Ed's Sports Corner:
Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley
Chariots of Fire – 4 Stars (Excellent)
As a former record-setting championship runner, it is normal and natural for me to proclaim "Chariots of Fire" as simply the greatest running movie every made. What is strange is famed movie critic Roger Ebert's reaction to this film classic.
"I have no interest in running and am not a partisan in the British class system," says Ebert. "Then why should I have been so deeply moved by 'Chariots of Fire', a British film that has running and class as its subjects? Like many great films, Chariots of Fire takes its nominal subjects as occasions for much larger statements about human nature."
Ebert is drawn to Chariots of Fire like a bee to honey. He cannot resist the powerful presentation of this true story about two men of principles and integrity that use running as a magnet to attract followers to their cause.
One is Harold Abrahams (Ben Cross), a British man to the core and a Jew whose father is an immigrant and financier from Lithuania. The other is Eric Liddell (Ian Charleson), a Scot who is the son of missionaries in China. Both have the God-given gift of speed and seek to bring home medals from the 1924 Paris Olympics.
Abrahams feels the sting of discrimination because of his Jewish heritage and runs for the glory of Britain and the acceptance that he believes will make him whole; there is no question he is worthy. Aubrey Montague (Nicholas Farrell) is his close friend and confidant.
"You, Aubrey, are my most complete man," says Abrahams. "You're brave, compassionate, kind: a content man. That is your secret, contentment. I am 24 and I've never known it. I'm forever in pursuit and I don't even know what I am chasing."
Abrahams is driven by his quest for a gold medal in the 100-meter dash. He will let nothing come between him and his goal, even the love of his life Sybil Gordon (Alice Krige). He enters Cambridge University and quickly becomes a campus standout by becoming the first person to successfully run around the Trinity Great Court from the first toll until the clock strikes 12. His competition is Lord Andrew Lindsay (Nigel Havers) who pushes him to glory.
Abrahams tells his friend Aubrey Montague that he has never been beaten in competition. When he faces Eric Liddell for the first time he loses, and his immaturity surfaces when he declares to Sybil Gordon that "If I can't win, I won't run!" Sybil replies, "If you don't run, you can't win."
Fortunately, the famous trainer Sam Mussabini (Ian Holm) is at the race and tells Abrahams he is over striding and points out that over striding is the kiss of death for a sprinter. He reluctantly agrees to coach Abrahams so he can beat Liddell in the 100 meters.
Sam Mussabini tells Abrahams that Liddell is a fast gut runner who digs deep, but reminds him that a short sprint is run on nerves, and then adds that it's tailor-made for neurotics.
Eric Liddell is more than fast, he is one of the fastest runners anywhere, a fact that is about to be demonstrated to the world in the Olympic games. Liddell is self-assured and confident and unlike, Abrahams, runs for the greater glory of God.
When his missionary sister Jennie Liddell (Cheryl Campbell) fears his focus will be lost on running, Eric replies that "I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run I feel his pleasure."
In the Olympic games, both Abrahams and Liddell will clash with two very fast Americans, Charles Paddock—the world record holder in the 100 meters—and Jackson Scholz—a 200-meter sprinter.
When Eric Liddell learns that the preliminaries for the 100-meter dash will be run on Sunday, he refuses to compete. When confronted by the British Olympic Committee and Lord Cadogan reprimands him for his impertinence, Liddell replies that "The impertinence lies, sir, with those who seek to influence a man to deny his beliefs!"
At the 11th hour and 59th minute, Lord Andrew Lindsey intervenes with a solution: Since he has already won a bronze medal in the 200-meter race, let Liddell replace him in the 400-meter dash.
Liddell is then seen at church delivering a guest sermon and quotes the Bible prophetically from Isaiah, Chapter 40, Verse 31: "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint" (King James Version).
Chariots of Fire has an unknown cast with spectacular photography and music as well as many running scenes.
Roger Ebert keys in on the musical score, calling it "one of the most remarkable sound tracks of any film" with music by the Greek composer Vangelis. "His compositions . . . are as evocative, and as suited to the material, as the different but also perfectly matched scores (as) 'Zorba the Greek'."
Vangelis' use of an electronic score may have been ill-suited to a period piece like Chariots of Fire, but it worked beyond anyone's expectations, creating a new style in film scoring. He played all of the instruments, including synthesizers, acoustic piano, battery and percussion.
Against this nostalgic backdrop the movie opens with Lord Andrew Lindsey delivering the eulogy for Harold Abahams funeral:
"Let us praise famous men and our fathers that begat us. All these men were honored in their generations and were a glory in their days. We are here today to give thanks for the life of Harold Abrahams. To honor the legend. Now there are just two of us—young Aubrey Montague and myself—who can close our eyes and remember those few young men with hope in our hearts and wings on our heels."
From this incredible opening follows the flashback and the narration that recounts the challenges and glory of Great Britain's athletes at the 1924 Olympic Games. The next scene is the athletes running along the beach to what has become known as the Chariots of Fire theme that would later be released as a single in 1982 and top the charts in the United States.
In the end, Harold Abrahams would win the 100-meter dash, and would also win a silver medal as the opening leg (runner) on the 4x100 relay team. Eric Liddell—the Flying Scotsman—would win the 400-meter dash in an Olympic record 47.6 seconds, and also picked up a bronze medal in the 200-meter dash, won by Jackson Scholz with Charles Paddock second.
Among many poignant moments in Chariots of Fire is Eric Liddell at the starting line of the 400-meter dash and Jackson Scholz, who was not competing in the race, hands him a written note of text from the Bible. The quotation was from 1st Samuel, 2nd Chapter. Verse 30, "Those who honor me I will honor." Liddell ran the 400 meters with the note in his hand and set an Olympic record.
Abrahams would marry his sweetheart and become the elder statesman of track and field in Britain. Liddell would return to China as a missionary with his physician brother Rob and ultimately be imprisoned during the Chinese-Japanese War in 1942.
Winston Churchill arranged for a prisoner exchange to get Liddell out of the camp (his family had left China before the hostilities started) but Liddell—ever faithful to the end in serving others—gave up his place to a pregnant mother. He died of a brain tumor in 1945, 5 months before the camp was liberated. Even today, 64 years later, he is honored as Scotland's greatest athlete.
If you have a shred of integrity, principles, ethics, morals, honor, sensitivity or patriotism, you will love Chariots of Fire and be moved by its message.
If you do not, I cannot do anything for you but let you know that Chariots of Fire is more than the greatest running movie ever made, it is also one of the greatest films ever made.
Chariots of Fire, released in 1981, was a British film written by Colin Welland and directed by Hugh Hudson. It would draw moviegoers everywhere by winning 4 Oscars at the Academy Awards for Best Picture (Producer David Puttman), Best Original Screenplay (Colin Welland), Best Original Music Score (Vangelis) and Best Costume Design (Milena Canonero).
Chariots of Fire was also nominated for Oscars for Best Supporting Actor (Ian Holm as Sam Mussabini), Best Director (Hugh Hudson) and Best Film Editing (Terry Rawlings). It also had 12 other wins and 15 more nominations, including Best Foreign Film at the Golden Globe Awards.
Chariots of Fire remains among my list of the Top 10 films ever made. It passes my most stringent test of asking myself after seeing a film: Am I a better person for having seen this film? The answer is yes, a thousand times yes!
Even today, 26 years after seeing Chariots of Fire for the first time, I get goose bumps whenever I see it again.
Every time I see it I pull down my Cambridge Factfinder from my library shelf and stare at the 1924 Paris Olympic results. There I see three gold medal winners—Harold Abrahams of Great Britain in the 100-Meter Dash (10.6), Eric Liddell of Great Britain in the 400-Meter Dash (an Olympic record 47.6) and Douglas Lowe of Great Britain in the 800-Meter Run (1:52.4). Lowe was not in Colin Welland's script.
I think of that glorious time when some few ran with hope in their hearts and wings on their heels.
Editor's Note for Runners – Read my sports articles on "What Makes a Person Want to Run, and Why Few Will Ever Know the Joy of Running", "A St. Patrick's Day Toast to Irish Runners Marcus O'Sullivan and Eamonn Coghlan" and "Millrose Games Celebrates 100th Birthday as Track's Most Prestigious Indoor Event".
Editor's Note for Movie Buffs - Read my movie reviews on families: "A Christmas Story", "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and "Secondhand Lions". You will smile, laugh, cry and feel better for the experience.
Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
Discover 136 Movie Reviews, 68 Sports Articles, 88 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Articles on Jobs and Careers, 30 Articles on Internet Marketing and 591 Famous Quotes.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Erik's Reader Feedback: "I Hope Hawaii Demolishes Washington on Saturday"
Ed's Sports Corner:
Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley
Hey Ed remember me? I responded to your article earlier in the season. I have to hand it to you…you are a semi-good writer who gets people stirred up and you speak your mind …and I understand that is your job.
I would also like you to know that UH feeds off of people like you…they play with a chip on their shoulder and something to prove because the majority of sports analysts and writers will never give Hawaii the benefit of the doubt because, like Boise State last year, we have yet to earn a quality win against a quality team.
That being said I hope UH demolishes UW (Washington) on Saturday…I will be at the game. And no I am not overlooking UW even with their losing record and performance last week against rival Washington State (5 touchdowns allowed through the air).
I also hope UH gets to a BCS Bowl Game and beats whoever we are matched up against. Why? Because it is so intriguing to me that a school on a tiny bunch of islands in the middle of the Pacific with not even $100,000 of resources can actually compete with the bigger, better funded, better recruiting classes of mainland schools.
We are the small fish in a big pond and we defy odds. We fight the uphill battle and we come out on top more times than not. Personally I think the whole conference relativity talk is bull…i.e. if UH was in the Pac-10 or SEC then we would be at the bottom…the bottom line is that we aren’t and it is all speculation anyways…well yes games would be tougher, but we would also get access to Pac-10 or SEC recruiting bases and maybe more money so how can people harp on that?
I think it is sad that people would say that UH does not deserve what they have worked so hard for…bullies like you haha! And go Derrick Low and his Cougs!!! Played with that guy in high school by the way…ISLAND PRIDE!!!
Erik
Hey Erik,
Good to hear from you. I hope you did not make your comment about my being "a semi-good writer" begrudgingly. I do stir the pot and speak my mind. If those palm trees on the Island had branches, I would probably shake those too.
A few things have become clear since last weekend. One is your case for the Hawaii Warriors being better than some of us hammerheads think. Another is that my case for the Washington Huskies being better than the Warriors gets weaker every week.
Hawaii's 39-27 win over Boise State was huge, giving the Warriors their first outright Western Athletic Conference title after tying for the championship in 1999. I thought Boise State was the better team and would prove it; they did not.
Hawaii was the better team when they played them last week and remains the better team this week. How cool was it to snap Boise State's 18 game win streak against WAC teams? I think you know who has the longest current winning streak among NCAA Division 1A teams; that's right, Hawaii.
We could have used some of your Island pride last week against the Washington State Cougars. It was bad enough losing 42-35 but it was worse to lose in Husky Stadium. Hats off to Alex Brink for his 339 yards passing and 5 touchdown passes.
I said earlier in the year that the Husky defenders in the secondary could not cover their grandmother on their best day. They have proven me right almost every game. Washington has some serious problems on defense. When their offense scores 35 points it should be enough to win.
Unfortunately, even the 3rd consecutive victory by the Cougs over the Dogs could not save Bill Doba his job as head coach. Do you think June Jones would ever leave the Island for a Pac 10 coaching job in the Palouse?
Jones took over as Hawaii head coach in 1999. He inherited a team that was winless in 12 games in 1998 and took them to a 9-4 record his first year and a share of the WAC title. Since then he has put together some great winning seasons, including 9-4, 9-3, 10-4, 11-3 and 11-0 records. Very impressive.
Jones has an extensive pro coaching career, most recently with the San Diego Chargers. He must like the hot weather since he has been planted in Hawaii for 9 seasons.
I was so happy to see Jake Locker back against Washington State. He went 12 of 35 for 224 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions. Not the best, but he added 103 yards rushing (7+ yards per carry).
Your guy Colt Brennan made Locker's stats look really small by passing for 495 yards and 5 touchdowns and rushing for another. Apparently Brennan broke 3 major college records that night for most career touchdowns, most touchdowns responsible for, and most points responsible for.
Both Locker and Brennan took vicious helmet-to-helmet shots recently and have survived. Let us hope that when Hawaii and Washington hook up that none of that occurs again. Brennan should get national exposure in a BCS Bowl Game and he deserves to be seen. I want Locker back for the Huskies next season, and I want him healthy from his Island vacation.
You may be interested to know that I am not discriminating by picking on Hawaii. A number of teams have come under my radar, including Kansas and its weak schedule, Wisconsin, California, Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, LSU, Louisville and Nebraska to name a few. I thought every one of them was overrated.
Here are three teams I never said a word about being overrated: South Florida, Cincinnati and Missouri. You did not hear a whole lot about any of these teams on the way up. I believe that South Florida and Cincinnati were victims of the Peter Principle, they simply rose to their level of incompetence. I actually enjoyed their rise because it was so fresh in both cases.
Missouri did not even make it into the Top 25 until the 3rd week of the season and now sits at No. 1. Missouri is the real deal, at least for now. They must beat Oklahoma for the Big 12 title to have an opportunity to make their dreams come true.
Back to the Hawaii-Washington showdown on the Island. One will win and one will lose, we will see what we will see.
Editor's Note: Read my 5-Part series on Running: "Wheat Products and Sugar Can Be the 'Kiss of Death' When Trying to Lose Weight – Part 1", "How Lecterns (Proteins in Foods) Are Very Negative in O Positive Blood Types – Part 2", Gluten in Wheat Products Bind to the Small Intestine Lining and Turn to Fat – Part 3", "How Popular Running Magazines Are Constantly Giving Very Poor Diet Advice – Part 4" and "There Is an Inescapable Correlation Between Weight and Cardiovascular Efficiency – Part 5".
Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
Discover 136 Movie Reviews, 68 Sports Articles, 88 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Articles on Jobs and Careers, 30 Articles on Internet Marketing and 591 Famous Quotes.
Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley
Hey Ed remember me? I responded to your article earlier in the season. I have to hand it to you…you are a semi-good writer who gets people stirred up and you speak your mind …and I understand that is your job.
I would also like you to know that UH feeds off of people like you…they play with a chip on their shoulder and something to prove because the majority of sports analysts and writers will never give Hawaii the benefit of the doubt because, like Boise State last year, we have yet to earn a quality win against a quality team.
That being said I hope UH demolishes UW (Washington) on Saturday…I will be at the game. And no I am not overlooking UW even with their losing record and performance last week against rival Washington State (5 touchdowns allowed through the air).
I also hope UH gets to a BCS Bowl Game and beats whoever we are matched up against. Why? Because it is so intriguing to me that a school on a tiny bunch of islands in the middle of the Pacific with not even $100,000 of resources can actually compete with the bigger, better funded, better recruiting classes of mainland schools.
We are the small fish in a big pond and we defy odds. We fight the uphill battle and we come out on top more times than not. Personally I think the whole conference relativity talk is bull…i.e. if UH was in the Pac-10 or SEC then we would be at the bottom…the bottom line is that we aren’t and it is all speculation anyways…well yes games would be tougher, but we would also get access to Pac-10 or SEC recruiting bases and maybe more money so how can people harp on that?
I think it is sad that people would say that UH does not deserve what they have worked so hard for…bullies like you haha! And go Derrick Low and his Cougs!!! Played with that guy in high school by the way…ISLAND PRIDE!!!
Erik
Hey Erik,
Good to hear from you. I hope you did not make your comment about my being "a semi-good writer" begrudgingly. I do stir the pot and speak my mind. If those palm trees on the Island had branches, I would probably shake those too.
A few things have become clear since last weekend. One is your case for the Hawaii Warriors being better than some of us hammerheads think. Another is that my case for the Washington Huskies being better than the Warriors gets weaker every week.
Hawaii's 39-27 win over Boise State was huge, giving the Warriors their first outright Western Athletic Conference title after tying for the championship in 1999. I thought Boise State was the better team and would prove it; they did not.
Hawaii was the better team when they played them last week and remains the better team this week. How cool was it to snap Boise State's 18 game win streak against WAC teams? I think you know who has the longest current winning streak among NCAA Division 1A teams; that's right, Hawaii.
We could have used some of your Island pride last week against the Washington State Cougars. It was bad enough losing 42-35 but it was worse to lose in Husky Stadium. Hats off to Alex Brink for his 339 yards passing and 5 touchdown passes.
I said earlier in the year that the Husky defenders in the secondary could not cover their grandmother on their best day. They have proven me right almost every game. Washington has some serious problems on defense. When their offense scores 35 points it should be enough to win.
Unfortunately, even the 3rd consecutive victory by the Cougs over the Dogs could not save Bill Doba his job as head coach. Do you think June Jones would ever leave the Island for a Pac 10 coaching job in the Palouse?
Jones took over as Hawaii head coach in 1999. He inherited a team that was winless in 12 games in 1998 and took them to a 9-4 record his first year and a share of the WAC title. Since then he has put together some great winning seasons, including 9-4, 9-3, 10-4, 11-3 and 11-0 records. Very impressive.
Jones has an extensive pro coaching career, most recently with the San Diego Chargers. He must like the hot weather since he has been planted in Hawaii for 9 seasons.
I was so happy to see Jake Locker back against Washington State. He went 12 of 35 for 224 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions. Not the best, but he added 103 yards rushing (7+ yards per carry).
Your guy Colt Brennan made Locker's stats look really small by passing for 495 yards and 5 touchdowns and rushing for another. Apparently Brennan broke 3 major college records that night for most career touchdowns, most touchdowns responsible for, and most points responsible for.
Both Locker and Brennan took vicious helmet-to-helmet shots recently and have survived. Let us hope that when Hawaii and Washington hook up that none of that occurs again. Brennan should get national exposure in a BCS Bowl Game and he deserves to be seen. I want Locker back for the Huskies next season, and I want him healthy from his Island vacation.
You may be interested to know that I am not discriminating by picking on Hawaii. A number of teams have come under my radar, including Kansas and its weak schedule, Wisconsin, California, Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, LSU, Louisville and Nebraska to name a few. I thought every one of them was overrated.
Here are three teams I never said a word about being overrated: South Florida, Cincinnati and Missouri. You did not hear a whole lot about any of these teams on the way up. I believe that South Florida and Cincinnati were victims of the Peter Principle, they simply rose to their level of incompetence. I actually enjoyed their rise because it was so fresh in both cases.
Missouri did not even make it into the Top 25 until the 3rd week of the season and now sits at No. 1. Missouri is the real deal, at least for now. They must beat Oklahoma for the Big 12 title to have an opportunity to make their dreams come true.
Back to the Hawaii-Washington showdown on the Island. One will win and one will lose, we will see what we will see.
Editor's Note: Read my 5-Part series on Running: "Wheat Products and Sugar Can Be the 'Kiss of Death' When Trying to Lose Weight – Part 1", "How Lecterns (Proteins in Foods) Are Very Negative in O Positive Blood Types – Part 2", Gluten in Wheat Products Bind to the Small Intestine Lining and Turn to Fat – Part 3", "How Popular Running Magazines Are Constantly Giving Very Poor Diet Advice – Part 4" and "There Is an Inescapable Correlation Between Weight and Cardiovascular Efficiency – Part 5".
Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
Discover 136 Movie Reviews, 68 Sports Articles, 88 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Articles on Jobs and Careers, 30 Articles on Internet Marketing and 591 Famous Quotes.
Monday, November 26, 2007
College Football 2007 - Week 13: If the BCS National Championship Game Was Today, Missouri and West Virginia Would Play
Ed's Sports Corner:
Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley
Rivalry week in college football had a profound effect on the BCS National Championship Game contenders. For openers, three teams—Missouri, West Virginia and Hawaii—did it right by winning super important games.
No. 3-ranked Missouri (11-1) stopped No. 2-ranked Kansas' (11-1) unbeaten streak at 11 by beating the Jayhawks 36-28 in a game that was not as close as the score would indicate. Missouri led at the half 14-0 and let Kansas back into the game by giving up 3 touchdowns in the 4th quarter, thinking the game was really over.
No matter, I have carped all season long about the weak schedule Kansas played to run up its 11 wins and now am vindicated when they showed poorly against first-class competition.
Kansas entered the game rated 101st in strength of schedule among 119 Division 1A schools and left the game rated 90th after playing No. 3-ranked Missouri. The Jayhawks, who are BCS bowl bound somewhere, simply got found out.
The Missouri Tigers are now the Big 12 North champs and headed for a showdown with No. 10-ranked South champs Oklahoma for the Big 12 title. Missouri's only loss this year was to Oklahoma in an away game, 41-31, after Missouri allowed the Sooners 18 straight 4th quarter points.
Missouri has not won a Big 12 conference title in 38 years. Should they win they will undoubtedly play in the BCS National Championship Game.
Missouri's junior quarterback Chase Daniel, whose hero is legendary Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre (pronounced Farve), is everything he is cracked up to be and then some.
Daniel was unstoppable against Kansas, going 40 for 49 for 361 yards with 3 touchdowns and no interceptions and now has 4,029 total yards, breaking his own school record.
Missouri Head Coach Gary Pinkel has insiders here in Washington buzzing as Pinkel was part of Don James' successful Husky teams. Pinkel was the Receivers Coach from 1979 to 1983 and the Offensive Coordinator from 1984 to 1990. Pinkel coached many famous Washington players, including Chris Chandler, Mark Brunell, Billy Joe Hobert, Lincoln Kennedy, Greg Lewis, Hugh Millen, Steve Pelleur, Kevin Gogan and Ed Cunningham.
Don James is the heart and soul of Washington football, a two-time National Coach of the Year who won a national championship in 1991, went to 6 Rose Bowls, won an Orange Bowl title, and was 10-5 in 15 bowl appearances in 18 years as head coach. James is the Dawgfather and has the ring to kiss from the 1991 national championship to prove it.
No. 4-ranked West Virginia (10-1) took care of business by coming down like a ton of bricks on No. 20-ranked Connecticut (9-3), 66-21, scoring 7 touchdowns on the Connecticut Huskies.
No. 14-ranked Hawaii, the only Division 1A team left unbeaten at 11-0, outlasted No. 17-ranked Boise State (10-2), 39-27, to capture the Mountain West title with a perfect 8-0 record.
I have also carped all season long about Hawaii's cupcake schedule and now have seen that the Boise State Broncos, who played another cupcake schedule, are not that good either. I watched a good part of the Hawaii-Boise State match-up and think the Warrior's senior quarterback Colt Brennan could play on much better 1A teams.
