Ed's Sports Corner

College Basketball - Get Ready for a Phenomenal March Madness Run This Year

2008-02-13T10:41:00.002-08:00

Ed's Sports Corner:

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

They do not pay Washington head coach Lorenzo Romar the big bucks because he is stupid. Romar made another in a long line of smart decisions Friday (2-8-08)—he took the blame for his team's 4-game losing streak.

Romar has praised his players all season long because they have been willing to do whatever he asks. He has now shouldered the blame because what he was asking of them did not work.

He was rewarded two days later when his Huskies played their best game of the year, upsetting No. 5 UCLA at home 71-61 before a sellout crowd at Hec Edmundson Pavilion.

Romar, tired of losing, pulled starting guard Venoy Overton just 57 seconds after the opening tipoff. Overton, a true freshman with outstanding potential, opened the game with a turnover, but then did not hustle back on defense. In came junior guard Justin Dentmon and responded with 20 points off the bench on 7-of-12 shooting, and the Huskies were off and running.

Jon Brockman grabbed a game-high 17 rebounds (including his 800th career rebound) and added 12 points for his Pac-10 leading 16th double-double of the season. Ryan "Dead Eye" Appleby added another dozen points and sank his 200th career 3-pointer, 12 short of the U-Dub record.

Washington even played some defense as Artem Wallace held UCLA freshman center Kevin Love to 13 points, and true freshman Justin Holiday put the "D" on UCLA's Josh Shipp when he was mounting a comeback for the Bruins.

Even UCLA coach Ben Howland was impressed. "They were more physical," said Howland. "They outrebounded us by 8. Brockman had 9 offensive rebounds alone."

The Huskies, now 13-11 overall and 4-7 in Pac-10 Conference play, must play 5 of their remaining 7 games on the road. Washington still is probably going to be watching the NCAA and NIT playoffs on television, but they showed Sunday just how great parity is in the Pac-10 and around the country by being ranked No. 82 by Sagarin and upending No. 5-ranked UCLA.

Despite its lackluster record, Washington did jump to No. 74 in Sagarin's Ratings by beating such a high-ranked team. The Sagarin Ratings change daily during the basketball season because, unlike football, games are played during the week as well as the weekend.

As of Sunday (2-10-08), No. 2 Memphis remains the only unbeaten team in the country (23-0) among 341 Division 1 teams. There were only 3 teams left with a single loss—No. 1 Duke (21-1), No. 3 Kansas (22-1) and No. 13 Drake (20-1).

Heck, there are just 3 more teams left with only 2 losses—No. 4 North Carolina (22-2), No. 6 Tennessee (20-2) and No. 25 Butler (21-2).

Here is another interesting fact to note: Three of these top 7 best-record teams have poor strength of schedule standings—Memphis (124th toughest), Drake (105th) and Butler (88th). Unless they start playing tougher teams, they are not going to go deep into the NCAA tournament.

Compare their strength of schedule to Duke (21st toughest), Kansas (60th), North Carolina (18th) and Tennessee (10th).

To highlight the competitiveness of the Pac-10 this year, the Washington Huskies, who are 9th in the Pac-10 standings with a 4-7 mark, are ranked 25th by Sagarin in strength of schedule. And you have to ask how Washington could upset such a good team as UCLA? Be thankful your team is not playing in the Pac-10 Conference this year.

All of this bodes really well for the networks who will televise March Madness, and for any team that makes the cut to play in the NCAA tournament. Because upsets happen even when there is little parity among teams, when there is a lot of parity like this year, we are going to see some shockers.

Editor's Note: Read my other articles on the Washington Huskies, including "Lorenzo Romar's Washington Husky Recruits Are Among Top 15 Classes", "Huskies Earn Spot in NIT Season Tip-Off Semis, Head to the Big Apple", "How Can Losing Still Be a Positive? When You Are Playing Good Teams" and "We Love Our Dawgs with Bite, Not Our Dogs With Bark".

Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
Discover 145 Movie Reviews, 112 Sports Articles, 61 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Jobs and Careers Articles, 26 Internet Marketing Articles, 44 News and Comment Articles (406 total articles) plus 685 Famous Quotes.

My articles can be published with no charge by newsletters, newspapers and magazines through EzineArticles.com, the largest articles directory on the Internet with 80,000+ authors and 972,000+ articles.

College Football: Brian White, former National Assistant Coach of the Year, Joins Husky Staff

2008-02-11T16:49:00.000-08:00

Ed's Sports Corner:

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

Slowly, hopefully inexorably, the misguided loyalty on the University of Washington football staff is getting a facelift and some actual competence.

The defensive disaster that has permeated the U-Dub campus could actually improve next season with the recent addition of defensive coordinator Ed Donatell and now former offensive coordinator Brian White.

White was the latest addition to Ty Willingham's Husky staff. The powers to be lit a fire under Willingham's backside after last year's season of promise degenerated into an unacceptable string of losses.

The message was short and to the point: you can stay another season but fix the defense, and for God's sake, win more games than you lose before we all forget the great football tradition you inherited. Willingham, whose 3-year coaching record at Washington is 11-25, somewhat reluctantly got the message.

Being a college football coach today is not much fun when you are not winning. Willingham is one loyal person who sincerely believes in the goodness of everyone he hires. Unfortunately, one can go "blind" in this effort to succeed.

In the real world, the lesson that Willingham has to learn is that there is no reward for good. You can be the best person in the world and the best coach in the world, but being good does not mean that you win football games. Think about how many GREAT pro players have no Super Bowl ring.

The reality of life dictates that there can be only two outcomes as a coach at the end of each game: results or excuses.

Just because the CEO of a Fortune 500 company makes more decisions does not mean that he makes better decisions. Loyalty does not translate to the bottom line. This is a really tough lesson for Ty, but if he wants to achieve his potential as a coach, he will learn or be gone.

That is why Ty's slow, methodical, unemotional move to shore up his defense has resulted in the hiring of Ed Donatell as defensive coordinator and Brian White as an assistant coach, perhaps handling tights ends and special teams, or running backs.

Nowhere in Brian White's coaching resume do I see special teams coaching experience, which suggests that he would be better placed as the running backs coach.

White spent 11 years as the running backs coach and offensive coordinator for Barry Alvarez at the University of Wisconsin. During his tenure, White was selected as the Division 1 Assistant Coach of the Year in 2004 by the American Football Coaches Association.

As Wisconsin's running backs coach and offensive coordinator, he helped coach Wisconsin in 9 bowl appearances, including Rose Bowl selections in 1999 and 2000. He mentored 1999 Heisman Trophy winner Ron Dayne, 2001 NFL first-round draft choice Michael Bennett, and 2001 Big Ten Freshman of the Year Anthony Davis.

White has spent his last 2 years at Syracuse as its offensive coordinator and tight ends coach with little or no success. His lack of accomplishment may have had more to do with Syracuse head coach Greg Robinson, who came to the Orangemen with a terrific record as an NFL defensive coordinator with the New York Jets, Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs.

Since arriving at Syracuse, Robinson has gone 7-28 in 3 years, the worst 3-year record in Syracuse football history. Nonetheless, Syracuse athletic director Daryl Gross is bringing Robinson back for a 4th season.

All you really need to know about Robinson at Syracuse is that he serves as the head coach AND defensive coordinator, a really dumb idea whose time has yet to come. Syracuse is Robinson's first head coaching job and it shows. Big egos like to micromanage everything and everyone; they have not figured out why they have assistant coaches to make them look better.

Gross' judgment may be worse than Robinson's. Some outstanding coordinators are simply not good head coaches; they may lack the talent, temperament, media skills and organizational skills to run an operation without screwing it up.

Brian White did spend 2 years as a graduate assistant for Lou Holtz at Notre Dame, and White was there when the Irish won the 1988 national title with a Fiesta Bowl victory over West Virginia. Two years of experience in ANY capacity with Lou Holtz is worth at least 10 years at Syracuse with the best the current Orangemen have to offer.

While coaching the receivers at Nevada, White helped the Wolf Pack offense lead the nation in total offense (582+ yards per game) and passing offense (401 ypg).

For whatever it is worth, White is also more highly qualified—education-wise—than almost all NCAA football coaches. He has a bachelor's degree from Harvard, a master's degree from Fordham and another master's degree in business administration from Notre Dame.

While there is no direct correlation between education and success as a football coach, White is apparently no stranger to learning and is capable of getting 3 degrees from three academic powerhouses. Let's hope it rubs off on his fellow Husky staff members and players. Until the Huskies can once again win a lot more games than they lose, they (staff and players) need all the help they can get.

Read my other Washington Husky articles, including "Ed Donatell, NFL Veteran, Becomes Defensive Coordinator for Washington", "Famous Quotes by Vince Lombardi, Knute Rockne and Lou Holtz During Football's Annual Bowl Season", "How to Predict When Teams Are Overrated and Due for an Unexpected Loss", and my 14 consecutive weekly wrap-up articles on the 2007 College Football Season as well as wrap-up articles on all 32 College Bowl Games.

My articles can be published with no charge by newsletters, newspapers and magazines through EzineArticles.com, the largest articles directory on the Internet with 80,000+ authors and 972,000+ articles.

College Football - Ed Donatell, NFL Veteran, Becomes Defensive Coordinator for Washington

2008-02-10T16:40:00.000-08:00

Ed's Sports Corner:

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

Washington Husky head coach Ty Willingham has hopefully improved his defense next season by recently hiring Ed Donatell, a veteran NFL defensive coordinator with both the Green Bay Packers and Atlanta Falcons.

Washington's inept, pathetic excuse for a defense last year needed to be cleaned up and clicked up about 20 notches.

The Huskies ranked 94th nationally last year in scoring defense (giving up 31+ points per game), 99th in pass defense (261+ yards per game and 27 touchdowns) and pass efficiency defense, and 102nd in total defense. These rankings were among the NCAA's 119 Division 1A teams.

In other words, the Huskies did not have a defense. They lacked speed, talent and experience. I said last year that the Washington defensive secondary could not cover my grandmother on their best day. I was not kidding.

Donatell should be congratulated for being willing to try and clean up this sorry mess. He just might be able to turn it around based on his experience and performance. To wit:

1) As the defensive backs coach for Denver's Mike Shanahan, he helped the Broncos win back-to-back Super Bowls in 1997 and 1998 by taking over a secondary that ranked last in the NFL and led them to a Top 10 ranking for 5 consecutive years.

2) As the defensive coordinator for Green Bay's Mike Sherman for 4 years, Donatell's leadership helped the Packer defense lead the NFL with 144 takeaways, averaging 36 a season, and lead the league with 2.25 forced turnovers per game.

3) As the defensive coordinator for 3 years for Atlanta's Jim Mora (a University of Washington grad and new designated coach of the Seattle Seahawks when Mike Holmgren retires after the 2008 season), Donatell piled up more success.

His 2004 Falcon unit led the NFL by holding its opponents to a league-low 30% on 3rd-down conversions. His Falcons also led the league in sacks for the first time in team history, and in 2005 his defense ranked 3rd in the NFL with only 28 passes allowed of 20-or-more yards. In addition, Atlanta won the club's 3rd division title and advanced to the NFC championship game.

Donatell also had ties to Washington before arriving. In addition to coaching for Jim Mora, he was a graduate assistant for Don James, the legendary Dawgfather and Washington's greatest coach. Donatell also was the defensive backs coach for 3 years at Idaho under former Washington coach Keith Gilbertson.

Donatell said his style of defense will be "based on speed and explosion, high energy, enthusiasm, (an) attacking style." Heck, I already like the guy. So Donatell can not only talk a good game, he can back it up.

I remember another guy named Jim Lambright whose legendary defenses were fast, furious and swarming; he experienced quite a bit of success as well, like a 1991 national championship as a defensive coordinator. The 1991 Huskies were 2nd in the nation in rushing defense (67.1), total defense (237.1), scoring defense (9.2) and turnover margin (+1.73); they led the Pac-10 in virtually every defensive category.

Let us hope that Ty Willingham and Ed Donatell go on to great success next year and in the following years. What Willingham and Donatell will have to do is start winning, and keep winning. When they do, they will have to get in line behind a couple of other guys with really great success records as Huskies—Don James and Jim Lambright.

For the record, Don James won a national title, went to 6 Rose Bowls (4-2 mark), won an Orange Bowl title and went to 15 bowl games (10-5 record) in 18 years.

Oh yeah, James was 153-57-2 (72%), including a then-record 99 wins in Pac-10 conference play, and Washington won 22 consecutive games from 1990 to 1992.

Read my other articles on football, including "Famous Quotes by Vince Lombardi, Knute Rockne and Lou Holtz During Football's Annual Bowl Season", "How to Predict When Teams Are Overrated and Due for an Unexpected Loss", "The Sagarin Ratings: What They Are, How to Read Them and What to Do With Them" and my 14 consecutive weekly wrap-up articles on the 2007 College Football Season as well as wrap-up articles on all 32 College Bowl Games.'

My articles can be published with no charge by newsletters, newspapers and magazines through EzineArticles.com, the largest articles directory on the Internet with 80,000+ authors and 972,000+ articles.

Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
Discover 145 Movie Reviews, 112 Sports Articles, 61 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Jobs and Careers Articles, 26 Internet Marketing Articles, 44 News and Comment Articles (406 total articles) plus 685 Famous Quotes.

College Football Recruiting: Look Out SEC - Alabama Rates No. 1 as Nick Saban Prepares to Go to War

2008-02-08T23:06:00.002-08:00

Ed's Sports Corner:

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

If you think football in the Southeastern Conference is just a game that generates a ton of money for the schools and the NCAA that regulates it in a highly publicized environment, you do not understand what success is about in the SEC.

SEC games are not battles between teams, they are outright warfare with a fight to the last man standing won by heavy artillery (talent). That is why Wednesday's (2-6-08) first day of signing letters of intent by high school seniors was so significant. According to several analysts, Nick Saban and Alabama ranked No. 1 with the nation's best class of talent.

Among Rivals.com Top 50 prospects, Alabama picked up No. 4 Julio Jones, a 6-foot-4, 215-pound wide receiver from Foley (AL); No. 28 B. J. Scott, a 6-foot, 195-pound wide receiver-super athlete from Vigor (AL); No. 30 Tyler Love, a 6-foot-7, 290-pound offensive lineman from Mountain Brook (AL); No. 34 Jerrell Harris, a 6-foot-3, 215-pound linebacker from Gadsden (AL); and No. 35 Alonzo Lawrence, a 6-foot-1, 190 pound defensive back from George County (MS).

Add to that distinguished list No. 55 Mark Barron, a 6-foot-2, 202-pound athlete from Mobile (AL) and No. 60 Barrett Jones, a 6-foot-5, 271-pound offensive lineman from Memphis (TN), and no school in America had 7 of the Top 60 Rival.com prospects except Alabama.

Southern Cal had 6 in the Top 60, Ohio State had 5 and Notre Dame had 5. Notre Dame's recuiting class was rated No. 2 by Rivals.com, Ohio State's No. 8 and Southern California's No. 10.

Nick Saban, the highest paid college coach at about $4 million a year, earned his pay. Saban was able to sign 7 of the top 11 prospects in Alabama. Auburn did not have a single recruit among Rivals.com Top 100 prospects; the Tigers came up sucking pond water.

Look for Saban and the Crimson Tide to start a concerted march to a higher place as a current Division 1A powerhouse and national title contender. Should the Top 60 picks stay injury free and reach their potential on the college turf, they will most certainly be playing in the NFL on Sundays.

If you are not stoked about Alabama football you need to live in another state.

Three other schools catch my personal attention because I have ties to Washington, Arizona State and Michigan State.

Ty Willingham's Washington Huskies had the highest Rivals.com pick among these 3 teams with No. 57 Kavario Middleton, a 6-foot-6, 250-pound tight end from Lakewood (WA). Middleton was joined by his teammate, Jermaine Kearse, a 6-foot-2, 175 pound wide receiver.

Washington also signed Everrette Thompson, a 6-foot-6, 255-pound defensive end from Burien (WA); Alameda Ta'amu, a 6-foot-4, 330-pound (yes, 330 pounds!) offensive guard from Seattle; Allen Carroll, a 6-foot-3, 290-pound offensive guard from Oakland (CA); Chris Polk, a 5-foot-11, 195-pound running back with 4.5 speed from Redlands (CA); and Jordan Polk, 5-foot-10, 170-pound wide receiver with 4.46 speed from Portland (OR).

Washington's catch is being called the best recruiting class since Reggie Williams and Charles Frederick in 2001.

The Huskies also picked up some speed with linebacker Kurt Mangum (4.59), cornerbacks Adam Long (4.45), Anthony Gobern (4.4) and Justin Glenn (4.5), safety Johri Fogerson (4.55), and running backs Demitrius Bronson (4.5) and David Freeman (4.4). Let me be the first to dub Kurt Magnum as Magnum P.I. (Personal Intimidator) and Demitrius Bronson as Death Wish Bronson.

All of this comes as a surprise as Ty Willingham, unlike Nick Saban, does not have a rep as a recruiter. The fact that redstart freshman quarterback Jake Locker started last year and impressed almost everyone with his agility, speed and savvy probably did not hurt a lick.

