The Sports Guru

***I’m sorry, I have to admit, watching Duke lose three in a row for the first time in nearly 2 decades brings a smile to my face. For most of that time I was indifferent towards Duke and Coach K. I respect his success, that he has done it the right way. I accept the fact that his system is great for college and that his players, for the most part, are disappointments in the NBA(Elton Brand, Carlos Boozer and Grant Hill aside). Then came March Madness a few years ago and all those annoying Chevy and American Express commercials featuring Mike. Talk about a recruiting advantage. Think for a moment you are the parent of a 17-year old basketball phenom. Which coach do you want responsible for your son? A guy entrusted with the marketing campaign of a large car company and huge credit card company, or a guy like Bruce Pearl who wears a bright orange jacket? That’s what I thought. From that moment on I have been doing to Anti-Duke dance at night. So far, it’s worked. Now Duke has decayed all the way down to a 5-5 team in the ACC, losing at home, no less, to Virgina Tech. Not very American Express-like of the Kster. Last night it was arch-rival North Carolina with Roy Williams, who might be the guy pitching all the gear this March, stomping the Blue Devils into submission on their home floor. Duke is in trouble, and though they’ll get into the tourney on reputation alone, it will be at the price of a better, more deserving team, mark my words.

***National Signing Day came and went, and depending on which web-site you check the winner is either USC or Florida. Pete Carroll and Urban Meyer are two of the best recruiter in the business, and it doesn’t hurt that they can sell some of the best weather in the world. For us Buckeye fans it might seem like a disappointing class, given it’s ranking between 15-20 accross the board. Not to fear, Buckeye fans, Tressel and company didn’t have alot of scholarships to work with and though they lost out on a couple of blue-chippers they have a solid class based on need rather than star power. Take this into account, the Buckeyes have yet to break the Top 10 in recruiting according to Rivals.com that past 4 years. Needless to say, the Buckeyes have enjoyed a bit of success during that time. No fear Buckeye fans, Ohio St. will be oko as long as the Great Sweater Vest is running the show.

***The Cincinnati Reds are single-handedly assuring the Cleveland Indians will have no shot to re-sign Jake Westbrook this season or C.C. Sabathia after next. After watching the Kansas City Royals throw 55 million big ones at Gil Meche, a journeyman with mediocre talent at best, the Reds did the same thing, on back to back days, no less. First it was Aaron Harang getting 36 million. Harang is a nice pitcher, but definitely no Sabathia. Then today the Reds gave Bronson Arroyo 25 million over the next two seasons. Come on, is Arroyo any better than Westbrook? The Indians, who were hoping to get Westbrook signed to an extension before the start of Spring Training have to be sweating what the price tag for a .500 pitcher has ballooned to. Not good news for Tribe fans.

$25 Million for this guy???

***Jerry Jones hired Wade Phillips to coach the Cowboys. Wade frickin’ Phillips. Let’s see….I am not a big fan of Bill Parcells, going so far as to call him the most overrated head coach in league history. That was probably a bit overstated and teams can do alot worse than the Tuna. He has the personality to take the spotlight and shine it directly on himself, allowing his players to play without the pressure. He even managed to co-exist with T.O. Now comes Phillips, not known for his personality in stints in Denver and Buffalo. What makes Jerry Jones think T.O. is going to give this guy any respect when he refused to give a guy with two rings and three Super Bowl appearances on his resume any due. Add that to the fact that Jason Garrett, with exactly 5 minutes of experience running an NFL offense will now have total control of Tony Romo and company since Phillips’ strength is defense. This just can’t end well, can it? The Cowboys have way too much talent, and the NFC is way too weak, for this team not to make a serious run next year, that is, unless the inmates run the asylum and the whole thing goes up in flames.

Technorati Tags: Cincinnati Reds, Bronson Arroyo, Jerry Jones, Wade Phillips, Dallas Cowboys, Aaron Harang, Duke, North Carolina, Coach K, Roy Williams, USC

There are three BCS Bowl games remaining this year. If I wasn’t from Ohio, and a fan of Ohio State, there would be no reason to watch. Nor is there a good reason to watch any game in 2007 because the Game of the Year happened the first day of the year, with the Little Team That Could, Boise St., knocking of the Big Bad Wolf, OU, in a classic Fiesta Bowl. If you didn’t watch the game, I’m sorry, you missed one heluva game.

Few times in my life have I stood and cheered at the television. Even fewer times has that happened at nearly 1 AM on a work night. I did last night, my sleeping family be damned. I’ll be honest, part of me wanted Boise St. to win, just for the little guy, yet another part of me wanted them to lose so Ohio State would be the only undefeated team should they win next week. Plus, Oklahoma was getting All-World running back Adrian Peterson back in the lineup in what figured to be his last college football game. I didn’t give Boise much hope.

