The Contenders

1. Steelers - Undefeated without Big Ben. Sky the limit when he returns
2. Saints - Damn kickers
3. Jets - Sanchez is improving
4. Colts - Manning the great continues his reign.
5. Ravens - Finally some offense
6. Bears - 3-0 with two quality wins.
7. Packers - See last week's rankings. Same thoughts.
8. Texans - Just when you think they've turned the corner, they have a no-show game
9. Falcons - Damn kickers
10. Chiefs - It won't last but undefeated is undefeated.

On the clock

5. The 49ers are a mess. There is no way they should be 0-3. Singletary means well but there is a reason coaches normally work their way up the ranks. His lack of experience is killing the 9ers.

4. Lions - Stafford starts throwing this week so there's hope. Even though they are a poor team, they have improved.

3. Panthers - Time to blow it up and start over.

2. Browns - When will Colt be ready?

1. Bills - Did they have to release Edwards? This team lacks direction which is sad since they were once a model franchise.

Gone, Nellie gone

So Don Nelson is gone; ran off by the new owners in Oakland. Nelson has always been an interesting figure. Never cared too much about defense. Always preferred odd line-ups. His team always ran and ran. The scoreboards always lit up. Nelson also always seemed to be in a feud with someone. Chris Webber. Monta Ellis. Mark Cuban. Steven Jackson. The entire New York Knicks organization. Above all, Nelson won basketball games and was entertaining. For all his idiosyncrasies, the pro game was just better when he was involved. More interesting. So if this is Nellie last run, I'm gonna miss the big fella. Those Sportscenter highlights with the 150-148 scores were a lot of fun. Those random Tuesday highlights in the winter just won't be the same.

More attention, more scrutiny....

When you think of sports and New York, what's the first thing that comes to mind? Most likely, its the Yankees. Maybe its basketball and all the legendary point guards. There's also the New York Football Giants. The Miracle Mets maybe? Perhaps the Knicks and their ineptitude. Now ask yourself, how far down the list have the JETS always been? The have always been an afterthought. The have always been THE other football team in a city that loves baseball and basketball first and foremost.

All that has seemed to change in the last year. The Jets are front page news. Every move they make is watched and debated. There is no bigger proof of this than Braylon Edwards and his DUI. Have you seen the articles? Have you seen the analysts all clamoring for a suspension? They only care because now the Jets are relevant. No one would care if they were not. What Edwards did is wrong and I am not here to defend him. And as I've previously stated my wife thinks he is a douche. However, no one was calling for Ronnie Brown to be suspended when he got a DUI this year. What about Joey Porter? He got a DUI too. Will Allen and the team president of the Lions got DUIs as well. None of the these players were suspended, they all played week one as the Lions president was there watching the Lions lose again. The only difference is that the Jets are relevant. No one cares what a Dolphin does. We could care less about a Cardinal. Some teams just aren't relevant. So when a Dolphin gets a DUI, it's bad but we move on. But the Jet's have a player get one with their brash coach, bold GM and Johnson & Johnson heir owner and woooooooooooo, the sky is falling.  This type of scrutiny is normally reserved the Cowboys or the Steelers not the lowly second rate Jets. Now they have moved up in status. The Jets are an A-list team now.  Let's see how they handle the added attention.

Driving while stupid

Let us examine a program the NFL implemented to prevent players from ever driving under the influence. The program includes the following:

• A driver will pick you up, any time, from any location
• The drivers arrive in luxury SUVs
• The drivers are prohibited from asking any questions
• There is no fee
• The drivers are prohibited from accepting tips
• The contract is with off-duty officers and other personnel who are licensed to carry firearms so that they can protect the players
• The contracts call for there to videos, video games and snacks in the back for players.
• This program is outlined in a memo distributed to all NFL players

So even if you are just too cheap to call a cab or rent a car service, all you have to do is dial the number and a car will a appear to take you anywhere you want to go. Any NFL player that gets a DUI is some word far worse than stupid but that word currently escapes my mind. Any thoughts on what that word should be?  Perhaps Braylon just misplaced his memo.