Scout.com rated Washington's recruiting class as the 14th best among the NCAA's 119 Division 1A schools. Look for the Huskies to finally win more games than they lose next year. If they do not, Willingham may be looking for another job.

Scout.com rated Dennis Erickson and his Arizona State Sun Devils class as the 17th best nationally. Among Erickson's top prospects was Jack Elway, none other than the son of NFL Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway.

Jack Elway has his father's arm but apparently not his speed. Nonetheless, he comes from an excellent gene pool. In addition to his dad, his mother Janet was an outstanding college athlete as a swimmer for Stanford University.

Here are two facts you may not know about John Elway. 1) He may have played football at Stanford University but he was born and raised in Port Angeles (WA). 2) He had 47 career game-winning or game-tying drives in the 4th quarter, an NFL record.

Mark Dantonio and his Michigan State Spartans (my alma mater, Class of 1966) did not fare as well as Washington or Arizona State. Other than any local coverage in Michigan and a little among Big Ten teams, the Spartans received zero national attention.

That tells me they ended up with the short end of stick, and that is indeed bad news.
Dantonio knows that Jim Tressel and his Ohio State Buckeyes are only going to get better; Dantonio was the defensive coordinator for Ohio State's undefeated (14-0) national championship team in 2002. Tressel also won 4 Division 1AA national championships at Youngstown State, and his won-loss record as head coach at Ohio State is a stunning 83% (73-15).

If Ohio State is not enough competition for Michigan State, Michigan will cause the Spartans headaches as well since Rich Rodriguez left West Virginia to coach the Wolverines next year.

Michigan has won more games than any other team in college football history, and now along comes Rodriguez, who spent 7 seasons at West Virginia compiling a 60-26 record (69%) with 4 Big East titles.

Rodriguez, 1 of only 2 Hispanic head coaches in Division IA football, went 32-5 (86%) his last 3 years at West Virginia. Rodriguez is great for Michigan; for Michigan State he is two legs and bad news. The Spartans may get the snot kicked out of them by Michigan for the next 5 years.

I am praying that Dantonio can find a couple of nuggets among the scrap heap of players that are left over after all of the good programs have used up their scholarship allotments. The Spartans need talent and speed immediately, they do not have nearly enough at the moment.

The justified enthusiasm among Crimson Tide fans at Alabama does need to be tempered by the knowledge that recruiting is not an exact science. While we know that the sun will come up tomorrow, we do not know how these recruits will play out.

What we do know is that coaching can make average players better; Rich Rodriguez is an example. His recent West Virginia recruiting classes were rated mid-30s to mid-50s yet he led the Mountaineers to 2 BCS bowl wins in the last 3 seasons, and he came within 1 win of playing for last year's national title.

We also know that a position player like a quarterback, who touches the ball on every play, can make a team much better. An example this year was Todd Reesing of Kansas who led the Jayhawks to a 12-1 record and an Orange Bowl victory. Reesing was rated a 2-star to 3-star player by the rating services (5 stars is best) yet he became a 5-star player when given the opportunity to do so.

Since many of these kids will become redshirts (meaning they will not play their freshman year) and become redshirt freshman (like Jake Locker of Washington) when they start playing their sophomore year. It may take all of 5 years to determine who among the many players just signed will become tomorrow's stars and NFL draftees.

In the meantime, I will be praying for Mark Dantonio and my Michigan State Spartans. I view myself as an important intercessor as the Spartans have continued to disappoint in recent years. Wherever they have been I do not want to go.

Read my other articles on football, including "Famous Quotes by Vince Lombardi, Knute Rockne and Lou Holtz During Football's Annual Bowl Season", "How to Predict When Teams Are Overrated and Due for an Unexpected Loss", "The Sagarin Ratings: What They Are, How to Read Them and What to Do With Them" and my 14 consecutive weekly wrap-up articles on the 2007 College Football Season as well as wrap-up articles on all 32 College Bowl Games.

My articles can be published with no charge by newsletters, newspapers and magazines through EzineArticles.com, the largest articles directory on the Internet with 80,000+ authors and 900,000+ articles.

Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
Discover 140 Movie Reviews, 105 Sports Articles, 61 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Jobs and Careers Articles, 26 Internet Marketing Articles, 44 News and Comment Articles (394 total articles) plus 656 Famous Quotes.

College Basketball - Love Him or Hate Him, Bobby Knight Was as Much an Educator as a Coach

2008-02-06T23:05:00.000-08:00

Ed's Sports Corner:

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

Count me among those who were saddened by the news that Bobby Knight had stepped down as head coach of the Texas Tech Red Raiders Monday (2-4-08).

It is unusual if not unheard of for a major college basketball coach to quit during the middle of the season, but perhaps such an occurrence was business as usual for Bobby Knight.

It is doubtful that any major college coach in America was as passionate, as demonstrative and as committed as Bobby Knight was to basketball and his players.

Many pundits would not agree with me when I say that Knight was more interested in doing things right than in winning games, but let me make the case for the Bobby Knight haters.

While no coach in his right mind likes to lose a game, I believe that Knight was at least as interested in how his "kids" played as he was in whether they won or not. If his players applied what they learned from him, played their hearts out, left everything on the court and lost, I think Knight would have been better able to tolerate a loss.

Knight was no stranger to winning. When you win 902 games in a 42-year coaching career, you have little competition. Dean Smith of North Carolina has 879 victories to his credit, Adolph Rupp of Kentucky has 876 and Jim Phelan (Jim who?) of Mount St. Mary's in Maryland has 830. Smith is 76 and retired, Phelan is 78 and retired, and Rupp died 20 years ago.

The next most wins—800—belong to the new first active coach on the list, Eddie Sutton, the 71-year-old coach of San Francisco.

Knight had 102 wins in 6 seasons at Army, where he became coach at 24. He had 662 victories and 3 national championships in 29 seasons at Indiana. He had 138 victories in 7 seasons at Texas Tech. He coached the USA to Olympic team to gold in 1984 at Los Angeles.

It is possible that thousands of basketball followers will now seize the opportunity to torch Bobby Knight for his well-known outbursts over the years. There must be enough licensed Bobby Knight haters to fill the largest Super Bowl venue. I am not one of them.

Knight's son Pat, an assistant on his Texas Tech staff, has replaced him. Pat Knight was named the Red Raiders coach-designate in 2005.

Indiana University kicked Bobby Knight out for "a pattern of unacceptable behavior", but only after his Knight-trained players had won 3 national titles for Indiana and the 1975-1976 club went 32-0, the last Division 1 men's team to finish undefeated (something even the New England Patriots could not accomplish this year).

Bobby Knight's "antics" are well documented for those who want to revel in his shortcomings as a public relations agent.

Less well documented is the fact that in 42 years of coaching he never got into trouble by breaking any NCAA rules and regulations, and trust me when I say that the NCAA rule book rivals the Internal Revenue Service code for picky, annoying crap.

Less well documented is the fact that Bobby Knight's players always had a high graduation rate; Knight made them toe the mark. Show-offs and prima donnas had no place on Knight's teams. Knight was all about playing the game right and teamwork.

Less well documented is the fact that Bobby Knight gave his salary back a few years after he arrived at Texas Tech because he did not think he had earned it.

Some pundits and fans have already said that Bobby Knight was a great coach and a poor role model, and offer John Wooden of UCLA as a great example of a great coach and a great role model. Do I think Wooden was a better role model than Knight? Yes I do.

Wooden's success at Pauley Pavilion has made him the gold standard among America's most successful coaches in basketball and really any sport. Wooden's teams won 10 national championships—7 in-a-row from 1967 through 1973—and from 1971 to 1973 won an unprecedented 88 consecutive games, a record many sports pundits consider unbeakable.

John Wooden is the real deal, and he is also a very big deal. So let's weight in on what he had to say when hearing about Bobby Knight's surprise resignation Monday:

"I guess you can never be surprised at some of the things Bob does," said Wooden. "I don't think there's ever been a better teacher of the game of basketball than Bob. I don't always approve of his methods, but his players for the most part are very loyal to him. I would say that no player that ever played for him would not say he did not come out a stronger person."

Another of the nation's most respected coaches, Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, who played for Bobby Knight at Army, said this about Knight's departure:

"Outside of my immediate family, no single person has had a greater impact on my life than Coach Knight. I have the ultimate respect for him as a coach and a mentor, but even more so as a dear friend. For more than 40 years, the life lessons I have learned from Coach are immeasurable. Simply put, I love him."

Bobby Knight not only won more games than any other coach in history, he also made his players better people and better able to cope with the challenges of life when they left the university with their degree in hand.

So why am I saddened? Because Bobby Knight he will be more vilified than honored for what he did accomplish both on and off the court.

I say let him who has won 900+ games and never been in violation of the NCAA rules cast the first stones. The rest might consider the side of Bobby Knight that failed to get really positive coverage because his few failings were so dramatic and so public.

Bobby Knight is the kind of person people either like or dislike. I like Bobby Knight and respect him.

I believe his chief failing in some people's eyes is that he likely would have called a butt end by name, whether it was a critical university president, the meddling parent of a player, a disrespectful student or an unhappy janitor. I would do the same; I just would not do it as publicly, and I have not won a single game as a coach.

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".

My articles can be published with no charge by newsletters, newspapers and magazines through EzineArticles.com, the largest articles directory on the Internet with 80,000+ authors and 900,000+ articles.

Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
Discover 140 Movie Reviews, 105 Sports Articles, 61 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Jobs and Careers Articles, 26 Internet Marketing Articles, 44 News and Comment Articles (394 total articles) plus 656 Famous Quotes.

About Super Bowl 42 - Here's a Different Slant on the Giants' Upset Win to Become Wrold Champs

2008-02-06T00:02:00.001-08:00

Ed's Sports Corner:

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

There is a reason why the winner of the Super Bowl earns the Vince Lombardi Trophy as a symbol of excellence in the football world. Lombardi encouraged his Green Bay Packer players to pursue perfection so they might catch excellence.

As it turns out, Lombardi and his players caught a lot more than 5 National Football League titles and the first 2 Super Bowl titles. They developed a bond among themselves that lasted a lifetime for those who have passed on, and still survives for those who continue the memory of Lombardi's great leadership and their great work ethic.

Perhaps some years from now the New York Giants will experience that same kind of bond that comes with such a great triumph as their conquest of the New England Patriots and the NFL world this year.

There is no way the Giants could have lived and played through the last 5 weeks of their season without becoming "one" with a purpose bigger than the odds they faced.

New York started by traveling to Tampa Bay and defeating the NFL's second-ranked defense on the Buccaneers home turf. Then the Giants traveled to Dallas to upset the Cowboys on their home field, becoming the first team to defeat a No. 1 seed in the NFL playoffs.

New York then played through a wind chill factor of 23 degrees in Green Bay to turn back the Packers and win the National Football Conference championship, earning the right to play the Patriots in Super Bowl 42. After upsetting New England 17-14 they walked away with the Lombardi Trophy and became the first NFC wild-card team to do so.

Perhaps Vince Lombardi said it best: "If it doesn't matter who wins or loses, then why do they keep score?" Lombardi was a winner and now the Giants are too.

New England, which won Super Bowl 36, Super Bowl 38 and Super Bowl 39, will now be remembered as the team that was the first to go 18-0 and then lose in Super Bowl 42 to the Giants. Coach Bill Belichick's jaws were so wired after the defeat he barely uttered 10 words.

The 1972 Miami Dolphins remain the only undefeated NFL team in its 88-year history with their 17-0 record and Super Bowl 7 victory over the Washington Redskins, 14-7.

Embedded in the hard-drive of my mind 40 years from now (assuming I live to be 103) will be two memories:

1) Eli Manning, seemingly surrounded by Patriot rushers, breaking away like a magician from the grasp of an arm not strong enough to rip off his jersey, coming clear in desperation to heave an arcing pass down the field and a heretofore nobody named David Tyree leaping upward over rivals to catch the ball over his head, falling backward, and hanging on even though he was viciously hit in his arm on the way down by Patriot safety Rodney Harrison in an attempt to knock the ball free.

Tyree's 32-yard catch against all odds on 3rd-and-15 with 1:15 left on New York's game-winning drive has to be one of the greatest catches in the history of championship football at any level. Incredible is a weak description of just how good his catch and hold was. He will likely never have such a great moment if he plays another 15 years in the NFL.

Almost forgotten in all of this is just how close Manning was to being sacked and the Patriots going on to preserve their then 4-point lead and possible victory.

New England's great run to an 18-0 mark now becomes a lot less with their Super Bowl loss to the Giants. It is too bad for the Patriots; the Giants could not be happier.

2) Manning's 13-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Plaxico Burress in the corner of the end zone with 35 seconds left happened because 6-foot-5, 232-pound Plaxico Burress was left isolated one-on-one with 5-foot-9, 195-pound cornerback Ellis Hobbs. Hobbs was at least 2 steps behind Burress and in no position to even contest for the ball, which would probably have been useless anyway with Plaxico's tremendous leaping ability, kind of like 5-foot-9 me going one-on-one against Michael Jordan.

Do not blame Hobbs for the loss. Patriot quarterback Tom Brady, who had the snot beat out of him from taking hits all afternoon by the Giants' much faster defensive rushers, did his usual come-from-behind last minute drive to give New England back the lead, 14-10.

Even linebacker Teddy Bruschi, the heart of the Pats defense, had embraced fellow backer Junior Seau on the sideline after the Pats went ahead and prior to the fateful drive, acknowledging that Seau was about to earn his first, long-awaited Super Bowl ring. Somebody forgot to stop Eli Manning and the Giants during the last 2 minutes of the game.

Burress, who had predicted a Giant victory amid the laughs and derisive remarks of almost everyone, caught the winning TD pass. He is a Michigan State University product just like myself. I could not be happier for Plaxico. It pains me to acknowledge that Plaxico was born 11 years AFTER I graduated from MSU.

Last fall I made up my mind to cover college football in my blog and did not even attempt to cover or comment on the NFL. It has now proved to be an excellent decision. I cannot imagine following the New England Patriots all year, fawning over their perfect record run, and being so let down in the Super Bowl.

All hail to the Giants, well, at least until the first NFL kickoff next season, then it will be go Seattle Seahawks for me. What was the name of that almost perfect team? I seem to have forgotten already.

Read my other articles on football, including "Famous Quotes by Vince Lombardi During Football's Annual Bowl Season", "Famous Quotes by Knute Rockne During Football's Annual Bowl Season", "Famous Quotes by Lou Holtz During Football's Annual Bowl Season", "How to Predict When Teams Are Overrated and Due for an Unexpected Loss", "The Sagarin Ratings: What They Are, How to Read Them and What to Do With Them" and my 14 consecutive weekly wrap-up articles on the 2007 College Football Season as well as wrap-up articles on all 32 College Bowl Games.

My articles can be published with no charge by newsletters, newspapers and magazines through EzineArticles.com, the largest articles directory on the Internet with 80,000+ authors and 900,000+ articles.

Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
Discover 140 Movie Reviews, 105 Sports Articles, 61 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Jobs and Careers Articles, 26 Internet Marketing Articles, 44 News and Comment Articles (394 total articles) plus 656 Famous Quotes.

College Basketball - Sagarin Ratings Provide Statistics to Identify Overrated Top 25 Teams

2008-01-20T18:04:00.000-08:00

Ed's Sports Corner:

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

The most recent weekly college basketball AP Top 25 Poll (1-18-08) and the most recent Sagarin Ratings (1-17-08) provide some clues about which teams are likely overrated.

Sagarin's Ratings give you a bird's-eye view of identifying teams that have played a bunch of weak sisters to build up an impressive, early season won-loss record and now must face the music of playing in league competition.

You can learn a lot by noting the strength of schedule for top-rated teams. My method is to divide the 341 total Division 1 teams in 5 categories (literally, 340 divided by 5 equals 68). This creates a Top 20% (1-68), 2nd Tier (69-136), 3rd Tier (137-204), 4th Tier (205 to 272) and the Bottom 20% (273-340).

The Top 20% is top-flight competition. I think of the next 3 tiers as 2nd string, 3rd string and 4th string competition. The 20% at the bottom I consider bottom dwellers who feed on the crumbs that fall off of the tiers above.

Here are 4 teams in the AP Top 25 Poll that are probably overrated and will prove it in the near future: No. 25 Villanova, No. 16 Vanderbilt, No. 10 Texas A&M and No. 21 Miami (FL). These 4 are given a much higher ranking in the AP Poll than by Sagarin is his ratings.

The most exaggerated example is No. 25-ranked Villanova that is rated 57th by Sagarin. Villanova sports an impressive 12-3 record but its strength of schedule (SOS) is 240. In other words, Villanova earned its record playing 4th-tier (or 4th-string) competition.

Vanderbilt is ranked 16th by the AP and rated 36th by Sagarin. Vandy has a 12-3 record but its SOS is 164 because of playing 3rd-tier (3rd-string) competition.

