Recently in sports Category
Anyway, I felt like talking football, but none of my friends are fans of the same teams as me, and everyone I know is already sick of all of the Fantasy Football talk. So, to the blog, I go!
Notre Dame: I was at the North Georgia State Fair a few weekends ago when one of the booth employees noticed my Notre Dame t-shirt and exclaimed, "Yer boys is gettin' worked over today by Michigan State." I told him that didn't really surprise or bother me all that much. "But Michigan State ain't no good, are they?" he asked. "Hey, neither is Notre Dame," I replied. I do get frustrated with how biased people in this region are against the Big Ten and Notre Dame--neither gets any mention on sports radio unless it's to say how shitty they both are and how they pale to even the bottom-feeders of the mighty SEC. But this dude was right, ND got worked by MSU. And it didn't really bother me at all.
My expectations for this year's Notre Dame team are for them to go 7-5, make a mid-level bowl against a very beatable third-tier team from a BCS conference, and end their season with a win for the first time in many moons. To get to 7-5, in my opinion, they only needed to beat either MSU or Purdue, not both of them. So with their win over Purdue this past weekend, they remained exactly where they needed to be.
No game is a given for ND this season, but almost all of the games remaining on their schedule are winable, even by the current class of overrated or underachieving Irish. Here's how I see it coming out:
W San Diego State
W Michigan
L @ Michigan State
W Purdue
W Stanford
L North Carolina
W @ Washington
L Pittsburgh
L @ Boston College
W @ Navy
W Syracuse
L @ No. 9 USC
Like I said, every game (except USC) is winnable, so there may be some upsets there that I haven't predicted. They could end up beating UNC, Pitt and/or BC. But at the same time, I could also see them losing against Stanford, Navy and/or Washington. So if you assume they'll upset someone but also lose one they shouldn't, 7-5 seems pretty reasonable, right? And 7-5 may be enough to get them to the Liberty Bowl against a 6-6 Virginia team or the Copper Bowl against a 8-4 Baylor squad. (I totally made up the bowls and matchups, but you get the idea.)
What ND haters don't realize is that ND didn't just choke against LSU two years ago and against every team last season, they've choked in every bowl game they've played in since the early nineties. Notre Dame hasn't won a bowl game since the 1993 Cotton Bowl. That's going on sixteen years of bowl losses. I've been wishing for years that ND would make a smaller bowl that they could actually win, and the silver lining to last year's meltdown and this year's struggles is that they should get exactly the kind of mid-range bowl they need.
Anyway, hope is still alive for the Irish. My expectations are low, and so far, they're right on track. We'll hope for the 9-3 or 10-2 season next year. For now, let's get to .500 or better and win a bowl.
The Colts: Indy didn't play this past weekend, which was probably the best thing for everyone. They're so beat up this year that they need the rest, and Payton needs some practice time with his squad. It didn't help Indy's cause that Tennessee (4-0) and Jacksonville (3-1) both won on Sunday. But one of the Monday Night Football announcers made a good point last night, which is that the top dogs in the AFC seem to currently be winning with defense, but before they can make a playoff run, these teams will have to learn how to score some points. And in that regard, I'd put Indy before the Titans and Jags, and even ahead of Pittsburgh and New England. So Indy isn't out of the picture yet, despite a 1-2 record to open the season. I can still see the team going 10-6 and then making some noise in the postseason.
Of course, it won't be easy. Check out their upcoming schedule:
Sun, Oct 5 @ Houston
Sun, Oct 12 Baltimore
Sun, Oct 19 @ Green Bay
Mon, Oct 27 @ Tennessee
Sun, Nov 2 New England
Sun, Nov 9 @ Pittsburgh
Sun, Nov 16 Houston
Sun, Nov 23 @ San Diego
Even Houston is no softy this year, despite their record (they've had a difficult opening schedule, as well). If the Colts can go 5-3 over the next eight weeks, they'll be in good shape. That will put them at 6-5, with games remaining against Cleveland, Cincy, and the Lions--all of which should be easy wins. The Colts do close the season at Jacksonville and home against Tennessee, but if they split those, they get to 10-6. And just like with the Irish, every game is winnable for this team. They could win more than I predict--but shouldn't really lose many more. A 10-6 record should be a wild-card spot, and could even be a division winner (anyone who has faith in the Titans power trio of Kerry Collins/Chris Johnson/Justin Gage staying undefeated is a moron).
The Colts are still alive, my friends.
Indiana Hoosiers: The loss to Michigan State was unfortunate, but predictable. The Ball State loss the week before was worse, as it means IU now needs to pull an upset or two to get to bowl-eligibility. And Northwestern and Minnesota are looking good--two teams IU would normally count on for a few wins. So IU is 2-2, with no guaranteed wins left on the schedule. I was hoping for 3-1 right now, and for Northwestern, Iowa, Minnesota and Central Michigan to all look like absolute doormats. If all four of them sucked, IU should be able to beat at least three for the required six wins, right?
IU's remaining schedule isn't bad, by Big Ten standards. They don't play Ohio State or Michigan, and they get Wisconsin (a team they've upset in the past) at home. But with the team underachieving at the moment, nothing is guaranteed.
