The Rundown: Super Bowl Week

I talked about this last week about the various story-lines you'll read and hear about during Super Bowl week. Here's a Rundown of some of those story-lines already being talked about.

- Of course former Sacramento Bee columnist and current ESPN columnist Mark Kriedler had to go straight to the "Alex Smith was drafted over Aaron Rodgers" storyline right out of the box. Just reading this story makes me bitter beyond belief.

"Alex Smith was the high-octane product of Urban Meyer's offense at Utah. He was a little taller than Rodgers and thought by some to be more pro-ready. Though Meyer cautioned that Smith would need adjustment time to figure out the NFL style, 49ers coach Mike Nolan and his front office, a group that included current Packers coach Mike McCarthy, were enchanted.

The 49ers took a long look at Rodgers, the Northern California kid who grew up idolizing Joe Montana and had San Francisco at the top of the list of teams for which he would most like to play. But on draft day, with the first overall pick, the Niners blew right by him in favor of Smith."

Excuse me while I go and punch a hole in a wall.

College Basketball Open Thread

A combination of me forgetting to post this last night and me sleeping in is the reason why this post is late. If there's another sporting event you'd wish to comment on instead of college basketball go right ahead. Just leave comments and don't be a troll.

College basketball schedule

When Was The Last Time You Cried After a Sporting Event?

I was listening to Colin Cowherd yesterday (Sorry, but I was in my car, Rome wasn't on yet, and I don't like the Sacramento and San Francisco morning shows) when he brought up an interesting question? When was the last time you cried after watching a sporting event?

Cowherd brought up this Youtube video of a little girl crying after the Bears lost last Sunday. Cowherd brought up the interesting question of the last time you cried after a sporting event? He talked about the last time he cried and other listeners chimed in when the last time they cried after a sporting event. Interesting question: when was the last time you cried after watching an sporting event?

I can remember exactly the last time I cried. On October 3rd, 1993 the Giants were blown out by the Dodgers and missed the playoffs by one game because of that game. I cried my eyes out after that game because my favorite team missed the playoffs because their hated rival defeated them.

Let's back up though and take you back to that 1993 season. Before the year even began, the Giants almost left for St. Petersburg to become the Tampa Bay Rays Giants. Thankfully that deal was blocked and the Giants were sold to a group of investors that would keep the team in San Francisco and eventually build AT&T Park.

Around the Hardwood

Jimmer Fever!: Jimmer Fredette and BYU gave San Diego State their first loss last night and Jimmer fever is at an all-time high. Jimmer scored 43 points last night and that's his third 40-point in four games. So rightfully Jimmer is receiving hype. He's deserving of it. But is he deserving of player of the year hype?

The Big Lead makes his case for Jimmer as the player of the year over UConn's Kemba Walker and Ohio State's Jared Sullinger. You can't use the schedule as a topic against Jimmer because BYU has a tougher schedule than both UConn and Ohio State. So at this moment the player of the year should be Jimmer Fredette. It's his world and we're just living in it.

Oh yeah, Jimmer's brother is a rapper. When I think of BYU, I also think of rap music.



The NCAA Actually Gets It Right?: Kansas' Thomas Robinson endured a tragedy last week when his mother Lisa unexpectedly passed away. The NCAA, which hasn't done this in the past, actually granted waivers to allow the school pay for Lisa's funeral and pay for the expenses to fly the entire team to the Washington DC to attend the funeral. Amazing to think about, but the NCAA actually got this right. Now if only they wouldn't take their sweet time to make decisions on player's eligibility.

A Day In The Life of Tim Lincecum

Last night CSN Bay Area debuted 'A Day In The Life of Tim Lincecum'. CSN Bay Area has done this type of show before, but this was really the first time they have profiled the most popular athlete in the Bay Area at the moment. It was interesting seeing what Lincecum has been doing in the offseason.

After a couple of years of living in the Bay Area during the offseason, Lincecum has bought a condo in Seattle to live in during the offseason. Like a college student, Lincecum entertains himself with video games, pool, and hanging out with his friend Drew who comes over so much that he's more like a roommate. Tim's house is kind of bare at the moment because he's still kind of moving into it. The condo though has an exquisite view of the Seattle skyline that reminded me of why the West coast really is the best coast.

Timmy does have an life outside the condo. He's a workout freak (Thankfully he took Roy Oswalt's advice to heart), loves eating at a local Mexican restaurant, and love listening and signing along to Hall & Oates.



The most poignant part of the program was when Lincecum returned to his hometown of Renton, Washington. Lincecum returned to his high school baseball diamond and revealed that as a Freshman in High School he was 4 foot 11 inches and weighed about 85 pounds. He's definitely filled out since then.  

CSN Bay Area's Jaymee Sire interviewed Lincecum at the end of the show and ask, "When has it finally set in that the Giants won the World Series?" (I know it still hasn't set in for me. I still think it's a cruel, heartless dream.) Lincecum responded when he watched this clip, that it finally set in that he's a World Series champion.