Four other Top 25 teams lost when they had an opportunity to win and advance.
No. 1-ranked LSU (10-2) blew it big time by letting Arkansas (8-4) beat them 50-48 in overtime. So much for the Tigers national championship game hopes.
No. 7-ranked Arizona State (9-2) was slapped around by No. 11-ranked USC (9-2), 44-24.
No. 9-ranked Oregon (8-3) was shut out by UCLA (6-5), 16-0, and is now folding faster than a cheap K-Mart deck chair since the Ducks lost their superstar quarterback and offensive leader Dennis Dixon with a torn ACL.
No. 13-ranked Texas (9-3) was upended by Texas A&M (7-5), 38-30, in its rivalry.
Fourteen teams did exactly what they were expected to do: win against their in-state rival without having any measurable affect on the BCS title game:
No. 6-ranked Georgia (10-2) put down Georgia Tech (7-5), 31-17, to gain bragging rights but will not play for the SEC championship. Georgia tied Tennessee for the West Conference title at 6-2 but lost to Tennessee 35-14 so Tennessee advances to the SEC title game against LSU.
No. 8-ranked Virginia Tech (10-2) outscored No. 16-ranked Virginia (9-3) 10-0 in the last quarter to erase the Cavaliers, 33-21.
No. 10-ranked Oklahoma (10-2) slammed Oklahoma State 49-17 to win the Big 12 South title at 6-2 and will face Missouri in the Big 12 title game.
No. 12-ranked Florida (9-3) bombed Florida State (7-5), 45-12.
No. 21-ranked Clemson (9-3) barely nipped South Carolina (6-6) 23-21.
No. 23-ranked Brigham Young (9-2) was behind 3-0 at the half but rebounded to beat Utah (8-4), 17-10, and clinch the Mountain West championship with a perfect 7-0 record.
No. 25-ranked Auburn (8-4) stung Alabama (6-6), 17-10. The Crimson Tide's $4 million coach, Nick Saban, was wondering what happened in his first year debut as the highest paid coach in college football. Alabama fans know what happened, and they are not happy campers.
Bowling Green (8-4) whipped Toledo 37-10.
Mississippi State (7-5) beat Mississippi by a field goal, 17-14.
Florida Atlantic (6-5) outran Florida International (0-11), 55-23.
Louisiana-Monroe (6-6) beat Louisiana-Lafayette 17-11.
Ohio (6-6) outlasted Miami of Ohio 38-29.
Washington State (5-7) outscored Washington 14-7 in the last quarter to beat the Huskies 42-35.
North Carolina (4-8) won in overtime against Duke (1-11), 20-14.
By Sunday night (11-25-07) the new BCS Standings had Missouri 1st, West Virginia 2nd, Ohio State 3rd, Georgia 4th, Kansas 5th and Virginia Tech 6th. Nothing else much matters. If you are wondering, Hawaii is 12th in the BCS Standings. The regular seasons are over for Ohio State, Georgia, Kansas and Virginia Tech.
If the BCS National Championship were played today, Missouri and West Virginia would vie for the title, but there is unfinished business. Missouri will have to beat Oklahoma for the Big 12 title, and West Virginia will have to beat Pittsburgh or all bets are off.
Hawaii must remain 12th in the BCS Standings and beat Washington to qualify for 1 of the 5 BCS bowl games. The unbeaten Warriors can forget about playing in the national championship game until they start playing much better competition.
Note: Read my College Football Weekly Wrap-Up Articles on the first 12 weeks of the season, and especially weeks 3, 4 and 7: "6 Top 25 Teams Lose and Nosedive; 4 Others Join the Top 25 Poll", "20 Games, 1,560 Points = 78 Points Per Game, Good Grief, Where's the Defense?" and "Top 2 Ranked Teams Get Burned; Now There Are Only 6 Undefeated Teams Left".
Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at::
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
Discover 136 Movie Reviews, 68 Sports Articles, 88 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Articles on Jobs and Careers, 30 Articles on Internet Marketing and 591 Famous Quotes.
Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley
Rivalry week in college football had a profound effect on the BCS National Championship Game contenders. For openers, three teams—Missouri, West Virginia and Hawaii—did it right by winning super important games.
No. 3-ranked Missouri (11-1) stopped No. 2-ranked Kansas' (11-1) unbeaten streak at 11 by beating the Jayhawks 36-28 in a game that was not as close as the score would indicate. Missouri led at the half 14-0 and let Kansas back into the game by giving up 3 touchdowns in the 4th quarter, thinking the game was really over.
No matter, I have carped all season long about the weak schedule Kansas played to run up its 11 wins and now am vindicated when they showed poorly against first-class competition.
Kansas entered the game rated 101st in strength of schedule among 119 Division 1A schools and left the game rated 90th after playing No. 3-ranked Missouri. The Jayhawks, who are BCS bowl bound somewhere, simply got found out.
The Missouri Tigers are now the Big 12 North champs and headed for a showdown with No. 10-ranked South champs Oklahoma for the Big 12 title. Missouri's only loss this year was to Oklahoma in an away game, 41-31, after Missouri allowed the Sooners 18 straight 4th quarter points.
Missouri has not won a Big 12 conference title in 38 years. Should they win they will undoubtedly play in the BCS National Championship Game.
Missouri's junior quarterback Chase Daniel, whose hero is legendary Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre (pronounced Farve), is everything he is cracked up to be and then some.
Daniel was unstoppable against Kansas, going 40 for 49 for 361 yards with 3 touchdowns and no interceptions and now has 4,029 total yards, breaking his own school record.
Missouri Head Coach Gary Pinkel has insiders here in Washington buzzing as Pinkel was part of Don James' successful Husky teams. Pinkel was the Receivers Coach from 1979 to 1983 and the Offensive Coordinator from 1984 to 1990. Pinkel coached many famous Washington players, including Chris Chandler, Mark Brunell, Billy Joe Hobert, Lincoln Kennedy, Greg Lewis, Hugh Millen, Steve Pelleur, Kevin Gogan and Ed Cunningham.
Don James is the heart and soul of Washington football, a two-time National Coach of the Year who won a national championship in 1991, went to 6 Rose Bowls, won an Orange Bowl title, and was 10-5 in 15 bowl appearances in 18 years as head coach. James is the Dawgfather and has the ring to kiss from the 1991 national championship to prove it.
No. 4-ranked West Virginia (10-1) took care of business by coming down like a ton of bricks on No. 20-ranked Connecticut (9-3), 66-21, scoring 7 touchdowns on the Connecticut Huskies.
No. 14-ranked Hawaii, the only Division 1A team left unbeaten at 11-0, outlasted No. 17-ranked Boise State (10-2), 39-27, to capture the Mountain West title with a perfect 8-0 record.
I have also carped all season long about Hawaii's cupcake schedule and now have seen that the Boise State Broncos, who played another cupcake schedule, are not that good either. I watched a good part of the Hawaii-Boise State match-up and think the Warrior's senior quarterback Colt Brennan could play on much better 1A teams.
Four other Top 25 teams lost when they had an opportunity to win and advance.
No. 1-ranked LSU (10-2) blew it big time by letting Arkansas (8-4) beat them 50-48 in overtime. So much for the Tigers national championship game hopes.
No. 7-ranked Arizona State (9-2) was slapped around by No. 11-ranked USC (9-2), 44-24.
No. 9-ranked Oregon (8-3) was shut out by UCLA (6-5), 16-0, and is now folding faster than a cheap K-Mart deck chair since the Ducks lost their superstar quarterback and offensive leader Dennis Dixon with a torn ACL.
No. 13-ranked Texas (9-3) was upended by Texas A&M (7-5), 38-30, in its rivalry.
Fourteen teams did exactly what they were expected to do: win against their in-state rival without having any measurable affect on the BCS title game:
No. 6-ranked Georgia (10-2) put down Georgia Tech (7-5), 31-17, to gain bragging rights but will not play for the SEC championship. Georgia tied Tennessee for the West Conference title at 6-2 but lost to Tennessee 35-14 so Tennessee advances to the SEC title game against LSU.
No. 8-ranked Virginia Tech (10-2) outscored No. 16-ranked Virginia (9-3) 10-0 in the last quarter to erase the Cavaliers, 33-21.
No. 10-ranked Oklahoma (10-2) slammed Oklahoma State 49-17 to win the Big 12 South title at 6-2 and will face Missouri in the Big 12 title game.
No. 12-ranked Florida (9-3) bombed Florida State (7-5), 45-12.
No. 21-ranked Clemson (9-3) barely nipped South Carolina (6-6) 23-21.
No. 23-ranked Brigham Young (9-2) was behind 3-0 at the half but rebounded to beat Utah (8-4), 17-10, and clinch the Mountain West championship with a perfect 7-0 record.
No. 25-ranked Auburn (8-4) stung Alabama (6-6), 17-10. The Crimson Tide's $4 million coach, Nick Saban, was wondering what happened in his first year debut as the highest paid coach in college football. Alabama fans know what happened, and they are not happy campers.
Bowling Green (8-4) whipped Toledo 37-10.
Mississippi State (7-5) beat Mississippi by a field goal, 17-14.
Florida Atlantic (6-5) outran Florida International (0-11), 55-23.
Louisiana-Monroe (6-6) beat Louisiana-Lafayette 17-11.
Ohio (6-6) outlasted Miami of Ohio 38-29.
Washington State (5-7) outscored Washington 14-7 in the last quarter to beat the Huskies 42-35.
North Carolina (4-8) won in overtime against Duke (1-11), 20-14.
By Sunday night (11-25-07) the new BCS Standings had Missouri 1st, West Virginia 2nd, Ohio State 3rd, Georgia 4th, Kansas 5th and Virginia Tech 6th. Nothing else much matters. If you are wondering, Hawaii is 12th in the BCS Standings. The regular seasons are over for Ohio State, Georgia, Kansas and Virginia Tech.
If the BCS National Championship were played today, Missouri and West Virginia would vie for the title, but there is unfinished business. Missouri will have to beat Oklahoma for the Big 12 title, and West Virginia will have to beat Pittsburgh or all bets are off.
Hawaii must remain 12th in the BCS Standings and beat Washington to qualify for 1 of the 5 BCS bowl games. The unbeaten Warriors can forget about playing in the national championship game until they start playing much better competition.
Note: Read my College Football Weekly Wrap-Up Articles on the first 12 weeks of the season, and especially weeks 3, 4 and 7: "6 Top 25 Teams Lose and Nosedive; 4 Others Join the Top 25 Poll", "20 Games, 1,560 Points = 78 Points Per Game, Good Grief, Where's the Defense?" and "Top 2 Ranked Teams Get Burned; Now There Are Only 6 Undefeated Teams Left".
Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at::
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
Discover 136 Movie Reviews, 68 Sports Articles, 88 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Articles on Jobs and Careers, 30 Articles on Internet Marketing and 591 Famous Quotes.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
College Basketball - How Can Losing Still Be a Positive? When You Are Playing Good Teams
Ed's Sports Corner:
Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley
Washington's Huskies qualified for the NIT Season Tip-Off Semis at Madison Square Garden over Thanksgiving weekend and ended up losing to Texas A&M 77-63 and then to Syracuse 91-85 to finish 4th.
Lorenzo Romar's squad went into the NIT at 3-0 after beating New Jersey Institute of Technology 88-47, Utah 83-77 and Eastern Washington 82-68 (three average to terrible teams).
The bad news is that the Huskies lost both of their NIT games. The good news is that they played some really good teams so the experience was a total positive compared to last year when Washington got off to a 10-1 start by beating a bunch of nobodies.
Entering the NIT, Sagarin rated Ohio State 20th, Washington 28th, Texas A&M 30th and Syracuse 38th. Following the tournament, Sagarin rated Texas A&M 6th, Ohio State 23rd, Syracuse 37th and Washington 61st.
Texas A&M beat Ohio State 70-47 to win the NIT while Syracuse finished 3rd by turning back Washington. The Ohio State loss was noteworthy as the Buckeyes lost to Florida in last year's national championship game 84-75. So Texas A&M's stock zoomed up, Ohio State's dropped slightly, Syracuse's remained essentially the same and Washington's stock dropped with a thud.
In the process, Husky Coach Lorenzo Romar found out his team really suffers when junior standout Jon Brockman is on the bench, when Brockman is double-teamed and the Huskies cannot hit 3-pointers to open up the paint when needed, and when Washington's young team gets lax on defense.
It is likely that playing subpar competition would have meant that the Husky deficiencies would not have been noted until later in the season.
For the moment, it is clear that sophomore forward Quincy Pondexter, Washington's most athletic player with the biggest upside, must score and rebound whether Brockman is in the game or in foul trouble on the bench. The Huskies also need senior guard Ryan Appleby, one of the nation's best shooters behind the arc, to get back from rehabbing a broken right thumb.
It is already clear that when freshman guard Venoy Overton is on the floor, the Huskies are a better team. Overton is fast and speed kills, both in football and basketball. Overton can push the offense up the floor quick time. He has great hands and his scoring will improve every game he plays.
Against Texas A&M in the opener, the Huskies led at the half 36-32 and when the Aggies came back in the second half, they immediately double-teamed Brockman low and got away with it when Washington could not drain shots beyond the arc. Brockman had a double-double (13 points and 11 rebounds) in the first half and finished with 21 points and 15 boards.
Against Syracuse in the consolation round, the Huskies were whistled for 35 fouls and the Orange for 17 (they were playing in New York, home state of Syracuse). In short order, Brockman was in foul trouble, followed by the 7-footer Joe Wolfinger, Venoy Overton and Quincy Pondexter.
Is it any wonder Washington could not hang on? The wonder is they only lost by 6 points. Pondexter did pick up a double-double (20 points and 13 boards) before exiting in foul trouble.
As good as Brockman is, he needs help from Pondexter and better guard play from everyone.
Washington has 2 seniors—guards Ryan Appleby and Tim Morris (a transfer from Stanford)—and 4 freshmen—guard Venoy Overton and forwards Justin Holiday, Matthew Bryan-Amaning and Darnell Gant.
I am so pleased with Romar's schedule early on. I would rather be 3-2 against better competition than 5-0 against a bunch of cupcakes.
The NIT competition was extremely important as Washington's next 8 opponents before its Pac 10 opener against Washington State the first Saturday in January (1-5-08) are nothing to brag about. Six of the 8 games are at home and 2—Oklahoma State and LSU—are away.
Five of the 8 opponents are terrible—Long Beach State (rated 233rd out of 341 Division 1A teams), Portland (219th), Portland State (150th), Cal State Northridge (177th) and Idaho State (242nd).
Only 2 opponents are decent—Oklahoma State (92nd) and LSU (80th)—and one is currently rated top flight—Pittsburgh (10th). Washington is currently rated 61st. If the Huskies are to get on with it, they need to win 7 of these next 8 games.
These ratings change at least weekly and some teams will be rated higher or lower, but rest assured the 5 opponents who I flagged as terrible are not going to get better anytime soon.
Editor's Note: Read my 5-Part series on Running: "Wheat Products and Sugar Can Be the 'Kiss of Death' When Trying to Lose Weight – Part 1", "How Lectins (Proteins in Foods) Are Very Negative in O Positive Blood Types – Part 2", Gluten in Wheat Products Bind to the Small Intestine Lining and Turn to Fat – Part 3", "How Popular Running Magazines Are Constantly Giving Very Poor Diet Advice – Part 4" and "There Is an Inescapable Correlation Between Weight and Cardiovascular Efficiency – Part 5".
Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
Discover 136 Movie Reviews, 68 Sports Articles, 88 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Articles on Jobs and Careers, 30 Articles on Internet Marketing and 591 Famous Quotes.
Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley
Washington's Huskies qualified for the NIT Season Tip-Off Semis at Madison Square Garden over Thanksgiving weekend and ended up losing to Texas A&M 77-63 and then to Syracuse 91-85 to finish 4th.
Lorenzo Romar's squad went into the NIT at 3-0 after beating New Jersey Institute of Technology 88-47, Utah 83-77 and Eastern Washington 82-68 (three average to terrible teams).
The bad news is that the Huskies lost both of their NIT games. The good news is that they played some really good teams so the experience was a total positive compared to last year when Washington got off to a 10-1 start by beating a bunch of nobodies.
Entering the NIT, Sagarin rated Ohio State 20th, Washington 28th, Texas A&M 30th and Syracuse 38th. Following the tournament, Sagarin rated Texas A&M 6th, Ohio State 23rd, Syracuse 37th and Washington 61st.
Texas A&M beat Ohio State 70-47 to win the NIT while Syracuse finished 3rd by turning back Washington. The Ohio State loss was noteworthy as the Buckeyes lost to Florida in last year's national championship game 84-75. So Texas A&M's stock zoomed up, Ohio State's dropped slightly, Syracuse's remained essentially the same and Washington's stock dropped with a thud.
In the process, Husky Coach Lorenzo Romar found out his team really suffers when junior standout Jon Brockman is on the bench, when Brockman is double-teamed and the Huskies cannot hit 3-pointers to open up the paint when needed, and when Washington's young team gets lax on defense.
It is likely that playing subpar competition would have meant that the Husky deficiencies would not have been noted until later in the season.
For the moment, it is clear that sophomore forward Quincy Pondexter, Washington's most athletic player with the biggest upside, must score and rebound whether Brockman is in the game or in foul trouble on the bench. The Huskies also need senior guard Ryan Appleby, one of the nation's best shooters behind the arc, to get back from rehabbing a broken right thumb.
It is already clear that when freshman guard Venoy Overton is on the floor, the Huskies are a better team. Overton is fast and speed kills, both in football and basketball. Overton can push the offense up the floor quick time. He has great hands and his scoring will improve every game he plays.
Against Texas A&M in the opener, the Huskies led at the half 36-32 and when the Aggies came back in the second half, they immediately double-teamed Brockman low and got away with it when Washington could not drain shots beyond the arc. Brockman had a double-double (13 points and 11 rebounds) in the first half and finished with 21 points and 15 boards.
Against Syracuse in the consolation round, the Huskies were whistled for 35 fouls and the Orange for 17 (they were playing in New York, home state of Syracuse). In short order, Brockman was in foul trouble, followed by the 7-footer Joe Wolfinger, Venoy Overton and Quincy Pondexter.
Is it any wonder Washington could not hang on? The wonder is they only lost by 6 points. Pondexter did pick up a double-double (20 points and 13 boards) before exiting in foul trouble.
As good as Brockman is, he needs help from Pondexter and better guard play from everyone.
Washington has 2 seniors—guards Ryan Appleby and Tim Morris (a transfer from Stanford)—and 4 freshmen—guard Venoy Overton and forwards Justin Holiday, Matthew Bryan-Amaning and Darnell Gant.
I am so pleased with Romar's schedule early on. I would rather be 3-2 against better competition than 5-0 against a bunch of cupcakes.
The NIT competition was extremely important as Washington's next 8 opponents before its Pac 10 opener against Washington State the first Saturday in January (1-5-08) are nothing to brag about. Six of the 8 games are at home and 2—Oklahoma State and LSU—are away.
Five of the 8 opponents are terrible—Long Beach State (rated 233rd out of 341 Division 1A teams), Portland (219th), Portland State (150th), Cal State Northridge (177th) and Idaho State (242nd).
Only 2 opponents are decent—Oklahoma State (92nd) and LSU (80th)—and one is currently rated top flight—Pittsburgh (10th). Washington is currently rated 61st. If the Huskies are to get on with it, they need to win 7 of these next 8 games.
These ratings change at least weekly and some teams will be rated higher or lower, but rest assured the 5 opponents who I flagged as terrible are not going to get better anytime soon.
Editor's Note: Read my 5-Part series on Running: "Wheat Products and Sugar Can Be the 'Kiss of Death' When Trying to Lose Weight – Part 1", "How Lectins (Proteins in Foods) Are Very Negative in O Positive Blood Types – Part 2", Gluten in Wheat Products Bind to the Small Intestine Lining and Turn to Fat – Part 3", "How Popular Running Magazines Are Constantly Giving Very Poor Diet Advice – Part 4" and "There Is an Inescapable Correlation Between Weight and Cardiovascular Efficiency – Part 5".
Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
Discover 136 Movie Reviews, 68 Sports Articles, 88 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Articles on Jobs and Careers, 30 Articles on Internet Marketing and 591 Famous Quotes.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
If You Thought SEC Was the Toughest NCAA Football Conference, Think Again - Statistics Tell Another Story
Ed's Sports Corner:
Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley
There is so much buzz and hype about the Southeast Conference—better known as the SEC—you would think there are no other NCAA football conferences that can compare.
Even Jeff Sagarin in his Sagarin Ratings lists the SEC as the top conference with a central mean (that is Sagarin math talk) of 79.89 with the Pacific 10—better known as the Pac 10—second at 79.19. On a scale of 100 the difference is 70/100ths of 1, or close enough to not make a difference in my mind.
Ranked 11th among Division 1A conferences is Conference USA at 58.88. Three 1AA conferences are then rated above the last 1A conference—the Sun Belt—at 58.26.
Sagarin rates all of the 242 individual 1A and 1AA teams and then combines them among conferences to arrive at these figures.
I read other factors into his mathematical formula for deciding which conference is the toughest (best) conference.
Knowing that the SEC is legion for scheduling Division 1AA teams in its non-conference schedule, I suspect that the SEC's strength of schedule (the quality of its opponents) may not be as strong. Turns out that I am right.
The "tough" SEC played exactly 10 Division 1AA opponents this season, more than any other conference in the country. By comparison, the Big 12 played 10, the ACC and Big Ten played 7 games, the Big East 6, and the Pac 10 only 2.
When I add up the strength of schedule for the 12 SEC teams I get an average of 30 compared to an average strength of schedule of 14 for the Pac 10. Who plays the tougher schedule between the top two dogs? It is easily the Pac 10.
If you are wondering, the team that has played the toughest schedule during the first 12 weeks of the 2007 college football season is the Washington Huskies, and that is why they are ranked No. 1 among the 242 Division 1A and 1AA schools.
For the record, Nebraska is No. 2, Stanford No. 3, California No. 4 and Colorado No. 5, so 3 of Top 5 teams in strength of schedule are from the Pac 10.
Please, do not give me this garbage about the SEC playing the toughest schedule. The facts and statistics say otherwise.
Another interesting fact of note is this: Since the NCAA established the Division 1A and 1AA separation in 1978, only 5 Division 1A schools have not played a Division 1AA school: Washington, Southern California, UCLA, Michigan State and Notre Dame. Again 3 of the 5 teams come from the Pac 10.
