Hello again and Happy New Year to you! On this, the last day of 2011, I decided I wanted to write a list of what I considered the Best of 2011. This is more than just a sports list, but I will include that as well:
Best Team- The Green Bay Packers. Not only did they win the Super Bowl, but they then went on a tear in the 2011 season.
Best Play- The Gonzaga Lax 80-yard goal. It made SportsCenter's Top 5 plays of the year, and should have been number 1!
Pro Star of the Year- Dirk Nowitzki
NCAA Star of the Year- Kemba Walker
Sports Moment of the Year- The last day of baseball's regular season. It was insane. They Ray's comeback alone would have gotten it. But add in the other games and it was just perfect.
Biggest Sports Tragedy- Dan Wheldon's death
Biggest Scandal Related to Sports- Jerry Sandusky
Favorite Sports Figure of the Year- Drew Brees. Just a great guy.
Least Favorite Sports Figure of the Year- Rex Ryan. Shut up!
And now some non-sports ones!
Movie of the Year- The Muppets. I know it isn't Oscar-worthy or anything, but no movie made me happier or more emotional.
Album of the Year- Wasting Light by Foo Fighters. Not only was it the best album in my opinion, but seeing them might have been the best concert I have ever been to.
Song of the Year- F@*k You by Cee Lo Green
Artist You Couldn't Escape- Adele. I mean, even the rock station in DC, DC101, played Rolling in the Deep. No escape! Not that she is bad, but come on!
News Moment of the Year- The Death of Osama bin Laden. Shocking I didn't pick the Royal Wedding, I know.
Favorite Celebrity of the Year- Jason Segel. How I Met Your Mother and The Muppets. Works for me.
Least Favorite Celebrity of the Year- Any Kardashian
Personal Achievement of the Year- Finishing my Masters. Dad would be proud.
Best Friend's Moment of the Year- The wedding of my good friends Deirdre and Kevin.
Sad (Superficial) Personal Moment of the Year- Hawk n' Dove closing.
Tragic Moment of the Year- Losing Manny Marshall in a car accident. We miss you bro.
Reason I Have Gotten Through This Year Sane- My friends, my family, and a certain someone :)
Thanks for reading, folks. Hope you all have an amazing 2012. I hope the Mayans are wrong and we get a 2013 also. If not, enjoy the time you have left. Happy New Year!
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Things I Would Change
Good Evening my friends.
I have been thinking... a dangerous pastime, I know. There are things in sports that I would like to change. I don't mean rules, like the kickoff in the NFL or the 24 second shot clock. Also, I won't get started on the BCS. I just mean little things that annoy me, and that, were I king of the Sports World, I would change. Here are just a few of my ideas:
- Make the San Diego Chargers switch the their powder blue uniforms full-time. They are the best unis in sports.
- Make ESPN no longer cover Duke-UNC basketball. We get it, they have a history. You overdo it. I think you have overdone it so much that you should lose it for a while. Dickie V will get over it, I am sure.
- Make everyone agree that Army-Navy is the best NCAA football rivalry. It isn't about hate. It is competition among young men who then go out and risk their lives for our freedoms. Ohio State-Michigan, ND-USC, the Iron Bowl or Miami-FSU just can't compete with that.
- Take away the designated hitter. I have done a complete 180 on this since the Nats came to DC. I like watching NL baseball more. There is strategy. There is small ball. While some of my favorite players of all time were DH's (especially Harold Baines and Edgar Martinez), I still think it should be done away with. The modern pitcher can actually hit.
- To be on Monday Night Football, you must have made the playoffs in the previous year. It seems like every week, the Jaguars and Browns were on MNF. They shouldn't be unless they earn it. I know with the schedule this doesn't really work. You will need some non-playoff teams. But they don't get to host the games. If you are the playoff team, you host the game.
- No more football games in London. Ever.
- Take away fan voting from All Star Games if they mean something... so... Baseball.
- Add a fan vote for the Hall of Fame. It is the only way Ray Guy will ever get in, I guess.
- PUT RAY GUY IN THE HOF! He is the best punter ever. He should be in.
- Stop the fake American obsession with the English Premier League. If you haven't spent at least a semester in England, you can't claim a team as your own. Go to an MLS game. They need your money.
- Change the NBA Draft so they can't keep foreign players overseas for multiple years. Too many good American players are going without jobs. No more outsourcing our basketball unless the guy comes and plays in America within a year after being drafted.
- Make the NCAA play in games all for the last few at-large teams. Conference Champions shouldn't have to deal with play-ins. And maybe that way Virginia Tech would finally get into the tournament with their weak resume and their one quality win (over Duke)... But probably not.
