College Football Playoffs Semi-Finals

After a bye week last week, action resumed in the College Football Playoffs today. The match-up for next week’s College Football Championship is set, as today featured one blowout and one nail biter. In case you missed it, here is a recap of last round’s action. (Round One)



#5 USC Trojans 35, #8 Missouri Tigers 31

The Tigers could not stop USC’s high-powered offense, as Chauncey Washington and Joe McKnight combined for over 150 rushing yards and three TDs. USC Quarterback John David Booty made sure this wasn’t the last game of his college career, throwing for over 200 yards and two touchdowns while not turning the ball over. Tigers quarterback Chase Daniel had a big game, throwing for over 300 yards and 3 TDs. However, the Tigers couldn’t keep up with USC’s balanced offensive attack. USC heads to the title game.


#3 LSU Tigers 31, #7 Virginia Tech Hokies 14

VT looked for revenge of an early season blowout to LSU in September, which saw the Hokies fall to the Tigers by the score of 48-7. But despite the great motivation, VT was simply overmatched in all facets of the game. The LSU dual quarterback threat with Ryan Perrilloux and Matt Flynn provided enough offense against a stout Hokie defense. On offense, the Hokies, as they did in September, struggled mightily. The Tigers first shut down Branden Ore, and then dropped back into pass coverage and let Glenn Dorsey pressure VT's Sean Glennon. Facing an early deficit, Glennon was forced to pass - not the Hokies' strength as they averaged less than 200 pass yards per game this season. LSU sustained long drives by handing the ball to Jacob Hester nearly every down, and he wore down both the Tech defense and the clock. Thanks to the early lead, the Tigers controlled the game and were never truly threatened.


Be sure to check back next week to see who's crowned the National Champion.

Picture Credits:
Top: http://www.nfldraftdog.com/2008_nfl_draft/booty.jpg
Bottom: http://media.2theadvocate.com/images/matt+flynn_080307.jpg

-By Pat and Andrew

Keep on Hecklin'

I just want to quickly talk about heckling, specifically pertaining to the so-called “basketball team” the New York Knicks and the head coach Isiah Thomas.

As we stated at the outset of this blog, Andrew and I are big hecklers. He’s on the road coming home for winter break, so I’ll give my reasoning as to why heckling is so appealing. First off, it’s wildly entertaining. To wittingly heckle is an art-form far removed from drunkenly screaming. It takes timing, poise, creativity and so forth. To heckle and receive a response from the player, the crowd, or both is quite satisfying. So you’re thinking - you just do it for attention?

But there’s more to it than that. It is, to an extent, about bringing attention to a cause (say, “Fire Isiah”). But as spectators, we pay a lot of money to cheer on our team and help the squad win. Heckling can at times be rude, boorish and disrespectful to fellow fans. But as long as it’s clean and creative, I see heckling as an integral part of my role as a fan. That role may be different for me as a loud, aggressive 21-year-old. But if I can distract players, make them feel uneasy, or simply get in their head, I may just be making a difference. It’s also a great challenge to see if you can throw a professional athlete off of his or her (although I haven’t really attended or therefore heckled at any professional women’s sporting events) game.

Most of these professionals make five times as much money in one year as fans will make their entire lives. Part of accepting such a lucrative deal, and part of playing a game for a living, is that you become susceptible to heckling. Players and coaches do their best to win on the court. Fans, while acting reasonably and not physically intruding, should do their best to help their team win. Not all fans need to heckle. But it shouldn’t be outlawed.

By now I’m in a full-fledged defense of harassing athletes. I guess it’s a reflex to opponents such as my Dad. But even he will tell you it can make a difference - as he saw at the Syracuse v. Washington basketball game played before a small crowd at MSG. My friends and I messed with the Huskies. We screamed that the shot clock was running out early, yelled for players to shoot it, and honestly, in a few instances, got them to jack up an ill advised shot. I realize that college might be a little different because they don’t get paid, but I figure a little good-natured ribbing never hurt anyone – especially someone attending college for free.

