Over the Weekend...

Went on hiatus for a few days and didn’t miss much. The weekend before the Super Bowl is after all, the worst weekend of the year. Tennis, golf and cliché stories drew most of the headlines but I’ll do a recap anyway.

• You want to talk about dominance. Forget Kobe, forget Clemens or Bonds, forget Tiger. Even Lance Armstrong is only special for a small portion of the year. Right now, Roger Federer owns his sport more than any athlete in the world. Federer’s victory at the Australian Open was his third consecutive Grand Slam and seventh in eleven tries. The win only furthered the stranglehold he already has on men’s tennis. At 24, he is already half way to Pete Sampras’ all time record.
  
  You don’t have to appreciate tennis, but Federer is bigger than the game.
  
  Appreciate greatness.
  

• Last I checked Tiger Woods was playing horrible at the Buick Invitational. I take a few days off and here he is winning the whole thing for the fourth time in his career. More impressive, Woods is 12-1 when he is involved in a playoff.
  

• Tired of hearing the Jerome Bettis is from Detroit story? Well, here’s a new one: Brett Favre might retire. I’m just about tired of this guy. I understand how great he was but now he is getting that senile grandparent treatment – meaning he is allowed to do and say whatever he wants with no repercussions. He threw 29 interceptions and then says he might not want the ball in crunch-time. C’mon! It’s time the Packers to cut their losses.

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Little League World Series Moving to March

The joke that is the World Baseball Classic announced a few more rules yesterday.

They might as well pack up and play in Williamsport.

A concern for everyone has been how much the pitchers will be permitted throw throughout the tournament. Obviously, Major League teams are worried about their players getting hurt and fans want to know that if they are paying up to $50 for tickets, they will get to see more than some Cactus League exhibition game.

The business won out.

Pitchers will not be allowed to throw more than 65 pitches in any outing during the first round and any one who throws more than thirty has to take the following day off. This explains why the United States has seven closers on its roster.

The WBC also decided that there will be a 15 run mercy rule after five innings and a ten run rule after seven. This immediately brought two thoughts to mind:

• Will Bucky Martinez take heat for deliberately running up the score on the South Africans the way a coach from California does on Davenport, IW every year?
• Will cameras show close ups of the faces of the Italian team and its coach Matt Galante in tears when they are being pounded each game?

There are no reports of a must-play rule but I suggest they institute one if Michael Barrett, Chad Moeller, and Dan Wheeler ever expect to get in for the Americans.

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Check It Out: 1/27

You didn’t have too be drunk to say that: Bode Miller thinks Barry Bonds and Lance Armstrong took steroids. Even if he is an idiot, and a skier, he’s still a professional athlete and for him to speak so candidly about this subject makes you think.

Marcos Baghdatis (which shockingly is not an STD) advanced to his first ever Grand Slam final. Good for him. Unfortunately, he’s probably going to face Roger Federer which is like… um… not good.

Someone tell the athletes at Virginia Tech that it is NOT okay to stomp, kick, step or jump on the other teams players. Even if it is Duke. Apparently, they don’t get it.

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Time to Grow Up

By now, everyone has heard about Joshua Vannoy, the 17 year old student from Beaver Falls, PA that was heckled by his teacher for wearing a Denver Broncos John Elway jersey to school the Friday before the AFC championship game. Now, it seems as though every media member in the country is calling for the teacher to be fired.

Let’s get serious for a second.

This is a 17 year old boy. We aren’t talking about some little kid who thinks Orange and Blue are “cool” colors. This boy is almost in college. He knew exactly what he was doing. Is it that hard to see that he was looking for some kind of reaction?

Reports say the teacher, John Kelly, made Vannoy take his mid-term exam on the floor and asked the whole class to throw paper balls at him. Was it in bad taste? Yes. But, I’m pretty sure the teacher was just being a ball-breaker. If paper is the most you ever get thrown at you, consider it a blessing.

I find it even stranger that one of the first places Vannoy contacted after the incident was the Denver Post. Then, one of the pictures he posed for is him with a sad puckered lip looking face in his Elway jersey. Does he really need this much attention? Moreover, does he deserve this much attention?

Emphatically, the answer is no.

By all accounts, Kelly is a great teacher and a very decent man. He teaches an ethics course and does explain to his students before the class begins that they will be subject to uncomfortable feelings at times. While throwing paper at Bronco fans probably isn’t in the lesson plans, I think it is safe to say the boy overreacted a little.

We’ve all had one of those teachers. The one who embarrassed us. The one we’d like to have gotten fired. The one we’d like to take a few swings at. But this is part of growing up. Consider it a lesson.

Joshua Vannoy’s life wasn’t ruined by this altercation. Let’s not ruin Kelly’s either.

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Check It Out: 1/26

Lebron James scored 38 points to lead the Cavs past Atlanta last night, despite some idiot pointing a laser at his forehead all night. This is bad. Can’t you see where this is going? Duke goes to Maryland on February 11. So now, to go along with fans talking about JJ Redick’s mother, brother, sister, girl friend, and how ugly he is, he’s going to have to deal with red dots the whole game. I hope someone gets the one that can give the middle finger. Let’s see ESPN block that out.

Alexander Ovechkin is probably better than Sidney Crosby right now, but Crosby’s Penguins put an absolute beating on the Caps last night.

Billy Beane is a genius. Oakland signed Frank Thomas to a one-year, $500,000 contract. At worst, you get a guy who will hit but eventually get hurt. At best, you get a future Hall of Famer who gets on base at an all time rate.

