Seriously???

Ok, this is not funny any more.  I would like to know how they justify ranking Kansas above Texas.  Texas has played a MUCH tougher schedule.  Kansas has played ONE top 25 team.  And they LOST to that team.  Texas has a LOT more quality wins.  2 of their losses are to top 10 teams.  Connecticut and Pittsburgh.  They have wins over Illinois, North Carolina, Michigan State, Texas A&M, KANSAS, and Missouri.  They face Texas A&M again tonight on Big Monday.  Who is KU's quality wins??  Memphis has fallen apart and is no better than Kansas State.  The only ranked team they've played is Texas and they lost.  Now before you go accusing me of being impartial again, I don't like Texas any more than I like Kansas.  I am not being impartial, just stating facts.  Look at their schedules.  See for yourself.  I suppose you could use the Bob Stoops arguement.  Even thought they (Texas) beat us (KU) head to head, we (KU) beat USC and they (Texas) lost to USC.  That's a load of crap.  If KU had a few more quality wins, against good quality teams, I would have no problem at all with them ranked where they are.  And I'm not saying they shouldn't be in the top 5.  All I'm saying is that it's only right and fair that they swap with Texas.  It should be Ohio State, Texas, Kansas.  Texas' schedule gets easier after tonight, and KU's get's tougher.  By the end of the season they will be a little more even.  If both teams win out, and that's a very likely possibility, then it's a tough call who's the better team.  But right now, Texas should be higher.  But, I know, it's not gonna happen.  One thing's for sure.  these last few weeks are going to be very entertaining, and I'm looking forward to it.

Impartial is impossible

I am going to start off by saying that Kansas is one of the best teams in the country.  But they are not the best.  Technically speaking, they aren't even the best team in the Big 12.  Texas is 5-0 in conference play and at this moment up on Missouri 10-0.  Beating up on K-State does not prove anything.  They are #11 in the conference standings.  K-State looked absolutely awful tonight.  They had nothing on their side.  When you have the ball go completely through the hoop and come back out, that's just a bad night.  I thought once the ball went through the rim it was counted as a shot, but maybe I'm wrong.  Kansas did everything right tonight.  As I said earlier in the week the Ohio State/Purdue game was a preview.  This game was VERY similar to that one.  Kansas shot lights out, and K-State could even make layups.  I must give respect for one person.  Thomas Robinson.  To say his last month was rough would be a drastic understatement.  He had an amazing game.  His effort was inspiring. 
I'm tired of hearing that I'm supposed to be impartial.  Dick Vitale, probably america's favorite play by play man did exactly as I predicted he would.  He started the broadcast by bragging about Kansas, and then going into the disappointment of K-State.  He NEVER said a bad thing about Kansas all night, and NEVER said a positive thing about K-State.  Yes, I realize K-State definately did not help their cause tonight, and there weren't many good things to say about them.  Shannon  Sharpe is another example.  He never says a bad thing about Denver or Baltimore.  Denver could go into a game 0-10 against a 8-2 KC team and he would still pick Denver to win.  Vitale is the same way about North Carolina and Duke.   People in those positions are supposed to be impartial.  So if they don't have to be then why should I be??  I'm just a blogger, with a few reads a day, not being watched by millions of people.  My feelings about KU are no secret.  Too say I hate them would be an understatement.  I could go on and on with reasons I don't like them.  I won't do that.  But what I will say is that what I am saying tonight is not because I despise them.  If that were the case I wouldn't be saying they are top 5 team.  It's not a matter of being impartial, it's a matter of stepping back and looking at BOTH sides of the arguement.  KU fan is just like Dick Vitale, not looking at the near misses and close calls and giving their team a pass to the conference and tournament championship.  They are putting their team #1 despite the fact that their are better teams out there.  No one is impartial.  I don't care who you are, no one can be completely objective because it's all a matter of perspective.  When facts are stated it makes you sound partial, when you are merely stating facts.  I don't want to hear about the past.  I'm not talking about the past.  Bill Self's resume at Kansas is impressive, yes.  I am talking about THIS season and this season alone.  That's all that matters.  Winning the national championship a few years ago has just as much affect on this season as loosing to Northern Iowa last season.  None whatsoever. 
I'm not trying to say that Kansas isn't a good team.  Nothing would make me happier than to see them fall flat on their face.  But they won't.  Because they are a good team.  They will move up to #3 in the rankings on Monday.  But as has been the case in the past, they have had too many close calls and they somehow seem to squeak by.  They've had close calls against UCLA, USC, overtime against Michigan, Nebraska, and most recently Colorado.  They've done what's needed to win those games, yes.  But it will catch up with them.  As it always does it will catch up with them in the tournament.  There are too many good teams out there that will take advantage of KU's mistakes.  This is the first I have watched them play this season, and they did not show me much.  They played the #11 team in the conference.  K-State is bad right now.  Ok, bad is an understatement.  Beating them does not show me anything.  Right now they (KU) are the #2 team in the conference.  I find it funny the sports writers had Kansas ranked #6 and Texas ranked #7 after Texas just mopped the floor with Kansas IN LAWRENCE.  If they want to prove they are the best they need to beat Texas A&M and Missouri BOTH times.  They need to beat teams like Nebraska, Colorado, and Iowa State by more than just a few points.  They will probably end up winning the Big 12.  They will be ranked #1 at least one more time before the end of the season.  But as usual, they will end their season with disappointment unless the figure out how to put these lower teams away.  The Big 12, Big 10, and the Big East are very deep.  Syracuse and Georgetown are #8 and #10 in the Big East.  Michigan State is #7 in the Big 10.  A team like Georgetown, Penn State, or Syracuse isn't going to let them off so easy.
Kansas is a good team.  They will be ranked #3 on Monday.  And they deserve that ranking.  But I just haven't seen anything that makes me believe they are a Final 4 team.  Ohio State, Duke, Kansas, Texas, and Pittsburgh will round out the top five, in that order.  I will be surprised if there are more than 1 of those teams in the Final 4.  But, KU loves to prove me wrong, and they probably will. 

