I get that people want a playoff in college football. I understand that some don't see it as a "perfect system". They want a +1, or even an eight team playoff. But does Congress really need to be sticking its nose into this matter at a time like this?
Rep. Joe Barton of Texas, who has introduced legislation that would prevent the NCAA from calling a game a national championship unless it’s the outcome of a playoff, bluntly warned Swofford: “If we don’t see some action in the next two months, on a voluntary switch to a playoff system, then you will see this bill move.”
It is true that an change to the current system is probably going to have to come from the outside. The bowl structure is extremely lucrative for the TV networks, and the schools/conferences that receive automatic bids. Everyone that gets rich off of the BCS year in and year out really don't have any motivation to change unless they're forced to. However, right now is probably not the best time for Congress to be pressing this issue. Though, the MWC probably thinks that right now is the perfect time to request a bailout from Congressional leaders.
Since it's Friday, and the end of the workweek for most people, we think that you should be provided with a post that takes the edge off so to speak. Because it's going to be random and hopefully humorous, that means that it won't always be sports related. It will also pop up at any time on Friday.
Sorry, this post is totally unrelated to Johnathan and his salon, and I know that some of you hair afficiandos are devastated(*cough*Jimmy Clausen*cough*). However, it has everything to do with Florida beating Tennessee 59-20 last year. So sit back and enjoy the asswhooping.
Every year when Florida faces Tennessee I dig up two images from the past that perfectly represent what I want to see the Gators do on the field.
Exhibit A
Exhibit B
Yes, the appropriate response to both is "oooooooh....(silence)...that's gotta fuckin' hurt".
Hopefully Saturday there will be lots of big hits being placed on the Vols. In fact, Tennessee's o-line might want to take extra special care of Johnathan Crompton because who knows how many hits that gimpy ankle will be able to take. With any luck, Jermaine Cunningham will make some appearances in the UT backfield, and if we're lucky he'll pick some sacks and maybe a loose helmet or two.
Here's a little segment that may or may not show up every Wednesday during the college football season. To start, it's going to focus on some things to watch for during the UF vs UT game.
Who will replace C.I.? This game is probably going to be the first one where Florida could struggle with the loss of Cornelius Ingram. Sure, they have a ton of playmakers, but in last year's contest C.I. tallied 3 receptions for 56 yards and caught one of Tebow's two passing touchdowns. I have no doubt that Hernandez and Casey can put up similar stats, and hopefully they'll answer the call should Tebow need them for some crucial plays.
Is this when Emmanuel Moody breaks out? Seriously, is he still on the team? He's gotten two carries so far this season, eventhough Coach Meyer was seemingly touting him as the feature back during the spring. However, even with those paltry stats a part of me can't help but feel that Meyer is waiting for just the right moment to unleash him. It just seems like it's a big secret that only the team knows about, and after he runs for a good amount of yards and some scores they'll be telling all the reporters about how they had to keep it on the DL. Though, after last year's shenanigans it might not be unveiled until the Georgia game.
Will Florida's rushing Medusa outgain the Vols' tandem? Foster and Hardesty are strong runners, and we all know how important the rushing stats are in this series. But will they be able to put up more yards than a group that's made up of Tebow, Harvin, Demps, Rainey, James, Moore and possibly Moody? That's a lot of bodies to throw at a team in the rush game, and a lot of different looks that can be used to trick the defense. Even more than the amount that the Gators had last year when they won 59-20.
Can Florida's secondary remain scorch free? Last season, Florida's secondary should have been playing in Nomex jerseys because they got burnt constantly. If there's one bright spot it's that when Jonathan Crompton came in last year against the Gators he went 2-for-5 with an INT. UT's receiving corps isn't quite as strong as past seasons, though, the opposition's talent hasn't always had to be high in order for Florida to give up big passing numbers. This year the unit does seem much more cohesive, and there's no doubt that they can ballhawk sideline to sideline.
All in all, it should be another exciting SEC opener for both teams. Florida seemingly is the more talented team, and should pull out a win. Hopefully even better than the 39 point drubbing they dropped on the Vols last year.
