THE definitive email chain of 12/28/09

Sportynation, today was my first day back to work after taking most of last week off for the Xmas holiday. I knew I’d have a million emails, and that it would be a pretty much typical Monday filled with reports and analyzing business. However, I didn’t know it would be a day with a classic email exchange. The typical sports guy initiated the epic email chain, and me and my cousin Vin took the baton, and ran with it. It was too great to not share it with, Sporty nation. Here it is. Enjoy.



Typical Sports Guy:

Months ago I asked who's season were you most concerned about: skins or titans.

Today I ask what was more embarrassing: skins last night or Tennessee getting 59pts scored on them?

I've hung my head in shame; skins were terrible. See you next season.

Cousin Vin:

Man, I completely forgot this game was played.

Look at it the college football way: you beat Oakland 34-13 last week. And Oakland beat Denver 20-19 on Sunday. Denver beat New York on Thanksgiving. So, technically, the 'Skins are way better than the Giants. It's science.

Typical Sports Guy:

What's more disappointing: skins season or giants season?

Me:

Skins.

Giants started off 5-0 and built high expectations which undoubtedly contributes to great disappointment, but the Skins are a laughing stock. They are routinely called a "high school" team with a high school coach by most everyone, and stoop to a new low each week, and probably most importantly fooled people like you and my Cousin Vin. They roped you two in...hard.

I told you guys that they were ummm...not Great, but you guys pointed to their nail biting wins over Cleveland and St. Louis as a clear indicator that they are better than the winless Titans whereas I pointed to them having one of the statistically easiest schedules this year and in the history of the league. Simply put, they had wins and my home state Titans did not. Nevermind, they played a much much tougher she-duel. You guys used win-loss as the only barometer of how good a team is.

How do you two reconcile everyone saying the two teams in both conferences with the best records are widely thought to not be the favorites to win the SuperBowl in their respective conferences and are said to not be as good as other teams with worse records? All, that being said, NO ONE knows who will win, but we kinda know who won't.

I have 318 unread emails. I missed 2.7 days. Oh dear!

Cousin Vin:

Any time your team quits and goes on to lose by 8 (yes, 8!) touchdowns, you're in worse shape. At the point the conversation was held, the Skins where the better team. You can't deal in absolutes, man. What sort of PROFESSIONAL team goes out and loses by 59. Jacksonville State doesn't even lose by 59.

It's not just win-loss, but how much effort was put into the games. Obviously none was put forth by the Titans in the NE game and a shake up was necessary, or they may have continued down that path. But they did change things, so we'll never know.



Me:

Anytime, you hire a coach to be an offensive coordinator and then a month later promote him to head coach , you have a problem. Then, 6 games into the season with a 2-4 record, when the same head coach is stripped of offensive play calling duties in favor of a guy, Sherm Lewis, that was last seen working in a bingo hall, you have problems or as you say "are in worse shape." (Btw, nice stat yesterday that detailed that the Redskins are the 3rd lowest scoring offense of the decade..."worse shape" ladies and gentlemen.

Anytime, you hire a coach that doesn't know the team colors of his new (job, employer, team), you have a problem, or as you say "are in worse shape."

Anytime, you have you have the easiest schedule in the league, so easy that it's a record and unprecedented to start a season playing in 5 consecutive weeks…winless teams. And barely beat Cleveland and St. Louis, two teams that will have top 4 draft picks, you are in "worse shape."

Losing to the Patriots is not THAT bad. Losing by such a large margin is disheartening (it may be possible that terrible defeat was an outlier. that is that 1 in 100 times that that actually happened), but I’m not so sure it is as bad as barely winning with such an easy schedule and being in such turmoil.

Cousin Vin, says its not just win-loss and obviously no effort was put forth in the Titans losing to the Pats.

Titans just lost at home 42-17 last week in a must win game to have a chance at the playoffs. Was effort put forth then? Did the Giants put forth effort yesterday in a complete and utter beatdown 41-9 in another must win game?

Cousin Vin, may also assert that Tampa Bay is better than NO because they infact won their only matchup, or that because the Skins lost by 3 in OT to the Saints, they are better than many other teams because they put forth "effort." After all, most teams wouldn't play the Saints that well.

The point is, there is no truly right answer, but there is significantly more evidence suggesting that the Titans are better and were "in better shape" at THAT time. You are entrenched in your argument my man.

Fight it!



Typical Sports Guy:

no one is talking about TEN still; more disappointing season: giants or skins.

good answer, wrong question. get back to work and stop writing novels. yes, novels...this all seems speculative and fictitious.

Cousin Vin

Extrapolations on things I "may" say? False, false, false.

The Titans stopped playing competitively against the Pats. They lost to the Chargers but also scored a 4th quarter TD and kept driving even when the game was far from competitive. The Giants had drives deep into Carolina territory and even scoring chances even though they were down 32 points. Which proves my point, the Titans quit.

Giants are disappointing, even though their problems would be solved w/a good WR. Everyone who isn't from DC knows the Skins are garbage. You guys need to stop falling for them every year. Though in week 6, their prospects shone brighter than the Titans.

Me

How is your point proven that the Titans quit against the Pats, but NYG didn't quit?

100% you didn't see any of this game and are basing your assertion that they quit off of a box score or probably most notably what the "typical sports guy or media" said or a highlight or two. Tell me about their drives...

That game, the Titans were down 10-0 after the first, and then the Pats blew up in the 2nd quarter. In the second quarter, the Titans had drives that ended in turnovers and punts. I'll insert a great metaphor here, "when it rains it pours" It's like when you play EA Sports NCAA football. Once you get 1 turnover you are that much likely to get another and another and another. Then you throw the controller in disgust and scream.

Even though Chris Johnson had 128 yards rushing (he could have not quit and gone for 200 yards), the passing game was putrid AT BEST. When, you are down, you have to pass, and when you can't pass when it is a necessity, bad things happen in bunches. “It’s quicksand”.-The replacements Name 2 Titans WRs. Lendale White and Chris Johnson don't count.....................................

Lastly, as crazy as this may sound, the defense was definitely not as bad as the offense despite giving up 12 billion points. The Pats won time of possession 2:1 (40 minutes to 20 minutes) and the defense was on the field all day long.

Cousin Vin:

Sounds like a bunch of excuses to me.



Me:

Ha.

Today, Cousin Vin, you are anti-logic. You are making a strong statement about a game that you didn't see. You will and would never admit that just maybe, maybe you reacted too quickly and possibly recklessly.

I'm objecting to the statements that teams quit and more importantly the visceral reaction that you and the typical sports guy has regarding solely the final score while overlooking the nuance and qualitative aspects of sports. Maybe, they stopped playing as hard as they could, but maybe they didn't. At my crib Friday, I asked how hard what you play if you were clearly outmatched by the other side, and you said, you'd play even harder. You are asserting that you would play harder and these highly competitive professionals.

I’m not making excuses. I am challenging the conventional wisdom and am actually THINKING.

Cousin Vin:

It's very easy to assume what I think. I'd reply with my own tome, but am currently getting crushed by work.

Quickly: the Pats blew up in the second quarter, is it impossible the Titans would take your own answer to your own question and pack it in? In the snow already down 45 at HALF. Why not pack it in?

And if they're not packing it in, the Titans must absolutely suck. Either in execution or scheming or both. To lose by 8 touchdowns while giving max effort? Even if the 'Skins played 5 winless teams, they didn't get rocked by anything close to that. By your logic, then, The Titans would've been worse at the time than Washington. They let Brady's backup lead scoring drives.

Don't think I don't know what I'm talking about, I have too much work to get deep into this.

Me:

There you have it ladies and gentlemen. Michael Jordan shoots 3-26. He quit. He didn't have one of the worst games of his career. He quit!

Me: But, he was playing a good opponent.
Cousin Vin: So. He quit
Me: Could his historically poor performance be an outlier? or just a terrible game?
Cousin Vin: No, he quit.
Me: I watched almost all of the game. Did you?
Cousin Vin: No. I did not watch any of it. He quit.
Me: While I was watching he seemed to be trying really hard, and just was having one of those days. He couldn't buy a basket.
Cousin Vin: He quit.
Me: You said, you wouldn't quit if you were outmatched in a game and you'd try harder.
Cousin Vin: It's different. I wouldn't quit. Jordan, the professional athlete, would. It's so reasonable. He's rich. I'm not. He doesn't have a competitive side.
Cousin Vin: If Tony Kukoc had played the same opponent, he wouldn't have played as poorly.
Me: Yeah. You are probably right, but neither would Jordan.
Cousin Vin: That's right because JORDAN QUIT! He won't quit the next time...
Cousin Vin: Also! Kukoc wouldn't play that badly against the worst teams in the league. Now would he?
Me: No
Cousin Vin: Exactly. Jordan quit
Me:OHHHHH. Now I get it!