NFL Future

I had an interesting thought while writing last night about the Titans.  The future of the NFL seems to be very interesting.  You have 4 VERY good coaches available right now, and several other coaches with current teams that have proven themselves.  At the end of next season there will be a new CBA in place and as usual there will be several coaching vacancies.  I believe that the Vick thing in Philly will backfire and Andy Reid will suffer the same fate as Dan Reeves and Jim Mora Jr.  So you will have Cowher, Billick, Gruden, Fisher, and possibly Reid available, and I think Jimmy Johnson could be lured out of retirement with the right offer, but it's not very likely.  You put those guys in the league with coaches that are already there, such as Rex Ryan, Bill Belichick, Mike Tomlin, the Harbaugh brothers, Mike McCarthy, Sean Payton, and Tom Coughlin.  That should make for some VERY good teams.  I think the league needs it.  It's time for some new blood in the playoffs.  It will make for a more even playing field.  I'm curious to see how it's going to play out.  There are a few coaches that are early in their tenure, but appear to be having success.  Todd Haley in Kansas City, Jim Caldwell in Indy, Pete Caroll in Seattle, Steve Spagnuolo in St Louis, Raheem Morris in Tampa, and Mike Smith in Atlanta.  If the teams that hired this season didn't get it right, they are going to be way behind.  I don't think John Fox in Denver will last long, Oakland goes through coaches left and right, but Harbaugh in San Francisco and Frazier in Minnesota appear to be a good fit.
There are going to be more openings after this season than last.  Jacksonville has already told Del Rio its playoffs or bust.  Miami has made it clear that they want a different coach.  Being in the same division as the Patriots and Jets that doesn't give Sparano much hope.  Marvin Lewis will be out in Cincinnati, as I stated earlier I think the Vick thing will backfire and cost Andy Reid his job, Kubiak will be out in Houston.  The AFC West will be between the Chiefs and Raiders, costing Norv Turner his job in San Diego.  I think the Bears are waiting to see what happens or they would have offered Lovie Smith an extension.  With what's transpired this week in Chicago with Cutler, it's going to go one of two ways.  The team will either fall apart and get embarrased, or they will all rally around Cutler and have a very good season.  If they fall apart he's gone, but I think they will rally and take care of business.  And lastly, I think Shanahan will get things turned around in Washington, but if not, he's gone as well.  I'm curious to see how all this plays out.  I just hope one of the Big 5 don't end up in the AFC West unless it's with the Chiefs!!

The carousel isn't done spinning yet...

Well, the coaching carousel took an unexpected boost last night.  We all thought it had rolled to a stop, but Tennessee gave it one last shove, unexpectedly.  We all thought that Bud Adams and the Titans had made their choice, saying they would trade or release Vince Young, and stay with Jeff Fisher as their Head Coach.  Well, someone changed their mind apparently.  The Titans announced last night that they and Jeff Fisher are parting ways.  As always there is a lot of speculation about why and what's going to happen next.  I did particularly like Mike and Mike's take on the situation.  This is actually in Fisher's best interest entering the final year of his current contract.  He is more than likely facing a "rebuilding" year and the Titans aren't likely to have a good season next year, making it hard to renegociate a new contract. Fisher made the comment that he needed rest.  That and with all the other coaching vacancies filled at the moment it's not likely that he will end up coaching next season.  It's kinda funny though that everyone is putting him on tv already.  He very well may end up on tv, but it's only been a few hours! Let's give the man time and let him make up his own mind.  Next season he will be right up there with Cowher, Gruden, and Billick who will be able to pick their own job.  I will get to that later.  The question of the moment is, Where do the Titans go from here?  It's being speculated that they will hire within, and that may be the smart thing to do.  It's not really an appealing job with the prospect of rebuilding, possible work stoppage, etc.  But the Titans and owner Bud Adams have something that's very hard to find these days.  Patience, trust, and understanding.  Fisher was the longest tenured coach to this point.  He has been the only head coach Tennessee has had.  Bud Adams hired him when they were still the Houston Oilers.  I remember them moving from Houston to Nashville, spending one season in Memphis while their stadium was being built because the city of Houston let them out of their lease a year early.  That is something that is unheard of this day in age.  It's all about "what have you done for me lately?"  Their are very few organizations that are this way.  Andy Reid becomes the league's most tenured coach now at 12 years.  Belichick was hired by the Patriots a year later, making his tenure 11 years.  The Steelers deserve to be mentioned in this category.  Since 1969 they have only had 3 head coaches.  Had Bill Cowher not resigned, he would still be the coach there.  These organizations understand that their are growing pains and that things happen.  Look at what happened in Nashville this season.  Vince Young quit on his team, again, and that team fell apart.  Young is a cancer.  He may be the most talented QB in the league but his attitude and work ethic make him one of the worst.  They had a very successful year 2 years ago with Kerry Collins at the helm.  They finished 13-3 and won the AFC South, a division usually won by the Colts.  Vince Young takes over and look what happens.  All of it came to a head this season, and when it did, most teams would have fired their head coach then and their.  Ask Wade Phillips.  Young is a younger version of Michael Vick.  Ask Dan Reeves and Jim Mora Jr.  Both coaches were casualties of Vick.  Owners usually side with their rich, overpaid, overrated quaterbacks.  The Titans sided with Fisher and let him finish the season, and even decided to get rid of their cancer.
I have a suggestion for the Titans.  The future doesn't look very bright.  In fact looks downright gloomy.  It doesn't have to be.  You already have a few weapons in place, so why not go after a few more??  You have 2 major voids to fill, head coach and quarterback.  I have a suggestion for both.  I will start with the QB position.  The Eagles appear likely to fall on the sword named Michael Vick.  And Andy Reid will be the next casualty of Vick.  Kevin Kolb has said that if they resign Vick, he wants to be traded.  Realisticly in the situation you are in, your best case scenario is to hold on to Kerry Collins for another year, and this may be the best rout to take, but why not get a young talented QB who could be the future of the team? He has far more years in him than Kerry Collins and would be a good stable presence in the locker room and a good leader for a team that desparetly needs it.  Next is the head coaching vacancy.  Again the best move might be to promote within.  But you have several other opportunities to pursue and no competition.  So, why not go after Bill Cowher or John Gruden? What's the worst that could happen?  They would say no, then plan B, promote within.  Here's another idea.  Marty Schottenheimer is no longer under contract with the San Diego Chargers.  He has a history of turning teams around.  In 20 1/2 seasons as a head coach he only had 2 losing seasons.  That's a pretty impressive stat alone.  He's a regular in the playoffs.  I know, he's getting old.  So he's not a permanent fix.  But, who do you think he would hire to run his offense??  His son Brian will be a head coach in the NFL someday, and someday soon.  So, give Marty a 2 or 3 year contract, enough time to turn things around then turn the reigns over to Brian.  Everyone is talking about the doom of the Titans.  Why not make the future a bright one instead of a gloomy one??  Sounds like a good idea to me!!  As a personal fan of Marty, i'd love to see him on the sidelines again.

Simpler? Really?

