By Brendan Hall
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff
By now, we’ve heard every argument and counter-argument.
“The computers are accurate.” There are many factors the computers don’t take into consideration.
“Getting rid of bowl games would exterminate years of tradition.” You whored out all the tradition years ago.
The BCS sucks. “No, it doesn’t.”
At this point, I’ve become numb to the BCS mishaps – it’s comedy at this point. When Oregon pounded Cal, and the Golden Bears hardly dropped, most of this country was up in arms. I sat back and laughed. Oh, BCS, you clown you. I’ve become immune to college football’s cantankerous drivel the way diseases will be immune to penicillin by the year 2200.
Boise State is coming in at No. 5 in this week’s AP poll, and they’ve got plenty of trap games left on their plate – Nevada and Fresno State come to mind. Logic says they’ll get caught looking at the big picture and stumble, and they’ll fall out of the championship contention.
Rinse and repeat for Houston (see: Houston, Tulsa, SMU, UAB).
Until these old farts handing in the ballots step down or die off, it’s going to be a steep uphill climb to get these “voters” to change their ways – you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, as my father would say.
I propose a more radical idea. Call me crazy, but just listen to the plan.
Ignore it.
All it takes is one news organization to start the ball rolling. Remember what a stir Bill Ballou caused when he immediately wrote Hideki Matsui out of the AL Rookie of the Year voting in 2003? Just imagine what would happen if, say, ESPN or SI decided not to recognize the BCS champ as the national champion.
No, you say? Impossible?
OK, here’s a more novel idea.
The myth that these “mid-major” conferences can’t hang is slowly eroding. I can’t pinpoint where this actually got steamrolling – right around 2002, maybe, when lowly Louisville knocked off Florida St.? – but the Mountain West, WAC and Conference-USA have closed the gap big-time. From herein, we’re going to see a whole lot more 2008 Utah’s than 2007 Hawaii’s.
These schools recruit just as hard, if not harder, and uncover gem after gem. In an age where high school juniors are verbally committing to schools unseen on September 1, they capitalize on the late bloomers, overlooked overachievers and unsung heroes.
But instead of punishing them for what they were in 1959, let’s reward them for what they are in 2009: legit conferences who may not be a wholesome top to bottom, but can definitely hang at the top.
So here’s the deal: if the conference has a school finish in the Top 15 for three consecutive years, that conference gets an automatic bid for the next two. That means the Mountain West and WAC finally get bids they deserve, but keeps them hungry. If you want to keep the bid, keep scheduling hard or you’ll lose it.
What do you think?
***
You know your basketball program’s a circus sideshow when the very entities you characterize the program as get offended. Allow me to explain…
This letter appeared in today’s Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin, which covers the Bearcats’ crip set, er, basketball squad. The school’s AD called the basketball program “a zoo”, and the local zoo got offended that he would compare them to such mongrels.
What I find funny about all these reactions about the program being a shame, is that everybody knew what they were getting into when they decided to go big-time. You don’t just make an NCAA Tournament overnight without cutting a few corners and bringing on some lunatics – just ask Jerry Tarkanian or John Calipari.
But this letter cracks me up. Bravo. Among the greatest hits:
“Not one of our tigers has done cocaine.”
“No otter knocks over old ladies to shoplift condoms.”
If sewer rats could talk, just imagine what they’d say to Linda Tripp.
***
Paul Finebaum, that flat-earth knucklehead at the Mobile Press-Register, strikes again. Which reminds me of a joke I came up with last night:
Q: Paul Finebaum, Mike Freeman and Andrew Perloff all jump off a cliff at the same time. Who lands first?
A: Nobody cares.
I digress. Hating on the Finebaums and Freemans of the world is like beating Tekken with Eddy Gordo, and this is why. I mean, seriously Mike Freeman, did Randy Moss run over your dog or something?
Am I bitter? No, just disappointed in the fact that Rick Reilly makes a million dollars to sit on his ass all day while I bust my ass as a deeply-sourced freelance writer who writes clean, fluff-free copy. What do I have to do to get some attention around here, pull a Jemele Hill?
Yep, still digressing…
Friday, October 2, 2009
Oregon eyeing an about-face
By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff
It seems like a long time ago now, but it was only about a month and a half ago.
After getting contained by Boise State in a 19-8 season-opening loss, Oregon starting tailback LaGarrette Blount delivered a punch to the chin of Byron Hout after the defensive end appeared to taunt him. He followed that up with what I find to be the more egregious offense, trying to get into the stands to go after fans, needing to be restrained by police and security personnel on his way to the locker room.
A day later Blount was suspended for the season by a unified head coach, Athletic Director and University President. Head coach Chip Kelly said reinstatement was not an option. In essence, the senior's college career was over.
Some believe Blount's punishment doesn't fit the crime and I can understand the argument that he was simply being made an example of. But I sided with the university on this one and I will always lean towards hard penalties if it means getting thuggery and buffoonery out of the game. The suspension seemed especially warranted given Blount's past history of behavioral problems. This was not a good guy who just lost his cool. This was a problem child just adding another bullet to his resume.
At that point, in the back of Oregon's mind had to be the same thought that everyone else had - the Ducks are done. But since the ugly incident on the Smurf Turf (both on the field and after the game), the Ducks haven't lost. They've won three straight, including a drubbing of Cal, holding the dynamic Golden Bears offense to three points.
The success has put the Ducks back up into the No. 16 spot they held before the season began. It also seems to have spurred a change in heart in the Oregon administration and coaching staff.