P.S. - My wife already thought of Braylon as a douche for his lack of fantasy production last year.....

Sometimes you never know.

I am saddened to hear about the suicide of Denver Broncos wide receiver Kenny McKinley. By all accounts, no one saw this coming. To a man, all his teammates and coaches say he was his same fun-loving self the last time they each saw him. No one knows what personal demons people cope with internally. One of my college teammates, a fellow defensive lineman, killed himself while in college. I roomed with him on roadtrips and we visisted each others parent's house in the off season. And with all this time we spent together, I would have never imagined that he would take his own life. You just never know. My thoughts are with McKinley's family and friends. May he rest in peace.

He excites you, you know he does.....

So I guess Andy Reid DID see the same things we saw. I guess he did see Michael Vick racing down the sideline, still the fastest man in the NFL. I guess he saw how effortless that throwing motion is. Perhaps he did indeed see the imrpovement in reading coverages. And most importantly, perhaps he took a gander at the scoreboard and noticed the points Vick put up. It was beginning to look like Reid didn't actually watch the same games we watched. If he had, then it was no doubt who the starter should be. This is no disrespect to Kevin Kolb. He's a fine talent and still has a future in this league. Plus, there's something to be said about a player not losing his job because of injury. It's a decent enough policy in theory. However it runs contrary to the most important principle in team sports - THE BEST PLAYER WINS THE JOB. Athletes thrive on competition. They know the deal. Get better or get off the field. While Andy Reid wanted to stand behind his hand picked QB, the film does not lie. We must remember that the Eagles players voted Vick the receiptent of the team's most courageous player award last season. Obviously, the team respects Vick. Reid could not look his players in the eye and say that Kolb is the starter when all the evidence points to Vick being the better player. Every coach makes it clear that the best player will win the job regardless of whatever non-football factors exist. When you start the lesser player it undermines your credibility with the team. Players know if it could happen to one player, it could happen to any of them and there goes the locker room.

Kudos for having the guts to make the tough decision Andy. But that is kinda why they pay you the big bucks. Furthermore, I would like to personally thank you for making the change. I watched the second half of the Eagles-Packers game in a bar. It was a sparse crowd so I got to hear everyone's reaction to the sideline run. In that one moment, the entire crowd forgot about the Bad Newz Kennels and remembered how marvelous an athlete Vick truly is. That run and the near comeback was breathe-taking. Ask yourself, who is the most exciting player in the NFL today?  Chris Johnson? Perhaps. Randy Moss? Maybe when he shows up to play. Desean Jackson? He's ok, but I say its Vick. If its not him, then he's second. The most exciting athlete in the league can not just waste away on the bench. I don't care for what he did off the field, but I damn sure am gonna watch him play come Sunday!

The Contenders

This week's NFL rankings.....

1. Saints - Team take-away. Defense continues to force turn-overs. Clutch players.
2. Steelers - 20 points allowed in two games. Winning without Big Ben.
3. Texans - Have the talent, I don't trust Kubiak.
4. Packers - Grant's injury makes them one dimensional.
5. Jets - Sanchez plays like he did Sunday, the sky's the limit.
6. Colts - With Manning, there is always a shot.
7. Ravens - Where is the offensive improvement? Parts should equal a better whole.
8. Patriots - So much for that defensive improvement.
9. Bengals - Defense is there. Offense has potential playmakers. Can they put it all together?
10. Bears - Cutler is playing well, can it last?

On the clock....

This weeks bottom five in the NFL.

5. Lions - Showed heart against the Eagles. Found a player in Best.

4. Carolina Panthers - The Clausen era begins. How long will Fox survive?

3. Cleveland Browns - So much for that season ending win streak carrying over into this season. Colt, get ready.

2. St Louis Rams - Haven't learned how to win yet.

1. Bills - Ryan Fitzpatrick?  Are you freaking serious? The league should  just contract the Bills right now. Seriously. Who would miss them?

