According to the ever-so-correct Mayans, 2012 was predicted to be the end of all humanity and the world would cease to exist. And look what has happened to us so far this year: world-renowned New Year-usherer Dick Clark passed away, the world lost Joseph Paterno, and Miami Heat haters all stood in shock and, in some cases, horror as LeBron James held his first NBA Championship high.
Yes, it was a fateful night for most anti-Heat men and women on June 21, as the Heat defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder to win their fourth consecutive NBA Finals game, clinching the franchise's second title, their first since Shaq's last in 2006. Dwyane Wade hoisted his second championship as well. The real story was LeBron James's and Chris Bosh's first championship wins, which is also the cause of most of the Heat hate.
On July 7, 2010 (two years ago today!) Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh were on the PTI program on ESPN and announced their future destination plans: they were both on their way to Miami. The next day, LeBron James made his decision in front of his loyal Cleveland fans of the Boys and Girls club and said he was intent on "taking his talents to South Beach," which, despite being a full three miles away (it makes a difference, trust me), is apparently the secondary home to the Miami Heat.
After last year's Finals failure, everyone not named Pat Riley (okay, maybe even Pat Riley) ridiculed and joked about the Heat. Chris Bosh was made fun of for his dinosaur-like good looks, LeBron was tormented because of his cold, ringless hands and his north-of-the-border hairline, and Dwyane Wade was ridiculed by only myself for doing nothing to better the team and not being ridiculed by anyone else.
But those jokes are long gone (well, the Boshasaurus and LeBron's hairline are still around), as LeBron has a ring (well, he'll be receiving it opening night next season) and the Big 3 finally fulfilled the ever-expanding expectations of the critics. Skip Bayless, no matter how much you hate, LeBron did it. You there, typing on your own unique blog (which is basically a less-efforted, worse version of this blog but with a lot more viewers) who badmouth the Heat constantly, they did it. All of your "they only have one championship" whining cannot be answered in the offseason. Don't worry kids, Project Repeat is WELL underway.
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Monday, January 30, 2012
Super Bowl XLVI: History Repeats Itself
I should be spending my time writing for English class, but procrastination brings out my best work. The Super Bowl is on this Sunday, with the New York Giants taking on the New England Patriots...haven't we seen this before?
The Giants stumbled their way into an NFC East championship despite a mediocre 9-7 record. They dismantled the Cowboys in two of the final four weeks to clinch the division. Their defense won the Wild Card Weekend game against Atlanta, while their offense won the Divisional Round bout with defending champion-Green Bay. Like 2007, an overtime field goal on the road sent Big Blue to the Big Game.
The Patriots had their road to the Super Bowl paved smoother. They did win the AFC East at 13-3, but none of those wins came against teams over 8-8. Because of the fascist NFL playoff rules, they were given a first-round bye over a 13-3 Pittsburgh team that beat the Pats. Thankfully, however, they crucified the Virgin Mary, Tim Tebow, in the divisional round. It took a late field goal miss by Baltimore to send "Miss America" Tom Brady and his team to the Super Bowl yet again.
In Super Bowl XLII (42 for those of you too lazy to Google), a miracle David Tyree (now working at a McDonald's near you!) and a late Plaxico Burress touchdown crushed the Patriots' dreams of a perfect season and gave the Giants their first Super Bowl victory since 1991. Fast forward four years, and these two teams take the championship field together again. Unfortunately this time, Madonna is obligated to perform. Can someone tell that woman it means something when Dennis Rodman shoves you to the curb? Anyway, the sport is football, not singing, so enjoy the game everyone.
The Giants stumbled their way into an NFC East championship despite a mediocre 9-7 record. They dismantled the Cowboys in two of the final four weeks to clinch the division. Their defense won the Wild Card Weekend game against Atlanta, while their offense won the Divisional Round bout with defending champion-Green Bay. Like 2007, an overtime field goal on the road sent Big Blue to the Big Game.
The Patriots had their road to the Super Bowl paved smoother. They did win the AFC East at 13-3, but none of those wins came against teams over 8-8. Because of the fascist NFL playoff rules, they were given a first-round bye over a 13-3 Pittsburgh team that beat the Pats. Thankfully, however, they crucified the Virgin Mary, Tim Tebow, in the divisional round. It took a late field goal miss by Baltimore to send "Miss America" Tom Brady and his team to the Super Bowl yet again.