Cousin Vin:

Right, because I said exactly that.

That's worse than Nancy Grace, Justin.

Me:

Of course you did say EXACTLY that, but you more less said that.

I simplified today's convo with a most basic example that we all can understand.

It had to be done to illustrate your “arguments.”

I don't/didn't watch Nancy Grace, but I don't have to watch her. She quit!

Cousin Vin:

Nothing to do with previous e-mail, but 2008 NBA Finals Game 6. When Lakers realized it was out of reach, did they pack it in? Or was that an anomalous game?

Again, I will reply to your previous e-mail.

Me:

Everyone says they packed it in. So, it must be true...

No need to reply, Cousin Vin. You've said enough. I'm gonna leave for Stuyvesant Town now, the apartment complex, not the girl you heard about on the green line.

I'll format our back and forth today, and post it on my blog tonight. It was fun. Guarantee people will like it. I'll holla homie. I sent you an invite for NYE last night.

Cousin Vin:

Biased e-mails. I'll reply to your gmail to show you the error of your ways. If you're not too stubborn to see a different viewpoint, or mangle the entire argument.

Did you watch game 6?

Me:

Of course I watched game 6. It was down right ugly. And the Celts blitzed them. I am always hesitant to say what is going on in someone else's head. I don't disagree that it is possible that someone can quit, but the contrary is equally possible.

Did the Chicago Bulls quit last week? They were up 35 and lost in regulation at home (I think it was at home).

I won't change the emails at all. I'll copy and paste verbatim, the most I'll do is correct spelling. Gotta be worried when you say something is biased when it's verbatim with all context.

Sportynation, what do you all think? What is your opinion on today's exchange? Stay classy, challenge conventional wisdom, identify the importance of nuance, and most importantly think.

This is my Minority Report.

Mike Tomlin "releases hell!"

Mike Tomlin, head coach of the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers, a couple weeks ago announced that he and his team will "release hell" ala Gladiator to finish out the season (after losing 3 straight). The typical sports guy and media absolutely ate this stuff up. The typical sports guy loves a coach with fire and passion. Tomlin's motivational declaration was "inspiring" and undoubteldy something that the team needs...allegedly. Most everyone believed/believes that it makes all the difference in professional sports. I'm NOT one of em.

If the Steelers win, it's because of his speech and not the simple fact that they were to play the absolutely horrible Oakland Raiders and Cleveland Browns both of whom are pure garbage. Sportynation, a motivational speech in professional sports is just down right silly. Professional athletes don't need extra motivation from a coach, and we are kidding ourselves thinking that a coaches SPEECH or declaration has a major impact on the outcome of a game. Btw, these full of rage and anger Steelers went on to lose 5 straight games! 5 straight!

Professional athletes, simply put, are professionals. That is, they are immensely skilled, talented, specialized, physically imposing specimens. Mike Tomlin saying that the team is going to play really well, doesn't really matter for players that are already trying to do well, particularly a team that just won the Championship the year before. Sportynation, let's not forget that the other team has a coach as well, a coach that can also profess to "release hell."




Generally speaking, a professional athlete has gotten to be a professional athlete for a reason. Once at the professional level, a motivational speech is just hot air coming from a coach's mouth. Just watch a basketball game and you'll see the players looking at almost everything except for the coach. Just do it. It's a pretty funny observation.

Sportynation, would you going to argue that Doug Collins' motivational techniques made Michael Jordan who he is? Mike Brown's motivational efforts influence LeBron? Stan Van's motivational techniques make Dwight Howard or J.J. Reddick play better?

Randy Moss doesn't need Bill Belicheck to motivate him, but rather he needs Tom Brady to throw the ball to him down field.



Adalius Thomas said it best, "Motivation is for Kindergartners. I'm not a Kindergartner," Said Thomas. "Sending somebody home, that's like 'He's expelled, come back and make good grades.' Get that [expletive] out of here. That's ridiculous. Motivation?" "I think everyone woke up to the snow yesterday. I didn't know it was going to snow. There was traffic. I can't run people over getting to work. I don't do that. I actually almost had a car accident. It is what it is. He did what he thought was best for him. That's what he did."

Look, motivation is the activation of goal oriented behavior. For the most part professional athletes are motivated to play well for various reasons...mainly and probably most importantly because they want to do well. It has a larger place in college sports, younger sports, and MAYBE other professions, but the most important form and type of motivation is intrinsic. Intrinsic motivation comes from rewards inherent to a task or activity itself...the desire to win, be the best or etc.

Let's not overthink things. Just a little while ago, Mike Tomlin kicked an onside kick up 2 points with a few minutes to play. That's not unleashing hell, that playing scared. Coach Tomlin's "hell" came in the form of Ben Roethlisberger passing for 503 yards, 3 Touchdowns one of which that came with 3 seconds left to play 1 inch from being out of bounds. Now, that some motivation for you...

This is my Minority Report.

I agree w/ Gladwell...gasp!

Malcolm Gladwell wrote the below last week regarding the craziness regarding celebrity and sport and it is one of the most poignant observations that I have read/seen ever...ever. Read below.

Second thought: How random are our reactions to celebrity misbehavior? You'd think there would be some general moral principle at work here, but there just isn't. Barry Bonds and Shawne Merriman allegedly did exactly the same thing: took performance-enhancing drugs that gave them a decided advantage over their peers. Bonds became a pariah. Merriman went to the Pro Bowl. Leonard Little left a party, got into his car and hit and killed a young woman. He blew .19 on the Breathalyzer. What happened to him? He did 60 days. Six years later, he was arrested for drunk driving again. He still plays for the Rams. Michael Vick did bad things to dogs and went to jail for two years and become the personification of evil. I mean, I love dogs and I was appalled by Vick's behavior. But in what universe is it a bigger crime to fight pit bulls than it is to get wasted and kill an innocent person? (Let's not even get into Plaxico Burress, whose case proves, I guess, how unexpectedly seriously New York state courts take the crime of stupidity). And now we have Tiger Woods, who fooled around on his wife and hit a fire hydrant. And in the middle of this absurd circus, the reigning King of Kings of the NBA and role model to millions is a man who not that long ago was accused of rape and lucked out of a trial because, by all appearances, he was able to buy off his accuser in a civil settlement. Huh?

Ladies and gentlemen, Malcolm Gladwell.

Quote of the Day

"Why do people think they are owed something by celebrities or successful people? It's a joke. They owe us nothing but a good performance."- Jason Whitlock

Usually don't agree with him, but I definitely agree with this statement. Think about his assertion. What does he owe us? He is an uber successful golfer. Think, sportynation...

This is my Minority Report.

Tiger Tiger Woods y'all!

From the Associated Press with my commentary to follow...

WINDERMERE, Fla. (AP)—Tiger Woods canceled yet another meeting with state troopers but, for the first time, talked about his car crash on his Web site, saying it was his fault, that his wife acted courageously and that remaining details were private.

The statement was posted about an hour before troopers were to meet with the world’s No. 1 golfer at his home inside the gates of Isleworth. A meeting was not rescheduled.

In a tape of a 911 call released Sunday, two days after the accident, a neighbor told dispatchers that a black Cadillac Escalade hit a tree and “I have someone down in front of my house.”

Woods’ neighbor never mentions the golfer by name, and the call is inaudible at several points because of the bad connection.

“I came out here just to see what was going on,” the neighbor, who was not identified, told dispatchers. “I see him, and he’s laying down.”

One woman is heard in the background yelling, “What happened?”

In his statement, Woods took responsibility for the accident.

“This situation is my fault, and it’s obviously embarrassing to my family and me,” Woods said. “I’m human and I’m not perfect. I will certainly make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

Woods said it was a private matter, and he wanted to keep it that way. What he failed to address was where he was going at that hour.