I found Lincecum very affable and likable in this program. Like someone you would want to hang out with. That's what sets him apart from Barry Bonds. While Bonds was certainly loved, he was loved strictly because of his performance on the field. Barry Bonds isn't exactly someone who I would want to hang out with off the field. Lincecum looks like a fun guy to hang out with no matter where he is.

I would lying though if I said I didn't worry about Lincecum hanging out with his friends in Seattle. Remember last offseason when he was with his friends in Seattle?

Super Bowl Story-Lines That Will Be Beaten Into the Ground (Updated!)

Super Bowl XLV match-up has been set. The Green Bay Packers will meet the Pittsburgh Steelers in Dallas on February 6th for the championship. Just like with every year with the Super Bowl, there will be story-lines beaten into the ground in the next couple of weeks. "Jerome Bettis is from Detroit" anybody? So let's take a look at the story-lines that will beaten into the ground the next couple of weeks, making you hate every columnist and analyst.

There will be two major story-lines in the next two weeks: 

"Ben Roethlisberger seeks redemption"- This story-line has already been beaten into the ground and we're not even into ground. We're going to hear non-stop about how Roethlisberger is a changed man after being accused of sexual assault twice in the past five years. Columnists are lazy and this is certainly an easy topic.

"Aaron Rodgers is finally out of Brett Favre's shadow"- This will be the other major storyline of the next two weeks. There will be multiple columns written about how Packers GM Ted Thompson made the "right" decision to dump Favre three years ago in favor of the unproven Rodgers. There will be multiple columns written about how Rodgers is a completely different person than Favre.

Video: I Might Have To Attend a Flyers Game

Not because I'm a Flyers fan, but because of the Bottoms Up Beer Dispensary System. Check out these two videos of how this machine works.





Dan Wetzel interviewed the inventor of this machine last week at The Post Game. Here's how this machine works.

The key is the use of a cup that features a hole at the bottom and small, circular magnet that rests over it. When placed on the system, the magnet is lifted up by the pressure-driven beer. The cup fills up until the weight of the liquid pushes the magnet back down over the hole. The cup can then be lifted off and the beer consumed as normal.

What traditionally takes a single worker concentrating on the pour -- which still produces spillage and waste to produce the proper foam head -- is now hands-free, fast and almost perfectly efficient. Springer said stadiums that have used the system have gone from using eight beer pourers for every two cashiers to having one beer pourer for every eight cashiers. A single stand has been able to deliver 56 draft beers in one minute, an unofficial world record.

Yes this contraption will make it's debut at the Wells Fargo Center tonight for the Flyers-Canadiens game. If this thing is successful, I might actually have to make a trip to a Flyers game. My only worry about this machine is how much foam it creates. Too much foam ruins beers. Other than that worry though, I hope this machine is successful and eventually spreads to other sporting venues around the country.

(Via Puck Daddy)

NFL Championship Sunday Live Blog

Leave comments and don't be a troll.

Saturday College Basketball Open Thread

No football on Saturday in a long time, but thankfully we have plenty of college basketball. CBS will be showing a triple-header with the country divided watching the middle game. Either myself or Justin will have a Championship Sunday live blog tomorrow, but until then enjoy college basketball. Leave comments and don't be a troll.

Announcing schedule via the506.

11AM George Mason @ James Madison – ESPNU
12:00 Ohio State @ Illinois – CBS
12:00 Villanova @ Syracuse – ESPN

1:00 Arkansas-Little Rock @ Florida Atlantic – ESPN2
1:00 Eastern Kentucky @ Morehead State – ESPNU

2:00 Tennessee @ Connecticut – CBS 

2:00 Stanford @ UCLA – CBS

2:00 Kansas State @ Texas A&M – ESPN

3:00 Temple @ Xavier – ESPN2
3:00 Buffalo @ Ohio – ESPNU

4:00 Texas @ Kansas – CBS
4:00 Duke @ Wake Forest – ESPN

4:00 New Mexico @ UNLV – Versus  

5:00 Creighton @ Missouri State – ESPN2
5:00 Louisville @ Providence – ESPNU
6:00 Kentucky @ South Carolina – ESPN   

7:00 Memphis @ UAB – ESPN2
7:00 Boston College @ Florida State – ESPNU

9:00 Michigan State @ Purdue – ESPN 

Super Bowl Picks

Sadly this is our last weekend where there will be more than one football until September. So enjoy this weekend while it lasts because football isn't coming back for a while and also because the NFL may not be coming back for a while.

NFC Championship Game
#6 Green Bay Packers vs. #2 Chicago Bears 3:00 (Fox - Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, SR: Pam Oliver and Chris Myers) - I've gone back and forth on this game. Do I stick to my loyalty to Aaron Rodgers and pick Green Bay? Do I pick Chicago because their defense is slightly better? Do I pick Green Bay because their offense has been nearly unstoppable in the playoffs? Do I pick Chicago because Cutler hasn't made an mistake in the playoffs?

