.
What are your keys to the game?
-- D.S.
Next hour: Final BlogPoll ballot. Your input needed!
Florida's offense is better than the best Oklahoma has seen this season (Texas or Texas Tech) -- you could argue the Florida's offense is every bit as good as Oklahoma's.
Oklahoma's defense is perhaps the 8th or 9th best defense that Florida has seen this season -- Oklahoma winning a national title with that low-ranked of a D would defy all sorts of BCS history.
Will Florida hit home runs? Even if Harvin is "only" 90 percent, Jeff Demps is ready for a BCS break-out. Chris Rainey
But I actually think Florida's success comes in simply moving the chains, even 5 yards at a time. Drain the clock; keep Oklahoma's offense off the field. Wear down the D.
What are your keys to the game?
-- D.S.
Next hour: Final BlogPoll ballot. Your input needed!
Thursday 01/08 A.M. Quickie:
Florida, Oklahoma, BC, Mangini, Celtics
Here we go. We can disagree about who the best college football team in the country is, but the team that wins tonight's game between Florida and Oklahoma will have the strongest claim.
The hype is around the offense, but the X-factor is the defenses: How will Florida's Top 5 defense handle Oklahoma's prolific no-huddle offense? How will Oklahoma's Top 60 defense handle Florida's prolific spread offense? (I think I just answered my own question.)
Believe it or not, I glazed over Tebow in today's SN column, instead focusing on this question of defense. I remain confident that Florida will win -- we know what kind of trouble that's created.
After holding back for a month, I couldn't sleep last night so I decided to finally indulge my inner (and outer) Florida fan with a series of written-late-night posts, scheduled to roll out throughout the day, so check back often.
Otherwise, more storylines you'll find in today's column:
*Praise for BC in canning Jagodzinski.
*Mocking BC for losing in hoops to Harvard.
*Praising the Browns for hiring Mangini.
*Mocking the Browns for losing(!?) Pioli.
*Praising ESPN for the Vitale-NBA experiment.
*Mocking the Celtics for yet another loss.
*Plus: Erin Andrews! Candace Parker! John Feinstein!
You can find it all here. More (much more) later.
-- D.S.
The hype is around the offense, but the X-factor is the defenses: How will Florida's Top 5 defense handle Oklahoma's prolific no-huddle offense? How will Oklahoma's Top 60 defense handle Florida's prolific spread offense? (I think I just answered my own question.)
Believe it or not, I glazed over Tebow in today's SN column, instead focusing on this question of defense. I remain confident that Florida will win -- we know what kind of trouble that's created.
After holding back for a month, I couldn't sleep last night so I decided to finally indulge my inner (and outer) Florida fan with a series of written-late-night posts, scheduled to roll out throughout the day, so check back often.
Otherwise, more storylines you'll find in today's column:
*Praise for BC in canning Jagodzinski.
*Mocking BC for losing in hoops to Harvard.
*Praising the Browns for hiring Mangini.
*Mocking the Browns for losing(!?) Pioli.
*Praising ESPN for the Vitale-NBA experiment.
*Mocking the Celtics for yet another loss.
*Plus: Erin Andrews! Candace Parker! John Feinstein!
You can find it all here. More (much more) later.
-- D.S.
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
John Feinstein Says Vote For Utah? Bah.
Voting Out Of Spite Is Worse Than The BCS
John Feinstein used his substantial platform of the Washington Post to urge the AP voters to pick Utah at No. 1 -- entirely out of sheer spite.
I can think of no more crassly cynical thing to do or to ask for. One might even question whether it is the sports journalism equivalent of tanking a game or shaving points.
There should be a single consideration in any voter's mind: Which team do you think is No. 1? It doesn't have to be the Florida-Oklahoma winner.
It merely has to be the team you ACTUALLY THINK IS NO. 1. I can see sense in the argument that Utah is No. 1. If I truly believed it, I would vote for them as No. 1.
However, if you vote for Utah not because you think they are No. 1, but because you want to stick it to the BCS, you -- yes, you: Feinstein -- are more corrupted than the system you seek to ruin.
-- D.S.
UPDATE: The argument is not HOW people are voting, but with WHO gets to vote -- if a voter is picking the BCS game winner because they have never seen Utah play, that is just as bad as picking Utah just to spite the BCS. Generally, we do a terrible job of qualifying voters -- the Coaches are a mess of conflicts; the Harris pollsters are a joke; the computers are opaque; the AP doesn't deserve its power. Maybe we're better off with a small Selection Committee.
What gets lost in the criticism of the current system is that no system (including a playoff) removes the inclusion problem. Four-team playoff? Utah wouldn't have been invited. 8-team playoff? Only if you abandon conference auto-bids and limits and go off of Top 8 (and, again, who picks the Top 8, and how on Earth do you decide between 6-7-8 and 9-10-11-et al?) Even a 16-team playoff would be problematic; how do you account for conference auto-bids? Do you let in all conferences? If that's the case, I'm quitting the SEC and joining the Sun Belt.)
UPDATE 2: Dammit. Orson always says these things the way I would like to say them. And he takes on Reilly's screed about Utah, though he throws in a hell of a kicker about Feinstein at the end.
I can think of no more crassly cynical thing to do or to ask for. One might even question whether it is the sports journalism equivalent of tanking a game or shaving points.
There should be a single consideration in any voter's mind: Which team do you think is No. 1? It doesn't have to be the Florida-Oklahoma winner.
It merely has to be the team you ACTUALLY THINK IS NO. 1. I can see sense in the argument that Utah is No. 1. If I truly believed it, I would vote for them as No. 1.
However, if you vote for Utah not because you think they are No. 1, but because you want to stick it to the BCS, you -- yes, you: Feinstein -- are more corrupted than the system you seek to ruin.
-- D.S.
UPDATE: The argument is not HOW people are voting, but with WHO gets to vote -- if a voter is picking the BCS game winner because they have never seen Utah play, that is just as bad as picking Utah just to spite the BCS. Generally, we do a terrible job of qualifying voters -- the Coaches are a mess of conflicts; the Harris pollsters are a joke; the computers are opaque; the AP doesn't deserve its power. Maybe we're better off with a small Selection Committee.
What gets lost in the criticism of the current system is that no system (including a playoff) removes the inclusion problem. Four-team playoff? Utah wouldn't have been invited. 8-team playoff? Only if you abandon conference auto-bids and limits and go off of Top 8 (and, again, who picks the Top 8, and how on Earth do you decide between 6-7-8 and 9-10-11-et al?) Even a 16-team playoff would be problematic; how do you account for conference auto-bids? Do you let in all conferences? If that's the case, I'm quitting the SEC and joining the Sun Belt.)
UPDATE 2: Dammit. Orson always says these things the way I would like to say them. And he takes on Reilly's screed about Utah, though he throws in a hell of a kicker about Feinstein at the end.
Wednesday 01/07 A.M. Quickie:
BCS, Celtics, Arkansas, McDaniels, More
Memo to Texas fans, to Utah fans, to USC fans (and their coaches and media boosters):
Lobbying for the AP half of the national title is in vain, and that's the lead of my SN column this morning.
You will NOT get the AP to split its vote and crown a different national champ than the BCS title game will generate. Not with the two teams playing for the title ranked 1-2 in the AP poll.
(In the widely cited 2003 split, USC entered the bowl season as AP No. 1. So, if anything, if Florida had been snubbed for the BCS title game for, say, Texas, then the Gators would be eligible.)
And so I have a proposition for you: Court the bloggers, because the BlogPoll Top 25 looms as the next-biggest/next-best poll out there (and don't forget about that blogger cachet!)
Yes, coaches and media: I know you disdain the bloggers. But bloggers are the ones with the open mind to not only reflect the nation's interest in a split, but convince ourselves that a team other than the Florida-Oklahoma winner is, in fact, the nation's best.
(Please note that I am doing everything I can to restrain myself from going bats--t crazy on the blog in anticipation of the game tomorrow night. I will limit myself to tomorrow, and even then, a few limited posts.)
Meanwhile, a few other storylines you will find in today's column:
*OK, Celtics fans: NOW it's time to panic.
*How is Arkansas hoops not ranked?
*I want MY team to hire Josh McDaniels, too.
*OK, BC: Time to fire Jagodzinski.
*Gus Malzahn is going to turn Auburn around.
Complete SN column here. More later.
-- D.S.
Lobbying for the AP half of the national title is in vain, and that's the lead of my SN column this morning.
You will NOT get the AP to split its vote and crown a different national champ than the BCS title game will generate. Not with the two teams playing for the title ranked 1-2 in the AP poll.
(In the widely cited 2003 split, USC entered the bowl season as AP No. 1. So, if anything, if Florida had been snubbed for the BCS title game for, say, Texas, then the Gators would be eligible.)
And so I have a proposition for you: Court the bloggers, because the BlogPoll Top 25 looms as the next-biggest/next-best poll out there (and don't forget about that blogger cachet!)
Yes, coaches and media: I know you disdain the bloggers. But bloggers are the ones with the open mind to not only reflect the nation's interest in a split, but convince ourselves that a team other than the Florida-Oklahoma winner is, in fact, the nation's best.
(Please note that I am doing everything I can to restrain myself from going bats--t crazy on the blog in anticipation of the game tomorrow night. I will limit myself to tomorrow, and even then, a few limited posts.)
Meanwhile, a few other storylines you will find in today's column:
*OK, Celtics fans: NOW it's time to panic.
*How is Arkansas hoops not ranked?
*I want MY team to hire Josh McDaniels, too.
*OK, BC: Time to fire Jagodzinski.
*Gus Malzahn is going to turn Auburn around.
Complete SN column here. More later.
-- D.S.
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Happy 6th Anniversary to the Quickie
January 6, 2003: The debut of the Daily Quickie on ESPN.com. Check it out here. (My god.)
Inspired by what was then 8 years in online sports media and incubated as a business concept at Harvard Business School before being sold to my editors at ESPN, who thankfully bought into the assumptions in my pitch, the column was a first-of-its-kind piece of online programming:
Specifically created for the morning just-got-to-work audience with a quick-hit take on everything they need to know to be ready for the day in sports conversation -- just enough.
At the time of the launch, my voice as a columnist was still a work in progress. One of my editors and mentors, the amazing Jay Lovinger, read through my test columns a few months earlier and dubbed my voice "bitchy knowingness." (Back before that became the default setting for...well...everyone. But so better than describing it as "snarky" or "irreverent," right?)
But the pace of writing a column every weekday morning -- limited to anywhere from 800 to 1000 words to cover anywhere from 20-25 top storylines of the day -- was the best way to develop it.
In short: "Instant history." Whatever happened yesterday has the potential to be the greatest thing ever to happen -- in its own unique way. Somewhere between the PTI-ization of sports media and the rise over the next year of fast-paced blogs as consumer destination, the Quickie found its fit.
(My superlative fetish? Check out that original edition, which includes the first of my hundreds -- if not thousands -- of superlatives: "Wildest day of wild-card games in NFL history.")
In its run of nearly 4 years, it became one of the most successful original-programming concepts in ESPN.com history and it became a must-read destination for millions of fans every month.
And it was a blast. From its inception, the column was a labor of love more than anything else. It was so much fun, in fact, that when the column's run ended on August 31, 2006, I couldn't give it up: DanShanoff.com launched on September 1, 2006, hubbed around the same Quickie concept (only unpaid for doing it!), along with all sorts of posts on topics that struck me as notable.
The blog has been going strong ever since, including a spin-off of the spin-off: The daily morning Wake-Up Call as part of the Sporting Blog lineup on SportingNews.com.
Many of you out there might even remember that first day -- January 6, 2003 -- when we first connected on a daily basis (some of you might even remember my Page 2 work in '01 and '02, or even my column-writing at then-CNNSI.com -- or, for the OGs, my prolific writing for AOL's Real Fans Sports Network in the mid-90s), and it has been an amazing ride ever since.
Six years later, I cannot thank you enough for your attention and your passion for sports -- for your readership, your comments, your emails, your criticism, your compliments, your patience and your partnership during this six-year ride.
There is no such thing -- at least in my opinion -- as a pundit without an audience. There is a writer and reader relationship, and without a community that cares to engage in what you're talking about, you're not fulfilling the potential of that relationship.
Your energy and attention and care for what I have to say makes this all worthwhile. It always has. That connection with readers -- more than anything...even the thrill of having my own daily national sports column -- was what felt like the narcotic back on that January 6, 2003.
What a ride it has been. As with every January 6, I cannot wait to see what the next year will bring. And I am thrilled and honored that you will choose to continue to join me here.
Sincerest thanks again.
-- D.S.
Inspired by what was then 8 years in online sports media and incubated as a business concept at Harvard Business School before being sold to my editors at ESPN, who thankfully bought into the assumptions in my pitch, the column was a first-of-its-kind piece of online programming:
Specifically created for the morning just-got-to-work audience with a quick-hit take on everything they need to know to be ready for the day in sports conversation -- just enough.
At the time of the launch, my voice as a columnist was still a work in progress. One of my editors and mentors, the amazing Jay Lovinger, read through my test columns a few months earlier and dubbed my voice "bitchy knowingness." (Back before that became the default setting for...well...everyone. But so better than describing it as "snarky" or "irreverent," right?)
But the pace of writing a column every weekday morning -- limited to anywhere from 800 to 1000 words to cover anywhere from 20-25 top storylines of the day -- was the best way to develop it.
In short: "Instant history." Whatever happened yesterday has the potential to be the greatest thing ever to happen -- in its own unique way. Somewhere between the PTI-ization of sports media and the rise over the next year of fast-paced blogs as consumer destination, the Quickie found its fit.
(My superlative fetish? Check out that original edition, which includes the first of my hundreds -- if not thousands -- of superlatives: "Wildest day of wild-card games in NFL history.")
In its run of nearly 4 years, it became one of the most successful original-programming concepts in ESPN.com history and it became a must-read destination for millions of fans every month.
And it was a blast. From its inception, the column was a labor of love more than anything else. It was so much fun, in fact, that when the column's run ended on August 31, 2006, I couldn't give it up: DanShanoff.com launched on September 1, 2006, hubbed around the same Quickie concept (only unpaid for doing it!), along with all sorts of posts on topics that struck me as notable.
The blog has been going strong ever since, including a spin-off of the spin-off: The daily morning Wake-Up Call as part of the Sporting Blog lineup on SportingNews.com.
Many of you out there might even remember that first day -- January 6, 2003 -- when we first connected on a daily basis (some of you might even remember my Page 2 work in '01 and '02, or even my column-writing at then-CNNSI.com -- or, for the OGs, my prolific writing for AOL's Real Fans Sports Network in the mid-90s), and it has been an amazing ride ever since.
Six years later, I cannot thank you enough for your attention and your passion for sports -- for your readership, your comments, your emails, your criticism, your compliments, your patience and your partnership during this six-year ride.
There is no such thing -- at least in my opinion -- as a pundit without an audience. There is a writer and reader relationship, and without a community that cares to engage in what you're talking about, you're not fulfilling the potential of that relationship.
Your energy and attention and care for what I have to say makes this all worthwhile. It always has. That connection with readers -- more than anything...even the thrill of having my own daily national sports column -- was what felt like the narcotic back on that January 6, 2003.
What a ride it has been. As with every January 6, I cannot wait to see what the next year will bring. And I am thrilled and honored that you will choose to continue to join me here.
Sincerest thanks again.
-- D.S.
Tuesday 01/06 A.M. Quickie:
Texas, Mack Brown, BCS, Pitt, Burrell
I don't know what is more ludicrous: The notion that anyone could possibly think that Texas is the No. 1 team in the nation anymore -- or that Mack Brown is STILL pushing that line, even after last night.
"Texas is NOT No. 1" leads today's SN column. The kicker of the column:
"But Brown's team did make a super case ... for No. 4. But, hey: Of the teams without a claim on the national title, they are first in that line."
Meanwhile, if you're looking for more evidence that perhaps the Big 12 style led to an inflated sense of value of the conference, how about Texas' struggles with Ohio State's defense?
I think it is fair to say that any lingering doubts that the Big 12 defenses are terrible are gone. (But I'm not quite sure I wanted Florida's Brandon Spikes to affirm that position publicly.)
And while I'm quite sure that Oklahoma has never faced a defense this season (including TCU) as tough as Florida's, the great equalizer is Oklahoma's pace on offense.
(The NYT's inimitable Pete Thamel -- the best college football reporter in the country -- has a must-read that traces the OU no-huddle back to its fascinating roots.)
I am not concerned about Florida's ability to score on Oklahoma. And while I am sure that Florida's D is an unprecedented challenge for OU, I am sure that OU will be able to score.
Anyway, back to Texas: They can sit behind the Florida-Oklahoma winner, Utah and USC -- in that order, btw -- in my final rankings. They simply looked too unspectacular, particularly when compared to the stylish way Utah and USC clobbered their opponents -- both tougher than OSU.