The SEC already has 7 of its 12 teams with 7 or more wins and bowl eligible by NCCA standards, and now you know one of the reasons why.
It is the same reason why Hawaii is unbeaten at 10-0, having defeated two 1AA schools in fattening up its impressive win record while racking up the 153rd toughest schedule against the other 119 Division 1A schools.
Sometimes a 1AA school can beat a 1A school (like Appalachian State beating Michigan at home 34-32), not because they are necessarily better but because the 1A school did not take them seriously.
Read my article on "College Football: Only 8 Teams Now Vie for BCS Title Game, Sagarin Reveals a New View of the Rivals" and "The Sagarin Ratings: What They Are, How to Read Them and What to Do With Them".
Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
Discover 136 Movie Reviews, 68 Sports Articles, 88 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Articles on Jobs and Careers, 30 Articles on Internet Marketing and 591 Famous Quotes.
Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley
There is so much buzz and hype about the Southeast Conference—better known as the SEC—you would think there are no other NCAA football conferences that can compare.
Even Jeff Sagarin in his Sagarin Ratings lists the SEC as the top conference with a central mean (that is Sagarin math talk) of 79.89 with the Pacific 10—better known as the Pac 10—second at 79.19. On a scale of 100 the difference is 70/100ths of 1, or close enough to not make a difference in my mind.
Ranked 11th among Division 1A conferences is Conference USA at 58.88. Three 1AA conferences are then rated above the last 1A conference—the Sun Belt—at 58.26.
Sagarin rates all of the 242 individual 1A and 1AA teams and then combines them among conferences to arrive at these figures.
I read other factors into his mathematical formula for deciding which conference is the toughest (best) conference.
Knowing that the SEC is legion for scheduling Division 1AA teams in its non-conference schedule, I suspect that the SEC's strength of schedule (the quality of its opponents) may not be as strong. Turns out that I am right.
The "tough" SEC played exactly 10 Division 1AA opponents this season, more than any other conference in the country. By comparison, the Big 12 played 10, the ACC and Big Ten played 7 games, the Big East 6, and the Pac 10 only 2.
When I add up the strength of schedule for the 12 SEC teams I get an average of 30 compared to an average strength of schedule of 14 for the Pac 10. Who plays the tougher schedule between the top two dogs? It is easily the Pac 10.
If you are wondering, the team that has played the toughest schedule during the first 12 weeks of the 2007 college football season is the Washington Huskies, and that is why they are ranked No. 1 among the 242 Division 1A and 1AA schools.
For the record, Nebraska is No. 2, Stanford No. 3, California No. 4 and Colorado No. 5, so 3 of Top 5 teams in strength of schedule are from the Pac 10.
Please, do not give me this garbage about the SEC playing the toughest schedule. The facts and statistics say otherwise.
Another interesting fact of note is this: Since the NCAA established the Division 1A and 1AA separation in 1978, only 5 Division 1A schools have not played a Division 1AA school: Washington, Southern California, UCLA, Michigan State and Notre Dame. Again 3 of the 5 teams come from the Pac 10.
The SEC already has 7 of its 12 teams with 7 or more wins and bowl eligible by NCCA standards, and now you know one of the reasons why.
It is the same reason why Hawaii is unbeaten at 10-0, having defeated two 1AA schools in fattening up its impressive win record while racking up the 153rd toughest schedule against the other 119 Division 1A schools.
Sometimes a 1AA school can beat a 1A school (like Appalachian State beating Michigan at home 34-32), not because they are necessarily better but because the 1A school did not take them seriously.
Read my article on "College Football: Only 8 Teams Now Vie for BCS Title Game, Sagarin Reveals a New View of the Rivals" and "The Sagarin Ratings: What They Are, How to Read Them and What to Do With Them".
Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
Discover 136 Movie Reviews, 68 Sports Articles, 88 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Articles on Jobs and Careers, 30 Articles on Internet Marketing and 591 Famous Quotes.
Monday, November 19, 2007
College Football Statistics: Only 8 Teams Now Vie for BCS Title Game, Sagarin Reveals a New View of the Rivals
Ed's Sports Corner:
Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley
Following college football's 12th weekend of play, eight teams now become harder to ignore—Louisiana Tech, Kansas, West Virginia, Missouri, Ohio State, Arizona State, Hawaii and Boise State. All have only 1 loss except Kansas and Hawaii which remain unbeaten.
Sunday night's (11-18-07) new AP Top 25 Poll showed LSU ranked 1st, Kansas 2nd, Missouri 3rd, West Virginia 4th, Ohio State 5th, Arizona State 7th, Hawaii 14th and Boise State 17th.
Monday's (11-19-07) new BCS Standings showed LSU 1st, Kansas 2nd, West Virginia 3rd, Missouri 4th, Ohio State 5th, Arizona State 6th, Hawaii 15th and Boise State 19th.
The AP Poll by sports writers and broadcasters has no affect on who will play in the national championship game.
The BCS standings determine the participants based upon a complicated formula from 3 components: the USA Today Coaches Poll, the Harris Interactive College Football Poll, and an average of 6 computer rankings, including the Sagarin Ratings. Each component counts as one-third of a team's overall BCS score in the BCS Standings.
All of that sounds pretty boring and it is, but do not underestimate the importance of the BCS Standings because millions of dollars are at stake. It is not just the BCS National Championship Game in New Orleans on Jan. 8, 2008 that generates huge payouts to the teams and conferences involved.
It is also 4 other official BCS Bowl Games as well: the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1, 2008, the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, 2008, the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 2, 2008 and the Orange Bowl on Jan. 3, 2008.
The total payout from the 5 BCS games this year will be $85 million and the total economic impact on the 5 hosting cities is estimated at more than $1.2 billion.
The bottom line is that at least 10 teams in the top BCS Standings will play in these games. The champions of the 6 major NCAA conferences—the Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big 10, Big 12, Pacific 10 (Pac 10) and Southeastern Conference (SEC)—are guaranteed a spot in 1 of the 5 BCS games. The other slots are up for grabs under a complicated set of qualifications.
One of those qualifications is that a team outside of the 6 major conferences that finishes in the Top 12 of the final BCS Standings automatically qualifies.
Knowing this salient fact you can better understand why Hawaii (at 15th place) and Boise State (at 19th place) are so upset about their current BCS Standings—neither is in the Top 12 despite Hawaii's 10-0 record and Boise State's 10-1 record.
Western Athletic Conference Commissioner Karl Benson spent most of the rest of his weekend trying to convince "everyone and his dog Spot" about the great win Hawaii had against Nevada, currently rated 97th by Sagarin among 119 Division 1A schools. Hawaii finally won 28-26 on a 45-yard field goal with 11 seconds left.
Given the polls and the BCS Standings no one was listening or believing a word Benson had said.
Given the 8 teams left in the hunt for a berth in the BCS National Championship Game, Hawaii and Boise State are bit players with no real chance at all. Thankfully, the two collide this weekend when Boise State travels to Hawaii for a showdown.
After the game, one team will rise in the BCS Standings and the other is likely to take an even greater drop out of sight and out of mind.
Both Hawaii and Boise State are great teams with great records and they both will get more attention when they start playing some decent competition. Sagarin rates Hawaii's strength of schedule (the quality of its opponents) at 153rd and Boise State's at 122nd.
Considering there are only 119 Division 1A teams you better believe these two teams have feasted on inferior talent at best and deserve what they get.
Of the 6 remaining teams, who along with Hawaii and Boise State are either unbeaten of have only 1 loss, at least 5 of the 6 have played considerably better competition in their quest to be in the national title game.
Arizona State (ranked 6th by the BCS at 9-1) has the best Sagarin strength of schedule rating at 26th. LSU (ranked 1st by the BCS at 10-1) is 27th, West Virginia (ranked 3rd by the BCS at 9-1) is 42nd, Missouri (ranked 4th by the BCS at 10-1) is 47th, Ohio State (ranked 5th by the BCS at 11-1) is 53rd, and bringing up the rear is Kansas (ranked 2nd by the BCS at 11-0) at 101st among the 119 Division 1A schools.
Has Kansas been playing a weak schedule to put together 11 straight wins? Yes. Kansas may end up playing the BCS National Championship Game and winning, but there is no mistake that Kansas has played an inferior schedule compared to its BCS competition.
Should Hawaii and Boise State be ranked where they are in the BCS? Probably not, given the level of their competition. Is Kansas overrated? Probably so. All three can make me more of a believer should they continue to win against better competition.
So I guess I am begging the question: Who has played the toughest schedule so far this season? Try the Washington Huskies, who are 3-7 on the year.
I seriously doubt that Kansas, Hawaii or Boise State would have the records they do if they had all played Ohio State, UCLA, Southern California, Arizona State and Oregon—all in their prime—as Washington has done.
That is why Washington is No. 1 in strength of schedule nationally and Kansas is 101st, Boise State 122nd and Hawaii 153rd.
Kansas faces Missouri this Saturday in a Big 12 North Division showdown. The winner will likely play Oklahoma or Texas from the South Division for the Big 12 title and a BCS berth to somewhere.
Note: Read my articles on "How to Predict When Teams Are Overrated and Due for an Unexpected Loss" and "The Sagarin Ratings: What They Are, How to Read Them and What to Do With Them".
Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
Discover 136 Movie Reviews, 68 Sports Articles, 88 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Articles on Jobs and Careers, 30 Articles on Internet Marketing and 591 Famous Quotes.
Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley
Following college football's 12th weekend of play, eight teams now become harder to ignore—Louisiana Tech, Kansas, West Virginia, Missouri, Ohio State, Arizona State, Hawaii and Boise State. All have only 1 loss except Kansas and Hawaii which remain unbeaten.
Sunday night's (11-18-07) new AP Top 25 Poll showed LSU ranked 1st, Kansas 2nd, Missouri 3rd, West Virginia 4th, Ohio State 5th, Arizona State 7th, Hawaii 14th and Boise State 17th.
Monday's (11-19-07) new BCS Standings showed LSU 1st, Kansas 2nd, West Virginia 3rd, Missouri 4th, Ohio State 5th, Arizona State 6th, Hawaii 15th and Boise State 19th.
The AP Poll by sports writers and broadcasters has no affect on who will play in the national championship game.
The BCS standings determine the participants based upon a complicated formula from 3 components: the USA Today Coaches Poll, the Harris Interactive College Football Poll, and an average of 6 computer rankings, including the Sagarin Ratings. Each component counts as one-third of a team's overall BCS score in the BCS Standings.
All of that sounds pretty boring and it is, but do not underestimate the importance of the BCS Standings because millions of dollars are at stake. It is not just the BCS National Championship Game in New Orleans on Jan. 8, 2008 that generates huge payouts to the teams and conferences involved.
It is also 4 other official BCS Bowl Games as well: the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1, 2008, the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, 2008, the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 2, 2008 and the Orange Bowl on Jan. 3, 2008.
The total payout from the 5 BCS games this year will be $85 million and the total economic impact on the 5 hosting cities is estimated at more than $1.2 billion.
The bottom line is that at least 10 teams in the top BCS Standings will play in these games. The champions of the 6 major NCAA conferences—the Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big 10, Big 12, Pacific 10 (Pac 10) and Southeastern Conference (SEC)—are guaranteed a spot in 1 of the 5 BCS games. The other slots are up for grabs under a complicated set of qualifications.
One of those qualifications is that a team outside of the 6 major conferences that finishes in the Top 12 of the final BCS Standings automatically qualifies.
Knowing this salient fact you can better understand why Hawaii (at 15th place) and Boise State (at 19th place) are so upset about their current BCS Standings—neither is in the Top 12 despite Hawaii's 10-0 record and Boise State's 10-1 record.
Western Athletic Conference Commissioner Karl Benson spent most of the rest of his weekend trying to convince "everyone and his dog Spot" about the great win Hawaii had against Nevada, currently rated 97th by Sagarin among 119 Division 1A schools. Hawaii finally won 28-26 on a 45-yard field goal with 11 seconds left.
Given the polls and the BCS Standings no one was listening or believing a word Benson had said.
Given the 8 teams left in the hunt for a berth in the BCS National Championship Game, Hawaii and Boise State are bit players with no real chance at all. Thankfully, the two collide this weekend when Boise State travels to Hawaii for a showdown.
After the game, one team will rise in the BCS Standings and the other is likely to take an even greater drop out of sight and out of mind.
Both Hawaii and Boise State are great teams with great records and they both will get more attention when they start playing some decent competition. Sagarin rates Hawaii's strength of schedule (the quality of its opponents) at 153rd and Boise State's at 122nd.
Considering there are only 119 Division 1A teams you better believe these two teams have feasted on inferior talent at best and deserve what they get.
Of the 6 remaining teams, who along with Hawaii and Boise State are either unbeaten of have only 1 loss, at least 5 of the 6 have played considerably better competition in their quest to be in the national title game.
Arizona State (ranked 6th by the BCS at 9-1) has the best Sagarin strength of schedule rating at 26th. LSU (ranked 1st by the BCS at 10-1) is 27th, West Virginia (ranked 3rd by the BCS at 9-1) is 42nd, Missouri (ranked 4th by the BCS at 10-1) is 47th, Ohio State (ranked 5th by the BCS at 11-1) is 53rd, and bringing up the rear is Kansas (ranked 2nd by the BCS at 11-0) at 101st among the 119 Division 1A schools.
Has Kansas been playing a weak schedule to put together 11 straight wins? Yes. Kansas may end up playing the BCS National Championship Game and winning, but there is no mistake that Kansas has played an inferior schedule compared to its BCS competition.
Should Hawaii and Boise State be ranked where they are in the BCS? Probably not, given the level of their competition. Is Kansas overrated? Probably so. All three can make me more of a believer should they continue to win against better competition.
So I guess I am begging the question: Who has played the toughest schedule so far this season? Try the Washington Huskies, who are 3-7 on the year.
I seriously doubt that Kansas, Hawaii or Boise State would have the records they do if they had all played Ohio State, UCLA, Southern California, Arizona State and Oregon—all in their prime—as Washington has done.
That is why Washington is No. 1 in strength of schedule nationally and Kansas is 101st, Boise State 122nd and Hawaii 153rd.
Kansas faces Missouri this Saturday in a Big 12 North Division showdown. The winner will likely play Oklahoma or Texas from the South Division for the Big 12 title and a BCS berth to somewhere.
Note: Read my articles on "How to Predict When Teams Are Overrated and Due for an Unexpected Loss" and "The Sagarin Ratings: What They Are, How to Read Them and What to Do With Them".
Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
Discover 136 Movie Reviews, 68 Sports Articles, 88 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Articles on Jobs and Careers, 30 Articles on Internet Marketing and 591 Famous Quotes.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
College Football 2007 - Week 12: Oregon and Oklahoma Lose BCS Ttile Hopes, Only 0 and 1 Loss Teams Remain in the Hunt
Ed's Sports Corner:
Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley
In looking at last week's AP Top 25 Poll I think we can now identify 17 of the Top 25 teams that are no longer relevant in the chase for the BCS national championship game. All of them have 2 or more losses. They are:
Oregon, Oklahoma, Georgia, Virginia Tech, Southern California, Texas, Florida, Clemson, Virginia, Boston College, Tennessee, Illinois, Cincinnati, Kentucky, Michigan, Wisconsin and Connecticut.
So my message to you is: Get over it and move on.
The latest casualties in a season of upsets and attrition were the No. 2-ranked Oregon Ducks and No. 3-ranked Oklahoma Sooners.
The Ducks not only picked up their second loss at Arizona, 34-24, but also lost their Heisman Trophy candidate and superstar quarterback Dennis Dixon in the 1st quarter to a torn ACL in his left knee. Dixon was the Oregon offense and without him it showed.
The Sooners picked up their second loss at Texas Tech, 34-27, leaving them on the outside looking in at the BCS title game. Like Oregon, the Sooners lost their quarterback Sam Bradford in the 1st quarter with an apparent concussion.
Eight teams now become harder to ignore. They are Louisiana State, Kansas, West Virginia, Missouri, Ohio State, Arizona State, Hawaii and Boise State. All have only 1 loss except Kansas and Hawaii which remain unbeaten.
All remain in the hunt because they continue to win as the season winds down or they were idle this week, like No. 9-ranked Arizona State (9-1).
No. 1-ranked Louisiana State (10-1) used a 98-yard kickoff return and forced two turnovers during goal-line stands to hold off Mississippi 41-24. Mississippi is now 0-7 in the SEC.
No. 4-ranked Kansas (11-0) hosted Iowa State and made the Cyclones look like an easy breeze by winning 45-7.
No. 5- West Virginia (9-1) traveled to No. 21-ranked Cincinnati and handed the Bearcats their 3rd loss, 28-23, setting up a showdown this week with No. 25-ranked Connecticut (9-2) for the Big East title and a BCS bowl-game berth.
Connecticut gets my nomination as the 9-2 team with the least press and notice this season. The Huskies have quietly and efficiently beaten South Florida, Rutgers and Cincinnati, all of whom have been ranked and received much more notice. At one point in the season South Florida was ranked 2nd, Rugters10th and Cincinnati 15th.
No. 6-ranked Missouri (10-1) traveled to Kansas State and beat the Wildcats 49-32. Missouri freshman Jeremy Maclin (he has speed) set an NCAA single-season freshman record in the game with 252 all purpose yards, returning a kickoff 99 yards for a score and catching 2 TD passes, giving him a record 2,201 all-purpose yards so far.
This week No. 6 Missouri travels to No. 4 Kansas for a Big 12 showdown of horrendous proportions. Kansas is 7-0 and Missouri is 6-1 in the Big 12 North Division.
No. 7-ranked Ohio State (11-1) followed its upset loss to Illinois last week with a 14-3 victory over No. 23-ranked Michigan to capture the Big 10 championship. Ohio State's regular season is now over; the Buckeyes will sit and wait and see what their fate is in the BCS chase. Look for them in the Rose Bowl at worst.
Jim Tressel became the first Ohio State coach to beat Michigan 6 times in 7 years. His Buckeyes captured their first consecutive outright Big 10 titles in 50 years.
No. 13-ranked Hawaii (10-0) traveled to Nevada and was lucky to get out alive with a 28-26 victory. The Warriors led at the half 19-10 but were outscored by the Wolfpack 16-9 in the second half.
Hawaii beat San Jose State 42-35 in overtime and Fresno State 37-30 earlier this year. The Warriors, who score a lot of points (45+), get their first real test of the season this week when they host No. 17-ranked Boise State. A win by either Hawaii or Boise State could vault them into a BCS bowl-game, especially if any team in front of them loses again.
Boise State warmed up for Hawaii by destroying Idaho 58-14. The Broncos win was no big deal either as Idaho is 1-10 on the season and beyond anemic.
So there you have it, the mighty 6—LSU, Kansas, West Virginia, Missouri, Ohio State and Arizona State—and the not so mighty 2—Hawaii and Boise State.
Sunday night's (11-18-07) new AP Poll showed LSU 1st, Kansas 2nd, Missouri 3rd, West Virginia 4th, Ohio State 5th, Arizona State 7th, Hawaii 14th and Boise State 17th.
Monday's (11-19-07) new BCS Standings showed LSU 1st, Kansas 2nd, West Virginia 3rd, Missouri 4th, Ohio State 5th, Arizona State 6th, Hawaii 15th and Boise State 19th.
There is a guaranteed lockdown that 2 of the 8 teams involved in the BCS title hunt are going to lose this week as Kansas and Missouri clash in one showdown and Hawaii and Boise State in another. That should help lift the fog the following morning.
Read my College Football Weekly Wrap-Up Articles on the first 10 weeks of the season in my EzineArticles postings, and especially weeks 3, 4 and 7: "6 Top 25 Teams Lose and Nosedive; 4 Other Join the Top 25 Poll", "20 Games, 1,560 Points = 78 Points Per Game, Good Grief, Where's the Defense?" and "Top 2 Ranked Teams Get Burned; Now There Are Only 6 Undefeated Teams Left".
Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at::
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
Discover 136 Movie Reviews, 68 Sports Articles, 88 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Articles on Jobs and Careers, 30 Articles on Internet Marketing and 591 Famous Quotes.
Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley
In looking at last week's AP Top 25 Poll I think we can now identify 17 of the Top 25 teams that are no longer relevant in the chase for the BCS national championship game. All of them have 2 or more losses. They are:
Oregon, Oklahoma, Georgia, Virginia Tech, Southern California, Texas, Florida, Clemson, Virginia, Boston College, Tennessee, Illinois, Cincinnati, Kentucky, Michigan, Wisconsin and Connecticut.
So my message to you is: Get over it and move on.
The latest casualties in a season of upsets and attrition were the No. 2-ranked Oregon Ducks and No. 3-ranked Oklahoma Sooners.
The Ducks not only picked up their second loss at Arizona, 34-24, but also lost their Heisman Trophy candidate and superstar quarterback Dennis Dixon in the 1st quarter to a torn ACL in his left knee. Dixon was the Oregon offense and without him it showed.
The Sooners picked up their second loss at Texas Tech, 34-27, leaving them on the outside looking in at the BCS title game. Like Oregon, the Sooners lost their quarterback Sam Bradford in the 1st quarter with an apparent concussion.
Eight teams now become harder to ignore. They are Louisiana State, Kansas, West Virginia, Missouri, Ohio State, Arizona State, Hawaii and Boise State. All have only 1 loss except Kansas and Hawaii which remain unbeaten.
All remain in the hunt because they continue to win as the season winds down or they were idle this week, like No. 9-ranked Arizona State (9-1).
No. 1-ranked Louisiana State (10-1) used a 98-yard kickoff return and forced two turnovers during goal-line stands to hold off Mississippi 41-24. Mississippi is now 0-7 in the SEC.
No. 4-ranked Kansas (11-0) hosted Iowa State and made the Cyclones look like an easy breeze by winning 45-7.
No. 5- West Virginia (9-1) traveled to No. 21-ranked Cincinnati and handed the Bearcats their 3rd loss, 28-23, setting up a showdown this week with No. 25-ranked Connecticut (9-2) for the Big East title and a BCS bowl-game berth.
Connecticut gets my nomination as the 9-2 team with the least press and notice this season. The Huskies have quietly and efficiently beaten South Florida, Rutgers and Cincinnati, all of whom have been ranked and received much more notice. At one point in the season South Florida was ranked 2nd, Rugters10th and Cincinnati 15th.
No. 6-ranked Missouri (10-1) traveled to Kansas State and beat the Wildcats 49-32. Missouri freshman Jeremy Maclin (he has speed) set an NCAA single-season freshman record in the game with 252 all purpose yards, returning a kickoff 99 yards for a score and catching 2 TD passes, giving him a record 2,201 all-purpose yards so far.