I'm picking Green Bay because I could eventually answer this question. Which quarterback do I trust the most? Sorry, but I trust Aaron Rodgers more. Has Cutler not thrown as many interceptions lately? Yes, but at the end of the day I still don't trust Cutler. The problem with quarterbacks like Cutler is that they think there isn't a throw they can't make. Sometime during the NFC Championship Cutler will make a throw that he shouldn't and it will cost the Bears.

AFC Championship Game
#6 New York Jets vs. #2 Pittsburgh Steelers 6:30 (CBS - Jim Nantz and Phil Simms, SR: Steve Tasker) I'm picking the Jets out of sheer spite. I'm tired of the Steelers. I'm tired of how they catch all the breaks, Immaculate Reception/Bill Leavy Super Bowl XL to name two, I'm tired of seeing them. I'm not the biggest fan of the Jets bravado and I'm certainly not looking forward to two more weeks of Rex Ryan press conferences, but I'm just tired of the Steelers.

I'm also picking the Jets because of Bart Scott. Steve Politi of the Star-Ledger interviewed former wrestling announcer Mean Gene Okerlund who said Scott would be an excellent wrestler because of his microphone skills. 

“On a scale of one to 10,” he said in that familiar deep voice, “I would give him an eight. A good interview has to create emotion. You can do that through love or hate, or just by entertaining people, and he does that.”

That's right daddy, Bart Scott is the next Rock.



I'll have an open thread up tomorrow for college basketball games and either Justin or I will have the live blog for the championship games.

CBS and TNT Announce NCAA Tournament Pairings

CBS and TNT, who already announced they would partner up to call the NCAA tournament, have announced today their NCAA tournament announcing pairings. Here's what it will look like.

- Final Four and Championship game will be called with Jim Nantz, Clark Kellogg, and Steve Kerr with Tracy Wolfson taking care of the sideline duties.

- Kerr and Marv Albert will call regional games. This will be the first time Albert has called NCAA tournament games since the late 70's and early 80's when NBC held the coverage rights.

- The studio will originate from both the CBS studios in New York and the TNT studios in Atlanta. The main anchor chair will be shared by Greg Gumbel and Ernie Johnson.

- Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith will provide studio analysis alongside Greg Anthony in New York.

- Remember the tournament added four more teams. "The First Four" games will be broadcast on a Tuesday and Wednesday before the 1st and 2nd round weekend begins with Nantz, Kellogg, and Kerr calling the first two games on truTV. Gus Johnson and Len Elmore will call the last two games of the "First Four" with Gumbel, Johnson, Barkley, Anthony and Smith in the studio.

- Sports Illustrated writer Seth Davis and TNT analyst Reggie Miller will join the New York studio rotation for the second week of the tournament. Davis will be in Turner's Atlanta studio the first week with host Matt Winer and Steve Smith.

- Here are the other announcing pairings: Johnson and Elmore, Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery, Kevin Harlan, Reggie Miller and Dan Bonner, Ian Eagle and Jim Spanarkel, Tim Brando and Mike Gminski and Spero Dedes and Bob Wenzel

- Sideline Reporters: David Aldridge, Sam Ryan, Craig Sager, Marty Snider, Lesley Visser and Tracy Wolfson

- Games will be aired on: CBS, TNT, TBS and truTV

I have to admit this sounds like one big clusterf*ck. Maybe once the schedule is announced it will be easier to figure out how this will work, but right now it looks like a mess.

I along with a lot of other people will be interested to see how well the TNT guys (Johnson, Barkley, Smith, Kerr, and Albert) adjust to calling college basketball games. Also how controversial will Barkley be? He's gone on record before stating he believes college athletes should be paid? He can get away with saying controversial remarks about the NBA, but the NCAA cringes at things like that. What happens if he says college athletes should be paid while he's on air? Will he be pulled from the broadcast? This whole agreement is very intriguing and I'm interested to see how it will end up. Bring on the NCAA tournament!

(Via Sports Illustrated)

The Emperor Returns From Hiding

The Emperor of Oakland returned from hiding to announce Hue Jackson as the next Oakland Raiders coach, but mostly Al returned from hiding to throw every coach who has ever set foot in the Raiders organization under the bus.

Tim Kawakami and the staff of the San Jose Mercury News transcribed the entire press conference yesterday and the informal Q&A that took place afterwords. If you have the time, you should really read those two posts. They go in depth into the feel of the press conference. If you don't have time, here's a couple of highlights from yesterday.

When comparing Jason Campbell's draft prospects to Cam Newton's, because they both played at Auburn, Al called Newton "Kim" twice.

I remind you that these things don’t come quickly to anyone. We all espouse the greatness of Brett Favre. One Super Bowl that he won with the Green Bay Packers. So what I was saying to you was that my gestalt saw in Jason Campbell someone down the road who can really throw the football, can run, there are some things we have to do with him, but I think the guy that’s going to be handling him in the future knows what to do and how to do it.

One point I want to make, that might of interest to you, Kim Newton is the quarterback for Auburn. And they were the national champions this year.