- Mascots have to kind of, sort of, make sense for the team. Or, they at least need to be funny enough where I don't care. That is born of the Philadelphia 76ers Mascot fiasco currently going on.
- Goalies should shoot more in the NHL. I just think it is fun when they score.
I will think of more, I promise.
I have been thinking... a dangerous pastime, I know. There are things in sports that I would like to change. I don't mean rules, like the kickoff in the NFL or the 24 second shot clock. Also, I won't get started on the BCS. I just mean little things that annoy me, and that, were I king of the Sports World, I would change. Here are just a few of my ideas:
- Make the San Diego Chargers switch the their powder blue uniforms full-time. They are the best unis in sports.
- Make ESPN no longer cover Duke-UNC basketball. We get it, they have a history. You overdo it. I think you have overdone it so much that you should lose it for a while. Dickie V will get over it, I am sure.
- Make everyone agree that Army-Navy is the best NCAA football rivalry. It isn't about hate. It is competition among young men who then go out and risk their lives for our freedoms. Ohio State-Michigan, ND-USC, the Iron Bowl or Miami-FSU just can't compete with that.
- Take away the designated hitter. I have done a complete 180 on this since the Nats came to DC. I like watching NL baseball more. There is strategy. There is small ball. While some of my favorite players of all time were DH's (especially Harold Baines and Edgar Martinez), I still think it should be done away with. The modern pitcher can actually hit.
- To be on Monday Night Football, you must have made the playoffs in the previous year. It seems like every week, the Jaguars and Browns were on MNF. They shouldn't be unless they earn it. I know with the schedule this doesn't really work. You will need some non-playoff teams. But they don't get to host the games. If you are the playoff team, you host the game.
- No more football games in London. Ever.
- Take away fan voting from All Star Games if they mean something... so... Baseball.
- Add a fan vote for the Hall of Fame. It is the only way Ray Guy will ever get in, I guess.
- PUT RAY GUY IN THE HOF! He is the best punter ever. He should be in.
- Stop the fake American obsession with the English Premier League. If you haven't spent at least a semester in England, you can't claim a team as your own. Go to an MLS game. They need your money.
- Change the NBA Draft so they can't keep foreign players overseas for multiple years. Too many good American players are going without jobs. No more outsourcing our basketball unless the guy comes and plays in America within a year after being drafted.
- Make the NCAA play in games all for the last few at-large teams. Conference Champions shouldn't have to deal with play-ins. And maybe that way Virginia Tech would finally get into the tournament with their weak resume and their one quality win (over Duke)... But probably not.
- Mascots have to kind of, sort of, make sense for the team. Or, they at least need to be funny enough where I don't care. That is born of the Philadelphia 76ers Mascot fiasco currently going on.
- Goalies should shoot more in the NHL. I just think it is fun when they score.
I will think of more, I promise.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Whatever Happened To....
Time to try a new segment. It is called "Whatever Happened To...?"
- The Nats spending money? Thomas Boswell has it right in his column today. Ted Lerner is dropping the ball as an owner. We missed out on Mark Buehrle, CJ Wilson, Yu Darvish, and pretty much any other FA we targeted before the Winter Meetings. It isn't that we just got outbid. That could be understandable. It is that we didn't even offer fair value. We didn't post for Darvish. We low-balled Buehrle. We aren't trying to get young Cuban outfielders. The Marlins passed us in terms of talent now. We are back to 4th. This isn't good.
- The importance of breaking records in the NFL? I know Aaron Rodgers is having an amazing year, and is the leader of the best team. However, Drew Brees is on pace not just to beat Dan Marino's 1984 passing yardage record- he could shatter it. That should count for something! He should be mentioned more in the MVP discussion, and not just as the guy who should be second.
- Journalistic integrity? ESPN has made a bunch of questionable calls recently, most notably sitting on the Bobby Davis tape for 8 years and not reporting it or investigating it further. The SU administration did. The Syracuse police did. Had this tape been turned into them, they could have had enough to expose Bernie Fine years ago. And yet they didn't, instead waiting to report it when it was most advantageous to their programming. It is far too suspicious that they waited to do their Outside the Lines report for 8 years, only to suddenly air it two weeks after the Penn State Scandal ruled the headlines (a story, you will remember, that ESPN did NOT break). Ethics seem to matter less than website hits and TV ratings.
- The Capitals being a regular season powerhouse? I miss that. That Cup just looks further and further away...