So, we're officially on the second day of UF vs Tennessee week, and I thought that it would be a good time to get it going here.
After all, Percy Harvin seems to be ready for the game, so we all should be ready for the game. In fact, Mr. Harvin may be more ready for this game than any of them between 10th grade and now:
After missing the spring and most of the preseason recovering from heel surgery, Harvin said he’s 100 percent now and feeling better than he ever has in his Florida career. Better than he has in a long time.
When asked when was the last time he’s felt this good, Harvin said, “My 10th grade in high school. (The heel) has been nagging me since high school. I did the long jump and played basketball and ran track. All those years it was tearing the bone in my heel. We’ve got it all figured out now. I feel 100 times better.”
Yeah, so all of those plays where he made some moves and outran the defense? He wasn't at 100%. Including last year's Tennessee game where he had 75 yards rushing(20 of which came on the play below...down in front!) and 120 yards receiving.
Honestly, at this point the scariest thing about the Vols is Eric Berry. But he isn't going to be putting points on the scoreboard(hopefully), so he's not as threatening as a gamebreaking receiver or running back. Though, Foster and Hardesty are a good tandem.
If all goes well, the Gators will be tallying up another win against Tennessee. The fourth straight for Coach Meyer since he beat them 16-7 back in 2005.
So Chad Johnson legally changed his last name to "Ocho Cinco", and thought it would be a breeze to get the NFL to allow him to sport it on the back of his jersey. Well, that plan just hit a snag. A $4+ million snag.
"Don't expect to see Chad Johnson Ocho Cinco wearing his new name on a jersey anytime soon. CNBC's Darren Rovell reports on his blog that the former Mr. Johnson would be forced to buy out the stock of the 100,000 remaining "C. Johnson" jerseys before making the switch to "Ocho Cinco". If Reebok asked Ocho Cinco to pay for the cost of making the unsold jerseys, the total could reach upwards of $4 million (or $50 million pesos)."
Haha, that is awesome. Don't get me wrong, I have enjoyed some of Johnson's antics, but lately it seems that's he grasping at straws and not doing it to solicit laughs. I have no problem with a little showboating if it's good-natured and fun, but when it borders on pathetic I like to see it get shutdown. I guess we'll have to wait and see if sporting "Ocho Cinco" on the back of his jersey is really worth that much to Chad "Hugh" Johnson.
Craigslist is great for a lot of things. Finding cars, jobs, furniture and now talent for your son's going away to college party.
I need 4 ladies who don't mind wearing body paint for my sons going off to College Party. There will be a University of Florida theme so you will have UF football uniforms professionally airbrushed on your upper body but you will be wearing blue boy shorts. You will be compensated $100 per hour for serving drinks and finger foods plus any tips you receive. I will take care of the rest, your shorts, meals & transportation if needed. If you are interested please contact me at metrofilmz@yahoo.com and please include photos that demonstrate your figure so I can determine if you have the right look for the party, thanks.
Haha, amazing. Surprisingly, my "going off to college party" consisted of a dinner out somewhere(probably Olive Garden, molto buon!), a congratulatory card and the not so subtle hinting that I better get my degree in a reasonable amount of time. Honestly, I'm curious to know if the 4 ladies will be airbrushed with real numbers and player names. If so, #15 Tebow will probably be the most popular, but only because Florida doesn't have a #69 on the roster.
How this kid made it four years without succumbing to ridicule and asskickings I'll never know, but somehow he did. And what does he have to show for it? A tattered Brett Favre jersey, and the knowledge that people everywhere think he's weird.
Finally, David Witthoft shunned his Brett Favre jersey for the first time in 1,581 days.
The Ridgefield, Conn. boy, 12, wore the No. 4 jersey every day since receiving it as a gift for Christmas in 2003. David's father, Chuck Witthoft, said Monday that his son's last day wearing the jersey was April 23 — his 12th birthday.
Witthoft conceded his son was starting to become more concerned about his appearance after the jersey barely came down to his belt line.
Witthoft first gained national attention three years ago, and attended his first Packers game in December. He's also planning to attend the Sept. 8 game when the Packers retire Favre's No. 4.
