Saturday, July 28, 2012
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Masters Week
It's Masters Week. It's the end of winter. It's the beginning of spring. It's the kickoff of the majors season. It's time for some golf!
The Masters Golf tournament is special to casual golf fans and golf enthusiasts alike. It signifies that we should awake from our winter slumber and get spring started. Kinda like the Daytona 500, it too could be compared to the Super Bowl of the Golf Season. And this year, there's a chance that the tournament, specifically the back nine on Sunday that will finish in prime time, will rival the greatest ever. Of course, ever year has that billing, and last year when Charl finished with a birdie flurry on the last 4 holes was something to behold. But this year sets up for what Mr. Robert Tyre Jones, Jr. intended for the Invitational when he dreamed up the plan for converting a 365 acre nursery into the cathedral it is now.
This year, unlike any year in recent past, the top players in the world are on top of their games. 6 of the worlds top 9 have won on the PGA Tour this season, and that doesn't include Phil. (He's 14th...) Johnson Wagner (#61) and Kyle Stanley (#47) are the only players outside the top 26 that have won an event on tour this year. That's 10 players inside the top 26 that are coming to Augusta with a W in the past 3 months. Luke Donald and Rory McIlroy have each taken over the #1 spot in the world by winning that week. Phil won at Pebble. Mahan has won twice. Tiger won 2 weeks ago. Stricker won in Hawaii. Previous week collapses have been vindicated the following week by Kyle Stanley and Brandt Snedeker. I can't remember another Masters (or even Major) where as many of the top golfers in the world have had this much momentum going to the first tee. Here's hoping for a tournament worthy of its excitement and anticipation, and maybe even a few twists and turns along the way. No matter, I will be watching Sunday afternoon despite the absence of azaleas.
The Masters Golf tournament is special to casual golf fans and golf enthusiasts alike. It signifies that we should awake from our winter slumber and get spring started. Kinda like the Daytona 500, it too could be compared to the Super Bowl of the Golf Season. And this year, there's a chance that the tournament, specifically the back nine on Sunday that will finish in prime time, will rival the greatest ever. Of course, ever year has that billing, and last year when Charl finished with a birdie flurry on the last 4 holes was something to behold. But this year sets up for what Mr. Robert Tyre Jones, Jr. intended for the Invitational when he dreamed up the plan for converting a 365 acre nursery into the cathedral it is now.
This year, unlike any year in recent past, the top players in the world are on top of their games. 6 of the worlds top 9 have won on the PGA Tour this season, and that doesn't include Phil. (He's 14th...) Johnson Wagner (#61) and Kyle Stanley (#47) are the only players outside the top 26 that have won an event on tour this year. That's 10 players inside the top 26 that are coming to Augusta with a W in the past 3 months. Luke Donald and Rory McIlroy have each taken over the #1 spot in the world by winning that week. Phil won at Pebble. Mahan has won twice. Tiger won 2 weeks ago. Stricker won in Hawaii. Previous week collapses have been vindicated the following week by Kyle Stanley and Brandt Snedeker. I can't remember another Masters (or even Major) where as many of the top golfers in the world have had this much momentum going to the first tee. Here's hoping for a tournament worthy of its excitement and anticipation, and maybe even a few twists and turns along the way. No matter, I will be watching Sunday afternoon despite the absence of azaleas.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Kill the Ibis. Kill the Ibis
(Elmer Fudd voice...)
Miami is in trouble. Miami has been in trouble before. Miami understands trouble. Miami grows trouble. Miami cultivates trouble. Miami breeds trouble. The problem with Miami lately, nobody cared because they weren't winning. Since 2004 they are tied for 5th on the wins list in the ACC. In no season did they have more than 9 wins. They have yet to compete for a conference title. It has been since the 2002 season since they were relevant to the football landscape. Heck, it's been 5 years since they won a bowl game. Wouldn't you think they would be better with that kind of money being thrown around, allegedly. Pryor won at least 10 games a year. Reggie Bush won a Heisman and a National Title. As did Cam Newton. They were singular players. Demaryius Thomas at least won an ACC title. What were they paying for in South Beach and Coral Gables?!
