Um okay so i'm just using this to upload a photo and post it to another website
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
So...
Alright, so i haven't posted on here for a while. With reason. I started another blog with friends (The Matchup) and that kind of started well but has leveled off and we havent posted anything in forever either. So I started a new blog, geared towards something very specific instead of just general stuff that everyone else has covered. Its easy to get drowned in all the over information available by way of blogs now-a-days. So I wanted to make one based on the thing I know the most (well, second most about--Hokie football takes the cake easily).
I started a NHL Blog mainly focusing on the Red Wings. If you want to check it out, its here
Maybe I'll return to this one to write some random stuff or to focus on football when it starts up again, who knows. But for the meantime, if you want to read my stuff, check out the link above.
I started a NHL Blog mainly focusing on the Red Wings. If you want to check it out, its here
Maybe I'll return to this one to write some random stuff or to focus on football when it starts up again, who knows. But for the meantime, if you want to read my stuff, check out the link above.
Friday, January 30, 2009
So I'm still pretty upset
So I'm still pretty upset with how my Hokies threw away last night's game against #11 Clemson after a 15 point lead. The defense must improve.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Yankees are overpaying Sabathia
Time will tell if CC Sabathia is worth $160 million.
In my opinion, no athlete is worth that much. I get that they entertain us and win games and championships,etc. but $160 million over 7 years? There is no way anyone should make that much money as an athlete. Say he pitches in 30 games and averages 7 innings per outing, that is about $250,000 for every out he gets. Well more than the majority of the people in the US don't make that in a year. We're overpaying our athletes by incredible amounts. But I digress...
I think the biggest part of this is that the Yankees had to overpay for Sabathia to come there. Forget for a second that I'm a Red Sox fan, the Yankees aren't what they used to be and I don't think just one starting pitcher added is going to bring them back to prominence. If Sabathia does bring them back, maybe he's worth the money. It still remains to be seen if the Yankees will add anyone else to their bullpen but lets take a look at who they have now. CC Sabathia as the clear cut ace on the staff, Joba Chamberlain is still relatively unproven as a starter, and Chien-Ming Wang is the only pitcher who's been worth anything really (except for the recently retired Mike Mussina). Its hard to win championships with 2-3 consistent starters.
With Giambi and Abreu gone, that pretty much leaves the Yankees with A-Rod as the only consistent power hitter in the line-up. Not gonna cut it. Unless the Yanks make some big moves to bolster their offense, Sabathia can only do so much for this team...unless they let him hit too?
In my opinion, no athlete is worth that much. I get that they entertain us and win games and championships,etc. but $160 million over 7 years? There is no way anyone should make that much money as an athlete. Say he pitches in 30 games and averages 7 innings per outing, that is about $250,000 for every out he gets. Well more than the majority of the people in the US don't make that in a year. We're overpaying our athletes by incredible amounts. But I digress...
I think the biggest part of this is that the Yankees had to overpay for Sabathia to come there. Forget for a second that I'm a Red Sox fan, the Yankees aren't what they used to be and I don't think just one starting pitcher added is going to bring them back to prominence. If Sabathia does bring them back, maybe he's worth the money. It still remains to be seen if the Yankees will add anyone else to their bullpen but lets take a look at who they have now. CC Sabathia as the clear cut ace on the staff, Joba Chamberlain is still relatively unproven as a starter, and Chien-Ming Wang is the only pitcher who's been worth anything really (except for the recently retired Mike Mussina). Its hard to win championships with 2-3 consistent starters.
With Giambi and Abreu gone, that pretty much leaves the Yankees with A-Rod as the only consistent power hitter in the line-up. Not gonna cut it. Unless the Yanks make some big moves to bolster their offense, Sabathia can only do so much for this team...unless they let him hit too?
Monday, December 8, 2008
Time to go Bowling
- I think the BCS game is actually the right pick for once. Shocking, I know. Granted I think Texas should have been in the Big 12 game instead of Oklahoma, the National Championship game is right though. The two champions of the two best conferences in football are playing for the National Championship.
- Although Utah is undefeated and very well has a claim to be playing in the National Championship after an unblemished record, at least they're not Boise State. The Broncos were left out of a BCS bowl discussion...again. I think Utah's schedule and how they won the games put them in place for at large bid. But what says the Ohio State deserves the remaining BCS at large over the Broncos?