October 4 at Minnesota
October 11 Iowa
October 18 at Illinois
October 25 Northwestern
November 1 Central Michigan
November 8 No. 18 Wisconsin
November 15 at No. 6 Penn State
November 22 at Purdue
This weekend is huge--if IU beats Minnesota, bowl eligibility is still within reach. If they lose this game, it's all over. Whatever they do, I hope they play Ben Chappell more. I think he's much better for the team than Winslow, despite the fact that Winslow's the more exciting player and better NFL prospect (as receiver, not QB).
Fantasy Football: Okay, I lost all three games this week, bringing my standings to 0-4, 0-4 and 3-1. But there's an upside. For one, all of my teams endured serious bye weeks this past weekend. So I won't be missing that many players from here on out. For another, some of my underachievers have started to perform (at last) and others have finally gotten the boot. But the biggest thing I have going for me is that most of my leagues allow the top eight to make playoffs. So I may be in 10th place in one league and 12th in another, but both of those let the top eight go to the postseason--and I'm not out of that running, yet.
I haven't been sitting on my hands--I'm making moves and trying to improve my roster. If a few players start to come around, I'm confident I can still make playoffs in all three leagues. And once you make playoffs, anything can happen. So I'm trying to keep my chin up. One thing I've decided is that I'm not going to listen to the folks at ESPN, anymore. I occasionally listen to a few Fantasy Football podcasts on my iPhone on the way home from work. But this past week, they were wrong on pretty much every prediction they made, costing me mega points. So no more input from those guys--they're guessing just like I am, so I may as well live and die by my own gut.
Anyway, that's the marathon update of Football news, according to me. If anyone actually made it down this far in the post, send me an email and I'll send you a free t-shirt! Kidding, of course. The only free t-shirts I have are for the female skewing shows on TNT, and if you made it this far in a football post, you're not the right demographic for those shows.
2. Seriously? The Bears really beat the Colts? Okay, I'd chalk this one up to Peyton and company being rusty, since Peyton couldn't really practice much over the last month and since their line is entirely retooled, but it's hard to blame the game on offensive rust when the defense looks so bad. They made Matt Forte look like a Pro Bowl back, and made Kyle Orton look like the better QB in the game. Add in the early dings Dallas Clark and Joseph Addai endured (that guy is so fragile), and there's not much to trumpet. At least the new Lucas Oil Fieldhouse looks amazing. I have got to see a game in that place.
3. I didn't have any Bears on any of my fantasy football teams, but I did have the Colts kicker and Defense on more than one, which probably had at least a little to do with my 1-2 start this past weekend. The worst thing is that one of my teams that lost was the one that I'd easily call my best drafted team in years. Who would've expected my starters--which included Torry Holt, LaDainian Tomlinson, Derrick Anderson, Ryan Grant and Maurice Jones-Drew--to account for only one TD between them? It sucked. I renamed that team "The Underachievers" after the game. The only upside, from a fantasy perspective, is that I didn't lose anyone to injury (as long as LT's toe is okay), and that there are still plenty of games to play. And I did take at least one of the games. Oh, and one of the two that I lost was against a record-setting 120-point performance. If you're going to lose, you may as well lose to the best, right? Anyway, let's hope my starters actually play like starters this week. I was in the championship game of both my leagues last year, winning one of them. I need to represent better than this.
4. Not only were the Nigerian players that my men's outdoor team faced off against on Wednesday way faster, more skilled and much better scorers than we were, but they also broke my finger. The bastards! Actually, I broke it myself, getting it caught in the jersey of a lightning-fast striker who was streaking towards what should've been an easy goal. Breaking a finger fouling someone who's about to beat you to the ball is sort of stupid, but in my defense, he didn't score the damned goal.
5. I wish I could use my broken finger as an excuse for why I sucked so bad in my volleyball game on Thursday night, but I can't. I've always said that I never want to play for on a team on which I'm the best player, and I've always--somewhat arrogantly--thought that to be the case for this volleyball team. Over the past three seasons, I've played some of my best games since moving to Atlanta, and have done everything in my power to make this a better team. But on Thursday, I was easily the worst player on the court. I passed so bad that we actually had to reorder our lineup to get me out of serve receive. And then I hit so badly at the net that I had to start rolling and dinking just to keep the ball in play--which was so easily read by the other team that they turned half of my "attacks" into free balls. We didn't play well as a team, but I was the biggest stinker. Especially frustrating considering we lost two games 20-21 and 19-21. A few decent plays from me, and we win the night. What a taste of humble pie.
6. I was hoping for redemption when I raced from my Thurs. volleyball game to go sub in the second half of my friend's soccer game. When I showed up, the team I was subbing for was up 3-1...over my little brother's team. After getting razzed a little by my brother and his teammates, most of which I'd played with before, I went in and played some pretty good defense. My passing was solid, and I made at least a couple of saves in front of the goal to keep them in the lead. There was a scary incident where my brother--playing forward--made a run across the goal and caught me totally flat-footed. But he didn't score. So you'd think it was a good experience, right? Sure, except for the fact that they ended up tying the game 3-3. Neither comeback goal was scored with me on the field, but it still sucks that they were up 3-1 in the half in which I didn't play, but lost 0-2 in the half for which I was there. I just wish I hadn't come from a long volleyball game--I think with more steam left in me, I could've played more minutes and maybe kept one of those goals out of the net.