More in the column:
*Pitt is No. 1: As it should be.
*James Harrison as NFL DPOY: Agreed.
*The Spurs are hitting their stride.
*Rays pay for Burrell: They earned the splurge.
You can find it all here. Very special anniversary post coming at noon ET, prepared this past weekend.
-- D.S.
PS: Memo to all the Ohio State fans who hate that I hate tOSU. I just sent this out in an email to one of your peers, and I thought I'd share:
"It was a very good year, and you should be proud of OSU's effort -- particularly defensively -- against UT. I will question why (a) Tressel didn't unleash TP as a runner more, VY-style, and (b) what he was thinking not sitting on the ball until there was less than 1 min to go, then kicking a FG to win. I am usually sympathetic to Texas and you know how I feel about OSU, but I actually found myself rooting for OSU -- Mack Brown has made me sick."
Yes, I even surprised myself feeling that emotion about OSU. Alas, you probably delivered a best-case scenario for OSU-hating Florida fans: Ohio State lost (again), but played Texas tough enough to remove the Longhorns from the debate for No. 1.
"Texas is NOT No. 1" leads today's SN column. The kicker of the column:
"But Brown's team did make a super case ... for No. 4. But, hey: Of the teams without a claim on the national title, they are first in that line."
Meanwhile, if you're looking for more evidence that perhaps the Big 12 style led to an inflated sense of value of the conference, how about Texas' struggles with Ohio State's defense?
I think it is fair to say that any lingering doubts that the Big 12 defenses are terrible are gone. (But I'm not quite sure I wanted Florida's Brandon Spikes to affirm that position publicly.)
And while I'm quite sure that Oklahoma has never faced a defense this season (including TCU) as tough as Florida's, the great equalizer is Oklahoma's pace on offense.
(The NYT's inimitable Pete Thamel -- the best college football reporter in the country -- has a must-read that traces the OU no-huddle back to its fascinating roots.)
I am not concerned about Florida's ability to score on Oklahoma. And while I am sure that Florida's D is an unprecedented challenge for OU, I am sure that OU will be able to score.
Anyway, back to Texas: They can sit behind the Florida-Oklahoma winner, Utah and USC -- in that order, btw -- in my final rankings. They simply looked too unspectacular, particularly when compared to the stylish way Utah and USC clobbered their opponents -- both tougher than OSU.
More in the column:
*Pitt is No. 1: As it should be.
*James Harrison as NFL DPOY: Agreed.
*The Spurs are hitting their stride.
*Rays pay for Burrell: They earned the splurge.
You can find it all here. Very special anniversary post coming at noon ET, prepared this past weekend.
-- D.S.
PS: Memo to all the Ohio State fans who hate that I hate tOSU. I just sent this out in an email to one of your peers, and I thought I'd share:
"It was a very good year, and you should be proud of OSU's effort -- particularly defensively -- against UT. I will question why (a) Tressel didn't unleash TP as a runner more, VY-style, and (b) what he was thinking not sitting on the ball until there was less than 1 min to go, then kicking a FG to win. I am usually sympathetic to Texas and you know how I feel about OSU, but I actually found myself rooting for OSU -- Mack Brown has made me sick."
Yes, I even surprised myself feeling that emotion about OSU. Alas, you probably delivered a best-case scenario for OSU-hating Florida fans: Ohio State lost (again), but played Texas tough enough to remove the Longhorns from the debate for No. 1.
Monday, January 05, 2009
Utah and the Myth of a National Champion
I admit to being torn by the state of college football proclamations of a "national champion."
I am as frustrated as everyone else by the current system. I was as inspired as everyone else by Utah's performance. I too find the idea that the Florida-Oklahoma winner is definitively "better" or the "champion" ahead of Utah or USC or Texas to be at odds with what I see with my own eyes.
There are two strong arguments, both articulated this weekend by CFB's leading blog voices:
EDSBS: Atomize the notation "champion" into enough pieces to fit the myriad teams worthy of wearing the label. (But what if you think that Utah has a clear resume advantage over USC?)
Doc Saturday: Continuously dismiss the current system. (And I don't say that to dismiss the way Hinton is approaching it -- to the contrary: I think his hammering is entirely valuable.)
Here's the reality: We all buy into a ranking system. Both Orson and Matt force themselves to rank the top teams each week as part of the BlogPoll. There is no split vote for any of us.
We could, in theory, anoint hundreds of national champions: The EDSBS Champ, the Yahoo Sports champ, the DanShanoff.com champ, etc.
Instead, we have decided to cede this responsibility to the college football coaches and to the AP.
We collect so-called "experts" and aggregate individual ballots. Sometimes these voters disagree, but everyone agrees to buy into the aggregate.
Now, the BCS system is rigged -- coaches aren't allowed to vote: They automatically vote for the BCS game winner.
The AP has -- at times -- served as a counter-balance, most notably in 2003 when they gave USC the national title (although USC went into the bowls as the AP's top-ranked team -- this year, Florida and Oklahoma are 1-2; to have Utah or USC or Texas jump them, the AP would have to nullify its own existence... unlikely).
So the obvious solution is to create more "recognized" champions outside of the BCS and the AP. There are a few problems with that:
(1) The AP isn't exactly about to cede its position, despite the fact that it pulled itself out of the BCS system because it didn't want to "make news itself." Yeah, right.
(2) The BCS and its partners -- coaches, conferences, media companies, sponsors -- have a vested interest in promoting the "unified champ...our champ" theory.
(3) Even if you created multiple outlets to crown a champion, would they really divide it as easily (and appropriately) as Matt does: Fla-Okla winner (BCS); USC (Media); Utah (People's); Texas (Aggrieved).
Here is one test: Bloggers are as "counter-culture" as anyone out there, and the BlogPoll is the closest thing to a recognized poll with any sort of traction.
Do you think the BlogPollsters will vote Utah as our national champ -- not as a protest, mind you, but because they actually think the Utes are the best team in the country? How about USC? How about Texas?
There can only be one "best," one top-ranked team, one No. 1. As a poll voter or as a fan, you take in as much information as you can, put it through your filter and make your determination.
You don't get to split your own personal vote 4 ways. You can be frustrated at not having an on-the-field way to decide between the contending teams. But you gotta make your choice. We do it every week during the regular season. Ideally, as Matt does, you weigh the resume; it's no different after the bowls than it is after Labor Day, except you have more information.
The BCS has already made its choice. The AP voters will make their choice. You will make yours.
If you legitimately believe that Utah or USC or Texas or Florida or Oklahoma is the best team in the country, vote them No. 1. Make your case to others, and maybe you will convince enough people to agree with you that you create legitimacy for your position.
But you still lack the credibility and self-fulfilling validity of an awards platform.
There is a model for this: College football's many awards, particularly "Player of the Year" awards -- as evidenced this past season, when Bradford won the Heisman, Tebow won the Maxwell, McCoy won the Camp, etc.
There is another model for this, one that aggrieved college football fans and bloggers should look to: Movie awards. What is the "Best Picture" in any given year? Like college football, there is a lot of debate -- and it's not like there is a tournament to pit them against each other.
(Hmm: "Benjamin Button" as Florida? "Milk" as USC? "Slumdog Millionaire" as Utah? "Frost/Nixon" as Texas? I digress....)
But we have the Oscars, which is/was the standard. But then the foreign press wanted to have their influence, so they created the Golden Globes. Then the actors wanted a say, so they created the SAGs. And each regional film critics' association created their own.
And, this weekend, I'm watching CBS and I see a promo for the People's Choice Awards. Now, I'm as populist a sports fan as there is, but this awards show is ludicrous.
However, some genius came up with it and now it is as legitimized as the Oscars, complete with nationalized voting, a red-carpet show, a primetime broadcast and Queen Latifah as host.
For more than a decade, I have been pushing the notion of a nationalized "Fan Poll" as the closest thing there is to a counter-balance to both the BCS and the AP's hegemony. I usually get scoffed at -- you'd think fans would be more inclined to support something that empowers them and breaks up the tyranny at the top.
That's why I'm such a huge fan of the BlogPoll -- if you buy the atomized, offsetting rooting interests of the participating bloggers and also trust that each voter/blogger listens to their readers, adjusting their ballot as is appropriate, the BlogPoll is as close to a Fan Poll as we have.
There is no reason that we BlogPollers can't anoint our own No. 1-ranked team as national champ. If it isn't the BCS or AP champ, I guarantee you that the school will display that status as prominently as a BCS trophy. Schools are smart about their marketing like that.
Here's the rub: When we do finally bring together the 150 BlogPoll voters and their represented millions of fans who consume them, will the group really reach a consensus that the champ is NOT the winner of Florida and Oklahoma? That it is Utah or USC or Texas? I doubt it.
Though I'd like to see it.
But it will take a critical mass of individuals acting and thinking rationally enough to independently see it that way -- and not just as a knee-jerk protest vote, but because you look at the resumes and you legitimately believe that your alternately proposed No. 1 team is the best.
You will not break up the BCS, no matter how loudly you protest. You will not convince the cloistered AP to stop making news itself and running its poll and proclaiming its champ.
But there IS room for more voices at the table identifying and proclaiming their own champ. All it takes is the organizational power to create it, then demand it be recognized.
Yes We Can.*
(* - But there is no guarantee that the result will be any more enjoyable or high-minded than what the BCS or AP comes up with. However, if you would like a Heisman-Maxwell-Camp scenario among national-title teams, we can probably figure out a way to make that happen.)
-- D.S.
I am as frustrated as everyone else by the current system. I was as inspired as everyone else by Utah's performance. I too find the idea that the Florida-Oklahoma winner is definitively "better" or the "champion" ahead of Utah or USC or Texas to be at odds with what I see with my own eyes.
There are two strong arguments, both articulated this weekend by CFB's leading blog voices:
EDSBS: Atomize the notation "champion" into enough pieces to fit the myriad teams worthy of wearing the label. (But what if you think that Utah has a clear resume advantage over USC?)
Doc Saturday: Continuously dismiss the current system. (And I don't say that to dismiss the way Hinton is approaching it -- to the contrary: I think his hammering is entirely valuable.)
Here's the reality: We all buy into a ranking system. Both Orson and Matt force themselves to rank the top teams each week as part of the BlogPoll. There is no split vote for any of us.
We could, in theory, anoint hundreds of national champions: The EDSBS Champ, the Yahoo Sports champ, the DanShanoff.com champ, etc.
Instead, we have decided to cede this responsibility to the college football coaches and to the AP.
We collect so-called "experts" and aggregate individual ballots. Sometimes these voters disagree, but everyone agrees to buy into the aggregate.
Now, the BCS system is rigged -- coaches aren't allowed to vote: They automatically vote for the BCS game winner.
The AP has -- at times -- served as a counter-balance, most notably in 2003 when they gave USC the national title (although USC went into the bowls as the AP's top-ranked team -- this year, Florida and Oklahoma are 1-2; to have Utah or USC or Texas jump them, the AP would have to nullify its own existence... unlikely).
So the obvious solution is to create more "recognized" champions outside of the BCS and the AP. There are a few problems with that:
(1) The AP isn't exactly about to cede its position, despite the fact that it pulled itself out of the BCS system because it didn't want to "make news itself." Yeah, right.
(2) The BCS and its partners -- coaches, conferences, media companies, sponsors -- have a vested interest in promoting the "unified champ...our champ" theory.
(3) Even if you created multiple outlets to crown a champion, would they really divide it as easily (and appropriately) as Matt does: Fla-Okla winner (BCS); USC (Media); Utah (People's); Texas (Aggrieved).
Here is one test: Bloggers are as "counter-culture" as anyone out there, and the BlogPoll is the closest thing to a recognized poll with any sort of traction.
Do you think the BlogPollsters will vote Utah as our national champ -- not as a protest, mind you, but because they actually think the Utes are the best team in the country? How about USC? How about Texas?
There can only be one "best," one top-ranked team, one No. 1. As a poll voter or as a fan, you take in as much information as you can, put it through your filter and make your determination.
You don't get to split your own personal vote 4 ways. You can be frustrated at not having an on-the-field way to decide between the contending teams. But you gotta make your choice. We do it every week during the regular season. Ideally, as Matt does, you weigh the resume; it's no different after the bowls than it is after Labor Day, except you have more information.
The BCS has already made its choice. The AP voters will make their choice. You will make yours.
If you legitimately believe that Utah or USC or Texas or Florida or Oklahoma is the best team in the country, vote them No. 1. Make your case to others, and maybe you will convince enough people to agree with you that you create legitimacy for your position.
But you still lack the credibility and self-fulfilling validity of an awards platform.
There is a model for this: College football's many awards, particularly "Player of the Year" awards -- as evidenced this past season, when Bradford won the Heisman, Tebow won the Maxwell, McCoy won the Camp, etc.
There is another model for this, one that aggrieved college football fans and bloggers should look to: Movie awards. What is the "Best Picture" in any given year? Like college football, there is a lot of debate -- and it's not like there is a tournament to pit them against each other.
(Hmm: "Benjamin Button" as Florida? "Milk" as USC? "Slumdog Millionaire" as Utah? "Frost/Nixon" as Texas? I digress....)
But we have the Oscars, which is/was the standard. But then the foreign press wanted to have their influence, so they created the Golden Globes. Then the actors wanted a say, so they created the SAGs. And each regional film critics' association created their own.
And, this weekend, I'm watching CBS and I see a promo for the People's Choice Awards. Now, I'm as populist a sports fan as there is, but this awards show is ludicrous.
However, some genius came up with it and now it is as legitimized as the Oscars, complete with nationalized voting, a red-carpet show, a primetime broadcast and Queen Latifah as host.
For more than a decade, I have been pushing the notion of a nationalized "Fan Poll" as the closest thing there is to a counter-balance to both the BCS and the AP's hegemony. I usually get scoffed at -- you'd think fans would be more inclined to support something that empowers them and breaks up the tyranny at the top.
That's why I'm such a huge fan of the BlogPoll -- if you buy the atomized, offsetting rooting interests of the participating bloggers and also trust that each voter/blogger listens to their readers, adjusting their ballot as is appropriate, the BlogPoll is as close to a Fan Poll as we have.
There is no reason that we BlogPollers can't anoint our own No. 1-ranked team as national champ. If it isn't the BCS or AP champ, I guarantee you that the school will display that status as prominently as a BCS trophy. Schools are smart about their marketing like that.
Here's the rub: When we do finally bring together the 150 BlogPoll voters and their represented millions of fans who consume them, will the group really reach a consensus that the champ is NOT the winner of Florida and Oklahoma? That it is Utah or USC or Texas? I doubt it.
Though I'd like to see it.
But it will take a critical mass of individuals acting and thinking rationally enough to independently see it that way -- and not just as a knee-jerk protest vote, but because you look at the resumes and you legitimately believe that your alternately proposed No. 1 team is the best.
You will not break up the BCS, no matter how loudly you protest. You will not convince the cloistered AP to stop making news itself and running its poll and proclaiming its champ.
But there IS room for more voices at the table identifying and proclaiming their own champ. All it takes is the organizational power to create it, then demand it be recognized.
Yes We Can.*
(* - But there is no guarantee that the result will be any more enjoyable or high-minded than what the BCS or AP comes up with. However, if you would like a Heisman-Maxwell-Camp scenario among national-title teams, we can probably figure out a way to make that happen.)
-- D.S.
Jay Mariotti Lands At AOL Sports
Submitted without comment. Yet. (AA weighs in.) At a minimum, I'd say that Mariotti crowing about mainstream sports media going online is so... 2005.
Mariotti will get page views because AOL drives PVs, not because Mariotti drives audience.
The idea that a "name" columnist drives audience is the very essence of "mainstream" newspaper-sports-section thinking -- and was debunked a long time ago (though still perpetuates today).
Mariotti will get page views because AOL drives PVs, not because Mariotti drives audience.
The idea that a "name" columnist drives audience is the very essence of "mainstream" newspaper-sports-section thinking -- and was debunked a long time ago (though still perpetuates today).
Monday 01/05 A.M. Quickie:
Eagles, Ravens, UNC, BC, BCS, More
For those of us who picked the Eagles to win the Super Bowl, a Division date with the defending champs is a best-case scenario. That leads today's SN column.
(Of course, for those of us who foresaw a sweep of road-team Wild Card wins, intuition isn't a charm -- although how can you not have seen the Chargers upending Mr. MVP?)
More you'll find:
*Ed Reed is the greatest free safety in NFL history. Discuss.
*Best performance of the NFL weekend: Arizona's defense.
*Hmm: Looks like UNC's annual March choke came early.
*Mangini to the Browns? OK. Gilbride to the Raiders? Hunh?
*Oklahoma DBs should keep their mouths shut re: Tebow.