According to ESPN, who first broke the story Thursday, Blount could be reinstated at some point this season. The source who talked to ESPN said that Blount has impressed high-profile football people like Tony Dungy and Jon Gruden, but let's be real here. If Oregon was not in the Pac-10 hunt, Blount would not be even close to sniffing the field.
But especially now after beating Cal and USC reeling a bit, Oregon has a chance to snatch the Pac-10 title and a major bowl bid. The hardest part of their schedule is done. The timing couldn't be better. After Washington State and UCLA the next two weeks, the Ducks have a bye week, allowing Blount, who has been practicing with the team anyway, to get up to full speed in practice with the first team. They follow the bye week with the two toughest teams they have left on their schedule - Washington and USC. A good time to have fresh legs of Blount's caliber at your disposal.
This move is so transparent that the members of Oregon's administration and coaching staff should be ashamed of themselves. They can say all they want about Blount maturing and following the program they laid out for him, but the real thing that is going to get Blount on the field is the dollar signs. In terms of pure football ability, Blount gives the Ducks the best chance to win the conference and get to a bowl game. That equals huge amounts of money for the university.
As it stands, Oregon is one of three teams - and the only ranked team - in the Pac-10 without an in-conference loss. Stanford still has three games against ranked teams - including Oregon - as does Arizona. To think that either of these teams is going to get through conference play without a blemish is extremely optimistic and quite honestly bordering on fantasy.
This is a calculated move by Oregon. In a best-case scenario, USC knocks off Cal this weekend, giving the Bears two conference losses. Oregon does what it has to do until the USC game, then beats the Trojans, giving them two losses. In this scenario, as long as Oregon avoids hiccups the rest of the way, the Ducks could be the only team in the conference to go undefeated in the league.
Move past all the posturing about the progress Blount has made as a person and how his new baby has changed him and realize that this is all about football and about a pay day. Oregon made a strong statement when it suspended Blount and gave many hope that someone was finally taking a stand. But this move just proves that when it all comes down to it, Oregon is just like pretty much any other major university in the country and that they're willing to forfeit values for cash.
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff
It seems like a long time ago now, but it was only about a month and a half ago.
After getting contained by Boise State in a 19-8 season-opening loss, Oregon starting tailback LaGarrette Blount delivered a punch to the chin of Byron Hout after the defensive end appeared to taunt him. He followed that up with what I find to be the more egregious offense, trying to get into the stands to go after fans, needing to be restrained by police and security personnel on his way to the locker room.
A day later Blount was suspended for the season by a unified head coach, Athletic Director and University President. Head coach Chip Kelly said reinstatement was not an option. In essence, the senior's college career was over.
Some believe Blount's punishment doesn't fit the crime and I can understand the argument that he was simply being made an example of. But I sided with the university on this one and I will always lean towards hard penalties if it means getting thuggery and buffoonery out of the game. The suspension seemed especially warranted given Blount's past history of behavioral problems. This was not a good guy who just lost his cool. This was a problem child just adding another bullet to his resume.
At that point, in the back of Oregon's mind had to be the same thought that everyone else had - the Ducks are done. But since the ugly incident on the Smurf Turf (both on the field and after the game), the Ducks haven't lost. They've won three straight, including a drubbing of Cal, holding the dynamic Golden Bears offense to three points.
The success has put the Ducks back up into the No. 16 spot they held before the season began. It also seems to have spurred a change in heart in the Oregon administration and coaching staff.
According to ESPN, who first broke the story Thursday, Blount could be reinstated at some point this season. The source who talked to ESPN said that Blount has impressed high-profile football people like Tony Dungy and Jon Gruden, but let's be real here. If Oregon was not in the Pac-10 hunt, Blount would not be even close to sniffing the field.
But especially now after beating Cal and USC reeling a bit, Oregon has a chance to snatch the Pac-10 title and a major bowl bid. The hardest part of their schedule is done. The timing couldn't be better. After Washington State and UCLA the next two weeks, the Ducks have a bye week, allowing Blount, who has been practicing with the team anyway, to get up to full speed in practice with the first team. They follow the bye week with the two toughest teams they have left on their schedule - Washington and USC. A good time to have fresh legs of Blount's caliber at your disposal.
This move is so transparent that the members of Oregon's administration and coaching staff should be ashamed of themselves. They can say all they want about Blount maturing and following the program they laid out for him, but the real thing that is going to get Blount on the field is the dollar signs. In terms of pure football ability, Blount gives the Ducks the best chance to win the conference and get to a bowl game. That equals huge amounts of money for the university.
As it stands, Oregon is one of three teams - and the only ranked team - in the Pac-10 without an in-conference loss. Stanford still has three games against ranked teams - including Oregon - as does Arizona. To think that either of these teams is going to get through conference play without a blemish is extremely optimistic and quite honestly bordering on fantasy.
This is a calculated move by Oregon. In a best-case scenario, USC knocks off Cal this weekend, giving the Bears two conference losses. Oregon does what it has to do until the USC game, then beats the Trojans, giving them two losses. In this scenario, as long as Oregon avoids hiccups the rest of the way, the Ducks could be the only team in the conference to go undefeated in the league.
Move past all the posturing about the progress Blount has made as a person and how his new baby has changed him and realize that this is all about football and about a pay day. Oregon made a strong statement when it suspended Blount and gave many hope that someone was finally taking a stand. But this move just proves that when it all comes down to it, Oregon is just like pretty much any other major university in the country and that they're willing to forfeit values for cash.
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