Michael Vick thinks Virginia Tech overreacted when they kicked his brother out of school for stomping on Louisville defensive end Elvis Dumervil. If that was a first, second, or 24th offense, I’d agree. But the kid is a walking trouble maker.

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Dear Enemies

In keeping with National Compliment Day, I have some pleasant thoughts about people I normally despise.

Bill Walton. You might be a two-faced loud mouth, but your son seems like a good kid.

Sean Salisbury. While I don’t agree with you screaming at me through the television, I respect that your one of maybe fifteen people outside of Seattle and Pittsburgh that still cares about the Super Bowl.

Those who run ESPN. You’re showing practice for the Senior Bowl right now, but you made the correct move canceling ESPN Hollywood. Slater is nothing without Zack.

Paul O'Neil. Of all Yankees that Michael Kay has called the greatest player ever, you might be the most overrated and you also sound a lot like Kermit the Frog. On the other hand, you did make little league right fielders everywhere feel like they belong.

Isiah Thomas. As a GM, you’ve proved to be incompetent and may or may not have used your powers to sexually harass a female employee, but you would totally kick Bill Simmons’ ass.

I can’t say much about… JJ Redick, Ron Artest, Shawn Michaels, Tracy McGrady, John Starks, Stephen A. Smith, Curtis Martin, Tom Coughlin, Doug Gottlieb, Damon Jones, Smush Parker, and Mario Lemieux… But, I hope nothing bad happens to you fellas today.

Have a nice Compliment Day.

Yours truly,
Dan McGowan

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Talk About Setting an Example

Apparently, Vince Carter thinks Kobe’s 81 could have a negative effect on young ballers everywhere. Maybe, he should look in the mirror.

Thirty years from now, when I think of Bryant strictly from a basketball standpoint, I’ll think:

• 81 points.
• One of the greatest players of his generation.

When I think of Carter, I’ll think:

• That crazy dunk contest.
• One of the major reasons USA basketball fell from its pedestal.

Carter has to be out of his mind to think anyone could have a more harmful effect on the game than he has had over the course of his career. So Kobe makes a generation of children strive to be scorers. Carter made a generation of children want to be on an ESPN highlight reel instead of win.

I remember coaches being mad about kids wanting to dribble through their legs when I was starting basketball. Carter made kids want to put the ball through their legs in mid air and dunk.

I’ll take a kid wanting to be Bryant any day.

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Unfathomable

If you’re wondering just how incredible Kobe Bryant’s performance was last night, consider this:

Bryant scored 81 points. In contrast, Kwame Brown’s third and final point of the night gave him 82 for the entire month! In 42 minutes, Bryant basically equaled Brown’s output over the course of 332 minutes.

Like him or not and I know most don’t, Kobe is amazing. I’ve never seen anything like the game he had last night. And I saw Allen Iverson single-handedly lead his team to the finals. And I’ve seen Lebron. And I remember David Robinson scoring 71 on the final day of the 1994 regular season.

And I watched Michael.

But the game, and really the season that Bryant is having defies reality. In the month of January, he has scored fewer than 37 points in a game just once.

The NBA isn’t exactly a must-watch anymore. The fundamentals stink. There’s no sense of rivalry. The players hang out in the crowd.

But Kobe’s different. Kobe has what all the great ones before him possessed. Kobe is a must-watch.

In Kobe, we’re watching a legend.

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Congratulations, You're Going to Detroit

So much for your first time being the best.

The Seattle Seahawks finally made the Super Bowl and their reward, along with Pittsburgh, is a trip to the motor city.

Over the next two weeks, you’ll hear every sports writer in America rip on Detroit. And rightfully so. It happens to be one of the most unsanitary cities in the country with the worst crime rate.

If I was a Steeler or Seahawk player, I wouldn’t consider flying my family out any sooner than the Friday before the big game.

What a bad break for these teams. Seattle and Pittsburgh aren’t exactly known for their great weather, especially in the winter. Instead of getting to spend a few weeks in the sun, the only warmth awaiting them is of the arson variety.

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Don't Cheat on Her Kris, She Might Sleep With This Guy

In a deal I thought happened a month ago, the New York Mets sent Kris and Anna Benson to Baltimore for Jorge Julio and John Maine. Apparently the hold up was on the O’s end, as they couldn’t figure out just how much Anna was worth.

Orioles manager Sam Perlozzo –in his first full season- must love this move.

In Kris, you get a former number one overall pick (bust) with a career 57-61 record to headline a rotation that was among the worst in baseball last season.

In Anna, you get skimpy outfits and outrageous statements to the media. Not to mention, if those wild Baltimore groupies get to Kris, Sammy’s first in line for a little half and half.

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Check It Out: 1/20

Forget the money; Michael Axelrod just wants an apology. Well good for Michael. He is officially better than any person I know including me. If my lawyer told me I could get a million for someone’s wife being an ass to me, I’d be all for it.

Daunte Culpepper couldn’t pick a better time to renegotiate his deal. I mean he did throw twice as many interceptions as touchdowns before having his season cut in half by a serious injury, and he was outplayed by 95 year old Brad Johnson, and he is facing misdemeanor charges for the sex boat, so why not throw him a few extra mil?

The Bush administration is going to let Cuba play in the World Baseball Classic and there is a good chance the team will make it to San Diego for the semifinals. The real question is if they do advance, how many players will go missing the night before their games?

Welcome back Theo. Let’s hope you can play short and hit leadoff.

Sing it with me now. “We are family! We can’t win down under so we’re history.” As bad as Venus was, you’d think Serena Williams might come with a better showing at the Australian Open. She didn’t.