So where am I going with this? I’m not entirely sure. But what I’ve seen at Madison Square Garden recently is disgusting. Fans are being thrown out for raising “Fire Isiah” signs. Fans behind the bench have been punished or warned for speaking up at all against Isiah. Despite fans paying the players’ and coaches’ exorbitant contracts, and that money is going towards a woeful product, spectators are not allowed to speak up. It’s a terrible regime running the Garden these days, starting with owner James Dolan and running down to Isiah. Speech is censored, embarrassment is accepted and standing up and voicing displeasure warrants an ejection or punishment. The authoritarian regime of Mr. Dolan is doing a splendid job. Thankfully, some opposition is finally organizing, and hopefully by the All-Star break there will be a full fledged coup d’etat that will bring our Knicks back to respectability.

So I say, heckle away. Look at the attention it is getting in portraying Isiah and the management in a somewhat negative light. It’s keeping the Isiah debate at the forefront of New York sports. And if he can harass people and keep his job, well, we should be able to harass him too and keep our seats.

-Pat

Photo credit: http://supergigant.blox.pl/resource/sellknicks.jpg

Eli Manning Unstoppable?

We’ve all seen the new Citizen-Ecodrive commercials with Eli Manning. We’ve all had the same reaction to the claim that Eli Manning was unstoppable (mostly: “Hey, whoever is in charge of advertising for this watch company got Eli and Peyton mixed up!” or “So I guess the watch runs well until noon and then stops working”). Some other companies have also selected the wrong spokesperson and motto, however.

O.J Simpson, spokesman for Windex
“Will leave your windows and countertops as squeaky-clean as O.J.”

Bobby Petrino, spokesman for Energizer “Like Bobby Petrino, Energizer batteries never quit.”

Bill Belichick, spokesman for Men’s Wearhouse
“You’re going to like the way you look, Bill Belichick guarantees it.”

Curt Schilling, spokesman for Midas Mufflers
“Keeps your car as quiet as Curt.”

Brandon Jacobs (who dropped about 40 passes Sunday), spokesman for All-State
“You’re in good hands, like Brandon’s.”

New York Knicks, spokesmen for Avis.
“We try harder. So do the Knicks.”

Scott Boras, spokesman for DeBeers.
“Like a Scott Boras contract, a diamond is forever.”

Carl Pavano, spokesman for Smith Barney.
“Like Carl, we make money the old-fashioned way – we earn it.”

Gary Williams, spokesman for Gillette.
“Be like Gary. Never let ‘em see you sweat.”

Brian McNamee, spokesman for Las Vegas.
“What happens here, stays here.”

And we didn’t even have to bring up Michael Vick.

Other thoughts:

- Pat yesterday praised Brian Westbrook for taking a dive at the goal line. I have Westbrook on my fantasy team, and going into Monday nights action I am down 5 points. Needless to say, Pat and I disagree about this one.

- After the injury to Shockey, someone on ESPN pointed out that the Giants always limp into the playoffs. Considering the Giants' last two games are at Buffalo and against New England, limping into the playoffs isn’t the worst they could do.
- The Ravens were one play away from being the team that ended the Patriot’s perfect season. Instead, they are the team that ended the Dolphins’ winless season.

Live sunday football thoughts

Some random thoughts from Sunday's day of football, as I'm now joined by two friends from high school, the infamous Mundo and awful Giants/Bills fan Joe:

- Tony Romo is making a great push to ruin my fantasy week with a terrible first half. I have to blame this on Jessica Simpson's presence. All men know that it's tough to play well when a significantly interested woman is spectating. Simpson is even donning a Romo jersey a la high school cheerleader. He's thrown two interceptions, one of them in the end zone. We all saw what Simpson did to Nick Lachey's career, Tony better be careful.
Joe thinks that it's not a problem, and that he'll have a "huge second half." I don't know. I'm skeptical.

(update 7:23 p.m.) - Romo was shook all game long. He threw another pick, this one was a late game crucial interception. He also fumbled a few times. Ms. Chicken of the Sea casted a spell over Tony. This is really going to test their relationship. "I was wrong again" - Joe.