“Although I understand there is curiosity, the many false, unfounded and malicious rumors that are currently circulating about my family and me are irresponsible,” he said.

Windermere police chief Daniel Saylor has said Woods’ wife, Elin, used a golf club to smash out a rear window to help him get out of the SUV when she heard the crash from inside their home at 2:25 a.m. Friday.

“The only person responsible for the accident is me,” Woods said. “My wife, Elin, acted courageously when she saw I was hurt and in trouble. She was the first person to help me. Any other assertion is absolutely false.”




Sgt. Kim Montes of the Florida Highway Patrol said Woods’ attorney, Mark Nejame, informed the patrol that Woods would not be meeting with troopers Sunday afternoon.

“It has not been rescheduled,” Montes said. “He’s not required by law to give us a statement, and we’ll move forward with our investigation without it.”

Police first tried to interview Woods on Friday, only for his wife to ask if they could return the next day because he was sleeping.

As they headed to Woods’ $2.4 million house inside the gates of Isleworth on Saturday afternoon, FHP dispatch put through a phone call to troopers from Woods’ agent, informing them that Woods and his wife would be unavailable to talk until Sunday.

The accident came two days after the National Enquirer published a story alleging that Woods had been seeing a New York night club hostess, and that they recently were together in Melbourne, where Woods competed in the Australian Masters.

The woman, Rachel Uchitel, denied having an affair with Woods when contacted by The Associated Press.




Los Angeles attorney Gloria Allred confirmed she was representing Uchitel when she was reached by the AP on Sunday.

“She is with me in L.A.,” Allred said later in an e-mail to the AP. “We plan to meet and then we’ll decide on the next step, which we do not plan to announce to the press.”

Uchitel arrived at Los Angeles International Airport late Sunday morning, where she was met by Allred and escorted out of the baggage claim area and into a black car. Uchitel did not speak to reporters except to ask that she be left alone.

Woods is to host his Chevron World Challenge this week in Thousand Oaks, Calif., which benefits his foundation. Woods’ news conference had been scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, although it was not clear if he would still play, or even attend.

“We do not know if Tiger is playing; we are anticipating a great week of competition,” said Greg McLaughlin, the tournament director and president of his foundation.

Aside from occasional criticism of his temper inside the ropes, Woods has kept himself out of the news beyond his sport. In an October posting on his Facebook account, Woods wrote, “I’m asked why people don’t often see me and Elin in gossip magazines or tabloids. I think we’ve avoided a lot of media attention because we’re kind of boring. …”

“He’s an iconic brand, the platinum standard,” said John Rowady, president of rEvolution, a Chicago-based sports marketing agency. “I find it interesting how he’s being attacked by so many sides after how gracious he’s been. But even the best of celebrities who try to do their best can be riddled with controversy.”



AP Golf Writer Doug Ferguson in Jacksonville, AP Sports Writer Tim Dahlberg in Las Vegas and Associated Press writers Linda Deutsch in Los Angeles, Lisa Orkin Emmanuel and Sarah Larimer in Miami and Louise Nordstrom in Stockholm contributed to this report.

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Tiger Woods' remarks have been tremendously well though out, calculated, and wise. He has taken responsibility for the incident, has attempted to deflect attention away from his wife and family, and most importantly he has not said too much.

Famous people and/or people in the public eye far too often succumb to public pressures and sabotage themselves in a multitude of ways. That is to say that these noteworthy people make public statements against the advise of attorneys (see Jim Leyritz), make the media rounds (see Roger Clemens), write a lot on the personal websites, blogs, and social networking sites, and etc (see most anyone on Twitter and facebook).

The typical sports guy/gal or media member will tell you that Tiger must come clean. Tiger must speak up and do the "right" thing which is to tell all. Tiger owes this too his fans, the public, his sponsors, and the little children that look up to him. However, that position an d expectation is disingenuous and bordering on the asinine.



Sporty nation, Tiger Woods has a very very very small expectation of privacy. He is famous, he makes millions upon millions because of fans, the general public, the media, and etc. That being said, he doesn't truly owe any of these parties information about what is going on in his personal life or his arrests particularly because they are done in private and because they are not directly incongruous to an image that he is portraying. To further clarify, if Tiger Woods pulled an Eliot Spitzer and cracked down on crime and profited monetarily, politically, and socially then we have a serious serious issue that needs to be pointed called out, or if Tiger Woods a spokesman for PETA and was frequenting bull fights in Seville, then we have a relevant story because he is directly profiting from a blatant lie. What Tiger is alleged to have does not have to be told to the public.

(side note, how funny is Chris Berman endorsing Nutrisystem and Applebee's simultaneously on ESPN?)



In addition to the above, Tiger speaking to the public could and probably would be more damaging to his career, his sponsors, his family, the sport of golf, and his image. Tiger does not benefit from speaking to the police, holding a press conference, and/or "telling all." Is it not exceptionally unrealistic for people to expect Tiger Woods to air his personal life and alleged dirty laundry out to the public because the public wants to know. After all, let's not forget that the media benefits from the downfall of athletes and famous people and instututions. (See Perez Hilton and TMZ as well at The Duke Lacrosse scandal, the downfall of Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Allen Iverson, and Terrel Owens to name a few).

Dan Le Batard, probably my favorite sports columnist ever and certainly my favorite sports personality of all time said, "Why would and should Tiger talk to police if law doesn't demand it and anything he tells them will be purchased anonymously by TMZ?" The answer is...he shouldn't.

Sportynation, Tiger Woods doesn't owe us anything and we are kidding ourselves with expectations that are far beyond what we would expect from ourselves. Would you announce to the co workers and etc. what happened in your personal life this past weekend or one of your lower points of your life? Probably not. And finally, there is no true ethical dilemma at play here.

As I told my cousin Vinny, we have absolutely NO idea what goes on in these individual's lives (even though we too often think we do) and nor should we know what going on in these individuals lives.

This is my Minority Report.

Texas Christian University #1?

Sportynation it seems like Texas Christian University (TCU) could be the best team in the nation, but that's not enough.



TCU is currently #4 in the nation, and probably has a slim to none chance to be crowned the best team in the nation. They have 3 immensely quality wins this year against Clemson, a top 20 team with a leading Heisman trophy candidate, BYU, a top 20 team, and Utah, another top 20 team that beat an Alabama team last year in a BCS bowlgame that returned many of its players and is back at the top of college football. Not only does TCU have quality wins, it will wins its conference easily and has only been challenged once this year. TCU has a top 4 total offense as well as a top 4 total defense this year.

TCU has performed mightily and admirably this year,and honestly there is not much more they could have done this year. They have been exceptionally consistent and impressive all year with a solid schedule. However, The University of Florida (UF), The University of Alabama (Bama), and the University of Texas (UT) are very far ahead of TCU and will remain there for some puzzling reason.

UT has won all of their games this year, but has been unimpressive often and has played one team that is currently in the top 25. So, UT has this going for it...A lofty preseason ranking, unimpressive wins, and an average schedule. BCS Championship game here they come! Sportynation, please look at UT's schedule right now and tell me where the quality opponents are.

Next we have Bama from the perennially media darling South Easter Conference (SEC). Bama has two wins over teams that are currently in the top 25, LSU and Va Tech. And, has been impressive at times and merely ok at other times particularly with it's QB play and offensive lulls . One of those "ok" times was against an average rebuilding team, University of Tennessee (UTK). Bama had to have a last second easy field goal block and also help from the referees (that also refereed a controversial UF game that will be later discussed) to pull a win at home against this average UTK team. The win was a win, but the way it went down was lucky and unfulfilling.

UF has played well and should be commended for there 0 loss season thus far and a return to the SEC championship game. However, qualitatively this season has not been impressive. UF has one win against a team that is currently in the top 25 and that win was ugly, unimpressive, and against merely a "pretty good" team, LSU. UF has controversial wins against Arkansas and to an extent against Mississippi State both of which are not considered good teams and probably are bad teams. These wins were so controversial and highly contested that the referring crew was suspended shortly after the game. There is a common belief by most outside of the SEC, that the SEC and it's officials are trying its best to keep UF undefeated as well as Alabama.



Sportynation, just the other day a national commentator declared that he thinks and would vote a one loss SEC team over TCU, Boise State, or Cincinnati. Not only is this unreasonable, but it is shocking, unfair, arrogant, and elitist.