Texas A&M is ranked 10th by the AP and rated 24th by Sagarin. A&M has a 14-2 mark but its SOS is 290 because of playing among the bottom 20% of competition. Texas A&M, true to my prediction, just got upset by none other than Bob Knight and his Texas Tech Red Raiders, 68-53. The victory was Knight's 900th. Knight is No. 1 on the NCAA Division 1 career wins list.

Texas Tech is rated 80th by Sagarin with a 9-6 record but its SOS is 104 because of playing 2nd-tier (2nd-string) competition. The Red Raiders clearly played much better competition before meeting the Texas A&M Aggies and it showed.

Miami (FL) is ranked 21st by the AP and rated 33rd by Sagarin. Miami has a 13-2 mark but its SOS is 281 because of playing among the bottom 20% of competition. You get the picture.

Here is another outstanding example from the Pac-10 Conference. Oregon is not ranked in the AP Top 25 but is rated 31st by Sagarin with a 12-5 record and its SOS is 24 because of playing top-flight competition.

Washington is not ranked in the Top 25 but is rated 65th by Sagarin with a 10-7 record and its SOS is 50 because of playing top-flight competition. Washington just beat Oregon 78-70 at home. Notice that both teams are rated among the Top 20% of teams and are used to playing top-flight competition.

Here is what will not work 99% of the time. North Carolina A&T is rated 268th by Sagarin with a 2-9 record and an eye-popping SOS of 2. They have played the 2nd toughest schedule in the country so far this season, but will not be upsetting anyone soon because they are rated too low to begin with, only 5 spots from being in the bottom 20% nationally.

Editor's Note: Read my articles on "The Sagarin Ratings: What They Are, How to Read Them and What to Do With Them", "How to Predict When Teams Are Overrated and Due for an Unexpected Loss", my 14 consecutive weekly wrap-up articles on the 2007 College Football Season, and my 32-game bowl season wrap-up series. The bowl wrap-up is strictly for hard core football junkies; it goes on for 17 pages.

My articles can be published with no charge by newsletters, newspapers and magazines through EzineArticles.com, the largest articles directory on the Internet with 73,000+ authors and 900,000+ articles.

Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
Discover 140 Movie Reviews, 105 Sports Articles, 61 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Jobs and Careers Articles, 26 Internet Marketing Articles, 44 News and Comment Articles (394 total articles) plus 656 Famous Quotes.

College Football 2007 - A Football Junkies Paradise - The Final Sagarin NCAA Football Ratings

2008-01-20T17:57:00.000-08:00

Ed's Sports Corner:

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

There are some huge differences between the final AP Top 25 College Football Poll, and the Final Sagarin College Football Ratings.

For openers, here is the AP Top 25 Poll as voted by the nation's sportswriters and sports broadcasters: 1 Louisiana State, 2 Georgia, 3 Southern California, 4 Missouri, 5 Ohio State, 6 West Virginia, 7 Kansas, 8 Oklahoma, 9 Virginia Tech, 10 Boston College and Texas (tie), 12 Tennessee, 13 Florida, 14 Brigham Young, 15 Auburn, 16 Arizona State, 17 Cincinnati, 18 Michigan, 19 Hawaii, 20 Illinois, 21 Clemson, 22 Texas Tech, 23 Oregon, 24 Wisconsin, and 25 Oregon State.

Here is the Sagarin Ratings: 1 Louisiana State, 2 Kansas, 3 West Virginia, 4 Southern California, 5 Oklahoma, 6 Missouri, 7 Georgia, 8 Oregon, 9 Virginia Tech, 10 Florida, 11 Ohio State, 12 Texas, 13 Auburn, 14 Arizona State, 15 Tennessee, 16 Oregon State, 17 Brigham Young, 18 Kentucky, 19 Cincinnati, 20 South Florida, 21 Michigan, 22 Clemson, 23 Boston College, 24 Texas Tech, and 25 Arkansas.

Comparing the Sagarin Ratings to the AP Poll, notice these differences:

1) Sagarin rates Kansas much higher (2nd rather than 7th), Oregon much higher (8th rather than 23rd), and Oregon State much higher (16th rather than 23rd).

2) Sagarin rates Georgia much lower (7th rather than 2nd), Ohio State much lower (11th rather than 5th) and Boston College much lower (23rd rather than 10th).

3) Sagarin has 3 teams in the top 25 that the AP Poll does not—Kentucky at 18, South Florida at 20 and Arkansas at 25. The AP Poll replaces these teams with Hawaii at 19, Illinois at 20 and Wisconsin at 24.

Which poll is more accurate? Well, the AP Poll is based on one's opinion of a team, its record and the strength of its opponent. Sagarin is based on a mathematical formula involving statistics compiled by an MIT grad (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). You decide.

By studying the Sagarin ratings, here are some facts I have uncovered that could impress your friends, and win you some bets (or drinks) at your favorite pub:

1) The team that played the toughest schedule this year was UCLA. The next 4 in order were Washington, Florida, Nebraska and Oregon.

2) The lowest rated 1A team with only 1 loss was Hawaii (12-1) at No. 35 among 119 1A teams.

3) The highest rated 1AA team with only 1 loss was Northern Iowa (12-1) at No. 62 among 242 1A and 1AA teams.

4) The highest rated 1AA team was Appalachian State (13-2) at No. 44.

5) The lowest rated 1AA team with at least 11 wins was Dayton (11-1) at No. 134.

6) The highest rated team that was winless this year was 1A Southern Utah (0-11) at No. 204.

7) The lowest rated team among all 242 1A and 1AA teams? That would be1AA La Salle (0-10) at No. 242. The lowest BCS Standing of No. 242 also belonged to La Salle, which just missed a "hat trick" by playing the 241st weakest schedule.

8) Playing the weakest schedule this year and in last place at 242 was 1AA Wagner (7-4), rated at No. 222.

Editor's Note: Read my articles on "The Sagarin Ratings: What They Are, How to Read Them and What to Do With Them", "How to Predict When Teams Are Overrated and Due for an Unexpected Loss", my 14 consecutive weekly wrap-up articles on the 2007 College Football Season, and my 32-game bowl season wrap-up series. The bowl wrap-up is strictly for hard core football junkies; it goes on for 17 pages.

My articles can be published with no charge by newsletters, newspapers and magazines through EzineArticles.com, the largest articles directory on the Internet with 73,000+ authors and 900,000+ articles.

Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
Discover 140 Movie Reviews, 105 Sports Articles, 61 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Jobs and Careers Articles, 26 Internet Marketing Articles, 44 News and Comment Articles (394 total articles) plus 656 Famous Quotes.

2008 College Basketball - We Love Our Dawgs With Bite, Not Our Dogs With Bark

2008-01-16T12:40:00.000-08:00

Ed's Sports Corner:

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

The University of Washington basketball season is well underway as Pac-10 league play has started and it appears that the Huskies are in for a very long season.

Two months ago in mid-November head coach Lorenzo Romar said, "We're still trying to get our defense right.

"We're not as far along as I thought defensively . . . Some are trying to sort it out. We did play four freshman," he continued, referring to an earned victory that led to Washington's NIT Season Tip-off action at Madison Square Garden in New York City, where the Huskies promptly lost by 14 points to Texas A&M and by 6 points to Syracuse.

Two months later in mid-January, Sagarin's latest ratings today (Tuesday, 1-15-08) have Texas A&M at 14-1 and rated No. 16, and Syracuse at 12-5 and rated No. 51. Washington is 9-7 (scary close to .500) and rated No. 72.

All 9 of Washington's victories have come against average to bad teams (average includes Washington). These include such powerhouses as New Jersey Tech (rated No. 340 among 341 NCAA Division 1A teams), Utah (#52), Eastern Washington (#263), Long Beach State (#279), Portland (#228), Portland State (#140), Cal State Northridge (#56), LSU (#153) and Idaho State (#294). In other words, the Huskies do not yet have a quality win.

In mid-December Lo-Ro (Lorenzo Romar) was at it again, reminding his hotshot freshman that defense would get them onto the floor faster than fancy offensive moves. It is rarer than 3 feet of snow in Seattle to see a kid coming out of high school who even knows what defense is, much less playing it.

They never played defense in high school and got an athletic scholarship with dunks and press clippings, so they must figure it is not important to winning at a higher level. This, of course, is why every good team and every championship team plays no defense whatsoever. Let us hope that if they cannot understand defense, they can at least understand sarcasm.

It seems that every high school kid who gets a shot at NCAA basketball today dreams of being the next Michael Jordan or LeBron James. Jordan and James are exceptional competitors who will not to be duplicated anytime soon. Even the most talented of these young Husky players could not begin to match the work ethic of Michael Jordan, who became an intense student of the game.

One could argue that 4 of Washington's 7 losses have been quality losses. You might point out that UCLA is now 15-1 and rated No. 5, Washington State is 14-1 and No. 7, Pittsburgh is 14-2 and No. 9, and Texas A&M is 14-1 and No. 16. I do not consider Southern Cal a quality loss as the Trojans are 10-6 and No. 41.

The Huskies have improved a little on defense, but still all but collapse late in the game when it matters most.

So what does it all mean? Just this: The Washington Huskies are likely to lose more games than they win in their remaining Pac-10 play, which would put them below .500 with no invitation to the NCAA or NIT playoffs.

This is not about Lo-Ro, who went 10-17 his first year and then improved to 19-12 in 2004 and a spot in the NCAA tournament. His 2005 team went 29-6, won the Great Alaskan Shootout, won the Pac-10 Tournament and made it the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament.

His 2006 team went 26-7, won the BCA Classic, and returned to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament. Last year the Huskies went 19-13 and assumed they would at least get invited to the NCAA or NIT Tournament. They made a bad assumption.

Lo-Ro is the right guy in the right place at the right time. Those who think he should play freshmen who can't play defense are dead wrong.

A pretty successful guy in another sport—Knute Rockne at Notre Dame—was asked why he was not playing his 11 best players. He responded by saying, "The secret is to work less as individuals and more as a team. As a coach I play not my 11 best, but my best 11."

In effect, Rockne was saying his 11 most talented players were not on the field; he chose to play the 11 players who worked best together as a team. In basketball, that includes defense as well as offense.

Washington is fortunate to have a workhorse in the paint like Jon Brockman and a pure shooter like Ryan Appleby, but that is not nearly enough to win at the level that will lead the Huskies into postseason play.

There are 10 other guys on the Husky team that need to step up and experience some serious personal growth (deciding to become a leader and a champion) as well as professional growth (learning to play team defense as well as increasing their offensive effectiveness).

It takes no talent to lose. It takes a lot of talent to win consistently. If you think you are talented and God's gift to basketball and are still losing, you need to shut up and work 5 times harder. We will figure out who you are when you win.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said it best, "This time, like all times, is a very good one, when we know what to do with it."

Editor's Note: Read my movie review on "Coach Was Color-Blind, He Only Wanted to Know If You Could Play Basketball", "Coach Carter Sends an Outstanding Message About a Coach with Integrity, Honor and Goodness" and my 4 basketball articles on the 2007 NCAA Basketball Tournament detailing Florida's National Championship run.

My articles can be published with no charge by newsletters, newspapers and magazines through EzineArticles.com, the largest articles directory on the Internet with 80,000+ authors and 900,000+ articles.

Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
Discover 140 Movie Reviews, 105 Sports Articles, 61 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Jobs and Careers Articles, 26 Internet Marketing Articles, 44 News and Comment Articles (394 total articles) plus 656 Famous Quotes.

2007 NFL Playoffs - Seattle Seahawks Croak as Packers Kick Them Silly in the Snowflakes, 42-20

2008-01-15T18:36:00.000-08:00

Ed's Sports Corner:

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

Mike Holmgren's Seattle Seahawks did absolutely nothing to disturb the greatness of the NFL's most historic venue at Lambeau Field Saturday (1-12-08) in Green Bay, Wisconsin, home of the advancing Green Bay Packers.

Packer Quarterback Brett Favre (pronounced Farve) had a 7-2 postseason record at home that is now 8-2. He had a 4-2 record in the playoffs against Seattle that is now 5-2.

Favre is statistically the greatest signal-caller in National Football League history with a record 253 consecutive regular-season starts (second best in history at ANY position), a record 61,665 career passing yards, a record 442 career touchdown passes, and a record 160 career wins, the most by any starting QB.

And, oh yeah, Favre is the only 3-time NFL Most Valuable Player. He won in 1995, in 1996 when Seattle coach Mike Holmgren coached the Packers to the Super Bowl 31 title by beating New England, 35-21, and in 1997 when the Holmgren-led Packers lost Super Bowl 32 to Denver, 31-24.

The Packers record for playoff wins at Lambeau Field was 14-2 before Saturday. Now it is 15-2, thanks to Seattle. In a 2003 survey by ESPN The Magazine, the Packers ranked as the No. 1 franchise among the 121 major sports teams in North America.

The Seahawks also did absolutely nothing Saturday to advance their chances of getting into their second Super Bowl appearance in 3 years. After jumping out to a 14-0 lead by converting two fumbles by first-year running back Ryan Grant into touchdowns during the first 4 minutes of the game, the Seahawks laid down and died a slow death among the falling snowflakes at Lambeau Field.

The (we thought) vaunted Seahawk defense allowed the Packers to get back into the game and dominate it by giving up 6 straight touchdown drives to Green Bay. It was game, set, match, period, end of season.

Oh, the guy that fumbled twice to start the game, he finished with 201 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns. Favre? He was 18-of-23 for 173 yards and 3 touchdowns. Seattle put on a pathetic rushing display with a total of plus 28 yards to 235 for the Packers. Same field, same snow coming down, same slippery turf, same clogged cleats.

Green Bay will now advance to play the New York Giants (21-17 winners over the Dallas Cowboys Sunday) in the NFC Championship Game next Sunday. I hope the Packers dominate the Giants the same way they did the Seahawks.

The Seahawks will be watching television from here on out, wondering why they could not handle the snowflakes in Green Bay. The answer, of course, was Brett Favre in snow-crazed conditions having the time of his life playing football.

In short, the Seahawks defense did nothing but lose, 42-20. They did not fight off blocks. They did not tackle. They did not cover. They did not react. They did not bring their A Game against Green Bay's "hogs" up front who dominated the line and the game. Forget the charity trip. If the 'Hawks did anything at all, why did Green Bay score touchdowns on 6 STRAIGHT possessions?

Mike Holmgren, the Seahawks, the Seattle fans, the owners, the brain trust, the Seattle media and myself did not get what we wanted. I asked for too much. I wanted a game in which no one gets hurt on either side of the ball that comes down to the last play in a classic confrontation between two worthy teams.

Watching this playoff game was painful for me. After suffering through an entire season watching the Washington Husky defense raise ineptitude to an art form, I had to endure the Seahawks' supposedly much improved defense get demolished. This is not how you increase your fan base.

In the meantime, the San Diego Chargers waltzed into the Indianapolis Colts' playground Sunday and walked away with a 28-24 victory against the defending Super Bowl Champions on the road to advance to the AFC championship game against the New England Patriots (31-20 winners over the Jacksonville Jags Saturday).

Do not give me all of this crap about how hard it is to win on the road. Tell it to the San Diego Chargers, who had injuries to their stars, played some scrubs and won anyway. That is called desire. That is called attitude. That is called guts. That is called, "I do not want to win this game, I NEED to win this game."

And now for two disclaimers: 1) Brett Favre has been my favorite NFL player since I was knee-high to a grasshopper. Favre is a gamer. 'Nuff said. 2) I am one of the few Green Bay Packer stockholders who was not totally uphappy when Holmgren moved from coaching Green Bay to coaching Seattle.

I was born and raised in Michigan and distanced myself from my family by following the Green Bay Packers closer than the Detroit Lions. Let me say that the Packers have let me down less over the years than the Lions.

I moved to the Puget Sound Area of Washington 34 years ago and so, of course, I have become a follower of the Seattle Seahawks. The only difference is that I am a fair-weather follower of the Seahawks, as you can tell. I do not apologize for it, I take pride in it. I hate losing. It takes no talent to lose, it takes talent to win. Any no good can lose.

Holmgren has done well in Seattle. He has taken the Seahawks to the playoffs 5 straight seasons, has won 4 consecutive NFC West titles, and has taken them to the Super Bowl in 2005, winning an NFC title along the way.

Seattle needs more and better players, and it is not Mike Holmgren's job to get them. That chore falls on the shoulders of President of Football Operations Tim Ruskell and Seattle Seahawk Owner Paul Allen.

Read my 11 Washington Husky articles including "Meet the Nation's Most Statistically Incredible Team – The University of Washington Huskies", "Anatomy of a Team on the Rise: Washington Will Get Over Freshmanitis and Really Thrive" and "College Football Mayhem: Flagrant Helmet-to-Helmet Shots Need to Stop Before Someone Gets Killed".

My articles can be published with no charge by newsletters, newspapers and magazines through EzineArticles.com, the largest articles directory on the Internet with 73,000+ authors and 900,000+ articles.

Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
Discover 140 Movie Reviews, 105 Sports Articles, 61 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Jobs and Careers Articles, 26 Internet Marketing Articles, 44 News and Comment Articles (394 total articles) plus 656 Famous Quotes.

