Minor Speculum

Archive for the ‘Sports’ Category

The Heisman Trophy is a Heaping Pile of Contrived Chimpanzee Shit

There was a time when the Heisman Trophy went to the most outstanding college football player in the nation. Players from such schools as BYU, Houston, Army, SMU (Doak Walker, anyone?), and Yale have claimed the trophy during its history. Too bad those schools won’t ever even have a player nominated again.

This past Monday evening, the Heisman Trophy Trust of New York City announced the five Heisman finalists: Colt McCoy of Texas, Tim Tebow of Florida, Mark Ingram of Alabama, and two other guys that won’t win the award, but the Trust made finalists in order to save face. You tell me, what are their names?

You see, we live in a sad, sad time when the Heisman winner, more often than not, is little more than Prom King. Seven of the last ten Heisman winners played in the National Championship game. Pure coincidence? What are the odds that seven of the Best players of the past ten years played for the National Championship? I understand the logic; the Best player dramatically leads his team to an undefeated season, and then vies for the championship. Ahh yes, pure poetry.

Well, there’s a problem. A quarterback, running back, or player of any other position that leads his team to the Championship isn’t necessarily great. I know, I know… Blasphemy. There are so many other contributing factors to be considered when speaking of a Championship caliber team. These aren’t considered, however, when the ballots are cast. Instead, votes are based more on sentiment, and the voters are narrow minded. For instance, Pap Sheffield, who votes in the southeast region: “Hellfire! Jimmy McLatterhorn led his team to the national championship game. He completed 58% of his passes, threw for 23 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, and had three fourth-quarter comebacks!!” Aww Snap. What Pap didn’t take into account is the fact that Jimmy has a great supporting cast of senior receivers and running backs. Jimmy’s defense was absolutely devastating; the best and meanest in the country. And, by the way, half of Jimmy’s touchdown passes came in his four non-conference games, at home, against the likes of Akron, Tulane, New Mexico, and Florida Atlantic. Their combined record is 11-37 (thanks to Akron’s impressive 5-7 campaign).

I mention this because of McCoy and Tebow. Both played for teams with ridiculous non-conference schedules. Florida played two ranked teams the whole season, Texas three. While these two senior quarterbacks had pretty good seasons overall, they faltered against good competition. Just look at this past weekend if examples are needed. It seems to me that an Outstanding player would rise to the occasion when playing a good team.

Meanwhile, we have Mark Ingram of Alabama. A sophomore running back on what, in all likelihood, is the best team in the nation. It’s not that he isn’t deserving of the award. He had respectable numbers against some pretty good teams. Overall, he’s one of the best running backs in the nation. But not THE best.

That distinction goes to Toby Gerhart. The bruising, punishing running back for Stanford who probably has the most impressive numbers overall of any position player. His key stats are his 1,736 rushing yards and 26 rushing touchdowns. However, he has also has caught and thrown touchdown passes. Stanford finished 8-4 during an up year in Pac 10. Gerhart was the team. If it weren’t for three close road losses and a home loss to a rival, he’d be the favorite to win the award. However, since his defense couldn’t rise to the occasion at times, and his supporting cast on offense was average at best, he isn’t the most outstanding player in college football.

I guess while we’re here I’ll throw out the last name, eh? Ndamukong Sue is the fifth finalist. Like Toby Gerhart, his dominance alone took Nebraska to the Big 12 championship game, a game he almost single handedly won. He was the motor than ran a machine of destruction, the Blackshirt defense. Although his numbers are superb and he is the best interior lineman in all the land, he can’t win the award. He’s just not… sexy enough. Although Charles Woodson won the award as a defensive player, he also returned punts and occasionally played offense. When Heisman voters compare 82 tackles and 12 sacks to, say, Mark Ingram being the 5th best running back in the country for the number one team, which sounds more appealing?