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And You Thought Your School Sucked

Someone always has it worse. But what about the worst of all? What do they do?

The Savannah State University athletic program is the epitome of bad. In fact, bad is an enormous under statement. They are dreadful, abysmal even. Honestly, words fail to capture just how awful the Tigers have been over the last four years.

The school is in the transition stages of moving from Division II to Division I and to put it very mildly, have had some struggles.

For example, last night the Tigers basketball program lost by 51 to second ranked Florida and that was only the team’s third most lopsided loss of the season. Half of there 18 losses have come by at least 30 points. Since the 2002/2003 season, the team is 8-92, including recording just the second winless season by a team in fifty years.

The women’s team isn’t much better. Over the same period of time, the Lady Tigers are 19-82.

But basketball is just a start. Savannah State’s Division IAA football team has gone winless two of the last three years. They did almost win once this season. The Tigers dropped a 28-27 heartbreaker to Central State on Homecoming. By the way, Central is a Division II program and was playing football for the first time since 1996.

Spring sports don’t stray far from the crowd either. The baseball team is actually mediocre although they did give up an NCAA record 11 straight hits to New Mexico last year.

Last and most definitely worst of all, Savannah State’s softball team has won just one game ever. In 2005, the team scored seven runs all season and was on the receiving end of five of the ten most lopsided losses in the country.

Consider that an improvement. In 2004, the team scored one run all season.

There’s a lesson to be learned to here. Don’t go ballistic when your school drops a close game or goes on a little losing streak. Maybe the football team was bad but another sport will pick it up. It could be a lot worse.

You could go to Savannah State and lose year round.

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Last Night...

The three undefeated teams in college basketball stayed unbeaten. But while Duke was getting all of the calls at home against N.C. State and Pitt was battling Rutgers at the RAC, why on earth was Florida playing Savannah State?

He’s not Big Papi but Ben Gordon officially kills New York. The former UConn star and current Chicago Bulls’ sixth man nailed a game winner against the Knicks for the second time in his short career. Gordon's shot would be overshadowed by Antonio Davis running into the stands when he thought his wife was being harassed by fans.

Lebron James elected to pass instead of take a wide open three pointer to force a tie but the ball would up in his hands anyway. Down two, James purposely bricked a free-throw, grabbed his own rebound and was fouled again. He missed what would have been the game tying free-throw and the Nuggets held on for a 90-89 victory.

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NFL to Porter: You Were Right

The National Football League has decided not to fine the Steelers’ Jerry Porter for comments he made following his team’s upset victory over Indianapolis last weekend.

After the game, Porter complained that everyone, including the referees wanted Peyton Manning to win the game and went on to say, “I felt that they were like 'We don't even care if you know we're cheating. We're cheating for them.' "

Porter was referring to the clear interception by his teammate Troy Polamalu with about five minutes to play that was reversed into an incomplete pass by referee Pete Morelli.

He had a point.

There is no way the league can be happy with this season’s playoffs. Michael Vick and Manning are home. The wild card round was overshadowed by the BCS. The Patriots are gone. There really isn’t a major market team left.

If the Colts had come back to win that game, it would have been great story in an otherwise uneventful weekend. Instead, this week’s conference championship games will probably be among the lowest rated ever.

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Thank God for Mondays

An uneventful social night left me alone in bed, in the dark, eating buffalo wings, and flipping through channels for the better part of eight hours last evening. Replace the wings with some bonbons and it would be easy to mistake me for a depressed housewife.

At least I had basketball.

With the exception of the NCAA tournament, I don’t think I’ve ever sat through that much of any sport. But because there was a number of entertaining games on, I tried to watch everything I could. So without trying to get all Bill Simmons running diary on you, let me recap the night.

At 7:00, the Kansas/Missouri game was on ESPN with the UConn women’s game on ESPN 2. I have never found Big 12 games to be very interesting and I truly despise Kansas so I watched a lot more of the women’s game. Connecticut blew a big lead but held on for victory.

I went back to ESPN to catch the start of the UConn men against Syracuse only to see that the first game was in the final minute. Naturally, I was pissed.

It was a seven point game with 35 seconds to play. Missouri wasn’t going to comeback and I was going to have to sit through a foul fest. But before I could even think of that amazing 10 point comeback Duke pulled off versus Maryland a few years ago, the Tigers were hitting a three pointer to tie it up.

A little bit of choking by goofy Christian Moody and we were headed to overtime.

It was no more than two minutes into the extra period when ESPN assumed correctly that no one east of the Mississippi cared about the Big 12 and switched over to the UConn game. I didn’t know until about an hour later that Missouri won.

Dick Vitale did the game so you know there were plenty of Duke references for no relevant reason. I especially felt bad for Syracuse fans when he was trying to express how they will react on senior night for Gerry McNamara and then immediately went into a JJ Redick rant.

The Huskies blew out Syracuse from the start but the game stayed entertaining because it seemed like there was a chance of a fight breaking out every few minutes. After Louie McCroskey dunked and showboated in Hilton Armstrong’s face late in the first half, I thought shit might hit the fan but cooler heads prevailed.

I made sure to flip to TNT for the tip off of the Lakers/Heat game. There is nothing more exciting than all the hype leading up to Kobe versus Shaq. I wish Kobe would have went WWE on him and hit him from behind, but instead they hugged, talked and laughed as if they didn’t hate each other.

Speaking of wrestling, I did manage to catch the final minutes of RAW and got to see a ladder match between a very bloody Rick Flair and Edge. Great match, Edge won.