With ND/Michigan today, Indy/Minnesota tomorrow, another soccer game Wednesday and a volleyball doubleheader on Thursday, let's hope this week is a better sports week than the last. It can't get much worse, right?
I didn't have a great draft in any of the three drafts. In my brother's league, I totally forgot about the way-too-early draft date, so I had an autodraft without ever adjusting my pre-draft rankings. In my college buddy's league, I had to miss the live draft due to a volleyball game, and again neglected to adjust my pre-draft rankings. Finally, in the league I'm running at work, I was so busy trying to keep everyone else on track during our first-ever live and in-person draft, that I neglected my own team and ended up picking guys at random, not following the one list I did take the time to arrange.
Anyway, my teams are below. Already, in the first week, I have some questions I can't answer. Should I play Kevin Smith against the pitiful Falcons or high draft choice Larry Johnson against the awesome Pats? Should I go with Philip Rivers and injured TE Antonio Gates or stick in Brett Favre in his Jets debut along with one of my old, old, old WR backups? It's 2am Sunday morning, and I have no clue what to do. But you know what? That's what I sort of love about Fantasy Football: dwelling for days on decisions that are really meaningless in the grand scheme of things. I'm good at useless timewasters like that.
MY 2008 FANTASY FOOTBALL SQUADS:
League: Frazier's Fantasy Football (Yahoo!)
Team: THE CHAMP!
1. (1) LaDainian Tomlinson
2. (20) Ryan Grant
3. (21) Maurice Jones-Drew
4. (40) Wes Welker
5. (41) Roddy White
6. (60) Calvin Johnson
7. (61) Derek Anderson
8. (80) Adam Vinatieri
9. (81) Indianapolis
10. (100) Kevin Smith
11. (101) Fred Taylor
12. (120) Patrick Crayton
13. (121) Reggie Brown
14. (140) Mason Crosby
15. (141) Jason Campbell (dropped for Derrick Mason)
League: League of Pain (Yahoo! Plus)
Team: Big Mac's Marauders
1. (14) Marshawn Lynch
2. (15) Larry Johnson
3. (42) Plaxico Burress
4. (43) Wes Welker
5. (70) Chris Cooley
6. (71) Chris Chambers
7. (98) Jay Cutler
8. (99) Pittsburgh
9. (126) Ryan Longwell
10. (127) Kevin Smith
11. (154) Drew Bennett
12. (155) Ted Ginn Jr.
13. (182) Philadelphia
14. (183) Randy McMichael
15. (210) Kurt Warner (dropped for Chad Pennington)
League: Digital Gridiron (EA Sports)
Team: Hoosier Daddy
1 8 Clinton Portis RB
2 5 Ryan Grant RB
3 8 Torry Holt WR
4 5 Antonio Gates TE
5 8 Hines Ward WR
6 5 Joey Galloway WR
7 8 Philip Rivers QB
8 5 Julius Jones RB
9 8 Reggie Brown WR
10 5 Indianapolis DST DST
11 8 Brett Favre QB
12 5 Jerry Porter WR
13 8 Antwaan Randle El WR
14 5 Isaac Bruce WR
15 8 Josh Scobee
Already, I've made both good and bad decisions. Dropping Jason Campbell for Derrick Mason was most likely a solid decision. Dropping Kurt Warner before he got named the starter was a bad one. I hope that doesn't come back to bite me on the ass.
Well, my dream of a championship monopoly was short-lived. My players had a decent final day for me, but my opponent did even better--he had his third-highest day of the season and put me down like a rabid dog.
It was a tight game until the Sunday night matchup. I held a slight lead through the day games, but the only player left to play was his: Colts receiver Reggie Wayne. Because the Colts were playing for nothing (their playoff spot was assured), and I knew the starters would be sitting down early, I had some hope for a scoreless evening for Reggie. And everyone was saying that Marvin Harrison would be making his comeback in the game, appearing for a few plays so that he and Manning could get their timing back. Everything pointed to very few balls thrown to Wayne.
I guess nobody knew that Reggie was going for his first season ever over 100 catches. Manning threw about six straight balls to him in the first quarter, one of them being a touchdown pass, and my championship hopes flew out the window.
I ended up losing by just enough that I didn't feel bad about any points left on the bench. Even had I made all the right moves, I'd have lost. Overall, I consider it a great showing for my first time in that league. I hope to be invited back next year, and the league manager has already promised to correct all of the scoring problems he accidentally instituted this season.
So a championship and a super bowl loss--not a bad finish for my fantasy seasons. Now I just have to wait another 280 days or whatever it is until the next season. Next year, I'm going for my first-ever championship repeat!
This year is the first in recent memory in which I've only played in two fantasy football leagues. Usually, I join three or more, often doing at least one through each major online Fantasy provider (AOL Sports, CBS Sportsline, Yahoo Fantasy, ESPN.com). But I tried to limit myself this year because of a packed work and home schedule.
The two leagues I played in were League of Pain, a league run by a friend of my little brother, and Frazier's Fantasy Football (formerly known as Monsters of the Midway), a league run by my best friend from college. Both leagues had a wealth of returning players and some decent history, though neither offered much in the way of prize money.