So here we sit, a day before the most illustrious award in college sports is given. Mark Ingram is lounging in his hotel room in New York City right now in a silk robe drinking a mimosa, while his acceptance speech roles through his head. “I just want to thank God, my mom, and my teammates. Without all of them, this wouldn’t have been possible.” Meanwhile, Toby Gerhart is down the hall, using some of that Stanford knowledge to put together a one-of-a-kind speech that won’t be read. Ndamukong Sue is eating 56 ounces of prime rib. Tebow is leading prayer, and McCoy is giving an aww-shucks interview to an NBC affiliate out of Santa Fe. All the while, the Heisman voters are hunkering down for a long winters nap, while visions of mediocre tailbacks and quarterbacks on top ranked teams dance through their heads.

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Dec 11, 2009 • Sports

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Bowl Game U Pick’em

Tis the season for Bowl U Pick ‘em. Below is the list of this season’s bowl games. A few great games to be anticipated and about 30 that nobody cares about. List your winning team and point total for the BCS Championship. An overall bet or side bets are up for discussion. Good luck folks.

NEW MEXICO BOWL- Fresno State vs. Wyoming

ST. PETERSBURG BOWL- Rutgers vs. UCF

NEW ORLEANS BOWL- Southern Miss vs. Middle Tennessee

LAS VEGAS BOWL- BYU vs. Oregon State

POINSETTIA BOWL- Utah vs. California

HAWAII BOWL- SMU vs. Nevada

LITTLE CESARS PIZZA BOWL- Marshall vs. Ohio

MEINEKE CAR CARE BOWL- North Carolina vs. Pittsburgh

EMERALD BOWL- Boston College vs. USC

MUSIC CITY BOWL- Clemson vs. Kentucky

INDEPENDENCE BOWL- Texas A&M vs. Georgia

EAGLEBANK BOWL- Temple vs. UCLA or Army

CHAMPS SPORTS BOWL- Miami vs. Wisconsin

HUMANITARIAN BOWL- Idaho vs. Bowling Green

HOLIDAY BOWL- Nebraska vs. Arizona

ARMED FORCES BOWL- Houston vs. Air Force

SUN BOWL – Oklahoma vs. Stanford

TEXAS BOWL- Navy vs. Missouri

INSIGHT BOWL- Minnesota vs. Iowa State

CHICK-FIL-A BOWL- Virginia Tech vs. Tennessee

OUTBACK BOWL- Northwestern vs. Auburn

CAPITAL ONE BOWL – Penn State vs. LSU

GATOR BOWL – Florida State vs. West Virginia

INTERNATIONAL BOWL- South Florida vs. Northern Illinois

PAPAJOHNS.COM BOWL- Connecticut vs. South Carolina

COTTON BOWL- Oklahoma State vs. Ole Miss

LIBERTY BOWL- East Carolina vs. Arkansas

ALAMO BOWL – Michigan State vs. Texas Tech

GMAC BOWL – Troy vs. Central Michigan

ROSE BOWL – Ohio State vs. Oregon

SUGAR BOWL – Florida vs. Cincinnati

FIESTA BOWL- Boise State vs. TCU

ORANGE BOWL – Iowa vs. Georgia

BCS CHAMPIONSHIP- Alabama vs. Texas

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Dec 07, 2009 • Sports

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Showdown at the Horseshoe

We all know the implications. We all know what is at stake. We all know the history.

One of college football’s most storied rivals may be propelled into the most important regular season game in the history of the sport this weekend when Michigan travels to Ohio State.

This is it, the week has finally arrived, number one vs. number two for half the marbles. Winner goes to the BCS Championship. But is it fair to have the loser go to the BCS Championship as well?

In two words: hell no.

No one wants to see a rematch like a professional sports series. If Michigan beats OSU then Michigan should get to play another team, they should not have to beat the same team twice in a row to prove they are the better team. And as far as that goes, neither should OSU. They very well could be the best two teams in college football but we only need one game to decide who is the best team.

