Rethinking This Clemens Thing

Yesterday I listened a bit to Clemens' lawyer Rusty Hardin talk some about the case on talk radio (I think it was on the Matt Patrick Show). After listening I began to think that perhaps Clemens was the innocent victim in a govt push to discredit him (for whatever reason). Hardin is convincing no doubt but then again that is his job. If you are involved in some silly shit and caught with your pants down (so to speak), and have a very healthy bank account then perhaps you should give Rusty a call.

Did Clemens get away with steroid use and perjury? Perhaps. Perhaps not. He did play in an era where steroid use was in vogue. Look at some of the sluggers from the late 90's. You can't tell me that quite a number of them were not on something. Or you could I guess but I wouldn't believe it. As far as I can tell Clemens did not develop the type of body that is associated with steroid use, but again, he did play in that era. Doping was likely accepted and par for the course among a certain set of players.

One thing I did learn from the talk show conversation between Hardin and Patrick was that Clemens  got crossways with the esteemed gentlemen of Congress who were "leading the investigation" into steroid use in baseball. That probably had something to do with all the hoopla.

If Clemens is guilty, well then he got away with it. If not, then he was victimized by a govt out of control. His reputation is tarnished either way. His character is suspect and his legacy will always have an asterick beside it.  Unfortunately there is very little he can do about it.

Apparently one  (handsome) Henry Waxman (D-CA) was one of the busybodies behind this "investigation" into steroid use in baseball. It is not surprising that he (and others) would be influential in going after someone who did not play ball (no pun) with said investigation. Perhaps this Waxman should just keep hanging with the Hollywood crowd and leave the rest of us be. Didn't he have a part as one of the mutant vampire type beings in the Will Smith film I Am Legend?

If I am not mistaken there is a resemblance here. I could be wrong.

What is up with the Hogs?

What the hell is going on in Fayetteville? Houston Nutt and now Bobby Petrino? Scumbags both. Petrino does win though........

I guess they will hire Todd Graham next.

JOPA is Gone

Paterno passed away today. Rest his soul. It is a darn shame that the "Sandusky Affair" ruined the legacy of perhaps the most influential coach in the college ranks. Whether JOPA was complicit in some sort of cover up is a moot point. His reputation is ruined forever. It matters little if his name is cleared at a late date. Same type thing with Pete Rose, Roger Clemens, etc. They are seen as damaged goods and their real accomplishments to their respective sports is of little consequence.

They do say that one "oh shit" can erase a whole lot of "attaboys." So true.

Last Bowl Game May Be Worth Watching

Tonight Arkansas State squares off with NIU in the GoDaddy Bowl (the what?). Might be a good game. Arkansas State has had a stellar season and may well be a top 25 team. NIU can play some ball also and perhaps should be included in the top 25 also. Of course, after one year, ASU's coach has won (with the prior coach's recruits) and moved off to "greener" pastures. If Ole Miss can be considered "greener." Coaching the Rebs will flat destroy a career. Hard place to win. Be that as it may, I am looking forward to the last bowl game of the season and am hoping for an Indian err Red Wolves victory. Don't think it will happen but that is who I will be pulling for.

Of course tomorrow night the BCS "National Champion" will be crowned. Hoping for an LSU victory but the Bama crew are wanting a bit of revenge. Whether or not this is the "correct" match up for D1 "national champion" is debatable, but it should be a good game none the less.

IAA National Champion Crowned

North Dakota State earned a tough win this afternoon over a very good Sam Houston State club in the IAA Championship game. It was football played the way it was supposed to be. I was pulling for the local team but having watched both this year I had a strong feeling that NDSU would be able to take this game. They earned the title of National Champion the right way.

The Cotton That Should Have Been Sugar

The Hogs got off to a fast start before the Wildcats got their bearings in last night's Cotton Bowl. It became a pretty good game all around after KSU got some momentum going. The Hogs are hands down the better team here. KSU is a very good team sure but is too one dimensional. If a team can stop their QB from running all over creation, then there is a good chance for a victory over the Wildcats.