LSU Rips Ohio State 38-24 to Become First Two-Time BCS Champion - Part 8

2008-01-13T23:11:00.000-08:00

Ed's Sports Corner:

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

BCS National Championship Game – LSU Rips Ohio State 38-24 to Become First Two-Time BCS Champion

It speaks volumes about the state of college football in 2007 when a team gets into the BCS national championship game with two losses. Louisiana State University became the first team to make it with two losses. Ohio State made it with 1 loss.

Should the Tigers have been there? Georgia, Southern Cal, Missouri, West Virginia and Kansas all thought they should have been selected over LSU. Every one of them had it wrong in the end. Any one of them should have replaced Ohio State, not LSU.

The LSU Tigers kicked the snot out of Ohio State for the second year in a row. The Buckeyes started quick and could not even begin to finish what they started. It wasn't even a decent street fight. After going up 10 to zip early on, Ohio State's No. 1-ranked defense gave up 31 straight points to lose 38-24.

Early in the second quarter, LSU blocked an Ohio State field goal attempt before marching for a touchdown, and then intercepted a pass to march for another score.

Last year Ohio State started with a 7-0 lead against Florida before suffering an even more lopsided 41-14 loss. The legacy for Ohio State in its 9 bowl games against Southeast Conference teams is terrible, the Buckeyes have yet to win a single, stinking victory.

Ohio State's loss to LSU made it the 3rd team to lose 2 BCS title games. Oklahoma and Florida State have also lost 2 BCS title games.

It is not that the Jim Tressel-led Buckeyes cannot win a national championship. They beat Miami 31-24 to win the title in 2002. They just cannot seem to get it done against SEC teams, which are 4-0 in BSC title games, making the SEC the ONLY undefeated conference among the 6 major conferences.

To me the game was a huge disappointment in that it was not competitive for a national championship. One snapshot during the game says it all for me. The television crew pans in on a close-up of 3 Ohio State players conferring about their misery.

I look intently at the numerous stars on their helmets and think to myself, geez Louise, between them they must have more than 100 stars on their helmets. These are for individual efforts in logging a 100-yard rushing game, scoring a touchdown, intercepting a pass, recovering a fumble, or whatever. Who really cares? Stars on helmets cannot block and tackle.

I am thinking, "This must be the brain trust for individual glory at Ohio State." Here these guys are big shots with stars all over their helmets getting the snot kicked out of them on national television in the title game. Good grief. Football is a team sport.

Given their sorry performance, I believe Jim Tressel and the Ohio State glory brigade need to give it a rest before even the stars on their helmets get embarrassed. I do not really give a crap how many stars Jim Laurinaitis has on his helmet. As far as I am concerned, LSU knocked them off.

Having spent the entire college football season doing weekly wrap-ups and numerous articles on statistics few want to believe, I would like to note for the record that Ohio State piled up an 11-1 record by playing not a single top 20 team while LSU played 8 game-time top 20 teams and beat 7 of the them, losing only to Kentucky on the road in triple overtime.

Did LSU deserve to be in the national championship game? Absolutely. Are they the real national champions this year? Absolutely. Bring any other argument to the field and settle it there. Ohio State found out who is this year's top team.

Who can say with a straight face that if they played LSU next week, they would put a whipping on them like LSU did on Ohio State?

(Editor's Note: This is the 8th and final article of a series on the 2007 bowl game results.)

Read my other articles on football, including "Famous Quotes by Vince Lombardi During Football's Annual Bowl Season", "Famous Quotes by Knute Rockne During Football's Annual Bowl Season", "Famous Quotes by Lou Holtz During Football's Bowl Season", "How to Predict When Teams Are Overrated and Due for an Unexpected Loss", "The Sagarin Ratings: What They Are, How to Read Them and What to Do With Them" and my 14 consecutive weekly wrap-up articles on the 2007 College Football Season.

Biggest Wins in Next Four 2007 Bowl Games: West Virginia and Kansas Jayhawks - Part 7

2008-01-13T23:06:00.000-08:00

Ed's Sports Corner:

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

Here are the next 4 winners of this year's 2007 college football bowl game results:

BCS Fiesta Bowl – West Virginia Stomps a Mud Hole in Oklahoma, 48-28

Anyone who thought that Southern Cal or Georgia was mean-spirited in their resounding bowl victories did not see West Virginia slap around the Oklahoma Sooners 48-28 in the BCS Fiesta Bowl.

The 11th ranked Mountaineers lost their head coach Rich Rodriguez to Michigan before the Fiesta Bowl, lost their star tailback Steve Slaton to a first-quarter leg injury, had to pull together under interim coach Bill Stewart, and managed to do it all and then some.

Quarterback Pat White ran for 150 yards and threw for another 176 yards and 2 touchdowns. Noel Devine stepped in for Slaton and ran for 108 yards and 2 touchdowns, one for 17 yards and another for 65 yards to clinch the game in the 4th quarter.

Oklahoma's powerful offense, which averaged 43+ points per game, was stuck in neutral against West Virginia's 4th ranked defense. The West Virginia offensive players—White, Devine and Darius Reynaud—seemed to run past Sooners who appeared to be watching them rather than tackling them.

Clearly, some of the bloom has come off of Bob Stoops and his Oklahoma players, who now are a lot less impressive with all of their carping. They were embarrassed last year in the same Fiesta Bowl when Boise State made them look silly with trick plays and a stunning upset. The Sooners need to shut up, regroup and start playing football again.

For a team that was ranked 9th in scoring defense and 8th in rushing defense, the Sooners looked slow when it mattered most. They saw the backs of a lot of jerseys. Give the West Virginia Mountaineers credit; they got it together when it mattered.

It took all of about a day for the West Virginia brain trust to decide that maybe their national search for a new coach should end up in their own locker room as Bill Stewart was named new head coach.

BCS Orange Bowl – Kansas Takes Down the Mighty Virginia Tech Hokies, 24-21

So who was it that said that Kansas was a paper tiger? A 6-6 team last year that had no business in a BCS bowl game. All the Jayhawks did this year was field the 6th best total offense in the nation and the 2nd best scoring offense nationally on their way to a heady 12-1 record after polishing off Virginia Tech 24-21 in the BCS Orange Bowl.

If Kansas coach Mark Mangino was in a crowded subway station in New York City, he would not be the guy complaining and shouting. He would be the guy you would not notice except for his big presence, no where more so than on the sideline when Kansas plays football. People are beginning to learn that Jayhawks can fly, they are not chickens.

So here comes Kansas into their BCS game and how do the Jayhawks win? With their defense. The Jayhawks picked off 3 passes and turned them into 17 points to take down the No. 5-ranked Hokies. It was sweet for Kansas, which won its first BCS game and set a school record with 12 wins. Virginia Tech, which lost its 4th consecutive BCS game, dropped to 11-3.

It was a cold and windy night for both teams and the Hokies stayed in the game, but the Jayhawks jumped out to a 17-0 lead and they finished what they started. They played like their future depended upon it, and because they did, they have a brighter future. It is my understanding that practically every player on the team is returning next year. Like they say in the entertainment business, this could be the start of something big.

International Bowl – Rutgers and Ray Rice Run by Ball State in 52-30 Rout

Ray Rice created some history for an historic school by running for 280 yards and 4 touchdowns in leading Rutgers—which played the first college football game—past Ball State 52-30.

Rutgers, in Toronto, Canada for the International Bowl, marked its second postseason win in the school's 138-year history, and second consecutive win in two years with their 37-10 blowout victory over Kansas State in last year's Texas Bowl.

Rice, whose 25 TDs this season and 2,012 rushing yards are both school records, also became the first Big East player to crack the 2,000-yard season rushing barrier. He is in some pretty good company as former Big East players with an NFL impact include Edgerrin James, Clinton Portis and Willis McGahee, all graduates of Miami (FL). Quarterback Mike Teel helped Rutgers along by going 16-of-25 for 303 yards and 3 TD passes.

Among Rice's runs was a career-long 90-yard TD scamper. Rice, a junior, must now decide to go NFL early or return to Rutgers for a senior season. He must announce his plans for the NFL draft by Jan. 15.

While Rice's performance was great the Ball State rushing defense was not. Ball State was ranked 99th nationally in rushing defense. Ball State is not a real killer in bowl games either, having played in 6 and won none. Such is the state of college football today when 32 bowl games are played involving 64 teams and there are only 119 to pick from. Rutgers finished its season at 8-5 (not THAT big of a deal) and Ball State dropped to 7-6 (at least it was not a losing season).

GMAC Bowl – Tulsa Capitalizes on Stupid Bowling Green Mistakes, 63-7

Give Bowling Green some props for making it to the GMAC Bowl. They did not destroy the vehicle they used to get to the stadium. They managed to get dressed by themselves. But that was about it. When it came time to show up, the Falcons managed to fumble 4 times in the first half and their opponent, Tulsa, quickly scored 4 touchdowns to take a 35-0 halftime lead.

The rest was all downhill for Bowling Green as they lost 63-7 to finish the year at 8-5 (at least it was a winning record, that is more than some bowl losers can say). The result was the most lopsided (56 points) in this year's 32-game bowl schedule. Before the GMAC Bowl, Bowling Green had won its last 4 consecutive bowl outings.

"We were out of it before we were in it," said Bowling Green coach Gregg Brandon.

Tulsa brought 3 things to the GMAC Bowl: the nation's 10th best scoring offense, the nation's 3rd best passing offense and the nation's No. 1 total offense. They showed why the Golden Hurricane can score 63 points in a game.

Quarterback Paul Smith passed for 312 yards and 5 touchdowns while rolling up his 14th consecutive 300-yard passing game, breaking Ty Detmer's record for Brigham Young. En route to the blowout win, Tulsa became the first team in NCAA history to have a 5,000-yard passer, a 1,000-yard rusher and 3 (count 'em) 1,000-yard receivers. Tulsa only racked up 562 yards of offense in the game.

First-year Tulsa coach Todd Graham led the Golden Hurricane to a 10-4 record, the first 10-win season for Tulsa since 1991, 18 years ago.

(Editor's Note: This is the 7th article of a series on the 2007 bowl game results.)

Read my other articles on football, including "Famous Quotes by Vince Lombardi During Football's Annual Bowl Season", "Famous Quotes by Knute Rockne During Football's Annual Bowl Season", "Famous Quotes by Lou Holtz During Football's Bowl Season", "How to Predict When Teams Are Overrated and Due for an Unexpected Loss", "The Sagarin Ratings: What They Are, How to Read Them and What to Do With Them" and my 14 consecutive weekly wrap-up articles on the 2007 College Football Season.

My articles can be published with no charge by newsletters, newspapers and magazines through EzineArticles.com, the largest articles directory on the Internet with 73,000+ authors and 900,000+ articles.

Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
Discover 140 Movie Reviews, 105 Sports Articles, 61 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Jobs and Careers Articles, 26 Internet Marketing Articles, 44 News and Comment Articles (394 total articles) plus 656 Famous Quotes.

Biggest Wins in Next Three 2007 Bowl Games: Michigan, Southern California and Georgia - Part 6

2008-01-11T00:34:00.000-08:00

Ed's Sports Corner:

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

Here are the next 3 winners of this year's 2007 college football bowl game results:

Capital One Bowl – Michigan Outlasts Florida, 41-35, as Lloyd Carr Wins His Last Game

If the Michigan Wolverines had wrapped it up and put it under the tree, outgoing coach Lloyd Carr could not have received a better Christmas gift from his players as they overcame 4 turnovers to turn back No. 9 Florida, 41-35, in the Capital One Bowl.

The longtime, popular Michigan coach announced his retirement after another loss to Ohio State in November. Had he not retired, he would probably have been asked to leave. Michigan hired Rich Rodriguez who bolted from his head coaching job at West Virginia to take over Michigan's storied football program.

The win was huge for Michigan's seniors as they won their first bowl game in 4 tries. Chad Henne threw for 373 yards and 3 touchdowns and Mike Hart pounded out 129 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns.

The Gators kept the game close thanks to Michigan's 4 turnovers and plenty of big plays by sophomore Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow and his speedy teammate Percy Harvin. Tebow was playing with a broken bone in his non-throwing hand and was under constant blitz pressure yet was still 17-of-33 for 154 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also ran for 57 yards and another score.

Harvin picked up 165 yards on 13 carries (12.6 yards per carry), scored once, and also caught 9 passes for another 77 yards and a second touchdown. In the end, it was not enough as Michigan won one for Carr.

The Gators failed to convert a 4th-down play at its 25-yard line and K. C. Lopata's 41-yard field goal put Michigan ahead 41-35 with only 2:21 remaining. Florida got another shot but Tebow threw 4 straight air balls. Both Michigan and Florida finished the season with 9-4 marks.

BCS Rose Bowl – Southern California Crushes Illinois, 49-17, to Make a Statement

Pete Carroll and his Southern Cal players still are thinking BCS national championship game, but the Trojans are going to have to wait another year for that to happen. They might have finished at 11-2, the same as Louisiana State that will play in the title game, but the Trojans lost at the wrong time to the wrong team—Stanford at home.

In a display of frustration and unrest, Southern Cal literally stomped Illinois 49-17 in the BCS Rose Bowl game to make a statement. Freshman tailback Joe "Where Do They Find These Guys?" McKnight ripped through the Illini defense for 170 yards (125 yards rushing and 45 yards receiving). McKnight's output was part of the Trojans' 633 yards of offense.

The output set a Rose Bowl record and the Trojans' 49 points tied the record. The blowout game gave Southern Cal 11 wins for an unprecedented 6th straight year. Illinois Coach Ron Zook still finished the year at 9-4, an unreal turnaround after a 2-19 record in his first two years at Illinois.

Do not be confused here, Illinois was a 13.5 point underdog going in. Remember that it was Illinois which dealt Ohio State its only loss, 28-21, and the Buckeyes will be facing LSU in the national championship game. Hats off to Zook and his players for an incredible year.

BCS Sugar Bowl – Hawaii's Unbeaten Streak Ends as Georgia Wins Easily, 41-10

Georgia's Bulldogs were hopping mad that they were not invited to play in the BCS national championship game, and Hawaii's Warriors were on the receiving end of their displeasure, losing 41-10 as their dream of a perfect season ended in the BCS Sugar Bowl.

Hawaii came into the game at 12-0, the only undefeated team among the NCAA's 119 Division 1A schools. They did it with coach June Jones' run-and-shoot offense that averaged 46+ points a game, the arm of junior quarterback Colt Brennan and some great receivers.

Brennan is the real deal. He has set more NCAA passing records than Carter has liver pills, but nothing seemed to impress Georgia, and especially Marcus Howard, who became the game's MVP as he had 3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and a tipped ball that teammate Dannell Ellerbe intercepted.

The truth is Georgia was simply too big, too fast and too strong for the Islanders this time around.

Howard and his defensive mates lived in Hawaii's backfield as Brennan was sacked 8 times, threw 3 interceptions and lost 2 fumbles, one of which Georgia recovered for a touchdown. Georgia's defensive line pushed Hawaii all over the field; Brennan was lucky to get out of New Orleans alive and well enough to be drafted for Sunday duty in the NFL.

"It was the fastest team I've probably ever seen," said Brennan. To be fair, they would not have been so fast in the Warrior offensive line had played better and given Brennan more protection so Hawaii's offense could be effective.

It was a good but difficult game for Hawaii to swallow, but the Warriors will live to fight another day. They had to know that their 12-0 record was against much weaker competition than every other BCS team faced. They had their way in the Western Athletic Conference, even taking down Boise State, which also lost its bowl game to lowly East Carolina 41-38. Even the Washington Huskies, who had a 21-point lead on Hawaii, could not beat the Warriors as their game ended with Hawaii on top.

The citizens of Hawaii fell in love with their Warriors and well they should have. Hawaii had a signature year. Other teams are now trying to steal June Jones away from Hawaii. It was worth the defeat when you know that Hawaii figures to make a $4 million payout for its appearance in the BCS Sugar Bowl. For a team whose recruiting budget was a paltry $50,000 a year, that is a lot of moola. Hawaii can now afford to recruit talent on the mainland.

June Jones has become an opportunity for some other teams. His run-and-shoot offense has resulted in a 76-41 record (64% win percentage) in 9 seasons, including this year's 12-1 mark and BCS bowl appearance. Jones took over a Hawaii team that was winless in 1998 and went 9-4 in his first season. Translation: You do not need to stay awake nights praying for Hawaii's success; the Warriors and doing just fine, thank you.

(Editor's Note: This is the 6th article of a series on the 2007 bowl game results.)

Read my other articles on football, including "Famous Quotes by Vince Lombardi During Football's Annual Bowl Season", "Famous Quotes by Knute Rockne During Football's Annual Bowl Season", "Famous Quotes by Lou Holtz During Football's Bowl Season", "How to Predict When Teams Are Overrated and Due for an Unexpected Loss", "The Sagarin Ratings: What They Are, How to Read Them and What to Do With Them" and my 14 consecutive weekly wrap-up articles on the 2007 College Football Season.

My articles can be published with no charge by newsletters, newspapers and magazines through EzineArticles.com, the largest articles directory on the Internet with 73,000+ authors and 900,000+ articles.

Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
Discover 140 Movie Reviews, 87 Sports Articles, 57 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Jobs and Careers Articles, 26 Internet Marketing Articles, 44 News and Comment Articles (372 total articles) plus 629 Famous Quotes.

Biggest Winners in Next Four 2007 Bowl Games Were Kodi Burns and Tony Temple - Part 5

2008-01-09T21:58:00.000-08:00

Ed's Sports Corner:

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

Here are the next 4 winners of this year's 2007 college football bowl game results:

Chick-fil-A Bowl – Auburn Tops Clemson 23-20 in Overtime

Freshman quarterback Kodi Burns made the most of his expanded role in Auburn's new spread offense, scoring on a 7-yard run in overtime to give the Auburn Tigers a 23-20 overtime victory over the Clemson Tigers. The game ended at 17 up and Clemson kicking a successful field goal on its first OT drive and taking a 20-17 lead before Burns became an instant hero.

Burns, who shared QB duties with senior starter Brandon Cox, also threw a 22-yard TD pass and led Auburn with 69 yards rushing on 13 carriers (a 5.3 yard average). Guess who's going to be Auburn's starting quarterback next season? The spread offense produced for Auburn as the Tigers gained 423 yards on 90 plays.

If you are wondering, Chick-fil-A is apparently the second largest fast-food chicken restaurant chain in the United States with 1,340 locations in 37 states doing $2+ billion in business a year. Near as I can tell, there is not a single location in the Pacific Northwest.

Outback Bowl – Tennessee Outlasts Wisconsin, 21-17

Phillip Fulmer's Tennessee Volunteers overcame injuries, academic suspensions and the impending departure of two key assistant coaches to beat Wisconsin, 21-17, in the Outback Bowl, giving Tennessee its first 10-win season since 2004.

The Volunteers' quarterback Erik Ainge was 25-of-43 for 365 yards and two touchdowns in his final game to win MVP honors. Tennessee's defense stepped up when it had to, stopping Wisconsin on downs when the Badgers were10 yards from scoring in the last quarter.

Tennessee ended the season at 10-4 and Wisconsin dropped to 9-4.

Fulmer and Tennessee fans were happy enough, but Fulmer will have to find replacements for offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe, who will be Duke's next head coach, and receivers coach Trooper Taylor, who will become co-offensive coordinator at Oklahoma State.

Cotton Bowl – Missouri Routs Arkansas, 38-7, Behind Tony Temple

Tony Temple rushed for 281 yards and 4 touchdowns as Missouri routed Arkansas 38-7 in the Cotton Bowl. Coach Gary Pinkel's crew finished at 12-2 and the Razorbacks dropped to 8-5. Missouri should have won this game and did. Temple's 281 yards and 4 touchdowns were the best performance in the 72-year history of the Cotton Bowl.

Mizzou was ranked No. 1 after beating Kansas in their regular-season finale, but they lost badly to Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game, so badly that the Jayhawks ended up with an at-large berth in the BCS Orange Bowl game against Virginia Tech.

Missouri's Heisman Trophy-finalist quarterback Chase Daniel went 12-for 29 and a season-low 136 yards passing with an interception, but thankfully Tony Temple had a career night on cue.

Temple's final run of the night broke the Cotton Bowl rushing record of 265 yards by Rice's Dicky Maegle in 1954 (now there is a name from the past that I remember!). Maegle had 3 touchdowns in that game as did Texas' Bobby Layne in 1946 and Syracuse's Jim Brown in 1957.

Layne would go on to quarterback the Detroit Lions and Jim Brown would be the unstoppable running back for the Cleveland Browns. Many believe Jim Brown was the greatest running back in the history of football. In 2002 The Sporting News named Brown as the greatest professional football player ever, regardless of position.

Gator Bowl – Texas Tech Rallies to Beat Virginia by a Field Goal, 31-28

Texas Tech, the nation's top passing offense, took its sweet time overcoming a 14-point deficit but hung in there to stun Virginia, 31-28, on a late, 41-yard field goal by senior Alex Trlica with 2 seconds remaining. It was Trlica's third game-winner of his career.

Red Raider quarterback Graham Harrell went 44-of-69 for 407 yards and 3 TDs while setting Gator Bowl records for yards, completions and attempts.

Virginia's tailback Mikell Simpson ran for 170 yards on 20 carries, including a NCAA bowl-record 96-yard TD dash, and caught a touchdown pass, but Virginia could not recover after losing its quarterback Jameel Sewell at the start of the 4th quarter. Both teams finished the year at 9-4.

(Editor's Note: This is the 5th article of a series on the 2007 bowl game results.)

Read my other articles on football, including "Famous Quotes by Vince Lombardi During Football's Annual Bowl Season", "Famous Quotes by Knute Rockne During Football's Annual Bowl Season", "Famous Quotes by Lou Holtz During Football's Bowl Season", "How to Predict When Teams Are Overrated and Due for an Unexpected Loss", "The Sagarin Ratings: What They Are, How to Read Them and What to Do With Them" and my 14 consecutive weekly wrap-up articles on the 2007 College Football Season.

My articles can be published with no charge by newsletters, newspapers and magazines through EzineArticles.com, the largest articles directory on the Internet with 73,000+ authors and 900,000+ articles.

Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
Discover 140 Movie Reviews, 87 Sports Articles, 57 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Jobs and Careers Articles, 26 Internet Marketing Articles, 44 News and Comment Articles (372 total articles) plus 629 Famous Quotes.

Biggest Wins in Next Six 2007 Bowl Games Belong to Alabama and Oregon - Part 4

2008-01-08T22:36:00.000-08:00

Ed's Sports Corner:

Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley

Here are the next 6 winners of this year's 2007 college football bowl game results:

Independence Bowl – Alabama Hangs on to Outlast Colorado, 30-24

First-year coach Nick Saban's Alabama Crimson Tide jumped to a 27-0 lead against Colorado and then let the Buffaloes back into the game before winning, 30-24. John Parker Wilson was 13-of-15 for 185 yards and 3 touchdowns in the early going, and Alabama piled up 285 yards of offense in the first half.

Both teams made enough mistakes to lose, but Colorado was able to make a game of it when the Buffaloes figured out that they could not beat Alabama's linebackers to the corner. Once Colorado spread out the Tide's defense they were able to run the ball.

Alabama started the season at 6-2 before dropping its last 4 games—including a horrific home loss to Louisiana-Monroe—and ending the season at 7-6 to avoid consecutive losing seasons for the first time in 50 years. Colorado dropped to 6-7, a losing season.

Armed Forces Bowl – California Rallies to Overcome Air Force, 42-36

After spotting Air Force a 21-point lead, coach Jeff Tedford let his California Bears loose and they responded with a 42-36 victory over the Falcons in the Armed Forces Bowl. Tedford held 3 of his starters out of the game for disciplinary reasons as Air Force ran up its lead, then he let them play and they responded big time to bring the Bears back.

California was ranked as high as No. 2 this season before losing 6 of its next 7 games. The win gave the Bears their 6th straight winning season as they finished 7-6 while Air Force dropped to 9-4.

Air Force quarterback Shaun Carney, who picked up 108 yards on 15 carries and scored a touchdown, seriously injured his right knee in the second half, probably suffering both an ACL and an MCL. That did not help the Falcons a bit.

Sun Bowl – Oregon and Jonathan Stewart Run Over South Florida, 56-21

Oregon's junior Jonathan Stewart set a Sun Bowl record with a career-high 253 yards rushing, and redshirt freshman quarterback Justin Roper threw 4 touchdown passes as the Ducks crushed the South Florida Bulls, 56-21.

Things really exploded for Oregon in the 3rd quarter as the Ducks extended an 18-14 halftime lead by scoring 4 touchdowns to take control of the game. Roper completed 17-of-30 passes for 180 yards and had no interceptions.

Oregon had lost 3 straight games after losing Heisman Trophy candidate Dennis Dixon to a knee injury that ended his season. With Dixon, the Ducks were in the hunt for the national championship. Both teams ended the year at 9-4. Stewart has not decided if he will return for this senior year, but Oregon has to be excited about its redshirt freshman quarterback Justin Roper.

Humanitarian Bowl – Fresno State Beats Georgia Tech 40-28

Clifton Smith rushed for 152 yards and 2 touchdowns, and Tom Brandstater threw for a score and ran for another as the Fresno State Bulldogs beat Georgia Tech 40-28 in the Humanitarian Bowl.

The bowl victory capped a turnaround year for Fresno State. The Bulldogs were 4-8 last season and watching bowl games rather than playing in one. Coach Pat Hill guided his Bulldogs back from obscurity this season and ended up with a 9-4 record and real hope for next year.

Georgia Tech jumped to 7-0 lead but Fresno State score 27 unanswered points and rolled up 571 total yards, the most allowed by the Yellow Jackets all season. Georgia Tech also led the nation in sacks with 47 but never got a single one against Fresno State.

Music City Bowl – Kentucky Wins 35-28 Over Player-Depleted Florida State

After years of success, Florida State coach Bobby Bowden suffered through a tough day against Kentucky in the Music City Bowl. Florida State suspended 36 players in an academic cheating scandal prior to the bowl game and it showed as Kentucky won 35-28 behind senior quarterback Andre Woodson, who lit up the scoreboard with 4 touchdown passes. Woodson was named Most Valuable Player.

The loss was the first ever December bowl loss for Bowden, dropping his December bowl record to 7-1-1. Bowden's has taken his Seminoles to 26 consecutive bowl appearances on the way to 2 national championships and 12 Atlantic Coast Conference titles.

Kentucky ended the year at 8-5 and Florida State dropped to 7-6.

Insight Bowl – Oklahoma State Beats Indiana 49-33

The Oklahoma State Cowboys built a 35-10 halftime lead and never looked back en route to a 49-33 victory over Indiana. The Cowboys' Zac Robinson was 24-of-34 for 302 yards and 2 interceptions but also threw 3 touchdown passes and ran for 2 more.

The loss was bittersweet for Indiana, whose coach Terry Hoeppner died of complications of a brain tumor in June. Current coach Bill Lynch led the Hoosiers to a 7-5 record and bowl appearance only to run smack into Oklahoma State's unstoppable offense.

The Cowboys scored on their first 5 possessions, mounting drives of 67, 53, 54, 57 and 63 yards. The longest of these drives lasted 3:07. Yikes! It had been Hoeppner's goal to lead Indiana to a bowl appearance; in the end, the players and Lynch made it happen. Despite the loss, it was a great year for Indiana football.

If you have been a die-hard Hoosier fan for years, you know what I am talking about. Indiana has been on Ohio State's and Michigan's list of automatic wins for years. Indiana basketball, however, is another story.

(Editor's Note: This is the 4th article of a series on the 2007 bowl game results.)

Read my other articles on football, including "Famous Quotes by Vince Lombardi During Football's Annual Bowl Season", "Famous Quotes by Knute Rockne During Football's Annual Bowl Season", "Famous Quotes by Lou Holtz During Football's Bowl Season", "How to Predict When Teams Are Overrated and Due for an Unexpected Loss", "The Sagarin Ratings: What They Are, How to Read Them and What to Do With Them" and my 14 consecutive weekly wrap-up articles on the 2007 College Football Season.

My articles can be published with no charge by newsletters, newspapers and magazines through EzineArticles.com, the largest articles directory on the Internet with 73,000+ authors and 900,000+ articles.

Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
Discover 140 Movie Reviews, 87 Sports Articles, 57 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Jobs and Careers Articles, 26 Internet Marketing Articles, 44 News and Comment Articles (372 total articles) plus 629 Famous Quotes.

Biggest Wins in Next Six 2007 Bowl Games: Boston College and Wake Forest - Part 3

2008-01-07T22:49:00.000-08:00

Ed's Sports Corner:

Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley

Here are the next 6 winners of this year's 2007 college football bowl game results:

Champs Sports Bowl – Boston College Beats Michigan State by a Field Goal, 24-21, to Win Its 8th Consecutive Bowl Victory

Senior quarterback Matt Ryan went 22-of-47 for 249 yards and 3 touchdowns to lead Boston College past Michigan State, giving the Eagles their 8th consecutive bowl victory and an 11-3 record for first-year coach Jeff Jagodzinski. It was the first 11-win season for Boston College since 1940, 67 years ago.

The Eagles started their season 8-0 and rose to No. 2 in the polls before dropping 3 of the their last 5 games, including a loss to Virginia Tech which cost Boston College the Atlantic Coast Conference championship.

The Eagles' All American safety Jamie Silva had two interceptions, one in the end zone, and was named the Most Valuable Player. Boston College played 17 fifth-year players and will have some rebuilding to do to match this year's success.

Michigan State, which amazingly made the game close, made no excuses. The Spartans, who finished at 7-6, lost their 6 games by a combined 31 points under first-year coach Mark Dantonio.

The bowl game was Michigan State's first in 4 years. The Spartans played without 4 players who were academically ineligible and another who was suspended for breaking an unspecified team rule. They included their best pass rusher and a linebacker. Spartan quarterback Brian Hoyer had a long night with 4 interceptions and a fumble.

Texas Bowl – Texas Christian Beats Houston 20-13

Texas Christian took its first lead early in the last quarter to move by Houston 20-13 in the Texas Bowl. Justin Watts got the go-ahead score. The win gave the Horned Frogs their 3rd consecutive bowl victory in 3 years. The fans were not exhausted from excitement watching this hum-drum match-up. Both teams finished the year at 8-5.

Emerald Bowl – Oregon State Runs Past Maryland 21-14

Oregon State senior Yvenson Bernard rushed for 177 yards and a touchdown, and freshman James Rodgers rushed for a career-best 115 yards, caught an early touchdown pass and recovered Bernard's fumble for the second half's only score to lead the Beavers past Maryland 21-14.

Oregon State's crack rushing defense (rated No. 2 nationally) gave up exactly 2 yards to Maryland for 3 quarters and 19 total yards for the game to seal the victory. The win by Oregon State (now 9-4) extended the Pac 10's longest bowl winning streak to 4 and snapped Ralph Friedgen's 3-game postseason winning streak at Maryland, dropping the Terrapins to 6-7, a losing season.

Meineke Car Care Bowl – Wake Forest Beats Connecticut 24-10

Connecticut scored all of its 10 points in the first half, and Wake Forest scored all of its 24 unanswered points in the second half as the Demon Deacons proved that Connecticut was not that big and that bad, winning 24-10. Wake Forest did it with defense and its speedy receiver Kenneth Moore, who caught 11 passes for 112 yards.

Wake Forest has for years endured the moniker "Weak Forest" for its ineptitude, but that nickname may go away as the Demon Deacons rolled up their second most wins ever, topped only by last year's 11-3 mark. Both Connecticut and Wake Forest finished at 9-4 this year.

Liberty Bowl – Mississippi State Slips by Central Florida, 10-3

In what may turn out to be the lowest scoring bowl game this year, Mississippi State's Anthony Dixon broke up a 3-3 tie by scoring the winning touchdown on a 1-yard run with 1:54 remaining in the game to beat Central Florida 10-3.

The Bulldogs held Central Florida's Kevin Smith to only 119 yards rushing, stopping Smith only 61 yards short of Barry Sanders' single-season rushing record of 2,628 yards for Oklahoma State in 1988. The bad news for Central Florida's opponents next year is that Kevin Smith is a junior and will get another shot at Sanders' record. Mississippi State finished the season at 8-5 while Central Florida fell to 10-4.

Alamo Bowl – Joe Pa and Penn State Down Texas A&M, 24-17

Evan Royster broke a 17-17 tie with a 38-yard touchdown run and Joe Paterno's Penn State Nittany Lions overcame an early 14-point deficit to beat Texas A&M 24-17 in the Alamo Bowl. Penn State finished its season at 9-4 while Texas A&M dropped to 7-6.

"Joe Pa", college football's leader in bowl appearances with 34, led his Nittany Lions in a thriller that gave him his record 23rd postseason win. Penn State's victory over Texas A&M was its 3rd straight bowl victory and 9th in its last 11 appearances.

Paterno, the 81-year-old Happy Valley icon, now has 372 career victories, exactly one win behind Florida State's Bobby Bowden for the most wins in major college football.

Bowden, who is 78 years old, lost his bowl game this year 35-28 to Kentucky. Like Paterno, Bowden is no slouch. He has won 2 national championships, 12 Atlantic Coast Conference titles and is the only coach to have his Florida State Seminoles finish among the top 5 teams nationally for 14 consecutive seasons in the AP Top 25 Poll. Florida State has also played in a bowl game for the last 26 consecutive seasons.

It will be interesting to see whether Joe Pa or Bobby Bowden will be fired or retire first. Both coaches are obviously two of the most competitive people on planet Earth.

(Editor's Note: This is the 3rd article of a series on the 2007 bowl game results.)

Read my other articles on football, including "Famous Quotes by Vince Lombardi During Football's Annual Bowl Season", "Famous Quotes by Knute Rockne During Football's Annual Bowl Season", "Famous Quotes by Lou Holtz During Football's Bowl Season", "How to Predict When Teams Are Overrated and Due for an Unexpected Loss", "The Sagarin Ratings: What They Are, How to Read Them and What to Do With Them" and my 14 consecutive weekly wrap-up articles on the 2007 College Football Season.