In Super Bowl XLII (42 for those of you too lazy to Google), a miracle David Tyree (now working at a McDonald's near you!) and a late Plaxico Burress touchdown crushed the Patriots' dreams of a perfect season and gave the Giants their first Super Bowl victory since 1991. Fast forward four years, and these two teams take the championship field together again. Unfortunately this time, Madonna is obligated to perform. Can someone tell that woman it means something when Dennis Rodman shoves you to the curb? Anyway, the sport is football, not singing, so enjoy the game everyone.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Joe Paterno: God Hired a New Head Coach
Back in November, I posted an article (I gotta advertise my blog any way I can) about how Penn State rightfully fired head football coach Joe Paterno after he failed to report the actions of Jerry Sandusky to the authorities. Maybe if he stayed with the team, he would have stayed with us.
Joseph Vincent Paterno was born on December 21, 1926, in Brooklyn, New York. He played quarterback and cornerback at the University of Brown. In 1950, Paterno joined his head coach at Brown, Rip Engle, and became assistant coach of Penn State. By 1965, Paterno was given the head coaching job for the Nittany Lions. Who would've thought he would occupy the head coaching position for the next 46 years?
On November 9, 2011, Paterno was fired by the Penn State Board of Trustees for reasons linked to the Penn State sex abuse scandal. Originally, I agreed with the Board of Trustees' decision, saying " If Paterno did the right thing and told the police, we would have known about this nine years ago and Sandusky would currently be behind bars." But I now realize that JoePa could not live without football in his life.
Less than 15 days after his firing, Joe's son Jay Paterno said his father had a treatable form of lung cancer. But father time is cruel, and the legendary coach passed away on January 22, 2012. His death can be compared to that of former Alabama coach Paul "Bear" Bryant, who died four weeks after retiring in 1983. Both Bryant and Paterno were visionaries for college football who could not imagine life without the sport.
Joe Paterno did everything he could for college football. He gave more to the sport than anyone can imagine. The fact that he could not do more for the sport was really the factor that hurt him. Joe Paterno did not die from lung cancer; he died of a broken heart. Rest in Peace Joe Paterno, 1926-2012.
Joseph Vincent Paterno was born on December 21, 1926, in Brooklyn, New York. He played quarterback and cornerback at the University of Brown. In 1950, Paterno joined his head coach at Brown, Rip Engle, and became assistant coach of Penn State. By 1965, Paterno was given the head coaching job for the Nittany Lions. Who would've thought he would occupy the head coaching position for the next 46 years?
On November 9, 2011, Paterno was fired by the Penn State Board of Trustees for reasons linked to the Penn State sex abuse scandal. Originally, I agreed with the Board of Trustees' decision, saying " If Paterno did the right thing and told the police, we would have known about this nine years ago and Sandusky would currently be behind bars." But I now realize that JoePa could not live without football in his life.
Less than 15 days after his firing, Joe's son Jay Paterno said his father had a treatable form of lung cancer. But father time is cruel, and the legendary coach passed away on January 22, 2012. His death can be compared to that of former Alabama coach Paul "Bear" Bryant, who died four weeks after retiring in 1983. Both Bryant and Paterno were visionaries for college football who could not imagine life without the sport.
Joe Paterno did everything he could for college football. He gave more to the sport than anyone can imagine. The fact that he could not do more for the sport was really the factor that hurt him. Joe Paterno did not die from lung cancer; he died of a broken heart. Rest in Peace Joe Paterno, 1926-2012.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Big East Basketball - Taking Everyone to School
Twenty wins. One loss. A winning percentage of 95.2. And despite playing a good team in the best conference in college basketball, Syracuse still does not get the respect it deserves. I hear my friends who (THINK they) know college basketball say some things about Syracuse, and it wouldn't be me if I didn't complain about them, right?
Statement I: "Syracuse's schedule is so easy."