This week No. 6 Missouri travels to No. 4 Kansas for a Big 12 showdown of horrendous proportions. Kansas is 7-0 and Missouri is 6-1 in the Big 12 North Division.
No. 7-ranked Ohio State (11-1) followed its upset loss to Illinois last week with a 14-3 victory over No. 23-ranked Michigan to capture the Big 10 championship. Ohio State's regular season is now over; the Buckeyes will sit and wait and see what their fate is in the BCS chase. Look for them in the Rose Bowl at worst.
Jim Tressel became the first Ohio State coach to beat Michigan 6 times in 7 years. His Buckeyes captured their first consecutive outright Big 10 titles in 50 years.
No. 13-ranked Hawaii (10-0) traveled to Nevada and was lucky to get out alive with a 28-26 victory. The Warriors led at the half 19-10 but were outscored by the Wolfpack 16-9 in the second half.
Hawaii beat San Jose State 42-35 in overtime and Fresno State 37-30 earlier this year. The Warriors, who score a lot of points (45+), get their first real test of the season this week when they host No. 17-ranked Boise State. A win by either Hawaii or Boise State could vault them into a BCS bowl-game, especially if any team in front of them loses again.
Boise State warmed up for Hawaii by destroying Idaho 58-14. The Broncos win was no big deal either as Idaho is 1-10 on the season and beyond anemic.
So there you have it, the mighty 6—LSU, Kansas, West Virginia, Missouri, Ohio State and Arizona State—and the not so mighty 2—Hawaii and Boise State.
Sunday night's (11-18-07) new AP Poll showed LSU 1st, Kansas 2nd, Missouri 3rd, West Virginia 4th, Ohio State 5th, Arizona State 7th, Hawaii 14th and Boise State 17th.
Monday's (11-19-07) new BCS Standings showed LSU 1st, Kansas 2nd, West Virginia 3rd, Missouri 4th, Ohio State 5th, Arizona State 6th, Hawaii 15th and Boise State 19th.
There is a guaranteed lockdown that 2 of the 8 teams involved in the BCS title hunt are going to lose this week as Kansas and Missouri clash in one showdown and Hawaii and Boise State in another. That should help lift the fog the following morning.
Read my College Football Weekly Wrap-Up Articles on the first 10 weeks of the season in my EzineArticles postings, and especially weeks 3, 4 and 7: "6 Top 25 Teams Lose and Nosedive; 4 Other Join the Top 25 Poll", "20 Games, 1,560 Points = 78 Points Per Game, Good Grief, Where's the Defense?" and "Top 2 Ranked Teams Get Burned; Now There Are Only 6 Undefeated Teams Left".
Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at::
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
Discover 136 Movie Reviews, 68 Sports Articles, 88 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Articles on Jobs and Careers, 30 Articles on Internet Marketing and 591 Famous Quotes.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
College Basketball - Lorenzo Romar's Washington Husky Recruits Are Among Top 15 Classes
Ed's Sports Corner:
Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley
Quietly and without a lot of fanfare, Washington Husky Coach Lorenzo Romar has put together 1 of the Top 15 recruiting classes among Division 1A basketball programs according to Scout.com.
The names of the young recruits—Isaiah Thomas, Scott Suggs, Elston Turner Jr. and Tyreese Breshers—will become more familiar in the next two years, but for now pundits have noticed the windfall of talent.
The Top 15 ranking was significant in that there are 341 Division 1A college basketball programs, which puts Washington in the top 4.4% in the national talent pool.
The biggest offensive catch was the smallest player—5-foot-8 point guard Isaiah Thomas who spent the last two years at South Kent School, a preparatory school in Connecticut, after averaging 32+ points per game as a junior for Curtis High School in Tacoma.
Thomas, a scoring machine, averaged 26+ ppg as a sophomore. He brings offense and will remind fans of another smaller Husky guard, Nate Robinson, who now plays for the New York Knicks.
Good things can come in small packages. Robinson, nicknamed Nate the Great, has a 43.5 inch vertical leap and at 5-foot-9 has dunked over 7-foot-5 Yao Ming in NBA action.
Nate was fearless. Thomas is even further along offensively. Despite his size, Isaiah Thomas is big time. He is rated 9th nationally among all post graduate recruits.
Two shooting guards also signed letters of intent: Scott Suggs from Washington High School in Missouri and Elston Turner Jr. from Roseville High School in California.
Suggs is 6-foot-6 and ranked 10th among shooting guards nationally and 45th among the Top 100 players, and Turner is 6-foot-4 and ranked 12th among shooting guards and 71st among the Top 100.
Suggs is perimeter oriented and brings size for his position. He also had offers from Florida, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin and Clemson.
Turner shoots well to 22 feet and has the ability to create off the dribble. Because of his strength he may be able to play some small forward. Turner also had offers from USC, Georgetown, Tennessee, Marquette and Arizona State.
Tyreese Breshers is a 6-foot-6, 230-pound power forward from Price High School in Los Angeles. He is small for a power forward but a good area rebounder and very competitive. Breshers has excellent leaping ability and very long arms. He was one of the top shot blockers in the West.
He is ranked 26th among power forwards nationally and 83rd among the Top 100 high school recruits. Breshers also had offers from Miami (FL), Iowa State and Washington State.
Scout.com ranked the Top 25 schools in this order: 1 UCLA, 2 Ohio State, 3 Georgetown, 4 Wake Forest, 5 Louisville, 6 North Carolina, 7 Arizona, 8 Florida, 9 Kansas, 10 Mississippi State, 11 Oregon, 12 Alabama, 13 Florida State, 14 Kentucky, 15 Washington, 16 Michigan State, 17 West Virginia, 18 Duke, 19 Maryland, 20 Louisiana State, 21 Syracuse, 22 Connecticut, 23 Nevada, 24 Southern Cal and a tie for 25 with Clemson, Virginia and Indiana.
Read my 4 articles on the 2007 NCAA Basketball Tournament detailing Florida's National Championship.
Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
Discover 136 Movie Reviews, 68 Sports Articles, 88 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Articles on Jobs and Careers, 30 Articles on Internet Marketing and 591 Famous Quotes.
Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley
Quietly and without a lot of fanfare, Washington Husky Coach Lorenzo Romar has put together 1 of the Top 15 recruiting classes among Division 1A basketball programs according to Scout.com.
The names of the young recruits—Isaiah Thomas, Scott Suggs, Elston Turner Jr. and Tyreese Breshers—will become more familiar in the next two years, but for now pundits have noticed the windfall of talent.
The Top 15 ranking was significant in that there are 341 Division 1A college basketball programs, which puts Washington in the top 4.4% in the national talent pool.
The biggest offensive catch was the smallest player—5-foot-8 point guard Isaiah Thomas who spent the last two years at South Kent School, a preparatory school in Connecticut, after averaging 32+ points per game as a junior for Curtis High School in Tacoma.
Thomas, a scoring machine, averaged 26+ ppg as a sophomore. He brings offense and will remind fans of another smaller Husky guard, Nate Robinson, who now plays for the New York Knicks.
Good things can come in small packages. Robinson, nicknamed Nate the Great, has a 43.5 inch vertical leap and at 5-foot-9 has dunked over 7-foot-5 Yao Ming in NBA action.
Nate was fearless. Thomas is even further along offensively. Despite his size, Isaiah Thomas is big time. He is rated 9th nationally among all post graduate recruits.
Two shooting guards also signed letters of intent: Scott Suggs from Washington High School in Missouri and Elston Turner Jr. from Roseville High School in California.
Suggs is 6-foot-6 and ranked 10th among shooting guards nationally and 45th among the Top 100 players, and Turner is 6-foot-4 and ranked 12th among shooting guards and 71st among the Top 100.
Suggs is perimeter oriented and brings size for his position. He also had offers from Florida, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin and Clemson.
Turner shoots well to 22 feet and has the ability to create off the dribble. Because of his strength he may be able to play some small forward. Turner also had offers from USC, Georgetown, Tennessee, Marquette and Arizona State.
Tyreese Breshers is a 6-foot-6, 230-pound power forward from Price High School in Los Angeles. He is small for a power forward but a good area rebounder and very competitive. Breshers has excellent leaping ability and very long arms. He was one of the top shot blockers in the West.
He is ranked 26th among power forwards nationally and 83rd among the Top 100 high school recruits. Breshers also had offers from Miami (FL), Iowa State and Washington State.
Scout.com ranked the Top 25 schools in this order: 1 UCLA, 2 Ohio State, 3 Georgetown, 4 Wake Forest, 5 Louisville, 6 North Carolina, 7 Arizona, 8 Florida, 9 Kansas, 10 Mississippi State, 11 Oregon, 12 Alabama, 13 Florida State, 14 Kentucky, 15 Washington, 16 Michigan State, 17 West Virginia, 18 Duke, 19 Maryland, 20 Louisiana State, 21 Syracuse, 22 Connecticut, 23 Nevada, 24 Southern Cal and a tie for 25 with Clemson, Virginia and Indiana.
Read my 4 articles on the 2007 NCAA Basketball Tournament detailing Florida's National Championship.
Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
Discover 136 Movie Reviews, 68 Sports Articles, 88 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Articles on Jobs and Careers, 30 Articles on Internet Marketing and 591 Famous Quotes.
Friday, November 16, 2007
College Basketball - Huskies Earn Spot in NIT Season Tip-Off Semis, Head to the Big Apple
Ed's Sports Corner:
Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley
Lorenzo Romar's Washington Huskies will take a walk on the wild side Thanksgiving weekend after knocking off New Jersey Institute of Technology and Utah to qualify for a spot in the NIT Season Tip-Off Semis at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
What a difference a year makes. Last season Romar picked up Spencer Hawes for a brief season before Hawes turned pro, but Washington did not exactly impress with the presence of Hawes who opted for the big money rather than return to the Huskies.
Last season the Husky fans and team members were flooded with hope. The Huskies opened their season with 7 straight home victories against a bunch of nobodies and cupcakes, got their backside handed to them in a 20-point loss to Gonzaga in their first away game, then won 3 more nothing victories at home to be 10-1.
The season all but ended when they started Pac 10 play against much tougher competition. Washington was 17-2 at home, 1-10 away and 1-1 on neutral courts to finish 19-13. They did not get a bid to the NCAA tourney and were even snubbed with no bid to the NIT tourney.
This season is a much better start. They are 2-0 and headed toward playing much better teams at Madison Square Garden before entering Pac 10 play.
Will it make a difference? I think so. If you want to be among big time competitors you must play big time competitors rather than playing cupcakes to build up a winning record that does not mean squat.
Washington will meet Texas A&M and Ohio State will face Syracuse Wednesday (11-23-07) with the winners playing in the championship game and the losers in the consolation bracket on Friday (11-25-07). The NIT should give the Huskies national exposure and a major test.
To get a handle on NCAA basketball you first need to know that there are 119 Division 1A football teams and 341 Division 1A basketball teams. Yikes, following basketball is like going to the zoo.
Washington opened its season at home by committing 12 first half turnovers before easily beating New Jersey Institute of Technology 88-47. All Husky fans really need to know about this game is that NJIT is rated exactly 337th among the 341 Division 1A teams. In other words, they are terrible and getting worse at 0-3.
Utah, the Huskies second opponent, decided not to lay down and roll over in another game at Hec Ed Pavilion. Washington had a 9-point lead at the half and then gave back the momentum as Utah opened the second half with 3 straight 3-pointers during a 10-0 run.
Rather than fold like they might have last year, the Huskies put together an 11-2 run to end the game and win 83-77, which prompts the question, "Who needs Spencer Hawes?"
When it really counted the same guy that showed up all of last year (rather than just parts of last year) showed up again this year. Junior inside man Jon Brockman set career highs with 31 points and 18 rebounds.
Brockman, a 6-foot-7, 255-pound plow horse who is not afraid to mix it up under the basket, was up against Utah's 7-foot-1, 265-pound junior center Luke Nevill.
All you really need to know about this game is that Washington out rebounded Utah 14-2 on the offensive boards and 40-26 overall (the plow horse outplayed the giraffe), Nevill and 2 other Utes fouled out, and the Huskies did not fold when it counted, all good signs heading into season.
Freshman guard Venoy Overton, out of Franklin High School in Seattle, played significant minutes with significant impact, and 6-foot-6 freshman forward Justin Holiday showed up down the stretch with defensive intensity, unselfishness, and a great defensive assist to keep the Huskies comeback effort intact.
Kudos to Coach Lorenzo Romar for throwing caution to the wind by facing much better teams on the historic and dangerous boards at the granddaddy of competition for many major sports—Madison Square Garden.
For the record, Utah is rated 84th nationally by Sagarin, Syracuse is 38th, Texas A&M is 30th, Washington 28th and Ohio State 20th. Now we're talking. Go Dawgs, carpe diem (that would be Latin for "seize the day").
Editor's Note: Read my 4 sports articles on the 2007 NCAA Basketball Tournament detailing Florida's National Championship. Find these articles in my Sports Archive.
Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
Discover 136 Movie Reviews, 68 Sports Articles, 88 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Articles on Jobs and Careers, 30 Articles on Internet Marketing and 591 Famous Quotes.
Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley
Lorenzo Romar's Washington Huskies will take a walk on the wild side Thanksgiving weekend after knocking off New Jersey Institute of Technology and Utah to qualify for a spot in the NIT Season Tip-Off Semis at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
What a difference a year makes. Last season Romar picked up Spencer Hawes for a brief season before Hawes turned pro, but Washington did not exactly impress with the presence of Hawes who opted for the big money rather than return to the Huskies.
Last season the Husky fans and team members were flooded with hope. The Huskies opened their season with 7 straight home victories against a bunch of nobodies and cupcakes, got their backside handed to them in a 20-point loss to Gonzaga in their first away game, then won 3 more nothing victories at home to be 10-1.
The season all but ended when they started Pac 10 play against much tougher competition. Washington was 17-2 at home, 1-10 away and 1-1 on neutral courts to finish 19-13. They did not get a bid to the NCAA tourney and were even snubbed with no bid to the NIT tourney.
This season is a much better start. They are 2-0 and headed toward playing much better teams at Madison Square Garden before entering Pac 10 play.
Will it make a difference? I think so. If you want to be among big time competitors you must play big time competitors rather than playing cupcakes to build up a winning record that does not mean squat.
Washington will meet Texas A&M and Ohio State will face Syracuse Wednesday (11-23-07) with the winners playing in the championship game and the losers in the consolation bracket on Friday (11-25-07). The NIT should give the Huskies national exposure and a major test.
To get a handle on NCAA basketball you first need to know that there are 119 Division 1A football teams and 341 Division 1A basketball teams. Yikes, following basketball is like going to the zoo.
Washington opened its season at home by committing 12 first half turnovers before easily beating New Jersey Institute of Technology 88-47. All Husky fans really need to know about this game is that NJIT is rated exactly 337th among the 341 Division 1A teams. In other words, they are terrible and getting worse at 0-3.
Utah, the Huskies second opponent, decided not to lay down and roll over in another game at Hec Ed Pavilion. Washington had a 9-point lead at the half and then gave back the momentum as Utah opened the second half with 3 straight 3-pointers during a 10-0 run.
Rather than fold like they might have last year, the Huskies put together an 11-2 run to end the game and win 83-77, which prompts the question, "Who needs Spencer Hawes?"
When it really counted the same guy that showed up all of last year (rather than just parts of last year) showed up again this year. Junior inside man Jon Brockman set career highs with 31 points and 18 rebounds.
Brockman, a 6-foot-7, 255-pound plow horse who is not afraid to mix it up under the basket, was up against Utah's 7-foot-1, 265-pound junior center Luke Nevill.
All you really need to know about this game is that Washington out rebounded Utah 14-2 on the offensive boards and 40-26 overall (the plow horse outplayed the giraffe), Nevill and 2 other Utes fouled out, and the Huskies did not fold when it counted, all good signs heading into season.
Freshman guard Venoy Overton, out of Franklin High School in Seattle, played significant minutes with significant impact, and 6-foot-6 freshman forward Justin Holiday showed up down the stretch with defensive intensity, unselfishness, and a great defensive assist to keep the Huskies comeback effort intact.
Kudos to Coach Lorenzo Romar for throwing caution to the wind by facing much better teams on the historic and dangerous boards at the granddaddy of competition for many major sports—Madison Square Garden.
For the record, Utah is rated 84th nationally by Sagarin, Syracuse is 38th, Texas A&M is 30th, Washington 28th and Ohio State 20th. Now we're talking. Go Dawgs, carpe diem (that would be Latin for "seize the day").
Editor's Note: Read my 4 sports articles on the 2007 NCAA Basketball Tournament detailing Florida's National Championship. Find these articles in my Sports Archive.
Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
Discover 136 Movie Reviews, 68 Sports Articles, 88 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Articles on Jobs and Careers, 30 Articles on Internet Marketing and 591 Famous Quotes.
Monday, November 12, 2007
College Football Mayhem: Flagrant Helmet-to-Helmet Shots Need to Stop Before Someone Gets Killed
Ed's Sports Corner:
Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley
I watch college football because it is rough, tough, exciting and fun. The parity in college football today means no team is safe from being upset on any game day. I do not watch college football because it is beyond vicious.
After seeing Washington's quarterback Jake Locker take a helmet-to-helmet shot against the Oregon State Beavers Saturday (11-10-07), my emotions ran the gamut from concern to anger to outrage to action.
No penalty was even assessed for the flagrant shot. Not only should a penalty have been assessed for unnecessary roughness or unsportsmanlike conduct, the offending player should have been immediately ejected.
This kind of illegal hit is not tolerated in professional football because the player is defenseless when hit. Why it is even tolerated and celebrated in college football is beyond me.
I do not care if the hit was considered inadvertent or intentional. It does not matter. That flagrant hit could have cost Jake Locker his career, it could have paralyzed him for life, or even killed him if he suffered a broken neck.
This kind of barbaric tackling is not football as much as controlled, intentional mayhem. It was not that long ago that some coaches gave bounties for these kinds of hits, especially when the star player on the opponent's team was carried off the field on a stretcher.
Oregon State players have developed a reputation for extreme play. In this particular game, won by the Beavers 29-23, the officials appeared to have lost control of the game as more taunting, pushing and shoving resulted in 3 more Beavers and 1 Husky being kicked out of the game.
I am not consoled by the fact that the Beaver player who delivered the savage hit apparently apologized and was praying for Locker later. It might have allowed the player in question to throw off any feeling of guilt about the hit, but any amount of praying would not have helped one iota if Locker had been paralyzed or killed as a result of the hit.
These flagrant helmet-to-helmet hits have to stop. Period. Do not spend your precious time trying to convince me these hits are inadvertent. Nine out of 10 players do not even try to tackle players anymore. They throw their bodies at them, hoping to knock them over.
Tackling might be taught in spring training but it is seldom exercised on the field anymore. Why do you think we are getting scores like 74-62 and 73-68 (these are real scores from real games). Defenders are using their bodies as missiles to bring people down.
Instead of secretly rewarding players for helmet-to-helmet shots, coaches need to bench players who use the tactic to bring down players. Even if rules committees do not allow the tactic, coaches have to implement and enforce the rule to bring it to an end. Some coaches only seem to care if it is their player who is on the receiving end of a vicious helmet-to-helmet attack.
There have been enough tragic, career-ending injuries in football at all levels when playing fair without escalating the sport to mayhem with purposeful, flagrant helmet-to-helmet hits.
Please do not give me this crap about inadvertent helmet-to-helmet hits. A player can just as easily aim his head at the runner's midsection or legs as his head if that is how he wants to tackle someone.
When is the last time you saw a running back get past the line of scrimmage in the open at his 30-yard line and then run with his head down 70 yards toward the end zone? When is the last time you saw a receiver catch the ball on his 30 and run with his head down 70 yards for a touchdown?
When you do a helmet-to-helmet hit you have to instantaneously calculate coordinates, lower your head to projectile position and launch yourself into your target. There are no accidental helmet-to-helmet hits.
Later that same night I saw on a football wrap-up program that Hawaii's outstanding quarterback Colt Brennen was on the receiving end of a vicious helmet-to-helmet. I am sure the intention was to maim Brennen so he could not stand up straight. Just like Locker, Brennen could have become instantly paralyzed or even killed by the action.
How stupid does this look for a college sport to be potentially killing its players? The NCAA needs to take its feet off of the counter, stop counting how much money its empire is generating, and address this issue with authority. The NCAA has no problem being a major nuisance on little stuff, how about tackling the bigger issue of its players' safety?
If the NCAA ever had to open its books as a non-profit corporation and come clean on how much money they are generating for themselves, their faces would be redder than the sea of red among Nebraska fans at a Cornhusker football game.
It almost goes without saying that I was disappointed that Washington lost its away game to Oregon State, lost its chance at a bowl game, and is now facing its 4th straight losing season.
The unnecessary, flagrant helmet-to-helmet shot on Jake Locker only added to Washington's struggle to turn its program around.
Instead of calling for Coach Ty Willingham's head and the heads of his Washington coaching staff, how about saving Locker's head and every other player's head who has needlessly suffered from an unconscionable, flagrant helmet-to-helmet hit?
Editor's Note: Read all of my Husky articles, including "So Who Is Really Overrated? Hawaii (8-0) or Washington (2-6)" and "Meet the Nation's Most Statistically Incredible Team – The University of Washington Huskies".
Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
Discover 136 Movie Reviews, 68 Sports Articles, 88 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Articles on Jobs and Careers, 30 Articles on Internet Marketing and 591 Famous Quotes.
Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley
I watch college football because it is rough, tough, exciting and fun. The parity in college football today means no team is safe from being upset on any game day. I do not watch college football because it is beyond vicious.
After seeing Washington's quarterback Jake Locker take a helmet-to-helmet shot against the Oregon State Beavers Saturday (11-10-07), my emotions ran the gamut from concern to anger to outrage to action.
No penalty was even assessed for the flagrant shot. Not only should a penalty have been assessed for unnecessary roughness or unsportsmanlike conduct, the offending player should have been immediately ejected.
This kind of illegal hit is not tolerated in professional football because the player is defenseless when hit. Why it is even tolerated and celebrated in college football is beyond me.
I do not care if the hit was considered inadvertent or intentional. It does not matter. That flagrant hit could have cost Jake Locker his career, it could have paralyzed him for life, or even killed him if he suffered a broken neck.
This kind of barbaric tackling is not football as much as controlled, intentional mayhem. It was not that long ago that some coaches gave bounties for these kinds of hits, especially when the star player on the opponent's team was carried off the field on a stretcher.
