2 playoff games, and the Lady Vols

I watched most of the two playoff games today - Washington losing to the Seattle Seahawks and the Pittsburgh Steelers losing a heartbreaker to the Jaguars. Each team that lost had their chances to win, but had some bad luck, and bad decision making, which ended their season.

For example Washington had been behind all of the game, and gets a touchdown from Todd Collins to go up 14-13 in the 4th quarter. Then Seattle scores their touchdown. Washington gets the ball back and gets an excellent runback...then Collins gets greedy and throws the ball too far, and it's intercepted. (His receiver, Moss, said afterwards he thought the play was dead which is why he stopped running...let that be a lesson to you, pal - defenses have to stop with whistles, offense wide receivers should keep bloody running their routes!

Anyway, after that the wheels fell off.

With Pittsburgh, their attempts inthe 2nd half at two point conversions failed, and then with 3 minutes to go, Roethlisberger ran rather poorly on 3rd and long and Pittsburgh had to punt away, allowing the Jaguars to march down the field. That whole final series was very poorly done on the Steelers' part. Throw at least once for a first down instead of trying to run for it!!!

Lady Vols
Then, we get the Lady Vols. Well, not the Lady Vols so much as the fans at the Summitt, who continue to make me shake my head.

The Lady Vols beat their opponent tonight, 14th ranked Notre Dame, by 14 points, 87-63. During the post game interviews, Notre Dame coach Muffett McGraw criticized her team for playing poorly, not defending well, and being intimidated by the Lady Vols.

But...she did not say that the Lady Vols were the better team, and this omission has a couple of fans at the Summitt outraged at "Muffett's" (as they call her) lack of class. How dare she not say that the Lady Vols were the better team! How dare she!

And you've just got to laugh. There are a certain number of fans on the Summitt who are obsessed by their team, have each and every player on a pedestal, and diss every team the Lady Vols play. And if, in the final news conferences, the losing coach doesn't pay the "appropriate" respect to Pat Summitt and the Lady Vols, they get really, really upset. So upset that they probably can't sleep for days with the outrage of it.

And I'm like....so what? Doesn't the coach of the other team have a responsibilty to her players, her fans? Why should she have to use the phrase, "the Vols were the better team", just to make the Lady Vols fans happy?

I just shake my head...

The Patriots run the table

Boo...hiss!

I really wanted to see them get beat, and the Giants certainly had a chance to do it...but Manning just had to throw that pick with 8 minutes to go which allowed the Patriots to score what would turn out to be the winning touch down.

There were a few bonehead plays on the Giants side that allowed the Patriots to win, plus a bogus unsportsmanlike conduct call. (A Patriot player pushed a Giant out of bounds, and as he was backing up, he was jawing with the Giants. He tripped, accidently, and the Giants were called for unsportsmanlike conduct!)

Nevertheless, the Patriots certainly looked vulnerable. The Giants came within 3 points of beating them. The Colts, a few weeks ago, certainly had their chances also. In the playoffs, facing good teams, I predict the Patriots will lose.

What teams have a chance to beat them?

Green Bay Packers, if Favre will go back to being the good Favre who didn't throw stupid interceptions.

Indianapolis Colts, of course.

Dallas Cowboys.

Who else?

Bowl Blahs

Well, the bowl season is upon us and once again it is absolutely ridiculous. A "bowl" is supposed to be a game for the celebration of great teams...or if not great than at least good.

But there are dozens of bowls, so that now two teams that are 6-6 can go to a Bowl game. (For example, the Armed Forces Bowl, where Air Force at 9 - 3 is going against California 6 - 6.) Obviously it's done for the money, and obviously these games make money, but it's just ridiculous, and really diminishes the true impact of what a bowl should be.

The Orange Bowl, the Rose Bowl, the Sugar Bowl...those are bowls!

But now we've got crap like:

the Motor City Bowl
the Liberty Bowl
the Capital One Bowl
the Chik-Fil-A Bowl
the Outback Bowl
the Champs Sports Bowl

(notice how many restaurants and businesses have their names in those bowls.)

It the teams in these bowls were each 9 - 3, or something in that neck of the woods, I wouldn't be complaining. But no team that is 6 - 6 has any business going to a bowl game.

Well, January 1 is the Sugar Bowl between Georgia and Hawaii... everyone is pickign Georgia to roll over Hawaii, because Hawaii, though undefeated, has only played cupcakes.

Nevertheless I hope Hawaii wins.

(In checking the list of bowl games, it's intersting to note that they don't give the win loss records of any of the teams... well, that's only to be expected...and in any event I have no interest in any of the bowls til the real thing starts in January.