It is interesting that neither of these teams were in a "BCS" game. Interesting that numbers 6-9 in the BCS standing were relegated to lesser bowls. (Boise State in particular). Of course it can certainly be argued that the Cotton is every bit as prestigious, historically, than any of these BCS games. Doesn't pay as much though.

I will say it again; A very poor system we have in D1 ball.

Incidentally today the IAA National Championship game will be played. Go SHSU. The champion will be decided the right way......

BCS Bowls That Shouldn't Have Happened

Last night the Orange Bowl was played and victory went to the Mountaineers. Is the ACC that bad? Sure doesn't seem to add up to much. At least the two teams in this particular bowl were their respective conference champions. Still...A BCS Bowl for schools not in the top ten? C'mon.

The Sugar was ridiculous. Neither team should be in one of the premier (and highest paying) games. Neither Michigan or Virginia Tech are top ten squads and certainly should have played in lesser bowls.

Such is the system we have in Division I ball.

Thoughts on the Coogs and Today's Other Early Games

It is half time now in the Rose Bowl and my thoughts return to the earlier contests. Congrats to South Carolina in making the Huskers look a bit foolish. Does a heart good. The Gator Bowl? Should not have even been played.  Ridiculous game. Now this Rose match up is a very good game at this point. Oregon is decked out a bit less silly this time around but that headgear is distracting. I think that Wisconsin will end up with a victory when the smoke clears. We will see shortly........

The only other game of significance was something called the Ticket City Bowl (the what?). Houston, after their untimely loss to USM, was relegated to this minor contest facing a very average PSU squad. The game itself was fairly interesting. Keenum threw for a lot of yards but one gets the feeling that they were not spot on. If they were I would imagine the margin of victory would have been greater. There are already those that are saying "yeah but...." concerning the game. As in "yeah but PSU did not have their starting QB in the game." True enough but they could not score on anyone anyway this season with their starter and that was also before the distraction of the "Sandusky Affair" reared its' ugly head.  To be blunt, PSU was just not very good long before it became apparent that Jerry enjoys "educating young boys" as it were. Allegedly of course. The whole thing became a historic distraction and I certainly feel sorry for the players that had to endure such.

Now if Houston had run the table, would they have been a good pick for a BCS game? Perhaps. They would not be able to play on the same field (3 games out of 4) with LSU, Alabama, Oregon, Wisconsin or Oklahoma State but they certainly would be able to hang with the likes of WVU, Georgia, Va Tech, Clemson, Stanford, etc. They had their chances but one bad game in a non AQ conference destroys chances of national respect. Just ask Boise State this year. The Broncos (along with the Coogs and possibly a couple others) are every bit as good and likely even better than a whole lot of teams in "big time" bowls this year. Yes, even better perhaps than at almost half of the BCS bowl field.

Looking forward to the Fiesta later this evening. There are those that believe the Cowboys are really the team that deserves to meet the Tigers in the BCS "National Championship" game. They may have a point. That will be proven (or disproven) before the evening is through also. Stanford is no joke but probably just not quite one of the truly elite teams this year. Andrew Luck notwithstanding. I look for the Cowboys to take it in rather convincing fashion.

Hopefully this BCS system goes away sooner rather than later.

The Most Stupid Of Games of the Bowl Season Have Concluded

There are just too many bowl games. It borders on the ridiculous. Thankfully the most nonsensical bowls of 2011 are now written in the books.

A very silly game was the MAACO Bowl. Boise State, a top ten team, being relegated to meeting a 6-6 Arizona State squad? Just goes to show what lengths the BCS will go to keep a non AQ school out of the big party. The BCS fears a team like BSU which is fully capable of further exposing the current system as fraudulent. Of course next year BSU will find themselves in an AQ conference. Wonder which will be the next non BCS school to "bother" the BCS.