When Jason Campbell played for Auburn, he was 13-0 his senior year. I want you to all check it out with… a lot of you have scouts and this… who the better player was coming out of college, Jason Campbell or Kim Newton.

That's just a part of the wackiness. The main point was for Al to throw Tom Cable under the bus like he did to Lane Kiffin a couple of years ago. Davis drives home the report about Cable allegedly breaking Randy Hanson's jaw and alleged spousal abuse. The best part though was Al talking about Cable taking his girlfriend on road trips with him.

Now, one of the things revealed by Ms. Lutz was too much for  me. And that was whether, I don’t know if it’s true, we’re going to find out but Tom was asked about it and refused to answer it. He brought her on trips on the road when the team’s playing on the road, he’s the head coach and this is the guy who’s talking about focus, we’ve got a job to do, we’ve got a game to play, we’ve got to win, and there flying in friends so they can be with him the night before the game. All of this stuff goes a long way against my wishes, against my way of living, against my life and against the Raider way and I just wasn’t going to take it anymore.

Davis couldn't leave without taking a shot at Lane Kiffin. 

Well, I beat him because he lied. He’s a liar. He lied to you guys. He got letters… (Expletive) him if he was a liar. He lied in Tennessee .

Kiffin and Cable weren't the only coaches he threw under the bus. He ran over Jon Gruden and Norv Turner just for laughs. I'm surprised he didn't throw Bill Callahan or Mike Shanahan under the bus while he was at it.

Al Davis is certainly one of a kind and yesterday proved it.

An Appreciation For My Local Announcers

The NBA is allowing TV viewers to view their League Pass package for free for this entire week. Since this package is free at the moment I've taken advantage of it and watched a lot of NBA games recently. While watching these NBA games I've noticed a trend. Most NBA announcers dreadful to listen too. I mean they're truly terrible. I haven't found one broadcast team where I haven't hated either the play-by-play broadcaster or the color commentator.

The NBA isn't the only league who will show off their sports package for free for an entire week. MLB and the NHL will also do the same thing in hopes they can lure some people into buying their game packages. When the MLB package is for free I'll surf the channels and look for a game that might be interesting. I've noticed that most of the baseball announcers are dreadful except a few teams (Baltimore, NY Mets, Vin Scully) have competent announcers that I like listening to.

Listening to these other announcers has given a greater appreciation of the guys who call games for my favorite teams the San Francisco Giants, Sacramento Kings, and the San Jose Sharks. Here's the TV broadcasters I listen to and the reasons why I appreciate them.

Video: This Guy Makes a Great Point Baseball

This video may be a little irrelevant now that the Giants have signed on with Showtime to produce a 24/7 style of documentary series. Sully does make a larger point though that needs to be highlighted in the video. Watch.



Sully's larger point is that MLB does a terrible job marketing it's product and specifically marketing to a younger audience. The part about Youtube was spot on. How can a younger audience appreciate baseball when the league eliminates every clip on Youtube a few seconds after it's posted? You can watch full NBA and NFL games on Youtube while MLB erases highlight clips as soon as they're posted. And the reason why people go to Youtube is for they don't have to watch 30 seconds of commercials before the highlight begins playing.

Look I know MLB can claim they were the first sport to capitalize on the Internet by launching the first league website. Other leagues have caught up though. It's time for MLB to relax on eliminating uploaded baseball videos on Youtube. If they don't want those videos embedded for people can't copy and paste them onto blogs that's fine. If they don't want entire games posted on Youtube that's fine. But it is time to allow at least highlights onto Youtube and other video services. MLB is holding back their league by continuing this asinine video policy.

Where Michael Wilbon Tells You The Difference Between a Column and News Story

One of my of the many great features over at the old Fire Joe Morgan website was their "JoeChats." Instead of ripping on a columnist, a feature you should be familiar with by now, they would rip on Joe Morgan when he was "chatting" on ESPN.com. So basically they FJM Style the ESPN chats featuring Joe Morgan.

For people unfamiliar with these chats, ESPN has various people (writers, broadcasters, celebrities) "chat" with people asking questions. These chats are like cattle calls because there's somebody different each hour chatting throughout the day every hour for eight hours. Sometimes these chats are very resourceful (Like when Dana O'Neil chats) or they're absurd (Like when the SportsPickle chats).

On MLK Day, Mike Wilbon of Pardon The Interruption participated in one of these chats. In typical Wilbon fashion he talked about the NBA, Chicago Sports, and this past weekend's NFL games. One particular answer though caught my attention. I'll get to that later, but let's first highlight some of things Wilbon talked about in his chat. (The Question and Wilbon's response in bold, my comments not in bold.)

MLK Day Open Thread

Today we celebrate the legacy of MLK and we celebrate with a full slate of basketball games. The Grizzlies and Bulls are playing right now. Later tonight we will have Magic vs Celtics and Lakers vs Thunder on TNT with a full slate of college basketball games on ESPN starting with UConn vs Villanova. So enjoy your day off, celebrate MLK's legacy, leave comments, and don't be a troll.