Nascar released their new points system last night.  Sounds like something we've heard before.  It is supposed to be easier for the fans to understand and put more of an emphasis on winning.  Don't we hear that every year??  First of all I don't think the fans will ever understand how the NASCAR points system works.  But the way I understand it, the winner of a race will receive 43 points plus a 3 point bonus for winning the race.  Second place will receive 42 points decreasing by one point per spot finished.  So, to be clear the difference between finishing first and second is 4 points??   So if you win 4 races per year, and in most years, that's a LOT, that's 16 points.  Yeah, that's really rewarding you for a win.  That will not change anything.  Drivers will be just as conservative as they always have been.  The second or third place driver will still take that finish with the opinion that those 4 or 5 points is not worth the risk of going for it.  Several things can happen.  They could still not gain a spot.  They could try to pass, get hung up and drop several spots, and a worst case scenario, crash and finish at the bottom.  Those few points are not worth that risk.  This will not change how teams and drivers aproach those last few laps.  The biggest change they made was to the "Chase".  The first 10 drivers will still qualify by points as before, but the last 2 spots will be "Wild Card" qualifiers.  The drivers between the 11th and 20th spot with the most wins will qualify.  This sounds ok, but realisticly, how is that going to work.  the most wins these drivers will have is 2.  IF a driver has very many more wins than that, they will be in the top 10.  What happens if you have 3 or 4 drivers with the same number of wins?  What's the tiebreaking procedure?
If they really want to change the system, change the playoff system.  Going into the season, we already know who's going to win the championship.  Same as the last four years.  If you want to change things, change this.  I don't imagine I'm the only fan tired of Jimmy Johnson.  How about rewarding drivers for their points in the first 26 races.  In 2009 Tony Stewart went into the chase with a 237 point lead over Jeff Gordon.  The following year Kevin Harvick went into the chase with a 219 point lead over Jeff Gordon.  He started the chase in 3rd place.  He finished the chase 3rd behind Hamlin and Johnson, who were placed in front of him.  He got nothing for the #1 ranking after 26 races.  Let's make a comparison.  On one hand the New England Patriots went into the playoffs with a #1 seed, tops in the AFC and lost their first game.  But, on the other hand, they had the best record in the AFC and got the #1 seed, and home field advantage.  How fair would it be if the Patriots were given the #3 seed? The reward for finishing with the best record in the conference is having to play on the first weekend, etc.  Then let's give the Chiefs the #1 seed because they were 4-0 against the NFC West.  Then since we're in a giving mood, let's give the 8-8 Raiders a playoff spot over the Jets because they finished 6-0 in their division.  How fair is this??  Well, that's how the NASCAR points system works.  Denny Hamlin jumped 9 spots to the top spot.  Jimmy Johnson jumped 5 spots to #2, while Harvick dropped to third and Jeff Gordon dropped from the second spot, all the way to #8.  The previous year Stewarts lead was wiped out, and Mark Martin moved up 9 spots to the top spot, while second place Jeff Gordon dropped to 6th.  That sounds pretty fair, doesn't it??  Johnson eventually won his 3rd and 4th championship.  Harvick's reward was a 3rd place finish, Stewarts reward was a 6th place finish.  NASCAR does need to put more emphasis on winning.  I agree with that.  But, NASCAR is more about winning.  The only time they are rewarding wins is in seeding the top 12.  If the other spots aren't as important, why do they keep track of top 5 and top 10 finishes??  Because they are important as well.  Harvick had 16 top 5 finishes and 26 top 10 finishes.  That is more than any other drivers.  That means he finished in the top 10 in 2/3 of the races.  That is why he was leading points, not his 3 wins.  This needs to be rewarded to.  Racing is different than football.  In racing, it's about consistency.  That's why they keep track of top 5 and 10 finishes.
The "wild card" system is a joke.  Last season after the "Regular Season", meaning the 26th race, the drivers in 11 to 20 place had 5 wins, one driver with 2 and three drivers with one win.  In 2009 there were 4 wins, one with 2, and two with 1.  In '07 there were three drivers with 1 win each.  Getting the idea.  The "wild card" idea sounds like a good plan, but realistically it's not going to change things any more than their rewards for a win.  Making another comparison NASCAR is like the BCS.  They took an imperfect system and made a joke out of it.  They started with good intentions to try and improve an imperfect system and just made things worse.  They try to improve the system they came up with because they think they can make it better and fair, mainly because they are too proud to admit that they were wrong.  NASCAR was better off under their old points system than they are now with this "Playoff" just as college football was better off in the Pre-BCS days.
Race #36 is just as important to me as race #2.  Their biggest race is the Daytona 500, the first race of the season.  And that's never going to change.  How about doing away with the "playoff" system and changing the schedule around.  NASCAR wants to make the end of the season more meaningful, draw more viewers, give people the races they want to see at the end of the season.  Put a Bristol race, a Daytona race, a Darlington race, an Indianapolis race, a Charlotte race in the final 10 races instead of a Loudon, Dover, or Phoenix race.  Kansas or Chicago is going to have the same draw in March or April than October.  This would draw a lot more attention than the current system.  Why not start the season in Daytona and finish in Charlotte?  These two tracks have the most history in NASCAR.  Why not have a 2 week race like Daytona, having a shootout one weekend, qualifying during the week and a big race to close out the season? Sounds pretty good to me.  Sounds a lot better then watching Jimmy Johnson win his 5th title in a row.
I used to be a pretty big NASCAR fan.  NASCAR is the biggest spectator sport in America.  Their fans are very loyal.  I am only one fan.  But my interest in NASCAR has diminished considerably since they started this chase for the cup.  The last two season's my favorite two driver's have been robbed of the championship they earned and deserved.  NASCAR fans are very loyal and in the grand scheme of things probably won't change much in the eyes of most fans.  But they've lost this one, and these changes aren't bringing me back any time soon.  Good luck to everyone else.  Better start practicing your congratulations Jimmy speeches.  Another season or two and you will have it memorized.