No it's not. Syracuse is in the Big East, a 16-team cluster of premiere NCAA basketball talent. Currently, five Big East teams (20% of the poll) in the current AP Poll. Last year, 11 out of the 16 teams (68.7% of the conference) went to the NCAA tournament (16.1% of the ENTIRE bracket was Big East), including a national champion inSyracuse Connecticut. The Big East is known for having somewhere between seven and eleven tournament-caliber teams per season. Syracuse, like all Big East teams, doesn't need a tough out-of-conference schedule, mainly because their conference schedule is incredibly tough. Anyone in the conference is not only able to win within the conference (as shown today by Notre Dame upending Syracuse), but can defeat ANY team in Division I. There's a reason why they send an average of 6.4 teams per year to the tournament and delivered six national championships.
Statement II: "Syracuse lost to a 12-8 team."
You're clueless. Yes, Notre Dame is 12-8. Why do you idiots judge a team more by record than resume? Let's look at some of Notre Dame's losses this season:
Statement III: "[insert Big East team] lost [insert number of games] times."
Do your homework. "Oh my, Louisville lost four of six, they must suck." Do you guys hear yourselves? Louisville lost to Georgetown (top 10), Kentucky (#2), Notre Dame (see above), Providence (very underrated 12-8, see statement I), and Marquette (#20). These teams are winning teams who wouldn't be seen as a "bad loss." Last year, St. John's came out of seemingly nowhere to upset half the conference. This year, Rutgers upset Florida, who Syracuse beat, as well as many high-quality conference members. The 2012 Rutgers team IS the 2011 St. John's team. Again, the Big East is good enough to send ten to the "Big Dance," and this year, Rutgers replaces St. John's.
Before you have the idiocy and audacity to criticize Syracuse for losing their first game in two and a half months to a respectable Notre Dame team, consider this: There sure as hell are teams out there with weaker schedules AND worse records than the Orangemen. Some people do not understand college basketball, yet they feel the need to voice their opinion on the sport. If you can't back up your statements, why bother blurting them out?
Statement I: "Syracuse's schedule is so easy."
No it's not. Syracuse is in the Big East, a 16-team cluster of premiere NCAA basketball talent. Currently, five Big East teams (20% of the poll) in the current AP Poll. Last year, 11 out of the 16 teams (68.7% of the conference) went to the NCAA tournament (16.1% of the ENTIRE bracket was Big East), including a national champion in
Statement II: "Syracuse lost to a 12-8 team."
You're clueless. Yes, Notre Dame is 12-8. Why do you idiots judge a team more by record than resume? Let's look at some of Notre Dame's losses this season:
- 11/21 to Missouri (18-1)
- 11/30 to Gonzaga (15-3)
- 12/17 to Indiana (15-4, beat #1 and #2 teams)
- 1/14 to Connecticut (14-4)
- 1/16 to Rutgers (11-8, beat Florida, Pitt, UCONN)
Statement III: "[insert Big East team] lost [insert number of games] times."
Do your homework. "Oh my, Louisville lost four of six, they must suck." Do you guys hear yourselves? Louisville lost to Georgetown (top 10), Kentucky (#2), Notre Dame (see above), Providence (very underrated 12-8, see statement I), and Marquette (#20). These teams are winning teams who wouldn't be seen as a "bad loss." Last year, St. John's came out of seemingly nowhere to upset half the conference. This year, Rutgers upset Florida, who Syracuse beat, as well as many high-quality conference members. The 2012 Rutgers team IS the 2011 St. John's team. Again, the Big East is good enough to send ten to the "Big Dance," and this year, Rutgers replaces St. John's.
Before you have the idiocy and audacity to criticize Syracuse for losing their first game in two and a half months to a respectable Notre Dame team, consider this: There sure as hell are teams out there with weaker schedules AND worse records than the Orangemen. Some people do not understand college basketball, yet they feel the need to voice their opinion on the sport. If you can't back up your statements, why bother blurting them out?
Monday, January 9, 2012
Playoff Hype - The Broncos are Really Ponies
ESPN is trying in the worst way to put the overtime winner from last night's Broncos/Steelers playoff game in the same class as the Immaculate Reception, The Catch, and The Drive. News flash: it wasn't all that special.
The play itself wasn't anything too uncommon. Any 10-year-old with a copy of Madden '12 can run the same play to the same success. Sure, it was an 80-yard touchdown. We've seen a 99-yard touchdown this year already, 80 yards is nothing.