Yeah, I know, they only lost 2 games and to very good teams in USC and Penn State but how does a team thats 12-0 get left out in favor of a 10-2 team? How does a #10 team get selected over a #9 team? Oh, revenue. Thats how. Look for a great game between the Broncos and TCU...its the best non-BCS matchup. - Virginia Tech won its 3rd ACC championship in 5 years..and they said the Hokies would hurt the ACC didn't they? I won't dwell on this too much since I am obviously biased towards the Hokies. I think a great amount of credit is due to the coaching staff this year and the ability to do what they did considering the amount of players lost to the NFL, suspensions, and injuries. Bud Foster proved once again that he is one of the best in the business as the Hokies finished 7th in total defense...after losing 4 starters to the NFL draft.
- Colt McCoy announced today that he's going to return for his senior season at UT. And why not? He already owns Longhorn passing records, why not try for all time records? But I don't think that's the reason he's returning. After the Longhorns went 11-1 this year and were left out of the National Championship, I think McCoy wants to prove next year that the Longhorns can win it all while he's there. He's already going to be a no-doubt first rounder in the NFL so barring a career ending injury he's got nothing to lose. Also, look for the Longhorns to make a point in the Fiesta Bowl. I know I know, "the Buckeyes have a good defense!" But they have seen nothing like McCoy and the Longhorns offense.
- One last thing, Hawaii fans, don't chant "overrated" until there's less than 2 minutes left in the game and you're up by more than 2 scores. Matt Ryan taught me that lesson unfortunately. All that does is fire the opposing team up. How did that 19 points that Cincy dropped on you in the 4th quarter feel? Not too good in the end I'd imagine.
Yeah, I know, they only lost 2 games and to very good teams in USC and Penn State but how does a team thats 12-0 get left out in favor of a 10-2 team? How does a #10 team get selected over a #9 team? Oh, Monday, December 1, 2008
Time for some NHL
So, we're a little more than a quarter of the way through the NHL season and we've seen some interesting things so far.
The Sharks are probably the best team in hockey right now. With a 20-3-1 record, they're clearly a cut above the rest of the league. Scoring an incredible 92 goals and only allowing 57, they're dominating the competition offensively and defensively. Evgeni Nabokov and Brian Boucher are both having solid years in net so far for the Sharks. Blake and Lukowich are big contributors on the defensive side while four of the Sharks forwards each have 10+ goals and seven players have 20+ points. This team is a good, solid, well rounded team. The only question that remains about their dominance is their division. Clearly the Stars aren't what they used to be and the Kings and Coyotes haven't been much of a threat in the past few years.
The aforementioned Stars are awful. Just as bad, the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Stars (8-11-4) are awful on offense and even worse defensively and in net. Marty Turco is not the stud that he was last year (this can change though). He's allowing over 3.4 goals a game which is just not good for a team that is not scoring 2.8 a game. This is clearly not the team that made it to the Western Conference Finals last year. I'm not sure what it is since they still have most of the big names from last year on the team still. Maybe its bad coaching? Maybe it was luck last year. Who knows? I think just as disappointing as the Stars are/is (stupid team with out a "s" on the end!") the Lightning. With the addition of Ryan Malone from the Pens and Olie the Goalie from the Caps, it looked like the Lightning would be going in the right direction under new (and mullet-sporting!) head coach Barry Melrose . Instead, Melrose was fired after just 16 games and Kolzig has been the second string goalie behind Mike Smith. Smith has better numbers than Kolzig but its still not enough. They've lost 9 out of their last 10 games (3 OT losses) and are just being dominated on offense and defense. I truly feel bad for Vinny LeCavalier. He's one of the better players in the league but is on a team that only has him, Malone, and Martin St. Louis producing points. Even worse news for the Lightning, other than the Caps the Southeast is the weakest division in the NHL.
On to the defending champs. I should note right now, in case you don't know, that the Wings are my team. However, this will be an attempt at an unbiased analysis of the season so far. The Wings are 15-4-4 so far with a good road record (10-2-2). Conklin and Osgood are not playing incredibly well so far in net, but they are getting the job done for the most part. Osgood has better numbers so far but that's also in more starts. 3 of the 4 regulation losses have come against teams over .500 including the Sharks and Bruins. Lately the Wings have stumbled a bit...according to the experts...but in the last 10 games they're 6-2-2. They're running into the true test of their skill though the next couple of games with tough Western Conference games, with the next four against teams over .500 . The reason I say that the Wings can repeat is pretty apparent. I'll admit, the division they play in is not the toughest in the league but it may be the most physical. The 'Hawks, Jackets, Blues and Preds are all teams that can wear you down with physical play and make the goals hard to come by. That being said, I think the Wings have the best skill level of any team in the league. They have their fair share of bruisers but they also have players that can just flat out put the puck in the back of the net. The addition of Hossa makes the level of talent hard to match in the forwards position. The Wings have always had a solid defense and I think its only going to get better with Stuart, Rafalski, and Kronwall going into year two in Hockeytown. I think the Wings have the skill, experience, and one of the best coaches in the NHL and will make it back to the Stanley Cup.
