Sunday, February 28, 2010
The Olympics, yet again, provided for great theater and sport, and as usually I was completely enthralled. This Olympic games may not have had as big of headliners as the Beijing games, having the likes of Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt, but it definitely provided for some great moments. So I've compiled my list of my top ten best moments/stories of the Olympics.
1. Joannie Rochette taking the ice after the tragic passing of her mother. That was the real story and moment, the perfect ending is that she took home a medal, winning the bronze.
2. Canada v. USA gold medal match. Sure the USA didn't take home a gold, but if you think about how much this medal means to Canada, its almost OK that we didn't take home the medal. Most Canadians would have traded their 13 other golds for the hockey gold. On top of that, what an incredible game. Ryan Miller was brilliant the whole tournament, and the US Men should hold their heads high. In the end, the legend of Sidney Crosby forges ahead as he brings home the gold for team Canada on home ice.
3. Alexandre Bilodeau wins the gold for his country and his brother. Bilodeau's inspiration is his older brother, who has cerebral palsy. He won the gold for him and his gold happened to be Canada's first gold on home soil, having now hosted two prior to Vancouver.
4. The US four-man bobsled team takes home the first four-man gold in 62 years. Piloted by veteran Steve Holcomb, the US team knocked out German pilot Andre Lange, who had never lost an Olympic race. Oh, and the teams break man, Curt Tomasevicz, was a former Husker football player and the pride of Shelby, NE.
5. Shaun White performs up to expectation and captures the gold. White is one of the most entertaining shows on snow/ice, and he displayed that again in Vancouver, reaching heights no other snowboarder can reach and just dominating the competition. His last run was essentially a victory lap, and to close it out he laid down the toughest trick that any snowboarder can land - just for kicks.
6. Evan Lysacek edges out Evgeni Plushenko for gold. Plushenko, a champion and world-class skater, put up a heck of a fight, but his execution of a quad could not edge out the better executed performance of Lysacek. Plushenko turned out to be a poor loser, blaming the scoring system for his loss.
7. Apolo Ohno takes home a US winter olympics record 7th medal. He won 3 medals overall, tying the record of 6 when one Korean wiped out another in the 1500m final to give him the silver and taking home another silver in the relay, however his bronze in the 1000m may have been his most impressive performance of the games. In prime position to make a run at the gold, with 2 laps left he was nudged by a canadian which threw him from 2nd to 5th and he charged back to grab the bronze, and US Olympic history.
8. Kim Yu-na, carrying the weight of an entire country, dominates in Women's Ice Skating, setting a record and living up to the astronomical expectations of her home country, where she is a celebrity, in taking home the gold.
9. Tessa Virtue and Scott Moyer take home Olympic gold in Ice Dancing. They not only performed incredibly but showed so much genuine emotion, probably the most spirited singers of "Oh, Canada" from the entire games.
10. Bill Demong takes home Olympic gold in the Nordic Combined. In another sport of US futility, Demong took home the first ever Nordic Combined gold, as the US Nordic Combined team had a fantastic Olympics, with three silvers and one gold in four events.
I wish I could say that I didn't watch all of these events, but unfortunately I did.... and yes I even watched the Nordic Combined. Not mentioned but deserving props are the US alpine skiing team, having their most successful Olympics, with Lindsay Vonn and Bode Miller gaining some redemption from Torino. On the whole, the United States had a great Olympics, winning the medal count at a Winter Games for the first time ever and setting an Olympic record for winter medals in one games with 37. The Canadians also deserve credit, taking home the most gold medals and hosting a great Olympic Games. They also deserve credit for getting me to want to travel to Vancouver.... seriously, I want to go, it looks beautiful.
Next up - March Madness! Woohoo!
Friday, February 19, 2010
No, I'm not referring to governmental regulation of air pollutants, but rather the seeming legislation in the NBA that has dictated the frenzied fad that has clearing cap space and trading for expiring contracts in. This legislation has been introduced by the Senators James, Wade, and Bosh, to name a few. This summer is bound to be the most talented free agent pool ever with this being the potential free agent class:
Prize Horses: LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh (who has been lost in Canada), and technically Kobe Bryant falls into this category as well because he has an early termination option (ETO) though an extension is inevitable if not imminent.