NFL Divisional Round Playoffs Live Blog

Note: Kris, if you would like to start the live blog early for the Maryland-Nova game, go right ahead. I have to meet my parents for lunch around Noon, so I probably won't be around to start the live blog around 1.

Video: How Darko of Him

Darko has had an interesting NBA career. He was selected number 2 overall in the 2003 NBA Draft, which was loaded with future All-Stars like Lebron, Wade, Bosh, Chris Kaman, Josh Howard, and Mo Williams. That draft even had solid role players like Kirk Hinrich, Nick Collison, Boris Diaw, Travis Outlaw, and Luke Ridnour. Of course the Detroit Pistons picked the biggest bust out of this pool this side of Sam Bowie. Darko never had a chance in Detroit and eventually drifted to Orlando, Memphis, New York, and then was signed to a ridiculous contract by the Minnesota Timberwolves this offseason.

Even though he's being paid like an All-Star, Darko still stinks. Last night during the Timberwolves game against Washington, Darko scored two points for the Wizards off a jump-ball situation. Only Darko could do this.



How Darko of him.

(Video via The Big Lead)

Around the Hardwood

(With the college football season, let's take a look at the story lines so far in college basketball.)

The ACC is bad this year: In his latest mailbag column, Seth Davis of SI addresses why he thinks the ACC is having a down year. (Hint: The football schools are ruining the conference.)

If there is a trend working its ugly hand here, Scott has touched on it. Adding Florida State, Miami, Boston College and Virginia Tech may have been great for football (though ACC football ain't no great shakes these days, either), but it has diluted the basketball product. If the ACC ever adds more teams, it will be done also for football reasons. And that will make the basketball even more sucky. I mean, how many total Big East basketball games do you think TCU is going to win over the next five years? I put the over/under at 12.

I don't know if Seth knows this, but Florida State wasn't added to the ACC when Miami, Boston College, and Virginia Tech joined the conference. I also don't know if Seth knows this, but Boston College is actually atop of the conference standings right now.

My point is, that's a simplistic way to look at why the ACC is struggling right now. We've seen these boon's and busts in conferences. A couple of years ago the Pac-10 sent a handful of teams to the tournament. Then last year the Pac-10 only sent two teams and looks like this year they'll only send maybe three teams at best. The ACC right now is experiencing one of those busts. And even in the middle of the bust, it's not like the ACC is that bad. UNC, Maryland, and Clemson have good enough records right now to go to the tournament. So the ACC isn't as bad as everyone thinks it is.

Yep, LeBron Went There

The Cleveland Cavaliers were thrashed last night by the Los Angeles Lakers. They were thrashed in a historical fashion by the Lakers. The Cavaliers almost lost by as many points as they scored last night. The Cavaliers hit rock bottom last night and guess who was there to kick them in the gut while they were thrashing around on the ground? You guessed it, Lebron James. Check out this tweet from last night.

Very classy. I agree with Basketbawful about Lebron. Lebron isn't embracing the villian roll like a Bill Laimbeer. He's embracing the roll of a wronged superhero.

My favorite part of this tweet is that he mentioned karma, because the karma of the Heat losing in the 2nd round of the playoffs this year will be delicious.

Jimmer Fredette Nails a Half-Court Shot and 47 Points Against Utah

Since the college football season is over, it's time to shift focus to college basketball. One thing I have noticed about this season of college basketball is that the season couldn't be less compelling. The incoming Freshman this year haven't lived up to expectations, cough Harrison Barnes cough, and there isn't that one really dominating team. College basketball so far is just plain boring.

There's one player though and one team that can save this season, Jimmer Fredette and BYU. Fredette scored 47 points last night in Salt Lake City against BYU's rival Utah. Fredette and BYU is a story to keep close attention on. Fredette is leading the nation in scoring while the Cougars only have one loss on the year and sit 11th in the nation. While the college basketball season may be boring overall, Fredette and BYU are definitely a story to pay close attention to. Of course if you could find the channel where BYU plays, then maybe you could watch them.

Brady Hoke Named the New Michigan Coach

After Les Miles turned them down today, Michigan has officially hired San Diego State coach and former Michigan assistant Brady Hoke. Via M Go Blue:

University of Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon announced today (Tuesday, Jan. 11) the hiring of Brady Hoke as the 19th coach in the 131-year history of Michigan football. Hoke arrives in Ann Arbor after spending the past eight seasons as a head coach at Ball State (2003-08) and San Diego State (2009-10).

"We are pleased to announce the hiring of Brady," said Brandon. "He is a terrific coach and will be a great ambassador and leader for our football program. We look forward to having him build a championship program on the field and in the classroom."

Hoke spent eight seasons in Ann Arbor before embarking on his head coaching career. He mentored the Wolverines defensive line all eight seasons, a group that helped Michigan rank annually among the nation's best in rushing and total defense. Hoke coached three linemen to All-America honors during his tenure -- William Carr (1996), Glen Steele (1997) and Rob Renes (1999) -- and had five players earn first-team All-Big Ten accolades.