My articles can be published with no charge by newsletters, newspapers and magazines through EzineArticles.com, the largest articles directory on the Internet with 73,000+ authors and 900,000+ articles.

Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
Discover 140 Movie Reviews, 87 Sports Articles, 57 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Jobs and Careers Articles, 26 Internet Marketing Articles, 44 News and Comment Articles (372 total articles) plus 629 Famous Quotes.

Biggest Wins in Next Four 2007 Bowl Games Belong to East Carolina and Texas - Part 2

2008-01-06T21:09:00.000-08:00

Ed's Sports Corner:

Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley

Here are the next 4 winners of this year's 2007 college football bowl game results:

Las Vegas Bowl – Brigham Young Nips UCLA 17-16 on a Blocked Field Goal

Brigham Young, which led UCLA 17-13 at the half and went scoreless in the second half, barely managed to hang on to win 17-16 against UCLA in a game the Cougars should have lost.

After allowing the Bruins a 4th quarter field goal to make it 17-16, BYU's defense went into the dumper behind K-Mart by allowing UCLA to drive 87 yards in the last 2 minutes to give the Bruins a chip-shot field goal on the final play of the game.

Unfortunately for UCLA and fortunately for Brigham Young, a 280-pound Cougar lineman—Eathyn Manumaleuna (I think his last name is Hawaiian and 6 syllables)—who could not jump out of paper sack, got his right mitt up and became an instant hero. He will go into the BYU folklore history if he is not already there.

The win was the 10th straight for the Cougars who finished the season at 11-2, not too shabby by any standard. BYU dodged a bullet earlier this season against Utah, converting on a 4th-and-18 play in their winning drive to seal a 17-10 victory.

The Bruins only lost 2 games in their first 7, one to Utah 44-6 on the road (gag, gag and gag) and the other to Notre Dame 20-6 at home in the Rose Bowl (good grief). UCLA then lost 4 of its last 5 games plus the Las Vegas Bowl to end at 6-7, a losing season. No wonder UCLA coach Karl Dorrell was pushed out the door before the Las Vegas Bowl even started.

Hawaii Bowl – East Carolina Beats Boise State by a Field Goal, 41-38

Speed killed Boise State's magic this year as East Carolina, which motored to a 38-14 lead early in the 3rd quarter, darn near sent the game into overtime when their star and the game's Most Valuable Player—Chris Johnson—fumbled while the Pirates were ready to ice the contest.

Johnson's fumble was picked up and returned for a 47-yard touchdown to tie the game at 38 with 1:25 left to play. East Carolina managed to drive to the Broncos' 17 yard line and a last play field goal by Ben Hartman sealed the deal.

All Chris Johnson had done up to his inadvertent fumble was set a NCAA bowl record with 408 all-purpose yards for the Pirates. He rushed for 223 yards, caught 3 passes for 32 yards and returned 6 kickoffs for 153 yards. Boise State, a 10.5-point favorite, managed just 3 yards in the 1st quarter while East Carolina racked up 181 yards behind Johnson's 106 rushing yards.

If you saw this match-up, Chris Johnson ran by Boise State Broncos as if they were standing still. The Broncos looked like they had lost a saddle and were watching their horse run away. It was Don James, the Dawgfather, who said "speed kills" while he built the University of Washington into a powerhouse in the 1980s and early 1990s as the Huskies' most successful coach.

Boise State had cruised to a 13-0 mark last year and stunned Oklahoma with a miracle 43-42 overtime victory in the Fiesta Bowl. This year was the 6th straight bowl appearance for the Broncos, who dropped to 10-3 while East Carolina rose to 8-5. If Hawaii wins its bowl game against the SEC's Georgia Bulldogs, Bronco mania could be in trouble. I hear it is cold in the winter in Idaho.

Did I mention that Boise State was ranked 24th in the final AP Top 25 Poll, 24th in the final BCS Standings, and rated 28th by Sagarin? Sagarin rated East Carolina 75th in its final poll; this is why Boise State was a 10.5-point favorite.

Motor City Bowl – Purdue Beats Central Michigan by a Field Goal, 51-48

Purdue was lucky to get out of Dodge a winner when the Boilermakers traveled to Detroit to face the Mid-American Conference champion Central Michigan Chippewas in the Motor City Bowl. Thankfully, the Boilermakers' Chris Summers put his foot to the pedal to kick a 40-yard, last play field goal as Purdue drove out of town on top, 51-48.

This was an exciting game for fans to watch unless you care about defense. The combined 99 points tied the second-highest total ever for a bowl game in regulation play, topped only by California's 52-49 victory over Virginia Tech in the 2003 Insight Bowl.

The game showcased the quarterbacks. Purdue's Curtis Painter set a school-record 546 yards passing on a 35-for-54 effort (65%) with 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, both of which went off of receiver Dorien Bryant's hands. Central Michigan's Dan LeFevour completed 17 of 34 (50%) for 292 yards and 4 touchdowns, and picked up another 114 yards on 33 carries.

LeFevour's 19-yard scoring pass to Bryan Anderson with 1:09 remaining tied the game at 48. LeFevour, a sophomore, finished the year with 27 passing touchdowns and 19 rushing touchdowns, almost matching Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow of Florida as the only major college player to have 20 each in a season.

Purdue, which has risen folding in important games to an art form, blew no less than three 21-point leads before Summers decided to win one for a change. The Boilermakers were favored to win by 9 points. Purdue finishes the year at 8-5 and Central Michigan dropped to 8-6.

Holiday Bowl – Texas Beats Arizona State 53-34 for 4th Straight Bowl Victory

Texas quarterback Colt McCoy fumbled 4 times but it was still not enough to slow down his Longhorn teammates as they outlasted Arizona State 53-34 to win the Holiday Bowl. McCoy was helped by the Sun Devils committing 5 turnovers.

Arizona State quarterback Rudy Carpenter had a horrible night, going 18-of-32 for 187 yards and being sacked 4 times. McCoy threw for one score, ran for another and fumbled into the end zone and his teammate Jermichal Finley recovered for another score. McCoy was 21-of-31 (67%) for 174 yards and ran for 84 yards on 16 carries.

A stupid mistake by Texas coach Mark Brown's stepson, Chris Jessie, marred the game but did not affect the outcome. Jessie touched an errant fumble by Arizona State that was a live ball and the Sun Devils capitalized on the error to score a touchdown. "That's the most unusual play I've ever seen in college football," ASU coach Dennis Erickson said.

Texas led 28-10 at the half and was not about to be denied a victory. The win by Texas was its 4th straight in bowl competition and lifted its final record to 10-3 as Arizona State dropped to 10-3.

(Editor's Note: This is the 2nd article of a series on the 2007 bowl game results.)

Read my other articles on football, including "Famous Quotes by Vince Lombardi During Football's Annual Bowl Season", "Famous Quotes by Knute Rockne During Football's Annual Bowl Season", "Famous Quotes by Lou Holtz During Football's Bowl Season", "How to Predict When Teams Are Overrated and Due for an Unexpected Loss", "The Sagarin Ratings: What They Are, How to Read Them and What to Do With Them" and my 14 consecutive weekly wrap-up articles on the 2007 College Football Season.

My articles can be published with no charge by newsletters, newspapers and magazines through EzineArticles.com, the largest articles directory on the Internet with 73,000+ authors and 900,000+ articles.

Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
Discover 140 Movie Reviews, 87 Sports Articles, 57 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Jobs and Careers Articles, 26 Internet Marketing Articles, 44 News and Comment Articles (372 total articles) plus 629 Famous Quotes.

Biggest Wins in 1st Four 2007 Bowl Games Belong to Utah and Florida Atlantic - Part 1

2008-01-05T18:32:00.000-08:00

Ed's Sports Corner:

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

Coming into the 2007 college football 32-bowl game extravaganza that men love and women generally hate, here are some interesting facts to impress your friends:

Which team playing this year has made the most bowl game appearances? Here are the Top 10: 1) Alabama with 54, 2) Texas and Tennessee, both 46, 4) Southern California 45, 5) Georgia 42, 6) Oklahoma 40, 7) Penn State 39, and 8) Louisiana State, Michigan and Ohio State, all three at 38.

Which team playing this year has the most bowl game victories? Here are the Top 8: 1) Alabama with 30, 2) Southern California 29, 3) Penn State 25, 4) Oklahoma and Tennessee, both 24, 6) Georgia and Texas, both 23, and 8) Georgia Tech, 22.

Which team playing this year has the best bowl game won-loss percentage? Here are the Top 7: 1) Utah 9-3 at 75%, 2) Boise State and Hawaii, both 5-2 at 71%, 4) Penn State 25-12-2 at 67%, 5) Boston College 12-6 at 66%, and 6) Oklahoma State 11-6 and Southern California 29-16, both at 64%.

Here are the first 4 winners of this year's 2007 college football bowl game results:

Poinsettia Bowl – Utah Beats Navy by a Field Goal, 35-32

Navy led Utah 10-7 at the half, fell behind 35-24 in the 4th quarter, and then roared back to score on a 58-yard touchdown pass and 2-point conversion, making it 35-32. Navy even recovered the expected onside kick, but Utah's Joe Dale intercepted a pass on the ensuing drive to seal the victory.

Utah's win should have come as no surprise because among the 64 teams that competed in 32 bowl games, Utah came into the game with the best bowl game winning percentage—75—with a 9-3 record that is now 10-3 (77% rounded). Utah finishes its season at 9-4; Navy drops to 8-5.

New Orleans Bowl — Florida Atlantic Beats Memphis Easily, 44-27

Florida Atlantic University, its 73-year-old coach Howard Schnellenberger, and the Owls' players have officially and emphatically answered the question, "F-A-who?" by whipping Memphis 44-27. The New Orleans Bowl victory was the first bowl game for Florida Atlantic, which has only had a football team for 7 years and did not become a Division 1A team until 2005.

None of this was new to Howard Schnellenberger, who build the Florida Atlantic program from scratch. Schnellenberger's New Orleans Bowl victory was his 5th straight. He remains a perfect 100% (5-0) in bowl games during his 23 years as a head coach. It would be difficult to fault Schnellenberger on this bowl game preparation.

Schnellenberger led Miami (FL) to the 1983 national championship with an Orange Bowl triumph over Nebraska. He also won the 1980 Peach Bowl with Miami, and another two bowl games with Louisville, the 1990 Fiesta Bowl and the 1993 Liberty Bowl. Schnellenberger may be the only college coach in history with a 5-0 record when playing in only 5 bowl games.

Rusty Smith threw for 336 yards and a New Orleans Bowl-record 5 touchdowns to lead the Owls to victory. That was excellent news for the Owls, but even better news for Florida Atlantic was this: Smith finished the season with 3,688 yards passing and 32 touchdowns, and he is a sophomore. Florida Atlantic finished the year at 8-5 while Memphis dropped to 7-6.

Papajohns.com Bowl – Cincinnati Beats Southern Mississippi 31-21

Shifty Ben Mauk passed for 334 yards and 4 touchdowns, and DeAngelo Smith intercepted 3 passes to lead the Bearcats to a 31-21 win against Southern Mississippi. The victory gave Cincinnati its second 10-win season at 10-3, its first 10-win season since 1951, and virtually assured the Bearcats of a spot in the final rankings for the first time.

Outgoing Golden Eagles coach Jeff Bower, who has coached Southern Mississippi for 17 seasons, had to endure a last-game loss after being pushed out the door after a disappointing season. The Golden Eagles were 7-6, hardly golden but all eagles.

"We played extremely hard," said Bower after the loss, "but obviously we didn't make enough plays to win the game." Bower and his Golden Eagles were done in by first-year coach Brian Kelly and his spread offense.

It has been all offense this year with a lot of teams. Some college football fans mistakenly thought that defense had been cut out of the game by the NCAA. Actually, defense was allowed this year, but most teams did not play defense all season. That includes Southern Mississippi that was 1 of 93 among 119 Division 1A teams (78%) which gave up at least 3 touchdowns a game (21 points).

Cincinnati gave up an average of 18 a game to rank 11th nationally in scoring defense.

New Mexico Bowl – New Mexico Shuts Out Nevada 23-0

Paul Baker ran for 167 yards in his first start, Donovan Porterie threw for a career-high 354 yards, and the New Mexico Lobos defeated Nevada 23-0 for their first postseason victory since 1961.

After a long 46-year wait, Lobo fans saw their team win another bowl game and hold the vaunted Wolf Pack—which averaged nearly 500 yards a game and 36+ points—to zero, zip, nada. New Mexico sprinted to a 20-0 halftime lead and never looked back. New Mexico finished the year at 9-4 while Nevada dropped to 6-7, a losing season.

(Editor's Note: This is the 1st article of a series on the 2007 bowl game results.)

Read my other articles on football, including "Famous Quotes by Vince Lombardi During Football's Annual Bowl Season", "Famous Quotes by Knute Rockne During Football's Annual Bowl Season", "Famous Quotes by Lou Holtz During Football's Bowl Season", "How to Predict When Teams Are Overrated and Due for an Unexpected Loss", "The Sagarin Ratings: What They Are, How to Read Them and What to Do With Them" and my 14 consecutive weekly wrap-up articles on the 2007 College Football Season.

Ed Bagley's articles can be published with no charge by newsletters, newspapers and magazines through EzineArticles.com, the largest articles directory on the Internet with 73,000+ authors and 900,000+ articles.

Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
Discover 140 Movie Reviews, 87 Sports Articles, 57 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Jobs and Careers Articles, 26 Internet Marketing Articles, 44 News and Comment Articles (372 total articles) plus 629 Famous Quotes.

Famous Quotes by Lou Holtz During Football's Annual Bowl Season

2008-01-04T17:45:00.000-08:00

Ed's Sports Corner:

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

College football's annual bowl season is full of surprises and spectacular moments. Famous coaches have had some memorable remarks about American's most popular sport, and here are some of them by Lou Holtz, who some consider to be the best of the best college coaches and for good reason.

It is true that Knute Rockne won 5 more national championships at Norte Dame than Lou Holtz did at Notre Dame (Holtz led the Fighting Irish to 1 national title in 1988).

It is also true that Knute Rockne has a regular season won-loss percentage of 90% (105-12-5) at Notre Dame, and that Lou Holtz has a regular season won-loss percentage of 77% (100-30-2) at Notre Dame.

However, Lou Holtz is the only coach in NCAA history to lead 6 different programs to bowl games (William & Mary, North Carolina State, Arkansas, Minnesota, Notre Dame and South Carolina), and the only coach to guide 4 different programs to final top 20 rankings (North Carolina State, South Carolina twice, Arkansas 5 times and Notre Dame 7 times).

Lou Holtz became known for his quick wit and ability to inspire players. Both Knute Rockne and Green Bay Packer coach Vince Lombardi became legendary for their ability to inspire players.

In addition to his coaching career, Holtz has gone on to author 5 books and become both a motivational speaker and television commentator.

Here are some of Lou Holtz's best known quotes:

"Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you respond to it."

"Motivation is simple. You eliminate those who are not motivated."

"The man who complains about the way the ball bounces is likely the one who dropped it."

"When all is said and done, more is said than done."

"It's not the load that breaks you down, it's the way you carry it."

"No one has ever drowned in sweat."

"On this team, we're all united in a common goal: to keep my job."

"Show me someone who has done something worthwhile, and I'll show you someone who has overcome adversity."

"The problem with having a sense of humor is often (the) people you use it on aren't in a very good mood."

"In the successful organization, no detail is too small to escape close attention."

"It is a fine thing to have ability, but the ability to discover ability in others is the true test."

"If you're bored with life—you don't get up every morning with a burning desire to do things—you don't have enough goals."

"If you burn your neighbor's house down, it doesn't make your house look any better."

"You'll never get ahead of anyone as long as you try to get even with him."

"I think everyone should experience defeat at least once during their career. You learn a lot from it."

"I never learn anything talking. I only learn things when I ask questions."

"If he's got golf clubs in his truck or a camper in his driveway, I don't hire him."

"How you respond to the challenge in the second half will determine what you become after the game, whether you are a winner or a loser."

"Coaching is nothing more than eliminating mistakes before you get fired."

"A lifetime contract for a coach means if you're ahead in the third quarter and moving the ball, they can't fire you."

"A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song."

"You're never as good as everyone tells you when you win, and you're never as bad as they say when you lose."

Read my other articles on football, including "Famous Quotes by Vince Lombardi During Football's Annual Bowl Season", "Famous Quotes by Knute Rockne During Football's Annual Bowl Season", "How to Predict When Teams Are Overrated and Due for an Unexpected Loss", "The Sagarin Ratings: What They Are, How to Read Them and What to Do With Them" and my 14 consecutive weekly wrap-up articles on the 2007 College Football Season.

My articles can be published with no charge by newsletters, newspapers and magazines through EzineArticles.com, the largest articles directory on the Internet with 73,000+ authors and 900,000+ articles.

Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
Discover 140 Movie Reviews, 87 Sports Articles, 57 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Jobs and Careers Articles, 26 Internet Marketing Articles, 44 News and Comment Articles (372 total articles) plus 629 Famous Quotes.

Famous Quotes by Knute Rockne During Football's Annual Bowl Season

2008-01-04T17:35:00.000-08:00

Ed's Sports Corner:

Copyright © 2008 Ed Bagley

College football's annual bowl season is full of surprises and spectacular moments. Famous coaches have had some memorable remarks about American's most popular sport, and here are some of them by legendary Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne, who many consider to be the best of the best.

Knute Rockne's head coaching record in college football was second to none, and his won-loss percentage is better than any other college or pro coach ever.

In 13 years with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Rockne's regular season won-loss percentage was 90% (105-12-5), his winning percentage among all games was 86%, and he led Notre Dame to 6 national championships, winning titles in 1919 (9-0), 1920 (9-0), 1924 (10-0), 1927 (7-1-1), 1929 (9-0) and 1930 (10-0). Five of his 6 national championships came from undefeated teams.

Along the way he coached the immortal George "Gipper" Gipp, whose multiple skills lifted Notre Dame to national fame, and the "Four Horsemen" backfield of Harry Stuhldreher, Don Miller, Jim Crowley and Elmer Layden that led the Fighting Irish to a 28-2 record.

While covering a Notre Dame football game, sportswriter Grantland Rice penned the famous opening story line—"Outlined against a blue-gray October sky, the Four Horsemen rode again"—that has become legend in sports history.

Rockne's influence on the game of football was immense. He is credited with helping popularize the forward pass, initiating intersectional rivalries, building a national schedule, and instituting the "Rockne Shift", a backfield T formation that quickly shifted into a box formation to the right or left as the ball was snapped.

Rockne was also the first coach to realize the market potential of football as an entertainment medium and openly promoted Notre Dame football by courting the media for free advertising so Notre Dame's football program would be financially successful.

Knute Rockne was a Norwegian immigrant who graduated magna cum laude from Notre Dame in 1914, played end for the Fighting Irish that defeated the highly-ranked Army team for the first time in 1913, and was a graduate assistant in chemistry before eventually becoming Notre Dame's head coach in 1918. A Protestant, he converted to Catholicism later in life.

Following his undefeated, 6th national championship team in 1930, Rockne died at age 43 as a passenger in a tragic Fokker airplane accident that would help revolutionize the transportation business and lead to the all-metal Boeing 247 aircraft. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951 as a charter member.

Here are some of Knute Rockne's best known quotes:

"Four years of football are calculated to breed in the average man more of the ingredients of success in life than almost any academic course he takes."

"At home we're the hosts, and I never liked the idea of being embarrassed in front of our friends."

"On the road we're somebody else's guests – and we play in a way that they're not going to forget we visited them."

"We count on winning. And if we lose, don't beef. And the best way to prevent beefing is – don't lose."

"Let's win one for the Gipper."

"I've found that prayers work best when you have big players."

"It isn't necessary to see a good tackle. You can hear it."

"One loss is good for the soul, too many losses is not good for the coach."

"Show me a good and gracious loser and I'll show you a failure."

"Yes, I know that you feel you are not strong enough. That's what the enemy thinks too. But we're gonna fool them."

"The secret is to work less as individuals and more as a team. As a coach, I play not my eleven best, but my best eleven."

"One man practicing sportsmanship is better than a hundred teaching it."

"Most men, when they think they are thinking, are merely rearranging their prejudices."

Read my other articles on football, including "Famous Quotes by Vince Lombardi During Football's Annual Bowl Season", "How to Predict When Teams Are Overrated and Due for an Unexpected Loss", "The Sagarin Ratings: What They Are, How to Read Them and What to Do With Them" and my 14 consecutive weekly wrap-up articles on the 2007 College Football Season.

My articles can be published with no charge by newsletters, newspapers and magazines through EzineArticles.com, the largest articles directory on the Internet with 73,000+ authors and 900,000+ articles.

Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
Discover 140 Movie Reviews, 87 Sports Articles, 57 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Jobs and Careers Articles, 26 Internet Marketing Articles, 44 News and Comment Articles (372 total articles) plus 629 Famous Quotes.

Famous Quotes by Vince Lombardi During Football's Annual Bowl Season

2008-01-01T18:02:00.000-08:00

Ed's Sports Corner:

Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley

College football's annual bowl season is full of surprises and spectacular moments. Famous coaches have had some memorable remarks about American's most popular sport, and here are some of them by legendary Green Bay Packer coach Vince Lombardi, who many consider to be the best of the best.

Lombardi's head coaching record in the National Football League was second to none. In 9 years with the Green Bay Packers, Lombardi's regular season won-loss percentage was 73% (96-34-6), his postseason was 90% (9-1) and his total was 75% (105-35-6).

He took a 1-10-1 team in 1958 to an NFL title in 3 years, and went on to win 5 NFL titles in 9 years (1961, 1962, 1965, 1966 and 1967) and three titles consecutively. He led the Packers to the first two Super Bowl titles in 1966 and 1967.

Lombardi's discipline was legendary. A lifelong Catholic, he spent 4 years in Cathedral Preparatory Seminary to become a Catholic priest before becoming a standout football player at St. Francis Preparatory High School.

An undersized guard at 5 foot 8 and 185 pounds, he was offered and accepted a football scholarship to Fordham University in the Bronx to play for "Sleepy" Jim Crowley, one of the Four Horsemen of Notre Dame in the 1920s. He would become part of the "Seven Blocks of Granite" that held Fordham's opponents scoreless several times during a 25-game winning streak.

After coaching at Fordham, Lombardi became the offensive line coach for West Point under another legendary head coach, Colonel Red Blaik. Lombardi then became the offensive coordinator for the New York Giants, working with defensive coordinator Tom Landry and head coach Jim Lee Howell, before becoming Green Bay's head coach in 1959.

Lombardi was 59 years old when he died of cancer in 1970. Grown men and Hall of Fame football players openly wept at his funeral.

Here are some of Vince Lombardi's best known quotes:

"If it doesn't matter who wins or loses, then why do they keep score?"

"I firmly believe than any man's finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle—victorious."

"There is no room for second place. There is only one place in my game and that is first place. I have finished second twice in my time at Green Bay and I never want to finish second again."

"Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing."

"Confidence is contagious. So is lack of confidence."

"The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender."

"Show me a good loser, and I'll show you a loser."

"Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit."

"If you can accept losing, you can't win."

"Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence."

"Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect."

"Success demands singleness of purpose."

"It's not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get up."

"It's easy to have faith in yourself and have discipline when you're a winner, when you're number one. What you got to have is faith and discipline when you're not a winner."

"We didn't lose the game; we just ran out of time."

"Teamwork is what the Green Bay Packers are all about. They didn't do it for individual glory. They did it because they loved one another."

"The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will."

"Coaches who can outline plays on a black board are a dime a dozen. The ones who win get inside their player and motivate."

Here are some quotes by Lombardi's players:

"When Lombardi said 'sit down,' we didn't look for a chair." – Forrest Gregg, Hall of Fame tackle.

"He prepared us so well, and he motivated us so well, I felt he was a part of me on the field." Fuzzy Thurston.

"He pushed you to the end of your endurance and then beyond it. And if there was reserve there, well, he found that too." Henry Jordan, Hall of Fame defensive tackle.

"He made us better than we thought we could be." Jerry Kramer.

"Coach Lombardi showed me that by working hard and using my mind, I could overcome my weakness to the point that I could be one of the best." Bart Starr, Hall of Fame quarterback.

"The fear in my mind was not him but that for some reason I would not be a part of the team and be with this man." Forrest Gregg.

"He made you a believer. He told you what the other team was going to do, and he told you what you had to do to beat them, and invariably he was right." Willie Davis, Hall of Fame defensive back.

(Editor's Note: I have read and studied one of the best biographies on Lombardi: When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi. Written by Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Maraniss, I highly recommend his book as a great read.)

Read my articles on "How to Predict When Teams Are Overrated and Due for an Unexpected Loss", "The Sagarin Ratings: What They Are, How to Read Them and What to Do With Them" and my 14 consecutive weekly wrap-up articles on the 2007 College Football Season.

Ed Bagley's articles can be published with no charge by newsletters, newspapers and magazines through EzineArticles.com, the largest articles directory on the Internet with 73,000+ authors and 900,000+ articles.

Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
Discover 140 Movie Reviews, 87 Sports Articles, 57 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Jobs and Careers Articles, 26 Internet Marketing Articles, 44 News and Comment Articles (372 total articles) plus 629 Famous Quotes.

Michigan State's Nicole Bush Finishes 5th at NCAA Nationals, Best Spartan Run Ever - Part 2

2007-12-29T22:15:00.000-08:00

Ed's Sports Corner:

Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley

It is important to understand that there is no need for any coach to announce a leader, leaders announce themselves by moving on instinctively. They will not tolerate running with the pack, nor should they.

Steve Prefontaine is the perfect example. Pre never allowed ANYONE at ANYTIME—in practice or competition—to best him. If you wanted to race him in practice two days before an important meet, he would run you into the ground and then do it again on race day, only by a bigger margin.

Pre made it clear who the leader was and why he was the leader. He was not the fastest runner, but he was almost always the best runner. No one had his heart and guts, and if they did, they could not tolerate his work ethic.

Did you know that Pre never missed a single practice or competition during his entire athletic career at Oregon? Did he ever have a cold? Did he ever have the flu? Did he ever run injured? Of course he did; he just never bothered to tell anyone and would not allow himself to show any obvious stress. Pre was, and is, one of a kind.

Probably at least half if not three-quarters of all running coaches in America will tell you that leaders are made and not born. Imagine taking a runner who has never run faster than 13 seconds for 100 meters and trying to make him into a world class sprinter. I never believed this nonsense 45 years ago and I do not believe it today. I believe, and always have believed, that leaders are born and not made.

A lot of runners who appear not to be leaders (and a few very select Michigan State men may be among this group) actually are leaders. They just do not know it. They are not leading today because they have not been required to lead.

Their instinct will click in when faced with a life and death situation in a foxhole during wartime. Or maybe they are 16 and the oldest of 7 siblings, their father and mother are killed instantly in an accident, and they are left with nothing and the responsibility to raise 7 children or the family will be separated by a state agency with the children in 7 different homes.

When it really counts in life, people in danger do not want to know what you think, they want to know what you know because their life may depend upon your experience, courage and wisdom. That is why with every fiber in my body, my life experience tells me leaders are born, not made.

I know from personal experience that it is much easier to find a winner than to try and develop a winner. Trust me when I say that eagles fly, not chickens. You can coach a chicken for 100 years and if they have no talent and no leadership ability, the result will be the same.

If you want to see a winner, go watch Nicole Bush run. When it counts the most, the leaders will surface. If you want to see another winner, go watch Rita Arndt-Molis coach.

Anyone who runs for the Spartans should understand who they represent and Michigan State's running tradition. There is exactly one school among the 299 NCAA Division 1 Men's Cross-Country programs that has won more national championships than Michigan State, and that is Arkansas with 11 titles in 17 years between 1984 and 2000.

Michigan State has won 8 national titles—the first in 1939, 1948, 1949, 1952, 1955, 1956, 1958 and the last in 1959, 47 years ago. That is too long ago. From 1948 to 1959, Michigan State won 7 titles in 12 years before anyone ever heard of Oregon, Bill Bowerman or Steve Prefontaine. That is dominance.

For the record, UTEP (yes, THAT University of Texas at El Paso) has also won 8 titles while no other school, including Oregon and Stanford, has won more than 4.

On the women's side of the ledger, Villanova has won 7 national titles and 6 consecutively from 1989 to 1994. Stanford is the current power, winning the last 3 national championships. It is axiomatic that Stanford can be beaten, just as surely as night follows day.

Those almost silent footfalls that the Stanford runners hear behind them are the Michigan State Spartan women getting closer and closer.

(Editor's Note: This is Part 2 of a 2-Part Article.)

Read my other articles on Michigan State University runners, including "Walt Drenth Becomes Director of MSU's Cross-Country and Track & field Programs", "Meet Michigan State's Newest Dynamo: Associate Head Coach Rita Arndt-Molis" and "What Makes a Person Want to Run and Why Few Will Ever Know the Joy of Running".

Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
Discover 140 Movie Reviews, 87 Sports Articles, 57 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Jobs and Careers Articles, 26 Internet Marketing Articles, 44 News and Comment Articles (372 total articles) plus 629 Famous Quotes.

Michigan State's Nicole Bush Finishes 5th at NCAA Nationals, Best Spartan Run Ever - Part 1

2007-12-29T22:11:00.000-08:00

Ed's Sports Corner:

Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley

Senior Nicole Bush put the finishing touch on an outstanding cross-country season by finishing 5th in the NCAA National Championship meet, earning All-American status with a 6000-meter time of 20:13.4, missing the school-record for the meet by a scant 3-10ths of a second. The 6K is roughly 3.84 miles and Bush's mile pace was roughly 5:16.

Her 5th place individual finish led the Michigan State women to a 5th place team finish, the second best showing ever for the Spartans, topped only by the 4th place finish in 1981 at the first-ever NCAA women's championships.

The improvement by Bush from last year to this year's All-American run was dramatic. She finished 3rd among the Spartan runners last year in 78th place with a time of 22:09, only 4 seconds shy of a full two minutes slower.

Bush was followed by junior Alissa McKaig (50th in 21:22), junior Sarah Price (82nd in 21:37), senior Lisa Senakiewich (90th in 21:44) and sophomore Emily MacLeod (94th in 21:45). Not scoring this year were two more sophomores—Becky McCormack (115th in 21:54) and Ashley Casavant (199th in 23:12).

It is important to note that the difference between the finish of McKaig and Price amounted to 32 places but only 15 seconds. Missing from the race was the Spartans' strong 5th runner, senior Katie Kelly, who was out with a back injury. Had Kelly been available, the Spartans could have done even better.

Things are getting better and better for Michigan State's running fortunes, especially when you know all of the women team members will be returning next year.

Anita Arndt-Molis continues to impress as Michigan State's Associate Head Coach in charge of all middle distance and distance runners. Last year the Spartan women were 12th in the NCAA Championship run.

Can the Spartan women improve even more? You decide with just the knowledge of these three facts:

1) Last year Alissa McKaig finished 9th overall in 21:07; this year was not her day as she was 50th in 21:22.

2) Sarah Price was 137th last year and 82nd this year.

3) Nicole Bush was only 3 seconds behind the eventual winner—Sally Kipyego of Texas Tech—at the 2K mark, only 20 seconds behind her at the 4K mark and 43 seconds behind her at the end. More strength training, increased confidence from this year's showing, and increased experience and maturity can close the gap to an individual national championship considerably.

Clearly, Nicole Bush must now be considered among the emerging elite middle distance runners nationally, and a prospect for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

For the record, Stanford won the 2007 NCAA women's title followed by Oregon, Florida State and Arizona State. With their 5th place finish, Michigan State's women left Big Ten champion Minnesota (12th) and Great Lakes Regional runner-up Michigan (21st) in the dust.

The Spartan men's team, which finished 17th at last year's NCAA Championships, did not quality for this year's final run. Their season ended with the Great Lakes Regional Championships and a 6th place finish behind Michigan and Wisconsin (which tied for 1st), Notre Dame, Indiana and Ohio State. Sophomore Max Goldak led Michigan State with a 23rd place finish.

The Spartan men ran well as a pack (about a 64 second spread between the 1st and 5th runners) but not fast enough to push their way to NCAA qualification.

The Spartan women refused to run behind by successfully defending their Great Lakes Regional title, besting Michigan by 3 points led by Nicole Bush's runner-up finish. All five Spartan scorers were among the top 25 finishes, a precursor to their outstanding NCAA performance.

For the record, Michigan State's women were 2nd at the 2007 Big Ten Conference finals, barely nipped by Minnesota by a single point. This kind of finish underscores the importance of all 7 runners on the team, not just the first 5 finishers who figure in the team scoring. When a team's 6th and 7th place runners finish ahead of another team's 5th scorer, the impact is more than significant.

The men placed well out of the money at the Big Ten finals, finishing 7th. They run well in a pack but either the entire pack has to get faster or someone needs to separate from the pack and become the leader, pulling the others along faster. The speed of the group benefits from the speed of the leader.

The Wisconsin Badgers won the men's 2007 Big Ten title for the 9th consecutive year by placing their first 5 finishers among the top 15. You read it right, 9 consecutive titles; Wisconsin did it by recruiting winners. They have created a winning environment that attracts successful prep runners. Period, end of story.

(Editor's Note: This is Part 1 of a 2-Part Article.)

Read my other articles on Michigan State University runners, including "Walt Drenth Becomes Director of MSU's Cross-Country and Track & field Programs", "Meet Michigan State's Newest Dynamo: Associate Head Coach Rita Arndt-Molis" and "What Makes a Person Want to Run and Why Few Will Ever Know the Joy of Running".

Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
Discover 140 Movie Reviews, 87 Sports Articles, 57 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Jobs and Careers Articles, 26 Internet Marketing Articles, 44 News and Comment Articles (372 total articles) plus 629 Famous Quotes.