The Rangers are one of the teams that seemingly no one is talking about...for some reason. They're a little ahead of everyone else in terms of games played but still have 17 wins so far this year, second behind the Sharks. They've lost some games that they shouldn't have (Panthers, Stars, Oilers, Sabres) but they've also won some games that they weren't expected to (Flyers, Penguins, and Boston). The reason I say that the Rangers are underrated is that they're 17-8-2 with a fairly unknown cast and very few stars. Markus Naslund, Scott Gomez, and Henrik Lundquist are really the only names that stick out on the roster. Even more remarkable is how they've adapted to the departures of Brendan Shanahan and Jaromir Jagr. Nikolai Zherdev has stepped up and been the main point producer for the Rangers (along with Naslund). The strange thing about the Rangers is that they have only 5 players that are not in the negative column of +/- for the year. They're a hard team to figure out but they're also a good team. In the end though I think the Pens overtake them for the division but don't count them out of the playoffs.
If the Rangers are underrated, the Penguins are...well I don't even know a word to describe it. They're not dominating in the standings but are the best team in the Eastern Conference by far. They've lost some games that they had no business losing (Phoenix, Ottawa, and New Jersey) but then they've won games that they had no business winning...namely the 7-6 overtime win in the Stanley Cup rematch against the Red Wings on Nov 11. Scoring 4 goals in the 3rd period to tie the game and send it into overtime. This is the reason I think that the Penguins are by far the scariest team in the East. They definitely have the talent with Crosby, Malkin, Staal, Fedetenko, Talbot, and MAFluery. Even more important than the talent, they have the most desire out of any team I've watched this season. They're a hard working team and very physical but also very skilled. The Pens also probably have the best defense in the NHL and that's WITHOUT Sergei Gonchar. Orpik, Letang, Scuderi, Boucher, Goligoski, and Gill have all played great defense this year. With the exception of Boucher, all of the Pens defenders are above negative in +/- and all have 20+ blocked shots. MAFluery has been good as always but even more surprising is the level to which Danny Sabourin has played in Fluery's injury absence. He's won 5 games and had a save percentage of .93 and is allowing under 2 goals a game. The Pens are a scary team. They may even be better than they were last year.
If I had to pick a Stanley Cup match up right now, it would be the Penguins vs. Red Wings again. I don't know who would win the Cup this time around, but it would be another classic battle. Although the Sharks are the best team statistically in the NHL right now, I'm not so sure that it will last the entire season and come playoff time the new coach Todd McLellan will have some proving to do.
The way the rest of the season plays out will be interesting and a tough battle the whole way...now if we could only get NHL back on regular cable...
- The Boston Bruins are good
- The San Jose Sharks are even better
- The Stars and The Lightning are awful
- The Red Wings can repeat
- The Rangers are underrated
- The Penguins are even more underrated
The Sharks are probably the best team in hockey right now. With a 20-3-1 record, they're clearly a cut above the rest of the league. Scoring an incredible 92 goals and only allowing 57, they're dominating the competition offensively and defensively. Evgeni Nabokov and Brian Boucher are both having solid years in net so far for the Sharks. Blake and Lukowich are big contributors on the defensive side while four of the Sharks forwards each have 10+ goals and seven players have 20+ points. This team is a good, solid, well rounded team. The only question that remains about their dominance is their division. Clearly the Stars aren't what they used to be and the Kings and Coyotes haven't been much of a threat in the past few years.