Gutsy call!

Great game between Michigan State and Notre Dame. In case you missed it, the Spartans ran a fake field goal in overtime to win the game. It took some balls to make that call. It was a great call and Notre Dame clearly wasn't expecting it. While I'm no fan of Notre Dame they got screwed. The play clock actually ran out before the snap so the play of the year (thus far) should not have counted. It was still pretty cool though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfZbgKz_O4A

Commodore Vanderbuilt would be proud

It is clear that the Ole Miss offense has chemistry problems. While Jeremiah Masoli is an outstanding talent, the Rebs are having problems meshing his abilities into the offense. The lack of practice time was clearly evident today. Open receivers were missed. The timing that comes with hours spent practicing with recievers is just not present right now. There is a reason teams have spring training and fall practice and the Rebels are suffering from having a starting quarterback that was not present during this critical time.

Furthermore, the Rebs lack an offensive identity. Masoli is a spread quarterback while the team also uses Pro-style elements and also sprinkles in the Wildcat (or Wild Reb/ Wild Hog or whatever Nutt wishes to call it). Pick an identity Rebels. If Masoli is to be your quarterback, run the spread. Don't continue to try to fit this square peg into your multiple offense. We've seen what Masoli can do when unleased in the spread. If you don't want to convert completely, bench Masoli and play Stanley. Football offenses produce when there is a clear philosphy. Mixing spread, Pro and Wildcat elements is good idea  in theory but when it's crunch time, what do you rely on? What do you have confidence in? Just a bunch of plays? I'd much rather have a clear philosphy that my players believe in.

Finally, I admire Tyrone Nix and think he is a good football coach. With that said, the game-plan was completely off this week. He comes from a blizting background but that doesn't play well against a running team. The Rebels continually gave pressure looks and Vandy gashed them. The Rebs moved around and stunted but that movement plays into the hands of a running team. You block the first wave and there is no second line of defense because the secondary is in man coverage. This results in all the long runs the Commodores had today. There was no need for this since Ole Miss matches up physically with Vandy. The game plan today was just piss poor.

Looks like it will be a long season in the Grove.

Teams already on the clock - # 1 pick watch

The 5 worst teams in the NFL right now.

5. Detroit Lions - Team has improved but losing Stafford hurts bad.

4. Oakland Raiders - Seemed poised for a breakout but looked like the same sad-sack team in opener.

3. Cleveland Browns - Bringing in Delhomme was a mistake. He's done. Team lacks direction.

2. St Louis Rams - At least they have hope in Sam Bradford. Lack talent though.

1. Buffalo Bills - Franchise is so pitiful that no one wanted to coach the team. Had to hire Chan Gailey who already has failed as a pro head coach AND also failed as a college head coach too. No one wanted the job. The city is in a bad location, the weather is bad, the fan base is dwindling and the team has no quarterback. Other than that, its a great gig. Jake Locker, welcome to up-state New York next spring.

College Football - What we know

Alabama is good. They will probably repeat. They aren't great  though and that disappoints me. I long for the days when we had great teams. The 90's are Seminoles. Tom Osbourse's early 90's Cornhuskers. The U of the 80's. This Tide team is good and will win but we will probably grow bored watching them.........The ACC needs to lose its automatic BCS berth this season. FSU got crushed, Miami got outclassed.  Virginia Tech is losing to FCS schools. This conference will not deserve its berth this year.......Ohio State Buckeyes are like they always are - tough, well coached and conservative. They will win the Big 10 and lose to some SEC team in a BCS Bowl.......Ole Miss's Defense leaves much to be desired. Can they stop anyone?  Houston Nutt's teams are always so inconsistent.....Mississippi State has improved greatly. They need a difference maker or two before they can start winning the big games. I look forward to seeing how they perform against LSU.....USM looked good defeating Kansas. Its gonna be a tough year for Turner Gill. The Jayhawks have definitely taken a step back from the Mangino regime. But really, do you want this guy as your coach? Especially since by all accounts he's a high level jerk.



