Jamie Moyer has signed a minor league contract with the Colorado Rockies. The deal includes an invitation to Spring Training. I’m assuming that the invitation includes an opportunity to try out for the team, and not just a meet-and-greet with Tulo and a tour of downtown Scottsdale.
I tracked down some people for their thoughts. Without further ado, here’s the chatter about the signing.
We lost Moyer to an injury in 2011, and it cost us a shot at the World Series. I figured we’d be able to re-sign Moyer for 2012, slot him into the top of the rotation, and let Halladay and Lee fight it out for the #2 spot. I guess he got too expensive for us.
When I heard that Moyer was going to be available, I had to go after him. I can still remember when he broke in with the Cubs. I didn’t actually SEE the game, since I was in my mother’s womb, but she could feel me kick every time he threw a pitch that day.
– Rockies GM Dan O’Dowd
Two words – AARP discount. Yeah, I plan to hang out with Jamie a lot. I’m sure he’s a cool guy and everything, but he can flash that card and get discounted food for everyone. Hey, a penny saved is a penny earned.
– Rockies All-Star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki
He can get us into R-rated movies, right?
– Rockies pitcher Drew Pomeranz
I’ve never heard of this guy. Does he have a temper? If he’s going to be bashing the water cooler with a bat every time he has a bad game, I need to know – because I’ll have to get Smitty to order some extra water coolers. We can’t be signing these guys without doing a better job of vetting them – too much risk of property damage.
– Rockies manager Jim Tracy
What does Jamie Moyer have in common with me? We’re both prehistoric.
– Dinger
All kidding aside, I do see that as a good signing by the Rockies. On the human side of things, Moyer is by all accounts a great guy, and has several humanitarian awards to back it up. The Rockies also have a ton of young pitcher, and Moyer could serve as a role model and mentor for them.
On the baseball side of things, there’s not much risk to the deal, since it’s a minor league deal. There’s a very real chance that he could nail down the #5 starter spot. If he can manage to stay in the rotation for a few years, he might even have a shot at getting win #300 as a Rockie. I don’t think that would get him into the Hall of Fame, but it’d still be pretty cool.
Hey dedicated Soapboxer readers! Miss me? I know you’re checking the website to see what I have to say about all of the developments in the ever-changing GOP race. Right?
I know it’s not nice to brag, but I totally called it. I should have bought a Powerball ticket on caucus day. I wrote an article for Yahoo! News on caucus morning with my predictions. Granted it’s taken a few weeks for people to realize I was right, but such is my life. I’m used to it. When I’m right, I’m not humble. Especially when people slammed me for weeks saying that Santorum “had no chance” or “should have dropped out a while ago”. I told a friend that he’d be “eating his words” and he replied “doubt it”. Fork or spoon, buddy. Fork or spoon.
[Editor’s note: this is breaking news this morning. The official tally gives Santorum the win by 34 votes.]
If you read the article, I was not only correct on the winner of the caucus but I called it ALL THE WAY DOWN THE LINE. Yeah. I’m awesome. Take that Miss Cleo. I also predicted Newt’s ex-wife issues, Romney’s win in New Hampshire and Huntsman’s mistake. Let’s take a look at that fun gaffe!
Where Jon Huntsman Went Wrong (Or Don’t Diss Iowa, Stupid)
The headline sums it up pretty well. If you want to be President of the United States, that means President of ALL of the United States, not just the East Coast. When you diss Iowa, you diss the whole midwest. And if you have a map (and are not Miss America), you’d know that’s a lot of the Country. As soon as he made his corn-Presidents comment, it was game over for Huntsman.
Newt’s Ex-Wife Problem
In my article regarding finishes in the Iowa Caucus, I stated that
Newt Gingrich isn’t conservative enough for Iowans, thus giving him a fourth-place finish. He’s got too many skeletons (and ex-wives) in the closet. He’s a brilliant and smart man, but Iowans believe if you can’t keep an oath to your spouse, what makes us believe you’ll keep an oath to the voters.
I had my husband in tears (from laughter) the other night. I compared Newt’s marital record to someone who is a habitual leaser of cars. You’ve got to trade up to the newer, younger, prettier model every few years…but you’ve got to take it for a test drive first. Am I wrong? I didn’t think so. It should be interesting to see (if the interview does air) what his ex-wife has to say. Forget the Kardashians, Newt should have a reality show titled, “Gettin Down with the Gingriches”. I’d watch it.