This blog post is not intended to tell you definitively who the best team in the nation, but rather it is intended to get you all out of the easy common thought that we have to always reward the incumbent or the teams that were successful last year or the year before. There is more parity in college football. Teams are recruiting better (Tomlinson, arguably the NFL player of the decade went to TCU as an fyi), nutrition is better, coaching is better, and more and more people are playing football. Teams change. Conferences change. It is entirely possible that the Big 12 can be down this year as well as the SEC. College Basketball is inundated with surprising teams and sooner rather than later a #1 seed in college basketball will lose to a #16 against all odds. And, that team will probably not win the national championship. So we shouldn't vote off of what we think will happen in a hypothetical matchup, but we should vote off of what is fair. We should give teams the opportunity to play for a championship if they are deserving. No one thought that Boise State would beat a good Oklahoma team. No one thought that the talented Bama team of last year would lose to Utah. No one! And, it happened.

We no longer should make excuses for the power conference teams. Alabama lost last year because they didn't want to win the BCS bowl game. If UF were to lose a regular season a rationalization would be made. If TCU were lose a game a undeniable acceptance and I told you so would be ever present. And, those are the unfortunate facts!



This is my Minority Report.

congrats yanks

Congrats on #27. Thaaaaaaaaa Yankeeeeeees win.

Typical sports guy and media, APOLOGIZE to Girardi. (blog post to come)

Stay responsible sportynation. This is my Minority Report.

How good is Tim Tebow really...

MINORITY REPORT INTRO COURTESY OF DEADSPIN.COM...

With apologies to Slate, the Tim Tebow Messiah Watch is our occasional look at the growing body of evidence — quotes, signs and wonders, excessively fawning prose — that the Florida quarterback is the Lamb of God.

Today's piece of evidence comes from Florida's sloppy 29-19 over Mississippi State, against whom Tebow threw two interceptions that were returned for touchdowns.

Witness: Mark Long, Associated Press
Testimony: "[Tebow] is clearly getting disheartened with his team's offensive woes. He blew off his postgame interview session for the first time in three years in Starkville, Miss."
Pertinent Scripture: Matthew 21:12-17

"Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. "It is written," he said to them, "'My house will be called a house of prayer,' but you are making it a 'den of robbers.'"

The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple area, "Hosanna to the Son of David," they were indignant.

"Do you hear what these children are saying?" they asked him.

"Yes," replied Jesus, "have you never read, "'From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise'?"

And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night."

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Sportynation, we have been told over and over again that Tim Tebow is the greatest college football player of all time and maybe even the greatest college athlete ever. He has phenomenal stats and has been called one of the greatest leaders of all time. In addition to that, he works harder than everyone else and cares more than everyone else.

However, is Tim Tebow really the greatest college football player ever? Could he be the greatest college athlete of all time? I say no, and below I'll explain why.

Before this year, it is beyond reasonable to argue that he was not the best player in his own huddle. During Tebow's freshman year, Chris Leak was the starting QB and the defacto leader. Tebow came in sporadically and vultured TDs away frequently. That same year another freshman on the same team by the name of Percy Harvin won SEC freshman of the year. Not Tebow.



That same Percy Harvin was back and even better his sophomore year and greatly contributed to Tebow's great season and Tebow's Heisman trophy. That year the UF and the Heisman trophy winner went 9-4 and lost to a Michigan team in transition despite being favored to win.

Tebow's junior year, Percy Harvin went absolutely beast mode. He played almost EVERY skill position. He dominated special teams, half back, running back, the slot, and both the "X" and "Z" receiver positions. Harvin was that x factor type guy. His speed and talent was so good he had to be tolerated and pacified no matter what. Harvin had many missteps during his career. In high school he was suspended multiple times one of which was having contact with a referee. Then, in college he was highly suspected and rumored to be smoking reefer quite frequently and fighting with coaches and players. That being said, he started and started all day everyday. However, that Harvin wasn't the only good player during that season. Lesser know, Louis Murphy also played on that same team and made Tebow's life easy. So, that's two count em two starting NFL WRs which means a national championship and another Tebow explosion. Maybe Tebow was the best player on that team and there is an extraordinary argument that he was, but you can argue that he was not the best player in the huddle.



Finally, we have Tebow's senior year. Tebow is clearly by far and away the best player on this year's team, but the team's offense is struggling tremendously. The can't move the ball consistently and the greatest college player of all time consistently has games that look like this 5-10 passing for 123 yards and a TD, and 20 rushes for 50 yards and a TD. UF returned practically the same team which is 18 of 21 starters (two of the players missing are were draftable wide receivers, but the team seems to be worse. Conspiracy theorists would say that perhaps if UF did not have the referees in their backpockets they would have 1 loss this year and maybe even 2 losses, but they do have the refs (as evidence by the entire UF ref crew being suspended a game for its diligent attempts to keep the SEC powers undefeated.

This year, Tim Tebow has not been the best player in the nation, but the media and many SEC fans still want him to be. So, he'll get it over the tremendously deserving Case Keenum and Mark Ingram and Tebow will be considered better than Herschel Walker, Archie Griffin, Dick Butkus, Earl Campbell, Jim Brown, Barry Sanders (ran for 2,628 yards 7.64 yards per carry avg. while scoring 37 touchdowns in 11 regular-season games both of which are still NCAA single-season), Walter Payton, Red Grange, Tony Dorsett, Jim Thorpe, Vince Young, and Charles Woodson. However, he shouldn't be considered the greatest college football player ever for a multitude of reasons.



Sportynation, I'll leave you with this. Can you be the greatest college player ever when there is significant doubt that you can even play your position at the next level. Sportynation, I'm not saying start and be a pro bowler at the next level, I am saying play the same position and
contribute somewhat meaningfully. Quite a few of the Tebow lovers say that he can do it, and the "haters" such as me, pro scouts and people in the NFL say that he cannot or are skeptical.
I'm not sure, but I've never seen this much doubt surrounding the all time greatest player ever or even an all time great in my life. Sportynation, we don't even know if this guy can take a snap from the center and do a 3, 5, or 7 step drop. He hasn't done this consistently in college and maybe never his senior year. It is entirely possible that the Coach Urban Meyer (CUM) and his spread offense and history with QBs is more at play. See Alex Smith and Chris Leak rather than Tebow's supremacy. if that's a word.

Sportynation, I can only think that Tim Tebow is the football's version of Christian Laettner (and probably worse than Laettner) which is to say he is a supremely talented, gifted, special, dominant college player with each and every accolade, but also with a plethora of questions. Laettner won national championships, owns a million NCAA records, and a plethora of player of the year awards, was drafted #3 overall in the NBA draft, and was a part of the greatest professional national team ever, the Dream Team. Tebow has his fair share of accolades as well. Only, time will tell just how successful Tebow is and can and will be.



In closing, Ken Dorsey led the hurricanes to the 2001 national championship, whom was a bad pass interference call from winning two national championships, and had a 38-2 record as starter. He was, like Tebow, a winner. Dorsey was a 2 time Archie Griffin Award winner, the 2 time NCAA QB of the Year, and a 2 time Heisman trophy finalist. However, he played with Willis McGahee, Kelen Winslow, Andre Johnson, and Bryant McKinney to name a few. Perhaps just perhaps, one can not be the greatest player ever because of how decorated he is, and maybe the talent around said player can prop him up too much. It is impossible to know just how much a player is propped up, but we can not overlook this factor.



This is my Minority Report.

ARod is one of the worst ever...

"That boy sholl can sang." "Yeah, he real good." "Good and turrrible."-Coming to America (Rrrrrrrrrandy Watson performance)

And, so is ARod...



SIKE. ARod is one of the all time greats.

Dan LeBatard yesterday on his radio show pointed out the inherent unfair criticism of Alex Rodriguez and the overwhelmingly positive critique of Derek Jeter in one sentence.

"If ARod went to Afghanistan on an off day, found Bin-Laden and killed him, people would still say that Jeter secretly gave him the map."

Quickly, ARod has been better than Jeter in most every offensive category regular season and post season. In addition to that ARod is better defensively than Jeter. The only things that Jeter has that ARod doesn't have are 4 world championship rings and the media's backing.