Preparation

I must say I was a little disappointed after watching the game last night.  Ohio State absolutely mopped the floor with Purdue.  I can't find a good thing to say about that game from Purdue's perspective.  Ohio State looked VERY impressive.  I was expecting a good close game.  Everyone gets up for the #1 team in the country.  The Iowa's and Texas Tech's circle those days on their calendar.  Teams like Kansas, Duke, North Carolina, Ohio State, etc. always get everyone's best shot.  Colorado almost upset Kansas the other night.  Well, Purdue must have forgot to circle that date.  Ohio State got off to a good, fast start and never looked back.  They had a BIG lead at half time.  I only kept watching hoping that they would fix things at halftime and come out strong and make a game of it.  Well, not only did that not happen, but it got worse.  It was a completely different team than Saturday night against Michigan State.  Saturday night they beat a very good Michigan State team.  The score doesn't do it justice.  They good a lead and never let MSU get back into it.  Everytime they tried to make a run, Purdue had an answer.  Well, that was a completely different Purdue team Tuesday night.  Saturday night they could have beat Ohio State, Kansas, Pittsburgh, or Duke.  Tuesday night they couldn't have beat Iowa or Texas Tech.  Every team has a bad night.  Hopefully they got the message that they are human and this was a one game thing, unlike K-State who still hasn't recovered.  That got me to thinking.  I think they were preparing me for the misery i'm going to endure this Saturday night.  I want to be optomistic and say that it's going to be a good game.  The KSU has a chance and could very likely pull of the upset.  I really want to believe that.  But....  let's be realistic here.  To say that K-State has underachieved this season would be an understatement.  They were the preseason pick to win the Big XII.  They started off 1-3 in conference play.  On the other side of the court you have the Jayhawks.  To say that I don't like them would be an understatement.  Most of you reading this already know how much I dislike them.  They suffered their first home loss in almost 70 games at the Phog Saturday night and almost got upset by Colorado the other night.  Its not very likely that a team as good as Kansas is going to have 3 bad games in a row.  A slumping K-State team and a upset KU team doesn't spell good for Wildcat fans.  I am hoping and praying that KSU plays their best game of the season.  I would love nothing more than another upset.  It's the best of both worlds for me with my team winning, and KU loosing.  I really wish we could have Brent Musburger and Bob Knight call the game though.  I am NOT looking forward to listening to the "impartial" Dick Vitale.  From the wonderful Morris twins, to the "diaper dandy" Josh Selby.  The only time he will talk about KSU is how disappointing their season has been so far, and how they have underachieved.  Got a preview of that already last Saturday night.  And I don't have the luxury of using the mute button and listening to Wyatt Thompson and Stan Weber.  But, as soon as they start that stupid chant, I'm changing the channel, if I haven't already.  I'm hoping for a good game.  It will be hard to top last year's game.  I hope the Ohio State/Purdue game wasn't a preview, but it's not looking very good.  Go Wildcats...

Superbowl Bound

Congratulations to the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Both teams are well deserving of that trip to Arlington.  The Pittsburgh Steelers finally silenced the Jets.  I don't mean to take anything away from the Jets.  They beat the 2 best quarterbacks in the league and almost beat the 3rd.  They played all 3 games on the road, in hostile environments.  That is quite a gauntlet.  They did it very convincingly.  The first half of the game the Pittsburgh Steelers dominated.  There is no other word to describe it, complete dominance.  Most teams going into halftime after a half like that would fold.  Instead, like their counterparts on the other sideline the previous week against Baltimore, they came out in the second half and almost pulled off a miracle comeback.  It was a very impressive performance by the entire team.  I am very impressed with Mark Sanchez.  After watching that play and the way he landed on his elbow, I thought he dislocated his shoulder.  I am not sure the extent of his injury and it may have been nothing, but he shook it off and fought on.  It was a very gutsy performance.  He proved in this run in the playoffs that he belongs on that field.  On the other sideline, Big Ben at the beginning of the game took a knee to the thigh, something that hurts more some people realize.  A bruised thigh was the "excuse" for the reason Vick played like crap against the Vikings in week 16.  When it came down to it, the Pittsburgh Steelers made the plays they had to at the end of the game.  Both teams deserve to be playing in the Superbowl, but there can only be one winner.  It was a very good game and came down to the wire and that's what everyone likes to see.  Me personally, I'd rather see my team win 40-3, but that's not good for ratings.  On the other side of the league was a different story.  I thought this game was a little boring myself.  The Green Bay Packers were clearly the better team on that day.  And as the Jets proved the week before, that's all that matters.  The Bears defense performed very well, as I expected them to.  The offense just forgot to show up.  They kept the damage to a minimum and kept it close enough that the Bears did end up making a game of it.  I will get to the story of the game in a minute.  Jay Cutler left the game with a knee injury early in the third quarter.  Todd Collins came in and just made matters worse.  So they turn to third string quarterback Caleb Hanie.  For barely having any playing time he performed very well and almost brought the Bears back.  There are 2 plays that won the game for the Green Bay Packers.  The pick 6 and the interception with the Bears driving late to clinch the game.  The same can be said as with the Steelers.  They made the plays they had to to win the game.  They earned the trip to the big game and deserve to be there.  The story of the day goes to Jay Cutler.  I have never been a Jay Cutler fan.  From the first snap he took for the Denver Broncos, I have never believed in him.  I believe he is a FAR less talented John Elway.  I heard a comment on ESPNRadio yesterday that the Cutler trade to the Bears will go down as the biggest bust of all time.  I said that the day they made that trade.  The Broncos were the clear winners in that trade.  I said it then and still believe it now.  Jay Cutler is no different that Rex Grossman.  When he shows up, he's ok, but when he doesn't........  I've waited to address this issue because I knew there was more to it than we knew Sunday evening and I didn't want to jump to conclusions.  It has been confirmed that he had a sprained MCL and from what doctors say is that it is just like a tear and would be very painful and difficult to continue.  As far as him going out of the game, it was the doctors call to sit him down.  As Tony Dungy said, the doctors make the call.  If they said a player was done, they were done, end of story.  The doctors make the final call.  Let's say for arguement sake that it was a head injury.  He went out and played and took several more hits.  All the attention given to players safety and injuries, you can not afford to take chances with players health and well being.  This story is because the Bears were getting beat, and the offense was ineffective.  If the Bears were up by 2 touchdowns when that happened, he would be a hero and we would not be giving this story any attention at all.  I am still not a Cutler fan or believer, but I think this has been blown way out of proportion and people need to back off and leave this alone.
I believe both the Steelers and Packers are deserving of a trip to the Superbowl.  But how would you rank the top teams in the NFL.  Throughout the season there were 3 teams that I thought were a class above the rest, and that was the Jets, Patriots, and the Steelers.  I have no problem with the playoff setup in the NFL and don't think it needs to be changed at all.  But if the playoffs were intermingled I believe the final 4 teams left standing would all be out of the AFC.  The AFC has the 4 best teams.  But that's not the way things work.
This should be a very good game.  These are 2 of the stingiest defenses in the NFL.  That means we will see a shootout.  Usually when it's supposed to be a defensive game such as this one is, that's usually how it turns out.  Those defenses forget to show up.  The Packers lack of a running game could be a big setback.  I don't think this will be an issue.  Good teams find a way to win.  They haven't had a running game most of the season, yet are in the Superbowl.  They've been doing something right.  I do believe the Steelers are the better team.  I think the determining factor in this game is going to be the experience factor.  The Steelers have been in more close games, have been to the superbowl for the 3rd time in 6 years, and in those close games have been clutch.  They have sealed the deal.  I think the Steelers will win in a shootout.  I am looking forward to the battle of the Titletown's.