An analysis:

OSU offense is fast and can score in a number of ways. They have only scored less than 20 one time this year. Michigan has not played such a potent offense all year. But on the flip side of that, OSU has not gone up against a defense like Michigan. We all thought Texas was the test for the Buckeyes but let us not kid ourselves, Texas let Kansas State score 45 on them. The most Michigan has allowed is 26 in a fluke to Ball State.

The story is in fact the Wolverine defense vs the Buckeye offense but take a look at the other side of the equation. Michigan can put points on the board and if Manningham and Breaston can stretch the field, then look out. But the real shocker is the Buckeye’s defense, which has not alllowed anyone to break 20 all year; the most they gave up was 17 to Iowa.

When looking at the head to head matchups, paper can be deceiving. If one only addresses common opponents then one would conclude that OSU would win in a rout. We all know that will not happen. It will be the best game of the year and should come down to the last play like many OSU-Michigan games have.

Nov 13, 2006 • Sports

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The Playoffs Keep on Rolling

The Indians get the BIG win at Wyoming Lee last Friday on the ground. The green machine went into half time trailing 12- 7, but came out and shut down Wyoming Lee. After scoring twice, the Indians were trying to maintain their 20- 12 lead with the forth quarter winding down. With 1:30 left in the game Wyoming Lee had the ball first and goal from the five yard line. The Indians held that f’n line! But on forth down from the two they were called for an inadvertent facemask, which gave the Rebles one more chance from the one. The Indians held that f’n line! Game over! H town did a fantastic job running the ball to scratch and claw their way to a win. So the Indians are going to take on the forth seed Montague who got a big 35 – 7 win over the number one and formerly undefeated Kalamazoo Christian Comets. These kids from Montague are no joke. They are currently sporting a 6- 4 record with all four losses coming at the hands of playoff teams. The scouting report is these kids from Montague don’t want to win, they expect to win. They have the hide the ball type offense out of a lot of different formations. Their main running back is a hard runner with extremely good vision and balance. He’s no blazer, but he is fast enough to get the job done. The Wildcats have put 293 points this year and have the potential to score on the ground and through the air. The defense has the pleasure of putting out a relatively fresh squad. Very few kids play both ways for Montague and the team, in the films I have watched, is very fresh in the forth quarter. The Wildcats have all of the same holes in theirs defense that we do. They run in essence the same defense that Hartford does; although the cornerbacks play very far back off of the line of scrimmage and the defensive ends often line up inside the last man on the line of scrimmage. Plus, sorry I am an offensive minded person, the outside linebackers don’t walk away very far on the receiver side that isn’t covered by a tight end. Whew. With all of that said the defense has given up 251 points this year and are not extremely big in size. SO! Brad do we got a shot? Yes, but not a very good one. The Indians stagnant offense that focuses on the power running game hasn’t worked very well in the last few weeks. Last Friday the Indians completed one pass. We need to be able to move the ball without depending on a power running game. In my opinion the Indians need to stretch the field with the pass. They also need to spread the Wildcats defense with outside runs and an option attack that could and would work very well against them. Any hoo. The game is Saturday at 1:00 in Hartford.

Other Playoff News

Hartford’s potential regional championship opponent will be decided when the Constantine Falcons play at Union City. Last Saturday Constantine avenged a regular season loss to Schoolcraft, blowing out the Eagles 63- 20.

The Gobles Tigers were destroyed at home 30- 7 at the hands of Holton. The Tigers gained only 63 yards rushing the whole game. The acclaimed state title hopefuls in the SAC weren’t the only conference team to lose early, Lawton was beaten badly by MCC. Decatur pulled a come from behind victory to beat Centerville, the Raiders were down by 35 points at the half. The last SAC team to advance was the Martin Clippers. However Martin will travel to Climax Scotts this week, where they have been up ended the last two years in the playoffs.

Mr. Paran’s Mattawan Wildcats lost a tough one at Lakeshore last week. It is unfortunate but it thankfully sets up the biggest match up in the area. The St. Joe Bears who were winless last year up ended the number one seeded Gull Lake to take on their bitter rivals in Stevensville. Yeah I said it! The BEARS take on the LANCERS! The contest will return to Lakeshore where the Lancers came out on top 34- 14. The contest will take place in Stevensville on Friday at 7:30.