Perry is Dropping Out
I’m kind of sad to hear this news. It makes sense, he’s at the bottom of the pack, polling horribly and not getting endorsements. I thought he was a good enough guy, he was just horrible in debates. I think everyone can recall the “Ummm” heard round the world. Granted, W wasn’t the best debater either, but hey, I love me some W. Maybe it’s the accent or the Cowboy I like. Maybe Paula Cole was right, “Where have all the Cowboys gone?” Either way, this one is going back to Texas. Hopefully he’s “saved a pretzel for the gas jets.”
What’s going to happen after South Carolina? Who knows. Maybe I’ll make a prediction soon. I just hope whomever is the GOP candidate they can take out Obama. Keep the goal in mind, fellow Conservatives. OMG. Obama Must Go.
As millions of students have already realized, Wikipedia is down today (January 18, 2012). Did Wikipedia forget to pay their electric bill?
Nope, nothing like that. Wikipedia and other big (and small) sites are participating in a blackout to protest SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act). When the calendar flips to Thursday, Wikipedia will once again be live.
The intent of SOPA, sponsored by Texas congressman Lamar Smith, is to aid law enforcement agencies in their fight against intellectual property violations. That sounds like a great thing, right?
The problem is that the government could shut down sites that are allegedly violating intellectual property laws without significant due process. SOPA would make also make a rights holder who falsely accused a site liable for damages. However, under SOPA, it’s quite likely that rights holders would try to press the issue and attempt to force law enforcement agencies to grant them protection that exceeds what they are actually legally entitled to. I think this because there already a lot of example of rights holders trying to expand the reach of their protections (no, I’m not talking about illegal downloads).
What SOPA would essentially do is turn the internet into a “shoot first and ask questions later” landscape. Sites that operate without the boundaries of the law could get shut down while an investigation take place. Whole sites could be taken down even if there were only a single case of copyright infringement – even if the site’s owner did not approve of then infringing content. If a visitor to this site were to leave a long comment that they stole, lock, stock, and barrel, from someone else, I wouldn’t necessarily know this. I could honestly believe that they had themselves written the content.
I do believe that intellectual property rights should be protected. However, I also believe that due process should be allowed to run its course and that law enforcement doesn’t rush to judgment simply because a rights holder says that a site violates intellectual property laws. There should be a balance between intellectual property rights and the first amendment.
Taking a sports angle on a bigger topic this week.
What can confidence, or belief in someone really achieve?
This year in the NFL we have seen two of the largest examples of this in recent memory.
First, (and apologies here as many have already beaten this to horse glue) but look at Tim Tebow of the Denver Broncos. Ridiculed by many, he took a team that was 1-4 to start the year and made them an 8-8 club. He led the Broncos to a division title, beat the defending AFC Champions Steelers in his first ever playoff game. Lucky? Overachiever?
Perhaps.
The fact is that Tim Tebow has shown at the college level and now the professional level that he is a great leader. Teammates believe in him. Obviously I am not on the practice field, on the sidelines or in the huddle…I am not even a Broncos fan. But you can’t dispute the results of what he seems to have accomplished this year basically on heart and guts alone.
An even bigger example is Alex Smith. He has been tossed on the scrap heap in San Francisco on a few different occasions. The Niners have played musical coaches and musical offensive coordinator in their coaching hierarchy over Smith’s entire NFL career.
All it took as a new head coach, Jim Harbaugh, to come into the organization with the attitude that “hey this Smith kid is good, he just has not been properly coached. Voila’ The player who has been told by fans and media his entire career that he was a bust as a #1 Draft pick out of Utah has talent, that he is good, and that they can win games with him.
What happened with the San Francisco 49ers? They won their division, beat a favored team in the playoffs last week in one of the most exciting NFL games in recent or distant memory and are now poised to make the Super Bowl for the first time since they have had Hall of Fame quarterbacks at the helm.
The secret – Having the right people in the right place at the right time.
No doubt that Tebow, gave the Broncos a lift just when their organization needed it. The debate is still out if he is a long-term solution, but there is no denying the entire team has played much better since he took over as their quarterback.
