I am Thankful for that Large Serving of Sports

Due to a large intake of schoolwork, travel, turkey, pumpkin pie, football, and channel flipping, the space on this blog has remained desolate for the past couple weeks.  I apologize, and it certainly won’t happen again (until finals and Christmas creep up on me in the next few weeks).  I’m currently traveling back to Oxford from Chicago, with a first-class view of Ohio from the top level of a Megabus.  I wish I could report about some ridiculous passenger riding on the big blue vehicle with me but everyone seems completely normal. 

            The sports world provided plenty of entertainment for food-coma stricken fans who plopped down on their couch with a remote in one hand and another plate of leftover stuffing in the other hand.  Coach K won game number 800 as head coach for Duke Tuesday night with a big early-season victory of Kansas State.  Even in Kansas City, far from a neutral site, Jacob Pullen’s beard proved to be no match for Duke’s freshman guard Kyrie Irving, who tallied 17 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists.  Also Tuesday night the Miami RedHawks delivered a huge 23-3 victory on the gridiron at home over Temple, improving their regular season record to 8-4.  Kent State’s surprising 28-6 upset over Ohio University on Friday, just days after Kent State’s head coach Doug Martin resigned, gave the RedHawks sole possession of the MAC East championship.  Miami next faces MAC West champions NIU at 7:00 in the MAC title game this Friday at Ford Field in Detroit.  Coach Haywood and the entire coaching staff deserve credit for the hard work they’ve put in over the last 365 days to turn a 1-11 team into the most improved team in college football who simply waits to see which bowl they get selected for. 

            Wednesday night featured few national sports storylines, but I got to channel flip between my Bulls and Blackhawks so all was well.

            Turkey day NFL matchups involved the Lions, Cowboys, and Bengals each in separate games.  Gross.  Fortunately, the middle game of the day between the Cowboys and Saints, in which Drew Brees’ boys found a way to win 30-27, made a first-glance boring NFL day into something worthwhile.

            Friday: the day of all college football days.  Auburn vs. Bama, Oregon vs. Zona, and Boise State vs. Vada.  Despite trailing 21-0 at the end of the first quarter, 2^nd ranked Auburn (10-0) defeated 11^th ranked Alabama (9-2) by a score of 28-27.  Regardless of his off the field allegations, Cam Newton deserves the Heisman.  Team’s like Boise and TCU don’t have to overcome touch matchups like this Alabama game and other SEC opponents Auburn faces: give Auburn a national championship spot right now.  Oregon pummeled Arizona 48-29, including 34 second half points.  I assure you there will be no lack of scoring in that national championship.  Boise State fought tough against Nevada, but the Bronco's kicker Kyle Brotzman missed two short field goals and cost his team the game.  Kellen Moore’s Heisman should not live and die on the foot of the Bronco’s kicker.   

            Another typical day in the NFL this season left viewers confused as to who’s good and who is not.  Two premiere teams faced off as the Falcons downed the Packers 20-17.  Matt Ryan went 24-28, throwing for 197 yards: not phenomenal numbers but it improved the Falcons home record to an impressive 6-0. 

            So after all that, sit back and take a deep breath.  College football conference championships are upon us and the smell of bowl season is in the air!

L.A. Football? Please No!

Sports Illustrated NFL columnist, Peter King, writer of the most widely-read football column in the country (Monday Morning Quarter Back), knows more about the NFL than any reporter or columnist I have come across.  Therefore, when I read this in his column on Monday, I didn’t take it as mere rhetoric used for the sake of creating discussion amongst readers: “This is the best chance Los Angeles has to get a team in a long time.” 

King believes that the NFL has stayed away from LA for so long because they don’t want to play at USC’s Coliseum nor in the suburbs.  However, Casey Wasserman and Tim Leiweke announced their financial support for a giant stadium complex capable of hosting much more than NFL football: Final Fours and the 2022 World Cup or any other future World Cup.   Think Cowboys Stadium 2.0.  The mega-stadium would be located right near the Staples Center in downtown L.A.

The Rams and Raiders deserted the City of Angels 15 years ago, so fans in L.A. may be thirsty for professional football; however, I don’t think this should be a pressing concern for NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.  Obviously, the most urgent thing on any NFL executives’ plate is what appears to be an inevitable lockout at the conclusion of this season, and King acknowledges that LA football won’t even be a discussion until that is resolved.  Goodell has discussed expansion into Europe in the next few years, so although the idea of football in LA seems pedestrian in comparison, I still don’t support the notion of Los Angeles football. 

California is not exactly deprived of professional sports franchises.  Three NFL teams (Chargers, Raiders, and 49ers), three NBA teams (Lakers, Clippers, and the Sacramento Kings), three NHL teams (LA Kings, Ducks, Sharks), and a whopping five MLB teams (Giants, Padres, Dodgers, Athletics, and Angels).  That is thirteen total teams in the four major sports, including the reigning NBA and MLB champs (Lakers and Giants).  14 seems excessive. 

Los Angeles, including Anaheim, which is so close to LA that the Angels can’t even decide which city they’re from (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim), has six total sports teams (Lakers, Clippers, Kings, Ducks, Dodgers, and Angels).  Six teams is more than any other city this side of the Big Apple.  The main two teams rumored as possibilities for a move to LA are the San Diego Chargers and the Oakland Raiders.  San Diego needs football more than LA.  If the Chargers leave, the Padres will be the only team in town.  L.A. on the other hand has those six teams and a pretty significant film scene going on in this place called Hollywood.    In terms of the Raiders relocating to Los Angeles: been there, done that. 