His mother, Carolyn, had washed the jersey every other day and mended it when needed.
Do you hear that Brett? You have to come back! The kids and their wardrobes need you! Oh, you were planning on it already? Nevermind then.
I typed "Bissinger vs Leitch" because it was more Bissinger ranting about something he obviously didn't fully understand, and Will Leitch doing his best to defend it without cursing or fighting.
It's been addressed a fewtimestoday over at Deadspin, and Brian Powell at Awful Announcing threw in his $.02 in addition to getting footage of the segment on YouTube. Many thanks to him for that.
Unfortunately, I didn't get to see it live, and until the video was put up I really didn't know what to expect. However, after watching it these are my thoughts:
First, Buzz Bissinger's interaction with Will reminds me of just about everyone over 40 years old when I try to explain that I write a sports blog. Granted, most of them don't get so angry, but they do seem bewildered and somewhat lost.
A prime example of this is my father, God bless him. He really tries hard to wrap his head around the idea that you could write something online that millions of people(ok, ok maybe it's more like thousands around here) could read, and do a great job at it without collecting a paycheck for it. Actually, that's usually where any talk of blogging leads. To the question of "yeah, but how much money could you make from that?" He doesn't seem to understand that what ties all of us bloggers together is our love of sports for whatever reason, and our desire to share that with others. Whether it's through rattling off statistics, cracking lewd jokes or something more emotionally connected. Would I like to get paid for blogging about sports? Of course. Is that what's compelled me to keep this site going for almost two years? Hardly.
And seeing Buzzinger lose it on that stage made me realize just how disconnected some people are. You want to know the last time I picked up a hard copy of a newspaper for sports information? Honestly, I can't remember. Instead, I can read the local paper online, and then browse any number of blogs to see what's happening throughout the day. I like blogs because it's up to me to determine what's accurate and what's not. After reading one for a while you can get a good feeling as to whether or not what's being written is truthful and to what degree. I like that. I get to make my own decisions without worrying that some crusty editor somewhere took something out because he didn't deem it newsworthy enough. I hate to tell some of you, but the Internet is here to stay and it's only getting bigger. Sports blogs are also here to stay, and their coverage is expanding. Obviously, you'll get some wackjobs out there writing about sports, but if you take the time to read through some blogs I guarantee you'll find guys and girls that write just as good, if not much better, than what you get on a daily basis from your newspapers and TV coverage. And many of them aren't getting paid to do so either. They do it because of their love for sports, and their passion for conveying that to other people. In the hope that they'll "get it", and be able to take something positive or humorous away with them.
I feel the need to say "thanks" to Will Leitch because the way he handled himself on the Costas Show last night made me proud to be a blogger. Some people(I'm looking at you Bissinger) are never going to get it. Maybe they're ignorant, maybe they're afraid, maybe it's a combination of both. But that won't ever stop me from putting my take on sports out into the world via the blogosphere, and I'm glad that there are others out there like Will Leitch, and Orson Swindle, and Brian Powell(and a lot more) to stick up for the "craft" when others feel the need to attack it.
"That's what St. Petersburg Bowl backers are hoping for Wednesday morning in Hollywood, Fla., when they go before the NCAA's Bowl Certification Committee, seeking approval for the new bowl.
Owned and operated by ESPN, the St. Pete Bowl will pit schools from the Big East and Conference USA at Tropicana Field. The inaugural game was planned for Sunday night, Dec. 21, but that changed when the NFL schedule assigned the Bucs a home game the same night against San Diego.
The St. Pete Bowl is still looking to secure a date, but Pete Derzis is confident the bowl will be added to the bowl lineup and approved for the 2008 season."
Seriously, another college football bowl game? I understand that college football fans will seemingly gobble up anything related to the sport(An autographed Charlie Weiss ab machine? Who cares if it works? It's a must have!), but when does the postseason become too diluted?
Last season, there were 32 bowl games crammed into the space between December 20 and January 7. That means that more than half of the teams in Division 1(screw your FBS) were invited to participare in the postseason. Instead of being somewhat exclusive, the bowl season has gravitated towards being all-inclusive because of the massive amounts of cash thrown around.