No Small Consolation: Joe Johnson, Carlos Boozer, Amar'e Stoudamire, Dirk Nowitzki (ETO), and Yao Ming (ETO)
You lost out on the above and decided to overpay these solid-but-not-an-all-star-if-on-good-teams players: David Lee, Rudy Gay (restricted)
Aging/Falling Stars: Paul Pierce (ETO), Tracy McGrady, Shaquille O'Neal, Allen Iverson (who likely will retire), Manu Ginobili, Michael Redd (ETO), Ray Allen, Jermaine O'Neal
So you may now understand why teams seem to be ransoming this year, or in the case of the Knicks seemingly the last decade, to get a shot at these free agents. It's become so ridiculous that trades like the one involving the Knicks as well as the Rockets and Kings happened the other day. Because the Rockets don't appear to be resting hopes on the summer free agency, which is probably smart, they were able to come out like bandits. They acquired Kevin Martin (a very good player from the Kings), Jordan Hill (high ceiling rookie PF from the Knicks), the right to swap picks with the Knicks next year, and their 2012 first rounder. What did they give up for this haul? Their best bench player in Carl Landry and Joey Dorsey (a little cap space). The Knicks got a huge expiring contract in McGrady and a backup point gaurd. The Kings got cap space and Carl Landry, which wasn't enough but I can only assume that they didn't think that Tyreke Evans and Martin fit well together on the floor. If the Knicks don't get any of the big three, people are going to look at this deal in a few years and think Isaiah Thomas was behind it.
Having that said, my Bulls (stuck with 'em even after Jordan left) had a similar strategy. They made good moves to gain cap space and can now for sure offer a max contract this summer. With a little more maneuvering they may be able to do a little more. Its easy to look at the dream scenarios starting with luring LeBron out of Cleveland or getting Wade to come back home, but right now I don't see either leaving their current teams. What I may like even better than landing either of those two however is to go after two free agents in Chris Bosh and Joe Johnson. In terms of a gaurd, I think Joe Johnson would look perfect in the Bulls backcourt. His prolific shooting would look great next to Derrick Rose and though he doesn't have the clutch reputation that LeBron and Dwayne may have, he is definitely a better shooter. Given that the Bulls don't have great shooters, he would look great, especially if Deng is still playing SF. As for Bosh, he would provide the stud big that the Bulls have possibly never had, and unlike Amar'e Stoudamire and David Lee, he plays defense. As a second option for a low post scorer to compliment Noah's defense and energy, I would go with Boozer. Rose should be an attractive court mate for many of the free agents and hopefully they can land one or two.
As for other sporting news, Shawn White continues to live up to the hype and defy gravity, he's been one of the Olympic highlights for sure. I admittedly watched parts of the ice skating and really what makes watching it great is Scott Hamilton. He gets super excited when skaters do something well with Bill Raftery-like reactions, and he's equally funny when he dogs on skaters for having bad form and such. The competition was good as well, its always nice to see an American win, and Plushenko spiced it up by essentially saying he should have won because he executed a quad after trying to act like gracious loser. As for Tiger's press conference, I didn't buy it - didn't seem geniune, though not perfect Bill Simmons probably writes it better than I do.
Monday, February 15, 2010
The weekend was filled with a number of "major" sporting events. With the Olympic Games starting on the weekend of the NBA All-Star Game and the Daytona 500, it was definitely a full weekend. I will admit that I am not a Nascar fan, so I pretty much pay attention to who won the race so I know if someone asks. Jamie McMurray, right? I think the fact that I'm familiar with his name should count for something. Anyway, I thought it was pretty awesome that they had problems with a pothole at the Daytona 500. How does this happen? And given that it took a couple stoppages that I think ended up being over 2 hours of downtime - not good. Needless to say, this is not what you want at your sport's Super Bowl and if you were a casual fan watching the race, you stopped watching. Unfortunate.
