So I have gotten a little feedback from a few of my followers that some of my posts are a little long. Sorry, I just have a lot that I need to say and at times it is impossible to compact it all. I promise what I say will never get boring, so just read on! Today is a smorgesborg!
On that note, Utah is going to the Pac 10! Who called it?! (Me and a billion other people, actually). That should be an interesting fit. I wonder how there rivalry with BYU will work. Maybe the same way as Boise State's with Idaho. Except that BYU is actually good at sports and doesn't totally suck at everything like Idaho does. In case you're wondering; no, I am not biased towards Boise State.
As mentioned in one of my recent posts, the World Cup is amazing! There has been a lack of goal scoring through the first round, but the second round has kicked off (pun intended) well. Uruguay drops 3 on South Africa, Argentina scores 4 against South Korea and then Greece gets a couple versus Nigeria. We will see what Mexico and France have in store for us a little later on today. The rest should be magical! By they way, Jack in the Box rules! Their antenna toppers are World Cup Jack heading a ball and it has stickers of all the flags of the countries in the tournament so that you can pick your favorite. That's awesome!
NBA Finals game 7 tonight. The Celtics are in trouble with Kendrick Perkins and his torn ligaments in his knee not being able to hit the floor. There goes a bulk of their toughness and grit. Rasheed Wallace has to start now. Be afraid Celtic fans. Sheed is not the guy you want to depend on. It's over. Take it to the bank.
One last thing, the Jim Rome Show is the greatest thing to ever happen to radio. Monday through Friday 10 AM to 1 PM Mountain Time. Check it out!
Showing posts with label Utah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Utah. Show all posts
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Into the spotlight, for better or worse.
It has always intrigued me how some schools have way more problems with athletes than other ones. But then again, maybe it is the same everywhere but because some colleges are bigger and "better" they just get more attention when somebody gets on the wrong side of the law. But then again, maybe it is what it seems. No smoke and mirrors. What do you think?
In college sports, recruiting is the number one endeavor that can make or break a program. This is obvious as the top football programs in the nation are consistently able to bring in those five-star players and incorporate them into their already stacked teams. How many top rated quarterbacks does one college squad need? At Texas, Oklahoma, USC, Ohio State, and other household, brand name colleges, the most likely answer is at least 3 or 4. The idea and obsessive occurrence of ranking these athletes proves the importance and attention that coaches and athletic directors put on recruiting. It is the same for fans. How many 5 and 4 stars did my school get on signing day? This seems to be the type of questions that fans ask themselves and discuss during the recruiting and signing period. Also, it explains the plethora of recruiting violations that exist in the NCAA, ranging from a minor violation of texting or calling a recruit a day before it is allowed, to a major violation of providing illegal or improper benefits to a coveted player. When a Michigan gets the top offensive lineman, it is just one example of the rich getting richer. However, every now and then, a smaller program is able to recruit a decent group of players. Then if they have good coaches, these athletes can develop and compete closely with the Florida’s and the LSU’s of the world. At times, these “lesser” schools can build on their own success until they have made themselves into bigger players in the college football world, garnering national attention and even beating some of these big names from time to time. This is exactly what has happened with schools such as Boise State, TCU, Utah, and even BYU, who won a pre-BCS national championship in 1984. Thus we see that in the last 5 years, at least one of these smaller schools has been in a BCS bowl game playing against the proverbial powerhouses, and in most cases winning. Boise State is the model school for turning lightly recruited cast-offs into All-American candidates and then beating the big schools in their own bowl games. For example; there has been Ryan Clady, Kyle Wilson, and currently Heisman-worthy Kellen Moore. All three of these athletes have played in one or both of the Fiesta Bowls in which the Broncos have found themselves. With this success the Broncos are now able to bring in bigger and more recruited athletes. It is a snowball effect of achievement that continues to build on itself. As mentioned, these schools, including Boise State, find themselves in the limelight, receiving a great deal of fame. They continue to reap the benefits of more and better recruits, and plenty of national exposure to boot. Like