Mr. Heisman - Mark Ingram

The Heisman race this year was actually exciting, involving a real element of suspense. Colt McCoy seemed like a lock until the Nebraska game, where it was Ndamakung (sp?) Suh who really made a strong case for the award, truly dominating that game. A lot of people were talking Tebow until he put up a stinker against the Crimson Tide, where Mark Ingram instead came out with the Heisman-worthy performance. Then no one could write off Stanford's Toby Gerhart - a manchild who had multiple 200+ rushing yard games and brought his A game against Oregon, USC, and Notre Dame. But in the end, Ingram barely edged out Gerhart for 1st place. I was very impressed with his acceptance speech. You could tell that it really meant a lot for him and that he had put in countless hours to deserve it. He got emotional thanking God first and foremost - not something you hear many athletes do nowadays, so that was good to hear. He thanked his coaches, administrators, and family by name and didn't just reference them by title. He was also very humbled to be the school's first Heisman winner. Even though Colt didn't win (I'm biased, I know), I didn't feel so bad after Ingram so graciously accepted the award. What a classy young man, something the sporting world needs right now after the Tiger Woods train wreck. But something towards the end of the presentation left me with an uneasy feeling inside . . .

Did anyone else notice that when Ingram finished the speech, he only gave hugs to the black former Heisman winners and only gave the white dudes a handshake? Was that just a random coincidence? However, none of the white guys opened up their arms as if to give him a hug either. But would things have been different if the white guys were younger? These guys grew up in the era of segregation and the Civil Rights movement. What if Gerhart, McCoy, or Tebow would have won? Would they have got hugs from the white guys and handshakes from the black guys? Were the white guys sad deep down that the white finalists didn't win? Why couldn't the white guys give Ingram a hug, and be genuinely excited for him? But on the other hand, why couldn't Ingram perhaps make it easier by opening up his arms too?

I don't want to take away from Ingram or the ceremony, I just thought that very last scene was telling. It was sad to see on such a happy night. What do you guys and gals think?

Tiger on the Prowl

So Tiger Woods got busted this week for having an affair(s?) with at least a cocktail waitress from LA and possibly others. I'm just curious what everyone else think about the situation. Here's my 2 cents:

I've got mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, everyone is human and no one is perfect. I hesitate to throw stones at someone when I have mistakes of my own. On the other, adultery, in my mind at least, is one of the worst things a person could do, especially someone who is a role model to so many people across the globe. On the one hand, I credit him for coming out clean and apologizing for his "transgressions" and for trying to work things out with his wife and 2 kids, but on the other I wonder if he was just "sorry" for getting caught.

Some ask how this will affect his endorsements and public image etc. My guess is that it won't make a big difference. Maybe if this happened 40 or 50 years ago, but unfortunately, I think today's society is so desensitized to adultery, infidelity and immorality that a lot more people are going to give Tiger a free pass and make excuses for him like "well, he's just so competitive that he wanted to show to himself that he could compete for other women." (I heard that one the other day at school). My response to that would be that if you're not ready to settle down with one person, then don't!

Anyway, what does everyone else think?

What Does "Indisputable" Mean?

Tonight, WVU got screwed by a terrible replay reversal. They were ahead 14-7 and 5th ranked Cincinnati had the ball at the two shortly before halftime. They handed it off to their RB who tried to leap over the pile and extend the ball to break the plane of the end zone. Only problem was he lost control of the ball before getting it there, he ended up fumbling, and WVU recovered for a huge stop. The call on the field was fumble with a WVU recovery.

Now, according to NCAA rules, the only way to get a call on the field reversed by replay is if the video shows "indisputable evidence" that the refs got it wrong the first time. So what does "indisputable" mean? According to the dictionary, it means "not disputable or deniable, uncontestable, unquestionably real." Based on this definition, if the replay still leaves some doubt as to whether the Cincy RB got the ball across, then it can't be "unquestionably real" then, can it? To me (a biased WVU fan), and to both the ESPN guys calling the game (presumably unbiased), it sure looked like he didn't have control of the ball even if the ball DID cross the plane,which in itself was very questionable too.

To everyone's amazement, after a quick review, the ref overturned the call on the field, saying the RB crossed the plane - touchdown Cincy, tying the game at 14 going into halftime. The second half was exciting, Jarrett Brown (WVU's QB) rallied the team and drove the length of the field for the go-ahead score with 37 seconds to play. However, they were still down 3. The onside kick failed and Cincy took a knee to end the game. A 3 point victory. That last touchdown should have put WVU ahead by 4 were it not for the very disputable replay, Cincy should have taken their first loss tonight.