*I really believe the Celtics are phoning it in until May.
*Under Armour: Andre Debose is the next Percy Harvin.
There were a few inspiring posts coming out of the Utah win, and I worked up a follow-up post about them last night. It's coming around noon-ish ET.
Complete SN column here. More later.
-- D.S.
(Of course, for those of us who foresaw a sweep of road-team Wild Card wins, intuition isn't a charm -- although how can you not have seen the Chargers upending Mr. MVP?)
More you'll find:
*Ed Reed is the greatest free safety in NFL history. Discuss.
*Best performance of the NFL weekend: Arizona's defense.
*Hmm: Looks like UNC's annual March choke came early.
*Mangini to the Browns? OK. Gilbride to the Raiders? Hunh?
*Oklahoma DBs should keep their mouths shut re: Tebow.
*I really believe the Celtics are phoning it in until May.
*Under Armour: Andre Debose is the next Percy Harvin.
There were a few inspiring posts coming out of the Utah win, and I worked up a follow-up post about them last night. It's coming around noon-ish ET.
Complete SN column here. More later.
-- D.S.
Sunday, January 04, 2009
Sunday 01/04 (Very) Quickie
Umm, so much for the whole "road teams as favorites" in the NFL Wild Card round.
Darren Sproles! 2 TDs, including the game-winning TD in OT. 105 yards rushing. 45 yards receiving. 178 return yards. Who needs LaDainian Tomlinson?
Although the Chargers won the OT coin toss and the Colts offense never had a chance, the Colts really did it to themselves on defense with those penalties.
Meanwhile, Peyton Manning is back to leading the Colts to postseason chokery -- the day after he was anointed as NFL MVP, making the irony even more delicious.
Cards! High-flying offense may have gotten the Cards into the playoffs, but the story of the game was Arizona's inspired defense:
The Cards D held the vaunted Falcons run game to 60 yards total (42 for Turner on 2.8 ypc), picked off Matt Ryan twice and sacked him 3 times.
One of these "road team lock to win" predictions HAS to be right, right? Ravens-Dolphins still feels too much like a toss-up, so I'm going with the Eagles over the Vikings.
But the lesson of yesterday is that the so-called "experts" who called for the road teams to win -- or were seduced by the Colts' winning streak and Peyton's "MVP" season -- are full of bunk.
College Hoops: So much for Georgetown's momentum this week. Either they were tapped out by beating UConn in Storrs or Pitt really is that awesome -- DeJuan Blair: 20 and 17. He's awesome.
More Big East madness: St. John's over Notre Dame? Wow. It's going to be that kind of season in the league.
Don't underestimate Wake Forest's win on the road at BYU: BYU hadn't lost at home in forever. (53 games) Wake is for real.
Meanwhile, I don't know if any of you watched this, but Tennessee's women were held to their lowest first-half point total EVER at Rutgers, then came back to win. It was a hell of an effort.
NBA: Danny Granger is one of the NBA's up-and-coming absolute studs, having a breakout year. He had 35 outdueling Kevin Martin's 45 in a Pacers shootout win over the Kings.
CFB Bowlings: Donald Brown! We talk a lot about Shonn Greene, Knowshon Moreno and Javon Ringer. How about UConn's Donald Brown? He became only the 14th player ever to have a 2,000-yard rushing season, going for a career-best 261 in an International Bowl win over Buffalo before declaring for the NFL Draft. He may not be a first-rounder, but he'll have a good pro career. The rookie RB class in '09 has a lot to live up to to match '08, but the talent is heading in.
Bob Stoops would like you to know he isn't interested in the Broncos head-coaching job. Sort of. "I don't know anything about it." Which isn't exactly a strong denial. More a protest of ignorance. (What if Oklahoma wins? Or, say, if they get blown out?)
Jets interview Steve Spagnuolo: From the New York ties to the on-field success, this seems like the best match for the Jets. The only thing that would hold them back is the fear of hiring another highly rated assistant with no actual NFL head-coaching experience. But I think Spagnuolo and Mangini are different enough for this to be an easy choice.
More later. Get ready for the afternoon's NFL games.
-- D.S.
Darren Sproles! 2 TDs, including the game-winning TD in OT. 105 yards rushing. 45 yards receiving. 178 return yards. Who needs LaDainian Tomlinson?
Although the Chargers won the OT coin toss and the Colts offense never had a chance, the Colts really did it to themselves on defense with those penalties.
Meanwhile, Peyton Manning is back to leading the Colts to postseason chokery -- the day after he was anointed as NFL MVP, making the irony even more delicious.
Cards! High-flying offense may have gotten the Cards into the playoffs, but the story of the game was Arizona's inspired defense:
The Cards D held the vaunted Falcons run game to 60 yards total (42 for Turner on 2.8 ypc), picked off Matt Ryan twice and sacked him 3 times.
One of these "road team lock to win" predictions HAS to be right, right? Ravens-Dolphins still feels too much like a toss-up, so I'm going with the Eagles over the Vikings.
But the lesson of yesterday is that the so-called "experts" who called for the road teams to win -- or were seduced by the Colts' winning streak and Peyton's "MVP" season -- are full of bunk.
College Hoops: So much for Georgetown's momentum this week. Either they were tapped out by beating UConn in Storrs or Pitt really is that awesome -- DeJuan Blair: 20 and 17. He's awesome.
More Big East madness: St. John's over Notre Dame? Wow. It's going to be that kind of season in the league.
Don't underestimate Wake Forest's win on the road at BYU: BYU hadn't lost at home in forever. (53 games) Wake is for real.
Meanwhile, I don't know if any of you watched this, but Tennessee's women were held to their lowest first-half point total EVER at Rutgers, then came back to win. It was a hell of an effort.
NBA: Danny Granger is one of the NBA's up-and-coming absolute studs, having a breakout year. He had 35 outdueling Kevin Martin's 45 in a Pacers shootout win over the Kings.
CFB Bowlings: Donald Brown! We talk a lot about Shonn Greene, Knowshon Moreno and Javon Ringer. How about UConn's Donald Brown? He became only the 14th player ever to have a 2,000-yard rushing season, going for a career-best 261 in an International Bowl win over Buffalo before declaring for the NFL Draft. He may not be a first-rounder, but he'll have a good pro career. The rookie RB class in '09 has a lot to live up to to match '08, but the talent is heading in.
Bob Stoops would like you to know he isn't interested in the Broncos head-coaching job. Sort of. "I don't know anything about it." Which isn't exactly a strong denial. More a protest of ignorance. (What if Oklahoma wins? Or, say, if they get blown out?)
Jets interview Steve Spagnuolo: From the New York ties to the on-field success, this seems like the best match for the Jets. The only thing that would hold them back is the fear of hiring another highly rated assistant with no actual NFL head-coaching experience. But I think Spagnuolo and Mangini are different enough for this to be an easy choice.
More later. Get ready for the afternoon's NFL games.
-- D.S.
Saturday, January 03, 2009
Saturday 01/03 (Very) Quickie: Utah Rules
I think it's a legitimate question today: Is Utah the best college football team in the country?
They sure looked like it in dismantling Alabama last night. That first quarter was about as perfect of a quarter as I have ever seen played -- particularly if you factor in how well Bama had played in 1st quarters all season.
Here's where the whole 4-team playoff or Plus-One system breaks down: The natural bias against non-BCS-conference teams.
Do you think that Utah would have been included in a 4-team playoff? Or ranked in the Top 2 ("Plus-One") following the bowls? Nope. But are they one of the 4 best teams in the country? Without question. Are they one of the top 2 teams in the country? Based on last night: There is a case to be made.
I think they would give Florida fits and would give USC a game -- remember, against common opponents, the Utes were superior to the Trojans. I think Utah could score at will on either Texas or Oklahoma; Alabama's defense was vastly superior to any in the Big 12.
Utah won't win the national championship, although they will be the only team to finish the season unbeaten -- in the process beating the team that was No. 1 heading into the final week of the regular season (Bama) and beating the team that beat the team everyone suddenly seems to think is tje best in the country (USC). All while rolling through the MWC, an underrated league that dominated the Pac-10 this season.
So who's No. 1, if not the Florida-Oklahoma winner? Forget USC: If anyone has a claim, it's Utah.
Meanwhile, the Texas Tech-Ole Miss game was even better than the fairly high expectations. And, as a proxy for "Is the Big 12 for real?" vs. "Is the SEC overrated?" debate, the SEC won.
As I noted yesterday: It's going to be awfully hard for Big 12 partisans -- particularly Texas fans -- to knock Florida's loss to Ole Miss anymore... not when Ole Miss clocked the team that beat the Longhorns.
Peyton Manning is NFL MVP, again: I guess you could argue that he deserves it, but for novelty's sake, can't we invoke the "Michael Jordan Rule" and look for some diversity in the award to a player who truly breaks through this year? Like DeAngelo Williams? Or Michael Turner?
NFL Coaching Carousel: Here's an intriguing rumor -- do the Broncos want Oklahoma's Bob Stoops? That could be a small distraction this week for Oklahoma. Or do they want Steve Spagnuolo? Or Jason Garrett?
Meanwhile, the Browns talked to in-house candidates (DC Mel Tucker) and Josh McDaniels, while Jets fans can't possibly be happy to hear that Bill Callahan made the interview list, along with Brian Schottenheimer.
Here is the ideal distribution:
Browns: Josh McDaniels (with Scott Pioli)
Jets: Steve Spagnuolo
Broncos: Bob Stoops
(For the record, I don't think Stoops is leaving college football -- his gig at Oklahoma is too powerful and too high-paid, even factoring in NFL money. That said: Yet another BCS blow-out loss might make him wonder if things could be easier in the NFL.)
NBA: My favorite highlight was the can-you-top-this exchange in Oklahoma City -- Kevin Durant hit a 3 to put the Thunder up with just seconds to go, then Carmelo set up and hit a buzzer-beater to break OKC's spirit and win the game.
MLB Hot Stove: But not involving a player. Jeff Moorad is leaving his post running the D'backs to buy the Padres. I wonder if Jake Peavy will be off the table for good after that.
Meanwhile, it's the first day of Wild Card Weekend in the NFL: Colts-Chargers should be totally fascinating; Cards-Falcons perhaps less so, but whoever wins that game advances a hell of a great storyline into the Division Round. More on those games later.
-- D.S.
They sure looked like it in dismantling Alabama last night. That first quarter was about as perfect of a quarter as I have ever seen played -- particularly if you factor in how well Bama had played in 1st quarters all season.
Here's where the whole 4-team playoff or Plus-One system breaks down: The natural bias against non-BCS-conference teams.
Do you think that Utah would have been included in a 4-team playoff? Or ranked in the Top 2 ("Plus-One") following the bowls? Nope. But are they one of the 4 best teams in the country? Without question. Are they one of the top 2 teams in the country? Based on last night: There is a case to be made.
I think they would give Florida fits and would give USC a game -- remember, against common opponents, the Utes were superior to the Trojans. I think Utah could score at will on either Texas or Oklahoma; Alabama's defense was vastly superior to any in the Big 12.
Utah won't win the national championship, although they will be the only team to finish the season unbeaten -- in the process beating the team that was No. 1 heading into the final week of the regular season (Bama) and beating the team that beat the team everyone suddenly seems to think is tje best in the country (USC). All while rolling through the MWC, an underrated league that dominated the Pac-10 this season.
So who's No. 1, if not the Florida-Oklahoma winner? Forget USC: If anyone has a claim, it's Utah.
Meanwhile, the Texas Tech-Ole Miss game was even better than the fairly high expectations. And, as a proxy for "Is the Big 12 for real?" vs. "Is the SEC overrated?" debate, the SEC won.
As I noted yesterday: It's going to be awfully hard for Big 12 partisans -- particularly Texas fans -- to knock Florida's loss to Ole Miss anymore... not when Ole Miss clocked the team that beat the Longhorns.
Peyton Manning is NFL MVP, again: I guess you could argue that he deserves it, but for novelty's sake, can't we invoke the "Michael Jordan Rule" and look for some diversity in the award to a player who truly breaks through this year? Like DeAngelo Williams? Or Michael Turner?
NFL Coaching Carousel: Here's an intriguing rumor -- do the Broncos want Oklahoma's Bob Stoops? That could be a small distraction this week for Oklahoma. Or do they want Steve Spagnuolo? Or Jason Garrett?
Meanwhile, the Browns talked to in-house candidates (DC Mel Tucker) and Josh McDaniels, while Jets fans can't possibly be happy to hear that Bill Callahan made the interview list, along with Brian Schottenheimer.
Here is the ideal distribution:
Browns: Josh McDaniels (with Scott Pioli)
Jets: Steve Spagnuolo
Broncos: Bob Stoops
(For the record, I don't think Stoops is leaving college football -- his gig at Oklahoma is too powerful and too high-paid, even factoring in NFL money. That said: Yet another BCS blow-out loss might make him wonder if things could be easier in the NFL.)
NBA: My favorite highlight was the can-you-top-this exchange in Oklahoma City -- Kevin Durant hit a 3 to put the Thunder up with just seconds to go, then Carmelo set up and hit a buzzer-beater to break OKC's spirit and win the game.
MLB Hot Stove: But not involving a player. Jeff Moorad is leaving his post running the D'backs to buy the Padres. I wonder if Jake Peavy will be off the table for good after that.
Meanwhile, it's the first day of Wild Card Weekend in the NFL: Colts-Chargers should be totally fascinating; Cards-Falcons perhaps less so, but whoever wins that game advances a hell of a great storyline into the Division Round. More on those games later.
-- D.S.
Friday, January 02, 2009
Bowling: Ole Miss Thumping Texas Tech
Wow: I think a lot of people gave Ole Miss a puncher's chance, simply for the way they beat Florida and hung with Alabama. But I don't think they expected Ole Miss to roll like they have.
Texas Tech's defense really is that porous, and TT's stifled offense seems to have gotten accustomed to the soft defenses found from top to bottom in the Big 12.
As far as this serves as a proxy for the national-title game: If nothing else, this result effectively quashes the talking point of Big 12 fans who doubt (or doubted) Florida for losing to Ole Miss.
-- D.S.
Texas Tech's defense really is that porous, and TT's stifled offense seems to have gotten accustomed to the soft defenses found from top to bottom in the Big 12.
As far as this serves as a proxy for the national-title game: If nothing else, this result effectively quashes the talking point of Big 12 fans who doubt (or doubted) Florida for losing to Ole Miss.
-- D.S.
The Annual Shanoff Sports Hot/Not List:
What's Out From 2008 And In For 2009
What was hot in sports in 2008? I would rank my Top 5 trendiest this way:
(1) The Rays
(2) Michael Phelps
(3) The "Wildcat"
(4) Stephen Curry
(5) Nate Silver
There are a lot more, but in DanShanoff.com tradition, let's look ahead to what might -- nay: WILL -- be hot in 2009, and what we're leaving behind with 2008. (This year, I even added a slight twist, offering up a link to some background info informing my picks.) Enjoy the walk down memory lane at the bottom of the list.
The toughest pick? No question: Who are "the next Rays?" And I had to expand beyond baseball -- although some (Silver) predicted their success, the Rays simply broke the mold for break-out teams. In fact, I left that open for you: If the Rays are the ultimate hotness from '08, who (or what) will be the ultimate hotness in '09?
Leave that answer in the Comments -- along with any other categories you want to weigh in on. This list is by no means comprehensive or granular enough.
But I will say that I spared you even a single mention of a certain Florida QB (even though his presence in the 09 NFL Draft or the 09 CFB season will make him THE defining name in either).
As always, entries are listed with the "Out" first, representing what was hot in '08 but will be displaced or replaced by the "In" contender in '09. I used to list categories, too, but the entries should be pretty self-explanatory.
Out: Michael Crabtree
In: Julio Jones
why
Out: White House mountain biking
In: White House pick-up hoops games
why
Out: Michael Phelps
In: Tiger Woods
why
Out: A-11
In: Gus Malzahn
why
Out: Nate Silver
In: ZEUS
why
Out: 37Pitches
In: @The_Real_Shaq
why
Out: Will Leitch
In: AJ Daulerio
why
Out: Matt Cassel
In: Kevin O'Connell
why
Out: Celtics D
In: Lakers D
why
Out: Steroid busts
In: DUI busts
why
Out: FireJoeMorgan
In: Drew's Jamboroo
why
Out: Kevin Durant
In: OJ Mayo
why
Out: Cheap bleacher seats
In: Cheap online streaming
why
Out: High-top LeBrons
In: Low-top Kobes
why
Out: Texas Longhorns TV Network
In: MLB Network
why
Out: Stephen Curry
In: Seth Curry
why
Out: Wildcat RBs
In: Wildcat QBs
why
Out: Fanhouse
In: SB Nation
why
Out: MLB.com At Bat
In: Sportacular
why
Out: Retro Jordans
In: Retro Asics
why
Out: Arena Football League
In: United Football League
why
Out: Brandon Jennings
In: Lance Stephenson
why
Out: Live-blogging
In: Twitter updates
why
Out: Rays
In: Readers' Choice!