all things in life, there is a bad to the good, a dark to the light, an opposition. With national prowess and exposure come critical comments and a magnifying glass from the media, searching for any small or minute amount of wrongdoing. These small items often get blown out of proportion. It is also common to innocently bring in a couple of “thugs” or “bad apples” with the school’s recruiting classes. It is known that some, not all, of the best athletes have personal issues and/or behavioral problems. Exhibit A: The Miami Hurricanes of the 80’s and 90’s, the most famous being Michael Irvin and his well-publicized legal and personal issues. We also see Maurice Clarett from Ohio State and most recently, half of the University of Oregon football squad. Their struggles range from the Legarette Blount punch, to a line backer being kicked off the team, to even the star quarterback pleading guilty to burglary and being suspended for the entire season. Even more recently he has been dismissed ("dismissed" is a kind word meaning they got him out of there as fast as they possible could!) from the team for charges of marijuana posession, driving without a license, and a traffic violatioin. Sucks to be him. Even the Broncos are not immune to such difficulties. Jason Robinson, a back-up safety and special teams standout, was charged in with felony-aggravated battery for punching a Boise man at a bar and breaking his jaw in an incident that took place in March. He was promptly suspended from the team indefinitely. Robinson has later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor battery charge and will spend time in the Ada County Sheriff’s labor detail. He will also pay restitution to the man whose jaw he broke. It may come as a surprise that this took place as the Broncos, for the most part, have avoided the negative spotlight. But just as history has shown us, sometimes the better athletes bring baggage, find themselves in unanticipated places, and end up doing things they never intended on doing. It is a sad facet to the grandeur and splendor that is college football. While Utah, TCU, Boise State, and BYU may never achieve the history and pageantry of Oklahoma or USC, they can at least compete with such programs on a game-to-game basis and on big stages. At the same time, they may never come under as much scrutiny when it comes to legal issues and personal problems for some of the players. But let’s not kid ourselves; no one is immune to the dark side of college athletics and recruiting.
In college sports, recruiting is the number one endeavor that can make or break a program. This is obvious as the top football programs in the nation are consistently able to bring in those five-star players and incorporate them into their already stacked teams. How many top rated quarterbacks does one college squad need? At Texas, Oklahoma, USC, Ohio State, and other household, brand name colleges, the most likely answer is at least 3 or 4. The idea and obsessive occurrence of ranking these athletes proves the importance and attention that coaches and athletic directors put on recruiting. It is the same for fans. How many 5 and 4 stars did my school get on signing day? This seems to be the type of questions that fans ask themselves and discuss during the recruiting and signing period. Also, it explains the plethora of recruiting violations that exist in the NCAA, ranging from a minor violation of texting or calling a recruit a day before it is allowed, to a major violation of providing illegal or improper benefits to a coveted player. When a Michigan gets the top offensive lineman, it is just one example of the rich getting richer. However, every now and then, a smaller program is able to recruit a decent group of players. Then if they have good coaches, these athletes can develop and compete closely with the Florida’s and the LSU’s of the world. At times, these “lesser” schools can build on their own success until they have made themselves into bigger players in the college football world, garnering national attention and even beating some of these big names from time to time. This is exactly what has happened with schools such as Boise State, TCU, Utah, and even BYU, who won a pre-BCS national championship in 1984. Thus we see that in the last 5 years, at least one of these smaller schools has been in a BCS bowl game playing against the proverbial powerhouses, and in most cases winning. Boise State is the model school for turning lightly recruited cast-offs into All-American candidates and then beating the big schools in their own bowl games. For example; there has been Ryan Clady, Kyle Wilson, and currently Heisman-worthy Kellen Moore. All three of these athletes have played in one or both of the Fiesta Bowls in which the Broncos have found themselves. With this success the Broncos are now able to bring in bigger and more recruited athletes. It is a snowball effect of achievement that continues to build on itself. As mentioned, these