I'd love to hear the ref try and explain how he arrived at an "indisputable" conclusion to overturn the original call. Indisputable means that there is no QUESTION about what happened on the field. Only then can the call be overturned. There were many questions after watching the replay - which should have prevented the refs from overturning the call. What bugs me is that this is certainly not the first VERY questionable call that went towards helping an undefeated team STAY undefeated. Conspiracy? I don't know, but if calls like these continue, a lot of people will have a lot of questions.

Why I Hate the BCS

8 weeks into the season and their are 7 undefeated teams. 1. Florida 2. Texas 3. Alabama 4. Iowa 5. Cincinatti 6. TCU 7. BSU. I don't know how much you guys have been following this season, but I have a lot. Iowa is definitely not a contender. So far they have found a way to win, but I watched their game against a mediocre Indiana team and they struggled big time until a huge surge in the 4th quarter. But I wasn't very impressed. Florida dominated Georgia, who was a dang good team. Texas dominated OK St (although we should mention their #1 receiver has been suspended for the season, but a team is not defined by one player.) Alabama still definitely looks good, but must get through Florida in the SEC championship once again to make it to the national championship. TCU, Cincinatti, and BSU are all very good. And after watching Oregon, they are absolutely the best 1 loss team in college football. So who deserves to play for the national championship? I know we still got a few more weeks. Iowa will probably lose to Ohio State. Cincinatti still has to win out. But BSU will more than likely run the table, TCU has to get by Utah (they can, Utah isn't great this year.) But what if this happens; Oregon wins out, winning the Pac-10; BSU wins out, going undefeated plus beating Oregon; TCU wins out having beaten Utah, BYU, Virginia, Clemson, and everyone else on their schedule; and Florida and Texas wins out. This is why I hate the BCS. It's not fair, and this is one time I'm siding with Orrin Hatch (R-UT) in his proposal that the BCS is not lawful breaking anti-competition laws (don't really know what that means but you're in law school Devin you could tell me if it is or not.) Last year I saw an interesting statistic that said 94% of everyone that voted wanted to see an 8 team playoff system. It would only take 3 weeks, you'd have all the excitement of upsets, close games, and true football in the chase for the national championship. Last year you could make the argument UT got screwed, USC got screwed, and Utah got screwed at a shot for the national title. If the US government decides to get involved and declare an 8 game playoff system for the national title, that would be the best thing they've done in the last decade.

Why penalties should be able to get reviewed

There is four minutes left in the game Utah State goes down the field in a Minute and scores and they makes the two point conversion. The crowd is going wild, they set up for the onside kick and make a beautiful one as number six jumps up and gets the ball. Utah State has the ball and are ready to march down the field. Oh wait what is that its a flag, offsides on Utah State! The crowd boos the coach is arguing, they put the replay on the megatron and they have every right to boo, and argue. There is no offsides! once again the ref makes a call that ends the comeback, that ends the hype. Now it is true the Aggies should not have been in that situation, they have not learned how to win yet. This i understand. My thing is look how much power the refs have. Example even though I cant stand the chargers, last year the umpire makes the wrong call on a fumble and the Broncos win the game, which is sweet but once again it came down to the ref. I just think that they should make it possible even if from the booth to look at a penilty and overturn it. Maybe one day it will happen.
So now the question is who is going to win the world Series?

It's not luck...

Six weeks into the NFL season and we're starting to see the men separate from the boys. Only 4 teams remain undefeated and every one of those is a force to be reckoned with. Most surprising of all those by far, are the now 6-0 Denver Broncos. Why? Trading a franchise QB (Jay Cutler, never liked him) for relatively unknown Orton from the Bears. On top of that, they let go of (probably) hall of fame coach Mike Shanahan and hired a 32 year old kid. Well like everyone else I thought this was all luck up to this point. But for a team to be undefeated in week 6, it's definitely not luck. The other three are now the Vikings, Saints, and Colts. This is a great year in the NFL, probably my favorite so far with Brett Favre having his best start ever, the Titans going 0-6 and losing 59-0 (I don't like Kerry Collins) to the Patriots, I could go on and on. This is going to be a great year as each week goes by and we really see what teams will emerge, and what teams will step up in the postseason. Tyson, I don't know about your cowboys man, I've seen Romo choke too many times to consider them a contender for the postseason. They need to make a few improvements before they become a great team.

OU Gets Hooked, Again!