The Music City Bowl had two 6-6 teams battling to see who was the most mediocre. Wake Forest proved to be just a tad worse than Mississippi State. At least there was a lot of fans in the seats. A boon to the Nashville economy sure but just not what a bowl game is supposed to be.

The Meineke Car Car Bowl of Texas (or whatever it is called this year) was essentially a home game for the Aggies as was designed. Northwestern and TAMU deserved no post season whatsoever but there they were none the less. TAMU won this one which surprised me frankly. Not that they are without talent; top 10 talent, but they have just not been able to get it together this season. Coaching was likely to blame but that has been (possibly) rectified. Not that it will matter much. The SEC and perennial mediocrity loom large for the Aggies. Sumlin should have stayed in Houston where he was building a power. Or not. It has not been proven that Sumlin can win without a Keenum behind center. That type of player does not just come along every day.

The Pinstrip Bowl was a semi home game for Rutgers. Not much of interest to anyone but die hard fans. A 6-6 regular season for Iowa State is a success but that still does not mean it is worthy of a post season bid. The better team won.

The Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl (the what?) is thankfully over. This one was perhaps the most ridiculous game of the season. Perhaps any bowl at any time.  UCLA had to get a waiver from the NCAA to compete in a bowl game with a losing record. Didn't Western Kentucky have a winning season? They or any D1 school with a winning record should have been a suitable replacement for UCLA. It would not have mattered much as far as attendance goes most likely. Did you see the "crowd" in the stands? Almost non existent. UCLA lost this one but Illinois sure tried to give it away. Neither team was deserving of a post season trip.

We have already established that the BCS has left Boise State out in the cold, but what about KSU and Arkansas? They will square off in the Cotton, which is historically every bit as prestigious as the Sugar or Orange Bowls. but does not have near the payoff as a BCS game. This year, both KSU and the Hogs, are ranked higher than any team that plays in either the Sugar or Orange. Such is the system.....

An eight win season really should be the minimum requirement to become bowl eligible. The only possible exception would be a team with a lesser record, who is conference champion, allowed in with less than eight wins (but no less than seven). Of course that would lessen the number of bowls but a good many of those are just a waste of time and attract very few fans.

More Bowl Talk

Last night this season's edition of the Alamo Bowl was written in the history books. There was just not much defence played. Was there? Baylor is a very good team but the defense has been suspect all season. One can easily see why the Bears were not in a "BCS" game year. Perhaps it is an Art Briles thing? Remember he came from the University of Houston where stellar offense and atrocious defense has been perfected.  I wonder if Baylor could have traded their defense with that of Texas. Now that would be a team that would be very difficult to stop. Oh well......victory was theirs none the less.

Today there are a slew of bowl games on tap. Only one team in the bunch is a top 25 squad (Oklahoma). Is anyone really all that interested in Iowa State vs Rutgers? C'mon. Oklahoma va Iowa? Probably the best game of the day will be the Tulsa/BYU match up. BYU has had a pretty good season and Tulsa, with Kinne behind center, is a good CUSA team. Might be worth watching. Or not.

Mack May Be On The Hot Seat Next Season

The Longhorns had a less than stellar year. A trip with a win to the Holiday Bowl just don't cut it for Texas fans. I would guess that Mack better reach a "BCS" game next year or at least one of the top tier non BCS games (Cotton or whatever they now call the "Citrus") or there will be blood.

There are a handful of teams that have fan expectation of competing for a "National Championship" year in and year out. Texas is one of them. The last time the Longhorns had a shot was a couple years back when Colt was "injured" in the title game with the Tide. Subsequently they were routed. Since then?......