Back to the Lakers game. Miami made it close but Los Angeles won and Bryant scored 37, proving even further that he’s the leagues premier player. By the way, Shaq is finally realizing that he has nothing left to do in the league. He’s having the worst season of his career in every major category and astonishingly, his free throw shooting has gotten worse.

Finally, I managed to catch some of the Gonzaga/random bum team game just to say that I’ve seen Adam Morrison play. He’s not the prettiest guy on the plant, but he dropped 30 and I just can’t see how Rudy Gay should go ahead of him in the draft.

I can honesty say I’ve been out of bed no longer than fifteen minutes for the entire night (five to get my food, three for drinks, and seven for the bathroom). I’m even writing this from my bed. Now that’s pretty impressive.

Or maybe I should get a life.

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Vegas Rejoice

I don’t know if it was everyone and their brother knowing Eli couldn’t lead the favored Giants to victory or maybe how easy it was to see the Pats covering against Jacksonville but sports books across the country took major hits last weekend.

No worries.

I’m willing to bet my reserved copy of “Two for the Money” that more than a few people paid back their winnings and much more this weekend. And if Saturday sucked, I’ll bet my life Sunday was downright tear-provoking.

By no means was either game on Saturday a lock and the two favorites actually did win. But I’m petty sure I would have been in the majority had I wagered on Washington and New England.

The Skins were ten point dogs which is a lot, even for an injury plagued road team. If you did bet that game, it probably seemed like money in the bank when Shaun Alexander left in the first quarter with a concussion. Even though Washington was down, it was pretty much a given that John Hall would kick a 36 yard (gimme) field goal that would cut the lead to four with eight minutes to play.

Needless to say, Hall’s kick went wide left, the Seahawks took over, marched down field and kicked a field goal to clinch the game and cover the spread.

That night, the whole country assumed that the call would be reversed and the Patriots would get the ball back when Champ Bailey appeared to fumble into the end zone. I mean that’s how the whole dynasty thing started, right? By catching a break.

Of course, the call wasn’t changed and the Broncos advanced.

So Saturday’s losses only meant one thing for Sunday: Bet the ranch on Indianapolis.

All week, everyone talked about the high octane offense of the Colts and how sharp they would be, seemingly forgetting the fact they hadn’t played a real game in a month.

Instead, the Steelers were on the board quick and dominated until the fourth quarter when the home team finally showed up. The referees even blew a call just so Peyton Manning might orchestrate a late comeback, but in the end, he choked.

I hate to bad mouth Manning because he makes great commercials but I can’t see how many people like him right now. He can’t win a big game so Colts fans are calling him Marino, anyone who drafted him lost in their fantasy football playoffs week 15, and degenerates everywhere lost their shoes this afternoon.

The final game of the weekend was more infuriating than anything else.

There isn’t one sane person who didn’t wake up last Monday morning and think, Carolina is a safe bet to beat the Bears outright. They had just dismantled the Giants on the road and seemed red hot.

But then again, no sane gambler (if there is such a thing) places his bets that early in the week.

So we watched television and listened to sports talk radio all week and decided the Panthers couldn’t possibly play that well two weeks in a row. We heard the “eighty percent of home teams win in this round” nonsense. We were told Soldier Field was one of the five hardest places to play in the league.

Our opinions swayed back and forth, ultimately flipping completely. Chicago was definitely going win.

Well, you know how that went.

Now bookies everywhere are feeling better and the whole process starts over. At first glance, I like Seattle and Pittsburgh to win and meet in the Super Bowl.

But don’t bet on it.

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A Captain Exposed

By Doug Civitelli
Special to Dan's Take

Let me first say, that I am a die hard New York Rangers fan. I will be forever grateful to Mark Messier for what he brought to the Ranger organization: It’s first Stanley Cup in 54 years.

On the ice and to the media, he embodied everything a captain should be. But it’s behind closed doors where his loyalty comes into question.

Yes, he did the "We will win tonight" guarantee, something that many athletes can offer, but few ever deliver on. Yeah, he called a timeout in the third period of game six down 2-0, demanded the puck and proceeded to score three straight goals. No question about, he was great.

But this is also the same great captain of my beloved rangers who kicked them to the curb after the shortened '95 season for money.

The “captain” went to Vancouver in a New York minute. True to his name, he left the Rangers in a mess. After lobbying for big name veterans -namely Wayne Gretzky- to be brought to New York so he could make one last run at a championship, the savior left for the cash.

This ruined the Rangers for years. The team was filled with players well past their primes, trying to hold on to their youth. I put the blame directly on Messier.

After his failing to rejuvenate his career in Vancouver, where he played on a line with Pavel Bure, the Canucks told him they know longer wanted his services. Who was there to catch him? Of course, it was the Rangers, who even after tonight will feel they are forever in debt to him.

He proceeded to come to the Rangers and continue in helping with there horrible demise. That same captain that was behind those great playoff heroics was now demanding that the team not practice on back to back days because he couldn’t keep up anymore. What a guy.

The same great captain who led the Rangers to the Cup in ‘94 finished his career with eight straight playoff-less seasons. It wasn’t so easy without the stars like Gretzky, Jarri Kurri, Paul Coffey, Grant Fuhr, Glenn Anderson around him.

My message to the fans of the New York Rangers is simple: Mark Messier did just as much bad to the organization as he did good. He set them back eight to ten years.

As a true fan, I know I will watch the game tonight.