Sportynation, rings may seem like a huge, huge thing, but it's a team sport. So, you can't say that Jeter won 4 championships. Jeter played on some of the best teams ever. No one player can win 4 baseball championships. There are too many factors for that to be the case. Jeter had superior pitching and hitters around him. Had Derek Jeter played for the Kansas City Royals or the Pittsburgh Pirates, he would more than likely have 0 championships, significantly lower statistics, and would be seen in a completely different light than he currently is. In fact, I would argue that the media would see him as just a good player. Hanley Ramirez will more than likely never be seen in the same light as Derek Jeter, but he seems to be significantly better. No?

Sportynation, this is my Minority Report.

Jay Cutler is one of the All-Time Greats!

The Chicago Tribune launched an exceedingly interesting article today by Rick Morrissy titled "Is Jay Cutler the second coming of Tom Brady." However, let's not overlook that two weeks ago Morrissy had two count em two articles criticizing Cutler greatly. One of the articles was titled "Someone must tell Jay Cutler to wise up" and the other was titled "Jay Cutler leaves you with somewhat empty feeling."

My question is which is it? Is Cutler horrible or is Cutler fantastically great and destined for the Hall of Fame?

As my biggest influence Dan LeBatard says I dunno...maybe. The point is (repeat after me) WE DO NOT KNOW. We can't know. The typical sports guy, however, is omniscient. The typical sports guy falls into the trap of changing his or her beliefs and opinions immediately after results and does NOT pay attention to sample size and qualitative factors such as situation and circumstance. With the typical sports guy all perspective is lost and knee jerk reactions occur early and often. In addition to that, the typical sports guy models his or her opinion with and after the results. For example, Jay Cutler is terrible after a bad game v. Jay Cutler may be the next Tom Brady after two good games. As human beings it is evolutionarily advantageous to produce theories and opinions about the world that we live in, however, we still shouldn't be lazy and should be cognizant of the plethora of factors at play.

Sportynation, we as people that enjoy sports should be more responsible and NOT lazy. Internalize and think about what is happening and at play and stick to it. That is not to say that you should be unbendable or stubborn, but flip flopping CONSTANTLY and lacking a true genuine opinion is unacceptable. Lastly, be able to admit when you are wrong. Sportynation, I will content that if you aren't lazy and think before acting prematurely and crazily, you won't fall into the trap of the typical sports guy and will have added credibility and a greater understanding of sports which inturn should present you with an unquestionable satisfying feeling.

Sportynation, keep it real and THINK. This is my MINORITY REPORT.

I am NO sports fan.

A fan, aficionado, or supporter is someone who has an intense, occasionally overwhelming liking and enthusiasm for a sporting club, person, group of persons, company, product, activity, work of art, idea, or trend.

The aforementioned relatively positive definition of fans does not necessarily convey the true meaning or connotation of what fans, indeed, are. Fans are irrational individuals that have unrealistic expectations and behavior.

On Sept. 16, two fans admitted to Hamburg, NY police that they had spray-painted messages of frustration in the form of profanity and the final score of last week's Monday Night Football game on McKelvin's front lawn in the Briercliff Estates subdivision off Amsdell Road about 2 a.m. Sept. 15 because of his fumble that cost the Bills the game. Under what circumstance is it acceptable to deface one's home because of something that happens at work that is a part of the job? Mistakes are expected at work. Would would happen if me or you made a mistake at work? Probably not what happened to McKelvin. Everyone fumbles in the NFL. Adrian Peterson fumbled the ball 9 times last year. I mean do we think that McKelvin tried to fumble the ball? Or do we think that Peterson fumbled the ball intentionally?

Not to be outdone, someone stole $400,000 worth of jewelry from Buffalo Bills safety Donte Whitner's home while he was at Ralph Wilson Stadium for a home game.

Whitner spokeswoman Patricia Horton tells The Associated Press that Whitner found out about the larceny after Sunday's win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Whitner, who lives in the suburb of Hamburg, returned an interception 76 yards for a touchdown in the Bills' 33-20 win.

Horton says Whitner is upset and hurt by the theft and is on "high alert" because he doesn't know who is responsible.

She says he isn't interested in pressing charges and just wants his belongings back.

The theft comes a week after teammate Leodis McKelvin's front lawn was vandalized by two teenagers following Buffalo's loss to New England.

Where is the ridiculous fandom you may ask. The irrational fanaticism can be found on the bottom of the ESPN page that reported the story in the conversation part. There have been more than 719 posts and a overwhelming number of them have been negative.

I have included 3 of the first few posts

"$400,000.00 WORTH OF JEWERLY???? ARE YOU FREAKIN KIDDING ME!!! YOU DESERVED TO BE ROBBED FOR BEING SO STUPID!!!" and "Really, REALLY hard to feel sympathy for a person who, 1. spends $400,000 on jewelry; and 2. leaves it lying around his home." and "$400,000 worth of jewelry but doesn't have a $40 a month alarm system to protect it. You do the math!"

The 3 aforementioned posts are the epitome of irresponsible fandom. Fans blame the player for being robbed, fans are incredibly jealous of the athlete but continue to support him, fans analyze athlete's purchases, fans think that athletes are to blame for everything that occurs, and fans think that they WOULD act differently if they were the professional athlete.

On April 30 during a quarterfinal match with Magdalena Maleeva in Hamburg in which Monica Seles was leading 6–4, 4–3, Günter Parche, an obsessed fan of Steffi Graf, ran from the middle of the crowd to the edge of the court during a break between games and stabbed Seles with a boning knife between her shoulder blades, to a depth of 1.5 cm (.59 inches). Parche admitted that he stabbed Seles to help Graf regain the No.1 ranking. She was quickly rushed to a hospital. Although her physical injuries took only a few weeks to heal, she did not return to competitive tennis for more than two years. Fans desperately want to be a part of athlete's lives and fans take matters into their own hands literally and figuratively.

People often times accuse me of being an apologist for professional athlete's. However, I am no apologist. I am a realist that has quite a bit of perspective. The thing that I always try to remember is that these people are just like me and you... just with significantly more money and exposure. These athletes have moms, dads, wives, significant others, children, friends, bills, headaches, and pretty much everything that WE as regular old folks have. Lastly, and maybe most importantly, I can't and don't judge them. That is, I can't be mad at them for buying expensive jewelry, a yacht, multiple houses or whatever. It's their money. I can't tell them what to do with their money. And, I certainly can't say what I would do if I were them. We have to always remember that we think we know what's going on with athlete's but we have no idea. There are many things that happen under the surface and behind the scenes that we can never know is going on.

My cousin Vinny, sent me this article about Ray Lewis that was in Sports Illustrated many many years ago. Check it out. It's a great quick read.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/features/cover/news/2000/12/08/yir_lewis/

Sporty nation, this is my Minority Report.

The typical sports guy/media is lazy and irresponsible

Sonny Jurgensen tries to GET Jim Zorn...

Plenty of fans and analysts have questioned the 3rd-and-5 play call midway through the third quarter, when Jim Zorn dialed up a halfback option to Clinton Portis, whose pass fell incomplete in the end zone. The Redskins then settled for their third field goal. Legendary Redskins quarterback and radio analyst Sonny Jurgensen was among those who questioned the call, but he did so while talking with Zorn during the postgame show.

"Third down, I'm the quarterback, and you call the halfback throwing the ball for me, I'm calling timeout or calling an audible," Jurgensen said. "I'm not letting the halfback throw it. That's what you pay me for."

"Well then, I would have to take you out of the game," Zorn countered. "As soon as you called timeout, I'd say what's wrong with my play, because...."

"It didn't work!" Jurgensen interrupted.

There was a long pause.

"No, but I called it to work. Alright?" Zorn said. "We called it to work. It didn't work. There were a lot of plays out there that didn't work. And I'd take you out of the game. Sorry, Sonny."

Zorn was also asked about that play during his Monday press conference.

"It was a play we had in our gameplan, it wasn't a grab bag," Zorn said. "And we thought if we showed run...because we had been running edge runs with Clinton on the goal line. And I thought, 'All right, here it is.' And Clinton has thrown touchdown passes before. Well what happened was, when we came off the line of scrimmage, we came off backing up, and when the [Rams] saw that, they just played it right down the line. The safety felt that this was gonna be a pass....And so we had to kick a field goal."