schools, including Boise State, find themselves in the limelight, receiving a great deal of fame. They continue to reap the benefits of more and better recruits, and plenty of national exposure to boot. Like all things in life, there is a bad to the good, a dark to the light, an opposition. With national prowess and exposure come critical comments and a magnifying glass from the media, searching for any small or minute amount of wrongdoing. These small items often get blown out of proportion. It is also common to innocently bring in a couple of “thugs” or “bad apples” with the school’s recruiting classes. It is known that some, not all, of the best athletes have personal issues and/or behavioral problems. Exhibit A: The Miami Hurricanes of the 80’s and 90’s, the most famous being Michael Irvin and his well-publicized legal and personal issues. We also see Maurice Clarett from Ohio State and most recently, half of the University of Oregon football squad. Their struggles range from the Legarette Blount punch, to a line backer being kicked off the team, to even the star quarterback pleading guilty to burglary and being suspended for the entire season. Even more recently he has been dismissed ("dismissed" is a kind word meaning they got him out of there as fast as they possible could!) from the team for charges of marijuana posession, driving without a license, and a traffic violatioin. Sucks to be him. Even the Broncos are not immune to such difficulties. Jason Robinson, a back-up safety and special teams standout, was charged in with felony-aggravated battery for punching a Boise man at a bar and breaking his jaw in an incident that took place in March. He was promptly suspended from the team indefinitely. Robinson has later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor battery charge and will spend time in the Ada County Sheriff’s labor detail. He will also pay restitution to the man whose jaw he broke. It may come as a surprise that this took place as the Broncos, for the most part, have avoided the negative spotlight. But just as history has shown us, sometimes the better athletes bring baggage, find themselves in unanticipated places, and end up doing things they never intended on doing. It is a sad facet to the grandeur and splendor that is college football. While Utah, TCU, Boise State, and BYU may never achieve the history and pageantry of Oklahoma or USC, they can at least compete with such programs on a game-to-game basis and on big stages. At the same time, they may never come under as much scrutiny when it comes to legal issues and personal problems for some of the players. But let’s not kid ourselves; no one is immune to the dark side of college athletics and recruiting.
Monday, June 14, 2010
So much for the chaos
Maybe we can compare it to a boxer taking a couple of shots but stands firm and ends of knocking out his opponent. The Big 12 is the triumphant fighter and the Pac 10 the latter. After all the threats, rumors, reports, stories, and general hooplah (including your's truly) the University of Texas is staying put. This has just been confirmed by the school after the Pac 10 commissioner first broke the news. The Longhorns were the ringleader of the realignment motion so this means that Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, and maybe Texas A & M are all remaining at home. So much for the super conference formerly known as the Pac 10. That leaves the Big 12 with 10 teams and the Big 10 with 12. No, they probably won't switch names. Maybe the Big 12 will try and patch itself back together with TCU or a combo of a couple of other schools. Dan Bebee deserves a lot of credit as the commissioner that kept the conference from complete destruction. As part of the deal, Texas gets their own TV network and a truckload of money to boot. After all, money was the number one reason why the conference realignment began.
Expect the Pac 10 to invite Utah to join. They need to get a 12th team to maintain balance and get the even number that they want. So the madness seems to be over, for now!
Expect the Pac 10 to invite Utah to join. They need to get a 12th team to maintain balance and get the even number that they want. So the madness seems to be over, for now!
Friday, June 11, 2010
Mountain West Time!
As of approximately 11:00 AM Mountain Time today, June 11th, 2010, Boise State University has accepted an invite to the Mountain West Conference. This is great news for Bronco fans and fans of the schools of the Mountain West. Consider it a simbiotic relationship. We all help each other. Boise State strengthens their schedule and the Mountain West gets better and obtains more credibility to become an A.Q. I, personally am very excited! Every season now the Broncos will be fighting tooth and nail with the likes of the funky frogs of TCU, the cleverly names Utah Utes, and the Cougars of BYU (not hot older chick cougars, the actual animal is the mascot). It should be a lot of fun to watch year in and year out!