Also, how about that slide-down by Westbrook at the end of the game when he could have waltzed into the Dallas endzone? When do you see a player give up personal stats to seal the deal like that? Most NBA players won't hoist up 3/4 court shots at the ends of quarters to preserve their three-point percentage. It was nice to see a player sacrifice almighty stats.


- Mundo noted that he can't remember the last time that the Steelers have played in bright sunshine. It always seems to be raining, snowing or just grey when Pittsburgh plays. And especially at Heinz Field, where the field is always a mess. And the game is always ugly.

- Funny to see the unbridled joy after the Dolphin's first win of the season over the Baltimore Ravens. The crowd was ecstatic, the players were hugging each other like they just clinched a playoff spot. Their owner was even crying. But you've got to give it to them, to stick together through such a rough season without being at each other's throats.

- The Jets had a realistic shot at taking down the Patriots...or at least taking the game into overtime. But they couldn't get the big break in the game. As for the fans, as much as I hate Patriot fans, I would have been throwing snowballs all over the field too. That just looked like too much fun. Some of them flew out of the stands at twice the velocity of Chad Pennington's tosses.

- Fred Taylor had a huge game. I don't know if there's a more enigmatic player in the NFL. He's wildly talented and has put up big numbers, but they just rarely seem to be acheived for an extended period of time.

Capping off a great year in sports...

Last night, Syracuse's Eric Devendorf tore his ACL in a blowout of East Tennessee State University. The junior shooting guard (and by far the most experienced player that actually sees minutes on the team) injured his left knee on a fast break early in the second half of Saturday’s win.

Well "who cares?" one may say. Injuries are injuries right? I can't accept that.

This is an unprecedented run of bad luck. This is the second guard to tear his ACL this year as junior Andy Rautins tore his in a game for the Canadian national team. Right there, two scholarship guards and arguably the two best shooters on the team are lost. Well, two gone, still eight contributors left or so, right? Nope.

With senior Josh Wright apparently leaving the team, the backcourt is completely crippled. Wright, despite not seeing much playing time, may have provided some valuable experience as a backup to the point guard position. So with these injuries and Wright leaving the team, Syracuse is left with seven, yes seven, scholarship players that actually play. This is what the roster looks like now, with scholarship players marked with an asterisk:

PG – Jonny Flynn* (Freshman), Justin Thomas (Junior)
SG – Scoop Jardine* (Fr.), Jake Presutti** (Sr.)
SF – Paul Harris* (So.), Mike Williams
PF – Donte Greene* (Fr.), Kristof Ongenaet* (Jr. – juco transfer)
C – Arinze Onuaku* (So. – redshirt), Rick Jackson* (Fr.), Devin Brennan-McBride* (So.), Sean Williams* (Fr.)

** - Presutti, a former walk-on, was awarded a scholarship this season.

Let’s dissect this roster, which left out a few walk-ons but included Thomas and Presutti, because well, there are only two scholarship guards. The center position appears deep, but Brennan-McBride has been hurt and has seen and will see no time this season. Sean Williams will likely redshirt this season as he hasn’t played at all. Ongenaet is a junior college transfer that has averaged seven minutes per game (most of which came against the early year poor competition).

So this is what Syracuse basketball is left with: Six scholarship players that actually contribute. Four of those six are freshman. Six deep and 2/3 of your players being greatly inexperienced is not the formula needed to succeed in the Big East. With two non-conference losses already, Syracuse needs to win the rest of its out-of-conference slate. Then, the team would likely have to win nine or ten games in Big East play to be considered for the NCAA tournament (last year Syracuse won ten conference games and missed out on the tourney). This is a tall task for six players. Foul trouble, illness, academic problems, another injury, or some other Daryl Gross curse occurrence, and this team has absolutely no bench, literally.

I'm briefly going to try to look at the bright side. Devendorf's injury opens up a great opportunity for both Jackson and Jardine. The two have seen limited playing time, but have shown some promise, and are now tossed right into the fray. The two played together in high school and hopefully will bring some good chemistry to the court. Also, this experience will be very valuable come next season. Devendorf, if healthy, will rejoin the team for his senior season. Greene might go pro. But bringing back all of the young talent with a full season's experience under their belt will be beneficial. And also, at least freak athlete Mike Williams, who is a talented WR on the football team, joined SU’s basketball squad Saturday.