- Big League Chew bubblegum? I haven't had that in over a decade.
- Being able to criticize Uber-Christians for their beliefs if they are blatantly bigoted? But JFLAN, you say, that isn't sports-related! Sure it is. I have two words for you- Tim Tebow. There is a great Grantland article discussing how Tebow has made his own bed with his beliefs and his affiliations with certain anti-gay anti-choice groups, and how it is fair to then criticize him. Read it here. I also don't think that winning a few games against bad defenses and injured offenses should cause everyone to go so crazy about him, especially when Matt Prater is bailing his holy ass out most games. Just listen to SNL.
- Touchdown dances? I know the NFL tried to crack down on those, but I haven't seen a creative one in a while.
That's it for tonight. Think it went well?
- The Nats spending money? Thomas Boswell has it right in his column today. Ted Lerner is dropping the ball as an owner. We missed out on Mark Buehrle, CJ Wilson, Yu Darvish, and pretty much any other FA we targeted before the Winter Meetings. It isn't that we just got outbid. That could be understandable. It is that we didn't even offer fair value. We didn't post for Darvish. We low-balled Buehrle. We aren't trying to get young Cuban outfielders. The Marlins passed us in terms of talent now. We are back to 4th. This isn't good.
- The importance of breaking records in the NFL? I know Aaron Rodgers is having an amazing year, and is the leader of the best team. However, Drew Brees is on pace not just to beat Dan Marino's 1984 passing yardage record- he could shatter it. That should count for something! He should be mentioned more in the MVP discussion, and not just as the guy who should be second.
- Journalistic integrity? ESPN has made a bunch of questionable calls recently, most notably sitting on the Bobby Davis tape for 8 years and not reporting it or investigating it further. The SU administration did. The Syracuse police did. Had this tape been turned into them, they could have had enough to expose Bernie Fine years ago. And yet they didn't, instead waiting to report it when it was most advantageous to their programming. It is far too suspicious that they waited to do their Outside the Lines report for 8 years, only to suddenly air it two weeks after the Penn State Scandal ruled the headlines (a story, you will remember, that ESPN did NOT break). Ethics seem to matter less than website hits and TV ratings.
- The Capitals being a regular season powerhouse? I miss that. That Cup just looks further and further away...
- Big League Chew bubblegum? I haven't had that in over a decade.
- Being able to criticize Uber-Christians for their beliefs if they are blatantly bigoted? But JFLAN, you say, that isn't sports-related! Sure it is. I have two words for you- Tim Tebow. There is a great Grantland article discussing how Tebow has made his own bed with his beliefs and his affiliations with certain anti-gay anti-choice groups, and how it is fair to then criticize him. Read it here. I also don't think that winning a few games against bad defenses and injured offenses should cause everyone to go so crazy about him, especially when Matt Prater is bailing his holy ass out most games. Just listen to SNL.
- Touchdown dances? I know the NFL tried to crack down on those, but I haven't seen a creative one in a while.
That's it for tonight. Think it went well?
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Master!
My dear 12 or so readers, I have done it. I finished my Masters. This of course means I will have less distractions from giving you my fairly meaningless opinions on sports. I might even get around to talking about other things. I was thinking movies and music, since the news is just too depressing to write about... Then again, so are the Redskins.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Heisman and BCS Thoughts
Sooooo the NCAA Football regular season is all over, with the exception of Army vs Navy on Saturday. I have some thoughts about the BCS Bowl games, and the Heisman Trophy finalists.
- The BCS Title game is... boring. I am sorry. There is nothing sexy about the game. LSU-Bama already happened, and it was AWFUL! 9-6? That isn't a testament to great defense. It was 4 missed field goals, no offensive players that caught my eye, and robbed America of 4 hours. OK State deserves a shot at LSU. You know why? Because they won their conference. Outright. Alabama didn't win its division. New rule time! You must win your conference to be eligible to play in the BCS title game. Simple. Then we don't end up with rematches that people don't want to see.
- Virginia Tech didn't win its conference, but got an at-large bid. They didn't deserve it. They were destroyed in the ACC title game (their second loss to Clemson), barely beat Duke this year, and are in there over teams with real quality wins. Boise State only has one loss and beat Georgia in Georgia. TCU beat Boise. KSU only lost to OK State and Oklahoma. I don't buy Tech, and predict that Michigan is going to run all over them.
- The Orange Bowl, Clemson vs WVU, might be the most fun of the BCS games, though Stanford vs OK State has the chance to be a classic.
- The speed of Oregon against the size of Wisconsin will be great to see. LaMichael James against Montee Ball? Yes please.