But I’ll be watching when the puck is dropped, not when the jersey is raised and the speeches are made. This is about the 2006 Rangers, not the ‘94 team. I want to see Jagr, Lunquist, Straka, Nylander, Prucha, and the rest of the good young team they put out on the ice. It’s time for the Rangers to stop living in the past or else they can brace themselves for another 54 year drought.

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Check It Out 1/10

Clinton Portis was fined $20,000 by the NFL this season for not wearing the same color socks as his team while Sean Taylor lost just $17,000 for spitting in Michael Pittman’s face. As the Washington Post’s Michael Wilbon points out, the NFL is a joke.

Maybe the Texans need massive work on their offensive line. Maybe two weeks ago the whole world was talking about how they are going to draft the second coming of Barry Sanders. Or maybe they should draft Vince Young? (registration required) I don’t think so.

Jason Whitlock wrote a strange a column for today’s Kansas City Star. He calls for Herm Edwards to be an “adventurous lover” and also compares him to Tupac. Read it yourself, it’s weird.

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Oh Marcus, How You Never Seize to Amaze us

Michael or Mike Vick has never been sure of what he wants to be called. He might want to change his last name now.

This thought comes after the Atlanta Falcons star quarterback’s little brother was arrested for the eighty-fourth time on three counts of brandishing a weapon. Marcus allegedly pointed a gun at a 17 year old and two others in a McDonald’s parking lot after getting into an argument.

There is no truth to the rumor that the three were West Virginia fans.

My guess on how the altercation went…

17 year old: Hey Marcus, my girl friend’s too young for you. The judge said stay away.
Marcus: What’d you say homey?
17 year old: I said stay away from her you pedophile. How’d you get here anyway? Didn’t they take your license away?
Marcus: That’s it b*tch. *pulls gun* Do we have a problem homey?

I’m assuming Michael is the one who has to post bail every time his brother messes up.

Sucks to be him.

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Check It Out 1/8

He’s the best and the most boring player in the NBA. Now he’s being un-American. He’s Tim Duncan and he has “no interest” in playing on the U.S. Olympic basketball team.

I’ll show Kobe love for the second straight day as he led the Lakers back from the dead against the Clippers last night. I have my doubts but Lebron James calls him the best player in the league and the LA Times Bill Plaschke says he’s a one man show (registration required).

Vince Young had to sit down and do a lot of thinking about this decision. Three days later, he’s entering the NFL draft but will he be a good pro quarterback? A 6’5 version of Mike Vick, call me crazy but I think he’ll be fine.

The Giants got pasted today and it left me wondering, what’s with people thinking Eli Manning had good season? Counting today’s display, Eli threw 24 touchdowns but turned the ball over 23 times.

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UConn's Good - Jury Still Out on Gay

For the better part of the last fifteen years, Connecticut has been a center piece in the world of college basketball. A Hall of Fame coach. Five Big East titles. Two national championships. With six lottery picks, the Huskies have become a breeding ground for future NBA all stars. A lot of history in a short period of time.

This season’s team might be the best ever. Unquestionably, they are the deepest. Some believe they have as many as six NBA caliber players, but they appear to be lacking that one feature player. The 99’ team had Rip Hamilton. The 04’ team had Emeka Okafor. Unfortunately, it’s becoming more apparent that Rudy Gay is not that marquee guy. Certainly not yet, maybe not ever.

Gay is the team’s best player, a preseason all-American, and projected number one overall draft pick. He has played 43 games in his career and shown flashes of brilliance, mostly against the Morehead State’s of the world.

It’s hard to pick out more than a handful of important games that Gay has had a positive impact on. Last season, there was 18 point performances at Seton Hall and at Syracuse that stick out but there was also the four points he scored in 28 minutes in a loss to Oklahoma. His final two games mirrored his entire season. A 17 point gem versus Central Florida followed up by a four point disaster against N.C. State.

It’s been more the same in his sophomore season. Gay dominated Arkansas early but then combined for just 16 points versus Arizona and Gonzaga. While Gay can be exciting and flashy, he also forces bad shots and never gets to the free-throw line. There has been six games where he attempted three or fewer foul shots.

Gay has yet to learn how to take over a game. He doesn’t seem to have the instincts that Ray Allen or Caron Butler had. He resembles an early Ben Gordon, who Coach Calhoun used to call “Gentle Ben” for his knack for going quiet in many games.

Still, the Huskies are 12-1 and even after their recent loss to Marquette, shouldn’t see their ranking fall any lower than five in the national polls. But if they want to advance deep into March, a true star will need to emerge.

Oh, and those comparisons aren’t such a bad thing.

Gordon eventually grew out of his shell and won a national title.

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Check It Out 1/7

The Marcus Vick saga deserves an entire blog and I will get to it but for now, how about what he said to the Virginian-Pilot yesterday. “It’s not a big deal. I’ll just move on to the next level, baby”

What’s that? Stephon Marbury plays points guard? He sure looked like one last night as the Knicks beat up on Washington 113-92. I wouldn’t get upset yet New York fans, but the team’s recent two game winning streak is showing that they might not have as many balls in the draft lottery as you think.

I’m not one to show Kansas any love. In fact, they are probably near the top of my list of team I despise but they put on a show versus Kentucky today. Kareem Rush can play.

Kobe told you he didn’t need Shaq. He’s got Smush (registration required).

The Houston Texans already have a talented running back, so they’ll go with the only logical move and draft another one in April. Today, the team announced that no matter what hometown boy Vince Young does, they will still draft Reggie Bush.

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Should Have Bit His Tounge

I’m considering starting a quotable section to this page due to the vast amounts of entertainment people involved with sports provide us. I didn’t think anything could be as hilarious as Keith Jackson’s comments from the other night, but Brad Childress came close.