Answer the Rays-of-'09 question in the Comments, along with any other adds you have.
And now... let's step into the wayback machine for Hot/Not lists through the decade. No one has been doing this What's Hot/Not (or In/Out) column for sports longer than me. It is, annually, one of my favorite columns to write -- wherever it might be published. Enjoy:
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
Again, best wishes for a happy and healthy new year.
-- D.S.
(1) The Rays
(2) Michael Phelps
(3) The "Wildcat"
(4) Stephen Curry
(5) Nate Silver
There are a lot more, but in DanShanoff.com tradition, let's look ahead to what might -- nay: WILL -- be hot in 2009, and what we're leaving behind with 2008. (This year, I even added a slight twist, offering up a link to some background info informing my picks.) Enjoy the walk down memory lane at the bottom of the list.
The toughest pick? No question: Who are "the next Rays?" And I had to expand beyond baseball -- although some (Silver) predicted their success, the Rays simply broke the mold for break-out teams. In fact, I left that open for you: If the Rays are the ultimate hotness from '08, who (or what) will be the ultimate hotness in '09?
Leave that answer in the Comments -- along with any other categories you want to weigh in on. This list is by no means comprehensive or granular enough.
But I will say that I spared you even a single mention of a certain Florida QB (even though his presence in the 09 NFL Draft or the 09 CFB season will make him THE defining name in either).
As always, entries are listed with the "Out" first, representing what was hot in '08 but will be displaced or replaced by the "In" contender in '09. I used to list categories, too, but the entries should be pretty self-explanatory.
Out: Michael Crabtree
In: Julio Jones
why
Out: White House mountain biking
In: White House pick-up hoops games
why
Out: Michael Phelps
In: Tiger Woods
why
Out: A-11
In: Gus Malzahn
why
Out: Nate Silver
In: ZEUS
why
Out: 37Pitches
In: @The_Real_Shaq
why
Out: Will Leitch
In: AJ Daulerio
why
Out: Matt Cassel
In: Kevin O'Connell
why
Out: Celtics D
In: Lakers D
why
Out: Steroid busts
In: DUI busts
why
Out: FireJoeMorgan
In: Drew's Jamboroo
why
Out: Kevin Durant
In: OJ Mayo
why
Out: Cheap bleacher seats
In: Cheap online streaming
why
Out: High-top LeBrons
In: Low-top Kobes
why
Out: Texas Longhorns TV Network
In: MLB Network
why
Out: Stephen Curry
In: Seth Curry
why
Out: Wildcat RBs
In: Wildcat QBs
why
Out: Fanhouse
In: SB Nation
why
Out: MLB.com At Bat
In: Sportacular
why
Out: Retro Jordans
In: Retro Asics
why
Out: Arena Football League
In: United Football League
why
Out: Brandon Jennings
In: Lance Stephenson
why
Out: Live-blogging
In: Twitter updates
why
Out: Rays
In: Readers' Choice!
Answer the Rays-of-'09 question in the Comments, along with any other adds you have.
And now... let's step into the wayback machine for Hot/Not lists through the decade. No one has been doing this What's Hot/Not (or In/Out) column for sports longer than me. It is, annually, one of my favorite columns to write -- wherever it might be published. Enjoy:
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
Again, best wishes for a happy and healthy new year.
-- D.S.
Friday 01/02 A.M. Quickie:
Wild Cards, USC, Cotton Bowl, Barkley
First things first: You/I/anyone are not being bold by picking all four road teams to sweep the NFL's Wild Card round. It's fairly novel, to be sure, but all are favored. The Wild Card leads today's SN column, the first edition of '09.
That said: If I'm picking the road teams to all win, you just know it ain't gonna play out that way. The only thing I can hope for is that my Super Bowl pick -- the Eagles -- don't lose at Minnesota.
Far more interesting: Are the Vikings and Cardinals really not going to sell out their games? That's pretty pathetic. Like: You-don't-deserve-a-franchise pathetic.
At the very least, you'd think that local fans could pool their resources to buy up the remaining tickets to avert the TV blackout.
Meanwhile, USC is very very very good. But we already knew that. Beating up on overrated Penn State will hardly move the needle for them -- though it exacts a measure of justice re: Oregon St.
But I am sure that they will earn a couple of AP votes for No. 1 after next Thursday night (but so will Texas, when they put a similar hurt on Ohio State). And don't discount the 5-0 Pac-10 bowl season.
Yesterday's bowls were -- to put it mildly -- terrible. Even the Rose -- a clinic in excellence (by one team at least) -- lacked any sort of suspense.
Today's bowls, on the other hand, size up as interesting, if nothing else. I put this in the column today, but Texas Tech-Ole Miss is far more intriguing for its Transitive Property implications than the actual meeting between the two teams involved.
You'd be excused for using them as a proxy for the Big 12 and the SEC -- for Oklahoma/Texas and Florida. If Ole Miss wins, suddenly that win over Florida seems reasonable; if Texas Tech wins, then suddenly the Big 12 isn't the overrated defense-free zone they just might be.
And Alabama-Utah isn't Georgia-Hawaii: Utah is a legitimately good team (and extremely well-coached), unlike Hawaii last year. And Alabama is missing Andre Smith. Utah will need some Boise State-style offensive power to keep up; they can't/won't win a slugfest.
Barkley, Cont'd: I ripped Barkley yesterday, but in the reports about the arrest report, it sounds like he was totally upfront about his drinking (and the reason behind his traffic violation -- a race to get home and get with his favorite hook-up). It doesn't excuse the DUI, but at least Barkley is consistently transparent about his problems.
Finally: No, you didn't miss my annual Hot/Not List yesterday. I didn't get it published. But I worked on it last night and it should be ready to go a little later this morning. Check back then.
Complete SN column here.
-- D.S.
That said: If I'm picking the road teams to all win, you just know it ain't gonna play out that way. The only thing I can hope for is that my Super Bowl pick -- the Eagles -- don't lose at Minnesota.
Far more interesting: Are the Vikings and Cardinals really not going to sell out their games? That's pretty pathetic. Like: You-don't-deserve-a-franchise pathetic.
At the very least, you'd think that local fans could pool their resources to buy up the remaining tickets to avert the TV blackout.
Meanwhile, USC is very very very good. But we already knew that. Beating up on overrated Penn State will hardly move the needle for them -- though it exacts a measure of justice re: Oregon St.
But I am sure that they will earn a couple of AP votes for No. 1 after next Thursday night (but so will Texas, when they put a similar hurt on Ohio State). And don't discount the 5-0 Pac-10 bowl season.
Yesterday's bowls were -- to put it mildly -- terrible. Even the Rose -- a clinic in excellence (by one team at least) -- lacked any sort of suspense.
Today's bowls, on the other hand, size up as interesting, if nothing else. I put this in the column today, but Texas Tech-Ole Miss is far more intriguing for its Transitive Property implications than the actual meeting between the two teams involved.
You'd be excused for using them as a proxy for the Big 12 and the SEC -- for Oklahoma/Texas and Florida. If Ole Miss wins, suddenly that win over Florida seems reasonable; if Texas Tech wins, then suddenly the Big 12 isn't the overrated defense-free zone they just might be.
And Alabama-Utah isn't Georgia-Hawaii: Utah is a legitimately good team (and extremely well-coached), unlike Hawaii last year. And Alabama is missing Andre Smith. Utah will need some Boise State-style offensive power to keep up; they can't/won't win a slugfest.
Barkley, Cont'd: I ripped Barkley yesterday, but in the reports about the arrest report, it sounds like he was totally upfront about his drinking (and the reason behind his traffic violation -- a race to get home and get with his favorite hook-up). It doesn't excuse the DUI, but at least Barkley is consistently transparent about his problems.
Finally: No, you didn't miss my annual Hot/Not List yesterday. I didn't get it published. But I worked on it last night and it should be ready to go a little later this morning. Check back then.
Complete SN column here.
-- D.S.
Thursday, January 01, 2009
Thursday 1/1 Quickie: Happy New Year
Happy New Year, everyone! Lots of college football to watch today, but I am actually just as excited to watch the NHL Winter Classic from Wrigley Field.
Who would have guessed it would be Kansas that would lead the charge to reclaim the Big 12's tarnished rep to start the bowl season?
If you didn't catch LSU clocking Georgia Tech, it was a throttling.
Congrats to...Vandy! Between the Dores and the Tigers, maybe the SEC wasn't as "down" this year as everyone thought they were. We'll see today with South Carolina and Georgia.
Wow: That Oregon State-Pitt Sun Bowl was even WORSE than expected. And that's saying something.
Gonzaga loses 3rd straight: Was this team really my second-choice pick as a national-title contender? (Behind my top national-title pick: Louisville, which also lost last night, to UNLV? Wow, I better resolve to watch more college hoops.)
Meanwhile, is unbeaten Minnesota for real? Michigan State proved otherwise. (And suddenly that Gophs win over Louisville doesn't look THAT impressive.)
Charles Barkley arrested for DUI: I'm a day late on this, but this is as unsurprising as it is appalling. Barkley has large, unregulated tastes -- we knew about the gambling, now booze.
Look: The gambling never hurt anyone (although I still question whether a gambleholic NBA expert could possibly keep himself from betting on the NBA itself), but when you get in a car drunk, you are way more likely to hurt someone else than yourself. Barkley is a mess.
More later. Enjoy the day.
-- D.S.
Who would have guessed it would be Kansas that would lead the charge to reclaim the Big 12's tarnished rep to start the bowl season?
If you didn't catch LSU clocking Georgia Tech, it was a throttling.
Congrats to...Vandy! Between the Dores and the Tigers, maybe the SEC wasn't as "down" this year as everyone thought they were. We'll see today with South Carolina and Georgia.
Wow: That Oregon State-Pitt Sun Bowl was even WORSE than expected. And that's saying something.
Gonzaga loses 3rd straight: Was this team really my second-choice pick as a national-title contender? (Behind my top national-title pick: Louisville, which also lost last night, to UNLV? Wow, I better resolve to watch more college hoops.)
Meanwhile, is unbeaten Minnesota for real? Michigan State proved otherwise. (And suddenly that Gophs win over Louisville doesn't look THAT impressive.)
Charles Barkley arrested for DUI: I'm a day late on this, but this is as unsurprising as it is appalling. Barkley has large, unregulated tastes -- we knew about the gambling, now booze.
Look: The gambling never hurt anyone (although I still question whether a gambleholic NBA expert could possibly keep himself from betting on the NBA itself), but when you get in a car drunk, you are way more likely to hurt someone else than yourself. Barkley is a mess.
More later. Enjoy the day.
-- D.S.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Was 2008 The Best. Sports Year. Ever.?
Was 2008 the best sports year ever?
There is no greater abuser of superlatives than me -- no greater practitioner of "instant history," either.
And even I would call this a stretch. It's funny: These days, every year is the best year ever. I've been preaching that for... well, years.
I will say this: It's easy to throw around superlatives when the year in question included (1) the greatest individual accomplishment in sports history (Phelps); (2) the greatest Super Bowl ever; and (3) the greatest play in NFL history.
Everything else -- the Celtics' title, the Rays (and, yeah, the Phillies), Mario Chalmers' shot and Stephen Curry's tournament, "45-35" and Michael Crabtree's "Catch," Tom Brady's injury and Brett Favre's return -- they were great, but not quite "all-time best-ever."
Or was it?
Wasn't Tom Brady's injury the most shocking ever? Wasn't Crabtree's catch the most dramatic and impactful in modern college football history? Weren't the Rays the greatest baseball Cinderella story of the ESPN Era?
OK: So there were a lot of super-duper-highlight moments. And so 2008's Top 5 was pretty sick; they are all moments that fans will remember for a long time -- in some cases, sport-defining moments.
And that's where 2008 got me: Manning-to-Tyree -- and the Giants' subsequent OMG! upset in the Super Bowl -- feels like a million years ago, but you can't discount just how unbelievably all-time great it was: The single greatest play in NFL history, resulting in the greatest Super Bowl in history.
Phelps feels a little more removed: The Olympics are, well, Olympic, but they are like an asterisk in sports: No one really cares about them outside the two weeks they happen every four years, and the sports with the highest profile -- like swimming -- simply don't resonate otherwise.
That's sort of what made Phelps' accomplishment so epic: He managed to make everyone care. His races were insanely dramatic (and, very very very very importantly, LIVE). He gives good spectacle.
I don't think I was over the top in labeling him the greatest athlete of all time for his performance.
(I would also argue that sports -- basketball's -- place in the mythology of Barack Obama's history-making Presidential campaign was a HUGE sports story in '08. To wit: He was my Sportsman of the Year. I know most of you disagree, so I'll just note it here and move on.)
But if you remove the Olympics and Obama, the year was defined by that single magical play -- "Manning to Tyree." The greatest play ever in the biggest U.S. sports event of the year.
It was so big that, with that single moment as the anchor, we can even entertain the discussion that 2008 was the greatest sports year ever.
I have been writing about sports at the national level every day for the last 6 years. And when people ask if it is hard, I respond that the hard part is saying something fresh -- you can judge for yourself if you think that I manage to pull that off (and at what rate).
The easy part is that just when you think things can't get any more dramatic or any more epic or any more superlative -- there is always something else. It is entirely renewable, virtually daily.
Instant history (and, yes, even "Best. Whatever. Ever." superlative) is a reflection of that. It means that every new twist has a chance at being unique, at capturing our attention.
It is why you can't help but look forward to 2009, even though -- on its face -- the NFL can't possibly compete with last year's best-ever Super Bowl... no athlete's individual accomplishments could possibly compete with Michael Phelps... no Celtics title in '09 could possibly compete with the title in '08... no Rays sustained excellence could compete with last season's Cinderella story... no BCS controversy in '09 could compete with the absurdity of the Big 12 round-robin and "45-35" this year... Stephen Curry can't repeat the novelty of last year's Tourney run... the list goes on.
But with the exception of Phelps -- and even the level of uber-dramatic excellence he reached couldn't quite have been imagined -- and perhaps the NFL, there is plenty of room for more.
Not knowing what it is yet is entirely the point. But it will happen. Years don't make history; moments do. And we can always count on the superlative moments; they are the only thing that we carry with us from old year to new year.
Happy new year everyone. Please be safe tonight, and best wishes for a happy and healthy 2009. I cannot express my gratitude and appreciation for your continued support and attention this year.
Continuing the tradition, tomorrow I'm going to try very hard to publish my annual "What's Hot/What's Not" list for 2009. Stay tuned.
-- D.S.
UPDATE: Commenters were all over this point -- I neglected to consider/count two huge events, arguably the best ever in their respective sports: Tiger's US Open win on a gimpy knee and the Federer-Nadal Wimbledon final, widely considered the greatest tennis match ever. Obviously, both of those two things nudge 2008 toward "Best Sports Year Ever." Or maybe they simply affirm my theory that several sports had their Greatest Moment Ever -- not too bad.
There is no greater abuser of superlatives than me -- no greater practitioner of "instant history," either.
And even I would call this a stretch. It's funny: These days, every year is the best year ever. I've been preaching that for... well, years.
I will say this: It's easy to throw around superlatives when the year in question included (1) the greatest individual accomplishment in sports history (Phelps); (2) the greatest Super Bowl ever; and (3) the greatest play in NFL history.
Everything else -- the Celtics' title, the Rays (and, yeah, the Phillies), Mario Chalmers' shot and Stephen Curry's tournament, "45-35" and Michael Crabtree's "Catch," Tom Brady's injury and Brett Favre's return -- they were great, but not quite "all-time best-ever."
Or was it?
Wasn't Tom Brady's injury the most shocking ever? Wasn't Crabtree's catch the most dramatic and impactful in modern college football history? Weren't the Rays the greatest baseball Cinderella story of the ESPN Era?
OK: So there were a lot of super-duper-highlight moments. And so 2008's Top 5 was pretty sick; they are all moments that fans will remember for a long time -- in some cases, sport-defining moments.
And that's where 2008 got me: Manning-to-Tyree -- and the Giants' subsequent OMG! upset in the Super Bowl -- feels like a million years ago, but you can't discount just how unbelievably all-time great it was: The single greatest play in NFL history, resulting in the greatest Super Bowl in history.
Phelps feels a little more removed: The Olympics are, well, Olympic, but they are like an asterisk in sports: No one really cares about them outside the two weeks they happen every four years, and the sports with the highest profile -- like swimming -- simply don't resonate otherwise.
That's sort of what made Phelps' accomplishment so epic: He managed to make everyone care. His races were insanely dramatic (and, very very very very importantly, LIVE). He gives good spectacle.