I love this hiring. I certainly love it more than the Randy Edsall hiring at Maryland. Hoke is a defensive minded coach who isn't afraid of hiring offensive coordinators, who are great at their jobs, and letting them do their job. He'll rebuild this program like he did at Ball State and San Diego State. Jason Whitlock and myself love this hiring. Congrats RJBO on your new coach.

Goodbye College Football

Last night's college football national championship game gave me a sinking feeling. My favorite sport will go on hiatus until September. That's nine months away folks. (Wipes away tears) Until then, let's enjoy the best pictures of the year. (Via 30fps and Bubbaprog)

Oregon vs. Auburn National Championship Live Blog

Oregon vs. Auburn for all the marbles. Leave comments and don't be a troll.

Inside the Paint: Batum's Block and Frazier's Suit

(Haven't done one of these in a while, but there was a couple of things that caught my attention.)

Last night's Portland-Miami game was incredible. Portland made an incredible run to take the game into overtime but were eventually blown away by LeBron and Miami to lose the game. The play of the game though was this block on LeBron by Nicolas Batum.



I thought it was impossible to think anyone could block LeBron going up for a block, but it happened last night. LeBron though had the last laugh as he scored 8-points in overtime and the Heat won the game.

The other thing that caught my eye last night was this image caught by Jose30/30. Walt 'Clyde' Frazier was wearing leopard printed suit. Frazier is known for wearing ridiculous suits and that's why Mike Breen isn't even batting an eye in this photo.

Wild Card Weekend Live Blog

Every playoff game today is on NBC starting at 4:30 ET/1:30 PT. Leave comments and don't be a troll. 

#5 New Orleans Saints vs. #4 Seattle Seahawks 4:30 (NBC - Tom Hammond and Mike Mayock, SR: Alex Flanagan)

#6 New York Jets vs. #3 Indianapolis Colts 8:00 (NBC - Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth, SR: Andrea Kremer)

Cotton Bowl Open Thread

I completely forgot this game was on tonight. I'm not used to the Cotton Bowl being on so late in the year. Anyways it should be a good game between LSU and Texas A&M. Anything involving Les Miles has my interest. Enjoy the game, leave comments, and don't be a troll.

Pictures via Mock Session

Harbaugh to Coach The San Francisco 49ers

It's official. Via ESPN:

Jim Harbaugh agreed to a five-year, $25 million contract to become the San Francisco 49ers' head coach Friday, according to team and league sources.

The 49ers announced a news conference scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET, but did not indicate the reason.

I don't have time to get into what this means for the 49ers or my true feelings about this move. I need the weekend to talk myself into this move. I'll have a pros and cons post about this move by Sunday, hopefully then I'll have a clear thought of what to think about this.

Sorry RJBO, enjoy Les Miles or Brady Hoke as your next head coach.

Video: Mikhail Grabovski Is The King of The Shootout Goal

Mikhail Grabovski isn't new to using theatrics while in a hockey shootout. He used a spin-o-rama to score a goal in a shootout against the Washington Capitals last month. So this goal against the St. Louis Blues in a shootout shouldn't surprise anyone even though it's still really cool to watch.



The Leafs would go on to win the shootout and the game after blowing a 5-2 lead in the third period. I hope the Sharks don't go to a shootout with the Leafs when they play next Tuesday because Grabovski is definitely the king of the shootout goal.

(Via Fanhouse and Pension Plan Puppets)

The Carolina Panthers Have No Luck

See what I did there? Via ESPN:

Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck, the odds-on favorite to be the No. 1 pick in this spring's NFL draft, announced Thursday that he will stay in school and play his redshirt junior season. "I am committed to earning my degree in architectural design from Stanford University and am on track to accomplish this at the completion of the spring quarter of 2012," Luck said in a statement. The school announced that Luck wouldn't be made available for comment.

I'm not going to kill the kid for staying in school. He's getting a free education at Stanford! Do you know how many kids would kill for that opportunity? The big question coming out of this decision is what will Jim Harbaugh do now. Will he continue to chase NFL money or return to Stanford to coach a potential Heisman winner and a team that could be favored to win the National Championship? Gut feeling is that Harbaugh will chase the NFL money. There isn't a booster at Stanford that would poney up big money to keep Harbaugh in Palo Alto. Phil Knight or T. Boone Pickens isn't walking on the Stanford campus. Harbaugh is good as gone and he'll probably land in Miami.

It's Come To This for Brett Favre

Just watch.



It's come to this for Brett Favre. Being mocked by the Taiwanese in cartoon's.

(Via With Leather)

It's Official: Michigan Fires Rich Rodriguez

It's official this time. I think. Via ESPN:

Embattled Michigan football coach Rich Rodriguez has been fired, a source tells ESPN's Joe Schad.

Michigan released a statement Wednesday saying athletic director Dave Brandon will discuss the state of the program at 12:30 p.m. ET.