The All-Star Game I suppose is a big event, it was at least in attendance this year setting a world record, but lets be honest, no one really cares about any of the major sports' all-star games. My real guff here though is with the dunk contest. This used to be one of the best events in all of sports with the epic duels of Dominique and MJ and the birth of Vincanity, but those days are long since past. They either need to get the premier players in the league (i.e. Lebron, D-Wade, The Durantula, etc.) or stop having it. I didn't watch any of it but then saw the end when they were asking Nate Robinson if he was having troubles being creative. Really? How bad was it? I think they were muting Charles Barkley's mic because he was saying how "terble" it was. And speaking of Nate Robinson, he won again? Nate Robinson now is the only 3-time Dunk Contest winner, that's should be a feat, but instead is a joke. Nate Robinson can't start for the Knicks! It's gotta stop. Be creative, come up with something new NBA so we don't have to see Nate Robinson win because he beat three other bench players only because the fans like a short guy dunking. Ok, so I probably won't watch if you do come up with something new, but someone might.
So obviously the real thing to watch was the Olympics. It started on a sad note with the death of luger from the former Soviet Republic of Georgia, which put a dark cloud over the opening ceremonies. But the show went on and the opening ceremonies were pretty good. It was unfortunate, however, that the quintessential moment of the opening ceremony, the lighting of the torch, had a malfunction when one of the legs to the Olympic cauldron didn't come out of the floor. Since the actual competitions started though, the games have been great. There have been great moments and races, and some even better stories. My favorite story so far has been Canadian gold medal moguler Alexandre Bilodeau, whose inspiration in competing is his older brother, who suffers from cerebral palsy. Not only did he win this gold for his brother, but also for his country. Obviously all athletes are there competing for country, but Bilodeau's gold had even more significance as it was the first gold that Canada had ever been won on their own soil, in this their third time hosting. It was just a great story all around. This story is one among many that make the Olympics so great. I look forward to the next couple of weeks of Olympic events, and I hope you do too. Happy viewing!
Friday, February 12, 2010
Ever since the Big 10 announced that they were going to more actively seek a 12th member a few months ago, rumors have run rampant about not only who that school may be, but also realignment amongst all the other conferences. The domino affect of a team changing conferences and moving into the Big 10 would not have to happen if Notre Dame would sacrifice its status as an independent team in football, but they have stated multiple times that they have no desire to do so. The other logical teams that have been brought up are regional teams like Missouri and Pittsburgh, as well as teams that may expand their presence into different markets, such as Syracuse and Rutgers. The most recent rumor has the Big 10 having preliminary talks with Texas.... yes, Texas. Here's the case as I see it:
Why Texas would do this:
The Big 10 would provide increased revenues from the conference, mostly as a result of the Big 10 network, which I believe was the first conference network and is the most widely distributed. The Big 10 is also a stronger conference in terms of academics, which always helps with those people that think these kids go to school to get an education. The Big 10 also provides for some intriguing match-ups in terms of competition with the likes of Ohio State, Penn State, and Michigan (should they get back to glory). The most intriguing part of the competition is that Texas has to feel as though they could win that conference every year. Much of the Big 12 gets Texas talent, some of the best in the country, but little of the Big 10 does, and with the (perceived) weakness of the Big 10, Texas has to think they could possibly win the conference and thus be in competition for the National Championship every year.
Why Texas wouldn't do this:
The first is the natural rivalries within the Big 12 conference. The Texas A&M rivalry has the longest history, but the Oklahoma game has become one of, if not the, biggest rivalry games in all of college football, and no doubt brings huge revenues in itself to Texas. Texas would also have to balance the cost of traveling within the conference, not only for football, but all 20-30 (maybe more) sports. These costs would have to be more than matched in the increased revenues. The other consideration, though it may not be as big, is the effects on recruiting. Now, Texas has never had problems recruiting, in Texas all they have to do is offer and the kid seems to come. However, in following recruiting I see that kids frequently refer to wanting to play in fill-in-the-blank conference, and that is frequently geographical. As most conferences stand, they are mostly geographical, though there is certainly no rule that they have to. Whether a conference change would affect recruiting, I guess we won't know until it happens, but I think it's possible. The perceived lesser competition could be viewed as a negative as well, so that may play against joining the Big 10 as well.