Currently, the NCAA is investigating the team and players to determine eligibility for this year. My feeling is that we are going to see another UNC situation with several players notified the end of next week that they will be sitting for the first few games. Depending on how things shake out, it could be a rough start to the season for the Canes: at Maryland, #18 Ohio State, Kansas State and at Virginia Tech all before October 8. If they are forced to sit all 15 players under investigation for the first 5 games, Uh Oh.
If found guilty on a bigger scale, which I don't see the NCAA making a ruling for quite some time, it could mean bigger issues. The suits at the top has all discussed tougher penalties, stiffer control, and sending messages to other schools. Should the death penalty be levied against the Canes? Well, yes and no.
Yes:
If USC got whacked for lack of Institutional Control and the "should have known" clause, then the Canes won't see the football field for 10 years. A booster giving checks for large sums of money, cussing out the compliance director at halftime in a private box, offering $1million to coach the team, standing on sidelines religiously and even leading the Canes out of the smoke in the Orange Bowl, the Miami equivalent of dotting the I at Ohio State. If this does not spell lack of Institutional control than nothing does. And the "should have known" thing...well, they did know.
Cleaning up the game and giving the Canes the death penalty would hopefully set a precedent for the remaining 115 schools competing for the National Title. Given Miami's past and what has transpired from them previously, they must be dealt with now. If not, if you are Alabama, Texas, Ohio State, TCU, Washington, UConn, etc why wouldn't you follow suit and start paying large sums of money to your players. There wouldn't be a worry about pay-for-play for the NCAA, the market would figure it out because Miami was allowed to get away with it. Have you seen the show "Scared Straight"? The NCAA should be filming a new episode soon...let's hope. Enough of the Ibis and the crooked ways.
And the no:
Killing Miami football would affect more than just Miami. Directly, the (clean) players that are there now would be devastated by past indiscretions. Even more directly, the remaining ACC schools would be hurt for years to come. Why would ESPN keep the tv contract when, let's be honest, one of the 3 big draws from the ACC would not be playing (or be allowed on TV for a period of time following.) A canceled TV contract, the inability to play against the Canes if you go to an opposing school, an uneven number of football teams in this day and age of musical chairs for conferences means that the NCAA probably won't kill the Ibis. There is too much money spread over too many teams to simply look directly at one school. Here's hoping that the NCAA suits figure out a stiff penalty, worse than USC's that will send the message to all schools out there and make them fly straight from here on out.
(That being said, I'm not a promoter of this, but if Miami is given the death penalty, Virginia Tech should run to the SEC as quickly as they can...)
Miami is in trouble. Miami has been in trouble before. Miami understands trouble. Miami grows trouble. Miami cultivates trouble. Miami breeds trouble. The problem with Miami lately, nobody cared because they weren't winning. Since 2004 they are tied for 5th on the wins list in the ACC. In no season did they have more than 9 wins. They have yet to compete for a conference title. It has been since the 2002 season since they were relevant to the football landscape. Heck, it's been 5 years since they won a bowl game. Wouldn't you think they would be better with that kind of money being thrown around, allegedly. Pryor won at least 10 games a year. Reggie Bush won a Heisman and a National Title. As did Cam Newton. They were singular players. Demaryius Thomas at least won an ACC title. What were they paying for in South Beach and Coral Gables?!
Currently, the NCAA is investigating the team and players to determine eligibility for this year. My feeling is that we are going to see another UNC situation with several players notified the end of next week that they will be sitting for the first few games. Depending on how things shake out, it could be a rough start to the season for the Canes: at Maryland, #18 Ohio State, Kansas State and at Virginia Tech all before October 8. If they are forced to sit all 15 players under investigation for the first 5 games, Uh Oh.
If found guilty on a bigger scale, which I don't see the NCAA making a ruling for quite some time, it could mean bigger issues. The suits at the top has all discussed tougher penalties, stiffer control, and sending messages to other schools. Should the death penalty be levied against the Canes? Well, yes and no.