The aforementioned Stars are awful. Just as bad, the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Stars (8-11-4) are awful on offense and even worse defensively and in net. Marty Turco is not the stud that he was last year (this can change though). He's allowing over 3.4 goals a game which is just not good for a team that is not scoring 2.8 a game. This is clearly not the team that made it to the Western Conference Finals last year. I'm not sure what it is since they still have most of the big names from last year on the team still. Maybe its bad coaching? Maybe it was luck last year. Who knows? I think just as disappointing as the Stars are/is (stupid team with out a "s" on the end!") the Lightning. With the addition of Ryan Malone from the Pens and Olie the Goalie from the Caps, it looked like the Lightning would be going in the right direction under new (and mullet-sporting!) head coach Barry Melrose . Instead, Melrose was fired after just 16 games and Kolzig has been the second string goalie behind Mike Smith. Smith has better numbers than Kolzig but its still not enough. They've lost 9 out of their last 10 games (3 OT losses) and are just being dominated on offense and defense. I truly feel bad for Vinny LeCavalier. He's one of the better players in the league but is on a team that only has him, Malone, and Martin St. Louis producing points. Even worse news for the Lightning, other than the Caps the Southeast is the weakest division in the NHL.
On to the defending champs. I should note right now, in case you don't know, that the Wings are my team. However, this will be an attempt at an unbiased analysis of the season so far. The Wings are 15-4-4 so far with a good road record (10-2-2). Conklin and Osgood are not playing incredibly well so far in net, but they are getting the job done for the most part. Osgood has better numbers so far but that's also in more starts. 3 of the 4 regulation losses have come against teams over .500 including the Sharks and Bruins. Lately the Wings have stumbled a bit...according to the experts...but in the last 10 games they're 6-2-2. They're running into the true test of their skill though the next couple of games with tough Western Conference games, with the next four against teams over .500 . The reason I say that the Wings can repeat is pretty apparent. I'll admit, the division they play in is not the toughest in the league but it may be the most physical. The 'Hawks, Jackets, Blues and Preds are all teams that can wear you down with physical play and make the goals hard to come by. That being said, I think the Wings have the best skill level of any team in the league. They have their fair share of bruisers but they also have players that can just flat out put the puck in the back of the net. The addition of Hossa makes the level of talent hard to match in the forwards position. The Wings have always had a solid defense and I think its only going to get better with Stuart, Rafalski, and Kronwall going into year two in Hockeytown. I think the Wings have the skill, experience, and one of the best coaches in the NHL and will make it back to the Stanley Cup.
The Rangers are one of the teams that seemingly no one is talking about...for some reason. They're a little ahead of everyone else in terms of games played but still have 17 wins so far this year, second behind the Sharks. They've lost some games that they shouldn't have (Panthers, Stars, Oilers, Sabres) but they've also won some games that they weren't expected to (Flyers, Penguins, and Boston). The reason I say that the Rangers are underrated is that they're 17-8-2 with a fairly unknown cast and very few stars. Markus Naslund, Scott Gomez, and Henrik Lundquist are really the only names that stick out on the roster. Even more remarkable is how they've adapted to the departures of Brendan Shanahan and Jaromir Jagr. Nikolai Zherdev has stepped up and been the main point producer for the Rangers (along with Naslund). The strange thing about the Rangers is that they have only 5 players that are not in the negative column of +/- for the year. They're a hard team to figure out but they're also a good team. In the end though I think the Pens overtake them for the division but don't count them out of the playoffs.
If the Rangers are underrated, the Penguins are...well I don't even know a word to describe it. They're not dominating in the standings but are the best team in the Eastern Conference by far. They've lost some games that they had no business losing (Phoenix, Ottawa, and New Jersey) but then they've won games that they had no business winning...namely the 7-6 overtime win in the Stanley Cup rematch against the Red Wings on Nov 11. Scoring 4 goals in the 3rd period to tie the game and send it into overtime. This is the reason I think that the Penguins are by far the scariest team in the East. They definitely have the talent with Crosby, Malkin, Staal, Fedetenko, Talbot, and MAFluery. Even more important than the talent, they have the most desire out of any team I've watched this season. They're a hard working team and very physical but also very skilled. The Pens also probably have the best defense in the NHL and that's WITHOUT Sergei Gonchar. Orpik, Letang, Scuderi, Boucher, Goligoski, and Gill have all played great defense this year. With the exception of Boucher, all of the Pens defenders are above negative in +/- and all have 20+ blocked shots. MAFluery has been good as always but even more surprising is the level to which Danny Sabourin has played in Fluery's injury absence. He's won 5 games and had a save percentage of .93 and is allowing under 2 goals a game. The Pens are a scary team. They may even be better than they were last year.
If I had to pick a Stanley Cup match up right now, it would be the Penguins vs. Red Wings again. I don't know who would win the Cup this time around, but it would be another classic battle. Although the Sharks are the best team statistically in the NHL right now, I'm not so sure that it will last the entire season and come playoff time the new coach Todd McLellan will have some proving to do.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
BCS Mess
I guess that title isn't really news or anything. Once again it looks like there is going to be a great debate over the current system and the institution of a playoff into D1 football.