San Francisco has shown that the right coach, who personally got to know his personnel and giving them the proper confidence and feedback to help them succeed, now has a team that were total underachiever’s in the eyes of many to on the verge of being NFC champions.
For those reading this article you likely can look to leaders in your place of employment and point to situations where strong leaders have assisted you, or assisted one your co-workers to achieve personal successes. I am certain you can also remember instances where this has not worked out so well.
Just like in the NFL combine where 40 yard dash times and repetitions in the weight room can increase draft stock, window dressing in the workplace is not always enough.
Sometimes….. what all of us need, whether is it in our parenting, our careers or in our sports pursuits is a some good coaching, and a little confidence.
Until next time, stay classy Charlotte, North Carolina.
I want to start this with a disclaimer that I am not suggesting that there is anything wrong with the activities I am avoiding or the products and services that I am no longer using. The first area of life that I am resetting is the use of my spare time. I have cleared my friends list to just actual friends and family. I have stopped using the time consuming on line games that kept me going through my period of heavy travel. I am limiting my television watching to planned program viewing. All of this is to realign the use of my time with what I have claimed (and really want) I want to do.
Next, I am no longer consuming carbonated beverages (colas, beer, etc.). These beverages are liquid candy and except for the beer, have no nutrition value. I am reducing the amount of sweets (candy, pie, cake, cookies, ice cream) to actually be treats. I am forgoing the second helpings of my favorite meals (pasta, pizza, turkey, stuffing). These actions are to reduce my caloric intake to address the fact that I am significantly over weight.
Things I am starting
I am spending more time writing. I have taken up crocheting again. I have already completed two single bed afghans for my college age kids. This is something I learned as a child at the feet of my grandmother. I have even gotten books from the library to help me understand the secret language of the crocheting patterns. I am doing this with my wife (she actually is knitting and taking classes). It is something we do together while watching television programs. Having something to do with you hands really cuts done on the snacking or even the channel surfing. These activities help to calm me especially during high stress with work, kids or life in general.
I am going to the gym more. I am trying for at least three trips a week. This in combination with my eating adjustments should work towards my weight loss goals. My doctor has told me to try for at most one pound per week. This is the sustainable loss rate the will result in a weight that can be maintained. If I success, I will lose 50 pounds by next Christmas. So far I have lost five pounds in the first three weeks of 2012. I know that there will be plateaus, but I am encouraged.
Other adjustments
I was wrong in my prediction that Green Bay would make it back to the Super Bowl, but I still stand by my prediction that Baltimore will win it all this year. I did not win the lottery – again- so I will just have to keep working and earn a retirement. The History Channel and National Geographic Channel have become my favorite stations, mostly because they are not reporting on the primaries. And finally, I really have to get my first book into the Hyrax store.
A lot of people are yammering about the BCS SEC National Conference Championship game, while others are talking about this weekend’s Tebowl. Naturally, I’m focused on baseball.
The voting for the 2012 Baseball Hall of Fame has been announced. Here are my thoughts on the voting:
Hall of Famers
Barry Larkin was elected in his third year of eligibility, jumping from 62.1% of the vote last year to 86.4% this year. Anyone who saw Larkin play during his prime realized that it was just a matter of time before he was elected.
After toying with his emotion for year, the Veterans Committee posthumously elected Cubs great Ron Santo to the Hall of fame.
Future Hall of Famers
This is an unofficial category, as you never know when a player’s candidacy is going to run out of steam. However there are several players who took big steps forward this year.
Jack Morris was the winningest pitcher in the 1980s and the ultimate gamer. However, his lack of eye-popping stats has kept him on the ballot for 13 years. With a jump from 53.5% last year to 66.6% this year, Morris could slip in next year as the first big batch of steroid-tainted players hit the ballot. If not 2013, then definitely in 2014, as players often get a bump from the voters during their last year on the ballot (you can be on the ballot for a maximum of 15 years).
Jeff Bagwell is tainted by the fact that he played during the steroid era, despite the fact that he has never himself been accused of any wrongoing. In his second year on the ballot, he jumped from 41.7% to 56%. Likely member of the HOF class of 2015 as he gradually pushed his numbers up.