.........It looks like the Wolverines have something in Robinson. Dude can fly......Notre Dame, they are who we thought they were. Too slow to make an impact. Back seven on defense can't run. Same story every year.......I think its gonna be a long season in Knoxville and in Athens.....I'm rooting for Duke today. I know they won't win but its good to see Coach Cutcliffe has the team competitive. I hope they play well against Bama.

What Legacy?

What really is one's legacy? The reason I ask this question is I just listened to an extremely sober Kirk Herbstreit talk about the effects of Reggie Bush returning his Heisman. If you listen to any sports analysts these days, you'll hear talk of an athlete's legacy. Its ridiculous. Who gives a flip. Reggie Bush's legacy is that he was a great college running back, a so-so but often exciting pro running back and an athlete who by the way received improper benefits while in college. There is no legacy. No one will care about this story next week. Next year, Bush will just be a trivia question. If you aren't a fan of Southern Cal, then you shouldn't give a flip either. Just watch the games and enjoy the often break-taking performances that you witness. Everything else is not important. Enjoys the games. Enjoy the performances. That's what I do. I enjoyed watching Bush in college. He was magnificent in college and he was the best player. So with this issue, I'm like all the old timers you meet who talk about witnessing O.J. run. The "incident" is never mention. If O.J comes up, its about that run against Notre Dame, the time he slid in the muck and got up and sprinted for a first down. Sometimes, they'll bring up the first 2000 yard season in NFL history. Now, if O.J. Simpson, quite possibly a murderer, a person currently serving time in prison for armed robbery and a documented wife-beater is still thought of first as a football player by those who witnessed him run, then no one needs to worry about their "legacy!"

Poor Jets

So this has been a bad week for the Jets. First they lose a game to the Ravens in which their offense was completely inept. Just piss poor really. All the talking heads are really crushing the Jets but that is just silly. First, the Jets played the Ravens. They didn't lose to the Rams, they lost to the Ray Lewis led bone-crushing Ravens. They lost by a single point. This game is the reason that I started a blog. Traditional pundits always over-react. One game does not make a season. A late field goal and they win, so really lets not panic. The Jets will be ok.

Now lets get to the other bad news. Apparently, the Jets acted boorishly when a female reporter entered the locker room.  I will not defend the alleged behaviour. However, there is a very simple solution to this problem. The NFL should remove all reporters from the locker rooms. It's silly that men can't shower and change before they have to do interviews. Seriously, what vital information do reporters get from men in towels? Give them a minute to wash up and wait in the interview room. Its a simple solution. Women's professional leagues do not have this issue because they close the locker rooms. Simple. Perhaps women are the smarter sex. Seems like common sense.

Now lets discuss the actual reporter. Obviously, she is an attention hound. She wears low cut, form fitting outfits for a reason.  I imagine a serious journalist would have reported the incident to the proper authorities and not tweeted it. Now, a no-name reporter from an unknown Mexican network is an overnight celebrity. She'll probably be on Dancing with the Stars next year. It was actually the best marketing one could do. I've attached a couple of photos of her and her "work" attire for your review. I might as well use up the last few moments of her 15 minutes.

NFL Rankings - The Contenders

The first week of the NFL season is over and here is how I rank the contenders for the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

1. New Orleans Saints - Can do whatever they want offensively
2. Baltimore Ravens - Ray Lewis still dominates.
3. New England Patriots - Brady has returned to form following injury. Defense has improved.
4. Houston Texans - Studs everywhere on this team. Schaub, Johnson, Williams, Foster...
5. Pittsburg Steelers - Polamalu back flying all over the field. Waiting for Big Ben.
6. Green Bay Packers - I'm not sold on the Pack. They are missing something to me.
7. New York Jets - Defense is still dominate. Sanchez must improve and fast.
8. Tennessee Titans - Vince Young just wins games.
9. Minnesota Vikings - Team needs receivers bad. Vincent Jackson, paging Vincent Jackson. Make the trade Vikes.
10. Dallas Cowboys - This team can't get over the hump. Teases you then always disappoints.