The only thing that we're sure of so far in terms of the National Championship game is that it will be either Florida or Alabama as the 1st ranked team in the polls versus whatever team survives the possibilities of the Big 12 title game's implications. It could very easily be just as simple as ALA/FLA vs. Oklahoma. But then again it could get far more complicated. Do you take Texas even though they did not win their own conference but are ranked right behind OU? Do you take USC as a conference winner but not in a conference that has a title game? Or do you go outside the BCS conferences and select Utah or Boise State. Both the Utes and Broncos went 12-0 and won their respective conferences. Both Utah and Boise State build good arguments. Utah beat Oregon State, #12 TCU, and then dismantled #14 Brigham Young. Boise State beat #17 Oregon and added style points by blowing nearly everyone out of the water on the rest of their schedule.
There are so many ways that the BCS bowls can shake out and no matter what there will be arguments for a playoff. I think a playoff is still not ready yet but I think one of the best steps toward that is requiring that all conferences have a championship game. Look at Ohio State last year, because they did not have a championship game in the Big 10, they were able to back in to the title game while everyone else played for their conference title. This year, Cincinatti (a good team in a weak conference) will automatically get a BCS bid and block one of the teams truly deserving a BCS spot. I could also argue the fact that either Boston College or Virginia Tech is undeserving of a BCS spot. However, they are playing in a conference championship game in a conference that is very even this year in terms of quality teams. 8 out of the 12 teams in the ACC are bowl eligible and the ACC went 3-1 this weekend against the very strong SEC.
I guess pretty much what I'm getting at, no one will ever be happy with whatever system that is in place to decide who gets to play for the big bowl games.
One last thing...
Before people give Virginia Tech crap for doing terrible in BCS games, lets look at how some of the more storied teams in college football have done in BCS games
The only thing that we're sure of so far in terms of the National Championship game is that it will be either Florida or Alabama as the 1st ranked team in the polls versus whatever team survives the possibilities of the Big 12 title game's implications. It could very easily be just as simple as ALA/FLA vs. Oklahoma. But then again it could get far more complicated. Do you take Texas even though they did not win their own conference but are ranked right behind OU? Do you take USC as a conference winner but not in a conference that has a title game? Or do you go outside the BCS conferences and select Utah or Boise State. Both the Utes and Broncos went 12-0 and won their respective conferences. Both Utah and Boise State build good arguments. Utah beat Oregon State, #12 TCU, and then dismantled #14 Brigham Young. Boise State beat #17 Oregon and added style points by blowing nearly everyone out of the water on the rest of their schedule.
There are so many ways that the BCS bowls can shake out and no matter what there will be arguments for a playoff. I think a playoff is still not ready yet but I think one of the best steps toward that is requiring that all conferences have a championship game. Look at Ohio State last year, because they did not have a championship game in the Big 10, they were able to back in to the title game while everyone else played for their conference title. This year, Cincinatti (a good team in a weak conference) will automatically get a BCS bid and block one of the teams truly deserving a BCS spot. I could also argue the fact that either Boston College or Virginia Tech is undeserving of a BCS spot. However, they are playing in a conference championship game in a conference that is very even this year in terms of quality teams. 8 out of the 12 teams in the ACC are bowl eligible and the ACC went 3-1 this weekend against the very strong SEC.
I guess pretty much what I'm getting at, no one will ever be happy with whatever system that is in place to decide who gets to play for the big bowl games.
One last thing...
Before people give Virginia Tech crap for doing terrible in BCS games, lets look at how some of the more storied teams in college football have done in BCS games
- Michigan: 1-3
- Notre Dame: 0-3
- Florida State 1-5
Monday, November 10, 2008
Do they split the Heisman?
So do they split the Heisman? If not, this might be the first time for such a reasonable debate. With Graham Harrell, Colt McCoy, Sam Bradford, and Tim Tebow playing head and shoulders above other QBs in Division I and Michael Crabtree making 5-star Big 12 corners look like they're in Pop Warner, its hard to have a clear cut winner.
As you can see from my picture above, my choice has been made (through the past weekend). Although he trails Okie State's Dez Bryant in receiving yards, he has the edge in touchdowns--none bigger than the game ending tightrope catch against the Longhorns--and receptions. He's caught a TD pass in every game thus far for the Red Raiders and has scored at least two touchdowns in 6 games. What the stats don't tell though is his game changing ability. How often has he made that oh-so-crucial catch?Maybe even more importantly, how often has he not made a catch? The man is just an excellent receiver. Big frame, big hands, big time speed. Although he's not the flat out burner that Bryant is, he's got the right type of speed; in and out of cuts, stutter-stepping to turn corners around and leave 'em thinking of an explanation for their coach on way to the sideline. He probably wont win the Heisman because of his age and his position, but he deserves it just as much as any of them.