Rodriguez was 15-22 after three seasons running college football's winningest program.

RJBO can reopen the bottle of champagne.

Suggestion to Michigan. Instead of wasting time on Harbaugh only to be disappointed like Maryland fans, hire Brady Hoke. He's won at Ball State and San Diego State for Christ sakes. He actually wants to coach at Michigan! He's a 'Michigan Man!' He coaches defense and the last time I checked that was the worst part of your program. He's never said anything bad about the program like Harbaugh has in the past about academics. Hire the right man and that man is Hoke.

That's One Way to Raise Attendance

The Atlanta Thrashers of the NHL are a cute story this year in the world of hockey. Through a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks they've improved their team and now they sit at sixth in the Eastern Conference and third in the Southeast. Like a typical Atlanta based team though, the Thrashers are one of the worst drawing teams in their respective league. So what's one way to drum up attendance? Stage a wedding on the ice between periods with the mascot escorting the bride onto the ice.



There's only video to this story and not any facts. I have no idea how much it costs someone to get married on Thrashers ice, but I do think it's a cool idea. More professional teams should use minor league style of gimmick promotions, especially if they have attendance issues.

(Via Hockey Web Cast)

Sugar Bowl Open Thread

Who: Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Arkansas Razorbacks
What: Sugar Bowl
Where: Superdome, New Orleans, NO
When: 5:30 PT/8:30 ET
TV: ESPN
Announcing: Brad Nessler and Todd Blackledge, SR: Holly Rowe
My Pick: Arkansas
Notes: Dan Wetzel of Yahoo! Sports eviscerates NCAA over the hypocrisy over the Pryor ruling. I specifically picked Arkansas because of this. Ohio State is in a stagnant state because Pryor can declare for the draft after this game. Ohio State will be distracted, plus their past record in BCS games against Southern teams, is reason enough to pick Arkansas over tOSU.

Michigan Fires Rich Rodriguez

Michigan has raised up Rich Rodriguez and now has sent him packing. Via ESPN:

Michigan has fired football coach Rich Rodriguez after his third season ended with a school-record 38-point loss in the Gator Bowl, Fox 2 TV in Detroit is reporting.

The report comes after Rodriguez met with athletic director Dave Brandon earlier Tuesday.
Members of the football team are scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, according to another report out of Ann Arbor.

Michigan's Gator Bowl loss to Mississippi State knocked Rodriguez's overall record to 15-22 with college football's winningest program.

Michigan will owe the coach $2.5 million to buy out the final three years of his contract.

That noise you just heard was RJBO popping the cork on a Champagne bottle. 

The Promise a Coach Brings

In no other sport does a coach have a brighter spotlight than in football. In football the coach definitely matters more than in other sports. Does a coach matter in baseball and basketball? Sure, but only when they don't screw up. Football coaches though have a far more importance. They're the face of the team. They have to bring some sort of special quality with them to be great. They either have to be motivators, strong leaders, or strategists. A coach brings promise. A promise that your team will have a strategic advantage over the opposing team.

Two people who comment regularly here (RJBO, Kris) and myself are looking for that promise at Maryland, Michigan, and with the San Francisco 49ers with their head coaches.

Maryland fired their long-time coach Ralph Friedgen because he couldn't sell out his stadium. The alumni desperately wanted Mike Leach to become their new coach because he brings the promise of a fun-and-gun offense and eccentric personality. So who does Maryland hire? UConn coach Randy Edsall.

Edsall is a fine coach, someone who lead UConn from Division 1-AA to a BCS game in ten years, but he's not someone who brings a lot of buzz. There's no promise of a fun-and-gun offense or an eccentric personality. I can see why Kris and other Maryland fans were extremely disappointed with his hiring.

As for RJBO and other Michigan fans, they're just looking for the promise of someone not named Rich Rodriguez not being their coach next season. Rich Rodriguez has been a disaster since he set foot in Ann Arbor. Michigan fans want a 'Michigan Man' to lead their program and they get that promise in Jim Harbaugh the current Stanford coach. Michigan wants a coach who brings promise at being the next Bo Schembechler.

Just like how Michigan fans are looking for the promise of the next Bo Schembechler, 49ers fans like myself are looking for the promise of the next Bill Walsh. That's why we're so excited about the idea of Jim Harbaugh coaching our team. 49ers fans have longed for the return of a Bill Walsh-type of coach since George Seifert retired. We think we have our guy in Harbaugh because once upon a time Walsh coached at Stanford.

Silly isn't it? Like Harbaugh can really replicate Walsh just because he coaches at Stanford, but that's what the promise of a new coach brings to a team and it's fans. RJBO and myself will either be Kris like disappointed in the coming week with our new coach or be filled with promise at the future for our teams.

An football coach is the President of the United States. You're either going to hate, love, or feel apathetic towards that person during their tenure in charge. 