Lastly, Dave’s Ovid Elsie Marauders beat Essexville Garber 35- 0. They will travel this week to take on top seed and undefeated Saginaw Swan Valley. Keep the dream alive….Dave!?

Scott Says!
Here is your official guide to the best high school playoff games for the week of October 29. I’ve listed at least 3 good games in each division, with most of the better games occurring in the higher divisions. In parentheses at the end of each line is each teams current ranking in their respected division. If you want to see what may amount to the best football game this post-season, head to Lowell on Saturday for their match-up with Muskegon. Both teams blew-out their first round opponents. Along with Rockford and East Grand Rapids, these are the most talked about teams in the north. Lowell’s QB, Keith Nichol, is phenomenal. He was named player of the year in class A last year, and lead his team to a perfect year as a sophomore. His stats from this past week- 15-24 for 270 yards and 3 TD’s, as well as 116 yards on 16 carries with 2 TD’s. By the way, he’s the team’s best cornerback. Check out the impressive Lowell football site: http://www.lowellfootball.com/links/.
For updated dates and times of playoff football games, go to: www.mhsaa.com

DIVISION 1
Rockford (9-1) at Holt (9-1) Friday, 7 (#3 vs. #8)
South Lyon (9-1) at Canton (10-0)– Friday, 7 (#7 vs. #2)
Clarkston (9-1) at Lake Orion (10-0) (#10 vs. #1)

DIVISION 2
Muskegon (10-0) at Lowell (10-0) Saturday, 1 (#2 vs. #3)
Walled Lake Central (8-2) at Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (8-2) – Saturday, 1 (#8 vs. #5)
Detroit Henry Ford (8-2) at Birmingham Brother Rice (10-0) (#9 vs. #1)

DIVISION 3
Escanaba (7-3) at Cadillac (7-3) Saturday, 1 (no rankings, just Jim Webb)
Fruitport (10-0) at East Grand Rapids (8-1) Friday, 7 (#3 vs. #1)
St Joseph (6-4) at Stevensville Lakeshore (8-2) (Rivalry game)
Gibraltar Carlson (9-1) at Chelsea (9-1) Friday, 7 (#7 vs. #2)

DIVISION 4
Grand Rapids Catholic Central (8-2) at Zeeland West (9-1) Friday, 7 (#5 vs. #1)
Dowagiac (8-2) at Battle Creek Harper Creek (9-1) Friday, 7:30 (N/R vs. #8)
Croswell-Lexington (9-1) at Marine City (10-0) (#6 vs. #2)
Highland Park (9-1) at Detroit Crockett (8-2) (#9 vs. Honorable Mention)

DIVISION 5
Ovid-Elsie (7-2) at Saginaw Swan Valley (10-0)– Friday, 7 (For Dave, N/R vs. #4)
Detroit Country Day (8-2) at Madison Heights Madison (10-0) – Friday, 7 (#9 vs. #6)
Birch Run (9-1) at Lake Fenton (10-0) – Friday, 7 (#8 vs. #7)
Onsted (9-1) at Hillsdale (10-0) (#9 vs. #3)

DIVISION 6
Calumet (8-2) 56.889 at Iron Mountain (8-2) Friday, 7 (Both teams Honorable Mentions)
Kingsley (8-2) 66.556 at Suttons Bay (10-0) Friday, 7 (H/M vs. #7)
Constantine (8-1) at Union City (9-1) (#4 vs N/R)

DIVISION 7
Ishpeming (7-2) at Norway (8-2) – Saturday, 2 (#7 vs. #8)
Holton (7-3) at Muskegon Catholic Central (8-2) (Both beat SAC teams)
Decatur (9-1) at Cassopolis (10-0) Friday, 7:30 (#6 vs. #1)
Grass Lake (8-2) at Sand Creek (10-0) Friday, 7 (H/M vs. #3)