Ultimately, I don't see Texas doing it. I don't think they'd give up the rivalries, and I think the Big 12 will make an effort to keep them around. In addition, the Big 12 network is likely growing, as it is fairly young at this point, and could bring greater revenues soon. The geographic aspect obviously doesn't make a whole lot of sense either. But who am I kidding? I'm a Nebraska, if the Big 10 wants them, they can have 'em.
Monday, February 8, 2010
From this point forward I will be calling any and all predictions I may make as "Predictions Sure to go Wrong," as this will help everyone as they're placing there bets - simply do the opposite of whatever I pick. As a friend of mine was quick to point out, my Super Bowl pick was wrong, but I was perfectly OK with that and rooting for the Saints. We've been really quite spoiled recently with good Super Bowls, great games the last three years, and last night's game was the most watched TV program ever, passing the last episode of M*A*S*H over 25 years ago.
As for last night's game, the moment in that game that will be most remembered is undoubtedly the onside kick. It was possibly the gutsiest call by any coach in Super Bowl history, and if it doesn't work it would probably be considered the dumbest coaching move ever. However, it was executed perfectly and turned the momentum in that game. As a result of the onside kick, Peyton Manning took the field after New Orlean's touchdown having not been on the field for 45 minutes with confidence clearly risen on the New Orlean's sideline. Though that was the signature play of this game, I would argue the biggest play of the game was the interception by Porter. At the point that he made that interception, everyone watching that game, and probably even some of the Saints, were sure that Manning was going to tie that game and overtime was on the horizon (oh what could have been...), but Porter sealed that game with that interception.
The interesting part of this game is that it likely means that Peyton Manning just lost his chance at being the greatest quarterback of all time, and Drew Brees just became a future Hall of Famer. It's funny how the NFL works like that. It's a similar situation to two years ago with the Patriots. Tom Brady wins that Super Bowl and his legacy is cemented, possibly as the greatest of all time. He would have been 4-0 in Super Bowls, capped with a 19-0 season in which he led the most prolific offense in the history of the NFL in terms of scoring and set the new bar for touchdown passes in a season. The only other QB with a 4-0 Super Bowl record is Joe Montana, frequently mentioned as the greatest quarterback of all time. Regardless of what this game did to "legacies" it was a great game for the fans. Peyton Manning and Drew Brees both played very well, and regardless of the outcome, both are great quarterbacks.
Congratulations to the Saints and the city of New Orleans! They deserve every bit of it!
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Lane Kiffin is all that is wrong in college football. This guy is a joke. As I mentioned in a previous post, Lane Kiffin is definitely one of my least favorite coaches in college football mostly because of the way he handles his business. The most recent story is the commitment he received from a 13-year-old quarterback. This story is absolutely ridiculous. This kid has yet to hit puberty, yet to pick a high school, yet to even clear the 7th grade. He's a prospect for the recruiting class of 2015. There are many things I view wrong with this situation and people to blame, but by no means do I blame the kid. He says USC was his dream school and so it was natural for him to commit upon receiving the offer. Kiffin and the father/parents on the otherhand, they each have their share of the blame in my estimation.
I understand that you want to get in on recruits early, but this is seriously ridiculous. Kiffin doesn't need to offer this kid now in order to seal his commitment. Kiffin obviously has no need to get in this early in order to seal a top quarterback, he coaches at USC, where he shows them the beach, the celebrities, and the money and they commit. This seems to be another promotional ploy that Lane Kiffin tends to make to get his name in the news, and the media always falls for it. It's very self-serving and if you look at the potential affects this may have on the kid, it could be harmful. I'm not saying that this kid isn't going to grow up to be the next Drew Brees or Peyton Manning, but you can bet that everyone is going to be prepared to take their shots at the kid who is already committed to USC. People are going to start to cling to him, claiming to be "friends," just to be there when he makes it big, and we've all seen how high school posses have affected some professional athletes (see: Michael Vick). I think this ultimately does more harm than good, but in todays recruiting world, should we expect any less?