Graham Harrell is my second leading candidate for the Heisman. Believe me it is a very close second place. This guy is incredible to watch. He can make every throw in the playbook. I guess it helps when your offense is 80% pass and 20% rush, but Harrell has thrown for over 4000 yards. Even more impressive, his completion percentage is over 70% and he has 36 touchdowns with only 5 interceptions. Jarrett Lee of LSU threw 4 interceptions vs. Alabama alone. Maybe that's an indicator of how good Alabama's defense is, or how Lee is prone to bad decisions but maybe it's also an indicator of how well Harrell takes care of the ball. He never looks pressured in the pocket and stands in there for a throw even when he has a linebacker bearing down on him. Even though he doesn't have incredible speed, he is able to escape the pocket and throw on the run. In the game versus #8 Oklahoma State, he threw 6 touchdowns. In one game he doubled the passing touchdowns for the season for Tyrod Taylor and Sean Glennon of my Virginia Tech Hokies. He's just a passing machine and can pick apart nearly any defense it seems. When the Red Raiders face the Sooners, Harrell will either win the Heisman or lose it in that game.
Sam Bradford. What can you say about a guy that leads all BCS conferences in QB rating and touchdowns? He too is in a pass happy offense at Oklahoma, even with DeMarco Murray in the backfield. This a guy that has at least 2 passing touchdowns in every game thus far and has thrown for four or more 6 times this year. 6! Those six games alone give him more passing touchdowns than the top performers for the Big 10, Big East, ACC, Pac-10, or SEC...for the season. He too is another quarterback that can make any throw in the playbook and does so consistently. His completion percentage is a little lower than Harrell's but Oklahoma's offense often throws deep bombs instead of the shorter routs that the Red Raiders run. Bradford may not win it either because of his age but that whole age factor might be gone after Tebow's 2007 sophomore year win. Like Harrell, Bradford can win or lose the Heisman in the November 22 showdown or the following week against the OSU Cowboys.
Colt McCoy is in fourth place from my point of view. Its hard to overlook someone in the same conference as the previous 3 players who is completing a higher percentage of his passes (78%) while still throwing for 28 touchdowns. He's thrown a touchdown in every game and at least 2 touchdowns in 9 of the 10 games this season. However, he only has 28 total compared to Bradford's 38 and Harrell's 36. He also has a lot fewer yards than Harrell or Bradford. However one thing that many people overlook, McCoy leads the team in rushing and has 7 rushing touchdowns. I'm sure if it's bad for your offense that you quarterback leads the team in rushing or if it's awesome. Think about it, he leads the team in rushing yards and that's with all of the negative yards from being sacked 16 times. He's the ultimate driving factor for the Longhorns being number 3 in the polls.
You can't have a Heisman discussion without including last year's winner, Tim Tebow. His numbers haven't dropped off that much from last years season and he's the main reason Florida is still in contention for the National Championship. He's still running over linebackers (often smaller than he is) and still throwing for 17 touchdowns and 1700 yards. However, what might be the most impressive part about Tebow is that he flat out does not turn the ball over. He's only thrown 2 interceptions on the year and is yet to fumble the ball on 100+ carries. That might be the main reason Florida is number four in the BCS and the reason they've put up 30 or more points in every SEC game this year, including 63 on Kentucky, 49 on then #6 UGA, and 51 on then #4 LSU. Tebow is just as capable at repeating the Heisman as Archie Griffin was. The only difference, Tebow could end up with three of the trophies before he's done in Gainesville.