The Minnesota Vikings announced Childress as their new head coach today and he immediately proved that his common sense could be lacking.

In one of his first statements, he announced: “I grew up a bears fan.” Vikings fans must feel great. All year they have to deal with scandal and losing, and then they hire a guy who loves their rival.

It got worse. He then said, “We’ll be like Vikings. We’re going to go ashore, burn the boats and never look back. And we’re never looking back. Today, we go ashore.”

Insert funny thought here.

Note to Childress: I don’t care if your teams name was the Sailors. Mentioning any kind of boat with this team is cause for concern.

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Two Months of Hell

It’s a bad time to be me.

I’m football-ed out. It’s true. With five weeks left, I really could care less.

After viewing the best bowl season of my life, including my generation’s Nebraska/Miami in the Rose Bowl, how can the NFL playoffs provide me with any more sense of gratification?

The answer is that they probably won’t.

I can’t remember a time where the National championship game overshadowed the first week of the NFL postseason. This year, there is so much to talk about. The end of USC’s streak. Mack Brown achieving Roy Williams status. Oh yeah, and the game was fantastic too.

I can keep going. Should Vince Young leave? Is the 2006 draft class going to spit out three all-time type players in the first few picks of the opening round? Did Keith Jackson really say those things?

Furthermore, the first round has never been as irrelevant as it is this season. Since week twelve, it has been apparent that the only realistic Super Bowl contenders are the Colts, Seahawks, and ::gulp:: da Bears. By the way, none of those teams play this week.

Seriously, only the northeast cares about the Pats/Jags and I don’t even want to get in to the NFC. I call my self a Giants fan but will most definitely find myself watching college basketball Sunday afternoon. I consider Clinton Portis a lot more entertaining in press conferences than in the actual games.

And the storylines, where are they?

Call me just a casual fan but the only game I’m even thinking about this week is Pittsburgh/Cincinnati because of the chance that Chad Johnson might do something wild. The Patriots are intriguing but also sickening. They are only worth talking about if they beat the Colts next week and there is a fair chance they may not even make it to Indy.

Then as soon as football is exciting again, the Super Bowl is over and we are left with a month of severe boredom. Unfortunately this year, it will be two months.

Call me when March madness starts.

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Not a Good Sign

A Minnesota boys high school hockey team defeated the silver medal winning U.S. Olympic women’s hockey team 2-1 in an exhibition as the ladies prepare for the upcoming winter games in Torino, Italy.

The team’s lone goal doesn’t even seem to have been a clean one. Natalie Darwitz’ second period shot appeared to have hit the cross bar but was then counted as a goal three minutes after the fact.

Assuming there was no instant replay at a high school hockey game, I wonder what had to have transpired in order for the referees to count the goal.

What’s sad is the team (Warroad) plays in Class A which is the weaker of the two Minnesota high school hockey divisions. (If you’re a reader from Connecticut, think Division 2 as compared to Division 1.)

Even worse than that, Warroad isn’t even in the top 10 rankings for their class.

I can only imagine what Holy Angels might do to our Olympic gold hopefuls.

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Did He Really Say That?

The top four comments of the Rose Bowl from the 78 year-old, borderline senile, Keith Jackson.

• After Texas’ field goal attempt was made, Jackson said, “The kick’s wide, inside, sailed down the middle… It’s good!”
  
• After Texas missed its extra point attempt, Jackson said, “The kick is good.”
  
• Realizing how awful a job he was doing, Jackson said, “I’m watching the game with binoculars."
  
• The actual exchange between Jackson and Dan Fouts after Vince Young ran the two point conversion in at the end of the game.
  Jackson: "Only 19 seconds to play, the clock didn't move on that play."
  Fouts: "That was an extra point, it's probably not going to.”

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A Dynasty Falls; Longhorns Win Title

It didn’t take quite as long as the ten years Homer described, but the result was the same. The walls of Troy crumbled and one is left standing.

In this case they hail from Austin, Texas.

For a second consecutive year, Vince Young put on a show in the Rose Bowl rushing for 200 yards and three scores, including the game winner with twenty seconds to play to lead second ranked Texas to an upset 41-38 win over number one USC.

In a match up surrounded by hype, the game lived up to every expectation.

After a low scoring first half, offense took center stage and the contest began to unfold the way most expected. The two teams combined for 53 points in the second half and over 1100 yards of total offense in the game.

In the end however, it was a defensive stop that gave Texas a chance and one of the most talented players you’ll ever see took it from there.

The Longhorns stopped LenDale White on a fourth and two regaining the ball at midfield with just over two minutes to play. After driving down field, Texas faced a fourth and five at the USC eight yard line and Vince Young scrambled in to the end zone to give his team the lead for good.

Of course, no game of this magnitude could go without at least some form on controversy. That came with five minutes to play in the first half when Young’s knee clearly touched the ground before he pitched the ball to teammate Selvin Young for a twelve yard touchdown run.

“I don’t know, I was just trying to make a play,” Young said when asked if his knee was down. “He (Selvin) said pitch the ball so I did.”

After the game, Young who never seize to amaze anyone with his confidence struck a Heisman pose. You’ll remember that after USC’s Reggie Bush won the trophy, Young said he felt he embarrassed his school and would prove him self in the Rose Bowl.

After last season’s final game, he also guaranteed his team would be back in Pasadena.

The loss ended a 34 game winning streak for USC and silenced all doubters, making it as crystal clear as the BCS trophy; Young and his teammates are the kings of college football.