I don't think I was over the top in labeling him the greatest athlete of all time for his performance.
(I would also argue that sports -- basketball's -- place in the mythology of Barack Obama's history-making Presidential campaign was a HUGE sports story in '08. To wit: He was my Sportsman of the Year. I know most of you disagree, so I'll just note it here and move on.)
But if you remove the Olympics and Obama, the year was defined by that single magical play -- "Manning to Tyree." The greatest play ever in the biggest U.S. sports event of the year.
It was so big that, with that single moment as the anchor, we can even entertain the discussion that 2008 was the greatest sports year ever.
I have been writing about sports at the national level every day for the last 6 years. And when people ask if it is hard, I respond that the hard part is saying something fresh -- you can judge for yourself if you think that I manage to pull that off (and at what rate).
The easy part is that just when you think things can't get any more dramatic or any more epic or any more superlative -- there is always something else. It is entirely renewable, virtually daily.
Instant history (and, yes, even "Best. Whatever. Ever." superlative) is a reflection of that. It means that every new twist has a chance at being unique, at capturing our attention.
It is why you can't help but look forward to 2009, even though -- on its face -- the NFL can't possibly compete with last year's best-ever Super Bowl... no athlete's individual accomplishments could possibly compete with Michael Phelps... no Celtics title in '09 could possibly compete with the title in '08... no Rays sustained excellence could compete with last season's Cinderella story... no BCS controversy in '09 could compete with the absurdity of the Big 12 round-robin and "45-35" this year... Stephen Curry can't repeat the novelty of last year's Tourney run... the list goes on.
But with the exception of Phelps -- and even the level of uber-dramatic excellence he reached couldn't quite have been imagined -- and perhaps the NFL, there is plenty of room for more.
Not knowing what it is yet is entirely the point. But it will happen. Years don't make history; moments do. And we can always count on the superlative moments; they are the only thing that we carry with us from old year to new year.
Happy new year everyone. Please be safe tonight, and best wishes for a happy and healthy 2009. I cannot express my gratitude and appreciation for your continued support and attention this year.
Continuing the tradition, tomorrow I'm going to try very hard to publish my annual "What's Hot/What's Not" list for 2009. Stay tuned.
-- D.S.
UPDATE: Commenters were all over this point -- I neglected to consider/count two huge events, arguably the best ever in their respective sports: Tiger's US Open win on a gimpy knee and the Federer-Nadal Wimbledon final, widely considered the greatest tennis match ever. Obviously, both of those two things nudge 2008 toward "Best Sports Year Ever." Or maybe they simply affirm my theory that several sports had their Greatest Moment Ever -- not too bad.
Wednesday 12/31 A.M. Quickie:
2008, Shanahan, Cowher, Oregon, LeBron
Was 2008 the best sports year ever? I tackle that in the lead of today's SN column, but I wrote something extra about it last night -- you can find it here at 10:30 a.m. ET.
Meanwhile, good riddance to Mike Shanahan. Choker. And the Jets are better off with Steve Spagnuolo than Bill Cowher. And the Browns need to focus on Scott Pioli before they import Eric Mangini.
(UPDATE: Must-read analysis from Stefan Fatsis via KSK.)
God, is there a more entertaining bowl than the Holiday Bowl? (PS: How good could Texas be if they could barely manage more than half the points that Oregon scored on Oklahoma State?)
Arkansas and Illinois hoops put the nation on notice that they are legit top 25 teams.
Who else is sort of happy that LeBron's birthday was ruined with a loss to the Heat? And what is up with the Celtics? After that 19 straight, are they just packing it in until the playoffs?
Sorry for the short post. Tons to get done before the year ends. And tons more -- seriously: tons -- in today's SN column, found here. Check it out. More at 10:30.
To those not returning later today, happy new year.
-- D.S.
Meanwhile, good riddance to Mike Shanahan. Choker. And the Jets are better off with Steve Spagnuolo than Bill Cowher. And the Browns need to focus on Scott Pioli before they import Eric Mangini.
(UPDATE: Must-read analysis from Stefan Fatsis via KSK.)
God, is there a more entertaining bowl than the Holiday Bowl? (PS: How good could Texas be if they could barely manage more than half the points that Oregon scored on Oklahoma State?)
Arkansas and Illinois hoops put the nation on notice that they are legit top 25 teams.
Who else is sort of happy that LeBron's birthday was ruined with a loss to the Heat? And what is up with the Celtics? After that 19 straight, are they just packing it in until the playoffs?
Sorry for the short post. Tons to get done before the year ends. And tons more -- seriously: tons -- in today's SN column, found here. Check it out. More at 10:30.
To those not returning later today, happy new year.
-- D.S.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Speaking of Terrible 2008 Picks: Matt Ryan
Looking back over the year, perhaps my worst call of 2008 was panning the Falcons for drafting Matt Ryan. It was made all the more glaring today with Ryan being named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Here are some of my greatest hits:
*"The Falcons blew it."
*Drafting Ryan "has everything to do with appearances -- and nothing to do with winning."
*"You don't hear anyone listing the Falcons as having a great draft. It's because they didn't, and it starts at the top with Matt Ryan."
*God, even through Twitter: "the falcons will regret taking matt ryan"
It was fitting I was in Atlanta two weeks ago and got to see first-hand just how beloved Ryan has become among Falcons fans -- and just how well he has played in helping the team's turnaround.
Mea culpa.
-- D.S.
Here are some of my greatest hits:
*"The Falcons blew it."
*Drafting Ryan "has everything to do with appearances -- and nothing to do with winning."
*"You don't hear anyone listing the Falcons as having a great draft. It's because they didn't, and it starts at the top with Matt Ryan."
*God, even through Twitter: "the falcons will regret taking matt ryan"
It was fitting I was in Atlanta two weeks ago and got to see first-hand just how beloved Ryan has become among Falcons fans -- and just how well he has played in helping the team's turnaround.
Mea culpa.
-- D.S.
NFL Picks: Where I Stand vs. WhereIStand
WhereIStand went back and analyzed 40 "expert" picks for NFL division winners. It's kind of bleak when Mike Greenberg is your champ. For the record, I would have ended up No. 25 out of 40. Sounds about right. That's what you get when you pick the Seahawks to win the NFC West.
-- D.S.
-- D.S.
Pick 'Em Champs: M. Dziak, B. Suchek
With the end of the NFL and CFB regular seasons, it's time to congratulate the Daily Quickie Readers pick 'em group winners from football season:
NFL: Mark Dziak's "Kosar's Lament" (99.8 percentile)
CFB: B. Suchak's "RPI Engineers" (99.5 percentile)
Email me directly to claim your prize: A guest-post on DS.com. (Ooh!)
Bowl Mania Update: Suchak is in 3rd -- either totally surprisingly or totally unsurprisingly. I'm in 23rd, but as with last year, I backloaded my high-value picks until the end of bowl season.
Congrats to the winners -- catch you after Bowl season... and get ready for the annual NCAA Tournament Pick 'Em... still the original and the best.
-- D.S.
NFL: Mark Dziak's "Kosar's Lament" (99.8 percentile)
CFB: B. Suchak's "RPI Engineers" (99.5 percentile)
Email me directly to claim your prize: A guest-post on DS.com. (Ooh!)
Bowl Mania Update: Suchak is in 3rd -- either totally surprisingly or totally unsurprisingly. I'm in 23rd, but as with last year, I backloaded my high-value picks until the end of bowl season.
Congrats to the winners -- catch you after Bowl season... and get ready for the annual NCAA Tournament Pick 'Em... still the original and the best.
-- D.S.
Tuesday 12/30 A.M. Quickie:
Pioli, Cowher, Mangini, Mizzou, Georgetown
OK, so I'm over my brief bout with NFL Draft insanity... and, yes, plenty disappointed over last night's Alamo Bowl result. It's tough to out-play a team and still lose.
(As expected, I will spin it in Florida's favor: Northwestern's defense was obviously underrated, but if Missouri's vaunted offense couldn't muster more than it did, what does that say about the Big 12 defenses? I mean, really: Mizzou scored more points at Texas than they scored on NU.)
Anyway, the lead of today's SN column is all about "Black Monday" in the NFL, but I couldn't care less about the coaches -- if you follow the dramatic turnarounds in Miami and Atlanta, they all dovetail with the first-year GMs: Parcells and Dimitroff.
The theory is that a great GM (or head exec a la Parcells) is in a greater position to dramatically alter the fate of a franchise. Dimitroff hired Mike Smith; Dimitroff drafted Matt Ryan. Parcells hired Sparano and directed the team's personnel strategies.
So when you look at the Jets, they seem to think that GM Mike Tannenbaum had no role in the Jets' under-performance. And in Detroit, it's even worse: They promoted the assistant GM to GM and the COO to president. Yeah: It was ALL Marinelli's fault.
That's why the best chance for a Dolphins or Falcons-style U-turn in '09 will come in Cleveland, where they fired both the coach AND the GM, and they sound like they are aggressively pursuing the best GM in the NFL -- New England's Scott Pioli.
And, if the Browns were smart, they would spare no expense to get him. A great GM is worth a lot more than a marquee player or coach (cough-Cowher-cough).
In the rest of the column: More on Northwestern-Missouri (a very good bowl game if you had the chance to watch it), a bunch on Georgetown winning at UConn in one of the great "statement" games of the college hoops season so far. (I caught the first half and flipped back to in the 2nd -- the Hoyas looked very good... the Huskies? Not so much.)
Get it all here. More later.
-- D.S.
(As expected, I will spin it in Florida's favor: Northwestern's defense was obviously underrated, but if Missouri's vaunted offense couldn't muster more than it did, what does that say about the Big 12 defenses? I mean, really: Mizzou scored more points at Texas than they scored on NU.)
Anyway, the lead of today's SN column is all about "Black Monday" in the NFL, but I couldn't care less about the coaches -- if you follow the dramatic turnarounds in Miami and Atlanta, they all dovetail with the first-year GMs: Parcells and Dimitroff.
The theory is that a great GM (or head exec a la Parcells) is in a greater position to dramatically alter the fate of a franchise. Dimitroff hired Mike Smith; Dimitroff drafted Matt Ryan. Parcells hired Sparano and directed the team's personnel strategies.
So when you look at the Jets, they seem to think that GM Mike Tannenbaum had no role in the Jets' under-performance. And in Detroit, it's even worse: They promoted the assistant GM to GM and the COO to president. Yeah: It was ALL Marinelli's fault.
That's why the best chance for a Dolphins or Falcons-style U-turn in '09 will come in Cleveland, where they fired both the coach AND the GM, and they sound like they are aggressively pursuing the best GM in the NFL -- New England's Scott Pioli.
And, if the Browns were smart, they would spare no expense to get him. A great GM is worth a lot more than a marquee player or coach (cough-Cowher-cough).
In the rest of the column: More on Northwestern-Missouri (a very good bowl game if you had the chance to watch it), a bunch on Georgetown winning at UConn in one of the great "statement" games of the college hoops season so far. (I caught the first half and flipped back to in the 2nd -- the Hoyas looked very good... the Huskies? Not so much.)
Get it all here. More later.
-- D.S.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Alamo Bowl Mania: I'll Watch, Will You?
Say this for Northwestern: They generally make their bowl games fun to watch. In most cases, it's because of a porous defense and a pretty good offense.
This year, NU's D was actually its strength. But even a revamped D won't be able to contain Missouri's ridiculous Daniel-Maclin-Coffman spread offense.
What could make it interesting -- if Mizzou doesn't go up 28 after the first quarter -- is that Mizzou's D is hardly hardy; NU could put up points, too.
It is Northwestern's second trip to the Alamo Bowl; in 2000, the Wildcats were absolutely shellacked by Nebraska, 66-17. Some disappointed teams phone it in; the Huskers did the opposite.
Northwestern also appeared in the 2003 Motor City Bowl, where they lost a close one to Bowling Green (and the spectacular Josh Harris), the year after BGSU's Urban Meyer left for Utah.
And who can forget Northwestern's 2005 appearance in the Sun Bowl, where they had a huge early lead (22-0 in the 1st quarter) but lost to UCLA, 50-38, in what was widely regarded as the best non-BCS bowl game of that season.
I have only attended one Northwestern bowl game in person, and it's the only one that matters: The 1996 Rose Bowl, following the miracle 1995 season. Most NU fans put going to that Rose Bowl at the top of their non-marriage, non-birth-of-kid moments in their lives.
(It says a lot that it didn't matter that NU lost to cursed Keyshawn Johnson and USC. Well, ALMOST didn't matter. The loss still stings; if Northwestern had won that game, there is a very good chance they would have finished the 1995 season ranked No. 2, behind that all-time-great Nebraska team... and, ironically, ahead of Florida, which got smoked by those Huskers.)
It also says a lot that in the 13 years since, bowl games for Northwestern aren't a novelty -- they are expected. Now, all they have to do is finally win one.
I have very little faith that this will be the year -- Missouri's offense is just too awesome. But a 9-win season culminating in a bowl game alone in primetime against a team with preseason national-title aspirations is a season for NU fans to be happy about, no matter the bowl result.
-- D.S.
This year, NU's D was actually its strength. But even a revamped D won't be able to contain Missouri's ridiculous Daniel-Maclin-Coffman spread offense.
What could make it interesting -- if Mizzou doesn't go up 28 after the first quarter -- is that Mizzou's D is hardly hardy; NU could put up points, too.
It is Northwestern's second trip to the Alamo Bowl; in 2000, the Wildcats were absolutely shellacked by Nebraska, 66-17. Some disappointed teams phone it in; the Huskers did the opposite.
Northwestern also appeared in the 2003 Motor City Bowl, where they lost a close one to Bowling Green (and the spectacular Josh Harris), the year after BGSU's Urban Meyer left for Utah.
And who can forget Northwestern's 2005 appearance in the Sun Bowl, where they had a huge early lead (22-0 in the 1st quarter) but lost to UCLA, 50-38, in what was widely regarded as the best non-BCS bowl game of that season.
I have only attended one Northwestern bowl game in person, and it's the only one that matters: The 1996 Rose Bowl, following the miracle 1995 season. Most NU fans put going to that Rose Bowl at the top of their non-marriage, non-birth-of-kid moments in their lives.
(It says a lot that it didn't matter that NU lost to cursed Keyshawn Johnson and USC. Well, ALMOST didn't matter. The loss still stings; if Northwestern had won that game, there is a very good chance they would have finished the 1995 season ranked No. 2, behind that all-time-great Nebraska team... and, ironically, ahead of Florida, which got smoked by those Huskers.)
It also says a lot that in the 13 years since, bowl games for Northwestern aren't a novelty -- they are expected. Now, all they have to do is finally win one.
I have very little faith that this will be the year -- Missouri's offense is just too awesome. But a 9-win season culminating in a bowl game alone in primetime against a team with preseason national-title aspirations is a season for NU fans to be happy about, no matter the bowl result.
-- D.S.
2009 NFL Draft: Who Reaches for Tebow?
The Top 9 picks of the 2009 NFL Draft are set, in this order: (1) Lions; (2) Rams; (3) Chiefs; (4) Seahawks; (5) Browns; (6) Bengals; (7) Raiders; (8) Jaguars; (9) Packers.
So: Who's going to construct the biggest draft reach of the decade and pick Tim Tebow -- and not just pick him in the first round, but pick Tebow in the Top 10? Prediction: Jacksonville.
You think I'm crazy. You read the draft previews that Tebow is a 2nd-round pick, at best. You read the Jags need CB help. I'm just saying that if he comes out -- still an "if" -- he will rise into the first round.
(And if the Jags don't take him -- they would use the Jacksonville native for marketing as much as they would for grooming him to replace David Garrard in 3 years -- the Pats will. Oh yes.)
Because it's never too early for a mock: (1) Andre Smith; (2) Michael Oher; (3) Brian Orakpo; (4) Michael Crabtree; (5) Aaron Curry; (6) Eugene Monroe; (7) Jeremy Maclin; (8) Tebow*; (9) Oh, best available D-lineman.
* - I'm not saying that Sam Bradford isn't a better pro prospect at QB -- or, for that matter, Matt Stafford (although Stafford has a bit of a Grossman look to him). But don't underestimate marketing for a team that struggles with an identity problem as much as the Jags have.
-- D.S.
UPDATE: There's already a response, from a real Jags fan/expert. Very very smart take, particularly if you enjoy seeing me taken behind the woodshed for a beating on the merits (or "merits") of my arguments.
So: Who's going to construct the biggest draft reach of the decade and pick Tim Tebow -- and not just pick him in the first round, but pick Tebow in the Top 10? Prediction: Jacksonville.
You think I'm crazy. You read the draft previews that Tebow is a 2nd-round pick, at best. You read the Jags need CB help. I'm just saying that if he comes out -- still an "if" -- he will rise into the first round.
