Let me start by saying I love NFL football, and I love the Superbowl.
But the NFL has something unique in that its championship game is set two weeks before it is to played, with no other games proceeding it. College football has the BCS championship set well in advance, but then there many other somewhat meaningful games in the interim leading up to it. Other than that, no other sport even comes close.
What that leads to is two full weeks of coverage of one game. Two teams. For two weeks. Everyday someone's got to have some new angle, some undiscovered piece of game film, some hard luck story about the long-snapper on the practice squad. What's happened in the almost two weeks since the AFC and NFC games? Some guys nursing some injuries... and... and well, that's about it. Which leaves us with nothing else but to speculate, and pontificate, and speculate some more. For two weeks.
Do I have a solution? No. Will I be jonesing for for football coverage two weeks after the Superbowl is over? Of course I will. I am just done hearing about the Steelers and Cardinals, Cardinals and Steelers, Pittsburgh and Arizona. Superbowl Sunday I will be glued to the TV like millions of others- but as of Superbowl Friday, I am big-gamed out.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Barry Bonds reportedly... wait- YAAAAWN...
A little while ago I saw on the ESPN crawl that due to his hip surgery, Barry Bonds may not be ready for spring training but may be ready for opening day. Which begs the question... is this even newsworthy? Seeing as though no team seems close to touching him with a thirty foot pole, he could be ready all he wants- but it's not getting him on the field.
Just retire and go away, Barry.
Just retire and go away, Barry.
Friday, November 21, 2008
UPSET?? Says who?
Several news outlets this morning are reporting the massive college basketball upset that occurred last night: Un-ranked Michigan took down #4 UCLA at the Garden.
I don't buy it.
It comes back to the point I made a while back about college football. Preseason rankings mean absolutely nothing. They only take into account so-called "expert opinions" about teams that for the most part have never played all together. With the turnover in college sports, especially basketball, it's impossible to predict the cohesion of teams year in and year out. Therefore, we have all the early season "upsets" of teams that shouldn't have been ranked that high to begin with.
Who says Michigan over UCLA is such a big upset? If you want to base on the past few years- sure, huge upset. But I am talking about this year. And who knows just how good either one of these teams are? Now if in month UCLA is 9-1 and Michigan 2-9, sure- looks like a big upset. But I am not sure any game this early in the season deserves to called a "stunning upset" - short of a 1AA opponent conquering a division 1A foe. I just don't buy it.
As I said with college football, a lot of this could amended if they just do away with preseason rankings. Wait about 4 or 5 weeks into the season, and then vote based on where the teams stand at that point. At least with college basketball, there is a tournament at the end of the year, so ranking aren't truly the be-all and end-all, but it is still stupid to me- born of media hype and TV ratings.
Let them play. Let the players decide for us who are the contenders and pretenders.
I don't buy it.
It comes back to the point I made a while back about college football. Preseason rankings mean absolutely nothing. They only take into account so-called "expert opinions" about teams that for the most part have never played all together. With the turnover in college sports, especially basketball, it's impossible to predict the cohesion of teams year in and year out. Therefore, we have all the early season "upsets" of teams that shouldn't have been ranked that high to begin with.
Who says Michigan over UCLA is such a big upset? If you want to base on the past few years- sure, huge upset. But I am talking about this year. And who knows just how good either one of these teams are? Now if in month UCLA is 9-1 and Michigan 2-9, sure- looks like a big upset. But I am not sure any game this early in the season deserves to called a "stunning upset" - short of a 1AA opponent conquering a division 1A foe. I just don't buy it.
As I said with college football, a lot of this could amended if they just do away with preseason rankings. Wait about 4 or 5 weeks into the season, and then vote based on where the teams stand at that point. At least with college basketball, there is a tournament at the end of the year, so ranking aren't truly the be-all and end-all, but it is still stupid to me- born of media hype and TV ratings.
Let them play. Let the players decide for us who are the contenders and pretenders.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Making the case for mediocrity...
Another sub-par season in Notre Dame football- albeit way closer to par than last season's debacle- has got me, a born and bred Irish fan, thinking.
A couple weeks ago, sitting at 5-2, the Irish looked very capable of winning out their remaining schedule, up until the finale at Southern Cal. That would have had them finishing with a record of 9-3 and in prime position to land New Year's Day bowl game. A bowl game, against a big-time opponent which, if you have watched this team this year- you know would have ended in disaster, much like the Irish's last few big-time bowl appearances.