The dynamic Tim Raines climbed from 37.5% to 48.7% in his 5th year on the ballot. He still has a sizeable hill to climb, but I think he gets there eventually. HOF class of 2019.
Lee Smith was the all-time saves leader when he retired. However, he has been passed since then (most notably by Mariano Rivera) and there’s less respect for the raw statistics of saves than there was in the past. In his 10th year on the ballot, he jumped from 45.3% to 50.6%. I’m not sure if he’ll make it or not. I hope he does, because I remember his as a fierce warrior on the Cubs teams in the 80s.
Everyone else
There are a lot of other great names on the ballot, but I don’t see any of the others making it into the Hall of Fame. Some thoughts on the rest of the group:
I loved seeing Larry Walker play for my Rockies. However, a relatively short career coupled with the advantages of playing at Coors Lite (pre-humidor) dooms his candidacy. Very exciting player – too bad he couldn’t have put together a few more good years.
Dale Murphy was a back to back MVP (1982 and 1983) but will fall off the ballot next year. He received a mere 14.2% of the vote this year.
Don Mattingly was the face of the game for a few years before a bad back sapped him of his power. 17.8% in his 12th year on the ballot. Mattingly has been on the Hall of Fame ballot for 12 years? That makes me feel old. Maybe he’ll make it to the Hall as manager.
Without the stench of steroids attached to his name, Rafael Palmeiro would have been a first ballot Hall of Famer. As the first big star to test positive, there’s no way he’ll make it. The irony is that he already had HOF numbers at the time of his test. Had he retired a year earlier, he’d be in the Hall.
Mark McGwire actually lost votes, dropping from 19.8% to 19.5%. This is fairly hard to do, as once a player crosses the Hall of Fame threshold in a writer’s mind, it’s unlikely the writer will demote him. However, the actual group of voters has a bit of turnover from year to year. Some McGwire backers may have retired and been replaced with those who aren’t likely to vote for him. although he never tested positive for a banned substance, he admitted to being using Andro (which was not banned) and was the subject of other rumors.
Edgar Martinez and Fred McGriff each made small jumps in their 3rd year on the ballot. Martinez climbed from 32.9% to 36.5% while the Crime Dog went from 17.9% to 23.9%. At this point, it seems unlikely that either will make it to the required 75%. The fact that Martinez was a DH works against him, as it should. He was still a great contributor as a hitter, but didn’t add as much value as a comparable hitter who also played the field. McGriff was one of the most feared sluggers in the game during his prime, but his lack of a team identity could hurt him – he bounced around like a ping pong ball.
Alan Trammell jumped from 24.3% to 36.8% in his 11th year on the ballot. I alway thought of Trammell (and Lou Whitaker) as very good players, but not great ones.
Bernie Williams debuted at 9.6%. Another guy who was a good player, but not a Hall of Famer.
Several players were dropped from future consideration after falling below 5%. Who would have ever guess that Juan Gonzalez would spend only 2 years on the Hall of Fame ballot.
Eric Young achieved his goal and received a vote. Just one, but better than 4 time All-Star Ruben Sierra, Jeromy Burnitz, Terry Mulholland, Phil Nevin, Brian Jordan, and Tony Womack.
The Worst Form of National Economics, Except All the Others That Have Been Tried
Like Winston Churchill Said …
Let me get this out of the way, I’m not against capitalism. Winston Churchill once said of Democracy that it’s the worst form of government, except all the others that have been tried. Capitalism is the financial equivalent to that form of governance – it’s the worst form of national finance, except all the others that have been tried. I have no problems with capitalism. People should be free to make the money they want, as long as that money making doesn’t harm others. Well, that harming others is where I have a problem with the twisted brand of capitalism that so many modern corporations practice – Vulture Capitalism.
Back in the late 1800’s there was a term used for the leaders of companies so powerful that they were indeed “too big to fail” – Robber Barons. These men were known for using unethical practices to obtain their obscene wealth. They acquired personal wealth at the cost of anything, including in many cases people’s lives. The recession of 2008 also had its roots in corporate entities that were “too big to fail” and the results where a handful of individuals gaining wealth and the vast majority of the country either being stagnant or losing ground. Again, I have zero problem with people becoming rich. I have many problems with people becoming rich because the money elects the politicians and then the politicians make the rules and then the rules favor those with money.