Well, after finishing the regular season in second place in both leagues, I've recently won the title in Frazier's, while I've made it to the finals in League of Pain! I actually have the chance to win 100% of my leagues this season!
Here's the proof of my first league title in almost TEN FRICKIN' YEARS:
Yes, all my teams are called some version of "The Atlantis Aquamen."
The finals for League of Pain are this weekend, and they're going to be a bit unpredictable. First off, the league manager really screwed up the scoring at the beginning of the season, but since none of us noticed it until after the first week's games, he decided to leave it as-is. In essence, he downgraded all of the offensive point scales, but forgot to do the same to defense and kicking. So a 300-yd, 3-touchdown performance by a QB is worth less than an average day by a kicker or D. Also, he scheduled the finals to fall on the last weekend of the NFL regular season, something that's rarely done since many teams bench their starters that weekend if their playoff spots are already set in stone.
I have no clue which of my players will see playing time. And of those, only the D and kicker really have a chance to stand out. But I'm being optimistic--my opponent seems to have more playoff-bound players than I do, which could mean that he has more players that could be pulled early. I at least have a chance!
Wouldn't it be great to get two trophies in one year, even if they are totally inconsequential novelty items? Wish me luck!
The college football bowl games have all been announced, and for a "weak" football conference, the Big Ten somehow managed to snag eight bids, two in vaunted BCS bowls. Someone out there must think these schools can at least draw fans, which would be more than anyone down here in SEC country would give them credit for.
Unfortunately, although I'm overjoyed at seeing Indiana listed on the slate, I think the Big Ten got some tough matchups, perhaps sneaking into games they shouldn't have been invited to. And I'm not talking about Ohio State getting into the BCS title game.
Here are my breakdowns of the bowl games featuring Big Ten teams:
Motor City Bowl, Detroit
PURDUE (7-4) vs. Central Michigan (8-5) - Dec. 26
Central Michigan is one of the hottest teams in the country right now, having gone from a 4-4, totally average team to an 8-5 conference champion. Purdue, on the other hand, started 5-0, only to finish 7-5. Two teams moving in different directions, and the Big Ten has a habit of getting upset by the Mac. Still, I've got to go with the Boilers here. After such an awful ending to the season (getting beat by IU for only the second time in ten years), I think Purdue bounces back and comes ready to play. Besides, with over a month between games, they have enough time to heal and get a gameplan together. Advantage: Big Ten
Champs Sports Bowl, Orlando
No. 14 Boston College (10-3) vs. MICHIGAN ST. (7-5) - Dec. 28
This is one of several severe mismatches for the Big Ten. Boston College would've probably been in the national title talks if they hadn't lost their conference championship to Virginia Tech. Now, they get dropped to a late December game against a bottom-feeding Big Ten team? Who knows what the first-year Michigan State coach will pull out, but I'd guess it won't be enough to slow down Matt Ryan. This could be an upset special, but I wouldn't put my own money against BC. Disadvantage: Big Ten
Valero Alamo Bowl, San Antonio
PENN STATE (8-4) vs. Texas A&M (7-5) - Dec. 29
This is pretty much a home game for A&M, but I think that's balanced out by the fact that they'll be coached by an interim head coach, which is never easy. Both teams have been totally schizophrenic this year. They've managed a few upsets, but have also dropped some easy ones. It will totally depend on who comes to play, but I think JoePa can get his boys ready in time to steal one in the lone star state. When it comes down to two evenly matched teams, go with the better defense, and that's Penn State. Advantage: Big Ten
Insight Bowl, Tempe
INDIANA (7-5) vs. Oklahoma State (6-6) - Dec. 31
Not only is Indiana back in a bowl for the first time since my brother-in-law played for them, but they're actually matched up against a team with a worse record? I can barely believe it. Both teams are very average teams, but Indiana has the more explosive offense, led by exciting (but turnover prone) QB Kellen Wilson and soon-to-be first-round draft pick, WR James Hardy. It's entirely possible that IU blew its emotional on the Purdue game and won't come to this one with a lot of fire. Instead, I'm hoping Terry Hoeppner's inspiration still burns and they come out with some heat. I'm picking with my heart and going for IU. Advantage: Big Ten
Outback Bowl, Tampa
No. 18 WISCONSIN (9-3) vs. No. 16 Tennessee (9-4) - Jan. 1
This one's a tough one. Wisconsin's young, and not really that spectacular. But Tennessee's been so hot and cold, you just can't predict with Volunteers team will show up. The Vols have a senior QB, but that senior's name is Erik Ainge, so that doesn't count for much. I trust the ball control offense of the Badgers much more than I do the erratic offense of the Vols, even if Tennessee has more experience and more speed. I think this will be a low-scoring, ugly game, and I'm giving the win to Wisconsin. Advantage: Big Ten
Capital One Bowl, Orlando
MICHIGAN (8-4) vs. No. 12 Florida (9-3) - Jan. 1
This is the first of two lopsided, New Year's Day mismatches for Big Ten teams. Totally healthy, Michigan should be one of the best teams in the nation. But they somehow find a way to suck even when their skill players are all on the field. Michigan's Mike Hart is the real deal at RB, but senior QB Chad Henne went from being a Heisman hopeful to one of the most disappointing players in the conference. Match that underachieving offense against soon-to-be Heisman winner Tim Tebow, who's broken every SEC record in existence, and you have a recipe for awfulness. This game will be one that SEC fans use to show how much better the SEC is than the Big Ten, but in reality, this is just stupid scheduling. Florida should be playing Illinois, which would give the press the whole Ron Zook thing to sieze on. And Michigan should be playing someone middle-of-the-pack like Auburn. There's always the chance that the Wolverines will play hard for outgoing coach Lloyd Carr, and their outgoing seniors. But I don't see them pulling out an upset in Florida's backyard. Disadvantage: Big Ten