Yes:
If USC got whacked for lack of Institutional Control and the "should have known" clause, then the Canes won't see the football field for 10 years. A booster giving checks for large sums of money, cussing out the compliance director at halftime in a private box, offering $1million to coach the team, standing on sidelines religiously and even leading the Canes out of the smoke in the Orange Bowl, the Miami equivalent of dotting the I at Ohio State. If this does not spell lack of Institutional control than nothing does. And the "should have known" thing...well, they did know.
Cleaning up the game and giving the Canes the death penalty would hopefully set a precedent for the remaining 115 schools competing for the National Title. Given Miami's past and what has transpired from them previously, they must be dealt with now. If not, if you are Alabama, Texas, Ohio State, TCU, Washington, UConn, etc why wouldn't you follow suit and start paying large sums of money to your players. There wouldn't be a worry about pay-for-play for the NCAA, the market would figure it out because Miami was allowed to get away with it. Have you seen the show "Scared Straight"? The NCAA should be filming a new episode soon...let's hope. Enough of the Ibis and the crooked ways.
And the no:
Killing Miami football would affect more than just Miami. Directly, the (clean) players that are there now would be devastated by past indiscretions. Even more directly, the remaining ACC schools would be hurt for years to come. Why would ESPN keep the tv contract when, let's be honest, one of the 3 big draws from the ACC would not be playing (or be allowed on TV for a period of time following.) A canceled TV contract, the inability to play against the Canes if you go to an opposing school, an uneven number of football teams in this day and age of musical chairs for conferences means that the NCAA probably won't kill the Ibis. There is too much money spread over too many teams to simply look directly at one school. Here's hoping that the NCAA suits figure out a stiff penalty, worse than USC's that will send the message to all schools out there and make them fly straight from here on out.
(That being said, I'm not a promoter of this, but if Miami is given the death penalty, Virginia Tech should run to the SEC as quickly as they can...)
A Break From the Norm
Taking a break from College Football for a second...there will be plenty of that coming up.
A brief minute about Tiger Woods. He will be missed over the next several months, just as he was before. I'm sure there will be a huge media hype over his return next season, just as there was before. I'm hoping he returns to some sort of top form, just as he had before. But, I'm hoping to not to have to hear a word about his caddie, unlike before. My vote for Tiger's new caddie is Romeo from "Tin Cup." Maybe Tiger should try to par the back side with a 7 iron. Maybe someone should look at him and say no. Tiger, you're not the 24 year old phenom that you were when you hit the 6-iron from the bunker, over trees, to a peninsula green with 7 yards to work with from 218 yards is a thing of the past.
Even you yourself admit the ball doesn't curve like it used to. How long were you gone from the game? Seriously? If it doesn't curve as much, and you need to start aiming more in the middle of the fairway, how come you can hit it even further off line now. There were times in the Bridgestone and the PGA that you were in the rough in the OTHER fairway. Something the local 12 handicap is familiar with, but YOU ARE TIGER WOODS! Do we need to bring out Jeff Gillooly to kneecap you before each event? (The last 2 majors before your surgeries with knee issues were a win at Torrey in the US Open and a T4 at the Masters after not playing for quite some time.)
As for Stevie, I wish him the best with Adam. Hopefully he will adjust to a normal PGA caddying career, a break from the whirlwind cartoon life he knew as Tiger's right hand man. Honestly, I can't believe the relationship wasn't cut off previously. Tiger needed a fresh start with EVERYHTING, including on the course. I'm sure Tiger having his lifelong friend on the bag was a nice change. Taking the game back to when tiger was 16 and carefree, pre-everything, just playing golf.
Tiger, go get some rest. Work with Sean in Canada or Florida or wherever. And learn that the ball does go straight sometimes. You are on pace with Jack, and can still get there. With 4 to go it's within reach...