Oregon State players have developed a reputation for extreme play. In this particular game, won by the Beavers 29-23, the officials appeared to have lost control of the game as more taunting, pushing and shoving resulted in 3 more Beavers and 1 Husky being kicked out of the game.
I am not consoled by the fact that the Beaver player who delivered the savage hit apparently apologized and was praying for Locker later. It might have allowed the player in question to throw off any feeling of guilt about the hit, but any amount of praying would not have helped one iota if Locker had been paralyzed or killed as a result of the hit.
These flagrant helmet-to-helmet hits have to stop. Period. Do not spend your precious time trying to convince me these hits are inadvertent. Nine out of 10 players do not even try to tackle players anymore. They throw their bodies at them, hoping to knock them over.
Tackling might be taught in spring training but it is seldom exercised on the field anymore. Why do you think we are getting scores like 74-62 and 73-68 (these are real scores from real games). Defenders are using their bodies as missiles to bring people down.
Instead of secretly rewarding players for helmet-to-helmet shots, coaches need to bench players who use the tactic to bring down players. Even if rules committees do not allow the tactic, coaches have to implement and enforce the rule to bring it to an end. Some coaches only seem to care if it is their player who is on the receiving end of a vicious helmet-to-helmet attack.
There have been enough tragic, career-ending injuries in football at all levels when playing fair without escalating the sport to mayhem with purposeful, flagrant helmet-to-helmet hits.
Please do not give me this crap about inadvertent helmet-to-helmet hits. A player can just as easily aim his head at the runner's midsection or legs as his head if that is how he wants to tackle someone.
When is the last time you saw a running back get past the line of scrimmage in the open at his 30-yard line and then run with his head down 70 yards toward the end zone? When is the last time you saw a receiver catch the ball on his 30 and run with his head down 70 yards for a touchdown?
When you do a helmet-to-helmet hit you have to instantaneously calculate coordinates, lower your head to projectile position and launch yourself into your target. There are no accidental helmet-to-helmet hits.
Later that same night I saw on a football wrap-up program that Hawaii's outstanding quarterback Colt Brennen was on the receiving end of a vicious helmet-to-helmet. I am sure the intention was to maim Brennen so he could not stand up straight. Just like Locker, Brennen could have become instantly paralyzed or even killed by the action.
How stupid does this look for a college sport to be potentially killing its players? The NCAA needs to take its feet off of the counter, stop counting how much money its empire is generating, and address this issue with authority. The NCAA has no problem being a major nuisance on little stuff, how about tackling the bigger issue of its players' safety?
If the NCAA ever had to open its books as a non-profit corporation and come clean on how much money they are generating for themselves, their faces would be redder than the sea of red among Nebraska fans at a Cornhusker football game.
It almost goes without saying that I was disappointed that Washington lost its away game to Oregon State, lost its chance at a bowl game, and is now facing its 4th straight losing season.
The unnecessary, flagrant helmet-to-helmet shot on Jake Locker only added to Washington's struggle to turn its program around.
Instead of calling for Coach Ty Willingham's head and the heads of his Washington coaching staff, how about saving Locker's head and every other player's head who has needlessly suffered from an unconscionable, flagrant helmet-to-helmet hit?
Editor's Note: Read all of my Husky articles, including "So Who Is Really Overrated? Hawaii (8-0) or Washington (2-6)" and "Meet the Nation's Most Statistically Incredible Team – The University of Washington Huskies".
Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
Discover 136 Movie Reviews, 68 Sports Articles, 88 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Articles on Jobs and Careers, 30 Articles on Internet Marketing and 591 Famous Quotes.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
College Football 2007 - Week 11: Illinois Upends Ohio State 28-21, Creating a Scramble for the BCS Championship Game
Ed's Sports Corner:
Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley
Ron Zook, who was drummed out as Florida's head coach after failing to duplicate Steve Spurrier's record with the Gators, regained a measure of respect by motivating his Fighting Illini to a 28-21 upset of No. 1-ranked and unbeaten Ohio State Saturday (11-10-07).
The victory marked the first time Illinois (8-3) had beaten a No. 1-ranked team since 1956, and the first time it had done it away from home. The loss ended Ohio State's conference and school streak of 20 consecutive Big 10 wins by the Buckeyes, who are now 10-1.
The defeat not only dampened Ohio State's dream of a national championship, it left the Buckeyes tied with Michigan for the top spot in the Big 10 as Wisconsin upset Michigan 37-21 the same day.
Not since Nov. 14, 1959 had Michigan and Ohio State both lost the week before their annual year-end grudge match to decide the Big 10 title. This is how it is in the Big 10, tiresome and boring as in recent years it is always Ohio State or Michigan capturing the title. Other Big 10 teams compete but never seem to challenge for the title.
Illinois picked up 260 yards rushing against Ohio State that came into the game giving up only 65 yards on the ground per game. This was not a huge surprise as the Illini now rank 6th in rushing offense nationally, gaining 261 yards per game. In other words, Illinois was on its game and Ohio State was not.
Zook had a slow start as the Illinois head coach, going 2-9 and 2-10 his first two years before picking up his 8th win Saturday against 3 losses. Zook was 1-15 in his first two years of Big 10 Conference play, going 0-8 his first year. You can bet the other Big 10 coaches know who Ron Zook is now.
Was Ohio State looking past Illinois to Michigan? I think so. The Buckeyes droopped to No. 7 in the AP Top 25 Poll.
No. 13-ranked Michigan (now 8-3) was knocked off by Wisconsin (also 8-3), 37-21. The Badgers meant business at home by taking a 23-7 lead into the 4th quarter and matching the Wolverines 2 touchdowns to keep their point margin and preserve their victory. Michigan slid to No. 23 in the AP Poll.
No. 8-ranked Boston College (8-2) got stung for the second straight week, this time by Maryland (5-5), 42-35. All of the talk about the Eagles vaunted defense is fading away faster than fog on a hot summer day.
Other teams that were embarrassed this week included No. 16-ranked Connecticut (8-2), which lost to Cincinnati (obviously a better 8-2 team), 27-3, and No. 21-ranked Alabama (now 6-4) which was upended by Mississippi State, (also 6-4), 17-12.
Imagine, Mississippi State, which has been the doormat of the SEC for years, rises up and whips Nick Saban's Alabama Crimson Tide. Even if the Bulldogs lose to Arkansas and in-state rival Mississippi, Mississippi State is already bowl eligible.
Alabama should handle Louisiana-Monroe next week and become bowl eligible with its 7th victory.
The loss by Ohio State allowed some other contenders to show off a little against much weaker competition. Here are some examples:
1) No. 2-ranked LSU (9-1) blistered No. 107-rated Louisiana Tech (4-6), 58-10.
2) No. 4-ranked Oklahoma (9-1) ripped No. 119-rated Baylor (3-8), 52-21.
3) No. 19-ranked Boise State (9-1) rolled past hapless No. 166-rated Utah State (0-10), 52-0. Despite its rating, Utah State is a Division 1A school.
Only two 1A teams remain unbeaten—No. 5-ranked Kansas (10-0) and No. 14-ranked Hawaii (9-0). The Jayhawks spotted No. 49-rated Oklahoma State (5-5) 4 touchdowns but still won 43-28.
The Hawaii Warriors, ranked No. 14 but rated No. 29 by Sagarin, were outscored 14-3 in the 4th quarter by No. 74-rated Fresno State (6-4) but outlasted the Bulldogs, 37-30, to stay undefeated. Hawaii moved up to 13th in Sunday's new AP Poll.
In two weeks, Hawaii will host Boise State, now ranked 17th in the Poll, and a serious threat, even in an away game, to beat the Warriors. Boise State is not to be confused with the cupcakes Hawaii has been playing all season. After the Boise State game, we will find out who is bad and who is sad.
The fact that Kansas and Hawaii are the only two unbeaten teams left should come as no surprise for two reasons. One, Hawaii is 1st (50 points per game) and Kansas 2nd (45 ppg) nationally in scoring offense, and two, Kansas' strength of schedule is 97th and Hawaii's is 157th among 119 Division 1A schools, not exactly impressive in either case.
Two other games deserve notice: the Navy-North Texas fiasco and the looming Harvard –Yale showdown in the Ivy League.
No. 77-rated Navy (6-4) hung on for dear life to beat No. 180-rated North Texas (1-8), 74-62, in a game without a shred of defense that set a new major college record for a combined game score. The 94 first-half points (North Texas led 49-45) and the 63 combined points in the 2nd quarter both set major college scoring records.
Just two weeks earlier, Weber State outlasted Portland State, 73-68, to set the all-divisions record.
These basketball-score football games tend to confuse everyone. Clearly, there is more interest in a 73-68 game than a 6-3 pushing match that highlights defensive play. That said, these high-scoring games are getting ridiculous. They remind me of Little League baseball scores before they put on limits so everyone could go home and get to bed on time.
Harvard (7-2) beat Penn (3-6) 23-7 and Yale (9-0) remained undefeated, winning at Princeton (another 3-6 team), 27-6, to set up a huge showdown at Yale in the 1-AA Ivy League. Both Harvard (rated 152nd) and Yale (rated 100th) are a perfect 6-0 in league play and will meet undefeated for the first time since 1968 with the title on the line.
Last year Yale beat Harvard at Harvard 34-13 to claim a share of the Ivy League title with Princeton. The win over Harvard last year was its first since 2000. Stay tuned to this match-up as it is serious business in the New England area.
Note: Read my College Football Weekly Wrap-Up Articles on the first 10 weeks of the season in my Sports Archives, and especially weeks 3, 4 and 7: "6 Top 25 Teams Lose and Nosedive; 4 Others Join the Top 25 Poll", "20 Games, 1,560 Points = 78 Points Per Game, Good Grief, Where's the Defense?" and "Top 2 Ranked Teams Get Burned; Now There Are Only 6 Undefeated Teams Left".
Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at::
http://www.edbagleyblog.com/
Discover 136 Movie Reviews, 68 Sports Articles, 88 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Articles on Jobs and Careers, 30 Articles on Internet Marketing and 591 Famous Quotes.
Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley
Ron Zook, who was drummed out as Florida's head coach after failing to duplicate Steve Spurrier's record with the Gators, regained a measure of respect by motivating his Fighting Illini to a 28-21 upset of No. 1-ranked and unbeaten Ohio State Saturday (11-10-07).
The victory marked the first time Illinois (8-3) had beaten a No. 1-ranked team since 1956, and the first time it had done it away from home. The loss ended Ohio State's conference and school streak of 20 consecutive Big 10 wins by the Buckeyes, who are now 10-1.
The defeat not only dampened Ohio State's dream of a national championship, it left the Buckeyes tied with Michigan for the top spot in the Big 10 as Wisconsin upset Michigan 37-21 the same day.
Not since Nov. 14, 1959 had Michigan and Ohio State both lost the week before their annual year-end grudge match to decide the Big 10 title. This is how it is in the Big 10, tiresome and boring as in recent years it is always Ohio State or Michigan capturing the title. Other Big 10 teams compete but never seem to challenge for the title.
Illinois picked up 260 yards rushing against Ohio State that came into the game giving up only 65 yards on the ground per game. This was not a huge surprise as the Illini now rank 6th in rushing offense nationally, gaining 261 yards per game. In other words, Illinois was on its game and Ohio State was not.
Zook had a slow start as the Illinois head coach, going 2-9 and 2-10 his first two years before picking up his 8th win Saturday against 3 losses. Zook was 1-15 in his first two years of Big 10 Conference play, going 0-8 his first year. You can bet the other Big 10 coaches know who Ron Zook is now.
Was Ohio State looking past Illinois to Michigan? I think so. The Buckeyes droopped to No. 7 in the AP Top 25 Poll.
No. 13-ranked Michigan (now 8-3) was knocked off by Wisconsin (also 8-3), 37-21. The Badgers meant business at home by taking a 23-7 lead into the 4th quarter and matching the Wolverines 2 touchdowns to keep their point margin and preserve their victory. Michigan slid to No. 23 in the AP Poll.
No. 8-ranked Boston College (8-2) got stung for the second straight week, this time by Maryland (5-5), 42-35. All of the talk about the Eagles vaunted defense is fading away faster than fog on a hot summer day.
Other teams that were embarrassed this week included No. 16-ranked Connecticut (8-2), which lost to Cincinnati (obviously a better 8-2 team), 27-3, and No. 21-ranked Alabama (now 6-4) which was upended by Mississippi State, (also 6-4), 17-12.
Imagine, Mississippi State, which has been the doormat of the SEC for years, rises up and whips Nick Saban's Alabama Crimson Tide. Even if the Bulldogs lose to Arkansas and in-state rival Mississippi, Mississippi State is already bowl eligible.
Alabama should handle Louisiana-Monroe next week and become bowl eligible with its 7th victory.
The loss by Ohio State allowed some other contenders to show off a little against much weaker competition. Here are some examples:
1) No. 2-ranked LSU (9-1) blistered No. 107-rated Louisiana Tech (4-6), 58-10.
2) No. 4-ranked Oklahoma (9-1) ripped No. 119-rated Baylor (3-8), 52-21.
3) No. 19-ranked Boise State (9-1) rolled past hapless No. 166-rated Utah State (0-10), 52-0. Despite its rating, Utah State is a Division 1A school.
Only two 1A teams remain unbeaten—No. 5-ranked Kansas (10-0) and No. 14-ranked Hawaii (9-0). The Jayhawks spotted No. 49-rated Oklahoma State (5-5) 4 touchdowns but still won 43-28.
The Hawaii Warriors, ranked No. 14 but rated No. 29 by Sagarin, were outscored 14-3 in the 4th quarter by No. 74-rated Fresno State (6-4) but outlasted the Bulldogs, 37-30, to stay undefeated. Hawaii moved up to 13th in Sunday's new AP Poll.
In two weeks, Hawaii will host Boise State, now ranked 17th in the Poll, and a serious threat, even in an away game, to beat the Warriors. Boise State is not to be confused with the cupcakes Hawaii has been playing all season. After the Boise State game, we will find out who is bad and who is sad.
The fact that Kansas and Hawaii are the only two unbeaten teams left should come as no surprise for two reasons. One, Hawaii is 1st (50 points per game) and Kansas 2nd (45 ppg) nationally in scoring offense, and two, Kansas' strength of schedule is 97th and Hawaii's is 157th among 119 Division 1A schools, not exactly impressive in either case.
Two other games deserve notice: the Navy-North Texas fiasco and the looming Harvard –Yale showdown in the Ivy League.
No. 77-rated Navy (6-4) hung on for dear life to beat No. 180-rated North Texas (1-8), 74-62, in a game without a shred of defense that set a new major college record for a combined game score. The 94 first-half points (North Texas led 49-45) and the 63 combined points in the 2nd quarter both set major college scoring records.
Just two weeks earlier, Weber State outlasted Portland State, 73-68, to set the all-divisions record.
These basketball-score football games tend to confuse everyone. Clearly, there is more interest in a 73-68 game than a 6-3 pushing match that highlights defensive play. That said, these high-scoring games are getting ridiculous. They remind me of Little League baseball scores before they put on limits so everyone could go home and get to bed on time.
Harvard (7-2) beat Penn (3-6) 23-7 and Yale (9-0) remained undefeated, winning at Princeton (another 3-6 team), 27-6, to set up a huge showdown at Yale in the 1-AA Ivy League. Both Harvard (rated 152nd) and Yale (rated 100th) are a perfect 6-0 in league play and will meet undefeated for the first time since 1968 with the title on the line.
Last year Yale beat Harvard at Harvard 34-13 to claim a share of the Ivy League title with Princeton. The win over Harvard last year was its first since 2000. Stay tuned to this match-up as it is serious business in the New England area.
Note: Read my College Football Weekly Wrap-Up Articles on the first 10 weeks of the season in my Sports Archives, and especially weeks 3, 4 and 7: "6 Top 25 Teams Lose and Nosedive; 4 Others Join the Top 25 Poll", "20 Games, 1,560 Points = 78 Points Per Game, Good Grief, Where's the Defense?" and "Top 2 Ranked Teams Get Burned; Now There Are Only 6 Undefeated Teams Left".
Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at::
http://www.edbagleyblog.com/
Discover 136 Movie Reviews, 68 Sports Articles, 88 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Articles on Jobs and Careers, 30 Articles on Internet Marketing and 591 Famous Quotes.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
An Unforgettable Gift: What Makes a Person Want to Run, and Why Few Will Ever Know the Joy of Running
Ed's Sports Corner:
Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley
He stood there by the side of the track, looking sweaty and satisfied but dazed.
My teammates and I had just come back from a leisurely 10-mile run through the woods and along the banks of the Red Cedar River, and I felt compelled to wander over and ask, "Are you OK, man?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, but confused," he answered, looking like he was at a loss for words. "I tried to tell my roommate what it's like to be out here. Do you think he will ever understand?"
"No, don't even try," replied I. "Just be thankful that you are here; leave him where he is."
People just do not get it, unless, of course, you are a middle distance runner, and even more so if you have been a very good middle distance runner.
I remember those fall workouts on the Michigan State University campus when the leaves on the deciduous trees would burst into color along the wooded trail, and the sunshine would filter down through the trees.
Running gives you peace of mind that settles your soul.
You bound along at a pace that would exhaust the average person, but you are trained to run at a brisk pace for a long time and distance. You would run faster in a race, but your goal today is to finish feeling pleasantly tired, knowing that you could have run much faster.
I have my high school cross-country coach to thank for introducing me to the pure joy of running.
Like many of us who have become successful in life, we owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to a certain teacher or coach who influenced us in a way that we will never forget.
In my case, it was my coach Varnard Gay, a finer person you will never meet on your best day. He would buy shoes for minority kids who could not afford them. He would go and pick up kids who had no way to get to the school meets and no money to ride a bus. He never said a word, he just did it, as naturally as he would breathe while running.
Varnard was arguably one of the greatest high school cross-country and track coaches ever. He just missed qualifying for the 1932 Olympic Games by 2/10ths of a second if memory serves me correctly. In his day he was the only coach in Michigan high school history to win state championships in all four divisions.
He was an incredible coach who guided his cross-country and track teams to many championships and trained many Flint Central High School athletes to win state titles and to set state, regional, local and school records.
Varnard would call me aside and remind me that my success in running was great, but that I should continue running after my high school and college careers. He would have been smiling from above when I checked in to compete in the 1998 Nike World Masters Games at age 54.
Varnard ran his entire life. When running became impossible, he jogged, and when jogging became impossible he walked. He was an inspiration and remains an inspiration in my life.
I can tell you without qualification that running is one of the greatest natural highs you will ever experience. There is absolutely no need to become a drug head in high school when you can run and compete and enjoy success in a much more productive, positive way.
When training and competing under stress your body can and does release natural endorphins, hormones that are secreted within the brain and the nervous system that activate the body's natural opiate (as in opium) receptors, causing an euphoric effect.
You have perhaps heard amazing stories of women weighing 100 pounds who have lifted up the back of an automobile when their child was trapped underneath, so they could be pulled out by their bigger sister. These feats happen because natural endorphins are released when we are under great stress.
In Flint, Michigan in the early 1960s we had racial unrest, but there was no division on our cross-country and track teams. We ran side by side and won race after race against many other integrated teams and perhaps a few segregated teams we did not even recognize as such. We learned respect for each other.
Athletics can bring diverse populations together in the spirit of competition and make us all better people and citizens in the process.
But back to running. I still treasure the times when I am running along on a sunny day without a care in the world. Few people know that O Positive blood types generally release tension by vigorous activity; I would know as I am an O Positive.
My wife, an A Positive blood type, releases her tension by sitting on the couch, clearing her mind and doing nothing except for dozing or reading novels.
Few people know and understand another value of running, and that is it increases your self-confidence, self-image and self-worth. This happens because running puts you psychologically in control of your life. You feel as a free spirit, uncontrolled by the troubles of your world.
I suspect it is much the same effect for people who are fond of riding motorcycles on the weekend.
Should I have a heart attack while running or competing I cannot think of a better way to go. It sure beats the debilitating agony of having terminal cancer and hanging on for five years, knowing your battle against death is inevitable.
I shall work out by running, jogging or walking until the day I die, and this should be interesting because I plan to live to be 110.
Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at::
http://www.edbagleyblog.com/
Discover 136 Movie Reviews, 68 Sports Articles, 88 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Articles on Jobs and Careers, 30 Articles on Internet Marketing and 591 Famous Quotes.
Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley
He stood there by the side of the track, looking sweaty and satisfied but dazed.
My teammates and I had just come back from a leisurely 10-mile run through the woods and along the banks of the Red Cedar River, and I felt compelled to wander over and ask, "Are you OK, man?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, but confused," he answered, looking like he was at a loss for words. "I tried to tell my roommate what it's like to be out here. Do you think he will ever understand?"
"No, don't even try," replied I. "Just be thankful that you are here; leave him where he is."
People just do not get it, unless, of course, you are a middle distance runner, and even more so if you have been a very good middle distance runner.
I remember those fall workouts on the Michigan State University campus when the leaves on the deciduous trees would burst into color along the wooded trail, and the sunshine would filter down through the trees.
Running gives you peace of mind that settles your soul.
You bound along at a pace that would exhaust the average person, but you are trained to run at a brisk pace for a long time and distance. You would run faster in a race, but your goal today is to finish feeling pleasantly tired, knowing that you could have run much faster.
I have my high school cross-country coach to thank for introducing me to the pure joy of running.
Like many of us who have become successful in life, we owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to a certain teacher or coach who influenced us in a way that we will never forget.
In my case, it was my coach Varnard Gay, a finer person you will never meet on your best day. He would buy shoes for minority kids who could not afford them. He would go and pick up kids who had no way to get to the school meets and no money to ride a bus. He never said a word, he just did it, as naturally as he would breathe while running.
Varnard was arguably one of the greatest high school cross-country and track coaches ever. He just missed qualifying for the 1932 Olympic Games by 2/10ths of a second if memory serves me correctly. In his day he was the only coach in Michigan high school history to win state championships in all four divisions.
He was an incredible coach who guided his cross-country and track teams to many championships and trained many Flint Central High School athletes to win state titles and to set state, regional, local and school records.
Varnard would call me aside and remind me that my success in running was great, but that I should continue running after my high school and college careers. He would have been smiling from above when I checked in to compete in the 1998 Nike World Masters Games at age 54.
Varnard ran his entire life. When running became impossible, he jogged, and when jogging became impossible he walked. He was an inspiration and remains an inspiration in my life.
I can tell you without qualification that running is one of the greatest natural highs you will ever experience. There is absolutely no need to become a drug head in high school when you can run and compete and enjoy success in a much more productive, positive way.