Trickle Down is Now Upside Down
An article just out last week showed that not only is the idea of “Trickle Down” wealth false, things have been the opposite in recent times. Even before taxes of any kind are taken into effect, the rich are still getting richer and everyone else – 99.9% of the country – are either stagnant or losing wealth.
Think of it this way; you’re in a group of 100 people, and you and 98 others all drive mid 1990’s SUVs and make $10 an hour. The last guy drives a Prius and makes $100 an hour. The price of gas for you and the 98 is $3.50 a gallon, but because of the fact he drives a non-guzzler, the guy who drives the Prius only has to pay $2.00 for a gallon of government-subsidized gas. Not only does he have a lot more money to cover his basic expenses, you and the other 98 are at a disadvantage because of government loopholes – loopholes put there by a combination of his money, and money from Toyota and the gas companies. Back before the Prius was invented, and before he was making so much more things were even, but as time goes on the playing field becomes less and less level.
It’s like a very small deviation in a course, over a mile being 1 degree off course will only put you off your final destination by a few dozen feet, but if you extend that trip to a few hundred miles you will be dozens of miles off by the time you get to where you’re going – magnitudes of order. Think that’s bad? What exists between the .4% and the rest of the 99.6% now is many magnitudes of order.
Cheer Up, It Can Only Get Worse!
It will only get worse, too. Every senator and representative makes over twice as much as the average person, easily putting them in the top 2% Unless they specifically vote to freeze their own pay on an annual basis, they get about a 3% “cost of living” raise. I’m a state government employee and because of “budgetary” reasons I haven’t gotten a cost of living raise in more than a few years. Combine that with the fact that my medical benefits have decreased and gotten more expensive (higher out-of-pocket, higher salary deduction), I’ve actually lost money, comparatively.
For the vast majority of congresspeople, the bulk of donations to their political campaigns come from the ultra-rich or corporations. Why wouldn’t a senator not vote for changes that help the rich? Not only are they helping themselves, they’re most likely helping their kin since inherited wealth is taxed at a much lower rate, sometimes not at all with loopholes and trust funds. Finally, once voted into office a congressperson gets lifetime health care and a retirement check. It’s a revolving door – rich corporations and the top .4% help get people into office, those people in turn pass laws and write loopholes that help the rich corporations get richer and top .4% keep more of their money, who in turn help who they want to be in office get there.
One of the biggest pieces of evidence of this is the Wall Street bailouts. Wall Street started voting in people who would deregulate finance laws, in turn Wall Street was allowed to take bigger gambles with collections of money – money at least in part made up of millions of retirement and savings accounts. Those risks failed, and in failing the richest of the super-rich made money because they hedged their bets. The companies they left sinking were then bailed out by the government, while the vast majority of people got nothing. The rich gambled with our money, lost it, made money themselves on that gamble, and then got the government to bail out the companies they shattered with that gamble.
It’s not just Republicans, on this one, either. After promising to change Washington in his election campaign, Barrack Obama turned around and filled his most important cabinet positions with ex-bankers, and ex-Wall Street types. I’m not sure which is worse, Obama failing like that and still decrying the evils of “Trickle-Down” or the Republicans still trying to get you to believe it works.
Plugging the River-sized Leak with Chewing Gum
Remember Citizens United vs. The Federal Election Commission? I’ve written about it before – it essentially removes limits to anonymous corporate spending in political campaigns. It’s just the latest in a long-line of laws that essentially give a corporation similar rights to that as a person. Even with the millions of people making political donations, corporations can still outspend us, even more so with the whole rich-getting-richer, poor-getting-poorer trend of the last few decades. We need to even the odds, we need to call in a few bulldozers to plug the leak that’s been growing larger since the 1980’s. If corporations have all the benefits of being a person, they need some of the drawbacks. When I see a corporation getting executed in Texas I’ll consider it a decent first step toward the playing field being level.
This is not about class warfare, this is about correcting a wrong that has been snowballing since the early part of last century and snowballing out of control since the 1980’s. That few degrees off course that accumulated under Reagan, Clinton, and the Bushes has us hundreds of miles from where we should be. Democrats are at least arguing that the problem exists, even if they are taking corporate money in one hand while placating you with the other. Republicans are arguing for less regulation, less restrictions on campaign finance, and calling the Democrats placation “class warfare.” It’s hard to have a class war when some 400 people have more resources than 40 million.