Congratulations

Congratulations to the Schroeder family!!  Reese Elizabeth Schroeder, born today.  9 lbs 13 oz. 21.5"  pretty impressive stats.  Quoting my younger sister, "We grow 'em big in this family." She joins an already impressive team, Gavin, Brody, and Halle.  Excited for all of them.  Well done Mom and Dad.  Keep up the good work.

The Beginning...

College basketball is off to a good start in conference play.  There have been some surprises and disappointments.  Then there's what everyone expects.  The ESPN Gameday crew was in West Lafayette today, therefore I got to litsten to Dicky V tonight.  Sometimes he is a little difficult to listen to.  I am NOT looking forward to next weekend.  Commentators are supposed to be impartial.  But there are 3 teams that he is very partial to.  Kansas is one of those.  While Kansas will probably wipe the floor with the Wildcats next Saturday, I am not looking forward to hearing Dick Vitale's version of the game.  Tonight he did very well.  Purdue looked very impressive in keeping a good Michigan State team at bay, not letting them get close.  They are headed into a brutal part of their schedule, including @ #1 Ohio State Tuesday night.  Matt Painter was on Dick Vitale's top 6 coaches list.  One thing I didn't know is that most of Purdue's roster came from right here in Indiana.  The only players from out of state are from Toledo, Ohio, and Decatur, Illinois.  He takes local kids and turns them into a national contenders.  How many players on Bill Self's roster are from the state of Kansas??  4, out of 15 players.  I don't think Purdue will win the Big 10.  I think there are 2 teams out of the Big 10 with final four capability, and that's Ohio State and Purdue.  Minnesota could be a sleeper and surprise people.  I have not followed the Big East much, so I don't know a whole lot about them, but from what i know and here, there are probably 3 teams with Final Four capability.  Pittsburgh, Villanova, and Syracuse.  I think UCONN will fall apart in conference play.  My sleeper pick out of the Big East would probably be Georgetown.  Dick Vitale ranked the top 3 conferences in this order:  Big East, Big Ten, then the Big XII.  I truly believe that the Big XII has 4 teams the could easily make the Final Four.  Texas, Missouri, Kansas, and Texas A&M.  My sleeper in this conference could easily be a doormat, just as easy.  But Kansas State has an enormous amount of talent.  If they can get their act together and play to their potential could easily make a run deep into the tournament.  But with a 1-4 start in conference play, they might be lucky to even get into the tournament.  I don't think I would get much argument in saying that K-State is the biggest disappointment of the season so far.  Their schedule is favorable for a respectable finish in the Big XII, but they've got to get their act together first or they won't get out of the basement.  Dick Vitale is partially right if you go by ranked teams, that's a safe way of ranking the conferences.  But if you look at quality teams, you have to go Big XII, Big East, and Big Ten in that order.  But it's only the beginning of conference play and a lot can happen.  Things can go wrong, upsets can happen.  So it's a little early to predict and final four, but I think there are only a few teams that stand out about the rest at this point in the season.  It's going to be an interesting run.  Looking forward to seeing what happens.

Respect

I've been listening to playoff coverage all week.  What do you think we would be hearing if the New England Patriots were playing this weekend instead of the Jets??  We'd be hearing all non stop about the Patriots Dynasty, even though they haven't won a superbowl since 2005.  I believe the Steelers deserve some respect here.  How are they any different than the Patriots.  They have more of a storied past than the Patriots do.  They have stable and dedicated ownerships.  They both have good stable quarterbacks.  Both are easily top 5 in the league.  They are in the playoffs consistently, year after year.  The Steelers are playing for their 3rd appearance in 6 years.  The Patriots haven't won a Superbowl in that time.  They have been good, yes.  Their undefeated regular season was in there, but that ended with a loss to the Giants in one of the best superbowl's of all time.  The accomplishments of these two teams are very similar.  I'm not trying to take anything away from the Patriots.  While i do not like them, their accomplishments are quite impressive.  I am just trying to get a little deserved respect for the Steelers.  It is no easy task to win in the NFL.  For a team to do it consistantly, year in and year out is quite impressive and respect should be paid.  So let's give the Steelers credit where credit is due.  When they win on Sunday and get into their 3rd superbowl in 6 years let's give them a little respect.

BCS vs Playoff

I was having a little writers block this afternoon trying to decide what to write about tonight.  While out this evening, I turned the radio to ESPN Radio hoping to get a little inpsiration.  They came through for me in a big way.  I tuned in just in time to hear an interview with BCS Executive Director, Bill Hancock.  About all I took away from the interview as that as long as he is in charge there will be absolutely no possibility of a playoff.  Not even a discussion about it.  I know this is the most popular debate and everyone has an opinion on it and people are getting tired of hearing about it, but this is about me and my opinions, so I'm going to weigh in on the subject.
Now I don't know Mr. Hancock personally, so it's not fair for me to judge his character solely on a 5 minute interview.  But he came across as one of the most arrogant people I've heard.  The general tone of this interview was that he as well as the conference commissioners, university presidents, etc. want nothing whatsoever to do with a playoff system.  I as well as most of America know that it's mostly about the money.  But seriously, Mr. Hancock, you need to come up with some better material and excuses.  One of his "reasons" was that it would interfere with the students and their classes.  That's a good reason, if it were true.  How does it work for the 11 or 12 "regular season" games??  Those games don't interfere with the students classes??  How is a few extra weeks gonna be any different than the first 11 or 12??  Not to mention that 2 or 3 of those weeks are on Christmas break where there are no classes whatsoever.  One of the many downsides of the current bowl system is the layoff between the last game and the bowl.  Teams can not simulate game situations and also loose any momentum that they may have.  As a viewer there is not much to watch in the meantime as well.  Another question asked was why division 1AA, 2, and 3 can have an effective playoff system but they can't.  His repsonse was that those are smaller schools dealing with 20,000 to 30,000 fans and they are bigger schools dealing with 70,000 to 80,000 fans.  That's all you got??  Seriously??  Gonna have to do better than that.  He was also asked about a +1 game.  While this would be better, he actually made sense.  I might not have agreed with it, but it made sense.  He said that would still not be a solution and it would lead to further expansion.  6, 8, 12, 16, and where would it stop??  This could go on forever.  I understand that it's going to take a LOT of work, changes, etc. to develop a playoff system and it can not happen over night.  It's a process that would take years to work out.  But their has to be a willingness to compromise or at least listen to the other side.  I took from this interview that he and the people in charge will not even listen or consider an alternative to the current system.  So, in reality, the BCS system is probably the best format we are ever going to get.  Everyone has their version of how the college playoff system would work. So I'm going to share mine.
I would suggest using a system similar to the NFL.  You could use the current BCS formula to rank the top 12 teams.  You could still include the power conference automatic qualifiers.  More than likely they will be included in the top 12 anyway, but it's similar to the NFL's division winner rule.  For example, the Seattle Seahawks.  UCONN would be the same.  They were not even in the top 25 of the final BCS standings.  Use the BCS standings to seed the teams.  The top 4 seeds would get a bye for the first weekend.  Under this format would next extend the season any longer.  You would start the first round of the playoffs the weekend after the conference championships.  The semi finals would be the weekend of new years, and the national championship would be the following week, which would be the exact same night that Auburn and Oregon played this year.  3 of those 4 weekends would probably be during the student's Christmas break.  The only setback would be where to host the games.  The college campuses would probably not be able to handle hosting that important of a game.  So use something similar to what they do for the NCAA basketball tournament.  Select "neutral" sites.  You would only need 11 sites.  I don't think it would be very hard to find 11 warm weather or dome neutral sites that would work.  I don't mean to take anything away from Auburn or Oregon.  They did what they had to to get into that game, and it was a very entertaining game.  But I feel pretty confident in saying that if there were a playoff in place, neither team would be playing in that game.
I know, this is just speculation, just like every other playoff proposal.  But, I wanted to "officially" get my shot in the arguement.  I have always figured that there would never be a playoff system on place.  But, like most people I had a hope that eventually it would happen.  But, after hearing that interview tonight I have relized that it will never happen.  We are more likely to go back to the Pre-BCS days of the Alliance Bowls than a playoff system.  So, let's face the reality of it and accept what we have because it's the closest we are ever going to get.  There may be some impurities and there have been a few questionmarks in who gets into that game, such as Nebraska in the 2002 Rose Bowl.  But most of the time there has been no argument that the formula found the 2 best teams.  The weaknesses will work themselves out of the next few years.  TCU moving to the Big East is a step in that direction.  There will never be a playoff in Division 1 football so schools might is well accept this fact and conform to the BCS rules and regulations.  TCU is doing that.  Boise State, Nevada, Utah, and other NON-BCS schools that want a shot at that need to "move it on up."  With conference expansion in the future, they will all fall in line.  In a few years these schools will all be in a BCS conference so that will no longer be an issue.  There is no perfect system.  Even the system in the greatest league in professional sports has flaws.  For all we know a playoff system wouldn't be any better than the current BCS format.  If they did select a playoff format, let's face it.  We would pick at that just like we do the BCS and the NFL formats.  Nothing will ever be right or good enough.  So, we might as well just accept what we have and enjoy it, because "it's as good as it gets."