DIVISION 8
Martin (8-2) at Climax-Scotts (10-0) (H/M vs. #4)
Crystal Falls Forest Park (7-2) at Iron Mountain North Dickinson (10-0) Friday, 7 (H/M vs. #2)
Waterford Our Lady (8-2) at Sterling Heights Parkway Christian (10-0) (H/M vs. #5)

Oct 29, 2006 • Sports

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High School Playoffs

The Hartford Indians are in the playoffs! Despite losing the SAC championship game the Indians are in with a seven and two record. Hartford is matched up in the first district of region three, in division six with the Wyoming Lee Rebels. Through mind numbing searching I was able to find that the Rebels are located just south of Grand Rapids and are an independent team, not affiliated with a conference. Wyoming Lee posts a record of seven wins with only one loss coming in week one to the Martin Clippers. The Rebels have scored 319 points and have given up 97 this year. Where as the Indians have posted 200 points and allowed 159. With those simple stats in place it looks like the Indians may have their hands full, but it is hard to tell with both teams weak schedules. Out of nine teams the Indians have faced this year only three were able to make the playoffs and just four teams posted a winning record. The Rebels have put up big numbers against teams like New Buffalo, 41-6, and Eau Claire, 35-0. Once again their only loss came at the hands of the Martin Clippers. The same Clippers that last week lost to Decatur, 34- 14. The Indians defeated those playoff bound Raiders by a score of 25- 19 in double overtime. So how good are the Wyoming Lee Rebels? I have no idea. But I do know that this is the first time a Wyoming Lee football team has ever made it to the playoffs. Their seven and one record is the best in the schools history. This is also the first time in their schools history winning over five games. They have only had three winning seasons since 1990. So once again, how good are the Wyoming Lee Rebels? Hopefully not as good as Hartford. If Hartford should win they would take on the winner of 5-4 Montague at 9-0 Kalamazoo Christian.

Other notable playoff bound teams are:

Former Hartford coach Jim Webb has a 6-3 Cadillac team in the playoffs playing against a 5-4 Petoskey team. Cadillac in division three, region one, district one could run into a regional championship game with other notable Hartford area teams. Coach Paran travels back to his old team in the first round of the playoffs as 7-2 Mattawan takes on 7-2 Lakeshore in Stevensville. The Dock versus Paran game should be one of the best in the area. The St. Joseph Bears are also in that district but have to pull a big upset against 8-1 Richland Gull Lake to get a rematch with either the Lancers or the Wildcats. Both Mattawan and Lakeshore beat the Bears in the regular season.

Good ole Dave’s 7-2 Ovid Elsie Marauders, I think that’s their name, are in division five and playing 6-3 Essexville Garber. I don’t really know anything about either team, nor does anyone else for that matter….Go Dave!?

In the region below Hartford, the 8-1 Schoolcraft Eagles take on the 8-1 Constantine Falcons. Snap! The Eagles have been the only team to beat Constantine this year, and they did so with a last second field goal to win 35-32. The winner of that playoff game will take on the winner of the game between 7-2 Kalamazoo Hackett and 8-1 Union City. This is the toughest district in my opinion, which doesn’t really mean tidally squat. Oh yeah and the winner of this district could take on the Hartford Indians in the regional championship game.

In division seven the undefeated champions of the SAC, Gobles Tigers take on 6-3 Holton. Gobles will most likely win, as much as I don’t like to say that. Lawton has made the playoffs for the first time since 1985. Congratulations Blue Devils! Now you can go on to play the Muskegon Catholic Central Crusaders and get beat very, very badly. Gobles versus MCC for the district championship game should be a good one. The winner of that district could see more area teams. The EC Beavers are the Red Arrow Conference champions. Wait…what!? Say that again. The Eau Claire Beavers are the Red Arrow Conference champions! That is extremely depressing. Sigh. EC will take on an undefeated team from Cassopolis. Also in that district is the Decatur Raiders. Yes that Raider team that at one point was undefeated ranked fifth in division seven, and supposedly on a collision course with Gobles in the SAC championship game. I wonder what happened to those guys. Anyway they take on 7-2 Centerville.