Stanford Cardinal beat Tennessee Lady Vols

and I must admit I'm feeling mixed emotions right now.

I'm disappointed they lost - for the team I wished an unbeaten season and championship in 2008 - but on the other hand I'm enjoying the squirming and hypocrisy of certain fans on the Lady Vols message board.

According to them, the refs cost the Lady Vols the game. The Cardinal shot 32 free throws, the Vols 10. (And that is odd, actually, because normally the disparity is the other way around.)

But a couple of weeks ago, when North Carolina fell to the Lady Vols, Coach Sylvia Haskell commented - commented - about the disparity in free throws when her team was always in the paint - where those types of fouls are supposed to build up - and the Lady Vols shot so many more than they did.

And certain fans at the Summitt ripped her a new one for saying that. "Don't whine about the refs," they scolded.

But when the shoe is on the other foot...

Too funny.

Also, UConn, Tennessee's great rival (until Pat Summitt enfed the series this year) beat Stanford by 12, earlier this year, while Tennessee lost to Stanford. So cerain members of the two fan bases, who snipe at each other on the message boards, now have even more to snipe about.

Certain Summitteers are very disparaging towards the UConn coach, because of his sarcastic sense of humour (a type of humor I don't like, myself, it must be said), and after Summitt ended the series without giving any reasons they were all over speculating what it might be, etc., but now UConn is able to get a bit of their own back.

Ah....fans...more entertaining then the game sometimes....

An Open Letter to Terence Newman

Dear Mr. Newman,

I find your desire to seriously hurt Detroit quarterback Jon Kitna puzzling and frightening, and I'm wondering if you can explain to me exactly what is going through your mind.

Here's the background:

Kitna threw four touchdown passes in the regular-season finale in Dallas last year to end a 3-13 season for Detroit. In an interview the following week with a radio station in Seattle, where the Cowboys had to go for the playoffs, Kitna called out the Dallas defense, specifically linebacker Bradie James.

So, Kitna "called out" the Dallas defense. What exactly did he say that caused you to decide that next time you met, you'd do your best to cream him? What could he possibly have said to justify your intention to harm him because he dared to speak his mind?


In your satellite interview just a couple of days ago, you said the following:

"Basically what it boils down to is you've got to watch what you say. Your mouth can't write checks that your (expletive) can't cash. That's what it comes down to," Newman said. "Everybody's going to see those quotes. He better just hope I don't blitz off the edge, because I've got 15, 25, 30 (thousand dollars), however much it would be for a fine. I've got that much for one fine. Revenge will be sweet definitely."

"Revenge will be sweet," you say. But just what is your definition of revenge?

The Dallas Cowboys are 11 - 1, the Detroit Lions are 6 - 6 and have lost their last 4. They have no chance against the Cowboys, and they will probably be just as embarrassed as they were when they lost by over 30 to the Minnesota Vikings.

Why isn't that going to be enough revenge for you? Why do you find it necessary to go out of your way to hurt the man... up to $30,000 worth? And how can you gauge your intent to injure so precisely? Are you more skilled in your violence than that hockey loon, Todd Bertuzzi, who:

grabbed Moore from behind during a 2004 game, punched him on the side of his head and then landed on top of Moore, driving his head into the ice. The bloodied Colorado player was removed on a stretcher, sustaining a broken neck and a concussion.

So what's your plan for Kitna, Mr. Newman? Do you want to break his leg? Break an arm? Give him a concussion? End his career? All because he dared to say that the Dallas defense didn't play well during that game?

Is that the way you were raised? Is this the kind of "thuggish" behavior that had Sean Taylor living in Miami in fear of his life (despite the fact that his four murderers swear they hadn't intended to kill him, they just brought the gun along for kicks, eh?)

Is it thuggish behavior, or it is just "childish" behavior - the kind of behavior you should have grown out of by the time you were 13 if you'd been brought up properly.

The NFL sent you a letter, which you found necessary to post on your locker:

"Be advised that your comments will now compel us to carefully monitor your activities in this weekend's Cowboys-Lions game," read part of the letter signed by Ray Anderson, NFL executive vice president for football operations. "As you know, flagrant fouls may subject a player not only to fines, but to suspension as well. So conduct yourself accordingly."

They've called you out, Mr. Newman. They haven't asked you to act like a mature human being, they've merely warned you that you'll not only be fined but suspended when you put your hurt on Kitna.

And being the kind of man you are...you can't let that go, can you? If you react to the NFL's threat, you'll lose all the respect of your "peeps," won't you? You'll have "caved" to the NFL's pressure - and as a "man," you can't let that happen, can you. You've got to be a "man" and follow through with your threat, or your "peeps" will just laugh at you.