Much to my surprise, it was the Broncos that came out and hit OU in the mouth. Like a boxer, who knows he doesn’t have the stamina to go 12 rounds with the World Champ so they try and throw as many hay-makers as possible trying to land the lucky punch, Boise got out to an early lead. Mid-way through the 3rd quarter the game looked to be over for the 1st of many times when Boise St. played the Pick-5 game to take a 28-10 lead. Certainly several of you went to bed at this point. I didn’t, riveted by the upset I thought I was watching.

The best was yet to come. Oklahoma, playing like the proud and storied team they are, battled back to within 8 with the help of a fluke bounce on a fumble. Fast forward to late in the 4th quarter. I am starting to get the sense that a great story, a Cinderella story, is about to come to an end. Boise St. looks tired, out of gas, out of hay-makers. With 1:31 to go, OU gets the TD they need, and the 2-point conversion to boot. The success rate of 2-point conversion in college football is less than 50%, and OU had to do it twice, the second from 7 yards out because of penalties.

Ok, no problem, Boise has two timeouts, a minute and half, to try and get the winning score. Worst case this game goes to OT. Ummm, not so fast. It’s OU who decides to play the Pick-6 game, taking a 7 point lead with a minute to go. My heart sank. I could hear all the big-school, BCS conference homers saying, “I told you so, small schools just don’t belong.”

The next half hour will be stuck in college football lore forever. Boise State has less than a minute, 2 timeouts and need a TD just to tie. After a completion and a sack, the Broncos face a 4th and 18. What do they call? The Hook-and-Ladder play, what else. Worked to perfection with 7 seconds to go the Broncos incredibly tie the game. I nearly choked on the water I was drinking.

To Overtime we go, and it doesn’t take long for the Sooners to regain the lead, with Peterson going 25 yards on the opening play for a 42-35 lead. It’s at this moment I say to my daughter’s Cabbage Patch Doll, my only company at the time, that if BSU can somehow get into the end zone they need to go for the win.

Boise gets the ball, and after driving to the 7 yard line, puts the ball in the hands of, who else, a sophomore WR. With their 5th year senior running in motion Boise scores on a 7 yard touchdown pass. “Gotta go for 2, gotta go for 2″ is all I kept saying, or yelling is more like it.

They do, and what play do you call in that situation? The same play I ran as a quarterback on my elementary school playground, the Statue of Liberty. A fake pass to the right, while handing the ball off behind your back to the left. Works like a champ, and Ian Johnson, a running back who broke the record for most TDs in D-I college football, runs untouched into the end-zone. I yelled, and what I said I won’t transcribe here for the sake of remaining kid-friendly. Game over, right?

WRONG. Johnson immediately hoes over to his girlfriend, a BSU cheerleader, drops to a knee and proposes, right then and there. Luckily for him she says yes, and the Broncos ride off into the sunset.

Final, 43-42 Boise State, and the Broncos win one for the little guy. Sure, the Broncos needed a bit of Daivd Copperfield and David Blaine to get it done, with illusion and magic, but they did it none the less. Congratulations Boise State, from one type of Broncos fan to another!

Photo Courtesy Of SI.com

Technorati Tags: Boise State, Fiesta Bowl, Oklahoma Sooners, Ian Johnson, Adrian Peterson

It’s official. Jim Tressel became the ultimate snub for 2006. Any sport, any award, any all-star game or pro bowl, doesn’t matter, Tressel wins for not winning. What am I talking about, you ask? The fact that Jim Tressel, who led the Ohio State Buckeyes to an undefeated season, all while ranked #1 of course, did not win either of the Coach of the Year awards. Are you kidding me? Before you get on my case, hear me out.

First, the guys that did win the awards were deserving. Greg Schiano of Rutgers won the Walter Camp Football Foundation award, while Jim Grobe of Wake Forest won the AP version. Both had great seasons, and came out of nowhere, leading there teams to big time Bowl berths. But is that worthy of beating Tressel? I think not….

What do you think is harder. Coaching a team to succes when no one expects you to be successful, or coaching the team that is the Pre-Season #1, for no real reason at all? Is it harder to coach a team that is picked to finish last or a team that is expected to play for the National Championship? I think you get my drift.

Why should Tressel be punished becuase the media didn’t know enough about Rutgers or Wake Forest to give them any respect. Why should Tressel be punished becuase the media decided his Buckeyes were the #1 team in the country?

I know I am grasping at straws, but sometimes the Coach of the Year goes to the biggest surprise instead of teh guy who did the best coaching job. Both Schiano and Grobe were wonderful stories and big surprises, but when you have the bullseye that is the #1 ranking on your back and still run the table with ease I think you have done a better coaching job. That coach is Jim Tressel, the SportsGuru.com Coach of the Year.

Technorati Tags: Ohio State, Jim Tressel, Coach of the Year, Greg Schiano, Rutgers, Jim Grobe, Wake Forest

Ok, so we all know that Jim Tressel is smarter than the rest of us. At least I did, and after news came out of Tressel’s abstention in voting last weekend in the College Football Coach’s Poll you should too. Sure, Tressel is taking a lot of heat for his actions from coaches at schools such as Texas Tech and Texas A&M, guys that coach teams that could only wish that they get the chance to do what Tressel has done and will do. Oh yea, and Lloyd Carr, who called the move “slick”. Even being sarcastic, Carr was right. The move was slick. Slick as slick can be.

