Aside from 2 all-star games in the second half of the month, the college football season is for all intents & purposes over after Alabama won its 2nd straight BCS National title, and 3rd in 4 years, routing Notre Dame 42-14 on Monday. This game was over by halftime, really, as the Irish never got going until it was too late.
There are some who will say they're tired of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) dominating the landscape, having won the last several BCS championships, and there's no guarantee that the playoff format to be instituted after the 2014 regular season will change that, but it's worth a try to keep the college game from getting boring. It's bad enough the games are longer than their pro counterparts.......
Meanwhile, the New York tabloids, starved for some scandal, found one, courtesy of Jets coach Rex Ryan, who had a tattoo made of wife Michelle wearing nothing but a replica Mark Sanchez jersey. The Ryans were photographed while on vacation, and the trip itself got Rex in hot water because he was supposed to be available to the media for one last press conference after the season ended on December 30. The Jets have since canned GM Mike Tannenbaum and offensive coordinator Tony Sparano, the latter's dismissal almost certainly ensuring that Tim Tebow will be an ex-Jet by the April draft, if not sooner.
The first round of the NFL playoffs wasn't without drama. Washington coach Mike Shanahan and noted orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews are taking heat over presumptive Rookie of the Year Robert Griffin III playing Sunday vs. Seattle despite the fact that his injured knee wasn't 100%. Griffin twisted his knee trying to retrieve a fumbled snap, and didn't return. Seattle and their prize rookie, Russell Wilson, ousted the Redskins, earning a date with Atlanta in the next round.
If you believe all the media hype, it seems the NFL & their media partners still think the best possible matchup in the AFC title game would be New England at Denver. The Patriots beat up on the Broncos at Foxborough in the regular season, but this time, assuming they run it up on Houston again, they have to go to Mile High country. It's way past time the NFL stopped putting media interest ahead of the integrity of the game! For the sake of the game, New England cannot represent the AFC in the Super Bowl again.
Thankfully, in 11 days, we can start watching NHL hockey. NHLPA hired honcho Donald "Show No" Fehr and Commissioner Gary Bettman finally reached a deal over the weekend. Now, all the league needs to do is show Bettman the door. This is, what, 3 work stoppages under Bettman? Can we at least go more than a year without a sports league going on strike?
Closer to home, the once-mighty Siena College men's basketball team has fallen on hard times, and they've suddenly become the #2 team in Albany. The University at Albany play at an on-campus arena, as opposed to Siena playing their home games at the Times Union Center in downtown Albany, and thus will draw fewer fans per game, but they are winning. Siena has lost 11 in a row, which hasn't happened since the mid-90's. I'd say they could beat the NBA's dregs, like Charlotte & Washington, but now, that's more like a pipe dream.
Right now, a high school team would have their way with Siena. That's just how it is.
Speaking of high schools, there's been no follow up on last week's Weasel, Will Francis, and why he opted to go to Watervliet instead of Shaker, which is closer to his family's home in Loudonville (the hub, ironically enough, of Siena Country), as of today. Something doesn't smell right, and there was something that frequent correspondent Magicdog said in response to Francis being bestowed the Weasel ears. Perhaps someone got in the kid's ear and sold him a bill of goods, thinking he'd have an easier path to a Division 1 college if he went to 'Vliet. Uh, hello? Watervliet is a Class B school. Shaker is Class AA, two flights up the ladder. Shaker also has a famous alumni you might've heard of. Fella named Sam Perkins played there at the start of the 80's, then went to North Carolina and the NBA, and, well, the rest is history.
You'd think the local press would've smelled a scandal a mile away here, but there's probably more of a stench in the nearest alley suffocating the radar..........
Read in the Albany Times Union today that there's an all-star bowling league being formed, with matches to air on ESPN. NBA star Chris Paul, tennis legend Billie Jean King, who also co-founded World Team Tennis back in the day, and football/reality TV star Terrell Owens are among those involved. This may be the closest we're going to get to a full-on revival of the 70's series, Celebrity Bowling, but it may be worth it.
No comments:
Post a Comment