I also think the parents, especially the father, have a part to play to. It's the story of modern sporting culture, trying to make your child the next Tiger Woods or LeBron James, or perhaps in this case Peyton Manning. So you start training your kid to try to be elite at one sport (this kid has one of the top QB coaches in the country that he trains with), and frequently that sport is determined by the parent. It strips a child of all the freedoms of finding the sport that he loves, living a normal life of discovery and mistakes the lead to learning. Parents structure their lives towards what they view as success, not necessarily what the child has a passion to do. There was a story a few years ago about the best female basketball player in the country who had been playing basketball her entire life and felt an obligation to keep playing, she felt the pressure from the people around her. She got a scholarship to UConn, arrived on campus, and just couldn't do it. She didn't have enough passion for the sport to keep going. She ended up transferring to a Division II school and playing volleyball. I'm not saying that this is or will be the case for this kid, but give him a chance to be a kid.
Super Bowl Prediction: Colts 34, Saints 24
I love the story of the Saints, as does most of the nation, but I'm going with the experience of the Colts and of course, Peyton Manning. They have more than 20 players back from their previous Super Bowl victory and the best quarterback in the league, and possibly all-time by the end of his career. I really just want a competitive game (unlike the Nat'l Championship game), and I think this one should be rather entertaining. Happy Viewing!
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Today is one of the most ridiculous days of the sporting world, National Signing Day (NSD). The day college football coaches sit around a fax machine waiting for letters of intent from 17 and 18 year old recruits from across the nation. I will admit that I have got caught up in the hype of college football recruiting, which has become a business all in and of itself, but that doesn't mean that I don't see the ridiculousness in it all. As a member of a recruiting website (rivals) you spend the year following the decision process of 17 and 18 year old kids, and read posts from men of all ages agonizing over their decisions, or indecision. It all climaxes on signing day, which has become a hoopla all in itself, kids picking between hats, putting on shows for ESPN, it's all ridiculous. And yet, I'm hooked.
This NSD went about the same as most NSDs. The rich get richer as athletes make the original decision of going to USC, Florida, Texas, Alabama, etc. The most amazing case is USC, which lost Pete Carroll to the NFL, likely one of the 3 to 5 best coaches in college football, and replaced him with a slime ball of a coach in Lane Kiffin, who made it an entire 14 months at Tennessee before jumping ship. Lane definitely has a spot in my top five slimiest coaches in college football, but that's for another post. Despite Kiffin's character flaws or deficiencies, he was still able to reel in the #2 recruiting class in the country - amazing. For those of you who don't visit recruiting websites and are curious school rankings, here's the top 5:
1. Florida
2. USC
3. Texas
4. Auburn
5. Alabama
As for my beloved Huskers, we closed up with a respectable #23 ranking in recruiting. With one of the best staffs in the country (especially on the defensive side), I'm confident that they can get the best out of these recruits. As Bo Pelini said in his press conference, this is when the real recruiting begins for them, building these guys into players that can be contributors, and I have no doubt that they will do exactly that. As for the names to look for in the near future, the ones I think you may be hearing from in relatively short order are DT Chase Rome, DT Jay Guy, OT Jamarcus Hardrick, and LB Lavonte David. These are the guys that I think most have a chance to see the field next season, with the first three already on campus for spring ball.
With this recruiting cycle coming to a close, the next recruiting cycle is already halfway done, as in todays age it has become a two year process. So, now the ride starts over(ish). The 2011 recruiting class for Nebraska is already off to a solid start with verbal commitments from three recruits likely to be in the top 250 in the nation. It looks to be an exciting year already. Next up: Junior Days and then Spring Ball. Go Big Red!
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Turns out Punxsutawny Phil saw his shadow again this year, the verdict: SIX MORE WEEKS OF FOOTBALL! OK, so that's not how it works, it's six more weeks of winter, but shouldn't we get six more weeks of football as well? I mean its the only thing that makes these cold winters bearable. (sidebar: when was the last time Punxsutawny Phil actually didn't see his shadow? seriously....) Well, rest assured our government is working on a solution. I'm glad our government is getting to the crux of our country's problems, I mean this has gone on too long. Let's fix the way we pick a champion in college football.