(And if the Jags don't take him -- they would use the Jacksonville native for marketing as much as they would for grooming him to replace David Garrard in 3 years -- the Pats will. Oh yes.)
Because it's never too early for a mock: (1) Andre Smith; (2) Michael Oher; (3) Brian Orakpo; (4) Michael Crabtree; (5) Aaron Curry; (6) Eugene Monroe; (7) Jeremy Maclin; (8) Tebow*; (9) Oh, best available D-lineman.
* - I'm not saying that Sam Bradford isn't a better pro prospect at QB -- or, for that matter, Matt Stafford (although Stafford has a bit of a Grossman look to him). But don't underestimate marketing for a team that struggles with an identity problem as much as the Jags have.
-- D.S.
UPDATE: There's already a response, from a real Jags fan/expert. Very very smart take, particularly if you enjoy seeing me taken behind the woodshed for a beating on the merits (or "merits") of my arguments.
Monday 12/29 A.M. Quickie:
Cowboys, Pats, Super Bowl Picks, Alamania
AM Update: Jets fire Eric Mangini. And you have to wonder whether the decision to import Brett Favre ultimately did him in. Probably that, plus the wild one-year U-turn in Miami. (More expectedly, Romeo Crennel and Rod Marinelli were both fired, too.)
More: Great Freakonomics post about Favre and "deadweight loss" by Stephen Dubner.
So my pick for the Super Bowl is Pats over Cowboys.
Wait a second.... In the greatest holiday gift of all, both the Pats (with 11 wins!) and the Cowboys (controlling their own destiny) missed the NFL playoffs. It's a little absurd actually.
And it's a sign of just how powerful these two franchises are -- that their absence is the biggest story of the transition from the NFL's regular season to its playoff season.
That celebration leads today's SN column.
They even eclipse the truly Favrian end to Brett Favre's season -- and perhaps, if we're very lucky, his career: Three picks, including a pick-6 AND that typically idiotic Favre force to end any chance the Jets had of rallying late.
It's not all about schadenfreude: The Panthers look really good (is any RB as hot as DeAngelo Williams right now?); the Chargers fulfilled their epic 4-game comeback at the expense of the Broncos (any other coach besides Shanahan would be fired); the Colts are the hottest team in the league (usually a good candidate for hating...well, we can't have them all...).
And I'm ready to jinx a team by proclaiming them my pick to win the Super Bowl:
The Eagles, who will ride yesterday's momentum to a Giants-like run through the playoffs -- all on the road -- to a Super Bowl title over the Titans. It's been that kind of year for Philly fans.
It's a bit like that Seinfeld episode where George was up and Elaine was down: Boston was up and Philly was down, like, all decade. Now, Philly is up and Boston is down. (Although who, exactly, is Jerry's "Even Steven?")
No, this isn't an overreaction to my absurd mistake in picking the Phillies to lose in the MLB playoffs. Well, maybe a little...
Anyway, it's a loaded SN column today, and I hope you'll check it out here.
Now, get back to work and get ready for Northwestern-Missouri in the Alamo Bowl tonight. NU has this magical history of giving up absurdly prolific numbers to opposing offenses (ask Keyshawn Johnson or Peyton Manning or that Nebraska RB in 2000), and I expect nothing less from Chase Daniel and Mizzou -- one of the most impressive offenses in the country this season.
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend. Get ready for a week of looking back at 2008 and getting ready for 2009. The leading drama: Will I name 2008 the "Greatest. Sports Year. Ever."? That answer will be coming tomorrow.
(You'll notice that, for the first time since 2001, I did not file a "Night Before Xmas" poem; it is 50/50 that I will publish a "What's Hot/What's Not" list for the new year. I'd like to -- it's annually my favorite column of the year to write, and I haven't missed it since 2001.)
-- D.S.
More: Great Freakonomics post about Favre and "deadweight loss" by Stephen Dubner.
So my pick for the Super Bowl is Pats over Cowboys.
Wait a second.... In the greatest holiday gift of all, both the Pats (with 11 wins!) and the Cowboys (controlling their own destiny) missed the NFL playoffs. It's a little absurd actually.
And it's a sign of just how powerful these two franchises are -- that their absence is the biggest story of the transition from the NFL's regular season to its playoff season.
That celebration leads today's SN column.
They even eclipse the truly Favrian end to Brett Favre's season -- and perhaps, if we're very lucky, his career: Three picks, including a pick-6 AND that typically idiotic Favre force to end any chance the Jets had of rallying late.
It's not all about schadenfreude: The Panthers look really good (is any RB as hot as DeAngelo Williams right now?); the Chargers fulfilled their epic 4-game comeback at the expense of the Broncos (any other coach besides Shanahan would be fired); the Colts are the hottest team in the league (usually a good candidate for hating...well, we can't have them all...).
And I'm ready to jinx a team by proclaiming them my pick to win the Super Bowl:
The Eagles, who will ride yesterday's momentum to a Giants-like run through the playoffs -- all on the road -- to a Super Bowl title over the Titans. It's been that kind of year for Philly fans.
It's a bit like that Seinfeld episode where George was up and Elaine was down: Boston was up and Philly was down, like, all decade. Now, Philly is up and Boston is down. (Although who, exactly, is Jerry's "Even Steven?")
No, this isn't an overreaction to my absurd mistake in picking the Phillies to lose in the MLB playoffs. Well, maybe a little...
Anyway, it's a loaded SN column today, and I hope you'll check it out here.
Now, get back to work and get ready for Northwestern-Missouri in the Alamo Bowl tonight. NU has this magical history of giving up absurdly prolific numbers to opposing offenses (ask Keyshawn Johnson or Peyton Manning or that Nebraska RB in 2000), and I expect nothing less from Chase Daniel and Mizzou -- one of the most impressive offenses in the country this season.
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend. Get ready for a week of looking back at 2008 and getting ready for 2009. The leading drama: Will I name 2008 the "Greatest. Sports Year. Ever."? That answer will be coming tomorrow.
(You'll notice that, for the first time since 2001, I did not file a "Night Before Xmas" poem; it is 50/50 that I will publish a "What's Hot/What's Not" list for the new year. I'd like to -- it's annually my favorite column of the year to write, and I haven't missed it since 2001.)
-- D.S.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Sunday 12/28 (Very) Quickie
All fans can really ask for in an NFL season's Week 17 is that it is meaningful in some way.
Partly, that's because your fantasy season is over and you have that much less reason to care. Partly, that's because most teams' seasons are virtually over (no playoffs) and you have that much less reason to care.
Instead:
*The AFC East is totally up for grabs.
*The AFC West is a bonafide playoff game.
*The Cowboys may or may not make the playoff field in the NFC.
*And the Lions could be the first NFL team to ever finish a season 0-16 -- reason enough for that to have been a "national" game.
(For that last one, I say: Embrace it, Lions fans. Immortality doesn't come easy in sports -- and in 10, 20, 30 years, you'll be proud to say you suffered through this season.)
CFB Bowling: Pat White is one of the great college QBs of the last 25 years. Not only is he the leading QB rusher, but he ended his career an unprecedented 4-0 in bowl games as a starting QB, including yesterday's win over UNC, in which he passed -- not ran -- for a career-high 332 yards. There can and should be an NFL career in White's future.
Meanwhile, speaking of NFL careers, how about Cal RB Jahvid Best, who set an Emerald Bowl record with 186 rushing yards and 2 TDs. Only a sophomore, he should head into 2009 as a candidate for 1st-team All-American (along with Oklahoma State's Kendall Hunter and Pitt's LeSean McCoy) and looks like a future NFL 1st-round pick.
Finally, was Florida State better than everyone thought -- or was Wisconsin just that bad?
CBB: God, West Virginia just destroyed (previously unbeaten) Ohio State. At least by what we saw on TV, it seems like WVU should be the team ranked in the Top 20 and OSU should be unranked. Great day for West Virginia yesterday, wasn't it?... Meanwhile, Louisville needed to shake things up; Pitino did (benching starters, elevating young reserves) and the Cards got back on track vs. UAB.
NBA: Well, at least we know the Wizards are better than the Thunder -- sigh. In a battle for the NBA's worst, OKC proved themselves the best (Blake Griffin will make a huge difference)... 7 straight wins for the Magic... 41 for Joe Johnson in a Hawks win over the Bulls (JJ has to be an All-Star, right?)... Say this for the Grizzlies: At least they are competitive (loss to Spurs in 2OT), and I think that has everything to do with the arrival of OJ Mayo (29 pts)... More 2OT goodness: Rockets over Jazz (Ron-Ron: 28)...
Enjoy the last week of regular-season NFL, friends. If your team isn't going to the playoffs, it's a long offseason.
-- D.S.
Partly, that's because your fantasy season is over and you have that much less reason to care. Partly, that's because most teams' seasons are virtually over (no playoffs) and you have that much less reason to care.
Instead:
*The AFC East is totally up for grabs.
*The AFC West is a bonafide playoff game.
*The Cowboys may or may not make the playoff field in the NFC.
*And the Lions could be the first NFL team to ever finish a season 0-16 -- reason enough for that to have been a "national" game.
(For that last one, I say: Embrace it, Lions fans. Immortality doesn't come easy in sports -- and in 10, 20, 30 years, you'll be proud to say you suffered through this season.)
CFB Bowling: Pat White is one of the great college QBs of the last 25 years. Not only is he the leading QB rusher, but he ended his career an unprecedented 4-0 in bowl games as a starting QB, including yesterday's win over UNC, in which he passed -- not ran -- for a career-high 332 yards. There can and should be an NFL career in White's future.
Meanwhile, speaking of NFL careers, how about Cal RB Jahvid Best, who set an Emerald Bowl record with 186 rushing yards and 2 TDs. Only a sophomore, he should head into 2009 as a candidate for 1st-team All-American (along with Oklahoma State's Kendall Hunter and Pitt's LeSean McCoy) and looks like a future NFL 1st-round pick.
Finally, was Florida State better than everyone thought -- or was Wisconsin just that bad?
CBB: God, West Virginia just destroyed (previously unbeaten) Ohio State. At least by what we saw on TV, it seems like WVU should be the team ranked in the Top 20 and OSU should be unranked. Great day for West Virginia yesterday, wasn't it?... Meanwhile, Louisville needed to shake things up; Pitino did (benching starters, elevating young reserves) and the Cards got back on track vs. UAB.
NBA: Well, at least we know the Wizards are better than the Thunder -- sigh. In a battle for the NBA's worst, OKC proved themselves the best (Blake Griffin will make a huge difference)... 7 straight wins for the Magic... 41 for Joe Johnson in a Hawks win over the Bulls (JJ has to be an All-Star, right?)... Say this for the Grizzlies: At least they are competitive (loss to Spurs in 2OT), and I think that has everything to do with the arrival of OJ Mayo (29 pts)... More 2OT goodness: Rockets over Jazz (Ron-Ron: 28)...
Enjoy the last week of regular-season NFL, friends. If your team isn't going to the playoffs, it's a long offseason.
-- D.S.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Saturday 12/27 (Very) Quickie
Well, Tom Brady proposed to Gisele. You can all sleep better now, because I know it was keeping you awake. For a guy who had a truly crappy 2008 - between losing in the Super Bowl to missing virtually all of the 2008 season -- he still managed to be one of the year's biggest winners, with this news. (Say, I wonder what kind of Christmas he had with his, um, baby son?)
Wow, what happened to the Celtics? It's like the win streak was all leading up to the Lakers game, then when they lost that, they lost a core motivation...
Randy Johnson signs with the Giants: 3 Cy winners in one rotation? You almost have to wonder when they're going to convince Greg Maddux to come out of retirement...
Florida Atlantic beats Central Michigan in the Motor City (aka "Bailout") Bowl: Name to know? FAU QB Rusty Smith, who we might see playing on Sundays.
(Speaking of QBs having good bowl performances, I was called out in the comments recently for not praising Jimmy Clausen -- I should have. He had a monster game. I could say that he was finally living up to the hype and that the bowl game should vault him to a monster season in '09, but he's still being coached by Charlie Weis, right? Also: Brady Quinn. Let's just remember that.)
Heat beat Bulls in post-Xmas hangover game: It was billed as Rose vs. Beasley, but Dwyane Wade (of course) stole the show. And if you had to pick out the most impressive rookie in the game, couldn't you make a case for Heat 2nd-round pick Mario "Superintendent" Chalmers? Without question, the steal of the draft, making plenty of GMs look foolish for passing on him.
T'wolves beat the Knicks: I actually watched a lot of this game (for some reason), and perhaps the Knicks should consider acquiring Sebastian Telfair, because he had a fantastic game in his MSG homecoming.
I also ended up watching some replay of the Isle of Palms high school hoops tournament, from earlier this week, and I happened to luck into seeing Austin Rivers (Doc's son, who was a very early verbal commitment to Florida) of Winter Park (Fla.) H.S., who scored 40-something en route to a tournament win. I also caught a bit of St. Patrick's (NJ) vs. Mater Dei (CA) -- two of the top teams in the country. I couldn't stay up for the whole thing, but St. Pat's looked very good. (They ended up losing to Mater Dei, which stakes its claim as the best team in the country.)
-- D.S.
Wow, what happened to the Celtics? It's like the win streak was all leading up to the Lakers game, then when they lost that, they lost a core motivation...
Randy Johnson signs with the Giants: 3 Cy winners in one rotation? You almost have to wonder when they're going to convince Greg Maddux to come out of retirement...
Florida Atlantic beats Central Michigan in the Motor City (aka "Bailout") Bowl: Name to know? FAU QB Rusty Smith, who we might see playing on Sundays.
(Speaking of QBs having good bowl performances, I was called out in the comments recently for not praising Jimmy Clausen -- I should have. He had a monster game. I could say that he was finally living up to the hype and that the bowl game should vault him to a monster season in '09, but he's still being coached by Charlie Weis, right? Also: Brady Quinn. Let's just remember that.)
Heat beat Bulls in post-Xmas hangover game: It was billed as Rose vs. Beasley, but Dwyane Wade (of course) stole the show. And if you had to pick out the most impressive rookie in the game, couldn't you make a case for Heat 2nd-round pick Mario "Superintendent" Chalmers? Without question, the steal of the draft, making plenty of GMs look foolish for passing on him.
T'wolves beat the Knicks: I actually watched a lot of this game (for some reason), and perhaps the Knicks should consider acquiring Sebastian Telfair, because he had a fantastic game in his MSG homecoming.
I also ended up watching some replay of the Isle of Palms high school hoops tournament, from earlier this week, and I happened to luck into seeing Austin Rivers (Doc's son, who was a very early verbal commitment to Florida) of Winter Park (Fla.) H.S., who scored 40-something en route to a tournament win. I also caught a bit of St. Patrick's (NJ) vs. Mater Dei (CA) -- two of the top teams in the country. I couldn't stay up for the whole thing, but St. Pat's looked very good. (They ended up losing to Mater Dei, which stakes its claim as the best team in the country.)
-- D.S.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Friday 12/26 (Very) Quickie
Well, that Celtics-Lakers game lived up to the hype. The atmosphere was crazy, Pau Gasol scored out of his mind down the stretch and the Lakers snapped the C's 19-game win streak.
Now, like all sports except college football, the win really didn't mean much in the grand scheme of things, except symbolically -- that the Lakers ARE ready to challenge Boston for the NBA title.
Kobe's quote says it all: "It's our year." I'm betting that by June, the Celtics have something to say about that. (Will it all come down to who has home-court advantage in the Finals?)
Meanwhile, Suns-Spurs was the best game of the day -- that Roger Mason 3 was tremendous. As a Wiz fan, I am torn about Mason's success, knowing the Wiz could have kept him. (Their first indication they should have should have been that the Spurs wanted him at all.)
Speaking of the Wiz, they put out their standard effort: Great play for 3+ quarters, then folding late. This might have been the worst loss yet -- this was the Wizards' Finals game, the chance to ruin Christmas on national TV for LeBron and Co.
And the Wiz were up 7 in the final minutes, before allowing the Cavs to run off 11 straight in the final 90 seconds to win the game. Mo Williams (24 pts) put on a display why he was the Best Move of the Offseason in the NBA.
The Magic led off the day with a statement win: They throttled the Hornets, who seemed right away like they would have rather been at home celebrating the holiday than playing basketball. Even Chris Paul was shut down -- no steals for the first time forver, snapping his streak at 108.
As I mentioned, I was down in Orlando last Thursday/Friday, and in talking casually with a couple of fans down there, they expressed the feeling that if it wasn't for the amazing start by the Celtics (and Cavs), the Magic's start would be one of THE stories of the season. But it feels buried.
Bowling tonight: Central Michigan vs. Florida Atlantic. Ehhh...pass. Although I'm always up for a chance to watch CMU QB Dan LeFevour.