My humble NFL predictions

*Note - my predictions were done before the games began this weekend but sadly lots of Hendricks and several bar stools caused a delay in posting

NFC South

1. New Orleans Saints - Drew Brees . Enough said.
2. Atlanta Falsons - Matt Ryan needs to take the next step.
3. Carolina Panthers- The team is in rapid decline.
4. Tampa Bay Bucs - Piss poor rebuilding effort. Morris could be the first coach fired.

NFC East

1. Dallas Cowboys - Dez Bryant will be the difference
2. New York Giants - Treading water. Heading for a decline
3. Washington Redskins - Lack playmakers. Worst wide-outs in the league
4. Philly Eagles - The birds will miss McNabb.

NFC North

Green Bay Packers - Will win but Vikes will make a run.
MN Vikings - Brett has another run in him
Detroit Lions - Look for improvement from Stafford. No playoffs but improvement
Chicago Bears - Lovie is on the hot seat. Piss poor wideouts, injury prone defense

NFC West

San Franciso 49ers - It's sink or swim time for Mike Singletary and Alex Smith
Seatle Seahawks - Still have talent but Hasslebach should be announcing games not playing in them.
St Louis Rams - Jackson is a stud plus Bradford brings hope.
Arizona Cardinals - Lost without Warner. They are who we thought they were - last place!


AFC East
NY Jets - Rex and his swagger brings it home
New England Patriots - The O is there but will they stop enough folks?
Miami Dolphins - Not enough players. No defensive difference-makers
Buffalo Bills - Worst team in the league. 2 wins probably.

AFC North
Baltimore Ravens - Built to win now. Its all on Flacco.
Pittsburg Steelers - Can make a run if they can hold on until Big Ben comes back.
Cincinnati Bengals - Really good team, just in the wrong division. Could win 10 and still be in 3rd place.
Cleveland Browns - They return kicks well so at least they compete in one phase of the game.

AFC South

Houston Texans - If they don't win this year, they never will.
IN Colts - The streak of winning 12 games a year ends this year.
TN Titans - I like Vince, I like Johnson but they are missing something. Will have a winning season though.
Jacksonville Jags - Why does Jacksonville even have a Team? MJD rocks in fantasy though.

AFC West

San Diego Chargers - They win by default. This team has missed their window of opportunity
Kansas City Chiefs - They will improve but still not a play-off team.
Oakland Raiders - Improvement but not back yet. I like Campbell but this team under-achieves too much.
Denver Broncos - Eh. Long season in the Rockies.

The Final Four:

Ravens & Jets in AFC

Saints & Cowboys in NFC

Saints defeat Jets in Superbowl.

His parents must have loved the "sauce"....

Did you hear about golf great Jack Nicklaus's grandson being suspended for two games? The grandson, Nick O'Leary, is one of the top high school tight-ends in the nation and is being recruited by all the major players. He made an obscene gesture at the end of the Kirk Herbstreit Kick-off Classic in Ohio on Labor Day. The Florida High School Athletics Association responded by suspending him for two games. Now I'm not going to comment on O'Leary's reaction to the game's controversial end since I very much was a hot-headed player back in the day. Also, I need not comment on his status as the Golden Bear's grand-kid. What's most interesting to me is that O'Leary's coach is named Jack Daniels. His parents must have loved them some whiskey! I can understand. Jack is a fine beverage on cold winter's day. I prefer Maker's Mark but Gentleman Jack has come in handy on a few occasions in my life.  I take my whiskey on the rocks. How about you?  Check out the story below.

http://highschool.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1124079







        

   

And Fedora said what?????

"If you look at his game from the other night, he wasn't anything. It was nothing special on his part. It wasn't even average.”