However, maybe i don't want any of these players to win the Heisman. I like to watch all of them play. I'd like to watch all of them play at the next level for a long time. Since 1987, only a handful of the 20 players that have won the trophy up to the last winner have had a good or notable career in the NFL. Tim Brown, Barry Sanders, Desmond Howard, and Eddie George are really the only players that have won it since 1987 that have had a notable...or Hall of Fame...NFL career. Charles Woodson might be on the way to doing the same thing. Including Woodson, that's five out of the past 20 that have had an impact at the next level. If it wasn't for Ricky Williams' brief retirement and then return he might be on that list too. Then there is the group that is untested so far; Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush, Troy Smith, and Tim Tebow. Well, Tebow still has a chance to rack up 3 total Heisman Trophies before he even gets to the NFL. As for the other 10, most of them floated around in the NFL for a few years and never really had an impact, or they went to play in the NBA like Charlie Ward did. Can anyone tell you with certainty where Jason White is? How about Eric Crouch? Gino Torretta anyone? I'm not saying that the Heisman is cursed or anything, but statistically speaking it may not be the best thing to win it. I know I want to watch Tebow in the pros and see if offensive coordinators stick with his running and passing style. I want to see Graham Harrell be part of the next high powered passing offense. I know I want to see Michael Crabtree continue to tear apart defenses.
I guess my main point about the Heisman is that no one ever really wins it on their own. Running backs couldn't do it with out linemen. Quarterbacks couldn't do it with out receivers and linemen. Receivers couldn't do it with out quarterbacks. The Heisman isn't won alone and if there were a tie for the Heisman, it would exemplify how players are dependent upon each other.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Introduction
This is the first time I've done one of these things so here we go.
I figure that I should probably start off by explaining a little bit about me and what I will be writing about. First off, I've spent all of my life in Virginia. That being said, with no state team its hard to claim sports loyalty by location to any professional team. Most of my ties to my favorite teams are based on who I've liked since I was young or family that is from that area.
I can remember being about 7 years old and the Red Sox going to the playoffs on the back of Mo Vaughn, John Valentin, Mike Greenwell, TIMMAY! Wakefield, The Rocket, and Jose Canseco in 1995. That was back when being a Canseco fan was still considered legit, before he blew the steroid scandal in baseball wide open like it was hanging curve. Of course at age 7 I had no idea really what was going on in the games other than knowing we needed more runs than they did and that Big Mo's beard was pretty wicked awesome. Over time my obsession with the Red Sox grew from being moderately upset with the playoff loss in Pedro's first season to being irate over losing games in April of this season. I've developed a problem, an obsessive problem, along with several other Red Sox fans (Note: SEVERE understatement when I say several) . Fretting over Matsuzaka's walks versus runs or how well we are hitting with runners in scoring position with 2 outs...which is apparently our forte. No matter how many games back we are, the score in the game, I seem to always have faith until the last out of the game.
Then there's hockey. The sport that makes me look like a mountain man for two months because I'm afraid to even consider cutting my beard because it might change the fortune of my
team. Hockey has been my favorite sport ever since playing NHL 94 on Sega. I remember playing games against both of my brothers with the stunning graphics. The 96 version of the game was when I remember first really knowing the Red Wings players. The cover of the game had the image of the Devils' captain Scott Stevens and Red Wings captain Steve Yzerman. This was the season that the Red Wings lost to the Avalanche in the Western Conference Finals. I can remember playing numerous games against the Ottawa Senators because they were the worst team on the game and it was pretty hard to not beat them. This first Red Wings team that I started to truly know was loaded with talent from Russia ("The Russian Five") and Sweden, as well as from Canada and the US. The captain then, Steve Yzerman, and the captain now, Nick Lidstrom. The enforcers Martin Lapointe, Darren McCarty, Kris Draper, and my personal favorite Joey Kocur. The enforcers were all the type of players that many people associate with hockey. Toothless, black-eyed, bloody knuckled protectors of the star players. That's not to say they couldn't still play hockey though. Darren McCarty scored perhaps one of the most beautiful goals in Stanley Cup history and essentially clinched the Cup for the Wings. Many people say that the Wings team that won last year is completely different from the ones that won the 97, 98, and 02 Cups. They say that the 08 team is more focused on scoring and less on the physical play. Sure, it does seem to be the case and why not when you have players like Datsyuk and Zetterberg? But to say they lack the physical play of the teams of the past would be wrong. Just ask Ryan Malone about Nick Kronwall or Sid the Kid about Brad Stuart...or you could just have Datsyuk do it all. That is the beauty of hockey though. One minute it can be so brutal and the next you could see one of the most spectacular goals in the sport.