But it's bad news regardless. As I’ve said before, in recent years, Syracuse basketball has provided therapy after the horrendous fall football seasons. But the hardwood squad has not seen great success despite winning the Big East Tournament in 2005 and 2006. Those seasons each ended with first round NCAA tournament losses. Last year the Orange remarkably was snubbed. This season will be trying again. All of this after a 2-10 football season for the ‘Cuse.

Thus wraps up a terrible year of sports. No one wants to hear my whining, but I’m going to go ahead anyway.

- SU Bball: Snubbed from NCAA tournament despite 10 Big East wins and 22 overall.
- Jets: 3-11, disastrous. Could have salvaged season by beating Patriots today, but blew many opportunities.
- SU Football: 2-10. Seven wins in the past 3 years. Administration still heads on to that head coach of those three years, two of which were the worst seasons in Syracuse football history (which stretches over a century). Two best recruits in the past two years suffer possible career threatening injuries. Running joke of college football.
- NY Yankees: Lost in ALDS. At least they made the playoffs. Can’t really complain about them, except for maybe the bugs that attacked the Yanks in Cleveland.
- All the teams I hate - - Celtics, Red Sox, Patriots, Boston College: Celtics one of the best teams in the NBA. Red Sox won some playoff challenge. Patriots charging towards 19-0. BC seeing unheralded success before finally falling apart (sorry Superfans).

I don’t ask you to feel bad for me, I just wanted to vent. But hey, there’s always next season (that doesn’t mean I’m giving up on SU basketball just yet).

-Pat

Photo credit: Syracuse.com

Thoughts on the Mitchell Report

· One of the biggest surprises to me is that Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa are not on the list. I know that the list doesn’t include every major leaguer who has ever used steroids, and that absence of proof isn’t the same as proof of absence, but I would imagine that Mitchell tried pretty hard to find something on those two guys and came up empty. This report should somewhat vindicate them and put them both in the Hall.
· If even one player who is listed is able to prove his innocence, this list is going to lose a whole lot of credibility. The evidence on some of the players, such as Baltimore’s Brian Roberts and former Yankee David Justice, is simply one player or trainer’s recollection of a conversation that took place years before. However, very few players have come out immediately and said that the information on the report was false, although Justice’s claim of innocence actually sounds pretty sincere.
· Is it any surprise that a guy named McNamee named names? Come on major league players, you had to see that coming.
· My friend Jordan made a great point today: Jose Canseco is the Al Gore of baseball. Ever since he has been out of the game, he has done everything short holding a press conference about his sexuality to stay relevant, but still no one really takes him seriously. Canseco even tried to sneak his way into the Mitchell Report press conference, but was not allowed in because it was media only. He then re-stated that he had shocking information about Alex Rodriguez, but once again wouldn’t say what it was or why it didn’t make it into his book. I’m just waiting for a SportsCenter breaking news story on Canseco’s attempts to kill ManBearPig.

Photo Credits: http://www.foxnews.com/images/155017/0_21_450_hc_canseco.jpg

By Andrew Vitelli

Five year old southerner slaughters beast 12 times his size

This story is just too much. In case you didn't see it yesterday here it is.


A five year old named Tre, who can barely speak, shot a 445 pound black bear in Arkansas. He then proceeded to sit on the dead body like it was a swing - which a child his age should probably be playing with instead of a gun. But hey, gotta give it up to the kid. He's got it in his blood, as his 10th great grandfather is Davy Crockett. Last year he killed three deer...as a four year old.


Tre's next goals are a turkey and an elk. Come on Tre. You're a prodigy. You just shot a bear, why move down to turkey? What about an elephant? Or maybe a Great White Shark?


This whole hunting thing is just too much. Maybe it's cause I'm a northern almost city-boy. But I just don't get the whole thing. I'm sure its fun to shoot things, but i mean aren't there other targets? And isn't it a bit much to pose with the dead carcass like its your prom date (pics below)? And isn't five a bit young? Maybe it's a hoax, as last years thousand pound Hog killing may have been.

Warning: Somewhat creepy pictures below









- Pat