Orange Bowl Open Thread

Who: Stanford Cardinal vs. Virginia Tech Hokies
What: Orange Bowl
Where: Miami, Florida
When: Tonight at 5:30 PT/8:30 ET
TV: ESPN
Announcing: Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski, and Jon Gruden, SR: Michele Tafoya
My Pick: Virginia Tech
Notes: If God loves me, Stanford loses this game, Andrew Luck declares for the NFL, and Jim Harbaugh takes the Raiders job and flames out and has to take his old job back at San Diego University. I would just take a Hokies win tonight, but I know Virginia Tech will find someway to choke in this game. It's just fate. God wants Jim Harbaugh and Pete Carroll to mock me in my sleep.

What I've Been Reading

During the holiday break, I was able to catch up on some reading. There were three specific books that I was able to finish and a couple more that I'm trying to finish. Here's a review of the first three books I completed. (Recommendation Ratings: 5 good/1 Bad)

Blood, Sweat & Chalk: The Ultimate Football Playbook: How the Great Coaches Built Today’s Game, by Tim Layden of Sports Illustrated. I don't know what I really expected with this book? It was promoted hard by Sports Illustrated because one of their own writers was the author. I guess I was expecting more of an comprehensive breakdown of the different offenses and defenses throughout the history of the NFL. Instead you get a breakdown of how offenses/defenses were created and the men who created them. The amazing part is most of these offenses/defenses were created out of desperation because of advancing offenses/defenses. Gary Patterson of TCU created this weird 3-2-5 defense to stop spread offenses that are on the rise. 'Blood, Seat, & Chalk' was a very good book that I do recommend reading. Yeah it wasn't a comprehensive of the offenses/defenses, but it was a great history lesson on the men who help evolved football. (Recommendation Rating: 4)

Perfect Rivals: Notre Dame, Miami, and the Battle for the Soul of College Football, by Jeff Carroll. While 'Blood, Sweat, & Chalk' was a great book, 'Perfect Rivals' was truly a terrible book. I was looking forward to reading this book because I love college football, rivalries, and history. Then I started reading this book and much to my surprise, I hated it. I shouldn't have though. The book was about college football, rivalries, and college football history. Besides the factual and editing errors (There were several. I still can't believe the book stated Danny Ford coached at North Carolina) this book read like one big AP article. I don't think Carroll did any original reporting at all. The Miami side of the book felt copied and pasted from Bruce Feldman's book 'Cane Mutiny.' The Notre Dame section of the book had more research, but it felt copied and pasted from old South Bend Tribune. The only part of this book I liked was reading about how Notre Dame football basically became NBC property in the early 1990's, the fallout of that deal (Many independent schools like Miami or Penn State felt they had to join a conference to receive TV money), and the reactions of other schools at Notre Dame working that deal. It was truly sleazy. Is that section of the book though enough for me to suggest buying this book? Absolutely not. Save your money and don't buy 'Perfect Rivals.' (Recommendation Rating: 1)

Free Darko Presents The Undisputed Guide to Pro Basketball History by freedarko.com. I'm a big fan or Free Darko, even though the NBA isn't one of my favorite sports. Like the website, their book was a collection of essay's surrounding the history of the NBA. Starting the invention of basketball, Free Darko takes a look at great teams (1970 Knicks), great innovations (The Sacramento Kings using the Princeton Offense in the early 00's), and important issues (99 lockout). Besides the writing which is exquisite there's some fantastic artwork to compliment the essays. Just a fantastic book. (Recommendation Rating: 5)

I'm going to try and finish two more books this week and have a review of them up by next Monday.

NFL Live Blog Week 17

New Year's Day College Football Live Blog

Bowl games start at Noon (they used to start at 8 in the morning on the West Coast with the Outback Bowl, damn ESPN) and the Winter Classic will start whatever time they figure out the rain will stop in Pittsburgh. Feel free to comment on the bowl games, Winter Classic, or whatever else you might be watching.

(Note to Justin, Kris, or RJBO: If I'm not awake by the start of the TicketCity Bowl, start the live blog please.)

TicketCity Bowl (Dallas, TX): Northwestern vs. Texas Tech 12:00 (ESPNU - Dave Pasch, Bob Griese, and Chris Spielman, SR: Quint Kessenich)

Outback Bowl (Tampa, FL): Florida vs. Penn State 1:00 (ABC - Mike Tirico and Jon Gruden, SR: Suzy Kolber)

Capital One Bowl (Orlando, FL): Michigan State vs. Alabama 1:00 (ESPN - Brad Nessler and Todd Blackledge, SR: Holly Rowe)

Gator Bowl (Jacksonville, FL): Mississippi State vs. Michigan 1:30 (ESPN2 - Mike Patrick and Craig James, SR: Todd Harris)

Rose Bowl (Pasadena, CA): Wisconsin vs. Texas Christian 5:00 (ESPN - Brent Musburger and Kirk Herbstreit, SR: Erin Andrews)

Fiesta Bowl (Glendale, AZ): Connecticut vs. Oklahoma 8:30 (ESPN - Sean McDonough and Matt Millen, SR: Heather Cox)