Everyone is giving credit to God's favorite football player, Tim Tebow. He threw the ball all of 15 yards; DeMaryuis Thomas ran the last 65. That was, without a doubt, the best pass Tebow threw all season. Tell that fruit to go out there in the same cirumstanses and do that 20 times; if he completes five of them, it'll be a surprise. Even better, play it in Pittsuburgh, wherre star safety Ryan Clark would be able to play.
Now the Fighting Tebows play in New England against a Patriots team that dropped 40 on them in Denver. Who says Tom Brady isn't able to throw for 400 yards and four touchdowns? Sure the Pats have the 32nd-ranked defense in the league, but we don't know which Tebow is going to show up.
At the end of the day, Ben Roethlisberger's been with more women than Tebow. Okay Denver, celebrate one play, because next week at this time, you'll be crying over the 75 the Broncos have in their loss against the Patriots. And can someone tell John Elway he looks like brain damaged actor Gary Busey?
The play itself wasn't anything too uncommon. Any 10-year-old with a copy of Madden '12 can run the same play to the same success. Sure, it was an 80-yard touchdown. We've seen a 99-yard touchdown this year already, 80 yards is nothing.
Everyone is giving credit to God's favorite football player, Tim Tebow. He threw the ball all of 15 yards; DeMaryuis Thomas ran the last 65. That was, without a doubt, the best pass Tebow threw all season. Tell that fruit to go out there in the same cirumstanses and do that 20 times; if he completes five of them, it'll be a surprise. Even better, play it in Pittsuburgh, wherre star safety Ryan Clark would be able to play.
Now the Fighting Tebows play in New England against a Patriots team that dropped 40 on them in Denver. Who says Tom Brady isn't able to throw for 400 yards and four touchdowns? Sure the Pats have the 32nd-ranked defense in the league, but we don't know which Tebow is going to show up.
At the end of the day, Ben Roethlisberger's been with more women than Tebow. Okay Denver, celebrate one play, because next week at this time, you'll be crying over the 75 the Broncos have in their loss against the Patriots. And can someone tell John Elway he looks like brain damaged actor Gary Busey?
Sunday, January 1, 2012
College Football: We want my Re-alignment
Happy 2012 readers. I've been spending the end of 2011 and the beginning hours of 2012 complaining about the BCS and bowl tie-ins. In August, this hate was directed toward super-conferences. To have a team from Idaho play in a conference with teams from New York, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut is idiotic. Having a team completely crap on a 100+ year rivalry to join a conference with no in-state rivals is blasphemous. So I, being the one with no life and Internet access, created a re-alignment scenario for FBS football. It involves four conferences (Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, and Southwest), separated into four 6-team divisions (North, South, East, and West). The divisions follow as such:
Northeast - North
Army | Boston College | Connecticut | Navy | Penn State | Syracuse
Northeast - South
Kentucky | Louisville | Maryland | Virginia | Virginia Tech | West Virginia
Northeast - East
Cincinnati | Notre Dame | Pittsburgh | Purdue | Rutgers | Temple
Northeast - West
Illinois | Indiana | Michigan | Michigan State | Northwestern | Ohio State
Northwest - North
Iowa | Iowa State | Minnesota | Washington | Washington State | Wisconsin
Northwest - South
BYU | Kansas | Kansas State | Nebraska | Utah | Utah State
Northwest - East
Boise State | Colorado | Colorado State | Fresno State | Idaho | Missouri
Northwest - West
California | Nevada | Oregon | Oregon State | Stanford | UNLV
Southeast - North
Clemson | Duke | NC State | North Carolina | South Carolina | Wake Forest
Southeast - South
Central Florida | Florida | Florida International | Florida State | Miami (FL) | South Florida
Southeast - East
Georgia | Georgia Tech | Mississippi State | Ole Miss | Tennessee | Vanderbilt
Southeast - West (which I nicknamed the Division of Champions)
Alabama | Arkansas | Auburn | LSU | Troy | UAB
Southwest - North
Air Force | Baylor | Oklahoma | Oklahoma State | Tulsa | Wyoming
Southwest - South
Louisiana Tech | Rice | San Diego State | Texas | Texas A&M | Texas Tech
Southwest - East
Houson | New Mexico | New Mexico State | SMU | TCU | UTEP
Southwest - West
Arizona | Arizona State | Hawai'i | San Jose State | UCLA | USC
All teams play 12 games (they play all teams in their division once, 7 non-divisional games). The first and last weeks of the season are strictly divisional games. Divisional seeding is determined first by overall record, then by divisional record, then by head to head result.