It is interesting that some of these schools just have expectation of being in serious competition every year for the National Title. Florida, LSU, Bama, Auburn, Tennessee, Texas, Oklahoma, Notre Dame (strange isn't it?), Texas Agriculture (stranger still), USC, Ohio State, Michigan and perhaps Oregon must be among the elite or a coach won't be around long. The fans at WVU, Va. Tech, Wisconsin, Arkansas, PSU, Miami, FSU, with perhaps UCLA (hard to believe I know), and Michigan State are almost as unrealistic. Boise State and BYU (Notre Dame lite) are somewhat special cases with often unrealistic expectations from their fan base.  At any rate, only two teams play for the title every year. 

It is damn hard to get there.

The Holiday Bowl

Texas pulled this one out of the hat. It was difficult to watch two very mediocre teams go at it. I actually thought that Cal would find a way to score a few more than the Longhorns. Texas has a very good defense but a barely competent offense. The Longhorn D certainly won another one for them. It would have been interesting to see just how far the Horns would have gone this season if they had any kind of offense at all. Their defense kept them in games resulting in a few wins that they probably should not have.

As it stands now. I would put the Longhorns perhaps the fifth (maybe sixth) best squad in the Texas college ranks. Yes I am counting IAA Sam Houston State in the mix. They would have a better than even shot at beating them this year.

Mack is well liked by the Texas faithful but there are some rumblins'. He needs to get his boys to step it up next season or it could well be his last.

Ho Hum

Last night Mizzou beat a rather forgettable North Carolina team in the Independence Bowl. Perhaps the bowl execs should have picked teams that "travel well." There was almost no one in attendance. It could be that even the fans of either team did not want to make the trip to Shreveport to watch two mediocre teams battle it out. Oh well.......I didn't watch much of it either.

Tonight the Belk Bowl (the what?) "must" be played.  Louisville and NC State both come in at 7-5 and it should be a fine match up. A" drop everything and watch" type of contest. The game is to be held in Charlotte so there might be a few State fans in the seats.

Before I forget, we also have the Little Caesars Bowl on this evening. The powerhouse WMU Broncos meet with the 6-6 Purdue Boilermakers. This might actually be a pretty good game and Detroit is within driving distance of the fan base of both schools but still it is unlikely that Ford Field will be sold out. After all that would require a trip to Detroit. Who wants to do that?

Let's see....Wednesday night the Military Bowl kicks off with Toledo and Air Force going at it. AFA is the best of the service academies this year, but that does not say a whole lot. A pretty good MWC team is about what we have with the Falcon squad. Probably not much more than that. Toledo is a good MAC team but that might be all. Pretty similar records and someone has to win. Toledo is probably the better team. They may be a bit better than their record. This one might actually be a good game, but really....Should it even be played at all?


The Holiday Bowl is another ho hum game. It has traditionally been a bowl for those that are just not quite up to snuff though. There will be fans in the seats most likely. Both schools have a large fan base and a lot of them are some pretty affluent folk. They may have nothing better to do than brave the frozen tundra in San Diego to watch a game. Wish I could join them. The game itself is borderline garbage, but a trip to San Diego would be something to look forward to.


Some of these "bowl" games are just a waste of time. I suppose someone makes some money somewhere, but do we really need to see such uninteresting match ups in the post season?

WAC 0-3 in 2011 Bowls

Last night USM beat a fairly decent Nevada Wolfpack team to send the WAC to 0-3 for the bowl season. LA. Tech gave TCU all they could handle the other night but came up short and Utah State let one slip away against Ohio earlier in the bowl season. It is quite possible that the WAC is the weakest link in D1 ball. I do believe the Sun Belt and MAC are tougher conferences.

Where is the Blue/Gray Game When Needed

I miss the Blue/Gray game. If you remember it was played on Christmas Day for years and gave some of the lesser lights in the game a chance to showcase their talent before NFL scouts. It was fun to watch. I miss it.

I suppose it is customary in Western society to wish others a Merry Christmas and I do so now.