So if the St. Pete Bowl is added to the lineup, then we end up with 33 bowl games and roughly 55% of the Division 1 football teams being invited to participate. It's just another indicator of exactly where the allegiances lie with the people that control the structure of the NCAA football complex. Mention playoffs and you'll be ridiculed. Ask for another bowl game and you'll be welcomed in with open arms.
Obviously, when you're hosting a party you want your place to be relatively clean. Dishes washed, dirty clothes in the hamper, pizza boxes in the trash, porno mags tucked safely under the mattress. And when you're hosting a party the size of the Olympics you have even more to worry about. Like dangerous cats.
Thousands of pet cats in Beijing are being abandoned by their owners and sent to die in secretive government pounds as China mounts an aggressive drive to clean up the capital in preparation for the Olympic Games.
Hundreds of cats a day are being rounded and crammed into cages so small they cannot even turn around.
Then they are trucked to what animal welfare groups describe as death camps on the edges of the city.
The cull comes in the wake of a government campaign warning of the diseases cats carry and ordering residents to help clear the streets of them.
Yeah. That's not good.
I'm willing to bet that not every cat killed is disease ridden. Though, the government seems to have done a good job at scaring the citizens into believing that all cats must die. Even their pets that spend their days indoors, and are perfectly healthy. Hopefully, the rest of the cats don't band together and overrun the Olympic Village.
Sure, some(ok, a lot) of us have anjoyed poking fun at the Patriots and their fans after they were unable to complete the perfect season, failing to win the biggest game of the season. However, something much more serious was in the works, and thankfully it wasn't carried out.
A man accused of planning to shoot people at the Super Bowl was indicted on six counts of sending threatening communications, according to court documents filed Tuesday in federal court.
Kurt William Havelock, 35, turned himself in to authorities Feb. 3 after driving within sight of University of Phoenix Stadium during the Super Bowl with a rifle and 200 rounds of ammunition. He said he changed his mind.
Havelock told authorities he was upset that the city of Tempe denied him a liquor license application for a Halloween-themed bar.
Holy sheeat! Luckily he changed his mind, but just reading the story made me a bit nauseous. I'm not familiar with the intricacies of Super Bowl security, but I bet that he would have gotten a few shots off before anyone could react. It is a good illustration of how easy it could be for someone to target a major sporting event in order to inflict a large amount of pain and suffering. I'm not talking about a group doing it, but rather one or two individuals bent on doing something horrible. It's not enough to keep me from attending sporting events, but it will hopefully be a reminder for me to be more aware of my surroundings. Also, it makes me grateful for the amount of behind the scenes security that does take place.
If you have ever discussed skydiving, then I'm sure you've heard at least one person exclaim "why would anyone ever jump out of a perfectly good airplane?!?" Well, probably for the huge adrenaline rush, and because it makes your balls bigger. Um, except for the ladies. It makes them better at changing their own oil(I keed, I keed).
Travis Pastrana lives his life on the edge. Recently, he jumped over it.
On Wednesday, September 26, Pastrana hopped a flight from his home in Davidsonville, MD, to Arecibo, Puerto Rico, to perform a stunt he's been dreaming up for more than a year. The next morning, four members of his group skydived from a single-engine Cessna from 12,500 feet. Pastrana performed his jump wearing only sunglasses, socks and surf trunks while holding a can of Red Bull.
He was not wearing a parachute.
You probably remember Pastrana from his double backflips during the X-Games, but this stunt relied much more heavily on other people to make sure he didn't die.
While it may not be the most dangerous stunt Pastrana has performed, it is his most shocking. In his past stunts, Pastrana has taken his life into his own hands. This time, he placed it in the hands of three men he'd known for less than a week.
Wow, that's pretty ballsy. There's always a calculated risk involved in skydiving, but doing so without a parachute and relying on others to make sure you get attached to one is a totally different situation. My hat goes off to Pastrana, and the skydivers involved in the stunt. They sound like they're having a great time with life, and probably do more in a week than most of us do in a year.