Capitalism is wonderful, but thanks to greed it needs oversight, especially when the people making the rules are put in place by the people with the money.
I’ve had an interest in writing since my elemenetary school days. This is how my life as a writer has evolved throughout the years.
The Early Years
I was selected to attend a Young Writer’s Conference in sixth grade. The conference was geared to 4th through 6th grades, and since I wasn’t selected in 4th or 5th grade, I assume that the writing bug must have hit me in sixth grade.
From day one, I wanted to be a fiction writer. My earliest report cards contain comments about me drifting off into my own world at times. The job of a fiction writer is simply to drift off in those dream worlds and write down what happens. I’ve always been pretty proficient at non-fiction, but have never found it as interesting as fiction.
Most of my earliest stories were about sports. This makes sense, since I was a huge sports fan (some things never change). My teacher told me that she’d select me for the writer’s conference (a day away from school!) if I proved that I could write a decent non-sports story. I wrote a story about Bigfoot.
I don’t remember there being much emphasis on creative writing in my junior high and high school years, so I didn’t write a lot, although I did read hundreds of books during these years. The one story I do remember writing is “The Case of The State Vs. Santa Claus”, where the head elf goes on trial for vehicular manslaughter in the death of Grandma.
College
Reading textbooks during my college years tempered my enthusiasm for reading and writing. Since I pursued a minor in English as well as degrees in business disiplines, I generally had quite a bit of reading on my plate. When I wrote, it was usually discussing topics such as the mental state of Hamlet.
When I did write, I made an effort to have some fun. One of my freshman composition papers discussed basebal’sl anti-trust exemption.
I wrote a handful of stories during this time frame, but I don’t have copies of many of them any more.
Post-college
For several years after college, I basically stopped writing altogether. Every couple of years, I’d get to itch to write, hammer out a couple of stories, and go into hiberation again.
Eventually, I fell into a group of friends who did dinner and a movie once per week. At some point, I became the organizer of events, and began inject a bit of flair into them. This is a dinner invitation from a few years back. Bob Inferapels stars as “pudgy man with a limp”.
You reach tentatively toward the door. It creeks as you open it. Once inside, you are treated to the pungent aroma of the roasted, rotted, flesh of small mammals. In the back, you see the milk maids turning cow and goat milk into fetid cheese. A gardner whistles a drinking song while violently slicing vegetables into tiny chunks. The serving wench balances eight mugs of ale on her tray. An angry chef shouts orders above the fray, but nobody appears to be listening.
You look down at the parchment once more. Could this den of inequity be the right place? Have you been lured into this location by a highwayman with larceny in his heart?
You peer around the corner. Ah, you see the tall man in spectacles. And there, leaning against the wall, is the pudgy man with the limp. They are listening intently to their feudal lord. As you enter the room, the trio quickly looks up … they are aware that their plans are now in great danger.
Beginning Anew
In 2008, I received encouragement from a friend to launch a blog. Blogs were completely foreign to me at this point. I was aware of the concept, but hadn’t paid attention to how prevalent they had become. It seemed like a great way to get immediate feedback on my writing. One thing that I had always disliked about the writing process was inability to get quality feedback.
I jumped in head first and began writing as many as seven articles per week, on topics as diverse as politics, sports, and personal finance. A few months later, I began featuring a short story every week. Fiction Friday is on hiatus for a while so that I can focus on some other fiction projects, but it allow me to work on my writing technique.
Eventually, The Soap Boxers grew beyond a simple excercise to work on my writing technique and became the site you see today.
The Professional
In 2011, I was approached and asked if I would consider doing some freelance writing. I had never really considered it, but decided to give it a shot. I’d be doing the work for someone I considered to be a friend, so I was confident that it would be a good working relationship.
When the first payment hit my account, it was official – I was a professional. I wasn’t getting rich from my writing yet, but I was getting paid – and that’s the first step.
Helping Others
I’ve had a lot of help in recent years. People that I have never met in person – but have come to know as friends – have donated thousands of dollars of expertise.