Rose Bowl, Pasadena
No. 13 ILLINOIS (9-3) vs. No. 7 USC (10-2) - Jan. 1
And the matchups keep getting worse. Illinois has some decent talent, but USC is TOO talented. And they also happen to be clicking on all cylinders for the first time this year. Remember when they were considered a shoe-in for the national title game? Well, that's the team that showed up for their last three games, not the team that got beat by Stanford. If this ends up being a two-score game, I'll consider it a moral victory. Disadvantage: Big Ten
Allstate BCS Championship Game, New Orleans
No. 2 LSU (11-2) vs. No. 1 OHIO STATE (11-1) - Jan. 7
The funny thing about this matchup is that when Ohio State was undefeated and number one a few weeks ago, everyone kept talking about who they'd match up against in the final game, and several analysts though LSU would be the easiest top-rated team for them to play. Most of the other contenders ran some form of spread offense, or at least had a mobile QB. But LSU plays more of a power running game, which is perfect for a Big Ten team. I think Ohio State has a much better chance in this game than they did against Florida last year, which is strange, since OSU had almost a half-dozen first rounders on last year's team. To me, this is the most important Big Ten game of the year. Even more important if Illinois and Michigan both get crushed. If Ohio State wins, people have to shut up at least a little about the weakness of the Big Ten in comparison to the SEC. But if OSU loses, especially if they get blown out, everyone will just talk about weak strength of schedule and how they didn't even deserve to get into this game in the first place. So here's to hoping Jim Tressel pulls out all the stops and the Buckeyes leave it all on the field in their search for redemption. I don't even want to live in Atlanta anymore if the Big Ten loses their three top bowl games, two of them to SEC teams. It's bad enough listening to sports radio as it is. I'm picking Ohio State because I HAVE to pick Ohio State. Every Big Ten fan in the nation should be rooting for the Buckeyes right now. Advantage: Big Ten
So the total, the way I see it, is 5-3 for the Big Ten, and that's after giving them wins in at least two "you pick 'em" games. There's not a lot of margin for error if the Big Ten wants to come out ahead in their postseason bowl record this year. But if every team comes to play, we could get a couple nice wins against the SEC and Big 12, and could redeem ourselves just a little bit in the national picture.
Go IU, Go Big Ten!
While the Irish have been setting all of the wrong records this year (which, honestly, has really freed up my Saturday afternoons), my alma mater, Indiana, has had one of its best seasons since the early nineties.
After the tragic death of head coach Terry Hoeppner just before the season began, it looked like it would be another rough year for IU football fans. But the team came together and managed to pull off a 7-5 season, possibly getting the chance to "play 13," which was their former coach's mantra.
Even better was how they came to their seventh win. After fumbling on a possible game-winning drive against Penn State and then giving up a last-second touchdown to lose the game to Northwestern, the Hoosiers were stuck at 6-5. A loss in their final regular season game against rival Purdue would leave them at 6-6 with only a 2-6 record in the Big Ten, making a bowl game (and a winning season) an impossibility, and IU had only beaten Purdue once in the last ten years.
The game was a roller coaster ride. IU built up a twenty-one point lead, only to see it disappear as Purdue took over in the second half. And when Purdue tied the game, it seemed like all the wind had gone out of the Hoosiers' sails. But talented (and turnover-prone) QB Kellen Lewis got the Hoosiers just close enough, and kicker Austin Starr did the rest.
The blonde woman handing out the free hugs is Coach Hep's widow, who may have been the happiest person on the field that day, and that's saying a lot.
Of course, IU has to win their bowl game to make this a truly happy ending. But it's still one of the better stories of the season. It's too bad the game wasn't shown nationally. I had to follow it online down here in ATL, and then get live play-by-play of the game-winning kick over the phone from my sister. It was still exciting, but it would've been better to actually see it happen...
Unfortunately, there will most likely be no bowling for ND this year. They're just awful at the moment. AWFUL. Add in the fact that they have the toughest opening schedule of any division one team, and you have a possible 0-8 start. (Yes, SEC fans, ND does have the most difficult schedule. Who else plays eight bowl-bound teams to start the year, including at least four who have made it into the top ten at least one week this season?)
The ND line can't block to save their lives, the receivers can't catch, the runners have no moves, and the kicking game is unspectacular. The offense is pitiful. I do think the defense is doing the best they can, they just spend too long on the field. And having just average talent, there's not much they can do to turn games around when the offense actually moves backwards or turns the ball over on every drive. I also think Jimmy Clausen will be a baller, eventually. Yes, after a solid first showing, he is starting to look more and more like a freshman. But I think most of that is ND's crappy play in every other area of the game. Once Clausen has some talent around him, he should be good. And supposedly, ND had top ten recruiting classes in '06, '07 and already committed for '08. In fact, next year's class is supposed to be the number one recruiting class of all D-1 schools. So things SHOULD get better.