State of the Big XII Conference, continued...

I decided last night to make this a two part series because I didn't want it to get too long.  To recap I talked about the possible demise of the Big XII Conference.  As I stated last night, I understand not wanting to rush into a bad decision.  There is a right way and a wrong way to handle things.  Specially of this big of an impact.  And for all I know this ten team conference and format may only last one year.  They may have a solution in mind come back in the fall of 2012 bigger and better.  I most certainly hope for that.  As most of you probably know, I am now in the heart of Big 10 country.  I have not and will not forget my roots.  I still am and always will be a Big XII guy, as long as they stay around.  Being here I have noticed, as I expected, that K-State is not on TV all that much here.  I have only been able to watch them a few times, and each time has ended in an embarrasing loss.  I'm not giving up on them, but I'm not going to go down that road tonight.  Getting to my point, there is one thing that the Big 10 has done that the Big XII could learn from.  Also part of the reason for Nebraska betraying their roots and history and tradition and bolting for the Big 10 Conference.  While I am writing this I have the Iowa vs Ohio State game on tv, on the Big 10 Network.  The next game, the one i'm really interested in has Penn State at Purdue.  These games would be similar to K-State playing Texas Tech, or Oklahoma.  They are not scheduled to be on ESPN or their family of networks.  As a fan of a school not favored by ESPN these games could be broadcast on TV so fans can still watch their teams play, and allow you to see most of your teams games, not just the "important" ones.  Being only 30 minutes from Lafayette I've kinda been following Purdue this season since I haven't been able to follow KSU that much.  This network allows me to see every Purdue game that's not on ESPN.  I also enjoy watching other games.  I would be happy to watch Oklahoma State vs Iowa State, or Baylor vs Texas Tech.  Those games will not make ESPN's list, but a Big XII Network could broadcast these games and give fans of their respective teams the ability to watch.  Another aspect of this network that a lot of people don't understand is that there is a lot of work done on and for this network by STUDENTS of the conference.  It gives students a chance to be involved with a network and get valuable experience and an education in the process.  Now don't confuse this with ESPN Plus.  ESPN Plus has allowed people to watch their teams, but only in their local markets.  So, a K-State fan in Texas still isn't going to be able to watch their team unless they play a Texas team.  An Ohio State fan in Illinois, Indiana, or Iowa can still watch this game.  This would be a win win for fans and schools of the Big XII Conference.
My next suggestion for the survival of the Big XII Conference is probably a bit on the radical side, but why not.  Going from the Big 8 to the Big XII seemed radical and unlikely to succeed at that time, and look at it now.  So, as I stated last night, eventually there will be a 16 team superconference.  When this happens, if nothing is done this superconference will likely raid the Big XII for these teams as the Pac 10 tried to do.  IF this new format costs Texas a chance to play in the BCS Championship because of the lack of a conference championship, and the Pac 12 comes calling again, they are gone.  Along with Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma.  The Big 10 could latch onto Iowa State and Missouri.  So, why not set a precidence??  Let's turn the Big XII into a super conerence.  This can be done without even raiding a single team from the other power conferences.  My suggestion for the 6 new teams would be Tulsa, SMU, Boise St., BYU, Memphis, and Air Force.  Now these 6 teams probably don't seem like teams you would want,  but hear me out on this.  These six teams are arguable top teams in their respective conferences.  First of all, you would be the first conference to expand to 16 teams, with the exception of the Big East, but that's only for basketball.  That does not include football.  By taking the six teams, it limits the options of the next conference that wants to expand.  It won't be a very easy task to lure a big school away from their current conference.  For example, to get Florida to leave the SEC for the Big East or ACC, or Florida State to leave the ACC for the Big East or SEC.  Not saying it can't be done, but it won't be easy, and to get 3 other teams to do the same will not be easy.  So, their next option would be to take a few teams like Boise St. or BYU that want to be a part of a bigger conference so they have the opportunity to play in that BCS game.  By taking those 6 teams, it limits the pool for other conferences to choose from.  These 6 teams are no slouch either.  They are very good teams and would not weaken the conference by any means.  Then their's the money.  FedEx CEO Fred Smith has allegedly promised $10 million dollars a year for someone to pick up Memphis.  That's a LOT of money!!  Think of the extra bowl game money when you get 10 to 12 teams into bowls instead of 6 to 8, including probably 2 teams in a BCS game almost every year.
Let's face reality.  In order for the Big XII to survive, they are going to have to expand.  So, why stop at 12 teams??  It doesn't have to be those six I mentioned.  There are honorable mentions such as Nevada, Creighton, Southern Miss, UTEP, Houston, Missouri State, New Mexico, and UNLV to name a few.  Most of these teams will be used to fill out the roster for a super conference so why not be the first to draw blood and grab them now before someone else does, or worse, raids other teams from the Big XII.  They've already lost out on probably the best replacement in TCU as they are headed to the Big East next season.  As I said in the beginning, they may have a solution in place or in the works.  I hope this is true because I promise that this is not over by any means.  Sitting back idly will be very costly.  We can sit back and watch the Big XII be disolved or make history.  I hope for the sake of all Big XII fans that good things happen.  Big XII fans are the best and most loyal fans there are.  Hopefully the Big XII will be around for many years to come.