When training and competing under stress your body can and does release natural endorphins, hormones that are secreted within the brain and the nervous system that activate the body's natural opiate (as in opium) receptors, causing an euphoric effect.
You have perhaps heard amazing stories of women weighing 100 pounds who have lifted up the back of an automobile when their child was trapped underneath, so they could be pulled out by their bigger sister. These feats happen because natural endorphins are released when we are under great stress.
In Flint, Michigan in the early 1960s we had racial unrest, but there was no division on our cross-country and track teams. We ran side by side and won race after race against many other integrated teams and perhaps a few segregated teams we did not even recognize as such. We learned respect for each other.
Athletics can bring diverse populations together in the spirit of competition and make us all better people and citizens in the process.
But back to running. I still treasure the times when I am running along on a sunny day without a care in the world. Few people know that O Positive blood types generally release tension by vigorous activity; I would know as I am an O Positive.
My wife, an A Positive blood type, releases her tension by sitting on the couch, clearing her mind and doing nothing except for dozing or reading novels.
Few people know and understand another value of running, and that is it increases your self-confidence, self-image and self-worth. This happens because running puts you psychologically in control of your life. You feel as a free spirit, uncontrolled by the troubles of your world.
I suspect it is much the same effect for people who are fond of riding motorcycles on the weekend.
Should I have a heart attack while running or competing I cannot think of a better way to go. It sure beats the debilitating agony of having terminal cancer and hanging on for five years, knowing your battle against death is inevitable.
I shall work out by running, jogging or walking until the day I die, and this should be interesting because I plan to live to be 110.
Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at::
http://www.edbagleyblog.com/
Discover 136 Movie Reviews, 68 Sports Articles, 88 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Articles on Jobs and Careers, 30 Articles on Internet Marketing and 591 Famous Quotes.
College Football - Washington Takes Off the Training Wheels and Thumps Stanford 27-9
Ed's Sports Corner:
Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley
Well, Dawg fans, are you fired up now? You should be. Washington traveled to Palo Alto (CA) and put a 27-9 whipping on Stanford Saturday (11-3-07) to end Washington's 6-game losing streak.
The Huskies finally took the training wheels off of their bicycle and showed us how to ride The Cardinal into the turf. The Cardinal is a really weird nickname for an American college football team; it refers to—believe it or not—the color of their jerseys and not some bird flying around Palo Alto.
I find it strange that The Cardinal is also always referred to in the singular rather than the plural, like, "here comes The Cardinal" as the players rush onto the field.
Despite all of the talk about Stanford being Washington's weakest opponent since its season opening 42-12 victory on the road at Syracuse, The Cardinal did upset USC 24-23 on the road. The Huskies lost to USC 27-24 at home.
I predicted that after Washington's loss to Oregon it would beat Arizona. The Huskies starting 22 then promptly went out and lost to the Wildcats 48-41 in Husky Stadium. So I was a game off.
What Washington did to Stanford was worth the wait. For openers:
1) Senior tailback Louis Rankin rushed for 255 yards and a touchdown, the 4th-best rushing performance in school history. The Husky offensive line regained some measure of pride as Rankin averaged 7.1 yards per carry.
I think a lot of us remember Corey Dillon's 259 yard rushing performance against Oregon in 1996. Thankfully, I am not old enough to remember record-holder Hugh McElhenny's 296-yard effort against Washington State in 1950.
2) Freshman Jake Locker added another 97 yards at 6.1 yards per carry. On the way, he broke Dennis Fitzpatrick's 1974 record of 697 yards by a Husky quarterback. When the game was over, Locker had 791 yards this season with 4 games left to play.
3) The Huskies piled up 388 net yards rushing and 151 yards passing (16 for 32, no touchdowns and 1 interception) for 547 total yards on offense. The defense gave up 234 total net yards.
4) Washington had 33 first downs (25 rushing) to Stanford's 15, and dominated the clock with 35:46 time of possession to Stanford's 24:14.
5) Loyal fans have been waiting all season for the Husky defense to rise up and look like the Huskies of the glory years under legendary Head Coach Don James and Defensive Coordinator (and later Head Coach) Jim Lambright.
That moment came in the second quarter with Washington leading 10-3 and Stanford on the Husky 2-yard line following a Louis Rankin fumble. On first down, the Huskies pushed Stanford back a yard.
Stanford's second attempt to score was stopped when senior linebacker Trenton Tuiasosopo stood up Stanford's ballcarrier, junior cornerback Byron Davenport flew in and punched the ball free, and senior safety Mesphin Forrester recovered.
In short, the Washington Husky team came together offensively and defensively against Stanford. When I predicted after the Oregon loss that the best was yet to come I was not simply writing words of encouragement.
Sooner or later, as day follows night, the inexperienced players become more experienced and perform better.
The next stop for the Huskies is at Oregon State. The Beavers are noted for their physical (translate brutal) hits and play. The game could become more of a rumble in football gear. The Huskies are going to get hit and they need to hit back harder. Brute force and courage could determine the winner.
Editor's Note: Read my Husky articles including "So Who Is Really Overrated? Hawaii (8-0) or Washington (2-6)" and "Meet the Nation's Most Statistically Incredible Team – The University of Washington Huskies".
Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley
Well, Dawg fans, are you fired up now? You should be. Washington traveled to Palo Alto (CA) and put a 27-9 whipping on Stanford Saturday (11-3-07) to end Washington's 6-game losing streak.
The Huskies finally took the training wheels off of their bicycle and showed us how to ride The Cardinal into the turf. The Cardinal is a really weird nickname for an American college football team; it refers to—believe it or not—the color of their jerseys and not some bird flying around Palo Alto.
I find it strange that The Cardinal is also always referred to in the singular rather than the plural, like, "here comes The Cardinal" as the players rush onto the field.
Despite all of the talk about Stanford being Washington's weakest opponent since its season opening 42-12 victory on the road at Syracuse, The Cardinal did upset USC 24-23 on the road. The Huskies lost to USC 27-24 at home.
I predicted that after Washington's loss to Oregon it would beat Arizona. The Huskies starting 22 then promptly went out and lost to the Wildcats 48-41 in Husky Stadium. So I was a game off.
What Washington did to Stanford was worth the wait. For openers:
1) Senior tailback Louis Rankin rushed for 255 yards and a touchdown, the 4th-best rushing performance in school history. The Husky offensive line regained some measure of pride as Rankin averaged 7.1 yards per carry.
I think a lot of us remember Corey Dillon's 259 yard rushing performance against Oregon in 1996. Thankfully, I am not old enough to remember record-holder Hugh McElhenny's 296-yard effort against Washington State in 1950.
2) Freshman Jake Locker added another 97 yards at 6.1 yards per carry. On the way, he broke Dennis Fitzpatrick's 1974 record of 697 yards by a Husky quarterback. When the game was over, Locker had 791 yards this season with 4 games left to play.
3) The Huskies piled up 388 net yards rushing and 151 yards passing (16 for 32, no touchdowns and 1 interception) for 547 total yards on offense. The defense gave up 234 total net yards.
4) Washington had 33 first downs (25 rushing) to Stanford's 15, and dominated the clock with 35:46 time of possession to Stanford's 24:14.
5) Loyal fans have been waiting all season for the Husky defense to rise up and look like the Huskies of the glory years under legendary Head Coach Don James and Defensive Coordinator (and later Head Coach) Jim Lambright.
That moment came in the second quarter with Washington leading 10-3 and Stanford on the Husky 2-yard line following a Louis Rankin fumble. On first down, the Huskies pushed Stanford back a yard.
Stanford's second attempt to score was stopped when senior linebacker Trenton Tuiasosopo stood up Stanford's ballcarrier, junior cornerback Byron Davenport flew in and punched the ball free, and senior safety Mesphin Forrester recovered.
In short, the Washington Husky team came together offensively and defensively against Stanford. When I predicted after the Oregon loss that the best was yet to come I was not simply writing words of encouragement.
Sooner or later, as day follows night, the inexperienced players become more experienced and perform better.
The next stop for the Huskies is at Oregon State. The Beavers are noted for their physical (translate brutal) hits and play. The game could become more of a rumble in football gear. The Huskies are going to get hit and they need to hit back harder. Brute force and courage could determine the winner.
Editor's Note: Read my Husky articles including "So Who Is Really Overrated? Hawaii (8-0) or Washington (2-6)" and "Meet the Nation's Most Statistically Incredible Team – The University of Washington Huskies".
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
WA State 2007 Cross Country Meet: 2 Girls Teams Win Consecutive Championships: No. 3 for Gig Harbor and No. 2 for NW Christian
Ed Bagley's Blog:
Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley
Gig Harbor Coach Patty Ley came close to winning both the girls and boys state titles in 4A competition at the Washington State Cross-Country Meet Saturday (11-3-07) at Sun Willows golf Course in Paso (WA).
Ley's girls team ran away from Eastlake to capture its 3rd consecutive state championship with 97 points, finishing 5-14-16-25-37. The Gig Harbor boys fell 4 points short of the title, won by Mead 108-112. The Tides finished 1-12-16-31-52.
Gig Harbor Senior Miles Unterreiner ran 15:39 over the 5K course to win the state individual championship and lead the Tides to their runner-up finish.
The Tides were led by Junior Alyssa Andrews' 5th place finish in 19:02 followed by Senior Kate Stuart (14th in 19:25), Senior Anna Kalbrener (16th in 19:36), Senior Hannah Dewalt (25th in 20:08), Senior Rachel Greco (37th in 20:30), Junior Rachel Seibert (48th in 20:43) and Senior Amber Williams (53rd in 20:47).
Ley loses 5 seniors following this year's 3rd straight girls state title but Juniors Alyssa Andrews and Rachel Seibert should return for their final season.
The Gig Harbor Tides are the first big-school team to win 3 titles in a row since Issaquah won every 3A title from 1985 to 1987. Gig Harbor is a Western Washington school.
Gig Harbor's boys came close to winning as Miles Unterreiner became the first individual state winner for the Tides since Geoff Perry won the 2A title in 1995.
Had the Gig Harbor boys won, it would have been the first time in 20 years a Western Washington team won the 4A title—and the first time since Ferris in 1980—that a school swept both big-school titles.
Patty Ley, who coaches both the girls and boys at Gig Harbor, has built the Tide program into a state powerhouse.
Among the boys teams, Mead has been a powerhouse from Eastern Washington for years, building a national reputation in prep distance running. When Pat Tyson came on board as Mead's distance coach, Mead won 9 consecutive state titles (1988 through 1996) and 12 titles in 15 years (winning in 2000 through 2002).
When Mead was not winning, Ferris—from Eastern Washington and the same Greater Spokane League as Mead—was winning, capturing 4 straight titles from 2003 to 2006. Talk about dominance.
Two of Mead's greatest teams were in 1992 and 1993. In 1992 Mead won the state title with 20 points, finishing 1-2-3-5-9, with Matt Davis winning his 2nd consecutive individual state title in 14:39.5 and Mead's 5th and final scoring runner clocking in at 15:34.
In 1993, Mead won the state title with 31 points, finishing 1-2-3-6-19, with Matt Davis winning his 3rd consecutive individual state title in a course record 14:09.3 and Mead's 5th and final scoring runner clocking in at 15:43.
Standing near the finish line in 1993 I saw the Mead Panthers with their blue and gold jerseys make a statement like nothing I had ever seen in state competition.
Northwest Christian of Lacey became the second Western Washington girls team to repeat as champions, winning its 2nd consecutive B title in the closest girls team race of the day, beating Saint George's 34 to 37.
Senior Joscelyn Minton of Northwest Christian ran 19:14 to win the state individual championship and lead her Navigator teammates to the team title. Minton was followed by Senior Lindsey Wagner (4th in 20:34), Sophomore Ashlee Giesman (8th in 22:07), Freshman Joanna Sowers (10th in 22:13), Junior Jessica Zimmerman (11th in 22:14), Sophomore Britny Biles (15th in 22:39) and Senior Jessica Flores (22nd in 23:17).
The Navigators 1-4-8-10-11 finish was a great example of team running that nosed out Saint George's 3-5-7-9-13 finish.
Minton's victory was huge as she bested Lisa Vandenberg of Northwest Christian of Colbert, not to be confused with Northwest Christian of Lacey. Last year Lisa Vandenberg won the 2006 B individual state title in 19:20 as Joscelyn Minton was the individual state runner-up in 19:45. Vandenberg's team did not qualify for the team competition either year, she ran as an individual.
Minton's victory was double sweet because of Northwest Christian's second straight team title. Since Minton's winning time was the 14th best among all girls in all classifications, she earned All-State recognition.
Senior Lindsey Wagner set a personal best with her 4th place team competition finish in 20:34, and Freshman Joanna Sowers set a new freshman record with her 22:13 time and 10th place team competition finish. Even more important, Wager's 4th place finish split up Saint George's top two runners.
Lost in the shuffle was Jessica Zimmerman's 11th place team competition finish. Had Zimmerman finished 15th rather than 11th, Saint George's would have won the team title, emphasizing the importance of the Navigator's 5th and final scoring runner.
Navigator Coach Bill Kehoe is really making it happen for Northwest Christian of Lacey. In addition to the girls 2 consecutive state team titles, and Minton's individual championship, his boys have now moved up from a 3rd place team finish last year to the runner-up spot this year.
The Navigator's boys team runner-up finish was led by Junior Micah Cushman's 3rd place finish in 17:45 followed by Freshman Justin Holden (10th in 18:13), Senior Clinton Barr (17th in 18:45), Junior Alex Feero (18th in 18:49), Junior Nathan Bohlig (25th in 19:13), Freshman Tyson Heo (45th in 21:13) and Freshman Steven Goff (50th in 21:36).
All could return next year except Senior Clinton Barr. Of particular note are the 3 returning freshmen—Holden, Heo and Goff. To be a money runner in a big meet, you need experience and that is one thing the Navigators are getting big time.
Kehoe's 9-year program is beginning to generate champions and trophies faster than the school can build a bigger case for proper display. With no more room in the trophy case, trophies now line the hallway beneath the display case.
In 2006, Kehoe's girls were Pacific League Champions and District Champions as well as State Champions. Kehoe's boys were also 2006 League and District Champions and 3rd in the State Meet.
In 2005, Kehoe's girls finished as Pacific League Champions, 2nd in the District and 5th in the State Meet. The boys finished as League Runner-ups, District Champions and 8th in the State Meet.
Coach Kehoe will lose Seniors Joscelyn Minton, Lindsey Wagner and Jessica Flores, but should be very competitive with the return of Junior Jessica Zimmerman, Sophomores Ashlee Giesman and Britny Biles and Freshman Joanna Sowers.
Northwest Christian of Lacey could be on its way to becoming an athletic as well as an academic powerhouse in the State of Washington. Even Principal Al Lynch gets into the act as the JV basketball coach for the Navigators. Practice time? Try 6 a.m. in the morning because of current space limitations.
Northwest Christian is building a solid, winning cross-country program with a very bright future.
Teams that qualify in the district run-offs for the state meet finals run together with individuals who qualify based on the fastest times at the district meets, but the individual finishers do not figure in the team scoring for the championship. It is possible for an individual from a non-qualifying team to win the race and not be listed in the team results.
In cross-country events, the team with the lowest combined score for its first 5 finishers wins. Seven runners from each team can figure in the scoring. A perfect score of 15 would result when a team's first 5 runners finish 1-2-3-4-5, which would be unheard of at the state meet level with 16 teams and 112 runners vying for the title.
2007 Washington State Cross-County Championships – 5K Distance (3.1 Miles)
Girls 4A – Gig Harbor won its 3rd straight team title with 97 points, finishing 5-14-16-25-37. Eastlake was 2nd with 117. Sophomore Andrea Nelson of Shadle Park ran 18:26 to win the state individual championship. Nelson ran as an individual as her team did not qualify.
Girls 3A – Newport of Bellevue won the team title with 66, finishing 3-10-14-18-21. Lakeside of Seattle was 2nd with 75. Senior Bronwyn Crossman of Squalicum ran 18:46 to win the state individual championship. Squalicum finished 3rd in the team competition.
Girls 2A – Sehome won the team title with 79, finishing 2-6-19-21-31. Bellingham was 2nd with 91. Sophomore Ruby Roberts of Kingston ran 18:39 to win the state individual championship. Kingston was 15th in the team competition.
Girls 1A – King's won the team title with 70, finishing 1-9-19-20-21. LaCenter was 2nd with 89. Junior Olivia Thomas of King's ran 19:16 to win the state individual championship and lead her team to the championship. The 19-20-21 finish of King's 3rd, 4th and 5th runners was a great example of team running. King's 6th and 7th runners finished 26 and 33, ahead of LaCenter's 5th place finisher at 35, allowing King's to literally run away from LaCenter in what should have been a closer finish.
Girls 1B/2B – Northwest Christian of Lacey won the team title with 34, finishing 1-4-8-10-11. Saint George's was 2nd with 37, finishing 3-5-7-9-13, and White Pass was a very distant 3rd with 93. Senior Joscelyn Minton of Northwest Christian ran 19:14 to win the state individual championship and lead her teammates to the team title. This was by far the closest girls team race of the day. Had Northwest Christian's 5th runner finished 15th rather than 11th, Saint George's would have won the team title, emphasizing the importance of a team's 5th scoring runner.
Boys 4A – Mead won the team title with 108, finishing 6-15-20-28-39. Gig Harbor was 2nd with 112, finishing 1-12-16-31-52. Senior Miles Unterreiner ran 15:39 to win the state individual championship and lead his team to a runner-up finish. This is another great example of the value of a team's 5th runner. Had Gig Harbor's 5th runner finished 47th rather than 52nd, Gig Harbor would have won the team championship. The difference in time between the 47th finisher and the 52nd finisher was exactly 3 seconds, 17:18 to 17:21.
Boys 3A – North Central won the team title with 36, finishing 1-5-6-8-16 to obliterate the 2nd place team—Seattle Prep with 110—and every other team in the competition. Senior Ryan Prentice of Mt. Rainier ran 16:01 to win the state individual championship. Prentice ran as an individual as his team did not qualify.
Boys 2A – Burlington-Edison and Sehome tied for the team finish with 63. Burlington-Edison's runners finished 5-11-12-14-21, and Sehome's runners finished 6-7-13-18-19. Both schools are great examples of team running. This race could not have been more exciting for the two teams, their coaches and supporters involved. Burlington-Edison was declared the champion because of the 6th-place tiebreaker. Burlington-Edison's 6th place finisher was 22nd and Sehome's 25th. Here is an excellent example of a team's 6th place finisher, who was not even involved in the team scoring, but won a state title for his teammates. A tip of the hat to Burlington-Edison's Conner Whan, a sophomore who got the job done by running 17:35. Sehome's 25th place finisher was 6 seconds behind. Senior Justin Rose of Colville ran 16:02 to win the state individual championship. Colville finished 3rd in the team competition.
Boys 1A – Royal won the team title with 70, finishing 1-2-9-28-30. Lakeside of Nine Mile was 2nd with 74, finishing 3-4-16-20-31. Senior Humberto Jimenez of Royal ran 16:18 to win the state individual championship. Senior Rigoberto Jimenez of Royal ran 16:18 also to finish as runner-up. Both Humberto and Rigoberto Jimenez might be twins or at least related. It would be fair to say that they both led their Royal teammates to the team title. Not to be outdone with a duel, Lakeside Senior Kyle Johnson ran 16:38 to finish 3rd and Lakeside Senior Tim Welch ran 16:56 to finish 4th.
Boys 1B/2B – Saint George's won the team title with 31, finishing 1-4-5-9-12, the lowest score of any team winner at the 2007 State Championship Meet. Northwest Christian of Lacey was 2nd with 73. Senior Matt Cronrath of Odessa ran 16:40 to win the state individual championship. Cronrath ran as an individual as his team did not qualify.
Note: Read my 5-part series on Running, including "Wheat Products and Sugar Can Be the 'Kiss of Death' When Trying to Lose Weight" – Part 1", "Gluten in Wheat Products Bind to the Small Intestine Lining and Turn to Fat – Part 3" and "There Is an Inescapable Correlation Between Weight and Cardiovascular Efficiency – Part 5".
Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley
Gig Harbor Coach Patty Ley came close to winning both the girls and boys state titles in 4A competition at the Washington State Cross-Country Meet Saturday (11-3-07) at Sun Willows golf Course in Paso (WA).
Ley's girls team ran away from Eastlake to capture its 3rd consecutive state championship with 97 points, finishing 5-14-16-25-37. The Gig Harbor boys fell 4 points short of the title, won by Mead 108-112. The Tides finished 1-12-16-31-52.
Gig Harbor Senior Miles Unterreiner ran 15:39 over the 5K course to win the state individual championship and lead the Tides to their runner-up finish.
The Tides were led by Junior Alyssa Andrews' 5th place finish in 19:02 followed by Senior Kate Stuart (14th in 19:25), Senior Anna Kalbrener (16th in 19:36), Senior Hannah Dewalt (25th in 20:08), Senior Rachel Greco (37th in 20:30), Junior Rachel Seibert (48th in 20:43) and Senior Amber Williams (53rd in 20:47).
Ley loses 5 seniors following this year's 3rd straight girls state title but Juniors Alyssa Andrews and Rachel Seibert should return for their final season.
The Gig Harbor Tides are the first big-school team to win 3 titles in a row since Issaquah won every 3A title from 1985 to 1987. Gig Harbor is a Western Washington school.
Gig Harbor's boys came close to winning as Miles Unterreiner became the first individual state winner for the Tides since Geoff Perry won the 2A title in 1995.
Had the Gig Harbor boys won, it would have been the first time in 20 years a Western Washington team won the 4A title—and the first time since Ferris in 1980—that a school swept both big-school titles.
Patty Ley, who coaches both the girls and boys at Gig Harbor, has built the Tide program into a state powerhouse.
Among the boys teams, Mead has been a powerhouse from Eastern Washington for years, building a national reputation in prep distance running. When Pat Tyson came on board as Mead's distance coach, Mead won 9 consecutive state titles (1988 through 1996) and 12 titles in 15 years (winning in 2000 through 2002).
When Mead was not winning, Ferris—from Eastern Washington and the same Greater Spokane League as Mead—was winning, capturing 4 straight titles from 2003 to 2006. Talk about dominance.
Two of Mead's greatest teams were in 1992 and 1993. In 1992 Mead won the state title with 20 points, finishing 1-2-3-5-9, with Matt Davis winning his 2nd consecutive individual state title in 14:39.5 and Mead's 5th and final scoring runner clocking in at 15:34.