Lastly, all the way at the bottom of the list in division eight, the 7-2 Martin Clippers play at home against a 7-2 team from Pittsford. If the Clippers can get by Pittsford they will take on the undefeated Panthers of Climax Scotts. Climax Scotts have beaten the Clippers the last two years in the playoffs. Martin was routed 49-12 in 2004 as the Panthers went on the win the state title, and the Clippers were clipped 32-29 in last years opening round of the playoffs.

Well that about sums it up and I apologize for typing so damn much. I was an accident. GO GREEN!

Oct 22, 2006 • Sports

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Take the Wolverines and Run

In the wake of two big victories over the superior Irish and the team from Wisconsin, the Wolverines of Michigan are enjoying a new found hype. One of the biggest puffs they are being given is this notion of a great run defense. When in reality it is not so much the great run defense, it is the Wolverines offense that is causing the discrepency in rushing yards for other teams.

The fact is, Michigan does not get run on that much because they are up big quick and everyone is throwing the ball on them. And they are throwing it well; to the tune of over 210 yards per contest, ranking Michigan near the bottom of Division 1-A. But all is well with Big Blue, as they only have two real contests left in Iowa and Ohio State.

Unless Michigan State decides to do the unthinkable: run the ball all over the Wolverines. MSU averages over 220 yards rushing per game and if they come out and get a lead, making it possible for them to keep the ball out of the air, they can and will beat Michigan.

As a footnote I would like to add that yes, I do know I am full of it, but why don’t you argue with me instead of calling me names? Zing.

Sep 27, 2006 • Sports

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Poetic Justice in South Bend

Last year I wrote an article about Michigan losing to the Irish in Ann Arbor and I will now follow it up with a brief summary of what happened in South Bend this year. Just to be fair and all.

The scoreboard started ticking and when it stopped, Michigan had a few more points than Notre Dame did. Simple as that. I feel a lot better being able to put my bias on the back burner and give ol’ Blue some credit.

But really what happened was Brady Quinn was up all night banging all the Michigan groupies that were in town for the game and he did not get a chance to rest up. Tom Zbikowski was too busy beating up people at a frat party. And Jeff Samardzija was doing whatever the hell he does that distracted him from focusing on football. So, take it or leave it you Wolverine fans, this is my official statement of credit to the title sharing Maize and Blue. Now that the Irish have no chance of a national title, I am focusing all my efforts on willing the Chicago Bears into winning a playoff game.

I think I might not hold my breath on that.

Sep 17, 2006 • Sports

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5 Suggestions for the Cubs

There are only three teams with less wins than the cursed Cubs in the progressing MLB season and any true fan can’t help but expect it to get worse. As we all know, it always gets worse for the Cubs. Now, I can’t go back to the NL Championship against Florida and blame Bartman but I do have a few suggestions for Jim Hendry and the Cubs organization. In descending order:

1. Spend more money. The Cubs are owned by a billion dollar media conglomorate and their fans have never stopped coming out to Wrigley, even though they haven’t won in half a century. Cubs jersey sales and merchandise are among the highest in any professional sport. The North Siders still have more die hard fans than the South Siders, yet the Sox have $8 million more in payroll. They had a chance three years ago to get Vlad Guerrero and opted only for Maddux. They have the cash, they just need to spend it.

2. Keep your pitchers healthy in the off season. I’m not sure if they do but they really should require their out-of-shape pitchers to do something in the off season. Over the last five years they have had the most injuries to their rotation, more than any other notable team. Maybe there is nothing they can do but it seems like a pro ball club could implement some kind of workout program for the young staff to take part in instead of tearing muscles in their arms.

3. Make a big trade. They need to change things up a bit. I like what they did in the off season by getting Jacque Jones and Juan Pierre but what they need to do is send Wood or Prior packing. Maybe even put Aramis Ramirez on the block. I don’t pretend to be a GM but a big trade could be a substitute shake-up instead of firing manager Dusty Baker.

