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      BCS supporters criticize Obama’s plan to implement a playoff for college football

      November 18, 2008 /

      Okay, so not everybodylikes Barack Obama’s plan to implement a playoff system into college football:

      “I am extremely delighted that he is our president and excited that he is going to lead our nation,” Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe said. “I am disappointed that there isn’t more full discussion before he comes to a conclusion on this. I would hope only that the leader of our country would take under full consideration all the aspects.

      “The simple solution is easy to state. We’re not in charge of a professional league where we have the entertainment value to consider. That should be fully considered. This isn’t something you should make a rash decision about.”

      Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany told the New York Times over the weekend: “I think it’s that time of year. Whether it’s the president-elect or college football coaches or fans debating it, the First Amendment is alive and well.”

      “Certainly it’s an important issue for college football and colleges. Where does it stand in the list of challenges we have in America today? I would say it’s not very high.”

      Obama’s comments have added weight not only because he is about to become leader of the free world. His vice president has been a strident BCS critic. Around the time the Senate Judiciary Committee convened hearings on the BCS in 2003 Joe Biden called the BCS system “rigged” and “un-American”.

      It was the threat of hearings in 2005 that prompted the commissioners to add an additional BCS bowl and loosen the qualification standards for non-BCS teams.

      “I’m concerned about it,” Beebe said of Obama. “Obviously he is in a powerful position. If it makes people think along those lines without fully considering all the ramifications, that’s the main thing. A one-game single elimination type playoff works well for the NFL, it works well for our basketball championship but it doesn’t mean you end up with the best team winning it all.”

      All of the above comments can fit into one translation:

      “Listen Obama, we’re all making a crap load of money with the way the current format is set up. It’s not about the fans that line our pockets with luscious money – it’s about the luscious money. So how about you shut your damn mouth and keep things the way they are, huh?”

      College Football

      Albert Pujols wins NL MVP – will he return it?

      November 18, 2008 /

      Albert Pujols is your 2008 NL MVP, but as Home Run Derby points out, maybe he should return it following his comments about Ryan Howard in 2006.

      Albert PujolsIn 2006, Ryan Howard won the National League Most Valuable Player Award … prompting runner-up Albert Pujols to say the following …

      “I see it this way: Someone who doesn’t take his team to the playoffs doesn’t deserve to win the MVP“

      Pujols had the sour grapes in 2006 after leading his St. Louis Cardinals to a World Series Championship while Howard’s Philadelphia Phillies didn’t make the playoffs.

      Fast Forward to today … Albert Pujols won the 2008 NL MVP, beating out runner-up Ryan Howard. Howard’s Phillies won the World Series while Pujols’ Cardinals didn’t make the playoffs.

      OOPS. You can’t write this stuff any better.

      I would love to hear Pujols say “I really don’t deserve this” when he accepts the award. Even though I think Pujols is 100 times more deserving of the 2008 NL MVP than Ryan Howard.

      Congratulations to Albert on a fantastic season – and for letting his words come back and bite him in the ass.

      MLB

      Rodriguez tells Michigan fans to “get a life”

      November 18, 2008 /

      Facing the prospect of losing nine games, including a possible fifth-straight loss to arch-rival Ohio State, Michigan fans are in a sour mood. Naturally, some of them having been taking out their frustrations on their new coach. Rich Rodriguez is feeling the heat.

      Heading into his first Michigan-Ohio State game — where the Wolverines are expected to extend their dubious record with a ninth loss — he tried to deliver a message to fans who have lost touch.

      “It’s amazing some of the things that people would say (on a message board) or yell at you of a personal nature,” Rodriguez said Monday. “You almost want to tell them, `Get a life.’

      “There’s a whole lot bigger problems. Look at the economy.”

      College football’s winningest team has tumbled like the stock market, losing a school-record eight games and getting beat a Michigan Stadium-record five times at home.

      For the first time since 1974, the Wolverines will be relegated to watching bowl games.

      The 10th-ranked Buckeyes are favored to beat their rivals on Saturday at home by 19 points, matching the largest spread in series history, and win at least a share of the Big Ten title for the fourth year in a row.

      Hey Rich – welcome to big-time college football. What did you expect when you abandoned West Virginia and signed your huge contact?

      College Football

      Trent Edwards captain of Buffalo’s sinking ship

      November 18, 2008 /

      Bills-BrownsUltimately, one player doesn’t make or break a team in terms of wins and losses, but Trent Edwards is getting awfully close to being the exception to the rule.

      After throwing three interceptions in the first half of the Buffalo Bills’ 29-27 loss to the Cleveland Browns on Monday night, Edwards played like a scared schoolgirl the rest of the game. He constantly threw check down passes to Marshawn Lynch instead of going downfield and rarely attempted a pass more than 10 yards.

      But it’s not fair to hang the Bills’ loss solely on Edwards. Rian Lindell missed a field goal in the closing seconds that probably would have won the game. Fred Jackson coughed up the ball in Cleveland territory. The defense allowed Jerome Harrison to bust off a 72-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter.

      It wasn’t just Edwards that lost the game, but he had more than enough opportunities to make plays and he didn’t because he was too scared. His offensive line gave him loads of time and replays showed that he had open receivers to throw to all game, but he just couldn’t pull the trigger. Have you ever seen a quarterback so afraid to throw downfield? His confidence is totally shot in the wake of Buffalo’s four game losing streak.

      The Bills were a nice early season surprise, but their playoff hopes are fading fast.

      Conversely, this was a nice win for Cleveland. Not only did Brady Quinn get his first win of his career, but the Browns also didn’t joke in the end. They finally played four quarters and while it got hairy in the fourth quarter, they finally closed a team out and won a tight ball game. (Of course if Lindell makes the field goal, all of this is a moot point and we’re talking about another massive Browns’ collapse.)

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Chauncey Billups is changing the Nuggets…for the better

      November 17, 2008 /

      Dave Krieger of the Rocky Mountain News says that Chauncey Billups is changing the Nuggets, especially on the defensive end. It’s hard to argue, as the Nuggets are 5-1 since he joined the team.

      Remarkably, the Nuggets have scored more than 100 points in just one of those five wins – the first one. Billups is rapidly changing their very identity.

      “We won a game playing defense,” Billups said after the 90-84 decision over Minnesota. “We’ve done that a couple times since I’ve been here. And I think for me personally, I get a lot more confidence winning games playing defense than winning the run-and-gun game. Now, when we can start making shots and we can get where we need to be offensively and continue to play defense, then we can be dangerous.”

      Although Billups hit only seven of his 23 shots, the Nuggets outscored the Timberwolves by 17 points when he was on the floor, the best plus-minus rating of any player on either team.

      “The scoring thing is just an extra bonus,” said Billups, who finished with a game-high 26 points. “So if I’m struggling from the field, I’m not going to let everything else in my game just lay down. I won’t allow that to happen. And I’ll try to teach a lot of the other guys on this team the same thing: ‘So what if you don’t make shots? Give me something else.’ And I try to lead and do that by example.”

      Carmelo Anthony, among others, seems to be getting the message. Despite hitting only four of his 17 shots, Anthony grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds, his second double-figure night on the boards in as many games.

      For the last few years, the closest thing the Nuggets had to a defensive identity was Marcus Camby, and they gave him away to the Clippers last summer. Billups brings hard work and determination, and that can be infectious, especially for a young team. George Karl’s teams have a notoriously short attention span when it comes to defense, so it will be interesting to see how long this renewed focus lasts.

      And I wonder just how much better they would be with Camby manning the middle.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA

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