Zorn was then asked if he was still happy with his play-calling in the red zone; "Yeah, I am," he said. "I mean, if I could see it now, if I could see every play that was gonna fail before it failed, I'm with you. I wouldn't call it. But I felt very confident, because we work on it. We have to execute it, and I use that word sometimes, but we work on it. It's not a grab bag situation. Now I'm gonna go back and study it more, and I'm gonna be hard on myself as well, which is what I do. And we'll see what happened."

The typical sports guy plays the results and has simplistic lazy beliefs and declarations. That is, is Zorn's halfback pass play works he's a genius or Zorn saw an opportunity in the game and capitalized greatly. I mean cmon. It's a bad play call because it doesn't work.

The typical sports guy showed up again this week when he criticized Ted Ginn for dropping a pass in the final minutes of the Monday Night Football game against the Colts. Nevermind, Ginn had one of his greatest games of his young career on that same night (11 catches for 108 yards) or that he is not a Randy Moss type talent who's game is predicated on snatching balls out of the air in traffic and coverage. That's not his game. He is a speedster with ok hands. Get him the ball and let him run.



In the same night, the typical sports guy, also criticized head coach Tony Sparano for running the ball on 3rd down. The typical sports guy exclaimed that you HAVE to pass the ball on 3rd down in that spot and that if you don't pass the ball and go for the run you are not playing for the win and are playing for a field goal. This is probably the most infuriating assertion for a plethora of reasons. First, Why in the heck would a head coach that is 0-1 and on the verge of 0-2 not go for the win? Of course he is trying to go for the win. Next, Miami had 45 minutes of possession Monday night because of there great ability to run the ball. The Dolphins had 239 yards rushing the ball that night and were running the ball easily and efficiently. Lastly, and most importantly, Chad Pennington made the final decision. Once on the field, he was to read the defense/coverage and then make a decision. He went run. Not sure how you can call out Sparano there. Pennington is said to be the 2nd smartest QB in the league and ALLEGEDLY one of the most accurate passers in the league. Also, don't forget he was second in AFC MVP voting last year...

Sportynation, the typical sport's guy is a dangerous, dangerous person. He is everywhere. It's ok to second guess and criticize, but perspective is necessary. Hindsight is 20-20 and Monday Morning quarterbacking is soooooo old. Let's not be lazy and let's try to think. Let's use our brains and stop being so ridiculous.

This is my Minority Report.

Reason #321 why THE NFL is better than cawledge football

In caw-ledge football people VOTE on the winner!

5 reasons why the UF will NOT repeat

The Florida Gators are the prohibitive favorites to win the national championship. The Gators return practically every player from a team that was dominant last year and lost by one point to an up and coming Ole Miss. Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuut they probably won’t win. There are 5 reasons below…

Reason #1

That being said, don't forget that the Florida Gators have never won a national championship without losing a game. They were 12-1 in 1996 and should NOT have played in the championship game as just a few weeks before their encounter with the dominant Florida State Seminoles in the championship game, they lost to the same Florida State team in the regular season finale. Then, in 2006 they demolished an outmatched Ohio State team that has built a reputation of being a slow Big Ten Team (Gator fans please don't forget that Chris Leak was the offensive MVP for the game and a major reason that Florida won this game...Tebow was on the team and contributed, but let's not forget Leak, plus Percy Harvin was the SEC's freshmen of the year), and finally last year the Gators beat the highest scoring team in college football history by 10 points. This was probably the most rewarding championship as they showed off their superior coaching, skill, talent, and game management against an exceedingly worthy opponent.

Reason #2

The Oklahoma Sooners last night reminded us just how fragile one's season is and how close yet so far away a national championship is. A BYU LB, in a routine, legal, clean, textbook tackle took the raining Heisman trophy winner out of the game last night at the end of the 1st half. An already challenging game quickly became an exceedingly unwinnable game. Despite having All-Americans at every position, the Sooners lost the game without their consensus #1 NFL draft pick and could be lose more games. Now, there is far too much uncertainty swirling around Bradford. What happens if Tebow is taken out of a game due to injury for an extended period of time? Perhaps a loss occurs or losses.



Reason #3

The Gators have a conference championship game in a relatively strong conference which means that they have one more opportunity to lose. That is, they have the “luck” of playing an additional game (against a good team of course) when most other teams across the nation do not have conference championship games, and if they do it probably won’t be against as quality of an opponent.

While this is undoubtedly a roadblock, the Gators benefit from a very reasonable schedule. Despite what the national media will lead you to believe, every SEC team does not have the hardest schedule in the nation or ever. To further clarify, each team in the SEC does not play the same schedule. And, the difficulty of schedule fluctuates tremendously. The 3 most difficult games that the Gators play are against an 0-1 Georgia Bulldog team, a perennially good LSU team, and an underrated Florida State team. This schedule is no better or worse than most any team in a power conference.



Reason #4

Karma!

Tim Tebow has been shoved down the nation’s throat repeatedly and been glorified from day one.

It all started during a game in "The Swamp" in 2006, the fans booed then starting quarterback Chris Leak. Leak at the time, was leading the Gators' charge to a national title (which they eventually won) and praising the freshman Tebow.

Last year, following Florida's lone loss last season to Ole Miss, Tebow made a post-game promise. During the press conference, a teary-eyed Tebow said, "''To the fans and everybody in Gator Nation, I'm sorry. I'm extremely sorry. We were hoping for an undefeated season. That was my goal, something Florida has never done here. ''I promise you one thing. A lot of good will come out of this. You will never see any player in the entire country play as hard as I will play the rest of the season. You will never see someone push the rest of the team as hard as I will push everybody the rest of the season. ''You will never see a team play harder than we will the rest of the season. ''God bless." This speech further solidified his place in the hearts of everyone and pushed his “situation” to epic unreasonable irrational ridiculousness.



Now there is a plaque outside of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium with this “speech”. Just 2 hours north, Bobby Bowden coached for 28 years and received a statue in front of Doak Campbell Stadium. It took Tebow a weekend to achieve this statue.

The media seems to be in love with Tim Tebow. On ESPN, Tebow has been called perhaps the greatest college football player ever. No matter what network Florida plays on any given Saturday, the announcers tend to slobber over this guy. In a Florida victory over arch-rival Florida State, CBS play-by-play announcer Verne Lundquist said of Tebow, "He's the kind of guy you would want your daughter to marry". Tebow's double-clutch jump-pass against LSU in 2006 is Fox Sports Net's ad for the SEC coming to its network. I can't count how many times I have watched Tebow's mission trip to his native Philippines shown on ESPN. During a Florida basketball game against Kentucky two years ago, ESPN used Tebow for a spoof of College Gameday. Tebow walked into a locker room and hyped up ESPN basketball analysts, Hubert Davis, Rece Davis, Digger Phelps and Jay Bilas as a promo for the show. During last season's BCS Championship Game, Fox's Thom Brennaman said, "If you're fortunate enough to spend five or twenty minutes around Tim Tebow, you're better for it."

Next, and probably most unfairly, you are only able to say exceedingly glorious things about Tebow. If you say anything other than praise, you are labeled as a hater, un-American, evil, unobjective, or a person with an agenda.

Earlier this month Florida State's Bobby Bowden made a comparison to a former Heisman winner. Bowden claimed that Tebow was not a good as former Seminole Charlie Ward. Ward led Florida State to the 1993 National Championship in football and the Elite Eight in basketball. He was labeled with the “unobjective” label.




After Tebow was awarded the 2007 Heisman Trophy, then Hawaii coach June Jones called Tebow a "System quarterback" after Tebow beat out Jones' quarterback Colt Brennan. He was labeled with the “hater” label. June Jones can’t have an opinion against common accepted belief. His quarterbacks or Mike Leach’s quarterbacks can be labeled as system quarterbacks, but Coach Urban Meyer’s QBs cannot be labeled in the same manner.

Oklahoma cornerback Dominique Franks once again took a shot at the Florida signal caller. Franks claimed that Tebow would be the fourth best quarterback in the Big XII. He was labeled with the “agenda” label. Franks, like Jones, can’t have an opinion that is different from the fawning national media’s opinion. Nevermind, that Bradford and McCoy beat him in Heisman Trophy voting.

LSU defensive lineman Ricky Jean-Francois told the press, "If we get a good shot on [Tebow], we're going to try our best to take him out of the game." He was labeled with the “un-American” label. Tim Tebow taunts the Oklahoma Sooners last year gets a penalty and national acclaim for his passion and an excuse that he was a young kid in the moment while Jean-Francois is labeled as having the typical 21st century thug life, hip hop mentality.