4. If they fire anybody, it should be Jim Hendry. You can’t blame anyone for the injuries this season but if you must, start at the top of the pyramid. Baker may be out after this year anyway and face it, there won’t be any turn around substantial enough to overcome a 14 game deficit in the NL Central. So maybe give Ol’ Hendry one more year to get it turned around. I know they just extended his contract but it’s worth bringing in someone without attachments to the current roster to maybe turn things upside down.

5. Give Michael Barrett a raise for punching AJ Pierzynski. Now he just needs to beat the crap out of the rest of the hitters on the team. Maybe then the second lowest scoring team in the League can get their heads on straight.

Jun 01, 2006 • Sports

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Paterno’s Words Reportedly Misread

On the eve of the Orange Bowl between Penn State and Florida State, the ever resilient Joe Paterno was asked about the suspension of a Florida State linebacker, A.J. Nicholson, over an alleged sexual assault. Paterno replied, “There’s some tough — there’s so many people gravitating to these kids. He may not have even known what he was getting into, Nicholson. They knock on the door; somebody may knock on the door; a cute girl knocks on the door. What do you do?”

“Geez. I hope — thank God they don’t knock on my door because I’d refer them to a couple of other rooms,” Paterno continued. “But that’s too bad. You hate to see that. I really do. You like to see a kid end up his football career. He’s a heck of a football player, by the way; he’s a really good football player. And it’s just too bad.”

The National Organization for Women, or NOW, has demanded that Paterno step down from his post of 40 years stating that his comments were deemed inapporpriate and claiming that his statements endorsed rape and sexual assault.

Paternor replied by telling ESPN.com, “Most people know me. I am what I am, I had no intention … it was taken out of context. Having said that, they have every right to do what they want to do.” He also stated, “If my kids calls for [my resignation], if my squad calls for it … but when people don’t know what they’re doing are looking for publicity or trying to give publicity to their cause or looking for some sort of scapegoat, no, it doesn’t bother me.”

Penn State officials have said that Paterno made the statement in the larger context of bowl game distractions, rather than an endorsement of sexual misconduct. However advocates from NOW have continued to volley verbal assaults on the venerable Paterno.

Hopefully the situation can be resolved for the old ball coach, and I’m not entirely convinced that his statements were intended as NOW claims, but we’ll find out soon enough.

Jan 11, 2006 • Sports

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Tis The Season To Go Bowling

Continuing on this beaten path of Bowl bid talk, here are the actual BCS Bowls.

Rose Bowl (Championship)
USC (12-0) v. Texas (12-0)

Not even the BCS could’ve gotten this match-up wrong.

Fiesta Bowl
Notre Dame (9-2) v. Ohio State (9-2)

Two at large teams were picked for this game for one reason: to make some money. Easily the second best BCS Bowl pairing.

Orange Bowl
Florida State (7-4) v. Penn State (10-1)

The flaw of having automatic bids is that FSU gets in to a BCS bowl and Oregon gets left out. One play against Michigan and PSU could’ve really rattled the BCS system.

Sugar Bowl
West Virginia (10-1) v. Georgia (10-2)

Georgia was the best team in the SEC and West Virginia hasn’t gotten the respect they deserve. What happened to Alabama?

Some other notable bowls that should be interesting:

Champs Sports Bowl
Clemson v. Colorado

MPC Computers Bowl
Boston College v. Boise State

Alamo Bowl
Michigan v. Nebraska

Holiday Bowl
Oregon v. Oklahoma

Peach Bowl
Miami v. LSU

Cotton Bowl
Texas Tech v. Alabama

Capital One Bowl
Wisconsin v. Auburn

Gator Bowl
Louisville v. Virginia Tech

Let’s hear some predictions on the BCS bowl games. Maybe we could get a pool going on just the BCS games, with spreads and all.

Dec 05, 2005 • Sports

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