In 1993, Mead won the state title with 31 points, finishing 1-2-3-6-19, with Matt Davis winning his 3rd consecutive individual state title in a course record 14:09.3 and Mead's 5th and final scoring runner clocking in at 15:43.
Standing near the finish line in 1993 I saw the Mead Panthers with their blue and gold jerseys make a statement like nothing I had ever seen in state competition.
Northwest Christian of Lacey became the second Western Washington girls team to repeat as champions, winning its 2nd consecutive B title in the closest girls team race of the day, beating Saint George's 34 to 37.
Senior Joscelyn Minton of Northwest Christian ran 19:14 to win the state individual championship and lead her Navigator teammates to the team title. Minton was followed by Senior Lindsey Wagner (4th in 20:34), Sophomore Ashlee Giesman (8th in 22:07), Freshman Joanna Sowers (10th in 22:13), Junior Jessica Zimmerman (11th in 22:14), Sophomore Britny Biles (15th in 22:39) and Senior Jessica Flores (22nd in 23:17).
The Navigators 1-4-8-10-11 finish was a great example of team running that nosed out Saint George's 3-5-7-9-13 finish.
Minton's victory was huge as she bested Lisa Vandenberg of Northwest Christian of Colbert, not to be confused with Northwest Christian of Lacey. Last year Lisa Vandenberg won the 2006 B individual state title in 19:20 as Joscelyn Minton was the individual state runner-up in 19:45. Vandenberg's team did not qualify for the team competition either year, she ran as an individual.
Minton's victory was double sweet because of Northwest Christian's second straight team title. Since Minton's winning time was the 14th best among all girls in all classifications, she earned All-State recognition.
Senior Lindsey Wagner set a personal best with her 4th place team competition finish in 20:34, and Freshman Joanna Sowers set a new freshman record with her 22:13 time and 10th place team competition finish. Even more important, Wager's 4th place finish split up Saint George's top two runners.
Lost in the shuffle was Jessica Zimmerman's 11th place team competition finish. Had Zimmerman finished 15th rather than 11th, Saint George's would have won the team title, emphasizing the importance of the Navigator's 5th and final scoring runner.
Navigator Coach Bill Kehoe is really making it happen for Northwest Christian of Lacey. In addition to the girls 2 consecutive state team titles, and Minton's individual championship, his boys have now moved up from a 3rd place team finish last year to the runner-up spot this year.
The Navigator's boys team runner-up finish was led by Junior Micah Cushman's 3rd place finish in 17:45 followed by Freshman Justin Holden (10th in 18:13), Senior Clinton Barr (17th in 18:45), Junior Alex Feero (18th in 18:49), Junior Nathan Bohlig (25th in 19:13), Freshman Tyson Heo (45th in 21:13) and Freshman Steven Goff (50th in 21:36).
All could return next year except Senior Clinton Barr. Of particular note are the 3 returning freshmen—Holden, Heo and Goff. To be a money runner in a big meet, you need experience and that is one thing the Navigators are getting big time.
Kehoe's 9-year program is beginning to generate champions and trophies faster than the school can build a bigger case for proper display. With no more room in the trophy case, trophies now line the hallway beneath the display case.
In 2006, Kehoe's girls were Pacific League Champions and District Champions as well as State Champions. Kehoe's boys were also 2006 League and District Champions and 3rd in the State Meet.
In 2005, Kehoe's girls finished as Pacific League Champions, 2nd in the District and 5th in the State Meet. The boys finished as League Runner-ups, District Champions and 8th in the State Meet.
Coach Kehoe will lose Seniors Joscelyn Minton, Lindsey Wagner and Jessica Flores, but should be very competitive with the return of Junior Jessica Zimmerman, Sophomores Ashlee Giesman and Britny Biles and Freshman Joanna Sowers.
Northwest Christian of Lacey could be on its way to becoming an athletic as well as an academic powerhouse in the State of Washington. Even Principal Al Lynch gets into the act as the JV basketball coach for the Navigators. Practice time? Try 6 a.m. in the morning because of current space limitations.
Northwest Christian is building a solid, winning cross-country program with a very bright future.
Teams that qualify in the district run-offs for the state meet finals run together with individuals who qualify based on the fastest times at the district meets, but the individual finishers do not figure in the team scoring for the championship. It is possible for an individual from a non-qualifying team to win the race and not be listed in the team results.
In cross-country events, the team with the lowest combined score for its first 5 finishers wins. Seven runners from each team can figure in the scoring. A perfect score of 15 would result when a team's first 5 runners finish 1-2-3-4-5, which would be unheard of at the state meet level with 16 teams and 112 runners vying for the title.
2007 Washington State Cross-County Championships – 5K Distance (3.1 Miles)
Girls 4A – Gig Harbor won its 3rd straight team title with 97 points, finishing 5-14-16-25-37. Eastlake was 2nd with 117. Sophomore Andrea Nelson of Shadle Park ran 18:26 to win the state individual championship. Nelson ran as an individual as her team did not qualify.
Girls 3A – Newport of Bellevue won the team title with 66, finishing 3-10-14-18-21. Lakeside of Seattle was 2nd with 75. Senior Bronwyn Crossman of Squalicum ran 18:46 to win the state individual championship. Squalicum finished 3rd in the team competition.
Girls 2A – Sehome won the team title with 79, finishing 2-6-19-21-31. Bellingham was 2nd with 91. Sophomore Ruby Roberts of Kingston ran 18:39 to win the state individual championship. Kingston was 15th in the team competition.
Girls 1A – King's won the team title with 70, finishing 1-9-19-20-21. LaCenter was 2nd with 89. Junior Olivia Thomas of King's ran 19:16 to win the state individual championship and lead her team to the championship. The 19-20-21 finish of King's 3rd, 4th and 5th runners was a great example of team running. King's 6th and 7th runners finished 26 and 33, ahead of LaCenter's 5th place finisher at 35, allowing King's to literally run away from LaCenter in what should have been a closer finish.
Girls 1B/2B – Northwest Christian of Lacey won the team title with 34, finishing 1-4-8-10-11. Saint George's was 2nd with 37, finishing 3-5-7-9-13, and White Pass was a very distant 3rd with 93. Senior Joscelyn Minton of Northwest Christian ran 19:14 to win the state individual championship and lead her teammates to the team title. This was by far the closest girls team race of the day. Had Northwest Christian's 5th runner finished 15th rather than 11th, Saint George's would have won the team title, emphasizing the importance of a team's 5th scoring runner.
Boys 4A – Mead won the team title with 108, finishing 6-15-20-28-39. Gig Harbor was 2nd with 112, finishing 1-12-16-31-52. Senior Miles Unterreiner ran 15:39 to win the state individual championship and lead his team to a runner-up finish. This is another great example of the value of a team's 5th runner. Had Gig Harbor's 5th runner finished 47th rather than 52nd, Gig Harbor would have won the team championship. The difference in time between the 47th finisher and the 52nd finisher was exactly 3 seconds, 17:18 to 17:21.
Boys 3A – North Central won the team title with 36, finishing 1-5-6-8-16 to obliterate the 2nd place team—Seattle Prep with 110—and every other team in the competition. Senior Ryan Prentice of Mt. Rainier ran 16:01 to win the state individual championship. Prentice ran as an individual as his team did not qualify.
Boys 2A – Burlington-Edison and Sehome tied for the team finish with 63. Burlington-Edison's runners finished 5-11-12-14-21, and Sehome's runners finished 6-7-13-18-19. Both schools are great examples of team running. This race could not have been more exciting for the two teams, their coaches and supporters involved. Burlington-Edison was declared the champion because of the 6th-place tiebreaker. Burlington-Edison's 6th place finisher was 22nd and Sehome's 25th. Here is an excellent example of a team's 6th place finisher, who was not even involved in the team scoring, but won a state title for his teammates. A tip of the hat to Burlington-Edison's Conner Whan, a sophomore who got the job done by running 17:35. Sehome's 25th place finisher was 6 seconds behind. Senior Justin Rose of Colville ran 16:02 to win the state individual championship. Colville finished 3rd in the team competition.
Boys 1A – Royal won the team title with 70, finishing 1-2-9-28-30. Lakeside of Nine Mile was 2nd with 74, finishing 3-4-16-20-31. Senior Humberto Jimenez of Royal ran 16:18 to win the state individual championship. Senior Rigoberto Jimenez of Royal ran 16:18 also to finish as runner-up. Both Humberto and Rigoberto Jimenez might be twins or at least related. It would be fair to say that they both led their Royal teammates to the team title. Not to be outdone with a duel, Lakeside Senior Kyle Johnson ran 16:38 to finish 3rd and Lakeside Senior Tim Welch ran 16:56 to finish 4th.
Boys 1B/2B – Saint George's won the team title with 31, finishing 1-4-5-9-12, the lowest score of any team winner at the 2007 State Championship Meet. Northwest Christian of Lacey was 2nd with 73. Senior Matt Cronrath of Odessa ran 16:40 to win the state individual championship. Cronrath ran as an individual as his team did not qualify.
Note: Read my 5-part series on Running, including "Wheat Products and Sugar Can Be the 'Kiss of Death' When Trying to Lose Weight" – Part 1", "Gluten in Wheat Products Bind to the Small Intestine Lining and Turn to Fat – Part 3" and "There Is an Inescapable Correlation Between Weight and Cardiovascular Efficiency – Part 5".
Monday, November 5, 2007
College Football 2007 - Season's 4 Biggest Surprises: Oregon, Kansas, Boston College & Arizona State
Ed's Sports Corner:
Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley
College football's current 4 biggest surprises are Oregon, Kansas, Boston College and Arizona State. I say current because we have had more upsets this year than Carter has liver pills.
Three teams now in the distant past breathed some rarefied air earlier in the year.
Wisconsin went to 5-0 and No. 5 in the AP Top 25 Poll before losing at Illinois 31-26.
South Florida went to 6-0 and No. 2 before losing at Rutgers 30-27.
Kentucky went to 5-0 and climbed to No. 8 before losing at South Carolina 38-23.
If you noticed a trend here you are sharp. Wisconsin, South Florida and Kentucky all lost their first game on the road.
Wisconsin is currently 7-3 and not ranked. South Florida is 6-3 and not ranked. Kentucky is 6-3 and tied with California (also 6-3) for No. 24.
The biggest surprise has been Oregon with its 8-1 mark and No. 3 ranking. Oregon has been one the nation's premier programs with Mike Bellotti.
Picked this year to finish in the middle of the Pac 10 race, Oregon has now thrust itself into the national championship race by moving to No. 3 in the BCS standings.
Oregon's huge win over No. 6-ranked Arizona State 35-23 over the weekend increased its current stature. The Ducks must now knock off Arizona, UCLA and Oregon State to finish at 11-1, not an easy task but doable.
Arizona State was 8-0 before its loss and is now No. 9 and must finish the season with UCLA, USC (a major test) and in-state rival Arizona (the Wildcats will play like a demon possessed). Good luck, Dennis Erickson.
Kansas is a perfect 9-0 and No. 5 at the moment. The Jayhawks have played some cupcakes but have also beaten Kansas State, Colorado and Texas A&M before absolutely destroying Nebraska 76-39 over the weekend.
Kansas still has to get by Oklahoma State and Iowa State (not that big of a deal) and No. 7-ranked Missouri (currently a big deal) to go undefeated at 12-0.
If Missouri keeps winning, a victory by Kansas over Missouri might vault them into the national championship game if Oklahoma and Oregon lose again. At the moment, Kansas is No. 4 in the BCS standings.
Boston College went to 8-0 and No. 2 before losing at home to Florida State 27-17 over the weekend, another away game first loss. I don't believe Boston College has ever been ranked so high since eagles began to fly. The Eagles have now dropped to No. 8.
Boston College finishes its season with Maryland, Clemson and Miami (FL). They will do well to win out at 11-1.
Editor's Note: See my articles on "How to Predict When Teams Are Overrated and Due for an Unexpected Loss" and "The Sagarin Ratings: What They Are, How to Read Them and What to Do With Them" in my Sports Archive.
Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley
College football's current 4 biggest surprises are Oregon, Kansas, Boston College and Arizona State. I say current because we have had more upsets this year than Carter has liver pills.
Three teams now in the distant past breathed some rarefied air earlier in the year.
Wisconsin went to 5-0 and No. 5 in the AP Top 25 Poll before losing at Illinois 31-26.
South Florida went to 6-0 and No. 2 before losing at Rutgers 30-27.
Kentucky went to 5-0 and climbed to No. 8 before losing at South Carolina 38-23.
If you noticed a trend here you are sharp. Wisconsin, South Florida and Kentucky all lost their first game on the road.
Wisconsin is currently 7-3 and not ranked. South Florida is 6-3 and not ranked. Kentucky is 6-3 and tied with California (also 6-3) for No. 24.
The biggest surprise has been Oregon with its 8-1 mark and No. 3 ranking. Oregon has been one the nation's premier programs with Mike Bellotti.
Picked this year to finish in the middle of the Pac 10 race, Oregon has now thrust itself into the national championship race by moving to No. 3 in the BCS standings.
Oregon's huge win over No. 6-ranked Arizona State 35-23 over the weekend increased its current stature. The Ducks must now knock off Arizona, UCLA and Oregon State to finish at 11-1, not an easy task but doable.
Arizona State was 8-0 before its loss and is now No. 9 and must finish the season with UCLA, USC (a major test) and in-state rival Arizona (the Wildcats will play like a demon possessed). Good luck, Dennis Erickson.
Kansas is a perfect 9-0 and No. 5 at the moment. The Jayhawks have played some cupcakes but have also beaten Kansas State, Colorado and Texas A&M before absolutely destroying Nebraska 76-39 over the weekend.
Kansas still has to get by Oklahoma State and Iowa State (not that big of a deal) and No. 7-ranked Missouri (currently a big deal) to go undefeated at 12-0.
If Missouri keeps winning, a victory by Kansas over Missouri might vault them into the national championship game if Oklahoma and Oregon lose again. At the moment, Kansas is No. 4 in the BCS standings.
Boston College went to 8-0 and No. 2 before losing at home to Florida State 27-17 over the weekend, another away game first loss. I don't believe Boston College has ever been ranked so high since eagles began to fly. The Eagles have now dropped to No. 8.
Boston College finishes its season with Maryland, Clemson and Miami (FL). They will do well to win out at 11-1.
Editor's Note: See my articles on "How to Predict When Teams Are Overrated and Due for an Unexpected Loss" and "The Sagarin Ratings: What They Are, How to Read Them and What to Do With Them" in my Sports Archive.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
College Football 2007 - Week 10: There Are Only 3 Unbeaten Teams Left: 10-0 Ohio State, 9-0 Kansas & 8-0 Hawaii
Ed's Sports Corner:
Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley
Slowly, methodically, inexorably—like a superior military force launching an all out attack on a weaker opponent—the unbeaten teams continue to be picked off by better competition later in the season.
The latest victims are previously unbeaten and high flying Boston College and Arizona State.
Florida State (6-3) took a 10-7 3rd quarter lead into the 4th quarter and outscored No. 2-ranked Boston College 17-10 to upend the Eagles 27-17. No. 4-ranked Oregon led 35-16 going into the 4th quarter against No. 6-ranked Arizona State and easily won 35-23. For a moment, the world stopped for a bunch of Boston College and Arizona State seniors.
Boston College dropped to No. 8 in the AP Top 25 Poll out Sunday night, and Arizona State fell to No. 9. Oregon (8-1) moved up to the No. 2 spot.
The real fanny kickers moved on resolutely to greater glory, crushing their opponents with only one exception.
Top-ranked and unbeaten Ohio State won its 10th straight by giving Wisconsin its 3rd defeat 38-17. I have been saying all season Wisconsin was overrated and now it is really beginning to show.
No. 8-ranked and unbeaten Kansas won its 9th straight by ripping Nebraska 76-39, scoring the most points ever given up by the Cornhuskers. The loss was Nebraska's 5th straight after winning 36 straight times against Kansas from 1969 to 2004. My, how times have changed.
Oklahoma (8-1) slammed Texas A&M 42-14, and No. 9-ranked Missouri (also 8-1) slapped around Colorado 55-10.
The only top team to struggle was No. 3-ranked LSU (8-1), which hung on for dear life to narrowly get by No. 17-ranked Alabama 41-34. We expect big stuff from LSU but do not look past the Crimson Tide. They led 27-24 going into the 4th quarter but gave up 2 touchdowns in the final 3 minutes.
Nick Saban's first year at Alabama has been impressive. The team might be 6-3 but the Tide had LSU on the ropes, lost by a field goal to Georgia in overtime, and lost by a touchdown at Florida State.
The only other unbeaten team—Hawaii (8-0)—was idle over the weekend. The Warriors will be tested for the first time this year when they host No. 21-ranked Boise State three weeks from now on November 23.
Boise State is just getting warmed up. The Broncos (8-1) tore into San Jose State 42-7 and jumped up to No. 19 in this week's poll.
The only other team in the AP Top 25 with only 1 loss is Connecticut (8-1), which defeated Rutgers 38-19. Next stop for Connecticut is at Cincinnati, which gave No. 20-ranked South Florida (6-3) its 3rd loss, 38-33. Good for the Bearcats, it makes the Connecticut face-off more interesting.
I am not commenting on the other Top 25 teams, the rest have 2 or more losses and are fast becoming irrelevant in the BCS race to the national championship.
Here are some side notes on lesser lights, most of whom failed to get it done when it counted:
1) Michigan State hosted Michigan and made the Wolverines look even better by letting Michigan win its 8th straight game, 28-24. This one surprised me because it was in the Spartan house and first year coach Mark Dantonio had circled this game on his calendar from the day he was hired to turn around MSU's distressed program. Maybe it is just freshmanitis.
2) Mike Price's UTEP team led Rice 42-28 going into the last quarter and gave up 4 touchdowns to lose 56-48. I would call that a complete and total collapse. Either the Miners got really lazy or sloppy, or both. It takes no talent to give up 4 TDs in the last quarter and lose. The loss put UTEP at 4-5 on the season.
3) Navy (5-4) beat Notre Dame (1-8) at Norte Dame 46-44 in triple overtime to snap a 43-year losing streak to the Irish. From 1964 to 2006 the Irish beat Navy every year to set the NCAA record for the most consecutive wins over a major opponent in an uninterrupted major college football series.
To fully appreciate just how long ago it was that Navy last won against the Irish, Roger Staubach was quarterback for the Midshipmen in their 35-14 victory in 1963. A player for Navy Saturday could have easily been the son of a Navy player who won in 1963.
It has been what you would call a long season for Notre Dame Coach Charlie Weis. He will try to forget this year when it is over, but it will be difficult.
4) Washington Husky football players shed their training wheels this week by beating Stanford 27-9 on the road after losing 6 straight games. In fairness, the Washington's (3-6) losses were to Ohio State (10-0), UCLA (5-4), USC (7-2), Arizona State (8-1), Oregon (8-1) and Arizona (4-6).
The combined record of the 6 teams is 42-14. The Huskies are back at No. 1 in playing the toughest schedule among 242 Division I-A and 1-AA teams.
Hawaii, on the other hand, has a perfect 8-0 record and No. 14 ranking by beating up on
AA Northern Colorado (1-9), AA Charleston Southern (4-5), Idaho (1-9), Utah State (0-9), New Mexico State (4-6), San Jose State (3-6), UNLV (2-7) and Louisiana Tech (4-5), its highest rated opponent at No. 106 among 242 Division 1 teams.
The Warriors 8 victories have come against opponents with a combined record of 19-56. One thing you can say with a straight face about Hawaii is the Warriors certainly know how to beat up weak teams.
Editor's Note: Read my articles on "If You Think as a Parent that Little League Baseball Does Not Teach Important Survival Skills, Think Again", "On Cars, Baseball and the Halcyon Days of Summer" and "What Makes a Person Want to Run, and Why Few Will Ever Know the Joy of Running".
Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley
Slowly, methodically, inexorably—like a superior military force launching an all out attack on a weaker opponent—the unbeaten teams continue to be picked off by better competition later in the season.
The latest victims are previously unbeaten and high flying Boston College and Arizona State.
Florida State (6-3) took a 10-7 3rd quarter lead into the 4th quarter and outscored No. 2-ranked Boston College 17-10 to upend the Eagles 27-17. No. 4-ranked Oregon led 35-16 going into the 4th quarter against No. 6-ranked Arizona State and easily won 35-23. For a moment, the world stopped for a bunch of Boston College and Arizona State seniors.
Boston College dropped to No. 8 in the AP Top 25 Poll out Sunday night, and Arizona State fell to No. 9. Oregon (8-1) moved up to the No. 2 spot.
The real fanny kickers moved on resolutely to greater glory, crushing their opponents with only one exception.
Top-ranked and unbeaten Ohio State won its 10th straight by giving Wisconsin its 3rd defeat 38-17. I have been saying all season Wisconsin was overrated and now it is really beginning to show.
No. 8-ranked and unbeaten Kansas won its 9th straight by ripping Nebraska 76-39, scoring the most points ever given up by the Cornhuskers. The loss was Nebraska's 5th straight after winning 36 straight times against Kansas from 1969 to 2004. My, how times have changed.
Oklahoma (8-1) slammed Texas A&M 42-14, and No. 9-ranked Missouri (also 8-1) slapped around Colorado 55-10.
The only top team to struggle was No. 3-ranked LSU (8-1), which hung on for dear life to narrowly get by No. 17-ranked Alabama 41-34. We expect big stuff from LSU but do not look past the Crimson Tide. They led 27-24 going into the 4th quarter but gave up 2 touchdowns in the final 3 minutes.
Nick Saban's first year at Alabama has been impressive. The team might be 6-3 but the Tide had LSU on the ropes, lost by a field goal to Georgia in overtime, and lost by a touchdown at Florida State.
The only other unbeaten team—Hawaii (8-0)—was idle over the weekend. The Warriors will be tested for the first time this year when they host No. 21-ranked Boise State three weeks from now on November 23.
Boise State is just getting warmed up. The Broncos (8-1) tore into San Jose State 42-7 and jumped up to No. 19 in this week's poll.
The only other team in the AP Top 25 with only 1 loss is Connecticut (8-1), which defeated Rutgers 38-19. Next stop for Connecticut is at Cincinnati, which gave No. 20-ranked South Florida (6-3) its 3rd loss, 38-33. Good for the Bearcats, it makes the Connecticut face-off more interesting.
I am not commenting on the other Top 25 teams, the rest have 2 or more losses and are fast becoming irrelevant in the BCS race to the national championship.