Steve Spurier chose Jevan Snead as his 1st team quarterback instead of Tim Tebow. He received the “agenda, hater, unobjective, un-American, evil” label. A national uproar soon emerged because Tebow was not a unanimous choice for preseason SEC 1st teamer. It’s not like Snead is a scrub. He is maybe a top 5 NFL draft pick and posses unquestioned skills. His team did beat UF last year. Why was there not the same outrage in the Big 12 with the returning Heisman trophy winner?

Reason #5

Lastly, over the past four years, the conference that has produced more first-round draft picks (30) than any other conference is the ACC and not the SEC. Ok ok ok…the last reason may not be the most compelling reason, but I’m just sayn’



Sportynation, UF is unquestionably the favorite to win the national championship, but there are many many reasonable reasons why they won’t win it. It’s gonna be a long season. Only time will tell us what will, indeed, happen. I know what I’m rooting for.

This is my Minority Report.

Wild and crazy sports! Yeehaw.

Carlos Pena has more home-runs than singles in the 2009 baseball season!

In 1986 Danny Heap was the first player with the initial's DH to DH in the World Series.

There have been 3 Napoleon's in NFL History ANNNNND they have all played for the Oakland Raiders and Al Davis. Coincidence?!

The last two are doooozies. But first, Coco Crisp, Dick Trickle, World B. Free, and Majestic Mapp, and Scientific Mapp set the bar high with their "unique names." But, the next two culprits I mean athletes Usain Bolted that bar and set us back at least 132 years as a society and humankind.

A defensive back for the Ga Tech yellow Jackets is named I-Perfection Harris. Let that soak in for a second. First off, this guy has a hyphen in his FIRST name followed quickly by an adjective. Under no circumstance will his life be normal with this name. In fact, I am willing to argue that he is more likely to fail because of this name. Let's just say he is on a job interview and has I-Perfection Harris on his resume. How will that go over? It won't fly. Or, let's say he is in a bar, lounge, or club, and meets a girl. How many times will he have to say his name over the loud music and chatter before the girl finally understand him, and when she does understand him what happens next? Nothing. She will think that he is an absolute lune. What are his parents' name?! There names are Karen Harris and Michael Vassell. What went wrong? We may never know sporty nation. Geez Louise!

Lastly, we have Chief Kickingstallionsims a former Alabama State center. Sporty nation, this is one of the moments that one has in his or her life where he/she is speechless, puzzled, bewildered, and/or stunned. I am sitting in my apt with my mouth opened and my hand on my head. I just don't get it nor do I want to get it.

Sporty nation this is my funky Minority Report.

Usain...

After a clean start and the most incredible acceleration ever seen, Usain Bolt had redefined the boundaries of human potential with a sensational world record. How fast is 9.58? Carl Lewis, in his best world record, would have been a distant three meters behind. Maurice Greene, more than two. Tyson Gay ran the fastest non-Bolt time by any man and was never in contention. Gay’s 9.71 would have won every major athletics championship 100 in history (except Beijing) by a wide margin. Bolt’s unimaginable .11 improvement of the world record is by far the largest since the introduction of automatic timing. The place times for second, third, fifth and seventh were the fastest ever in what was certainly the greatest sprint race -- perhaps any race -- ever run. And Bolt appeared to ease up slightly before the finish. In the tribune, Prince Albert slapped his forehead in amazement...for good reason.

It was the biggest change in the record since electronic time was introduced in 1968. It came very close to the 9.55-second time that an American professor said Bolt would have run in Beijing had he run all out in the Olympic 100 finals.

At age 15 he ran the fastest 200m dash in history for his age, did the same thing at age 16 ,and finally at age 17, in high school, he ran the fastest time ever for his age and which was a sub 20 second effort. Guy has had natural talent since like 9th grade.

Bolt is like 6 foot 5 inches and 200 pounds. The top speed in the race for Usain Bolt was 30 mph. With a running start, Bolt would have run a football 40 in 3.1 seconds.

Sportynation, this my friends is an athlete not some meddling golfer. This is my Minority Report.

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/22825103/vp/32439402#32439402

It's Vadertime no it's Mike Vicktime!

First off I am a SanFran fan. Shaun Hill will be the starting QB and Frank Gore will dominate the league this year. So that's that. I have not been an Eagles fan since the whole T.O. McNabb incident, but I will NOT root against them this year. I want them to excell and I want Mike Vick to be an integral part of there success. I'm not sayn' I'm just sayn' sporty nation.

Today, Chris Rock was on Dan Patrick's show and he had some incredibly insightful things to say see below...

Rock had interesting comments on Michael Vick. He said if he could interview him, he would ask him what dog-fighting meant to him growing up. Rock says these things are always relative. Rock said the Kennedy's were drug dealers. They sold alcohol during prohibition. But it doesn't seem that bad from a different perspective years later.

Rock said that maybe Vick grew up in a situation where dog-fighting wasn't so bad.

"Dog-fighting's very prevalent in the South," Rock said. Rock also pointed out that we hunt, and many people consider that wrong.

"Why is a dog so much better than a deer?" Rock asked. "I see no difference between a dog and a deer."

Rock said look at marijuana ... it's illegal now, but who knows. "In our lifetime, pot will be legal," Rock said.

"I don't think marijuana is any different than selling beer," Rock said. "We know there's more deaths related to alcohol than marijuana."

Rock said the NFL doesn't care about animal rights. That's not what this is about. "The ball is made of pigskin," Rock said. "They don't care about animals."

Rock says this is all about convenience. "We want to cite the law when it works to our advantage," Rock said.





Again, it's not about defending Vick, but rather truly thinking about happened. He made a huge egregiously heinous mistake, he lost hundreds of millions and two years of his life. However, it is reasonable to say that he received a punishment disproportionate to the crime. Two years of his life for his calculated mistake. Hundreds of millions of dollars for his calculated mistake.

What would have happened if he shot a lion or an elk or a bald eagle or caught a Manatee? What would happen if he ate a dog (it does happen)? What would have happened if he were white? Are these circumstances significantly different? And, how do you decide what is worse?

Culture, society, and the media are responsible for the outrage and his ridiculous sentence and penalties. Remember we live in a society of second chances, and Vick definitely deserves a second chance. Far worse members of society have received second chances.

I hope that things work out for the better. I hope that Vick is wiser and can make meaningful contributions to society. And, I hope that he is left alone an able to live his life like we all would want to be able to do. There undoubtedly are SIGNIFICANT racial undertones within the Vick case, and I'll be the first to point them out, but that is for a later date. I hope that these undertones can be minimized and we as a society can move in the right direction. I know I'm hoping a lot, but let's keep hope alive.

Sportynation, this is my Minority Report.

Justice!

Kill a person you get 23 days.

Kill some dogs you get 23 months.

Shoot yourself in the leg you get a minimum of 3.5 years.

It is an escalating scale my friends. Geez!

Indeed, there are extenuating circumstances and many things at play, but still, superficially, something just ain't right here.

The real question is...what will the suspensions be like from the Commish Roger Goodell?

Sportynation, this is my mini-Minority Report.

Further proof golf is NOT a sport.

Catriona Matthew won the Women's British Open by three strokes Sunday, capturing her first major title just 10 weeks after giving birth to her second child.

Noteworthy uplifting story Matthew is. She had a baby and won a major tournament. You can't do this in "sports" so soon after having a baby. What other "sport" is this possible? Track and Field? Basketball? Soccer? Tennis? The question is not whether you can play the sport after having a baby only 10 weeks ago (had a baby in May!), but rather or not you can play, compete, and ultimately WIN at the highest level. She WON. SHE WON!

Sporty nation, golf is not a sport. It is a highly skilled activity that is exceedingly difficult, but does not rely on athleticism. It is an activity where diet and exercise are not THAT important.

This is my Minority Report, and I have provided further proof.

Money buys Pennants

"You can't just buy championships" people argue in baseball...the Yanks have no chemistry and are the best team that money can buy, or the Mets are collection of overpaid players, or the Sox are contributing unfairly to outrageous MLB salaries, or the Cubs just pay a lot of money to not win are simple minded and asinine. Money buy opportunity and wins. The Florida Marlins are an anomaly, an outlier, and a product of luck.