These were Larry Fedora’s words regarding DeAndre Brown’s performance in the Golden Eagles opening game against South Carolina . It is interesting that Fedora chose to be so openly critical of a player. Especially a player that is critical to the success or failure of the team. Perhaps Brown does suffer from a lack of motivation or just maybe playing against two of the top rated cornerbacks for the 2011 NFL draft had a lot to do with the poor outing. Either way, highlighting the poor effort publicly is not a good way to start a make or break campaign for Fedora. Fedora may be showing signs of the effect of the intense pressure he is under this season.

As for Brown, if he can’t get up for a nationally televised game against NFL caliber competition, then this raises all sorts of red flags for NFL scouts. The South Carolina corners are already highly regarded by scouts so this was Brown’s chance to be graded against top quality competition. He could have cost himself millions in signing bonus money with his lackluster effort.

Heisman recount.......

So the Heisman Trophy Trust is stripping Reggie Bush of his Heisman and that is fair. Bush took money and these are the consequences. Every college athlete knows the rules regarding improper benefits. You can argue that his deeds were for off the field acts that had no effect on his on-field performance until you are blue in the face and it will not change my opinion. The minute he accepted money from agents he became ineligible. If he would have been caught at that moment, he would not been allowed to play and thus there would not have been that amazing 2005 season. Therefore, I cannot disagree with the Trust vacating the award.

Now that I’ve gotten the preliminaries out of the way, SO FREAKIN WHAT! They can strip Bush’s entire history from every college football record book and that still will not change that we witnessed. Bush was the most breathe-taking college football player these eyes had seen since Barry Sanders was burning up the carpet at Oklahoma State. He was truly amazing so there is really nothing that the NCAA, USC or Heisman Trophy Trust can do to change that fact. I know who the best player on the field was in 2005. As much as these entities may want to change history, they can’t. Bush was magnificent and the memory of those runs will last a life-time.

While I agree with the school removing his records and the Trust vacating the award, I very much have a problem with USC being on probation for his actions. The school did not knowingly use an ineligible player. Bush’s academics were in order. He wasn’t on performance enhancing drugs. In reality, the NCAA is punishing kids who had no part of this situation. That’s who truly gets hurt here. The current students-athletes were in junior high and high school when this situation took place. I don’t believe in bowl bans. What the NCAA should do instead is fine USC heavily along with restricting them from television. These restrictions would hurt recruiting but would not place punishment on innocent student-athletes. As for players who take money from agents, the answer is simple. The proper punishment should be that they must REPAY their scholarship, room and board plus all athletic travel expenses associated with competing if they are found to have taken money from an agent. This would place an actual punishment on the actual wrong-doers. Clauses outlining this can easily be added to the standard grant-in-aid papers for all scholarship athletes.

The NFL could easily end this. Just place lifetime bans on any agent who provides extra benefits to NCAA athletes. The NCAA could pressure the NFL into doing this by threatening to take away scouts access to campus. No Pro Days, no camp access, no sending of film. That would get the NFL’s attention since I’m sure the league does not want to lose free access to its de-facto minor league system. Implement both of these suggestions and I’m sure there would be fewer of these situations.

On a side note, it’s quite comical that the Heisman Trophy Trust felt compelled to vacate Reginald Alfred Bush’s Heisman Trophy award while Orenthal James Simpson still maintains the 1968 award.

Good read...

Great article about Mississippi's own Anthony Dixon. I wish all the Dixon brothers well. Check it out.

http://www.kansascity.com/2010/09/05/2201915/49ers-dixon-a-long-way-from-being.html

Gamecocks 2 - State of Mississippi 0

Most pre-season prognosticators predicted that the schedule would favor Ole Miss this season. It looked like a 5-0 start was well within reason. The great start would give the team momentum heading into a tough SEC season. Well, a funny thing happened on the way to that 5-0 start. The Gamecocks of Jacksonville showed up in the second half and beat the Ole Miss Rebels. Now many are going to blame this set-back on the Masoli situation but that's not it. Good teams don't surrender 21 point half-time leads. Good defenses don't give up 49 points. Good defenses stop opponents on 4th and 15. These facts would be cause for concern against any opponent but are heightened since they came against a FCS one. The Rebels have to improve defensively. Judging from last season's finale against MSU and the opening game against JSU, Tyrone Nix has trouble calling defense against the spread.