As excited as I am, I also feel that the invite to the Mountain West is a little premature on their part. As mentioned in my previous post, we are still at the beginning of the college football conference realignment chaos and nothing has really happened yet. Chalk it up to a preemptive strike by the good folks of the MWC. Like I said, I feel that it was bound to happen regardless, but I didn't expect it to take place right now. All's well that ends well, right? Now that the invite has happened, let's just sit back and enjoy what is sure to be an interesting and exciting college football offseason!
As excited as I am, I also feel that the invite to the Mountain West is a little premature on their part. As mentioned in my previous post, we are still at the beginning of the college football conference realignment chaos and nothing has really happened yet. Chalk it up to a preemptive strike by the good folks of the MWC. Like I said, I feel that it was bound to happen regardless, but I didn't expect it to take place right now. All's well that ends well, right? Now that the invite has happened, let's just sit back and enjoy what is sure to be an interesting and exciting college football offseason!
College Football Apocalypse...or just massive chaos
Alright, I need to chime in on the mass hysteria that is currently happening in the world of college football (which is my favorite thing in the world, by the way). There is one way that I can sum up the state of affairs; Holy crap! As you might expect, I have a somewhat unique/biased perspective, being a huge fan of Boise State. For me, it will all come down to whether or not the Broncos make the jump to the Mountain West Conference or not. But a lot needs to happen before that invitation will or will not happen. It's the waiting game, just like it has been for years for the Broncos. So in other words, nothing has really changed for Boise State, yet…
It seems that everybody is jumping ship, bailing from the Big 12 Conference. I still haven't figured out a real good reason to do that, as it has been one of the strongest conferences in the nation. Oh wait, money, that's right! Nebraska is in for a HUGE yearly paycheck from the lucrative Big 10 Conference and their TV/marketing deal. Colorado may have made a lateral slide financially speaking. However, they have played "bottom-of-the-barrel" status in the BIG 12 for quite a while and sometimes new scenery and new friends is the best way to break out of a funk. We will see what happens with that. Look on the bright side Buffalo fans; it really can't get any worse. It will be interesting to see what happens with ex-Boise State Bronco coach Dan Hawkins and Colorado this season, as he was mercifully granted another year to lead the team. It's bowl game or bust for Hawk and the Buff's. We will see if he makes it to be a Pac 10 coach.
But what happens now? I have two options that I think will happen. Texas, Texas Tech, Texas A & M, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State will leave the Big 12 and join the now Pac 16, making it a super conference. That will leave Missouri, Iowa State, Kansas State, Kansas, and Baylor left, which is 1 less than the needed 6 to maintain legitimate NCAA status as a conference. They may try and snag TCU, Utah, BYU, or maybe a SEC, ACC, or Big East school or two to recreate the Big 8. I have a hard time seeing someone from the SEC, ACC, or Big East leaving, but TCU would love to get back into the prime time, and BYU and Utah deeply desire automatic qualifying status. After all, if you take Utah you have to take BYU, preserving the rivalry. If that doesn't happen, option two is the Big 12 dissolving with the 5 schools mentioned above going to the Pac 16. Missouri may end up going to the Big 10 anyway, so the other 4 schools would try and get snagged by the other BCS conferences. Kansas and Kansas State should go to the ACC, as they have rich basketball tradition. Think of Kansas vs. NC and Duke each year! That would be great. The Mountain West will try and snag one or two of them as well, be it Iowa State, Baylor, or Missouri. They want to become a BCS conference and getting one or more of those three teams would help, maybe even push them over the top to achieve it. Baylor, Iowa State, and Missouri will put up huge resistance to join a "lesser" conference, not wanting to take a step back. If the Mountain West can't get one of the schools from the former Big 12, then Boise State is the back up plan. The Broncos may not be quite enough to give them the elite status of achievement needed to become and A.Q. school, but it will help a lot and will get them even closer.
Alright, let's take a step back and a deep breath. Ready? So it seems that Boise State is relegated to "just in case" status. I'm OK with that and it makes a lot of sense for the Mountain West to do that. It's like when the best-looking chick rejects you and so you have to go for the not-as-good-looking friend as a consolation prize. The kinda' pretty friend feels a little bad, but what other options are there? Boise State needs a better conference than the WAC and needs better competition. The Mountain West will provide that, even if TCU, BYU, or Utah leave.