Coaches with Character and Cowardice Issues

A couple of coaches have been called out by ESPN. If the college football gods at that particular network are saying someone is a scumbag (well they stopped just short) then I guess one can take it to the bank. Can you guess who is tops on the scumbag list? Yep Todd Graham and Brian Kelly. I would submit, in the particular case of Graham, that he is not only scum but a coward. He did not have the decency to tell his players at Pitt that he was leaving. Perhaps he was frightened. He should be.

Those commentators are only saying what we observers of the college football world have been saying all along.

Character matters!!!

Craig James Senator?

Craig James, late of ESPN, is running for the U.S. Senate. He is a scumbag sure but if it gets his blabbering mouth off college football broadcasts then I say "go for it."

WAC 0-2 At This Point

The Mountain West finally got a victory under their belt with TCU's hard fought victory over the LA. Tech Bulldogs. It looked for while like TCU was not up to par. Perhaps they just didn't want to be there? They did find a way to win though. They are by far the better team but Louisiana Tech has nothing to be ashamed of. TCU is probably every bit as good as say a Stanford or Clemson.

There was some speculation that Dykes was under consideration for the Houston job but it appears he (says) he is with Louisiana Tech for the long haul. We will see.

Tonight is the MAACO Bowl (of Las Vegas) and we will get to see one of the better teams in the land playing 6-6 Arizona State. The television folk were trying to play this one up. That is their job sure, but for us fans this a ho hum game to say the least. Boise got ripped off in the grand scheme of things but that is nothing unusual. Most likely the only way for ASU to hang tough would be if the Bronco players just don't show up enough to give effort. I am sure they don't really want to be there but I think that the coaching staff and seniors will not allow any "drop off" in play.

Next year the Bronco's will be in a "BCS" conference. OF course with the departures from that league it is now no more of a power than CUSA (assuming it ever was). I have heard it called "Mountain West East" a time or two. There is some truth to that.

By the way, thus far I am not doing real well in Bowl predictions. There is time to step up though. Like TCU, perhaps I just didn't want to "be there" with the early games.

Another One in the Books

The Beef O' Brady Bowl (the what) is in the history books. I watched part of the game but had to switch over to Bomb Patrol Afghanistan. That is an interesting program and I watched the whole hour in its' entirety. Then back to the game. Score still the same. Did not miss much apparently.

Marshall with a game time 6-6 record has improved to 7-6. FIU was predicted to win the SBC but had somewhat of a meltdown. FIU is probably the better team but did not come through last night. The Sun Belt is beginning to get the respect from the "major" conferences in the past few years. There have been too many "upsets" for it to be otherwise.

I would submit that any 6-6 school from any conference is not bowl worthy. There were very few fans at the game last night and it seemed really like a waste of time for all concerned. It is hard to get excited about at 6-6 club. The minimum wins should be eight to qualify for a post season bid.

On a related note; it seems that FIU HC Mario Cristobal is being considered for the job at Pitt. "Stay where you are" would be my advice to him.

Tonight TCU meets WAC Champion Louisiana Tech. There are those who say that this is a complete mismatch and it well may be. At least the Horned Frogs are going to play a legitimate conference champion and bowl worthy opponent. Boise State got ripped off with a truly "who cares" game. None of the "big time" schools want any piece of BSU or TCU for that matter. It tends to be embarrassing for the BCS. Can't have that.

Next year TCU will be in the Big Twelve and BSU has chosen to play in the Big East. To get any respect at all schools have to flee to a BCS Conference. This works out well for TCU. The Big Twelve is a geographic fit. BSU and SDSU to the Big East? That is stupid.

Among the other faults of the corrupt BCS system is that it damages regional rivalries and affiliations. It needs to go.

Late Congrats

Congrats to St Xavier (Ill) in their victory over Carroll (MT) in the NAIA National Champhionship Game. These small schools are certainly under the radar but a title means every bit as much to them and their fans as those in the "big time." I hope some money was spent in the little town of Rome, GA. Times are hard.