Last season of HBO’s popular show, Entourage, featured Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven) in heavy talks with Jerry Jones, attempting to bring an NFL team to L.A.  Asides from that work of fiction, I have not recently heard much talk about the prospect of L.A. football until I stumbled across Peter King’s column.  I hope the discussion stays quiet.  

Browns, Bengals, and the Wacky first half of the NFL Season

          Browns RB, Peyton Hillis, celebrates his 184 yard performance and a Browns win over the Patriots on Sunday 

            The conclusion of Week 8 of the NFL season leaves many fans scratching their heads in confusion.  Half of the season has past, and although the pre-season favorites to win the Super Bowl have disappointed (Cowboys 1-7, Colts 5-3, Saints 6-3), there still seems to be lots of room for debating the best team in the league.  We’re talking acres and acres of room for debate. 

            Experts seem to like the AFC South (except the teams from Ohio): the Ravens and Steelers sit atop most NFL Rankings (if Colt McCoy played more like a rookie and less like a young Tom Brady against the Pats this weekend, then New England would probably hold the mid-season crown).  The Browns aren’t going to make the playoffs; however, Cleveland certainly has hope for the future.  Colt McCoy won two of his first three NFL starts, upsetting the Saints and Patriots.  Sure the Browns lost to the Steelers 28-10 in his debut, but the kid threw for 281 yards!  If Browns fans’ excessive cynicism prevents them from storing faith in the future of McCoy, they surely can’t ignore the guy he’s handing the ball off to, Peyton Hillis.  The Arkansas grad has run for 644 yards this year and surpassed the century mark on three separate occasions.  I don’t think the Broncos’ GM Brian Xanders sleeps well thinking about the trade he made last Spring (Peyton Hillis for Brady Quinn).  Just as quickly as the James jerseys went up in flames, the Hillis and McCoy jerseys should be going off the shelves in Cleveland. 

            Moving on to the Bengals … well at least the Reds had an impressive run this season, because Cincinnati football is ugly.  The Bengals 21-27 loss to Pittsburgh looks like a close loss to a good team, but the national audience watching on Monday night will attest to the one-sidedness of the game.  The T.O. and Ochocinco experiment seems just as silly in November as it looked in July.  Owens has played well thus far, but his fellow VH1 reality show host looks miserable.  Since his 159 yard performance in week one, Ochocinco has caught for a mere 314 yards in 7 games (45 yards per game).

            One of the top receivers in the league has been on three teams this year, Michael Vick has the highest QB rating in the NFL, Wade Phillips got the boot yesterday from Jerry Jones, a Raiders-Chiefs game in Oakland was sold out with much of the country watching on TV, and commissioner Roger Goodell successfully made baseball more of a contact sport than the NFL.  The second half of the season can’t be stranger than what’s happened so far.  Can it?  

The Freak Scares Rangers; Giants Bring First World Series to San Francisco

           Tim Lincecum Led the Giants' Fantastic Rotation With Wins in Games 1 and 5 of the World Series

          What a fitting end to a fabulous baseball season.  In a year featuring two perfect games and four no-hitters, Tim Lincecum and Cliff Lee put on a pitching showcase, only to be interrupted by the swing of World Series MVP Edgar Renteria who launched a three-run blast in the 7^th inning off Lee to win the game. 

            13 years after hitting a walk-off single to score Craig Counsell and secure the Florida Marlins’ first World Series title, Renteria broke up Cliff Lee’s gem with a dinger, capturing the first title for the Giants since they moved to San Francisco. 

            Tim Lincecum pitched 8 solid innings and then handed the ball over to Brian Wilson who sent the Rangers down in order.  Tim McCarver noted that the Giants were “lethal because there are no misfits on their pitching staff.”  Between The Freak’s hair and Wilson’s beard, it looked like the Giants had a bunch of homeless guys on their pitching staff.

            The Rangers looked dead in the 9^th inning.  ALCS MVP and probable AL MVP, Josh Hamilton, went down looking to start the inning.  Vlad followed suit with a first-pitch groundout to short.  Hamilton and Guerrero, the Rangers 3-4 hitters, combined to go 3 for 38 in the World Series.  In a nutshell, that is why the Rangers were shutout twice, outscored 29-12, and defeated in 5 games. 

            Even if they manage to sign Cliff Lee, which owner Chuck Greenberg insists he will pursue diligently this Winter, it’s hard for me to see the Rangers finding their way back to the Fall Classic a year from now.  The Giants however seem poised to make deep post-season runs for years to come.  The four homegrown San Francisco starters proved that pitching wins championships and if GM Brian Sabean can come up with a decent offense to match his stellar rotation and bullpen, the Giants will be clear-cut favorites to win the West again.  The comparison between the Giants and the great Braves teams in the 90s jumps out at me: solid pitching (Glavine, Smoltz, Maddux to Lincecum, Cain, and Bumgarner) and a few young star offensive units (Chipper and Andruw Jones to Buster Posey).  Bochy proved himself as an elite manager this series and the Braves certainly had good leadership with Bobby Cox pulling their reins. 

            The miserable days of the baseball off-season are now upon us.  Former MLB Commissioner summed up my feelings best during a piece he wrote at the conclusion of the 1977 season:

            It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone. You count on it, rely on it to buffer the passage of time, to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive, and then just when the days are all twilight, when you need it most, it stops. 

-A. Bartlett Giamatti