So, the Heisman finalists were announced today. Montee Ball, Robert Griffin III, Andrew Luck, Tyrann Mathieu and Trent Richardson will be in NY on Saturday. I wish Case Keenum was there, but he isn't. Matt Barkley was snubbed as well. Not that it matters, but if I had a ballot, this is how I would vote:
1. Robert Griffin III
2. Montee Ball
3. Andrew Luck
4. Tyrann Mathieu
5. Trent Richardson
RG3 has been the single best player I have seen this season. He is insane. He carried a team with minimal talent (compared to the other powerhouses represented) to a 9-3 season, including wins over Oklahoma, Texas and TCU. He is my pick easily. Ball is the country's leading rusher, and Luck is the heart and soul of Stanford. They could be tied at 2. The others... well... Here is the thing.
Mathieu is an amazing player. He is a ball-hawk CB. He is a great return man. He has a great nickname (Honey Badger). But he missed a game, and in a 13 game season for LSU, that means something. It is only that he has been so outstanding in the other games that I am ok with him being a finalist. And then there is Trent. In the biggest game of the year, he was shut down. He did nothing against LSU. 23 rushes for 89 yards and no TD with the spotlight on you is not a Heisman performance, especially when 24 of those yards came on one rush. I would have Keenum and Barkley ahead of Richardson.
I am hoping that Mathieu and Richardson split the SEC votes. Luck will get most of the West, Ball the North and Griffin Big XII country. If it comes down to the Northeast, expect Luck or Griffin to be hoisting that trophy come Saturday. Ball isn't as well known, and the voters tend to go with QBs. I am hoping that RG3 takes it home, because he has shown me the most.
I could be wrong... but I don't think I am.
- The BCS Title game is... boring. I am sorry. There is nothing sexy about the game. LSU-Bama already happened, and it was AWFUL! 9-6? That isn't a testament to great defense. It was 4 missed field goals, no offensive players that caught my eye, and robbed America of 4 hours. OK State deserves a shot at LSU. You know why? Because they won their conference. Outright. Alabama didn't win its division. New rule time! You must win your conference to be eligible to play in the BCS title game. Simple. Then we don't end up with rematches that people don't want to see.
- Virginia Tech didn't win its conference, but got an at-large bid. They didn't deserve it. They were destroyed in the ACC title game (their second loss to Clemson), barely beat Duke this year, and are in there over teams with real quality wins. Boise State only has one loss and beat Georgia in Georgia. TCU beat Boise. KSU only lost to OK State and Oklahoma. I don't buy Tech, and predict that Michigan is going to run all over them.
- The Orange Bowl, Clemson vs WVU, might be the most fun of the BCS games, though Stanford vs OK State has the chance to be a classic.
- The speed of Oregon against the size of Wisconsin will be great to see. LaMichael James against Montee Ball? Yes please.
So, the Heisman finalists were announced today. Montee Ball, Robert Griffin III, Andrew Luck, Tyrann Mathieu and Trent Richardson will be in NY on Saturday. I wish Case Keenum was there, but he isn't. Matt Barkley was snubbed as well. Not that it matters, but if I had a ballot, this is how I would vote:
1. Robert Griffin III
2. Montee Ball
3. Andrew Luck
4. Tyrann Mathieu
5. Trent Richardson
RG3 has been the single best player I have seen this season. He is insane. He carried a team with minimal talent (compared to the other powerhouses represented) to a 9-3 season, including wins over Oklahoma, Texas and TCU. He is my pick easily. Ball is the country's leading rusher, and Luck is the heart and soul of Stanford. They could be tied at 2. The others... well... Here is the thing.
Mathieu is an amazing player. He is a ball-hawk CB. He is a great return man. He has a great nickname (Honey Badger). But he missed a game, and in a 13 game season for LSU, that means something. It is only that he has been so outstanding in the other games that I am ok with him being a finalist. And then there is Trent. In the biggest game of the year, he was shut down. He did nothing against LSU. 23 rushes for 89 yards and no TD with the spotlight on you is not a Heisman performance, especially when 24 of those yards came on one rush. I would have Keenum and Barkley ahead of Richardson.
I am hoping that Mathieu and Richardson split the SEC votes. Luck will get most of the West, Ball the North and Griffin Big XII country. If it comes down to the Northeast, expect Luck or Griffin to be hoisting that trophy come Saturday. Ball isn't as well known, and the voters tend to go with QBs. I am hoping that RG3 takes it home, because he has shown me the most.
I could be wrong... but I don't think I am.
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