NBA Today: Bulls vs. Heat. Rose vs. Beasley. (More like Rose vs. Wade.) Oh, and please go to NBA.com and vote for Joe Alexander as the 4th contestant in the Dunk Contest.
MLB Hot Stove: Derek Lowe to the Mets happening or scuttled? Or just delayed? Does anyone really think he's the missing piece?
More later.
-- D.S.
Now, like all sports except college football, the win really didn't mean much in the grand scheme of things, except symbolically -- that the Lakers ARE ready to challenge Boston for the NBA title.
Kobe's quote says it all: "It's our year." I'm betting that by June, the Celtics have something to say about that. (Will it all come down to who has home-court advantage in the Finals?)
Meanwhile, Suns-Spurs was the best game of the day -- that Roger Mason 3 was tremendous. As a Wiz fan, I am torn about Mason's success, knowing the Wiz could have kept him. (Their first indication they should have should have been that the Spurs wanted him at all.)
Speaking of the Wiz, they put out their standard effort: Great play for 3+ quarters, then folding late. This might have been the worst loss yet -- this was the Wizards' Finals game, the chance to ruin Christmas on national TV for LeBron and Co.
And the Wiz were up 7 in the final minutes, before allowing the Cavs to run off 11 straight in the final 90 seconds to win the game. Mo Williams (24 pts) put on a display why he was the Best Move of the Offseason in the NBA.
The Magic led off the day with a statement win: They throttled the Hornets, who seemed right away like they would have rather been at home celebrating the holiday than playing basketball. Even Chris Paul was shut down -- no steals for the first time forver, snapping his streak at 108.
As I mentioned, I was down in Orlando last Thursday/Friday, and in talking casually with a couple of fans down there, they expressed the feeling that if it wasn't for the amazing start by the Celtics (and Cavs), the Magic's start would be one of THE stories of the season. But it feels buried.
Bowling tonight: Central Michigan vs. Florida Atlantic. Ehhh...pass. Although I'm always up for a chance to watch CMU QB Dan LeFevour.
NBA Today: Bulls vs. Heat. Rose vs. Beasley. (More like Rose vs. Wade.) Oh, and please go to NBA.com and vote for Joe Alexander as the 4th contestant in the Dunk Contest.
MLB Hot Stove: Derek Lowe to the Mets happening or scuttled? Or just delayed? Does anyone really think he's the missing piece?
More later.
-- D.S.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Thursday 12/25 (Very Merry) Quickie
Merry Christmas, everyone. I am on my Nth viewing of "A Christmas Story"...
It's your average slow Christmas morning, but there are a couple of hot-button issues on the table:
(1) Yankees spend big, the 2nd-day revisionism: Was the big spend THAT bad? In fact, was it GOOD for baseball? It depends on how you see the Yankees. Do they say:
"WE are the Yankees." Or do they say:
"We are the YANKEES."
The former implies they are spending for spending's sake; the latter implies, as team prez Randy Levine argued yesterday, that the health of the Yankees is directly tied to the health of baseball. And that spending to make them a contender is good for all of baseball.
He's got a point: The Yankees draw a crowd on the road, boosting other teams' attendance. They drive TV ratings. They actually pay other teams to spend prolifically. Do the Brewers really want a salary cap when they earn so much money directly from the Yankees' spending?
And though the Yankees make a ton of money -- they spend it on the team. Not always wisely, but they spend it on putting out a competitive product. Because it's in the best interests of baseball. Not to CURB the Yankees' spending, but to embrace it.
And I say that as someone who hates the Yankees.
Staying in New York: We can all agree that Brett Favre's latest "Am I retiring or aren't I?" crap is wearying as ever. Let's hope that this season is his last -- although those of us who are Favre-haters are enjoying his INT-fueled implosion to end the season.
But even if he does retire this season, do you actually think that would be it? Or would he take a season (or even half a season) off, then make some sort of glorified "return" to the NFL? After all, he is still a "Pro Bowler" (cough...laughter...cough...)
(3) Notre Dame wins a bowl game...finally! And they won big. And they did it with Charlie Weis in the coaching box calling plays, rather than on the sidelines. And here's what we learned: Charlie Weis should stay up in the coaching box -- not as a head coach, but in his best role...as an offensive coordinator. Unfortunately, last night's win will silence the doubters... at least until he returns to the sidelines and his ill-fitting role as college head coach. (ND is very lucky they were playing Hawaii, with that porous defense.)
(4) Christmas Day in the NBA, as I have said all week, is the NBA's biggest day of the year. They own sports on TV today. And they loaded it up with an incredible slate of games: Chris Paul vs. Dwight Howard; Shaq, Amare and Nash vs. Duncan, Parker and the Spurs; Lakers-Celtics (of course... even a casual NBA fan will likely tune in for that one, especially given the Celtics' insane winning streak); and ending with Cavs-Wiz, where LeBron Worship will reach new levels when the entire arena throws chalk up in the air before the game, in the offputtingly messianic style that LeBron showcases before every game -- here's a prediction: FAIL.
(Oh: Anyone else see the irony of Steve Francis traded from the Rockets to the Grizzlies? I wonder how Stevie Franchise's career would have gone if he had just stayed with the Grizzlies when they originally drafted him?)
More later.
-- D.S.
It's your average slow Christmas morning, but there are a couple of hot-button issues on the table:
(1) Yankees spend big, the 2nd-day revisionism: Was the big spend THAT bad? In fact, was it GOOD for baseball? It depends on how you see the Yankees. Do they say:
"WE are the Yankees." Or do they say:
"We are the YANKEES."
The former implies they are spending for spending's sake; the latter implies, as team prez Randy Levine argued yesterday, that the health of the Yankees is directly tied to the health of baseball. And that spending to make them a contender is good for all of baseball.
He's got a point: The Yankees draw a crowd on the road, boosting other teams' attendance. They drive TV ratings. They actually pay other teams to spend prolifically. Do the Brewers really want a salary cap when they earn so much money directly from the Yankees' spending?
And though the Yankees make a ton of money -- they spend it on the team. Not always wisely, but they spend it on putting out a competitive product. Because it's in the best interests of baseball. Not to CURB the Yankees' spending, but to embrace it.
And I say that as someone who hates the Yankees.
Staying in New York: We can all agree that Brett Favre's latest "Am I retiring or aren't I?" crap is wearying as ever. Let's hope that this season is his last -- although those of us who are Favre-haters are enjoying his INT-fueled implosion to end the season.
But even if he does retire this season, do you actually think that would be it? Or would he take a season (or even half a season) off, then make some sort of glorified "return" to the NFL? After all, he is still a "Pro Bowler" (cough...laughter...cough...)
(3) Notre Dame wins a bowl game...finally! And they won big. And they did it with Charlie Weis in the coaching box calling plays, rather than on the sidelines. And here's what we learned: Charlie Weis should stay up in the coaching box -- not as a head coach, but in his best role...as an offensive coordinator. Unfortunately, last night's win will silence the doubters... at least until he returns to the sidelines and his ill-fitting role as college head coach. (ND is very lucky they were playing Hawaii, with that porous defense.)
(4) Christmas Day in the NBA, as I have said all week, is the NBA's biggest day of the year. They own sports on TV today. And they loaded it up with an incredible slate of games: Chris Paul vs. Dwight Howard; Shaq, Amare and Nash vs. Duncan, Parker and the Spurs; Lakers-Celtics (of course... even a casual NBA fan will likely tune in for that one, especially given the Celtics' insane winning streak); and ending with Cavs-Wiz, where LeBron Worship will reach new levels when the entire arena throws chalk up in the air before the game, in the offputtingly messianic style that LeBron showcases before every game -- here's a prediction: FAIL.
(Oh: Anyone else see the irony of Steve Francis traded from the Rockets to the Grizzlies? I wonder how Stevie Franchise's career would have gone if he had just stayed with the Grizzlies when they originally drafted him?)
More later.
-- D.S.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
List: My Top Sports Books of 2008
Just in time for the holidays, it's time for my annual year-end Best Sports Books of the Year list.
Here is what I know: This may or may not turn out to be the best year ever for sports bloggers publishing books, but it was certainly the best and biggest of the Internet Era so far.
The apex of sports blogging -- arguably -- in 2007 yielded a couple of very high-profile book deals; we finally saw those books published in 2008, and they delivered:
God Save The Fan (Will Leitch): Coda of the most influential sports writer of the decade. (Out in paperback next month.)
Men With Balls (Drew Magary): Bawdy and brilliant, just like KSK and his other online work.
The Macrophenomenal NBA Almanac (Free Darko): The essays are typically terrific, but the real genius is in the book's design.
(And John Gasaway and Ken Pomeroy joined the esteemed "Prospectus" annual rotation with their insightful "College Basketball Prospectus" season preview.)
That's not to say there weren't several notable books produced by "mainstream sports media's" finest:
A Few Seconds of Panic (Stefan Fatsis): My favorite "traditional" book of the year, this was a gripping, fascinating read about a guy like you or me in the NFL -- or, more specifically, at its margins.
Big Book of Baseball Legends (Rob Neyer): The latest in Neyer's "Big Book" series, it might be my favorite and his most accessible. Rob is the original online sports columnist -- I was torn by his recent admission into the Baseball Writers Association of America.
I'm sure there were others. And, for one more year, my own book goes unpublished. (I know I've got it in me! Ahh: Maybe '09.)
Put any recommendations of your own in the Comments.
-- D.S.
UPDATE: Wow, how could I forget Tom Farrey's remarkable and provocative "Game On!" Loved that book, by my longtime friend and ESPN colleague.
Here is what I know: This may or may not turn out to be the best year ever for sports bloggers publishing books, but it was certainly the best and biggest of the Internet Era so far.
The apex of sports blogging -- arguably -- in 2007 yielded a couple of very high-profile book deals; we finally saw those books published in 2008, and they delivered:
God Save The Fan (Will Leitch): Coda of the most influential sports writer of the decade. (Out in paperback next month.)
Men With Balls (Drew Magary): Bawdy and brilliant, just like KSK and his other online work.
The Macrophenomenal NBA Almanac (Free Darko): The essays are typically terrific, but the real genius is in the book's design.
(And John Gasaway and Ken Pomeroy joined the esteemed "Prospectus" annual rotation with their insightful "College Basketball Prospectus" season preview.)
That's not to say there weren't several notable books produced by "mainstream sports media's" finest:
A Few Seconds of Panic (Stefan Fatsis): My favorite "traditional" book of the year, this was a gripping, fascinating read about a guy like you or me in the NFL -- or, more specifically, at its margins.
Big Book of Baseball Legends (Rob Neyer): The latest in Neyer's "Big Book" series, it might be my favorite and his most accessible. Rob is the original online sports columnist -- I was torn by his recent admission into the Baseball Writers Association of America.
I'm sure there were others. And, for one more year, my own book goes unpublished. (I know I've got it in me! Ahh: Maybe '09.)
Put any recommendations of your own in the Comments.
-- D.S.
UPDATE: Wow, how could I forget Tom Farrey's remarkable and provocative "Game On!" Loved that book, by my longtime friend and ESPN colleague.
Wednesday 12/24 A.M. Quickie:
Teixeira, TCU, Portland St, Celtics, Plax
UPDATE: I cannot believe I missed Festivus yesterday. I hang my head in shame. Add it to your "Airing of Grievances" about me from this past year that I'm sure happened yesterday.
I have been using this line for months. Now, for the last time, because at this point the phrase has been stretched -- by the Yankees -- to its bleeding edge of reason:
What recession?
The Yankees are making a mockery that we're in a recession/depression/whatever-it-is. I think Hal and Hank Steinbrenner should be named co-Secretaries of Treasury, because they obviously know something that we don't, and it involves massive spending:
It is the Yankees' own version of an economic stimulus package.
One non-playoff season and the team goes absolutely crazy: $140M for Sabathia. $85M for Burnett. Now $180M for Teixeira.
Overreaction much? What happened to last season's plan to implement financial restraint?
Instead, the Yankees have catapulted themselves into a previously unknown stratosphere of payroll spending, not just in baseball, but in all of team sports.
Meanwhile, what a surprise: All we heard was Red Sox-Nats-Orioles-Angels... so much for the crackerjack reporting by the legion of mainstream baseball reporters out there. It's the biggest signing of the offseason, and fans had no heads-up about it. You know? I actually like being surprised. Too much news in sports is a fait d'accompli.
Sure hope they win a championship from all this. I'd hate to see what would happen if they didn't.
(Actually, no I wouldn't. And I think most of us can agree that we are much more intrigued by what would/will happen if they DO miss the playoffs or miss a championship than if they win the World Series.)
Just in time for Christmas: What recession?
All we need to see now is the Yankees signing Manny for a short 2-3 year deal and everything about the Yankees Economic Stimulus Package will be complete.
(And, yet: The Yankees are doing one of the best promotions of 2009. For the April 3-4 exhibition series against the Cubs opening the Stadium, bleacher seats will be a quarter and grandstand seats will be $1.10, the price they were when Yankee Stadium first opened. Yeah, good luck getting your hands on those...)
Poinsettia Bowl: TCU grinds down Boise State. If you watched the first quarter of the TCU-Boise State game, you would have seen Boise in control -- maybe you would have even thought about how high the Broncos could end up in the polls. Then TCU did what they do best: They wore 'em down. They kept it close. They played amazing D. They won the game.
And now TCU stakes its claim as the best non-BCS team in the country -- with only a close loss to Utah ruining its season (UPDATE: Oh, and Oklahoma...I had forgotten, maybe because I don't consider Oklahoma to be on the radar as a great team...jokes!). If Utah gets blown out by Alabama, would you jump TCU over the team that beat them?
For Boise State, they were barely on the wrong end of a spirited effort, keeping them from an unbeaten season and a claim that they should have been in a BCS-level bowl. But I'd say that both Boise State and TCU proved that they are BCS-quality teams. TCU will make the Top 10 in my final Top 25 rankings. Boise St won't drop far.
(Bowling tonight: Notre Dame vs. Hawaii. Pass. I've got a date with Chinese food and "A Christmas Story." With 9 straight bowl losses on their record, Notre Dame can't do much worse. When their offensive coordinator was hired yesterday to coach Miami-Ohio, I found that curious: Wasn't ND's offense this year horrible? Eh: Must have been Weis's fault. I fully support the hiring -- anyone who was the recruiting coordinator at Texas is OK by me. Um: Gene Chizik wasn't the recruiting coordinator when he was there, was he?)
Portland State shocks Gonzaga in Spokane: Know the name -- Jeremiah Dominguez, a 5-foot-6 senior for PSU who just lit up the Zags. He scored 25 points, including an eye-popping 7/10 on 3s. (Great detail: Because of weather issues, Portland State got to the game only 3 hours early and didn't have a shootaround.)
More road goodness: Butler beats Xavier in Cincinnati, which would have been a nice-sized upset to discuss today -- if not for Portland State. (By the way, that's 2 losses in a row for 2 teams that I was demonstrably in the tank for this season. And that doesn't even count Louisville -- my preseason pick to win it all -- losing to Minnesota on Saturday.)
Even more: Wisconsin may not be as good as they have been in years past -- and Texas could be better (even better than the Durant or Augustine teams of the past 2 seasons) -- but Madison is still a hell of a tough place for an opposing team to win. After losing to Michigan State on Saturday in Texas, the Longhorns return the favor in Big Ten country.
Speaking of Big Ten hotness this season (which Wisco wasn't able to hold up), Illinois thumped Missouri last night in the Braggin Rights game in St. Louis. Illinois has owned Mizzou in this series recently, but it's another sign of just how unexpectedly strong the Big Ten is this season.
Celtics win 19th in a row: They have done it so seemingly effortlessly that you forget that they have just accomplished something that no other Celtics team -- not the Cousy/Russell dynasty of the 60s, not the Bird dynasty of the 80s -- was able to do. They are so focused. Tomorrow's game against the Lakers can/should/will be epic.
Full slate of NBA last night: The Lakers seem to be back on track (beating the Hornets), just in time for tomorrow's game against the C's... The Cavs still haven't lost at home (beat the Rockets behind LeBron's 27-9-5, all leading the team)... Yes, that was Rodney Stuckey scoring 40; meanwhile, an injured AI went without a made FG for only the 2nd time in his career... Triple-double for Joe Johnson (20-11-11)... Buzzer-beater: Devin Harris, leading the Nets over the Pacers... God, the Wizards are truly terrible.
Plaxico Update: It actually gets worse! Cops found a cache of weapons and ammo at Burress's house. He is so screwed.
Lance Armstrong is going to have a big 2009: He isn't just going to race in the Tour de France, but he is going to have a baby with his girlfriend, Anna Hansen. Why do I think Lance can afford to hire the help to let him avoid the overnight wake-up fussiness (what? oh, wait: I meant "amazingness") that is new fatherhood.
