Month: November 2008 (Page 7 of 69)

      Is Colt McCoy the best quarterback in the Big 12?

      November 28, 2008 /

      Here’s a fluffy conversation to start everyone’s day-after Thanksgiving recovery: Who’s the best quarterback in the Big 12? Jimmy Burch of the Star-Telegram writes that Texas’ signal caller Colt McCoy holds the honors, even if the Heisman voters don’t eventually think so.

      Colt McCoyIn short, McCoy is the league’s MVP. He is more valuable to the Longhorns as a rusher, passer and leader than any player on any other roster in the Big 12.

      McCoy drove home that point against A&M. He threw for 311 yards and two touchdowns. He rushed for 49 yards and two scores. He picked up his 31st career victory as a starting quarterback, passing Vince Young for most in Longhorns’ history.

      Most important, McCoy jump-started the Texas offense — time and again — on a night when the Longhorns (11-1, 7-1 in Big 12) struggled early to rack up the style points they needed to blow away BCS voters.

      Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford? He hands off to three players who could start ahead of any member of the Longhorns’ current tailback tandem. He is protected by a huge, veteran offensive line.

      Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell? He throws to Michael Crabtree, the nation’s best receiver and a certifiable first-round NFL draft pick.

      McCoy keeps the wheels spinning behind an offensive line that is good but not as dominant as others in the league. Most of McCoy’s most telling tosses wind up in the hands of Jordan Shipley and Quan Cosby, two undersized and underappreciated guys who won’t wow any NFL scouts with their measurable qualities.

      McCoy has my vote, too. I loved him as a freshman, believed last year was just a small setback and think he’s currently having the best season of any quarterback in the nation. Bradford is an absolute stud and Harrell executes Tech’s offense better than any quarterback before him. But McCoy does so much for the Longhorn offense in terms of passing and running that he deserves (at this point) to be the frontrunner for the Heisman. But I think we should wait to see how this year plays out before drawing any conclusions. What if he struggles in the Big 12 Championship Game or stumbles in the title game if UT makes an appearance? Those games ultimately should decide the value of a player – not the ones at home against Texas A&M on Thanksgiving night. (Although it’s also fair to judge a player’s entire body of work throughout the season, not just one game.)

      Comment starter: Who do you think is the best quarterback in the Big 12?

      College Football

      Screw tradition – take the Lions off Thanksgiving

      November 27, 2008 /

      Detroit LionsOn our most recent podcast, John Paulsen and I debated whether or not the Detroit Lions should continue to be featured on Thanksgiving Day. I argued yes because it was a tradition in the NFL, he argued no because he didn’t want to see the Lions play every season.

      After watching the Tennessee Titans completely demolish Detroit 47-10 on Thursday, I agree with JP – get the Lions off Thanksgiving Day. That was one of the most pathetic efforts of the season by any team and I feel for Lion fans that have to endure that on a weekly basis. There the Lions were with nothing to play for and they’re punting on 4th and 1 down four touchdowns in the second half. Are you serious? What do you have to lose?

      That said, I’m officially petitioning for the Lions to be taken off of Thanksgiving Day. To be fair, I say take the Dallas Cowboys off of Thanksgiving Day too, although at least they field a competitive team more times than not.

      Instead, why doesn’t the NFL do a rematch of the team conference championship games from the year before? Chances are the four teams will still at least be competitive, and therefore the networks should get decent matchups. This year would have been the Giants vs. Packers and Patriots vs. Chargers. Granted the Packers and Chargers aren’t as good as they were a year ago, but would anyone have a problem with those matchups? It’s probably safe to say both of those games would have been closer than the Tennessee-Detroit debacle. The third game of the day could be a divisional matchup of some sort.

      Maybe that’s not the best solution, but they have to do something. On a day where everyone is off and enjoying football with family members, to watch the Lions get harassed for four quarters doesn’t make any sense. Fans don’t need a playoff-type matchup, but we deserve better that 47-10.

      It’s a shame that the best matchup of the day is Cardinals-Eagles, which will be played on NFL Network for an audience of 12 people.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      10 things in sports that I’m thankful for

      November 27, 2008 /

      Ah, Thanksgiving – the time to give thanks.

      I thought that since it was Thanksgiving (which don’t forget, is the time to give thanks) that I would lay out 10 things that I’m thankful for in the world of sports.

      I’m thankful for…

      1…there’s no possible way we’ll see a Big Ten team play in the national championship.
      I love the Big Ten for many reasons – the physical brand of football, the traditions, the rivalries, etc. But there’s no team in that conference this year that could match up with the likes of Alabama, Florida, Texas or Oklahoma on a national stage. Penn State and Ohio State are solid teams, but if the Nittany Lions took on the Gators in the title game, there’s a good chance that we’d all be watching “A Charlie Brown Christmas” by halftime.