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Thank God He Isn't Your Dad

At the risk of being tasteless, I’ll continue.

Okay, so at some point in your life, it’s likely that your father got physical with you. Sometimes, you probably even deserved it. You know; you steal, you disrespect an adult, you cut your sister's Barbie heads off. You get a little slap. Very justifiable.

But odds are your father wasn’t involved in the greatest boxing match of all time. Odds are your father hasn’t knocked out forty-seven people in his life.

Unfortunately, Thomas Hearns’ son isn’t so lucky. Hearns was arrested after allegedly connecting with a jab above his thirteen year old’s eye.

Hearns posted $10,000 bail and was not allowed any contact with his son.

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Texas Versus History

ESPN’s coverage of the Rose Bowl has been pitiful. For two weeks, Texas wasn’t even mentioned while USC was stacked against the greatest teams in the history of game.

Of course, people began to realize that there was another team in the Rose Bowl and so the network came up with a pathetic feature on the Longhorns. Talk about bias. USC gets matched against history while Texas’ offensive line looks silly dressing up like bodyguards for Vince Young to show how well they protect him.

Texas deserves some credit. If USC is the greatest team ever and this is going to be the greatest game ever, the Longhorns must be the second best team ever, right?

Before we can be sure, let’s take a look at the ten second best teams of all time and see where Texas might find itself. Just as ESPN did with Reggie Bush, be sure to watch as the answer to every question is Vince Young.

10. 1975 Arizona St. (12-0)
The Sun Devils still played in the WAC at the time so they didn’t get the credit they probably deserved. The team had a future Hall of Famer in cornerback Mike Haynes and blew out a strong Washington team that year. In the Fiesta Bowl, they defeated an unbeaten Nebraska team 17-14.

The one knock on this team would be that they did give up points and I think Texas would definitely take advantage. Haynes would only be able to shutdown one side of the field and Vince Young would probably run right through them.
Texas 42-21

9. 1980 Pittsburgh (11-1)
The Panthers were lead by Dan Marino and had a nice team but they were manhandled by Florida State during the season, costing them the National title. This team gave up far too many points, and didn’t score enough in big games to be able to stick with Texas.
Texas 44-17

8. 1984 Washington (11-1)
Washington’s only loss that season was to Rose Bowl winner USC but check out the teams they defeated. The Huskies went to Michigan and beat the third ranked Wolverines and followed that up with an Orange Bowl victory over second ranked Oklahoma.

The Huskies would give Young fits but I don’t see them scoring too often on the Texas defense. In the end, Young find a way to make a play the way he did versus Ohio State early this season.
Texas 28-20

7. 1998 Ohio St (11-1)

Ohio State played a very tough schedule but lost a bad game to Michigan State, its only blemish. They won the Sugar Bowl and other than the loss to MSU, ran the table in the best conference in the country.

I keep looking back at that loss to Michigan State and think that Texas would never lose a game like that. Look at the game where they were down big against Oklahoma State at the half, a great team perseveres and pulls of the win.
Texas 35-21

6. 1979 Southern Cal (11-0-1)
How this team didn’t win the national title, I’ll never know. USC tied Stanford but hammered every team they played after, with most of the big games (ND, Washington, and LSU) on the road. Then they beat top ranked Ohio State in the Rose Bowl.

The Trojans still didn’t score enough to match up with Texas however. The Longhorns might not be able to pass but they there is no way their running game would be stopped.
Texas 35-24

5. 1983 Nebraska (12-1)
This team is a lot like the USC team Texas will play in the Rose Bowl.

Any team that scored 84 points in a single game is scary, and that’s why Nebraska makes the list. The Huskers had a Heisman trophy winning quarterback and also the top two picks of the 84’ NFL draft in Irvin Fryar and Dean Steinkuhler.

Nebraska’s schedule was pretty weak and that’s what makes me skeptical. I like Vince Young rising to the occasion once again.
Texas 38-31

4. 1986 Miami (11-1)
The Hurricanes outscored their opposition 430-150 but were defeated in the Fiesta Bowl by Penn State. The Nittany Lions played ball control in that game and I think the Longhorn running game could do the same. Miami would come close, but fall.
Texas 24-17

3. 1966 Alabama (11-0)
The era has to be taken into account here. No college football team could ever dominate the way this Crimson Tide team did today. They only gave up 44 points all season! Somehow the voters picked both Notre Dame and Michigan State (9-0-1) ahead of them.

Considering that they played in the 60s’ Texas would obviously be far bigger, faster, and stronger than the Crimson Tide, thus winning the game.
Texas 28-14

2. 2002 Miami Football (12-1)
Texas and this Miami team actually have a common opponent. The freshmen on the team Miami lost to (Ohio State) are seniors now and lost to the Longhorns early this season.

Miami did defeat Florida, Florida State, Tennessee, and Virginia Tech that year, all of whom were ranked in the top ten at some point.

The only reason I like Texas in this game is because I think they are much better than the Ohio State team that beat the Hurricanes in the Fiesta Bowl.
Texas 31-24

1. 1971 Oklahoma (11-1)
Some believe Oklahoma lost the greatest game ever played to Nebraska in 71’ and played a ridiculous schedule. The Sooners finished second behind Nebraska and just in front of Colorado as the Big Eight boasted a 1-2-3 national finish.

The team had two 1,000 yard rushers and finished with almost 1000 more total yards than any team in the country. The Sooners could score with anyone but based on the era of play, I’ll take Texas.
Texas 45-35

Its official, I managed to make Vince Young the only player I mentioned from the 2005 Texas Longhorns, yet still crown them as the “second best team ever.”