But for right now, they suck. I didn't even watch the Michigan game this year. I tivoed it because I was at a wedding, but deleted it after accidentally hearing the score. I mean, who wants to watch their team get blown out like that? I'll continue to watch games over the course of the season--I am a fan, after all--but I couldn't bear to watch that one.
By the way, if you've read my past posts on the Irish, you'll know that I'm one of the people who think Tyrone Willingham wasn't given a fair chance and that Charlie Weiss was given an extension too early (and too big). I'm not saying I told you so, because this season's antics don't really prove anything about Willingham's or Weiss's skills. But I will say that people should stop looking at a single year or two to judge a coach--whether calling him genius or fool. Charlie may be a hall-of-famer someday, but he definitely didn't prepare his boys for this season, and I think a lot of the weight of their underachievement falls squarely on his, and the rest of his staff's, shoulders. And if it weren't for the huge contract they gave him prematurely, ND would be looking for another new coach this year.
I do still think ND will turn it around at least a little. As a fan, I'm an eternal optimist. They seem destined for a losing season, but I wouldn't be totally shocked if they beat Michigan State this weekend and maybe even upset someone else in one of the four games after that. And two upsets in the next five games would probably make a 6-6 season (and a bowl game) a possibility, considering how weak ND's schedule is over their last four games. But I recognize that this is wishful thinking. I'm not stupid enough to put money on this idea.
At least my Hoosiers are doing well. At 3-0 (for only the third time in the last fifteen years), and with the easiest schedule in the Big Ten, they're poised to make their first bowl game since my brother-in-law played for them in the early nineties. That would be HUGE. And I think it would be a fitting tribute to Coach Hep, who passed away from cancer a few months ago. I mean, if a team can't get motivated by the loss of a beloved coach, nothing's going to motivate them. And everything I've heard about Terry Heoppner indicates that he was a truly inspirational guy.
Now that IU has beaten their non-conference opponents, they start the Big Ten season with three Big Ten bottom feeders in a row. If they can take two out of three against Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota, which is totally possible, then they'll only have to win one of their games against Ball State, Northwestern, or Purdue at the end of the season to go bowling. In other words, all signs are good for the Hoosiers. I wonder if there's EVER been a year in which IU went to a bowl and ND didn't. I don't remember one in my lifetime.
Man, wouldn't it be great to see a 7-5 IU team take on a 6-6 Irish team in a December bowl? If they put it in Florida, I could even drive to it! There'd only be one problem: Who would I root for?
Part of this is because I grew up in a football town. Although most of Indiana is basketball country, the small town I grew up in was just miles away from Notre Dame Stadium, and my high school was a class 5A football powerhouse. All the boys in my family played football as long as we were able, and we spent all of our fall Saturdays and Sundays rooting for the Fighting Irish and the Chicago Bears. I was lucky enough to see a national championship for one and a Super Bowl win for the other during my childhood.
Then, when I went to college, I happened to be at IU during the best consecutive years of football in the history of the program. IU went to bowl games in four out of the five years I was there, winning three. And did I mention that my brother-in-law was a star lineman for that team, blocking for current Miami QB Trent Green? Through him, I had a level of access to Big Ten football that not a lot of people get. Ah, good times.
So you can see why I get practically giddy when Fall comes around. I start listening to sports talk radio again. I start reading ESPN.com and tuning in to Sportscenter. I start to look at my teams' schedules and think about postseason scenarios. And along with all of that, I start to plan for the Fantasy Football season.
This year, I'm competing in two fantasy football leagues. Both are on Yahoo Sports, as opposed to most years, when I dabble on ESPN.com, Sportsline.com and AOL Sports. One league is a fourteen-person, premium, auto-draft league run by a friend of my brother. The other is a twelve-person, basic, live draft league run by my best friend from college.
We already had our drafts for both leagues. Here's what I'm dealing with to start the season:
*** MONSTERS OF THE MIDWAY (12-Person Live Draft League)
my team: Atlanta Aquamen
| Round | Pick | Player | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | (5) | Joseph Addai | RB |
| 2. | (16) | Willis McGahee | RB |
| 3. | (25) | Torry Holt | WR |
| 4. | (36) | Roy Williams | WR |
| 5. | (45) | Andre Johnson | WR |
| 6. | (56) | Donovan McNabb | QB |
| 7. | (65) | Carnell Williams | RB |
| 8. | (76) | Kevin Curtis | WR |
| 9. | (85) | Chester Taylor | RB |
| 10. | (96) | Jerious Norwood | RB |
| 11. | (105) | Isaac Bruce | WR |
| 12. | (116) | Jacksonville | DEF |
| 13. | (125) | Alge Crumpler | TE |
| 14. | (136) | Derrick Mason | WR |
| 15. | (145) | Matt Stover | K |
Analysis: This draft started out so good for me, but took a bit of a wrong turn in the middle. I like my top two picks, tough McGahee hasn't looked good in preseason. But I went with too many wildcards at WR. Holt is playing injured, Williams has yet to live up to his talent, and Johnson is playing with a first-time QB on a crappy team. There were definitely WRs on the board that would've been safer choices, and I'm kicking myself for not taking them. Also, I grabbed too many backup RBs when I should've been grabbing WRs, so I have no depth. Overall, this team has potential, but I'm going to need to trade one of my RBs for a receiver before the season's done, and I'll also need to figure out a backup situation for my injury-prone QB. I do think I have a chance to win the league, though, if everyone stays relatively healthy and plays close to their talent level. One or two injuries, though, and I'm toast. And since this is the league my college buddy runs, there's a lot of ego on the line.