The winner of each division plays in one of 8 BCS bowls (Rose, Fiesta, Empire City in Yankee Stadium, Orange, International in Toronto, Cotton, Sugar, and BCS National Championship). These bowls are once a day from 1/1 (Rose) to 1/10 (National Title, no games on 1/8 or 1/9).
The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place teams in each division play in a non-BCS bowl. They are three-a-day from 12/23 to 12/31 (no games on 12/25). The first 8 games are between all fourth-place teams, next 8 for third-place teams, and last 8 for second-place teams. In all bowl games, bowls are only allowed to pick teams within one game of each other (Ex. a bowl picks an 8-4 team. The second team picked can only be 7-5, 8-4, or 9-3).
Obviously this may not be the best solution to the BCS, tie-ins, or super-conferences. But with all these major problems listed in college football today, anything new can be seen as progress.
Northeast - North
Army | Boston College | Connecticut | Navy | Penn State | Syracuse
Northeast - South
Kentucky | Louisville | Maryland | Virginia | Virginia Tech | West Virginia
Northeast - East
Cincinnati | Notre Dame | Pittsburgh | Purdue | Rutgers | Temple
Northeast - West
Illinois | Indiana | Michigan | Michigan State | Northwestern | Ohio State
Northwest - North
Iowa | Iowa State | Minnesota | Washington | Washington State | Wisconsin
Northwest - South
BYU | Kansas | Kansas State | Nebraska | Utah | Utah State
Northwest - East
Boise State | Colorado | Colorado State | Fresno State | Idaho | Missouri
Northwest - West
California | Nevada | Oregon | Oregon State | Stanford | UNLV
Southeast - North
Clemson | Duke | NC State | North Carolina | South Carolina | Wake Forest
Southeast - South
Central Florida | Florida | Florida International | Florida State | Miami (FL) | South Florida
Southeast - East
Georgia | Georgia Tech | Mississippi State | Ole Miss | Tennessee | Vanderbilt
Southeast - West (which I nicknamed the Division of Champions)
Alabama | Arkansas | Auburn | LSU | Troy | UAB
Southwest - North
Air Force | Baylor | Oklahoma | Oklahoma State | Tulsa | Wyoming
Southwest - South
Louisiana Tech | Rice | San Diego State | Texas | Texas A&M | Texas Tech
Southwest - East
Houson | New Mexico | New Mexico State | SMU | TCU | UTEP
Southwest - West
Arizona | Arizona State | Hawai'i | San Jose State | UCLA | USC
All teams play 12 games (they play all teams in their division once, 7 non-divisional games). The first and last weeks of the season are strictly divisional games. Divisional seeding is determined first by overall record, then by divisional record, then by head to head result.
The winner of each division plays in one of 8 BCS bowls (Rose, Fiesta, Empire City in Yankee Stadium, Orange, International in Toronto, Cotton, Sugar, and BCS National Championship). These bowls are once a day from 1/1 (Rose) to 1/10 (National Title, no games on 1/8 or 1/9).
The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place teams in each division play in a non-BCS bowl. They are three-a-day from 12/23 to 12/31 (no games on 12/25). The first 8 games are between all fourth-place teams, next 8 for third-place teams, and last 8 for second-place teams. In all bowl games, bowls are only allowed to pick teams within one game of each other (Ex. a bowl picks an 8-4 team. The second team picked can only be 7-5, 8-4, or 9-3).
Obviously this may not be the best solution to the BCS, tie-ins, or super-conferences. But with all these major problems listed in college football today, anything new can be seen as progress.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
College Football 2012 preseason rankings
Happy new year to all who are bored enough to read this, thank you for reading. I wish you all a happy 2012, hoping it is even better than 2011 was for you.
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