When I first got into coaching, I was given some sage advice. I was told you needed to teach the players three things. You need teach the players how to overcome adversity, how to win and how to handle success. These Rebs could not handle their first-half success. They could not put the game away when it was there to be had and they crumbled when faced with adversity. So it’s back to the drawing board this week. I guess one "positive" is that Houston Nutt- coached teams always seem to lose a game that they should win. Nutt can draw on those past experiences to prepare the Rebs to respond.

Masoli to play

Jeremiah Masoli has been ruled eligible and it is absolutely the correct decision by the NCAA. I must admit that I did not agree with Ole Miss pursuing him and letting him enroll. He long ago ran out of chances in my book. Plus robbing folks on a campus in which you are a celebrity is just not smart. With that out of the way, the NCAA had no choice but to let him play. He found a school that would accept him. He completed his degree requirements at Oregon. He was admitted into a graduate program that was not available at his previous university.  The rule says that if you meet these requirements, you don't have to sit out a year when transferring. People are outraged but you have to seaparate Masoli's stupidity from the application of the rule. The NCAA consistently mandates that rules be followed with specificity and to make Masoli sit out a season would be a clear deviation from their own policies. I hope Masoli takes full advantage of this 4th chance.  Obviously he has the potential to be a contributing member of society since he did graduate on schedule. Normally the players that are kicked off teams are no where close to ever getting a degree. Let's hope its finally clicked with him. 

As for how he will perform, I don't think he will be a real difference-maker in the SEC. Not because he lacks ability but rather because Hoston Nutt has given us no inclanation that he can fully use offensive talent. I predict an uneven season with flashes of greatness and bouts with inconsistency.

Sometimes the grass is just not greener

So I watched the University of Southern Mississippi get taken behind the woodshed by the Old Ballcoach and South Carolina. I grew up watching USM really compete in games like these and occasionally pull of the upset. Mostly they played tough and even in defeat they gave major conference opponents a true battle. They were once such a tough team that they had problems scheduling major conference opponents. Lately it hasn't been that way and I can't say that I'm remotely sad about it. You see, I believe that USM gave Jeff Bower a raw deal. Bower was loyal and successful but apparently his offenses didn't score enough points for some alumni.  So USM nudged aside a good coach in search of some offensive firepower. If more offense is really what they wanted, they got it. Too bad you need to play defense to actually win football games. The former coach in me is smiling (Actually he is laughing his ass off).  The Golden Eagles have not stopped anyone since Bower left. Scoring is way up but scoring defense is way down. That has led to back to back 7-6 seasons. Granted, Conference USA is not the SEC so the Eagles have a chance to recover. However, their defense is a sieve so they will have to rely on outscoring opponents yet again this season. It will be interesting to see how the season goes for them. One thing is for certain, I bet Fedora won't be as cocky as he was all summer. Getting embarassed on national TV has a way of adding a touch of humilty to an individual.

BYU goes independent...

BYU has decided to join the ranks of the independents.  That's not really relevant. Continue with what you were doing.....

Masoli out....

The NCAA did not grant Jeremiah Masoli's waiver request which is absurd. Look, I'm not a fan of Masoli and I think he deserved his suspension from Oregon. However, his transfer was completely within the rules and he should be allowed to play. The NCAA created this loop-hole so they should abide by their own rules. They can hem and haw about the "spirit of the rule" all they want but I don't buy it. If you graduate from  your college with eligibility remaining and you want to transfer to another school with a graduate program not offered at your current school, you are eligible. This rule was ripe for abuse from its inception. The NCAA argues that the rule is for educational purposes but that simply is ludicrous. Its only real use is for athletes who's production level is above their school's level of play. No one from Alabama is graduating then transferring to Florida International to complete there eligibility so they can study marine biology. The NCAA created this rule, Masoli did what was required by it so they should let him play. PERIOD!