With all of that being said, I like USC tonight, 44-21.

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Random Rumblings: College Football Edition

• I’ll go out on a limb and assume that ESPN’s Chris Spielman might not be covering bowl games next season. Spielman, while absolutely correct, was very harsh on the referees in the Florida/Iowa game, even calling the officiating unconscionable. I’m sure the NCAA will have something to say about his commentary.
  
• Notre Dame will be in the top five next season, but Ohio State showed they were far and away the superior team in the Fiesta bowl. Take away a few mistakes and the Buckeyes could have scored 50.
  
• Laura Quinn looked completely ridiculous in the dual Ohio State/Notre Dame jersey that she wore during the game.
  
• West Virginia is the only active Big East team to have won a BCS bowl game.
  
• Reason number 3384032 that the BCS isn’t that bad: If it were still the old system, USC would play Penn State and Texas would have probably played Notre Dame. Instead, we have an all-time match up. I’ll take the latter.
  
• Does Lou Holtz forget to wear his dentures every week on ESPN? I can’t understand a word the guy says.
  
• NBC couldn’t have picked a worse time to interview Mike Vick about his brother. Just as they began asking questions, Marcus was sacked and then deliberately stepped directly on the knee of a Louisville linebacker. He just isn’t a good person.
  
• Maurice Clarett won’t be eluding NFL defenses any time soon. He can’t even get away from drunken men in a bar without getting caught.
  
• The hype surrounding USC might a little over the top but if they defeat Texas, they’ll have put together the greatest three year run in college football history.
  
• I hate that Joe Paterno and Bobby Bowden are compared so closely. It’s a disgrace to Paterno, who runs a classy program and has given so much to his school. Under Bowden, Florida State has replaced Miami as the school where felons go to flourish.
  
• Although I don't like previews and predictions, I suppose I should write one for the Rose Bowl. So here’s a start. Off the top of my head, I can name ten USC players, including their backup quarterback. I can barely name two Texas starters. USC 40 - Texas…
  

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Here's to the Fantasy Football Losers of the World

Today, we salute you, Mr. Fantasy Football loser.

As you sit with that blank stare, alone, checking statistics on your computer, you ask yourself, “Why oh why didn’t I draft Shaun Alexander?”

It’s a fact. Like a bad beat story in poker, no one cares about what you have to say, but you’re going to tell them anyway. You drafted that bum Culpepper too early. You had Terrell Owens. The Baltimore defense flopped.

Oblivious to all those trying to get away, you continue. Priest got hurt and some jerk already had Larry Johnson. Yeah you picked Peyton Manning, but he stunk early and choked it up in week 15.

Sure your girl friend thinks you’re a freak and you did lose the $200 entry fee, but you take solace in the fact that your other team (the Oscar Robertson’s) dominated the yahoo free public league.

While it was you who drafted name over game, you can only blame those expletive-ing players. Jamal Lewis did rehab in jail, but he’s supposed to rush for 1500 yards and 20 scores!

Now the dream is over and you have nothing left to do, so crack open an ice cold Bud Light, Mr. I Need to Tell Everyone my Sob Story, and keep thinking to yourself…

Fantasy baseball starts in three months; I need to find a team name!

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Small Schools Should Leave Big East

The Big East might be moving forward, but some of its charter members are being left behind. Now, those schools are in need of a change.

It’s time to move on.

Other than being deeply rich in tradition, Georgetown, St. John’s, Seton Hall, and Providence have nothing left to offer the conference. At the same time, all the league can offer them is its doormat.

It’s only going to get worse for these schools, as recruiting is going to continue to get more difficult.

The addition of Louisville is where the teams need to draw the line. The Cardinals came in a perennial final four contender that only has to battle with Kentucky for supremacy of a recruiting hot bed. Not to mention their coach, Rick Pitino, has serious ties to New York and already recruits the city better than any team in the conference.

I am of the opinion that those four, along with Villanova should leave the conference and start a new league, possibly bringing in the likes of St. Joseph’s and Temple. Between one and three other schools would also need to be added.

Obviously, Villanova would be the cause of the greatest argument. The Wildcats are currently the nation’s third ranked team and made a name for their selves by barely losing to eventual national champion North Carolina in the NCAA tournament last season.

But Villanova has not exactly been the model of consistency having only made the NCAA Tournament twice since 1997.

The nice group that the Wild Cats have produced is the exception, as opposed to the rule.

Unfortunately, there is just no way that the small schools can continually produce winners in a world dominated by Connecticut, Louisville, and Syracuse.

Georgetown is another school with a talented team that may have it’s “up” years but will never be a dominant school again. Next year, they might have a Villanova type team, but where will they be the following season?

The main group that needs to leave is the trio of St. John’s, Providence, and Seton Hall.

The latter two would fit perfectly into a different conference, one with enrollments as low as them, and one that doesn’t force you to spend a lot to be competitive. With more schools dipping into their already filled recruiting pool, these schools simply have no chance.

St. John’s has everything to offer in the greatest basketball city in the world, but cannot put things together. Louisville, Pittsburgh and Connecticut can basically handpick the players they want, leaving the Red Storm with the scraps.

Some even believe that Hofstra has replaced St. John’s as the best team in lower New York, especially considering that the Pride have beaten them by at least ten three years in a row.

By creating a league for the smaller schools, recruiting will still be difficult, but the talent around each team will not be on a different level.

Joining these five Big East schools with a few other area private schools would make for a very competitive league, arguably the second best in the mid-Atlantic region.

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