Well, perhaps it will be a test case. You hurt Kitna, and he'll probably sue you for assault, and hopefully have you thrown in jail for your thuggish behavior.

Mr. Newman - athletes talk trash all the time, don't they? Wide receivers strut through the endzone posing and looking like morons, defensive players celebrate with their little dances themselves, and these antics don't cause you to want to hurt that player? But because someone verbally comments on a player's defensive skills, all of a sudden you need revenge?

Were you actually brought up to behave like this? Do you not see that your behavior is childish, and not that of a "man?"

I'm not one of your peeps, and never will be, but I'll have a little bit of respect for you if you play the game the way it's supposed to be played. But, you know, I think you're making your plans for Kitna's doom - and your own - already.

Heartbreaker for the Baltimore Ravens

I just watched this game.

The Ravens had it won... twice.

The first time when they had marched down the field...then Boller threw that stupid interception just short of the endzone...

A sad note for him as he'd played so well up until that point.

Then, on the first 4th and short...the defense STOPPED the Patriots.

But Billick had called a timeout before the play happened...so they had to do it again! Even then it turned into a 4 and 6...but then Brady was able to run for the first...

Then the other 4th and short and they stop 'em but there's a penalty...

Jesu christo, make the ganglia twitch! as Buckaroo Banzai's archvillain said in that movie...

I really feel for the defensive unit - they had the win. Why, why even call a time out at that point?????

WCBB Message Boards

At one point in time, I'd intended to keep track of all the Women's College Basketball message boards...but I simply don't have the time.

Not that I think a lot of WCBB teams have message boards...and those that have them aren't that busy...except for UConn and Tennessee.

And of course Tennessee is up to their usual hijinks. They no longer play UConn, for reasons Summitt won't come out and say (according to Auriemma, she should just say she ended the series because he's a jerk and she doesn't like him. And that's true! But by saying nothing, she's implying that his recruiting tactics are somehow unethical.)

Anyway, the drones at the Summitt have nothing but praise for her, and nothing but contempt for Geno. She ended the series, so he must have done something bad, and she doesnt' owe WCBB fans any explanation at all...

Meanwhile...most WCBB teams play to audiences of less than a 1,000...

Not that that's Summit's fault. It's just a sad fact that women's sports aren't really supported in a general way. Unless you have a championship winning team like Tennessee or UConn, there's problems putting people in the seats.

But the reason for this post is of course my monthly rant against the Summitt.

Goodness those people annoy me.

As I say everytime I make one of these rants, I'm aware that in the grand scheme of sports message boards, what the Summitteers do is typical. They hype their team incessantly, and diss every other team out there. What sets the Summitteers apart, to my mind, is their sheer hypocrisy. They criticize a team or a player for doing one thing - but when it's their player or team doing it, oh, no, that's fine...

They criticize other teams, other coaches...but when someone comes over to their board to defend the attacked...it's oh, look at these jerks, why don't they stay on their own boards.

And now, what's being planned is for access to the Summitt to go "premium" - which means you have to pay to be able to access it. So they can stay in their own little world and hype their own program and trash the others as much as they want, and no one will know.

And the families of the athletes who go there won't be able to check on what they're saying, either.

Meanwhile, the two "moderators" are just jokes who fan the flames, banning anyone who dares to disagree with the idiots there, and praising the idiots for there pathetic statements.

One bright bulb posted, a few weeks ago, that since Summitt had ended the series with UConn, UConn shouldn't be mentioned anymore. They should be called Name Redacted or NR whenever talking about them....but they shouldn't be talked about because Summitt had made her wishes clear.

Of course no one called the guy an idiot, but they haven't stopped posting about UConn, either. Despite the fact that the series no longer takes place, they won't stop dissing the coach, or certain players (i.e. Diana Taurasi) who beat them way back when, or the announcers who have an imaginary "homerism" for UConn - for example Doris Burke.

Of course the UConn board is not wholly free from such dim bulbs...a recent poster complained during a game recently that the announcers were talking too much about their opponent and not enough about UConn...didn't seem to occur to them that no one needs to talk about powerhouses like UConn and Tennessee because anyone who knows anything about WCBB knows about them - what they don't know about is the opponents, so why not give them some props?

I wish I had the time to read the Summitt more, but it just annoys me so much, and then when I see something outrageous that I feel the need to respond and simply bring some facts and clarity to the "discussion," I can't because every time I do that, I'm banned by the moderators, who don't want facts and common sense to interfere with the fun of the people there.

You just gotta laugh.