A brief minute about Tiger Woods. He will be missed over the next several months, just as he was before. I'm sure there will be a huge media hype over his return next season, just as there was before. I'm hoping he returns to some sort of top form, just as he had before. But, I'm hoping to not to have to hear a word about his caddie, unlike before. My vote for Tiger's new caddie is Romeo from "Tin Cup." Maybe Tiger should try to par the back side with a 7 iron. Maybe someone should look at him and say no. Tiger, you're not the 24 year old phenom that you were when you hit the 6-iron from the bunker, over trees, to a peninsula green with 7 yards to work with from 218 yards is a thing of the past.
Even you yourself admit the ball doesn't curve like it used to. How long were you gone from the game? Seriously? If it doesn't curve as much, and you need to start aiming more in the middle of the fairway, how come you can hit it even further off line now. There were times in the Bridgestone and the PGA that you were in the rough in the OTHER fairway. Something the local 12 handicap is familiar with, but YOU ARE TIGER WOODS! Do we need to bring out Jeff Gillooly to kneecap you before each event? (The last 2 majors before your surgeries with knee issues were a win at Torrey in the US Open and a T4 at the Masters after not playing for quite some time.)
As for Stevie, I wish him the best with Adam. Hopefully he will adjust to a normal PGA caddying career, a break from the whirlwind cartoon life he knew as Tiger's right hand man. Honestly, I can't believe the relationship wasn't cut off previously. Tiger needed a fresh start with EVERYHTING, including on the course. I'm sure Tiger having his lifelong friend on the bag was a nice change. Taking the game back to when tiger was 16 and carefree, pre-everything, just playing golf.
Tiger, go get some rest. Work with Sean in Canada or Florida or wherever. And learn that the ball does go straight sometimes. You are on pace with Jack, and can still get there. With 4 to go it's within reach...
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Pryor Indiscretions
There has been a lot of talk about Terrell Pryor and the 5 game suspension in the NFL handed down by The Roger. It seems more than a coincidence that he would have had to serve a 5 game suspension this year at Ohio State. Well, in my honest, there is no connection between the 2 numbers. Here's why:
-5 games of a 12 game schedule is not equal to 5 games of a 16 game schedule (not to mention the pre-season games.) If The Roger wanted to make it equal, he would have slapped him with 7 games, or 4 games with NO contact (ala Big Ben.)
-The Roger specifically said it was because of the manner in which TP tried to avert the rules set forth for the draft. You may not agree with The Roger all of the time, but he is the biggest company guy out there. You aren't going to mess with Roger's NFL, especially if you aren't even in it yet. (That means you too Maurice.)
-The Roger has no interest in policing the NCAA. Yes, the NFL has had it's issues, but everyone knows whose the boss. The Roger can hand out fines, suspensions, rule as he feels over professionals that are a part of 32 teams. He has no interest in trying to get involved in 116 teams, 116 presidents, 11 conference commissioners, etc, all amateurs that are held to a different set of rules. The Roger has to deal with Ochocinco, Big Ben, Harrison, Suh, why bother with a 22 year old entitled kid?
I know the sports guys are there to push ratings, but seriously, they are not related.
Now, let's assume that they are...
Why wouldn't there be a punishment for breaking the rules? There isn't a statute of limitations on cheating, stealing, breaking the rules. If a kids last year in school is allowed to be a cash grab for all he can and there aren't any repercussions, why wouldn't the Auburns, Miamis, Ohio States simply pay the kids to come there for their last year. The NFL "can't/won't" punish them...so it's giddyup time! NOOOO!!!!!! I don't believe TP is being handed a 5 game suspension for what he did at Ohio State. But, there is no way that these kids should be allowed to drop their school on probation because they are money hungry entitled "stars" and skate away scot-free.
-5 games of a 12 game schedule is not equal to 5 games of a 16 game schedule (not to mention the pre-season games.) If The Roger wanted to make it equal, he would have slapped him with 7 games, or 4 games with NO contact (ala Big Ben.)
-The Roger specifically said it was because of the manner in which TP tried to avert the rules set forth for the draft. You may not agree with The Roger all of the time, but he is the biggest company guy out there. You aren't going to mess with Roger's NFL, especially if you aren't even in it yet. (That means you too Maurice.)