*** LEAGUE OF PAIN (14-Person Auto-Draft League)
my team: Big Mac's Marauders
| Round | Pick | Player | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | (7) | Rudi Johnson | RB |
| 2. | (18) | Brandon Jacobs | RB |
| 3. | (31) | Antonio Gates | TE |
| 4. | (42) | Randy Moss | WR |
| 5. | (55) | Baltimore | DEF |
| 6. | (66) | Joey Galloway | WR |
| 7. | (79) | Kevin Curtis | WR |
| 8. | (90) | Matt Leinart | QB |
| 9. | (103) | Josh Scobee | K |
| 10. | (114) | Jamal Lewis | RB |
| 11. | (127) | Joe Horn | WR |
| 12. | (138) | Drew Bennett | WR |
| 13. | (151) | Trent Green | QB |
| 14. | (162) | Minnesota | DEF |
| 15. | (175) | Matt Stover | K |
| 16. | (186) | Jerramy Stevens | TE |
Analysis: Okay, in my defense, I've never done an autodraft before. And as a rookie, I stunk this one up. I obviously pre-ranked my players all wrong, drafting the wrong people at the wrong times and having an overall crappy draft. I ranked my defense and TE too high, but at least this is a league where you have to play a TE (as opposed to my other league, where you can play either a TE or WR in that spot). With this being the case, I won't complain too much about getting Gates so early. If he can score similar to what a decent WR would do, I'll have a pretty big advantage at that position. And I can't complain about my D, although I've never picked a defense before the thirteenth round in a live draft. Hopefully, they'll be the Bears of this year and will win me some games solely on defensive scores. Beyond my first round pick, the TE and the D, however, this team sucks. Brandon Jacobs has never been a feature back, and may not have it in him. And even if Randy Moss returns to form, he's playing for a team that's known to share the ball so much that no receiver can become a star. To add insult to injury, I have the worse QB tandem in our league (hey, I love Trent Green, but he has nothing to work with in Miami--it will be a miracle if he gets the numbers he did in KC). In fact, there's not a pick after Randy Moss that I would've taken in a live draft, except for maybe Kevin Curtis (who I only took in my other league because I had his QB) and the kickers. I don't even think I have trade bait on this team. Unless some unknown catches fire and I have a good enough waiver position to nab him, I may be stuck with exactly this team all season. And while I'm not taking this league as seriously as the other one, I hate to lose (and my brother's friends are notorious trash talkers).
Of course, whether my teams suck or soar, it won't really dampen my spirits about the new season. I love fall and live for football, so I'm as happy as puppy with two peters now that pigskin is back. If anyone needs me over the next few months, you'll know where to find me: in front of the computer checking out fantasy scores or in front of the fifty-inch, watching a bunch of grown men in costumes throwing a piece of leather around.
I have this thing lately where every time I eat something quickly, I somehow manage to spill a big blob of whatever it is on my clothing. And I'm not talking about wolfing foods down with both hands, or anything. I just mean eating at a slightly accelerated pace because I have an upcoming meeting. Usually, the blob of stain-worthy foodstuff falls right down the middle of my shirt, adding the maximum amount of embarrassment to the situation. Let me tell you, there's nothing better than a guy who already feels like a fat cow having to enter a packed meeting room in a shirt with marinara sauce striped down the middle.
And I thought my kids were messy.
Anyway, that's neither here nor there. This is supposed to be a post about the Colts winning the Super Bowl. Yay, Colts! I am, indeed, happy that my favorite team just won a national championship. I can honestly say that I haven't had much luck with that in a long time. I rooted for the Bears when they won their Super Bowl in '84, then cheered on IU basketball as they won a title in '87 and Notre Dame as they won the national title in '88. Since then, I've been able to see a few IU soccer championships, but nothing on a larger stage. So you'd think I'd be overjoyed at the Colts winning the big one, right? And I am, but not as much as I could be.
First off, the actual game sucked. No, I'm not talking about the play on the field--yes, it was sloppy, but that was sort of fun. I'm talking about my viewing experience. With my parents being in town for my daughter's birthday, my wife and I said "no thanks" to the MULTITUDE of Super Bowl parties we'd been invited to, and resigned ourselves to watching the game at home. Keep in mind that I NEVER watch sports when the kids are awake. It's really too much of a challenge to stay in the moment while cleaning up chocolate milk messes and changing diapers. But we decided we'd watch the game in real-time, with my parents and the kids present. Also, we decided to have a make-your-own pizza party for dinner, rather than trying to order out and have to wait three hours for delivery.