Here are some side notes on lesser lights, most of whom failed to get it done when it counted:
1) Michigan State hosted Michigan and made the Wolverines look even better by letting Michigan win its 8th straight game, 28-24. This one surprised me because it was in the Spartan house and first year coach Mark Dantonio had circled this game on his calendar from the day he was hired to turn around MSU's distressed program. Maybe it is just freshmanitis.
2) Mike Price's UTEP team led Rice 42-28 going into the last quarter and gave up 4 touchdowns to lose 56-48. I would call that a complete and total collapse. Either the Miners got really lazy or sloppy, or both. It takes no talent to give up 4 TDs in the last quarter and lose. The loss put UTEP at 4-5 on the season.
3) Navy (5-4) beat Notre Dame (1-8) at Norte Dame 46-44 in triple overtime to snap a 43-year losing streak to the Irish. From 1964 to 2006 the Irish beat Navy every year to set the NCAA record for the most consecutive wins over a major opponent in an uninterrupted major college football series.
To fully appreciate just how long ago it was that Navy last won against the Irish, Roger Staubach was quarterback for the Midshipmen in their 35-14 victory in 1963. A player for Navy Saturday could have easily been the son of a Navy player who won in 1963.
It has been what you would call a long season for Notre Dame Coach Charlie Weis. He will try to forget this year when it is over, but it will be difficult.
4) Washington Husky football players shed their training wheels this week by beating Stanford 27-9 on the road after losing 6 straight games. In fairness, the Washington's (3-6) losses were to Ohio State (10-0), UCLA (5-4), USC (7-2), Arizona State (8-1), Oregon (8-1) and Arizona (4-6).
The combined record of the 6 teams is 42-14. The Huskies are back at No. 1 in playing the toughest schedule among 242 Division I-A and 1-AA teams.
Hawaii, on the other hand, has a perfect 8-0 record and No. 14 ranking by beating up on
AA Northern Colorado (1-9), AA Charleston Southern (4-5), Idaho (1-9), Utah State (0-9), New Mexico State (4-6), San Jose State (3-6), UNLV (2-7) and Louisiana Tech (4-5), its highest rated opponent at No. 106 among 242 Division 1 teams.
The Warriors 8 victories have come against opponents with a combined record of 19-56. One thing you can say with a straight face about Hawaii is the Warriors certainly know how to beat up weak teams.
Editor's Note: Read my articles on "If You Think as a Parent that Little League Baseball Does Not Teach Important Survival Skills, Think Again", "On Cars, Baseball and the Halcyon Days of Summer" and "What Makes a Person Want to Run, and Why Few Will Ever Know the Joy of Running".
Seattle SuperSonics Basketball: Hey, Clay Bennett: "Take a Flying Leap Off of a Short Pier"
Ed's Sports Corner:
Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley
As a born and bred Midwest boy from Michigan, I think I might know something about Clay Bennett, chairman of the new investment group that bought the Seattle SuperSonics pro basketball team for $350 million in July of 2006.
To begin with, it has been my experience and observation that Midwest folks from my generation (I am 63 and have 3 grandchildren) do not naturally relate to East Coast and West Coast people.
This may be nothing more than being brought up in a different time and cultural milieu.
One thing is for sure: Midwest folks do not beat around the bush. They tend to be straightforward and direct in what they see and want, and can spot a phony a mile away. Perhaps this is who Clay Bennett really is, a Midwest boy at heart in Oklahoma.
Famous Oklahomans include baseball players Mickey Mantle and Johnny Bench, multi-star athlete Jim Thorpe, actors James Garner, Jennifer Jones and Tony Randall, singers Garth Brooks, Vince Gill, Woody Guthrie and Reba McEntire, director Ron Howard, evangelist Oral Roberts, journalist Bill Moyers, broadcaster Paul Harvey, and humorist Will Rogers.
Between Will Rogers and Mark Twain (pseudonym of Samuel Langhorne Clemens), born in neighboring Missouri, you have two of America's greatest humorists.
It is here, with this Midwest approach, that we catch up with Clay Bennett on his flight to Seattle to greet the city officials. Bennett, not one to mince words, announces that the SuperSonics cannot possibly succeed in their present Key Arena facility.
Bennett, a successful businessmen who sees an opportunity and seizes it, all but demands that a newer, larger, better, $500 million edifice be built in a public-private partnership.
The Seattle City Council members took umbrage at Bennett's demand as Key Arena had been upgraded just a few years ago. They politely asked Bennett to honor his lease agreement first.
The issue is now in court, and I am not about to bore you with all the legal crap going on.
What I do want to address here is the fact that Seattle city officials are not Oklahomans and the Pacific Northwest is not Oklahoma.
Seattle residents have one of the highest educational rates of any metropolitan area in the country. If memory serves me correctly, 25% of its legal citizens have bachelor's degrees.
Seattle city officials pride themselves on their sense of righteousness, and fawn over promoting diversity and political correctness, unless, of course, it does not suit their purposes at the moment.
Seattle and many Western Washington communities include in their majority political make-up liberals, progressive-liberals, democrats with a capital D, ultra-left wing liberals, metrosexual-liberals, ubersexual-liberals, and self-proclaimed liberals who are actually socialists with associated political leanings.
Add to this the fact that Western Washington has intensive and politically-effective pockets of liberal, feminist coalitions that dominate politically and you have a state that borders on being more maternal than paternal. The governor and both senators are women. You do not yell and scream at your mother, that is just plain bad manners; you reserve any yelling and screaming for your father, who handles it a different way.
Is it any wonder that the Clay Bennett direct approach totally alienated the very officials he sought to win over? What he got was a typical Seattle answer to his blunt approach, "Hey, Clay Bennett: Take a Flying Leap Off of a Short Pier." Seattle is a water wonderland.
Bennett needed to do a lot more knee bending and sucking up in order to satisfy the Seattle officials' need for adoration. Seattle officials do not take their power base for granted. They will go to incredible lengths to keep it in place and controlled, especially from outsiders, and even more so from blunt outsiders.
The only friend Clay Bennett may have at the moment is Peter von Reichbauer, a King County Council member who helped broker a previous deal to keep the Seattle Seahawks in town.
In the meantime, Bennett has filed papers with the National Basketball Association to move the franchise to Oklahoma City.
Bennett has made it clear that he will move the Seattle franchise once he gets out of the Key Arena lease, either by winning his litigation against the city, negotiating a buyout, or waiting until the end of the lease term.
As a fan, I just want to see the SuperSonics in Seattle playing with newly-drafted, 6-foot-9 swingman (and 19-year-old wonder kid) Kevin Durant, and Jeff Green, the newly-drafted, 6-foot-9 versatile forward who led Georgetown's recent rise to prominence.
All of the legal battling and smack talk bores me to death, but it sure is amusing watching adults fight.
Editor's Note: Read my articles on "If You Think as a Parent that Little League Baseball Does Not Teach Important Survival Skills, Think Again", "On Cars, Baseball and the Halcyon Days of Summer" and "What Makes a Person Want to Run, and Why Few Will Ever Know the Joy of Running".
Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley
As a born and bred Midwest boy from Michigan, I think I might know something about Clay Bennett, chairman of the new investment group that bought the Seattle SuperSonics pro basketball team for $350 million in July of 2006.
To begin with, it has been my experience and observation that Midwest folks from my generation (I am 63 and have 3 grandchildren) do not naturally relate to East Coast and West Coast people.
This may be nothing more than being brought up in a different time and cultural milieu.
One thing is for sure: Midwest folks do not beat around the bush. They tend to be straightforward and direct in what they see and want, and can spot a phony a mile away. Perhaps this is who Clay Bennett really is, a Midwest boy at heart in Oklahoma.
Famous Oklahomans include baseball players Mickey Mantle and Johnny Bench, multi-star athlete Jim Thorpe, actors James Garner, Jennifer Jones and Tony Randall, singers Garth Brooks, Vince Gill, Woody Guthrie and Reba McEntire, director Ron Howard, evangelist Oral Roberts, journalist Bill Moyers, broadcaster Paul Harvey, and humorist Will Rogers.
Between Will Rogers and Mark Twain (pseudonym of Samuel Langhorne Clemens), born in neighboring Missouri, you have two of America's greatest humorists.
It is here, with this Midwest approach, that we catch up with Clay Bennett on his flight to Seattle to greet the city officials. Bennett, not one to mince words, announces that the SuperSonics cannot possibly succeed in their present Key Arena facility.
Bennett, a successful businessmen who sees an opportunity and seizes it, all but demands that a newer, larger, better, $500 million edifice be built in a public-private partnership.
The Seattle City Council members took umbrage at Bennett's demand as Key Arena had been upgraded just a few years ago. They politely asked Bennett to honor his lease agreement first.
The issue is now in court, and I am not about to bore you with all the legal crap going on.
What I do want to address here is the fact that Seattle city officials are not Oklahomans and the Pacific Northwest is not Oklahoma.
Seattle residents have one of the highest educational rates of any metropolitan area in the country. If memory serves me correctly, 25% of its legal citizens have bachelor's degrees.
Seattle city officials pride themselves on their sense of righteousness, and fawn over promoting diversity and political correctness, unless, of course, it does not suit their purposes at the moment.
Seattle and many Western Washington communities include in their majority political make-up liberals, progressive-liberals, democrats with a capital D, ultra-left wing liberals, metrosexual-liberals, ubersexual-liberals, and self-proclaimed liberals who are actually socialists with associated political leanings.
Add to this the fact that Western Washington has intensive and politically-effective pockets of liberal, feminist coalitions that dominate politically and you have a state that borders on being more maternal than paternal. The governor and both senators are women. You do not yell and scream at your mother, that is just plain bad manners; you reserve any yelling and screaming for your father, who handles it a different way.
Is it any wonder that the Clay Bennett direct approach totally alienated the very officials he sought to win over? What he got was a typical Seattle answer to his blunt approach, "Hey, Clay Bennett: Take a Flying Leap Off of a Short Pier." Seattle is a water wonderland.
Bennett needed to do a lot more knee bending and sucking up in order to satisfy the Seattle officials' need for adoration. Seattle officials do not take their power base for granted. They will go to incredible lengths to keep it in place and controlled, especially from outsiders, and even more so from blunt outsiders.
The only friend Clay Bennett may have at the moment is Peter von Reichbauer, a King County Council member who helped broker a previous deal to keep the Seattle Seahawks in town.
In the meantime, Bennett has filed papers with the National Basketball Association to move the franchise to Oklahoma City.
Bennett has made it clear that he will move the Seattle franchise once he gets out of the Key Arena lease, either by winning his litigation against the city, negotiating a buyout, or waiting until the end of the lease term.
As a fan, I just want to see the SuperSonics in Seattle playing with newly-drafted, 6-foot-9 swingman (and 19-year-old wonder kid) Kevin Durant, and Jeff Green, the newly-drafted, 6-foot-9 versatile forward who led Georgetown's recent rise to prominence.
All of the legal battling and smack talk bores me to death, but it sure is amusing watching adults fight.
Editor's Note: Read my articles on "If You Think as a Parent that Little League Baseball Does Not Teach Important Survival Skills, Think Again", "On Cars, Baseball and the Halcyon Days of Summer" and "What Makes a Person Want to Run, and Why Few Will Ever Know the Joy of Running".
Saturday, November 3, 2007
What Exactly Is a Jimmy Jack?
Ed's Sports Corner:
Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley
Editor's Note: A reader recently wrote to share this message with me. Someone reading Ed Bagley's Blog may be interested in his information, so here it is:
"Ed,
"Noticed that you recently referred to Barry Bonds Record setting home run as a Jimmy Jack.
"I have recently created a game called JIMMYjack Baseball that I started marketing this past spring. It has been well received in the limited time and markets it has been exposed to.
"In addition to the Chicagoland market area, JIMMYjack baseball is also being sold at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum gift shop. It interested you can visit my web site at:: http://www.manning5games.com
"Jack Manning"
Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley
Editor's Note: A reader recently wrote to share this message with me. Someone reading Ed Bagley's Blog may be interested in his information, so here it is:
"Ed,
"Noticed that you recently referred to Barry Bonds Record setting home run as a Jimmy Jack.
"I have recently created a game called JIMMYjack Baseball that I started marketing this past spring. It has been well received in the limited time and markets it has been exposed to.
"In addition to the Chicagoland market area, JIMMYjack baseball is also being sold at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum gift shop. It interested you can visit my web site at:: http://www.manning5games.com
"Jack Manning"
Thursday, November 1, 2007
A Look at the Stats: So Who Is Really Overrated? Hawaii (8-0) or Washington (2-6)
Ed's Sports Corner:
Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley
I just love to pick on Hawaii, I guess because the Warriors are such an easy mark to spot as a grossly overrated team.
All season I have been saying that Washington (Hawaii's last opponent this season) has none of the stats but is a better team and will beat Hawaii on its home turf December 1 in pineapple land.
Heck, sometimes I forget Hawaii is part of the United States. Perhaps because, like Alaska, is not part of the contiguous United States.
A quick check of the 2003 Time Almanac says Hawaii "is a 1,523-mile chain of islets and eight main islands." I am abashed (disconcerted) to learn that Hawaii's population is 41% Asian, 24% white, only 9% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islanders, and 26% other less-populated races.
Nonetheless, the Hawaii Warriors have given everyone something to cheer about. They are:
1) Unbeaten at 8-0 and rated No. 12 in the AP Top 25 Poll and No. 14 in the BCS Standings.
2) They are leading the Western Athletic Conference with a 5-0 record and are due for an amazing showdown when they host Boise State November 23. Boise State is 4-0 in the WAC standings, 7-1 on the season (their only loss is to Washington), ranked No. 21 in the AP Poll and No. 22 in the BCS Standings.
I secretly hope that Boise State routs Hawaii but do not tell the fans in Hawaii since this admission is just between you and me. Boise State is ranked No. 39 in the Sagarin Ratings and Hawaii is No. 41. Hawaii should be favored over Boise State since the Warriors are at home.
3) Hawaii averages more than 50 points a game and ranks No. 1 among 119 Division I-A schools in Scoring Offense.
4) I would think that playing in the WAC Conference Hawaii's defense would be soft yet the Warriors are only giving up 22 points a game and rank No. 41 among 119 teams in Scoring Defense.
All of this is pretty heady and impressive yet when I look at its strength of schedule I see Hawaii ranks 163rd in Sagarin's Ratings.
This means Hawaii's opponents have been collectively worse than all 119 Division I-A schools and worse than 44 Division 1-AA schools. There are 242 schools in Division 1-A and 1-AA.
I keep asking myself, "How can this team be the 12th best team in the country among 242 schools?" My answer is it cannot.
As 1 of only 5 undefeated teams left among 119 Division 1-A schools, I recognize that going 8-0 is no mean feat. If the other 114 teams in Division 1-A have not done it this season, you better believe it is not easy to do regardless of the competition.
Hawaii deserves a lot of credit for remaining undefeated so far.
Washington, on the hand, is a statistical nightmare getting worse each game. The Huskies have given their fans far less to cheer about. They are:
1) Suffering through a 6-game losing streak and taking on water faster than a sinking Titantic. A 2-6 record is not impressive on paper.
2) They are allowing 259 yards passing per game and rank 96th among 119 Division 1-A schools in Passing Defense. This can not be a good thing going up against Hawaii, which averages 459 yards per game passing, averages more than 4 TD passes a game, and ranks No. 2 in the country in Passing Offense.
Hawaii ranks No. 4 nationally in Passing Efficiency with a 162+ rating. Yikes.
I am basing my whole premise on the fact that Hawaii has thus far played a cupcake schedule of high school and JV opponents. If I am dead wrong, Washington is going to get beat by about 5 touchdowns because the Husky pass defenders could not stop their grandmother on their best day. They are terrible to say the least.
3) However bad the Husky pass defense is, they are better than the Husky rush defenders who give up 214 yards rushing per game and rank an even worse 111th in Rush Defense.
4) Washington's defense is allowing 474 total yards per game (probably a good second half for Hawaii's awesome offense) and ranks 109th nationally among 119 schools.
5) The Huskies give up 34 points a game and rank 101st in points allowed. They have lost 18 turnovers.
6) Washington's time of possession on offense ranks 116th nationally at 27:03 minutes per game.
7) For the first time in 6 weeks, Washington no longer has played the toughest schedule in the country. The Huskies are now ranked 2nd among 119 teams in Strength of Schedule. So who is No. 1? Fasten your seat belt, it is none other than the Notre Dame Fighting Irish with their 1-7 record.
So what does Washington really have going for it? Well, not a hell of a lot at the moment, to tell you the truth.
There is redshirt freshman quarterback Jake Locker. In his last game against Arizona, he did set career records with 336 yards passing and 157 yards rushing. His 98-yard touchdown completion to Marcel Reece is the longest in Husky history. In 8 games Locker has rushed for 694 yards. Not too shabby.
Hawaii has Colt Brennan. The Warrior website shows Brennan's 7-game statistics at 225 completions in 328 attempts (68% completion rate) for 2,820 yards (402 yards per game), 26 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Awesome, Dude, totally awesome.
I have no idea how Locker, a freshman, will do against Brennan, a 6-foot-3, 201-pound wily senior from Irvine, California. Brennan's part-time job is probably as a gunslinger for an outlaw gang.
Could Washington be in over its head? Is the Pope Catholic? Does a bear (----) in the woods?
I will have to remind Washington's equipment manager to bring not only the helmets and shoulder pads but flak jackets as well. Those missiles could be frequent and disturbing on the island Colt has built.
Let's hope the Warriors are hospitable to their victims.
Editor's Note: For letters from irate Hawaiian Warrior fans, see Ed's Sports articles.
Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley
I just love to pick on Hawaii, I guess because the Warriors are such an easy mark to spot as a grossly overrated team.
All season I have been saying that Washington (Hawaii's last opponent this season) has none of the stats but is a better team and will beat Hawaii on its home turf December 1 in pineapple land.
Heck, sometimes I forget Hawaii is part of the United States. Perhaps because, like Alaska, is not part of the contiguous United States.
A quick check of the 2003 Time Almanac says Hawaii "is a 1,523-mile chain of islets and eight main islands." I am abashed (disconcerted) to learn that Hawaii's population is 41% Asian, 24% white, only 9% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islanders, and 26% other less-populated races.
Nonetheless, the Hawaii Warriors have given everyone something to cheer about. They are:
1) Unbeaten at 8-0 and rated No. 12 in the AP Top 25 Poll and No. 14 in the BCS Standings.
2) They are leading the Western Athletic Conference with a 5-0 record and are due for an amazing showdown when they host Boise State November 23. Boise State is 4-0 in the WAC standings, 7-1 on the season (their only loss is to Washington), ranked No. 21 in the AP Poll and No. 22 in the BCS Standings.
I secretly hope that Boise State routs Hawaii but do not tell the fans in Hawaii since this admission is just between you and me. Boise State is ranked No. 39 in the Sagarin Ratings and Hawaii is No. 41. Hawaii should be favored over Boise State since the Warriors are at home.
3) Hawaii averages more than 50 points a game and ranks No. 1 among 119 Division I-A schools in Scoring Offense.
4) I would think that playing in the WAC Conference Hawaii's defense would be soft yet the Warriors are only giving up 22 points a game and rank No. 41 among 119 teams in Scoring Defense.
All of this is pretty heady and impressive yet when I look at its strength of schedule I see Hawaii ranks 163rd in Sagarin's Ratings.
This means Hawaii's opponents have been collectively worse than all 119 Division I-A schools and worse than 44 Division 1-AA schools. There are 242 schools in Division 1-A and 1-AA.
I keep asking myself, "How can this team be the 12th best team in the country among 242 schools?" My answer is it cannot.
As 1 of only 5 undefeated teams left among 119 Division 1-A schools, I recognize that going 8-0 is no mean feat. If the other 114 teams in Division 1-A have not done it this season, you better believe it is not easy to do regardless of the competition.
Hawaii deserves a lot of credit for remaining undefeated so far.
Washington, on the hand, is a statistical nightmare getting worse each game. The Huskies have given their fans far less to cheer about. They are:
1) Suffering through a 6-game losing streak and taking on water faster than a sinking Titantic. A 2-6 record is not impressive on paper.
2) They are allowing 259 yards passing per game and rank 96th among 119 Division 1-A schools in Passing Defense. This can not be a good thing going up against Hawaii, which averages 459 yards per game passing, averages more than 4 TD passes a game, and ranks No. 2 in the country in Passing Offense.
Hawaii ranks No. 4 nationally in Passing Efficiency with a 162+ rating. Yikes.
I am basing my whole premise on the fact that Hawaii has thus far played a cupcake schedule of high school and JV opponents. If I am dead wrong, Washington is going to get beat by about 5 touchdowns because the Husky pass defenders could not stop their grandmother on their best day. They are terrible to say the least.
3) However bad the Husky pass defense is, they are better than the Husky rush defenders who give up 214 yards rushing per game and rank an even worse 111th in Rush Defense.
4) Washington's defense is allowing 474 total yards per game (probably a good second half for Hawaii's awesome offense) and ranks 109th nationally among 119 schools.
5) The Huskies give up 34 points a game and rank 101st in points allowed. They have lost 18 turnovers.
6) Washington's time of possession on offense ranks 116th nationally at 27:03 minutes per game.
7) For the first time in 6 weeks, Washington no longer has played the toughest schedule in the country. The Huskies are now ranked 2nd among 119 teams in Strength of Schedule. So who is No. 1? Fasten your seat belt, it is none other than the Notre Dame Fighting Irish with their 1-7 record.
So what does Washington really have going for it? Well, not a hell of a lot at the moment, to tell you the truth.
There is redshirt freshman quarterback Jake Locker. In his last game against Arizona, he did set career records with 336 yards passing and 157 yards rushing. His 98-yard touchdown completion to Marcel Reece is the longest in Husky history. In 8 games Locker has rushed for 694 yards. Not too shabby.
Hawaii has Colt Brennan. The Warrior website shows Brennan's 7-game statistics at 225 completions in 328 attempts (68% completion rate) for 2,820 yards (402 yards per game), 26 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Awesome, Dude, totally awesome.
I have no idea how Locker, a freshman, will do against Brennan, a 6-foot-3, 201-pound wily senior from Irvine, California. Brennan's part-time job is probably as a gunslinger for an outlaw gang.
Could Washington be in over its head? Is the Pope Catholic? Does a bear (----) in the woods?
I will have to remind Washington's equipment manager to bring not only the helmets and shoulder pads but flak jackets as well. Those missiles could be frequent and disturbing on the island Colt has built.
Let's hope the Warriors are hospitable to their victims.
Editor's Note: For letters from irate Hawaiian Warrior fans, see Ed's Sports articles.
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