Just a side note to all of this, I think Notre Dame is in huge trouble if they don't join a conference. It appears we are heading to a few super-conferences in the college football world and if Notre Dame doesn't jump on the bandwagon they may be left out in the cold. Lookin' like a fool with your pants on the ground.
As with the rest of what has been said and will be said on the subject of conference realignment, we will have to wait and see what happens. So whether we have a complete collegiate apocalypse, just a few schools moving, or something in the middle, the education system, er, college sports, is about to change forever. It should be good, really crazy, but good.
It seems that everybody is jumping ship, bailing from the Big 12 Conference. I still haven't figured out a real good reason to do that, as it has been one of the strongest conferences in the nation. Oh wait, money, that's right! Nebraska is in for a HUGE yearly paycheck from the lucrative Big 10 Conference and their TV/marketing deal. Colorado may have made a lateral slide financially speaking. However, they have played "bottom-of-the-barrel" status in the BIG 12 for quite a while and sometimes new scenery and new friends is the best way to break out of a funk. We will see what happens with that. Look on the bright side Buffalo fans; it really can't get any worse. It will be interesting to see what happens with ex-Boise State Bronco coach Dan Hawkins and Colorado this season, as he was mercifully granted another year to lead the team. It's bowl game or bust for Hawk and the Buff's. We will see if he makes it to be a Pac 10 coach.
But what happens now? I have two options that I think will happen. Texas, Texas Tech, Texas A & M, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State will leave the Big 12 and join the now Pac 16, making it a super conference. That will leave Missouri, Iowa State, Kansas State, Kansas, and Baylor left, which is 1 less than the needed 6 to maintain legitimate NCAA status as a conference. They may try and snag TCU, Utah, BYU, or maybe a SEC, ACC, or Big East school or two to recreate the Big 8. I have a hard time seeing someone from the SEC, ACC, or Big East leaving, but TCU would love to get back into the prime time, and BYU and Utah deeply desire automatic qualifying status. After all, if you take Utah you have to take BYU, preserving the rivalry. If that doesn't happen, option two is the Big 12 dissolving with the 5 schools mentioned above going to the Pac 16. Missouri may end up going to the Big 10 anyway, so the other 4 schools would try and get snagged by the other BCS conferences. Kansas and Kansas State should go to the ACC, as they have rich basketball tradition. Think of Kansas vs. NC and Duke each year! That would be great. The Mountain West will try and snag one or two of them as well, be it Iowa State, Baylor, or Missouri. They want to become a BCS conference and getting one or more of those three teams would help, maybe even push them over the top to achieve it. Baylor, Iowa State, and Missouri will put up huge resistance to join a "lesser" conference, not wanting to take a step back. If the Mountain West can't get one of the schools from the former Big 12, then Boise State is the back up plan. The Broncos may not be quite enough to give them the elite status of achievement needed to become and A.Q. school, but it will help a lot and will get them even closer.
Alright, let's take a step back and a deep breath. Ready? So it seems that Boise State is relegated to "just in case" status. I'm OK with that and it makes a lot of sense for the Mountain West to do that. It's like when the best-looking chick rejects you and so you have to go for the not-as-good-looking friend as a consolation prize. The kinda' pretty friend feels a little bad, but what other options are there? Boise State needs a better conference than the WAC and needs better competition. The Mountain West will provide that, even if TCU, BYU, or Utah leave.
Just a side note to all of this, I think Notre Dame is in huge trouble if they don't join a conference. It appears we are heading to a few super-conferences in the college football world and if Notre Dame doesn't jump on the bandwagon they may be left out in the cold. Lookin' like a fool with your pants on the ground.
As with the rest of what has been said and will be said on the subject of conference realignment, we will have to wait and see what happens. So whether we have a complete collegiate apocalypse, just a few schools moving, or something in the middle, the education system, er, college sports, is about to change forever. It should be good, really crazy, but good.
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