Think about it. By voting, you are essentially teeling the world who you want to play, and more importantly who you don’t. No matter what you do you are giving two teams bulletin board fodder. If you vote Florida, Urban Meyer would wait about 1 second before saying Tressel is putting the Gators at #2 becuase he thinks they would be an easier opponent than the Wolverines. If you vote Michigan, you get the saem reaction from Carr, not to mention the backlash in Columbus for giving your hated rival that much respect. You’s also have the entire southern half of the country crying collusion, saying Tressel was only looking out for his conference.

Ya see, a no win situation. By abstaining, Tressel ensured this story would go away in about 15 minutes, leaving the focus of his team on the game at hand. No bulletin board material, no extra motivation for a team that just doesn’t matchup well agaisnt the over-powering Buckeyes.

In a deeper sense, how screwed up is this current bowl system when a coach has to vote, or essentially “choose” the opponent it will play for the championship. Could you imagine any other sport doing that? I won’t argue with the excitement that surrounds college football from early September to early January, but this system simply doesn’t work. The BCS has been in business for nearly 10 years, and it has worked only once, in 2003 when the Buckeyes and Hurricanes were both undefeated and played for the Championship.

As far as Tressel goes, he will continue to be criticized by coaches that couldn’t hold his sweater vest in the locker room. Guys that will never be in the unenviable position Tressel found himself in. But to me, and to all of you, Tressel should be seen as what he is, smarter than all of us for finding a way around this horrible system. Kudos to you Coach Tressel, kudos in deed!

Jim Tressel, Ohio State, Buckeyes, BCS Title Game, Michigan, Florida

It was inevitable, almost a fore gone conclusion that the loser of the biggest game in the history of mankind would want a rematch. Just like boxing, when many rematches are written into the contract, the Wolverines and their fans are clammoring for one now, after losing to Ohio State by ‘only’ three points. Well, color me against that idea with a bright shade of not a chance. The Wolverines are a good football team, and they played hard in a tough environment, no doubt about it. Are they a better team than the Buckeyes? No way, not 9 times out of 10.

Sure, give the Wolverines 10 shots at Troy Smith and they might stop him once, but even then I’d think twice about it. Just face the facts Michigan Fan, Tryo Smith owns you, Jim Tressel owns you, and the Buckeyes own you. For now at least. Like any great rivalry this one has many ups and downs throughout it’s 100 year history. Right now is a time of upswing for Ohio State, as it was for Michigan during the long departed John Cooper era in Columbus.

The Buckeyes racked up over 500 yards of offense, and led all but 6 minutes of the game, after teh Wolverines took the opening kick-off down the field for a TD. The Bucks quickly built a 21-7 lead. Michigan impressively cut the lead to 21-14, before Ohio State went the length of the field right before halftime, making the score 28-14. That’s the point. Ohio State moved the ball at will. Anytime the Wolverines mounted a challenge, Ohio State imposed it’s will. Even when Michigan DID have the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead, the Buckeyes held them to a 3 and out.

Looking closer at the game, I would even venture to say the Buckeyes played about as poorly as they could have, and STILL scored 42, and dominated the box score. Few times will a team go -3 in the turnover battle in a game of this magnitude and win. The Buckeyes did, and won impressively. Only a late TD kept the score from being double-digits, a testament to Michigan’s never say die attitude. I commend them for that.

What I don’t commend is this farce of a defense Michigan supposedly had. Sure, I know the Buckeyes could spread the field with 4 or 5 wides, debilitating the so-called advantage the Michigan front 7 had, and they did just that. What wasn’t supposed to happen were two long TD runs, one by Chris Wells and one by Antonio Pittman, on a defense that had allowed under 30 yards rushing per game. Ohio State nearly hit the 200 yard mark, and that is a weakness on this team. Not against the Wolverine Defense.

Back to the rematch arguement. I said last week that no matter who won a rematch would be unfair to the winner of the game. After watching the game I think a rematch would be unfair to the fans of college football. Ohio State played poorly and put 42 on Michigan. They won’t play that poorly in the National Championship game, and there is no way Lloyd Carr will out-coach Master Tressel in a gam of that mignitude. And that’s if Carr doesn’t spontaneously combust before the game due to the pressue. Yea, I know, the BCS is supposed to match the two best teams, and thos two teams might just be the Wolverines and Buckeyes. If that’s the case, I welcome the opportunity to throw 50 on ‘Big Blue’. I just don’t Michigan fan would want to be embarrassed again.

Plus, I want to see Pete Carroll face as the Buckeyes trounce USC, or Charlie Weis face if we get to whop Notre Dame again. College Football, I love this game!

Technorati Tags: Ohio State, Michigan, Buckeyes, Wolverinies, BCS National Championship Game, Rematch, Notre Dame, USC, Pete Carroll