Well, after a heartbreaking loss to Pitt, and a dreadful showing at BC- Notre Dame is sitting at 5-4, and much better off for it, in my opionion. Now assuming (perhaps dangerously) they can get by Navy and Syracuse, and lose to USC, they are looking at 7-5 and midling bowl game at best. And perhaps against an opponent the have a chance to beat. Remember, this is a football program that hasn't tasted bowl victory since 1993. Now, national title hopes for this season have long since flown away- so I would love to end the year with a bowl win. Any bowl. Just to get off the schneid and remind yourself what a bowl win feels like.
This is a young team, with a lot of super-talented kids- but they are not ready for prime time. Next year, with a full season as a core unit together under their belts, perhaps. But this year, I will settle for mediocrity- not just because it's an improvement over last season, but because of the opportunity for the ever-elusive bowl win. I know it won't bring in the big bucks, I know it may displease a lot Irish supporters- but I am sick in tired of this team squeaking their way into BCS bowl games, to the great displeasure of others, and then getting obliterated. Touchdown Jesus, deliver us a game the Irish can win.
A couple weeks ago, sitting at 5-2, the Irish looked very capable of winning out their remaining schedule, up until the finale at Southern Cal. That would have had them finishing with a record of 9-3 and in prime position to land New Year's Day bowl game. A bowl game, against a big-time opponent which, if you have watched this team this year- you know would have ended in disaster, much like the Irish's last few big-time bowl appearances.
Well, after a heartbreaking loss to Pitt, and a dreadful showing at BC- Notre Dame is sitting at 5-4, and much better off for it, in my opionion. Now assuming (perhaps dangerously) they can get by Navy and Syracuse, and lose to USC, they are looking at 7-5 and midling bowl game at best. And perhaps against an opponent the have a chance to beat. Remember, this is a football program that hasn't tasted bowl victory since 1993. Now, national title hopes for this season have long since flown away- so I would love to end the year with a bowl win. Any bowl. Just to get off the schneid and remind yourself what a bowl win feels like.
This is a young team, with a lot of super-talented kids- but they are not ready for prime time. Next year, with a full season as a core unit together under their belts, perhaps. But this year, I will settle for mediocrity- not just because it's an improvement over last season, but because of the opportunity for the ever-elusive bowl win. I know it won't bring in the big bucks, I know it may displease a lot Irish supporters- but I am sick in tired of this team squeaking their way into BCS bowl games, to the great displeasure of others, and then getting obliterated. Touchdown Jesus, deliver us a game the Irish can win.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Intermittent golfer...
I really enjoy playing golf. But due financial and time and other worldly constraints I don't get to play nearly as often as I like. Now, I hear guys complain about this all the time- how they've only gotten out to play once this week, blah blah blah. I am playing this weekend for the first time since last summer. Last summer. Yeah, that's how bad I've got it, you whiners.
Golf, like many, isn't a sport where you have the luxury of not playing for a long stretch and then coming back to with the hopes of achieving again what little success you had the last time you played. And that's really all that I ask for: a little success. And yet, for this weekend- that may just be to much to ask.
Somewhere near Princeton, New Jersey, a golf course is trembling. Not so much in fear of my conquering it, so much as it is in fear of what I may do the course: how many balls I will leave out there, what my wake may look like, how much I will be holding up the group behind us.
And yet, I'm looking forward to it. This relationship with golf is strange and troubling- but it's one that I can't refuse. To have few hours where all my frustrations lie in my attempt to make solid contact with a small, white, dimpled ball- and the frustrations of the outside world subside, or at least take a back seat. The adding of stress to relieve stress. It almost makes perfect sense.
In a perfect world, all this would happen more often. But for the sake of golf courses all over the world, we'll probably keep to a minimum for the foreseeable future.
Golf, like many, isn't a sport where you have the luxury of not playing for a long stretch and then coming back to with the hopes of achieving again what little success you had the last time you played. And that's really all that I ask for: a little success. And yet, for this weekend- that may just be to much to ask.
Somewhere near Princeton, New Jersey, a golf course is trembling. Not so much in fear of my conquering it, so much as it is in fear of what I may do the course: how many balls I will leave out there, what my wake may look like, how much I will be holding up the group behind us.
And yet, I'm looking forward to it. This relationship with golf is strange and troubling- but it's one that I can't refuse. To have few hours where all my frustrations lie in my attempt to make solid contact with a small, white, dimpled ball- and the frustrations of the outside world subside, or at least take a back seat. The adding of stress to relieve stress. It almost makes perfect sense.
In a perfect world, all this would happen more often. But for the sake of golf courses all over the world, we'll probably keep to a minimum for the foreseeable future.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Overrated!
The preseason college football top 25 polls came out this week. Ratings of teams that haven't played a snap yet, that are populated with kids who on any given week could amaze or flop. I continue to have a huge problem with this.
