This is the archive for December 2009
The Madness Behind 1/4/2010 And Why...
It's Not As Big A Deal As Most Think.
Alright, we're four days out from "the date". Whoa, let me rewind first and give you the catalyst behind why every fanboy this side of Secaucus is getting ready to jizz on the first Monday of the New Year.
Ten years ago. January 4th, 1999.
At this time, yours truly was under the employ of Uncle Sam in the United States Navy. I can tell you where I was when Raw and Nitro was on, what I was eating (Pepperoni Pizza) and drinking (2 liter soda). In any event, this night lives in infamy for wrestling fans for quite a few reasons.
Craig James 2, Schools In Texas 0
I was going to do a blog on the impending 1/4/10 smorgasboard of wrestling, but this kinda takes precedence. Sorta.
Mike Leach. Here's a guy who reminded us that the state of Texas is not just limited to mentioning Texas and Texas A&M. He took Texas Tech from obscurity to being labeled the Little School That Almost last year, rising as far as #2 in the polls last year before OU out Texas Tech'd them. Apparently, as a testament to how pussified the world around us is getting, Mike Leach was suspended for his treatment of Adam James. Who's Adam James? Big play wideout filling in for the absence of Michael Crabtree? No. Perhaps a slot guy who was...no, no, NO. Let me put it this way...the most famous part about this guy, is his daddy. Craig James, ya may have heard of him? Part of the famous "Pony Express" during SMU's glory days in the early 80s, the last time that school was relevant before hit with the dreaded "Death Sentence" by the No Crap Athletic Association. Now mind you, this has been a banner year for headhunting coaches who take "tough love" just a little too far. Mark Mangino was given Das Boot in KU for being overly hard on his players, but since KU's breakout season two seasons ago...they've done nothing since.
Mike Leach was to college football what Mike Martz's system was to the NFL in the early half of this decade for the Rams. 8 times since he took the helm, a Red Raider QB has led the nation in passing. EIGHT OUT OF TEN. There's no question that he was effective at implementing his system and getting players who could fit his system (coughs Rich Rodriguez coughs). Meanwhile in places like Ann Arbor, men like Rich Rod are still struggling to implement their system. Hell, maybe Michigan might want to look into hiring Leach. So now, the Alamo Bowl has all but turned into the Bad Boy Bowl. Michigan State's got suspended players, Texas Tech has a fired coach.
The Wild Prequel To Wild Card Weekend?
Well, thanks to the Giants, the NFC playoff picture is set with its six teams. Thanks to some guy I never heard of catching a TD pass in last night's game, we now know that should the Saints win once, the road to Miami will logically stop through New Orleans. What isn't known, is what Plan B might be for some team's itinerary if New Orleans stubs its toe in Divisional Weekend. Well, that's why I'm here. It's ironic to think that two of the games we see this weekend, we might just see again one week from now in Wild Card Weekend. Arizona hosts Green Bay and Dallas will host Philly in the most important game in the short history of "The House That Jerry Built".
The Irish And Wishing Folk Well In Their Future Endeavors...
I'm back and well...where do I begin?
Here We Go Again...
- Another big name hire by the Irish, more folk in South Bend praying someone can get this right again. My Dad tells me there was a time as a kid when I was forbidden from watching ND games on his television. (We're talking late 80s here.) Brian Kelly leaves Cincinatti for Notre Dame and in a rather ironic twist, someone from Central Michigan will take over at Cincy. (Brian Kelly was the last to do it, Bearcat alum, say hello to your new head coach Butch Jones.) What do I think about this? Well...after watching The U on ESPN, I realized a few things. One train of thought states that college football's better when the Irish, Canes, Sooners, etc. are nationally prominent. The U appears to be back around after a few years in a coma state, USC's been back since Pete Carroll's come in and OU's kinda faded ever since Texas figured out how to beat them in the Red River Rivalry. Notre Dame's got a network contract, but then again, so does virtually every big name squad in the SEC.
Notre Dame is well...Notre Dame. It can write its own ticket and if it wins 10 games no matter what, they're GUARANTEED a BCS Bowl bid. I believe if anyone can turn this around, Brian can. Weis was nothing more than a coordinator with Super Bowl rings. He's proof that for every Pete Carroll or Butch Davis, there's always that one NFL guy who can't make the transition to the college game. Speaking of transitioning, it's...
Update Your Resume Time!!!
This is the portion of our ranting, where I take time out to wish folk well in their future endeavors since they're more than likely done with their present profession. Starting with...
Random Things Of The BCS & NFL Variety...
While I temper my enthuisasm about stopping my 2 game skid in Fantasy Football heading towards the playoffs, let me speak on this...
The BCS Goes "Classic"
- Thanks to Texas taking care of the pesky Black Shirts and Alabama shutting down (and exposing on a much larger, yet not as discussed scale) Tebow and the New Ball Coach... we've got a National Championship game between two traditional powers that we haven't seen occupy the same stage since I was...2? Wow. I'm old. :P Texas/Alabama should be very interesting and as much as I'd like to say the BCS got it "wrong", how could they? We all but conceded the SEC Champion would get one slot, Texas if it won would get the other. That's what happened. So we've now got...