Needless to say, nothing about the evening went right. First off, my parents chose not to hang with us for the first half, instead going out with my brother. This is fine, but considering that we would've probably found a sitter and hit our own parties if we didn't think we had to entertain, well, it just left us sitting around. The pizza party was a flop, too. Alecia wasn't able to find any ready-made crusts at Kroger, so we made our dough from scratch. And it sucked. Out of three pizzas we made, only one turned out to be entirely edible. Plus, having to make the dough from scratch meant having to pause the game and head into the kitchen for an hour of frustration and cluelessness. When I finally got the pizzas in the oven and returned to the couch, I was in a foul mood, and succeeded in kicking off a worthless argument with my wife. Honestly, the whole fight was just a byproduct of an exhausting weekend, and contained no valid arguments, so to speak. It was all just a game of "Why are you being so pissy?" "I'm not being pissy, you are!"
We finally got around to watching the game, but by that point, we were behind the live program. Knowing my parents would be coming back around halftime, and probably wouldn't want to re-watch the first half with us, I skipped forward a bit with the remote. Doing this for most football games is no big deal. But in the Super Bowl, it means missing some of the biggest plays of the year and having to rewind after seeing that a TD has been scored to find out who actually scored it and how. It also meant missing some of the commercials (no big loss--they were mostly disappointing). Overall, it just made for a bad viewing experience.
So let's add it up: Bad mood, stupid fight, ruined pizza, crappy viewing experience.
I was still thrilled when the Colts won, but it wasn't like I even had anyone to high five. My parents are Bears fans, and Alecia and the girls could've cared less. It was sort of like, "So they finally did it. Hm." Not quite the trumpets and fanfare that I had hoped for.
Anyway, I know I've spent a page of text whining about a crappy viewing experience when I should be ecstatic that my team won. I am very much looking a gift horse in the mouth and choosing to look on the negative side of things. Some people follow a team their whole lives and never see them win a championship. I know I should be floating on air after the win. It just felt very anticlimactic, I guess. Maybe I'll be more excited as the next season starts and I can see how the team wears the "defending champs" moniker.
Regarding the game, by the way, it turned out much like I hoped it would, despite all of the turnovers. Rex Grossman turned out to be exactly the on-the-field cancer that he'd shown himself to be, doing absolutely nothing positive to help his team win. The Bears D showed up strong but couldn't hang with the Colts offense over time, and Peyton's patience and the opportunistic Colts D eventually wore the Bears out.
There was a little debate on the Internet the day after the game about who should've won the MVP award. I think it went to the right person. Rhodes and Addai had great games running the ball for the Colts, and it was the running game that wore down the Bears. But why do you think the run was so successful? First off, the Bears were playing WAY off the line, trying their best to keep Peyton from throwing downfield and making a big play. That cushion gave the Indy running game a lot of room in which to work. Also, Peyton was being especially smart in his adjustments at the line. It would've been easy for a future hall-of-famer like him to try to carry the team on his shoulders. But Peyton switched off to runs every time he saw an opening to do so. He adjusted away from his own arm and made the calls that gave Addai and Rhodes all of their touches. It was what Peyton had done all through playoffs--using patience and his amazing ability to read a defense to make exactly the right adjustments on each and every play. It really was a great performance by a QB, despite his lack of numbers. I don't think anyone can make a strong argument for Addai or Rhodes winning the MVP without acknowledging that they wouldn't have been able to pick apart the league's number two defense if they didn't have the defense back on its heels thanks to the big gun behind center.
So Peyton and the Colts played it conservatively and relied on their defense to seize opportunities (a la the pick-six) and their kicking game to score points. Yeah, I know Vinatieri missed a FG and XP, but he made what he needed to in order to win. I still had way more confidence in him all season long than I ever had in Vanderjackoff. And once the Colts coaching staff asked Vinatieri to kick AWAY from Devin Hester, he was like a kickoff surgeon, managing to drop the ball exactly where they needed it to be in order to make sure the Bears wouldn't break off another return. I rooted against Adam V. for years, but I love having him on my team.
As for the turnovers I mentioned before, I don't think those ruined the quality of this game, like some other people claim. For one thing, the turnover ratio was only plus two for the Colts, which is a good ratio, but not unrecoverable. And the field conditions did suck, which seemed to effect both teams. The fumbles and INTs didn't really take away from the fact that the Colts came in with a better plan and better execution. If anything, the turnovers kept the score lower and the game closer than it should've been. So they added to the tension and excitement, they didn't make the game unwatchable.
Well, that's pretty much all I have to say about the game. I'm excited that my team won, and hopefully it'll hit me soon and I'll feel the joy I expected to feel on Sunday. If not, at least Dungy and Manning got this monkey off of their backs. They're two guys who are good role models and do everything the right way, on and off the field, and there are too few of those in professional sports. They both deserve to go in the hall of fame some day, and now it's guaranteed that they will.
It will be very interesting to see how the players and coaches perform next season now that they've tasted the bigtime. Remember that both Favre and Elway came back to the Super Bowl the year after winning their first titles (Favre's return was Elway's first win, as a matter of fact). And I would put Peyton in the same league as those two QBs, especially now that he's found that the secret to victory isn't the long bomb, but the FEAR of the long bomb. It will be fun to watch Peyton going for number two next season...
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