It's not enough that we have deal with a system in which people's (so-called experts) opinions of a team has a say in what amounts to the national standings. Not wins or losses, games played, or points scored- opinions. Now I understand there are too many teams, and varying competitive levels throughout the college game, so standings based on wins and losses doesn't really work. But the current system doesn't really work either, because it is based too much on these "expert" prognostications- or guesses, really. Something's gotta change.
The way things are done now, a team's preseason ranking has way too much to do with how they finish. Think about it. A team ranked at the top of the preseason polls can lose a game or two early, and still wind up with a shot to end up near the top- and a shot a big-time bowl game or even the national title. But a team the in bottom half of the rankings, or even just outside the top 25: they lose a couple games and they have to scratch their way back just to get back in the picture, let alone have any shot of inching towards the top. Now I'm not asking for playoff (although there frickin should be). I'm not asking for a drastic change to the way things are done. Just give everyone a fair shot.
Perhaps wait a month, maybe 5 weeks into the season before releasing the first official rankings. Have everybody play a few games, separate the contenders from the pretenders- then rank them. Have the experts gather information and base their opinions on fact- wins and losses, points scored- not on somewhat educated guesses. Is it a perfect solution? No. But there doesn't seem to be a perfect solution to this issue. And this one, seems a little less imperfect than the way things are now.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
East Coast biaszzz...
Living on the east coast is great. Wouldn't trade it for anything.
That said, the only thing that stinks sometimes is nationally televised sporting events. Last night's MLB All-Star was a harsh reminder of that fact. But other things like the NBA Finals, or Monday Night Football for instance make it difficult to watch the game and get one's proper amount of sleep on any given night when one has to get up for work the next morning. And how about NFL Sundays on the west coast, where you roll out of bed and the day's games are about to begin; and the late games are over by 4pm- plenty of time left in the day to run errands or fix that doorknob or what have you. Although, then there is the Sunday night game... but I digress. Last night was the extreme example of us east coasters getting the time shaft.
Now I am no dummy, I know that an advertised start time of 8pm EST for an event like this doesn't mean that the first pitch will be at 8pm. And I thoroughly enjoyed the opening ceremonies of last night's game, all the Hall of Famers along side the night's starters. But when it came to throw the first pitch, it was practically 9 o'clock. On a school night! But dammit, I love the MLB All-Star game, and I am going to watch it in it's entirety. Well, I'm ashamed to admit- about 1:15am, and after 14 innings I decided I had to go to bed. I would DVR the rest of the game and watch it in the morning before I left for work. Which I did. About which my wife quipped, "That's why you got up so early this morning." To which I realized I had no strong argument.
Now, I realize the other side of the story is that on the west coast, I wouldn't have even been home in time to catch the start of the broadcast. Well, that's when you DVR the bad boy and catch up by fast forwarding through the multitudes of commercials. Problem solved.
Easy fix to this problem would to be move to the west coast. And that's just not happening. So I'll just complain about it, and the next time the Yankees go west to play Oakland or Seattle- I'll arrive at work a little more bleary eyed and cranky than usual.
That said, the only thing that stinks sometimes is nationally televised sporting events. Last night's MLB All-Star was a harsh reminder of that fact. But other things like the NBA Finals, or Monday Night Football for instance make it difficult to watch the game and get one's proper amount of sleep on any given night when one has to get up for work the next morning. And how about NFL Sundays on the west coast, where you roll out of bed and the day's games are about to begin; and the late games are over by 4pm- plenty of time left in the day to run errands or fix that doorknob or what have you. Although, then there is the Sunday night game... but I digress. Last night was the extreme example of us east coasters getting the time shaft.
Now I am no dummy, I know that an advertised start time of 8pm EST for an event like this doesn't mean that the first pitch will be at 8pm. And I thoroughly enjoyed the opening ceremonies of last night's game, all the Hall of Famers along side the night's starters. But when it came to throw the first pitch, it was practically 9 o'clock. On a school night! But dammit, I love the MLB All-Star game, and I am going to watch it in it's entirety. Well, I'm ashamed to admit- about 1:15am, and after 14 innings I decided I had to go to bed. I would DVR the rest of the game and watch it in the morning before I left for work. Which I did. About which my wife quipped, "That's why you got up so early this morning." To which I realized I had no strong argument.
Now, I realize the other side of the story is that on the west coast, I wouldn't have even been home in time to catch the start of the broadcast. Well, that's when you DVR the bad boy and catch up by fast forwarding through the multitudes of commercials. Problem solved.
Easy fix to this problem would to be move to the west coast. And that's just not happening. So I'll just complain about it, and the next time the Yankees go west to play Oakland or Seattle- I'll arrive at work a little more bleary eyed and cranky than usual.
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