-The Roger has no interest in policing the NCAA. Yes, the NFL has had it's issues, but everyone knows whose the boss. The Roger can hand out fines, suspensions, rule as he feels over professionals that are a part of 32 teams. He has no interest in trying to get involved in 116 teams, 116 presidents, 11 conference commissioners, etc, all amateurs that are held to a different set of rules. The Roger has to deal with Ochocinco, Big Ben, Harrison, Suh, why bother with a 22 year old entitled kid?
I know the sports guys are there to push ratings, but seriously, they are not related.
Now, let's assume that they are...
Why wouldn't there be a punishment for breaking the rules? There isn't a statute of limitations on cheating, stealing, breaking the rules. If a kids last year in school is allowed to be a cash grab for all he can and there aren't any repercussions, why wouldn't the Auburns, Miamis, Ohio States simply pay the kids to come there for their last year. The NFL "can't/won't" punish them...so it's giddyup time! NOOOO!!!!!! I don't believe TP is being handed a 5 game suspension for what he did at Ohio State. But, there is no way that these kids should be allowed to drop their school on probation because they are money hungry entitled "stars" and skate away scot-free.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Frank's Our Man!
Once again, I've heard a lot of rumbling about how something has to change with Hokie football due to the lack of ability to win. I call bullshit! Frank Beamer is everything that is right with college football, and I stand behind him. Let's look at some numbers, shall we.
VT was #7 in wins in the 2000's, with 99, behind Texas, Oklahoma, Ohio State, USC, Florida and Boise. What do all of them have in common, other than Boise? A STRONG history of football, dating back well past 50 years. Not bad company to keep, I'd say.
Let's look at who won National Titles since 1990...Alabama, Florida, FSU, Miami, Oklahoma, Ohio State, USC, LSU, Texas, Tennessee. What else do these teams have in common? They all have been sanctioned by the NCAA by some measure over the same period of time. Some are varying levels, but vacating seasons and wins, losing scholarships, recruiting restrictions, suspensions, etc. You get the idea...
Virginia Tech and Frank Beamer are what's right with college football. Who has the most consecutive 10 win seasons currently? Who has the third longest current bowl appearance streak? What coach has the second longest current tenure at one school (behind JoPa...) with 24 years? Who has won 3 of the last 4 ACC championships? Who has done ALL of this WITHOUT sanctions, NCAA infractions, vacated wins, reduced scholarships, investigations? Frank. With all that is wrong in the college football world, win at all costs, firing of coaches when they win coach of the year, paying players, recruiting sketchy players that will hurt the squad in 6 years when the NCAA gets around to it, Frank runs a clean ship and WINS!
Still not fully convinced, and want more out of Blacksburg? Let's look at BCS history. VT is #5 in BCS appearances, behind Ohio State, Oklahoma, Florida and USC. Again, nice shoulders to rub. There's much talk about how we can't beat a top 5 team, and Tech is 1-14 against top 5 teams. Well, Tech is 7-1 against teams #6-10. Let's look at some other school's records against top 5 teams: UVA = 1-20, UNC = 1-40, NCST = 1-27, WVU = 1-38, Miami = 18-42 (tops in NCAA), ND = 21-64, USC = 19-53, OhioSt = 9-45, Clem = 2-32. So, as you can see, it's a misleading stat without much to surround the information. I'm sure Ohio State will get to double digits in the next ten years or so...
And let's not forget one of the biggest issues surrounding Tech football...it's only really been around since 1993. The 1992 season was awful, 2-8-1, but was the last time we didn't visit a bowl game. Frank has failed to win 9 games only 4 times in that time span. Tech has been ranked in the top 10 of the final polls 7 times. All of this has been accomplished with a single head coach and no NCAA infractions. Why is this such a bad thing?
Oh, and let's not forget who won a trophy this year named for the only person who has been coaching longer than he has, the Joe Paterno award went to Frank Beamer.
Frank Beamer and Virginia Tech football stand for everything that is right with college football, and should be applauded for their efforts in this sell-your-jersey, pay-to-play day and age. Thank you Frank for making every game matter, every tailgate matter, and leading such an outstanding Virginia Tech squad every year.
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