The state of the Big XII

Tonight I have decided to write about the state of the Big XII conference.  Yes, I realize that what I'm primarily going to write about happened months ago, but I was not a blogger then, and was in the middle of a busy wheat harvest.  But, after the first of the year we usually have a state of the union address, state of the state address, etc.  So, why not have a state of the conference address.  So, here goes...
The state of the Big XII conference is BAD.  This summer saw some of the biggest changes since the inception of the Big XII from the former Big 8.  When the Big XII was formed, there were many people who said it was a bad idea.  It would never work.  The Big 8 was stronger than the Big XII will ever be.  Think about this though.  In the modern world where we try to super size everything we can, how do you think the Big 8 would compete with a soon to be 12 team Pac-10, which i believe the name will be changed to Pac-12, a 12 team Big 10, which I believe will retain the same name, a 12 team ACC and SEC.  The Big East has only 8 teams in football, and 16 teams in basketball.  So of the power conferences, how would 8 teams be able to compete with that?? Take Colorado and Nebraska away from the Big 8, then what do you have??  Absolutely nothing.  The Southwest Conference (where the Texas teams came from) likely would have taken OU and OSU.  That leaves 4 teams with nowhere to go.  That would have been disastrous.
Looking back on it now, the Texas teams have been a good addition to the conference.  Texas is a contender for a national title in football and basketball every year. Baylor has emerged from the basement in the past few years.  Texas A&M is returning to the spotlight.  These teams, are the glue to the conference, and proved last summer that they are holding to conference together.  They kept the Big XII entact.  Nebraska was upset that Texas was taking the spotlight away from them.  Thats what it amounts to.  Sounds like a little kid on the playground.  He doesn't get his way, so he takes the ball and goes somewhere else.  Colorado has just become awful.  As far as I am concerned good riddence to both of them.  Colorado won't be missed at all.  Nebraska might hurt, but they can be replaced.  That brings me to my point.  Why haven't they been replaced??
Starting next fall the Big XII will be sitting at 10 teams.  They are going to play a round robin schedule, and eliminate the conference championship game.  How is this going to work??  Not well at all.  There was a joke when all this happened about switching names.  But, why not??  The way this is going to play out, they might as well.  The Big XII is going to be the new Big 10.  All the bad things that have been said about the Big 10 will apply to them now.  Let's give a for instance.  Under the current system and format.  Let's say there are 3 undefeated teams fighting for 2 spots in the BCS championship game.  Let's say that Florida State, Auburn, and Ohio State are all undefeated.  Who will be picked to play in this game? The BCS will pick Florida State and Auburn every time.  Why? Because they play in a conference championship game.  There have been a few years that the Big XII has put 2 teams in a BCS bowl.  That will not happen again.  The Big XII will not have a team in the BCS championship with this format.  The Big XII is too competitive and right now too even.  They beat each other up last season.  Under this format the conference winner will not escape 9 conference games with less than 2 losses.  2 losses will never get you into that BCS game.  Since Miami and Virginia Tech went to the ACC the Big East has not put a team in the BCS game.  Ohio State has been the only representative out of the Big 10 and up until this season USC the only out of the Pac 10.  The Big XII has had 3 different teams in 7 different times.  The SEC has had 5 different teams in 7 different times as well.  7 out of 13 is over 50%.  Well, say good bye to that.
What upsets me about this more than anything is the lack of action by the conference.  I realize they don't want to make a quick decision, have it be wrong and backfire.  But They will have had well over a year by the time the football starts next fall.  This lack of action has already cost them 2 teams that would have been a VERY welcome addition to the conference.  Utah and TCU both would have been great additions.  If TCU played in the Big XII this season, they are playing Auburn in that BCS game.  Guarranteed.  The new Big 10 and Pac 12 is not the end.  By any means.  This will continue.  It's not a matter of if, but when.  There will be a 16 team superconference.  And when this happens, they will raid the Big XII for these teams.  It's going to happen unless they do something about it.  There are still plenty of teams out there as replacements.  Boise State, BYU, SMU, and Memphis have been suggested.  I have not heard Tulsa mentioned but I think they would be a good fit as well.  They have been very successful in Conference USA.
Texas may have saved the Big XII but it's only for now.  It's just a bandaid.  A temporary fix.  If they don't do something, and soon, it will spell the end for the Big XII.  Wait and see.

To be continued...