More later.
-- D.S.
I have been using this line for months. Now, for the last time, because at this point the phrase has been stretched -- by the Yankees -- to its bleeding edge of reason:
What recession?
The Yankees are making a mockery that we're in a recession/depression/whatever-it-is. I think Hal and Hank Steinbrenner should be named co-Secretaries of Treasury, because they obviously know something that we don't, and it involves massive spending:
It is the Yankees' own version of an economic stimulus package.
One non-playoff season and the team goes absolutely crazy: $140M for Sabathia. $85M for Burnett. Now $180M for Teixeira.
Overreaction much? What happened to last season's plan to implement financial restraint?
Instead, the Yankees have catapulted themselves into a previously unknown stratosphere of payroll spending, not just in baseball, but in all of team sports.
Meanwhile, what a surprise: All we heard was Red Sox-Nats-Orioles-Angels... so much for the crackerjack reporting by the legion of mainstream baseball reporters out there. It's the biggest signing of the offseason, and fans had no heads-up about it. You know? I actually like being surprised. Too much news in sports is a fait d'accompli.
Sure hope they win a championship from all this. I'd hate to see what would happen if they didn't.
(Actually, no I wouldn't. And I think most of us can agree that we are much more intrigued by what would/will happen if they DO miss the playoffs or miss a championship than if they win the World Series.)
Just in time for Christmas: What recession?
All we need to see now is the Yankees signing Manny for a short 2-3 year deal and everything about the Yankees Economic Stimulus Package will be complete.
(And, yet: The Yankees are doing one of the best promotions of 2009. For the April 3-4 exhibition series against the Cubs opening the Stadium, bleacher seats will be a quarter and grandstand seats will be $1.10, the price they were when Yankee Stadium first opened. Yeah, good luck getting your hands on those...)
Poinsettia Bowl: TCU grinds down Boise State. If you watched the first quarter of the TCU-Boise State game, you would have seen Boise in control -- maybe you would have even thought about how high the Broncos could end up in the polls. Then TCU did what they do best: They wore 'em down. They kept it close. They played amazing D. They won the game.
And now TCU stakes its claim as the best non-BCS team in the country -- with only a close loss to Utah ruining its season (UPDATE: Oh, and Oklahoma...I had forgotten, maybe because I don't consider Oklahoma to be on the radar as a great team...jokes!). If Utah gets blown out by Alabama, would you jump TCU over the team that beat them?
For Boise State, they were barely on the wrong end of a spirited effort, keeping them from an unbeaten season and a claim that they should have been in a BCS-level bowl. But I'd say that both Boise State and TCU proved that they are BCS-quality teams. TCU will make the Top 10 in my final Top 25 rankings. Boise St won't drop far.
(Bowling tonight: Notre Dame vs. Hawaii. Pass. I've got a date with Chinese food and "A Christmas Story." With 9 straight bowl losses on their record, Notre Dame can't do much worse. When their offensive coordinator was hired yesterday to coach Miami-Ohio, I found that curious: Wasn't ND's offense this year horrible? Eh: Must have been Weis's fault. I fully support the hiring -- anyone who was the recruiting coordinator at Texas is OK by me. Um: Gene Chizik wasn't the recruiting coordinator when he was there, was he?)
Portland State shocks Gonzaga in Spokane: Know the name -- Jeremiah Dominguez, a 5-foot-6 senior for PSU who just lit up the Zags. He scored 25 points, including an eye-popping 7/10 on 3s. (Great detail: Because of weather issues, Portland State got to the game only 3 hours early and didn't have a shootaround.)
More road goodness: Butler beats Xavier in Cincinnati, which would have been a nice-sized upset to discuss today -- if not for Portland State. (By the way, that's 2 losses in a row for 2 teams that I was demonstrably in the tank for this season. And that doesn't even count Louisville -- my preseason pick to win it all -- losing to Minnesota on Saturday.)
Even more: Wisconsin may not be as good as they have been in years past -- and Texas could be better (even better than the Durant or Augustine teams of the past 2 seasons) -- but Madison is still a hell of a tough place for an opposing team to win. After losing to Michigan State on Saturday in Texas, the Longhorns return the favor in Big Ten country.
Speaking of Big Ten hotness this season (which Wisco wasn't able to hold up), Illinois thumped Missouri last night in the Braggin Rights game in St. Louis. Illinois has owned Mizzou in this series recently, but it's another sign of just how unexpectedly strong the Big Ten is this season.
Celtics win 19th in a row: They have done it so seemingly effortlessly that you forget that they have just accomplished something that no other Celtics team -- not the Cousy/Russell dynasty of the 60s, not the Bird dynasty of the 80s -- was able to do. They are so focused. Tomorrow's game against the Lakers can/should/will be epic.
Full slate of NBA last night: The Lakers seem to be back on track (beating the Hornets), just in time for tomorrow's game against the C's... The Cavs still haven't lost at home (beat the Rockets behind LeBron's 27-9-5, all leading the team)... Yes, that was Rodney Stuckey scoring 40; meanwhile, an injured AI went without a made FG for only the 2nd time in his career... Triple-double for Joe Johnson (20-11-11)... Buzzer-beater: Devin Harris, leading the Nets over the Pacers... God, the Wizards are truly terrible.
Plaxico Update: It actually gets worse! Cops found a cache of weapons and ammo at Burress's house. He is so screwed.
Lance Armstrong is going to have a big 2009: He isn't just going to race in the Tour de France, but he is going to have a baby with his girlfriend, Anna Hansen. Why do I think Lance can afford to hire the help to let him avoid the overnight wake-up fussiness (what? oh, wait: I meant "amazingness") that is new fatherhood.
More later.
-- D.S.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Tuesday 12/23 A.M. Quickie:
Bears, NBA Xmas, Bolts-Broncs, Okla, More
So today was my final SN column of the holiday week -- expect expanded coverage here the rest of the week (for those of you still checking your favorite blogs over the holiday).
As such, the column previewed the week ahead:
Was it too much to say that the Broncos are headed for the worst choke-job in NFL history? The gold standard is that 1992 Wild Card game (held in Jan '93) between the Bills and Oilers.
In a way, this is worse: It's not just a collapse in a single half; it's a collapse over the final 3 games of the season. At the same time, the Chargers have had to rally from 4-8 -- if they make the playoffs, that alone is a first. It's not a sexy game, necessarily, but it's as meaningful as it gets in the NFL regular season.
Meanwhile, Bears fans who made it through that frozen OT win last night will probably unthaw this morning feeling good -- but not great. In addition to winning at Houston next week, the Bears need to see the Vikings lose to the Giants... and the Giants have nothing to play for except health of their starters, which means don't expect much more than exhibition-style tuning.
Also this week: The NBA on Christmas Day, which has become an annual tradition on par with the NFL on Thanksgiving and college football on New Year's Day. I'd argue that Thursday's slate of games is as compelling a quadruple-header as the league has ever produced. Celtics-Lakers may set a new high for TV ratings, certainly in the Internet Era.
The college bowls this week are fairly weak -- except tonight: Boise State vs. TCU, in a battle of two teams worthy of the Top 10, two of the Top 3 non-BCS teams, a fantastic offense (Boise) vs. a fantastic D (TCU), and a certain Top 10 finish for the winner (and, if it's Boise State, an unbeaten season). Should be an absolutely awesome game.
College hoops this week is also fairly weak -- tonight's Missouri-Illinois Bragging Rights game is the best of the week. The way the Big Ten is playing right now, don't be surprised if Illinois wins. Is there anything more surprising this season than the success of the Big Ten?
Complete column here. More later. I spent the last 2 days driving from Gainesville to New York City, so there was much time to contemplate.
-- D.S.
As such, the column previewed the week ahead:
Was it too much to say that the Broncos are headed for the worst choke-job in NFL history? The gold standard is that 1992 Wild Card game (held in Jan '93) between the Bills and Oilers.
In a way, this is worse: It's not just a collapse in a single half; it's a collapse over the final 3 games of the season. At the same time, the Chargers have had to rally from 4-8 -- if they make the playoffs, that alone is a first. It's not a sexy game, necessarily, but it's as meaningful as it gets in the NFL regular season.
Meanwhile, Bears fans who made it through that frozen OT win last night will probably unthaw this morning feeling good -- but not great. In addition to winning at Houston next week, the Bears need to see the Vikings lose to the Giants... and the Giants have nothing to play for except health of their starters, which means don't expect much more than exhibition-style tuning.
Also this week: The NBA on Christmas Day, which has become an annual tradition on par with the NFL on Thanksgiving and college football on New Year's Day. I'd argue that Thursday's slate of games is as compelling a quadruple-header as the league has ever produced. Celtics-Lakers may set a new high for TV ratings, certainly in the Internet Era.
The college bowls this week are fairly weak -- except tonight: Boise State vs. TCU, in a battle of two teams worthy of the Top 10, two of the Top 3 non-BCS teams, a fantastic offense (Boise) vs. a fantastic D (TCU), and a certain Top 10 finish for the winner (and, if it's Boise State, an unbeaten season). Should be an absolutely awesome game.
College hoops this week is also fairly weak -- tonight's Missouri-Illinois Bragging Rights game is the best of the week. The way the Big Ten is playing right now, don't be surprised if Illinois wins. Is there anything more surprising this season than the success of the Big Ten?
Complete column here. More later. I spent the last 2 days driving from Gainesville to New York City, so there was much time to contemplate.
-- D.S.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Monday 12/22 A.M. Quickie:
Giants, Titans, AFC West, AFC East, Lions
Wow, now that was a great day of NFL. It's really too bad I spent the entire day on the road traveling. Today's SN column can be found here, and it's loaded:
*AFC West: Denver's chokery sets up a Week 17 playoff game.
*AFC East: Schadenfavre AND the Pats don't control their own destiny!
*NFC East: The Eagles totally ruined a perfectly good Cowboys disaster scene.
And that doesn't even consider the top two teams in each conference -- the Giants and Titans -- coming up with HUGE wins over their leading conference rivals.
More:
*God, won't someone please stop the Celtics?
*Southern Miss WR injury: Yeesh.
*Manny to the Yankees today or tomorrow?
Sorry for the short post this morning. More later.
-- D.S.
*AFC West: Denver's chokery sets up a Week 17 playoff game.
*AFC East: Schadenfavre AND the Pats don't control their own destiny!
*NFC East: The Eagles totally ruined a perfectly good Cowboys disaster scene.
And that doesn't even consider the top two teams in each conference -- the Giants and Titans -- coming up with HUGE wins over their leading conference rivals.
More:
*God, won't someone please stop the Celtics?
*Southern Miss WR injury: Yeesh.
*Manny to the Yankees today or tomorrow?
Sorry for the short post this morning. More later.
-- D.S.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Sunday 12/21 (Very) Quickie
I could complain about the weather in the Northeast ruining my travel plans today, but then I think about Cowboys fans and I realize things could be so much worse.
Dallas fans have no one to blame but their own team -- they controlled their own destiny, then let the Ravens come in and close down their stadium, literally running them over.
The Cowboys' D -- so good a week ago -- was porous when it counted most. Romo TD pass? McGahee TD for 77 on the very next play. Another Romo TD pass? McClain TD for 82 on the very next play. The Ravens wanted it more -- a tough indictment, as Dallas was playing for its playoff life.
Now, Dallas has to go to Philly and beat the Eagles in the season finale, when the Eagles are playing as well or better than any other team in the NFC -- with their own playoff fate on the line. Even then, both the Cowboys and the Eagles could need help.
(Meanwhile, the Ravens control their own destiny -- all they have to do is beat the Jaguars in Baltimore next week and they are in. That makes the AFC East race that much more insane, because it looks like only the division champ will make the playoffs from that group of three.)
College Hoops Amazingness: Of the great batch of games on the slate, who would have guessed that the most intriguing result would come when Minnesota -- still unbeaten -- beat No. 9 Louisville?
UConn-Gonzaga lived up to its billing: An OT thriller with the Huskies coming back from 11 down with 12 to play to beat Gonzaga in Seattle. Locally, I was stuck watching Purdue stifle Stephen Curry to the point that I'm not even sure he can be considered one of the Top 5 players in the country anymore -- 5/26 FG, 2/12 3-pt, 13 pts. Purdue put on a defensive clinic.
Meanwhile, was I saying that Xavier-Duke would be a great one? Hardly. Duke won handily, and even though I'm a hater, I'm ready to call it a Statement Game for Duke. Instead, at 2, it was that Michigan St-Texas game that was the thriller. And another "statement" win, this time for MSU... Finally, Player of the Day honors weren't even won until the evening, when Jonny Flynn scored 24 with 6 assists and Syracuse (without Devendorf) went down to Memphis and beat the Tigers.
CFB Bowl Mania Studs: Colorado State RB Gartrell Johnson, who had 285 yards rushing (2nd-most ever in a bowl game) and 375 yards combined rushing and receiving (which WAS an FBS bowl record). And South Florida QB Matt Grothe, who had 236 yards passing (with 3 TDs) and 83 yards rushing, to become -- temporarily -- the Big East career total offense leader. (At least until Pat White takes it back later this week.)
NBA: Is LeBron leaning toward re-signing with the Cavs early, based on this amazing start? More likely, he is playing Cavs fans -- teasing them with the prospects, knowing that he doesn't want them eyeing the team's amazing start with the cynical view that he could be gone in 2010. I'm sure LeBron is simply manipulating the p.r. here, just as sure as I am that he is still as good as gone in 2010.
(Meanwhile, yes, the Celtics are sick, but my pick of the Magic as East champs isn't that far off, based on the way they beat back the Lakers -- Kobe had a season-high 41 -- in Orlando. Yes, LA was playing a back-to-back after that fight in Miami on Friday night. Still, a big win for the O.)
Stay warm and/or dry and/or out of the nasty weather today, folks.
-- D.S.
Dallas fans have no one to blame but their own team -- they controlled their own destiny, then let the Ravens come in and close down their stadium, literally running them over.
The Cowboys' D -- so good a week ago -- was porous when it counted most. Romo TD pass? McGahee TD for 77 on the very next play. Another Romo TD pass? McClain TD for 82 on the very next play. The Ravens wanted it more -- a tough indictment, as Dallas was playing for its playoff life.
Now, Dallas has to go to Philly and beat the Eagles in the season finale, when the Eagles are playing as well or better than any other team in the NFC -- with their own playoff fate on the line. Even then, both the Cowboys and the Eagles could need help.
(Meanwhile, the Ravens control their own destiny -- all they have to do is beat the Jaguars in Baltimore next week and they are in. That makes the AFC East race that much more insane, because it looks like only the division champ will make the playoffs from that group of three.)
College Hoops Amazingness: Of the great batch of games on the slate, who would have guessed that the most intriguing result would come when Minnesota -- still unbeaten -- beat No. 9 Louisville?
UConn-Gonzaga lived up to its billing: An OT thriller with the Huskies coming back from 11 down with 12 to play to beat Gonzaga in Seattle. Locally, I was stuck watching Purdue stifle Stephen Curry to the point that I'm not even sure he can be considered one of the Top 5 players in the country anymore -- 5/26 FG, 2/12 3-pt, 13 pts. Purdue put on a defensive clinic.
Meanwhile, was I saying that Xavier-Duke would be a great one? Hardly. Duke won handily, and even though I'm a hater, I'm ready to call it a Statement Game for Duke. Instead, at 2, it was that Michigan St-Texas game that was the thriller. And another "statement" win, this time for MSU... Finally, Player of the Day honors weren't even won until the evening, when Jonny Flynn scored 24 with 6 assists and Syracuse (without Devendorf) went down to Memphis and beat the Tigers.
CFB Bowl Mania Studs: Colorado State RB Gartrell Johnson, who had 285 yards rushing (2nd-most ever in a bowl game) and 375 yards combined rushing and receiving (which WAS an FBS bowl record). And South Florida QB Matt Grothe, who had 236 yards passing (with 3 TDs) and 83 yards rushing, to become -- temporarily -- the Big East career total offense leader. (At least until Pat White takes it back later this week.)
NBA: Is LeBron leaning toward re-signing with the Cavs early, based on this amazing start? More likely, he is playing Cavs fans -- teasing them with the prospects, knowing that he doesn't want them eyeing the team's amazing start with the cynical view that he could be gone in 2010. I'm sure LeBron is simply manipulating the p.r. here, just as sure as I am that he is still as good as gone in 2010.
(Meanwhile, yes, the Celtics are sick, but my pick of the Magic as East champs isn't that far off, based on the way they beat back the Lakers -- Kobe had a season-high 41 -- in Orlando. Yes, LA was playing a back-to-back after that fight in Miami on Friday night. Still, a big win for the O.)
Stay warm and/or dry and/or out of the nasty weather today, folks.
-- D.S.
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