I’m trying to pay this forward. In addition to trying to trying to launch a few of my own projects this year, I am assisting a few other writers in their efforts to launch eBooks. At the moment, I’m volunteered to help at least four other writers get their books into print (well, ePrint, anyway). For the writers, this will be a completely turnkey operation. They had over a Word document and a cover image to me, and a few days later, their book will appear on Amazon.
I did learn three things watching the National Championship game last night.
Brent Musburger likes to use the phrase Honey Badger more than I like to eat Beef Jerky (trust me on this one…I am a big fan of beef jerky)
No one outside of Alabama or Louisiana really even wanted to see these two teams play again in a bowl game this year.
Another over hyped, super boring, BCS National Title Game.
Yawn…..
Did anyone outside of Alabama or Louisiana really even want to see these two teams play again in a bowl game this year.
Matching up teams that have already faced each other in the same season always seems to be a recipe for disaster – at least in terms of creating an exciting bowl game to tune in and watch.
It has happened plenty of times before. Oklahoma and Nebraska in the Orange Bowl on New Year’s Day 1979, Miami and Florida State faced off a few times in bowl games to see who could have the most unsportsmanlike penalties called on their team.
This year was no different. All that was proven is that Nick Saban had his team better prepared, better coached and more confident and it showed last night.
Somewhere Mike Gundy is wondering how the Oklahoma State Cowboys would have fared.
I realize the Cowpokes blew a game to lowly Iowa State on the Road earlier this year. But I am sure they would have generated more than 92 yards of total offense which was the output of the Bayou Bengals.
Many folks in SEC country will say that these two teams have stellar defenses, and that is what wins championships, and that is why neither team can score touchdowns against one another in what becomes a punt, pass and kick competition without the passing.
While it is apparent that both teams are loaded with talent on defense, Jordan Jefferson is not a good passer. LSU was unable to even move past midfield until late in the 4th quarter. Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron had a career game mainly due to a fine game plan that had him frequently rolling out of the pocket and completing short passes. This appeared to get him confidence early.
Bama threw the ball early and often at Heisman Trophy finalist Tyrann Mathieu. Unfortunately for the basically home crowd LSU fans, Mathieu was basically unable to make any significant plays in the ballgame defensively.
I guessed I also learned that honey badger don’t care that elephants are dominating his football team.
Oh well, as most all college football fans say everywhere else but in Alabama….
This weekend, all of the home teams in the NFL playoffs won. One game went to overtime with the new rules, but a quick touchdown made those new rules mute. What did we learn from these games? Well actually a lot. First, apparently Tim Tebow can throw the ball. The best defense in the league was not that good suggesting that offense is trumping defense this year. The Houston Texans are for real, the Detroit Lions were not. There will not be a rematch in the Super Bowl. The Atlanta Falcons cannot buy a forth down conversion, and the Cincinnati Bengals cannot get a challenge in their favor.
Professional football – Divisional Weekend
In the end, the New York Giants move on to play the Green Bay Packers while the New Orleans Saints go to San Francisco to play the 49ers in the National Football Conference. The Denver Broncos visit the New England Patriots while the Houston Texas will challenge the Baltimore Ravens in the American Football Conference. Since I was wrong in three of my four predictions this week, I will reassess my predictions for the Super Bowl. I now believe that we will have a Green Bay Packers – Baltimore Ravens match up with the Ravens winning it all. Go ahead, make comments.
College Football – the Bowl Games
It looks like the Big XII did the best in the bowls with a 6-2 record. That is pretty good for a conference with only 10 teams. Next year they will be down to 8 of the original teams, 5 from the Big 8 and 3 from the Southwest Conference. We will have to see what additional realignments come about. The Mid-America Conference (MAC), Conference USA (CUSA), and the Big East have the same winning percentage with a 3-1 record. The SEC could have done better, but since tonight’s game is a win and a loss, they will be 6-3 in bowls. All of the other conferences had losing records with the Big 10 having the most teams with 10 but only a 4-6 record.
You could say that there are way too many bowl games. At this point more than half of the teams in the BCS conferences get to go to bowls. We have to remember that this is part of the college experience and one last opportunity for some of these players to audition for jobs in the pros. I like seeing people put on their college colors and cheer on the team. I for one had a great bowl season since my school won. I am hoping for a complete analysis of the BCS championship from Johnny since he is the ”sports guy” for the Soap Boxers.
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