Growing up in the Great State of Texas, becoming a UT Longhorn fan (as well as a Rocket fan) was practically unavoidable for me. So today I just had to brag about my Horns as they beat the OU Sooners - their much hated rivals - 16-13 in the Red River Rivalry Game, again.This gives OU 3 losses on the year, and hopefully, will kick them out of the rankings, just as UT's defense kicked Sam Bradford out of the game. Of course, Sooner fans will whine and complain like they always do about how they would have beat us if Bradford was healthy. Blah blah blah. How about you protect the quarterback? The fact is this: they got beat last year even when Bradford played the whole game, so don't give me that crap.
When was the last big game OU won under Stoops? You know, for someone nicknamed "Big Game Bob," you'd think they would actually show up for the big game. I don't know how much they're paying him, but whatever it is, it is way too much! This picture demonstrates what a great coach Stoops truly is . . .


Anyway, I hope the Longhorns can keep it going all the way to the National Championship. They deserved to be there last year, but as everyone knows, they got SCREWED and OU embarrassed the Big 12 in the championship game. I know this win wasn't pretty, but we'll take it. The Horns need to start the game full throttle to help keep my blood pressure down. Either way, Stoops and the Sooners got hooked! He's used to laying eggs.

HOOK EM' HORNS!!

Packers v. Vikings

I have to comment on this game. I grew up a die-hard Packers fan. My dad was a packers fan from the Bart Starr and Vince Lombardi days. Brett Favre starting playing for the packers when I was 6 in 1992. He was the face of the packers for as long as I can remember. I was cheering for them when they won the superbowl, when it was like 0 degrees at lambeau field in December or January, even to his last game as a Packer against the Giants in 2007. My little brother is the biggest Packers and Brett Favre fan you'll ever meet. So you can imagine this has been tough for me to know who to route for. My own personal opinion is that the Packers screwed Brett Favre when they told him he could be 2nd string to Aaron Rodgers. Even though he's been so back and forth so many times, it doesn't bother me. I love this guy, and I would argue he is the best quarterback ever to play the game. For me, I no longer have players or coaches that tie me to the packers. When Brett left, so did I. Last year I was a big Jets fan, and this year I'm an even bigger Vikings fan. But not just because of Brett Favre, but also because of this guy. This is Jared Allen back in the day when he played for, that's right, the ISU Bengals out of Pocatello. This guy was huge when I was playing high school football,

and is arguably the best player ever to come out of ISU and even the best defensive

player in the NFL right now. He posted 4.5 sacks tonight, the highest number of sacks that Monday Night Football has ever seen. Oh yea, he also recorded a forced fumble and a safety. This guy is an animal and what does he attribute all his success to? His mullet. Jared Allen makes it even easier for me to make the transition to the Vikings. There's also Adrian Peterson, one of the best running backs in the NFL right now, and a great rookie receiver out of Gator nation Percy Harvin. I dare say that the Vikings have enough talent to make it to the superbowl and win. They are now one of 5 teams in the NFL to have an undefeated record, the most teams that have ever been 4-0 at this point in the season. The other teams are the Colts, Giants, Saints, and the Broncos. I can't wait for this season to unfold, and hopefully to see the Vikings come out with the championship in the end. Then maybe Brett Favre could retire going out on top. But with Brett Favre, you just never know.

A review of the week's action in college football

This was a particulary great week as is every week in college football. There were a few disappointments (USU losing to BYU), a few upsets (Miami over Oklahoma, Michigan State over Michigan, and others), and some amazing plays. The first thing I wanted to mention though was a ridiculously obsurd penalty called on Georgia and then on LSU for excessive celebration. I don't know if any of you saw that, but that was a game changing penalty for no apparent reason. You can see a video for it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghaj231-IXI. (Someone needs to teach me how to post youtube clips directly to the blog.) The other thing I wanted to mention, what was Bob Stoops thinking when he had Oklahoma kick a fieldgoal against Miami when they were down by 4 with only a few minutes left? I know it was 4th and 11 but seriously, what does kicking a field goal in that situation do for you? Make you lose by 1 instead of 4 I guess. Unbelievable.

Key matchup for this next week.
I cannot wait for the LSU vs. Florida game. This is set up to be one of the best games this year. I don't think LSU can completely match up with Florida, but we're finally going to see Florida's first real test this year. Tim Tebow suffered a concussion in the last game, but with two weeks off you better believe he'll put himself into that game whether he's feeling 100% or not.

The other game I'm looking forward to is Virginia Tech vs. Boston College. VT narrowly avoided an upset today against Duke. Boston College is a better team in my opinion than Duke, and could pull off an upset. Virginia Tech currently has a win over Miami, who just beat Oklahoma tonight. This improves VT's resume, and if they continue to win they'll definitely be considered as a contender for the national championship.

Welcome to Everyone Talking Sports!

This is a new blog where men (and women who want to) can come together and talk sports. Whatever you want, college football, professional football, major league baseball, professional basketball, anything that has to do with sports. Talking about politics is fun and all, but sports is much more fun.