The BCS, in fact, reminds me a lot of the movie "Groundhog's Day" featuring Bill Murray, a reporter covering Punxsutawny Phil who wakes up every morning replaying Groundhog's Day. The BCS is seemingly the same, we get to December every year and 3 or 4 or more schools seemingly have a claim on one of the two coveted spots in the BCS National Championship Game. It never fails and yet we wake up every year on the sunday after the conference championship games with the same problem. So, I've developed a solution to both our problems, that of course being crowning a national champion and living through six weeks of winter without football. A 96 TEAM PLAYOFF!
That's right, this solves all of our problems. Every team that realistically has a claim on the National Championship (and many more that don't) gets there chance. In fact, all of the bowl eligible teams in 2009 would get a chance (there were 71). Not only that, but this gives us seven more weeks of meaningful college football! Alright, so here's how it works. The first week the top 32 teams get a bye with the bottom 64 teams matching up. Then the second week the top 32 teams join the party making it a 64 team tournament a la March Madness, with the exception that only one round is played every weekend instead of two. For this year, you start the first set of games the weekend around New Year's Day and then it continues the six weeks after. That means right now you would be anticipating two more weekends of the best college football of the year, and Valentine's Day weekend you would have your one true love - college football. BRILLIANT!
Now, I know what you're thinking, there's still four more weeks of winter that isn't covered here. No worries, the NFL would not want to share their postseason with college football, thus they would push back there season (which seems to be happening every year anyway) and likely add at least two more weeks to the regular season (they're talking about this anyway), which of course means more football to watch. So, the four weeks of the NFL playoffs start the weekend after the National Championship Game and we have football through all of winter. Football fans win! There you have it, a solution to solving the winter doldrums we face due to the lack of the warmth that football provides in our life. President Obama, can you please start working on this.
Note that I in fact support a Plus One system that would create what amounts to a four team playoff with the BCS Championship game being played by the winners of two national semifinals played in two of the four BCS bowls, by the top four teams, on a rotating basis. Should schools/conferences be opposed to two less BCS teams, I would make the Cotton Bowl the fifth BCS bowl and add it to the rotation.
Monday, February 1, 2010
In the age of Brett Favre, Kurt Warner is a breath of fresh air. A humble man who was thankful for the blessings that the game provided him and thankful for everyone who helped make it happen and knew when it was time to call it quits. Often referred to as one of the great men in all of sports, even being recognized as the Walter Payton Man of the Year in 2008, Warner's impact off the field will likely be greater than the impact he had on the field, which was great in its own right. His story is one of movies, Division II quarterback goes undrafted, to the European League, to the Arena Football League, to the grocery bagger at Hy-Vee to MVP and Super Bowl Champion. Undoubtedly he will have a place in the Hy-Vee Hall of Fame, but does he have a spot in Canton?
He qualifies on what most quarterbacks are measured: three Super Bowls with one victory, two regular season MVPs, a Super Bowl MVP, and one of the most impressive postseason resumes the NFL has seen. His numbers are in fact better in the playoffs then they are in the regular season, but a Hall of Fame resumé should also include excellent regular season play. When Warner was on he was one of the best, as is evidenced by his two MVPs, 5 Pro Bowls and two All-Pro teams, but in between his three season run with the Rams and three season run with the Cardinals he was anything but the best. In those five seasons Warner threw 27 touchdowns and 30 interceptions and had a 13-29 record as a starter. His is undoubtedly a tale of two careers.
Ultimately, I think Kurt Warner ends up in the Hall of Fame for a few reasons. The first reason is his playoff record, the measure of quarterbacks in the NFL. The second reason is the ridiculous rules of the NFL where they have a minimum and maximum number of inductees for every year (4 and 7), so if he's not in on the first ballot, time will be in his favor. The third reason is his story, which is one of the NFL's all-time best. The final reason is that I believe Kurt Warner the man colors how people view Kurt Warner the player. I'm not saying thats a bad thing, but I think it undoubtedly helps his candidacy. As for my opinion, Kurt Warner has a Terrell Davis type feel to him for me. One of, if not the best player at his position for a relatively brief period of time, though Terrell Davis never had a chance to have the bad stretch Warner did due to injury. Davis isn't in the Hall of Fame and as a result I don't think Warner's resume warrants it either. Having that said, I hope he does get in because of Kurt Warner the man.
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