      New York Jets      2…parity in the NFL.
      How exciting is the NFL again this season? None of the divisions outside of the NFC West and maybe the NFC East have been decided yet and we still have five weeks of action left. Granted, there has been a lot of mediocre football being played around the league, but at least parity has bred competition on a weekly basis. Who would have thought that at this point in the season, the Jets, Ravens and Falcons would all be vying for a playoff spot?

      3…rivalry week in college football.
      Granted, not all of the matchups are attractive, but how great is it that Auburn is playing Alabama the same week Florida is playing Florida State? Even Ole’ Miss and Mississippi State will be entertaining and the possibility that one of the ranked schools will be knocked off by a rival is exciting.

      4…the Hot Stove League is heating up again.
      Outside of Opening Day and the postseason, this is by far the best time in baseball. Who doesn’t love hopping on the computer each day and surfing through all the rumors? And once your team lands one of the prized free agents, it’s all you can do from imaging your team playing in the Fall Classic next year.

      5…fantasy football playoffs.
      Everyone sitting in the bottom half of their fantasy football standings right now just flipped me the bird, but for those of us gearing up for the playoffs, the culmination of everything we’ve been working for all season is finally here. This is the time of year when you say, “Work? What work? Sorry boss – I’ve got to check my roster 4,000 more times before noon and then hit the Steelers training room so I can massage Ben Roethlisberger’s hamstrings so to ensure he’s ready to go this Sunday.”

      6…shootouts in hockey.
      Hockey purists tell me that shootouts determining which team wins and loses “isn’t really hockey.” Fair enough, but at least when I spend $80 on a ticket now I actually see my team win or go down in flames. There’s nothing more unsatisfying than a tie in sports – any sport. If I watch a bunch of players go at it on a slab of ice for three hours, I want to feel either ecstatic or traumatized at the end.

      Manny Ramirez7…Manny Ramirez being a free agent.
      If you don’t like following the circus that is Manny Ramirez, than you’ve got issues. And the fact that he’s a free agent this offseason only means we’ll get “Manny being Manny” on full blast over the next couple weeks/months. I seriously can’t wait to see where this goofy bastard winds up playing next year, but I’m going to enjoy the process even more.

      8…humorous sports blogs.
      How great is it that I can get a recap of the Cowboys-Giants game at the same place I can read about how Tony Romo nailed Jessica Simpson on a beach in Mexico? It’s a beautiful thing.

      9…MAC football on a Tuesday night.
      When most people see that Northern Illinois is taking on Buffalo on a random Tuesday night, they usually keep flipping until they land on a new episode of “Dancing With the Stars.” Not me. During football season, I don’t care of Texas is playing Oklahoma or Texas School for the Blind is taking on Oklahoma Little Sisters of the Poor – I’m watching it…and recording that new episode of “Dancing with the Stars.”

      10…Erin Andrews working the sidelines.
      ‘Nuff said.

      College Football, Fantasy Football, General Sports, Humor, MLB, NFL

      Top Ten Ping-Pong volleys

      November 27, 2008 /

      This Ping-Pong video is amazing! You’ll want to grab a paddle and start playing as soon as you watch this. Enjoy the whole thing and make sure to watch the top two.

      The New York Times says that table tennis is becoming popular again, as many bars and clubs in New York are adding tables to handle the new players. Time to break out your old paddle!


      Table Tennis Top 10 Shots – The best video clips are here

      General Sports, Video

      Eating crow: Ball State is no joke

      November 26, 2008 /

      Ball StateA couple weeks ago Ball State University turned in an unimpressive victory against fellow MAC opponent Miami of Ohio and I wrote how the Cardinals and the BCS were a joke.

      Well, the BCS is still a joke – but Ball State isn’t. I was wrong about this team and I’m more than willing to eat crow. (I know a couple of Ball State fans that would be more than willing to watch me eat every bit of that crow, too.)

      There are a lot of media outlets that assume that just because a team isn’t in one of college football’s main conferences (i.e. SEC, Big 12, Big 10, Pac-10, etc.), that they would never be able to compete with the big boys. I fell into that trap after watching the Cardinals a few weeks ago, but I was wrong in my assumptions. After beating top MAC teams in Central Michigan and Western Michigan the past two weeks, Ball State has more than proved that they are legit.

      How do we know that Ball State wouldn’t compete with Oklahoma? Boise State certainly did when they beat the Sooners in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. It’s time to stop assuming that just because a team plays in the MAC that they couldn’t hold their own.

      BSU’s Nate Davis has been one of the best quarterbacks in the nation and while he doesn’t face defenses as good as Alabama, Texas, Florida and Oklahoma every week, it doesn’t mean that he doesn’t deserve the opportunity to see what he could do on a national stage. He has tremendous arm strength, great leadership and has showed all season that he’s a tremendous competitor.

      We need a playoff in college football. Undefeated teams like Ball State, Utah and Boise State deserve the opportunity to see if they can compete against the likes of ‘Bama, Florida, Texas and Oklahoma. If they get waxed like Hawaii did last year against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl, so be it. But maybe they’ll surprise some people, too. The main thing is, they deserve a shot. And college football fans deserve a better system.

      College Football

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