My First Post

This will be my first official sports post.  The NFL season is winding to a close.  It has been a very entertaining season.  Some surprises, some disappointments.  There is one team that can qualify as both, and no surprise to anyone that it's the Kansas City Chiefs.  They completed a very quick turn-around surprising everyone by making the playoffs this season after a complete disaster last year.  But in doing this, didn't really beat a good, playoff caliber team all year.  Then, no surprise to anyone, Baltimore put on a clinic at Arrowhead Stadium.  In the last few weeks I've heard many people say that teams like the Chiefs, Colts, and Seahawks don't deserve to be in the playoffs or host a playoff game.  Seattle and the Arizona Cardinals of a few years ago make a pretty strong argument.  Winning your division is no easy task and teams should be rewarded for that even if it's with a 7-9 record.  The New York Giants might have had a better record than the Seahawks, but they had a big opportunity to take control of their division and be in the driver's seat, and blew a big lead to the Eagles.  If the Giants think they should be in the playoffs, then take care of business.  One play could have been the difference between winning and loosing that game.  A playoff team should be able to make at least one play to change the outcome of that game. Seattle made the plays they needed to, with a back-up quarterback I might add, and beat the St. Louis Rams to win their division.  The San Diego Chargers and the Oakland Raiders may have been a better team than the Chiefs, but they couldn't put enough wins together by no one's fault but their own.  The same can be said for Tampa Bay.  Had they not stumbled at the beginning of the season, could have been in.  Just like the BCS in college football, there will always be controversy and speculation about what teams get in.  But, to get in you have to be one of the top 6 out of 16 teams in your conference and that is not easy task to accomplish.  There is talk of expanding the regular season and the playoffs.  The NFL is the most popular league in professional sports for a very good reason.  Whatever they decide to do, reguardless of whether there's a strike or not, the NFL will continue to prosper and gain popularity.  I believe that things are fine just the way are.  If you start expanding, where do you stop?? More games??  More playoff teams??  More teams??  There is such a thing as too much.  Look at the NBA.  There are too many teams, and the season is way too long.  The playoffs stretch on what seams like forever.  I'm sure the NFL can pull it off, but there has to be a stopping point somewhere.
The playoffs this season have given us some VERY entertaining games.  The Seahawks pulling off what can easily be called as the biggest upset of the season.  The Jets beating the Colts on a walk-off field goal.  The Ravens putting on a clinic in Arrowhead.  The Packers  bringing Michael Vick and the Eagles back to reality and knocking them off the pedistal they put themselves (i.e. Michael Vick proclaiming himself the MVP) up on. And that was just Wild Card Weekend.  The divisional round wasn't quite as good as the wild card round, but it was entertaining in it's own right.  I enjoyed the Baltimore/Pittsburgh game the most myself.  I went into this game believing the winner would represent the AFC in the Superbowl, and after watching that game believe that even more.  If Pittsburgh can come back from the first half they had and win the way the did against a VERY good team like the Ravens, nothing should stop them.  But, then you have the New York Jets on the other side of the bracket.  The New England Patriots have been the best team all season long, and most people's Superbowl pick all season long.  They may beat the Jets 9 times out of 10, but the Jets showed up and were the better team on the most important day, therefore are in the AFC Championship for the second year in a row.  Another aspect I would like to address is the rivalry side.  It's no secret the Ravens and Steelers do not like each other.  That has been a very heated, very competitive, and very even rivalry.  Everyone knew this would be a good game and it lived up to the billing.  Right down the the last minute.  The other AFC game did surprise me how it developed.  I knew the the Patriots and Jets didn't like each other, but i did not expect it to get that dirty.  I have heard a lot of criticism of the Jets and their coach trash talking.  I don't see a problem with this.  Their have been many rivalries over the years that have been the same, and some worse.  Most familiar to me are the Chiefs/Raiders, and the Chiefs/Broncos.  Let's not forget the Packers/Bears, Cowboys/49ers, Cowboys/Eagles, and Packers/Vikings just to name a few.  Don't just look at it now.  This is the beginning.  Rex Ryan and the Jets have just elevated this rivalry to a new level.  In a few years we will be talking about this rivalry the same way we talk about the Steelers/Ravens and Chiefs/Raiders.  And what makes a rivalry real is backing it all up on the field.  Making all the talk during the week live up to the billing at gametime.  Both games this weekend accomplished that.  The talk caught your attention and kept you interested and watching, down to the final seconds.  Now I don't want to take anything away from the NFC side of the bracket, but let's face it, they didn't hold a candle to the AFC games.  The Packers definately demonstrated, and with authority, that they are the hottest team in the NFC right now.  They are peaking at the best possible time.  They are playing like they are on a mission and have a point to prove.  Everyone seems to think that Aaron Rodgers is trying to come out of Brett Favre's shadow.  Seriously???  Aaron Rodgers has been out of his shadow for years now.  If you don't believe that, look at the season he's had, and the run he's had in the playoffs.  He does not need to win the Superbowl to emerge from Brett Farve's shadow.  He did that a LONG time ago.  There isn't much to say about the other game.  Chicago showed up and played better.  I'm still not a believer in Jay Cutler.  He is the next Rex Grossman.  He has good games, and bad games.  He had a good game Sunday, and the Bears won.  One thing i've learned is that guys like Cutler and Grossman show up and prove everyone wrong when it matters.  I like that the NFL's oldest rivalry is "for all the cheese."  Bears/Packers for the right to represent the NFC in the Superbowl.
I am going to predict a Steelers/Bears Superbowl.  I think the Jets and Packers are going to run out of gas this week.  If the Steelers can come back from 14 points down to beat the Ravens, I think they can handle anything the Jets can dish out.  The Steelers defense will do the same to Matt Sanchez that they did to Joe Flacco.  The Bears defense has been good all season long.  Let's not forget that, all be it in a loosing cause, limited the Packers to 10 points only a few weeks ago.  This game will come down to defense and the better defense is the Bears.  I am looking forward to both games.  Both should come down to the very end.  Please vote in the poll and pick your favorites.
Thanks for reading.

Welcome

Welcome to my blog.  For those of you that know me, you know how I feel about sports.  Some have encouraged me to pursue it more, and I am finally going to take that advice.  I've always had an interest in sports "opinions".  I enjoy listening to sports radio talk shows such as Jim Rome, Dan Patrick, etc.  I also enjoy reading articles in the sports page.  Jason Whitlock is one of my favorite sports writers.  A lot of what he says is controversial but that does not bother him.  He writes what he feels and believes, reguardless of the repurcussions.  He is known nationwide partly because of that. I know that I will probably not compare to Jason Whitlock, Jim Rome, or Dan Patrick, but they are a great inspiration to me.  I've also always been what I like to call a "Devil's Advocate" type of person.  I like to look at both sides of the argument.  I've always been accused of starting arguments.  What most of them don't realize is that I am usually just defending the other person or the other side of the argument.  In all my years of following sports I've realized that whether people agree with this type of writing or speaking or not, it at least gets them involved in the conversation.  It gets them thinking.  That is one of my goals here, for you to have an opinion or reaction to my posts, whether it be positive or negative, express it, please.
While watching the Green Bay Packers give the Atlanta Falcons a "good ol' fashioned southern ass-whuppin" I was expressing my desire to be a sports writer and how (un)likely it is to happen, and this person suggested that I write a blog.  After thinking about it for a few days I decided to go for it.  Maybe it will lead to something better, maybe it won't.  Either way, I will be doing something I've always enjoyed and wanted to do, and that's all that's important to me.  I know that everyone has an opinion.  Again, I encourage your input and participation.  Respond to the posts.  Vote in the polls.  This won't be anything like Facebook, but I want to draw you in, and keep you coming back.  I welcome feedback and constructive criticism as well.  I am new to all this, and I will make mistakes. I want this to go well, and I will need your help to pull this off.  I will try not to go "Swarley" (from season 2 of "How I Met Your Mother." Watch it. LOVE it!) on you.
All that being said, welcome to my blog. Spread the word. Tell your friends. Invite anyone and everyone you know to visit.  PLEASE!!!  And most importantly, enjoy.