Sometimes I wonder though what the true value of sports is. My dad once told me a realization that he came to after watching numerous College Basketball games during March Madness. "What is the point of watching these games? I've lost sleep. I don't get a single piece of work done for my job the next day. My status in this world does not increase one bit. So why do I watch the games?" He makes a very good point. I've often wondered the same thing. How does me spending 4 hours watching one game out of a 162 game ever contribute to what my impact is on this earth? Answer is simple. It doesn't. But it gives us joy. Its a temporary refuge from anything that troubles us. It unites us with complete strangers. It makes you feel a sense of accomplishment, even though you're most likely sitting on the couch or at a bar. You associate yourself as a member of the team, "We need to win this game." But there's something that you can't describe about when you're team wins a big game. Something equally as terrible when they lose. But that's the way it is being a fan. You live and die with the team, go through the rough times and be there for the great ones. I think its worth every second to feel the agony of defeat and the exhilaration of victory.
That's all for now...guess that was pretty long introduction huh?
I figure that I should probably start off by explaining a little bit about me and what I will be writing about. First off, I've spent all of my life in Virginia. That being said, with no state team its hard to claim sports loyalty by location to any professional team. Most of my ties to my favorite teams are based on who I've liked since I was young or family that is from that area.
I can remember being about 7 years old and the Red Sox going to the playoffs on the back of Mo Vaughn, John Valentin, Mike Greenwell, TIMMAY! Wakefield, The Rocket, and Jose Canseco in 1995. That was back when being a Canseco fan was still considered legit, before he blew the steroid scandal in baseball wide open like it was hanging curve. Of course at age 7 I had no idea really what was going on in the games other than knowing we needed more runs than they did and that Big Mo's beard was pretty wicked awesome. Over time my obsession with the Red Sox grew from being moderately upset with the playoff loss in Pedro's first season to being irate over losing games in April of this season. I've developed a problem, an obsessive problem, along with several other Red Sox fans (Note: SEVERE understatement when I say several) . Fretting over Matsuzaka's walks versus runs or how well we are hitting with runners in scoring position with 2 outs...which is apparently our forte. No matter how many games back we are, the score in the game, I seem to always have faith until the last out of the game.
Then there's hockey. The sport that makes me look like a mountain man for two months because I'm afraid to even consider cutting my beard because it might change the fortune of my
team. Hockey has been my favorite sport ever since playing NHL 94 on Sega. I remember playing games against both of my brothers with the stunning graphics. The 96 version of the game was when I remember first really knowing the Red Wings players. The cover of the game had the image of the Devils' captain Scott Stevens and Red Wings captain Steve Yzerman. This was the season that the Red Wings lost to the Avalanche in the Western Conference Finals. I can remember playing numerous games against the Ottawa Senators because they were the worst team on the game and it was pretty hard to not beat them. This first Red Wings team that I started to truly know was loaded with talent from Russia ("The Russian Five") and Sweden, as well as from Canada and the US. The captain then, Steve Yzerman, and the captain now, Nick Lidstrom. The enforcers Martin Lapointe, Darren McCarty, Kris Draper, and my personal favorite Joey Kocur. The enforcers were all the type of players that many people associate with hockey. Toothless, black-eyed, bloody knuckled protectors of the star players. That's not to say they couldn't still play hockey though. Darren McCarty scored perhaps one of the most beautiful goals in Stanley Cup history and essentially clinched the Cup for the Wings. Many people say that the Wings team that won last year is completely different from the ones that won the 97, 98, and 02 Cups. They say that the 08 team is more focused on scoring and less on the physical play. Sure, it does seem to be the case and why not when you have players like Datsyuk and Zetterberg? But to say they lack the physical play of the teams of the past would be wrong. Just ask Ryan Malone about Nick Kronwall or Sid the Kid about Brad Stuart...or you could just have Datsyuk do it all. That is the beauty of hockey though. One minute it can be so brutal and the next you could see one of the most spectacular goals in the sport.Sometimes I wonder though what the true value of sports is. My dad once told me a realization that he came to after watching numerous College Basketball games during March Madness. "What is the point of watching these games? I've lost sleep. I don't get a single piece of work done for my job the next day. My status in this world does not increase one bit. So why do I watch the games?" He makes a very good point. I've often wondered the same thing. How does me spending 4 hours watching one game out of a 162 game ever contribute to what my impact is on this earth? Answer is simple. It doesn't. But it gives us joy. Its a temporary refuge from anything that troubles us. It unites us with complete strangers. It makes you feel a sense of accomplishment, even though you're most likely sitting on the couch or at a bar. You associate yourself as a member of the team, "We need to win this game." But there's something that you can't describe about when you're team wins a big game. Something equally as terrible when they lose. But that's the way it is being a fan. You live and die with the team, go through the rough times and be there for the great ones. I think its worth every second to feel the agony of defeat and the exhilaration of victory.
That's all for now...guess that was pretty long introduction huh?
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