Currently, 9 of the top 10 payrolls in baseball are in first place or playoff contention with the Mets being out of it due to a plethora of injuries to its best players . While 4 of the bottom 5 payrolls are in last place by an average of 20 games.

The MLB chemistry issue is overblown. Baseball is an individual sport masquerading as a team sport. It's reasonable to argue that winning uplifts morale and is positively correlated with chemistry. So, spend money, get good players, and you increase your chances of winning. Don't spend money and pray that you get lucky with a young player. Money is the most reasonable, tangible factor involved in constructing a winning team.



Any and every team can spend more or less than they currently spend. Indeed, all teams can't spend the same amount of money, but they all definitely can spend significantly more or less than they currently do. It's just many owners would rather not spend money on payroll and would rather pocket the money.

Sportynation, this is my Minority Report.

American harcourt season begins

US Open Series got under way this week!

The US Open Series is the six-week summer tennis "season" linking 10 ATP Tour and Sony Ericsson WTA Tour tournaments together. The Series leads to the US Open. It is often referred to as the U.S. or North American hard court season. Points are accumulated and distributed (see below) based on a player's success in the designated summer hard court tournaments. The winner of the US Open Series receives more money depending on his success in the US Open. For example, in 2007 Federer won the US Open series and went on to win the US Open, winning $1.4 million plus the US Open Series bonus of $1 million, bringing his prize winning total to $2.4 million. Lot of money and definitely an incentive to play and do well.

Round ATP Masters 1000
Champion 100
Finalist 70
Semifinalist 45
Quarterfinalist 25
Round of 16 15

ATP World Tour 500

Champion 70
Finalist 45
Semifinalist 25
Quarterfinalist 15
Round of 16 N/A

Robby Genepri started off the summer hardcourt season with a win in Indianapolis. He won an All-American final against the up and coming Sam Querrey. Side note (Querrey has gotten a set off of Nadal on both hardcourt and claycourt before. Not a win, but a couple sets.

Nonetheless, neither one of these guys will win the US Open Series or US Open. The winner of the US Open Series will be one of the hard hittas such as Murray, DelPotro, Roddick, Nadal, Federer, Soderling, Djokovic, Verdasco, and Tsonga.

HOWEVA, Federer just had twins with his wife and has practically no points to defend because he did so poorly last year. Fed has nothing to lose and not terribly much to play for. If he plays it helps his ranking and if he doesn't play he doesn't lose much and is spending time with his newborns and his wife. Fed should probably play less and less to preserve his body. That being said, I don't expect Fed to play.

Rafa, on the otherhand is coming off knee problems, HAS to have some doubt, hardcourt is definitely his worst surface and the hardest on his body, and he has a boucou of points to defend. He has everything to lose. Infact, Murray could pass Rafa and Fed this fall depending on his success. That being said, I expect Rafa to get to the quarterfinals in both tournaments which is pretty darn good.

Then we have Andy Murray. Murray is as polarizing as they come, but I don't get why. Well I kind of do. He is somewhat petulant and has a look of "I don't give a you know what." But, his game is great. His fitness is unparalleled. And, he is crazy young. He turned pro in 2005 and is only 22. Expect Murray to be #2 on the US Open Series leaderboard at the start of the USOpen.

Finally, there is Andy Roddick. Roddick's game benefits from the hardcourts, he is rested, and he will probably play more tournaments than the other big name players.

Nole is talented, but he is falling off and due to lose to a rando.

DelPotro has a million points to defend from last year and may be approaching burn out for the year.

Verdasco, has a really good lefty baseline game that is very well suited for the American hardcourts.

Tsonga is very good, but has issues with consistency and a slight injury proneness.

Soderling, is hot and is starting to prove that the Nadal defeat was absolutely NOT a fluke.

Sporty nation, I don't know what will happen in the next 6 weeks and 10 tournaments, but I do not we are all in for some great tennis and storylines. The US Open is right around the corner! Get ready. This is my Minority Report.

Gilles imitates Gigli

Gilles Simon does his best Gigli impression ever. For you non-movie buffs, Gigli is one of the worst movies ever. It has literally won awards for this honor, but back to tennis.

Gilles Simon lost to Daniel Brands, a German qualifier, today in Hamburg, the former Master Series event.

This was a pretty big defeat for Gilles. Please note that Gilles Simon is a 25 year-old accomplished French tennis player. He has a lot of game. He is the 7th ranked player on Earth. Gilles has won more money in a single tournament than his opponent has in his entire career including doubles and singles. And, Simon has never lost to the best player in the World and maybe history. Simon is 2-0 against Roger Federer, but couldn't beat a guy who consistently plays guys ranked in the 200s. Tennis players that have to play in the qualifies do not get automatic bids to major or main tournaments and have to play in the week before the major tournament to just get the opportunity to play in the main tournament, and once in the tournament they draw top players. This is very similar to a play in game in NCAA hoops. For a little more perspective, qualifier spectator tickets are like $3. Simon lost to this qualifier.

France has had ups and downs of late with the unexpected death of Mathieu Montcourt and then the IMMENSELY talented Richard Gasquet getting off with a bogus cocaine consumption story, and finally Simon inexplicably losing to a rando.

Sporty nation this is my Minority Report.

Golf is NOT a sport.

The Open Championship or simply The Open or the British Open which it is called outside of England is a quirky, funky yet difficult “major” professional golf tournament. Year after year unexpected golfers like the train wreck John Daly and the tragedy known as Jean Van win, contend, and compete, and this year was no exception.

Tom Watson, a 59 year old golfer that last one a major tournament in 1983 (26 years ago), found himself in contention to win the Open Championship from day 1 all the way to the final day and the final minutes of the tournament. Watson chipped well, drove the ball deep and accurately, and made puts from everywhere (uphill, downhill, left, right, and far away). Simply put, he played exceptionally well. But, how could this be?! Golf is a sport. Right? However, as Corso says, “Not so fast my friend!”

Tom Watson almost won the Open because golf is not a sport. Stewart Cink won the Open because golf is not a sport, and Tiger Woods missed the cut because golf is not a sport.

Golf is a highly skilled activity that most anyone can play. Members from Corporate America, football players, basketball players, politicians, men, women, children, out of shape people, unhealthy people, and old people play golf and do exceedingly well on the golf course! Golf is an activity and not a sport.

To further illustrate the shortcomings of golf, please see the list below.

-Today, Michael Jordan played golf while simultaneously smoking a cigar. What “sport” can you puff a cigar while playing?

-John McCain I mean Tom Watson (whom is a cohort of Jack Nicklaus) almost won The Open. Is there such thing of a sport where age does not matter? Should your dad or grandfather be able to compete with 20 something year olds?



-Tony Romo and Ben Roethlisberger whom play golf as their second sport and cannot dedicate a lot of time to golf because they are starting NFL quarterbacks, can play on par with professional golfers every once in a while.

-John Daly is addicted to cigarettes, is an alcoholic, and has a weight problem. Daly famously refused to partake in the British Open Champions Dinner because "You can't get this fat boy into a suit." Daly has also admitted that has admitted the only reason he does not lift weights is because the health club does not let him smoke there and he would get sick after he worked out. John Daly has won the Open Championship, the PGA Championship, and has placed 3rd at the Masters. Daly almost won 3 of the 4 majors. But, he does have soft hands and a pretty good short game. How can this guy be successful? He can be successful because golf is not a sport.



Sportynation, this blogpost emerged from the shock of Tom Watson almost winning The Open Championship and Tiger Woods missing the cut. The Open Championships of 2009 also led me to consider the travesty of Tiger Woods winning athlete of the year multiple times. I love Tiger Woods and what he has done to golf and how he has impacted the world, but he cannot be the athlete of the year under any cirumstances. Should and/or could Earl Williams or win athlete of the year? And, do you know who these two people are? These are two of the greatest bowlers ever. Sportynation, are you going to argue that bowling is a sport? It is practically the same thing as golf. It is just perceived differently.

Golf is a really cool activity, but it is no sport. As “The Dan LeBatard Show” says so so frequently. If aliens come to earth and challenge the humans to a battle and we need to present our absolute best athlete are you going to pick Tiger, or John Daly, or Watson? Of course you will not. However, you just may be Usain Bolt, LeBron James, Michael Phelps, or Brock Lesnar.




Sportynation this is my Minority Report.