Meet Michigan State's Newest Dynamo - Associate Head Coach Rita Arndt-Molis

2007-12-28T22:03:00.000-08:00

Ed's Sports Corner:

Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley

During the changing of the guard for Michigan State University's cross-country and track & field programs, Rita Arndt-Molis was named Associate Head Coach following Walt Drenth's appointment as director of the programs.

Arndt-Molis will coach both men and women middle-distance and distance runners in both cross-country and track. She spent her first two years as head coach of the women's cross-country team and as an assistant coach in track and field.

Her impact was immediate. The 2004 cross-country team was 14th at the NCAA National Championships, led by All-American Danette Doetzel's 12th place finish. The women were also 3rd at the Great Lakes Regional Championships and tied with Illinois as runners-up in the Big Ten Championships.

Arndt-Molis provided the leadership, encouragement and motivation to lead her runners to success in both competition and in the classroom. Her 2004 cross-country team recorded a team GPA of 3.52 to earn Academic All-American recognition.

The 2005 track team set a school-record 11:29.69 in the distance medley relay and was runner-up at the Big Ten Indoor Championships.

Arndt-Molis guided the 2005 cross-country team to its 5th consecutive trip to the NCAA National Championships where the Spartans were 30th. Before qualifying for the nationals, the team finished 5th at the Great Lakes Regional Championships. The team's overall 3.61 GPA earned them Academic All-American recognition.

The 2006 track team finished 4th at the Great Lakes Regional Championships with 4 runners—Nicole Bush, Emily Adams, Michelle Rafferty and Aimee Keenan—qualifying for the NCAA National Championships. Bush was 5th in the 3000-meter run at the nationals in a school-record 10:01.04, and she became an All-American with the 5th fastest 3000-meter time in the nation.

Prior to Michigan State, Arndt-Molis spent two seasons as an assistant coach for cross-country and track with the University of South Florida Bulls, where she helped develop 43 all-conference athletes, 10 all-regional performers and 3 NCAA qualifiers.

The personable and energetic Arndt-Molis coached up Christa Benton, South Florida's first-ever All-American in cross-country, and Andrew Smith, the Bulls' first conference men's cross-county champion. In track, the men's 4x800 relay team set a school record. Arndt-Molis became part of the 2003 Conference USA Coaching Staff of the Year.

Like Walt Drenth, Rita Arndt-Molis had tremendous coaching success prior to ever arriving on the Michigan State University campus.

Arndt-Molis ran for the Spartans' cross-country and track teams for 2 years before finishing her collegiate career at South Florida, where she became a 6-time NCAA qualifier, 3-time Academic All-American and helped the Bulls' to their first-ever Conference USA Championship, and first-ever berth to the NCAA Championships in 1998.

In her 5-year cross-country and track & field coaching career, Rita Arndt-Molis has directly helped create:

Sixty All-Conference athletes, 4 individual Conference champions, 1 Conference championship team, 24 All-Regional athletes, 4 Academic All-American teams, 2 Academic All-American individuals, 2 NCAA Cross-Country Championship team qualifiers, 11 NCAA Regional qualifiers, and 3 All-Americans.

You could call Rita Arndt-Molis personable, spunky, energetic, positive or upbeat, but the best name to call her is winner. She is a winner first, last and always, and Michigan State University and its athletes benefit from it every day she is coaching the green and white.

Read my 4-Part series on Mead Mania: "The Golden Era of Prep Distance Running in Washington – Part 1", "Pat Tyson's Arrival Starts a Run of 9 Consecutive Titles – Part 2", "How About a State X-Country Title Where the First 3 Finishers Are Your Runners – Part 3" and "2 Mead Runners Crack 9 Minutes at the State 3200 Meter Championships – Part 4".

Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
Discover 140 Movie Reviews, 87 Sports Articles, 57 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Jobs and Careers Articles, 26 Internet Marketing Articles, 44 News and Comment Articles (372 total articles) plus 629 Famous Quotes.

Walt Drenth Becomes Director of MSU's Cross-Country and Track & Field Programs - Spartans Go With a Winner

2007-12-26T21:25:00.001-08:00

Ed's Sports Corner:

Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley

Michigan State University's cross-county and track & field programs have taken a really positive step forward with the appointment of Walt Drenth as the director.

Just as Tom Izzo has led the Spartan basketball program back to national prominence, and new first-year coach Mark Dantonio has already dramatically improved Michigan State's football fortunes with a bowl appearance, Walt Drenth will create a winning tradition among Spartan runners.

Drenth arrived on campus as a proven winner about to become a more successful winner at Michigan State. He had spent 7 years as Arizona State's head cross-country coach, turning a failing team into one of the premier performers in the West.

When he arrived at Arizona State, neither of the men or women cross-country runners had ever made a team appearance at the nationals nor earned a national ranking. The women had never even produced one All-American runner.

Under Drenth's leadership, encouragement and motivation, the Arizona State women have been to the NCAA Championships 5 years in a row, including a school-record 6th place finish. They have also been two-time regional runners-up, 3-time Pac 10 runners-up, posted a program-best No. 3 national ranking, and produced a woman All American 4 years in a row.

The Arizona State men made their first appearance at the nationals, were nationally ranked, and logged a school-record 3rd place finish at the regionals. Drenth also made a difference by coaching the distance runners in track as they produced 12 school records in distance events and 14 became All-Americans.

Not too shabby considering that there are 299 NCAA Division 1 Men's Cross-Country programs at last count.

None of this was new to Walt Drenth, who led the College of William & Mary to 5 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) cross-country titles and 2 track and field titles in 6 years, and was named CAA Cross-Country Coach of the Year 5 times. William & Mary was also a District II champion in cross-country and Drenth was District II Coach of the Year twice. His William & Mary track teams won 2 CAA titles and he tutored 5 All-American runners.

Prior to coaching at William & Mary, Drenth was the head cross-country and assistant track and field coach at his alma mater, Central Michigan University. He won a District IV title there and was named District IV Coach of the Year. Drenth also won 2 Mid-American Conference titles and was named MAC Coach of the Year twice.

In short, Drenth has won team titles and produced individual champions at every coaching stop in his 20-plus-year career. He will not be stepping up at Michigan State as much as stepping up Michigan State's running programs because winners win and losers don't.

In examining Michigan State's 2007 roster of men and women runners, I find that 35 of the 45 runners (77%) are from Michigan. Rule 1 is to dominate recruiting in your state. Do not let good runners get away to other schools and beat you. This is doubly important for Drenth because among the 50 states, Michigan has the 8th largest population.

An insider has told me that Drenth does not play psychologist with his athletes. In other words, his program is performance-based. I really like Drenth's approach. Apparently he does not hand out scholarships like candy. Talking a good game will get you nowhere; you must perform to reap any rewards for your effort.

It does not automatically follow that a state champion distance runner in high school will enjoy the same success level at college. College races are longer, the competition is much better, and the academic and social adjustments at college level are more difficult.

You must have some talent to succeed at a higher level. You must be willing to work hard by training consistently and effectively. You must have personal growth emotionally to withstand the ups and downs of performance and improvement. You must also develop a mental toughness to separate yourself from the pack.

A runner or athlete who wants to be a champion must announce himself or herself by separating from the lead pack. There is a reason why Steve Prefontaine was a front runner. Trust me when I say it was not because he planned on losing the race.

Getting to the top is not so much about having the will to win—everyone wants to win—but having the will to prepare to win. Preparation is everything that will is not. Having the will to win is a want, but preparing to win is a need. What is opportunity without preparedness? Nothing but an opportunity wasted.

It is only when preparedness meets opportunity head on that an explosion happens and something exciting takes place. Look for an explosion of running success at Michigan State University as Walt Drenth is prepared to make it happen.

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 140 Movie Reviews, 87 Sports Articles, 57 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Jobs and Careers Articles, 26 Internet Marketing Articles, 44 News and Comment Articles (372 total articles) plus 629 Famous Quotes.

The Glory Years of the Green and White Michigan State University Football Teams - From Daugherty to Brewer - Part 2

2007-12-22T22:54:00.000-08:00

Ed's Sports Corner:

Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley

"Biggie" Munn 1947 to 1953 – Two National Championships and the Best Winning Percentage (85+%) Ever

Clarence "Biggie" Munn was an All-American at Minnesota before replacing Charlie Bachman. Despite getting waxed 55-0 by Michigan in his debut, he quickly logged a 7-2 record in his first of 7 seasons. By 1950 Munn had the Spartan program in the Top 10 nationally with an 8-1 campaign that included victories over No. 3-ranked Michigan and Notre Dame.

He would put together back-to-back 9-0 seasons in 1951 and 1952 to go 18-0 and win two National Championships as well as National Coach of the Year Honors in 1952, beating 3 nationally-ranked opponents—Penn State, Purdue and Notre Dame.

In 1953 he would go 9-1, beat UCLA 28-20 in the Rose Bowl and push his 3-year regular season record to 27-1 and his 4-year mark to 35-2 (a 94% won-loss record).

Munn ran Michigan State's unbeaten streak to 28 games before losing to Purdue 6-0 in 1953. In 7 seasons, his overall record would be 54-9-2 (an 85+% won-loss record, the best ever at Michigan State) and he would produce 18 All-Americans, including the great two-way tackle Don Coleman.

Following his coaching career, the legendary Biggie Munn would serve as MSU's Athletic Director for 18 years, building the Spartans into a nationally prominent program. He was voted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1959.

(Editor's Note: Don Coleman was a 1951 graduate of Central High School in Flint (MI). I graduated from Flint Central in 1962 and remember his picture hanging on the wall as one of our most famous graduates. I graduated from Michigan State University in 1966 so you can appreciate my interest in the fortunes of Michigan State University Spartan football and its history.)

"Duffy" Daugherty 1954 to 1972 – MSU's Most Popular Coach Wins Two National Championships

Hugh "Duffy" Daugherty became one of the nation's most popular coaches in the history of college football during his 19-year career as the Spartans' mentor. Daugherty was famous for his wit, personality and wisdom.

He became a great interview for sportswriters, coming up with quotes such as, "Football isn't a contact sport, it's a collision sport. Dancing is a contact sport" and "A tie is like kissing your sister" and "When you are playing for the national championship, it's not a matter of life and death. It's more important than that."

He was a guard and captain of his Syracuse football team, was an assistant coach to Biggie Munn when Munn coached Syracuse before coming to Michigan State, and followed Munn as his line coach. After being part of Munn's 2 national championship teams, he became head coach.

Daugherty's 1955 team went 9-1 and beat UCLA 17-14 in the Rose Bowl. His greatest teams came in 1965 and 1966 when he went 19-1-1, won 2 Big Ten titles outright and 2 National Championships. His only defeat during the 2 years was a 14-12 loss to UCLA in the 1966 Rose Bowl. He will be forever remembered for his monumental 10-10 tie in the 1966 "Game of the Century" when the No. 2-ranked Spartans faced the No. 1-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

No less than 8 of the players from the 1966 team were chosen in the NFL draft, including defensive end Bubba Smith, linebacker George Webster, halfback Clint Jones, flanker Gene Washington, offensive lineman Jeff Richardson, defensive backs Jim Summers and Charlie Thornhill, and kicker Dick Kenney. Daugherty produced 29 All-Americans.

Daugherty's overall record during 19 years was 109-65-5 (a 63% won-loss percentage). He was named National Coach of the Year in both 1955 and 1965, and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1984.

(Editor's Note: In both of my junior and senior years at Michigan State the Spartans won National Championships. I took away a lot of memories and will never forgive Notre Dame Coach Ara Parseghian for playing for a tie in one of the most memorable games in college football history. I would rather had have my Spartans win or lose the game than suffer a tie.)

After the 26-year run of Biggie Munn and Duffy Daugherty with 4 National Championships, the Michigan State football program pretty much went into the dumper.

It is true that after Daugherty, George Perles in 1987 would take the 9-2-1 Spartans to their first Rose Bowl appearance in 21 years, beating Southern California 20-17 to finish No. 8 nationally. Perles was the defensive line coach and defensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers "Steel Curtain" defense that led to Super Bowl titles in 1974, 1975, 1978 and 1979.

Despite turning around the MSU football program temporarily, Perles could not even sniff at the success of Biggie Munn and Duffy Daugherty. Since 1987 nothing much has really taken Michigan State back to the national prominence it enjoyed under Munn and Daugherty.

Michigan State's football fortunes are now in the hands of Mark Dantonio, the former defensive coordinator for Ohio State's 2002 National Championship team.

(Editor's Note: This is Part 2 of a 2-Part Series.)

Read my other Spartan articles on MSU football, including "Dantonio Finally Arrives on the Big 10 Stage as Head Coach at Michigan State", "Michigan State Slams UAB 55-18 in Mark Dantonio"s Coaching Debut" and "College Football – Evaluating Three First-Year Coaches: Saban, Erickson and Dantonio".

Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
Discover 140 Movie Reviews, 87 Sports Articles, 57 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Jobs and Careers Articles, 26 Internet Marketing Articles, 44 News and Comment Articles (372 total articles) plus 629 Famous Quotes.

The Glory Years of the Green and White Michigan State University Football Teams - From Daugherty to Brewer - Part 1

2007-12-21T22:14:00.001-08:00

Ed's Sports Corner:

Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley

Time has a way of evaporating history. I am told that much of history would never have been recorded in the Dark Ages had it not been for the painstaking effort of Catholic monks who recorded what others would not.

Thankfully, Michigan State University has done a remarkable job of recording its storied football history since 1896, more than 110 seasons with some stellar performances among its many coaches and players.

Here are the Spartan coaches who rank among the best:

Chester Brewer 1903 to 1910 – The Defensive Genius

Brewer, a 4-sport star at Wisconsin, knew a thing or two about how to play defense. In 8 years he went 54-10-6, throw out the ties and his 54-10 winning record was an astounding 84%. That is impressive enough, even more impressive was the fact that among his 54 victories were 43 shutouts, making 79% of his victories shutouts.

In 1904 he had 6 straight shutout victories while going 8-1. Among his 6 ties were 4 scoreless (0-0) ties. Two other facts about Brewer shine very brightly, 1) He NEVER lost a home game in 8 years, and 2) He only lost 10 games in 8 years. In 1904 he had a 104-0 rout of Hillsdale, but his greatest moments were a 0-0 tie against Fielding Yost's 1908 Michigan team and a 17-0 shutout over Notre Dame in 1910.

John Macklin 1911 to 1915 – The Pacesetter with a String of Firsts

Macklin, an outstanding athlete at Pennsylvania, succeeded Chester Brewer. He went 29-5 in 5 seasons for an 85% winning percentage, and ran the table in 1913 with a 7-0 mark that included Michigan State's first victory over Michigan, a 12-7 win at Michigan.

Among Macklin's other greatest moments were a 6-3 upset against Penn State in 1914; another 24-0 away victory over Michigan in 1915; and a 35-20 victory over Ohio State in 1912, the first achieved by a MAC team against a Big Ten team.

Jim Crowley 1929 to 1932 – One of Notre Dame's Immortal Four Horsemen

After several years of mediocrity, Crowley restored Michigan State to national prominence by going 22-8-3 (a 73% won-loss percentage) with 4 winning seasons and one win short of a perfect season with a 7-1 record his final year. Crowley's teams had a pair of 0-0 ties against Michigan in 1930 and 1931 which broke Michigan State's 14-game losing streak to Michigan.

Crowley was one of Knute Rockne's Four Horsemen during Notre Dame's glory years made famous by legendary sportswriter Grantland Rice. Crowley would go on to become head coach at Fordham in 1933 and create the "Seven Blocks of Granite" that included legendary Green Bay Packer Coach Vince Lombardi.

From Notre Dame's Four Horsemen to Michigan State to Fordham's Seven Blocks of Granite and the Green Bay Packer's Vince Lombardi is a pretty good legacy created by the man known as "Sleepy Jim" Crowley.

Charlie Bachman 1933 to 1946 – He Brought in Notre Dame's Winning System

Bachman followed Jim Crowley and brought with him Notre Dame's system and managed to log 10 winning seasons in 13 years with a 70-34-10 record (a 67% won-loss percentage). There was no football in 1943 due to World War II.

Bachman was a teammate of Knute Rockne and a Notre Dame alumnus like Crowley. He led the Spartans to a 8-1 mark in his second season, including a 16-0 victory over Michigan, the school' s first outright win in 19 years; it would be the first of 4 consecutive wins against Michigan that Bachman's teams would accomplish. After posting another 8-1 season in 1937 Michigan State received its first bid to a postseason bowl game, the 1938 Orange Bowl.

(Editor's Note: This is Part 1 of a 2-Part Series.)

Editor's Note: Read my other Spartan articles on MSU football, including "Dantonio Finally Arrives on the Big 10 Stage as Head Coach at Michigan State", "Michigan State Slams UAB 55-18 in Mark Dantonio"s Coaching Debut" and "College Football – Evaluating Three First-Year Coaches: Saban, Erickson and Dantonio".

Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
Discover 140 Movie Reviews, 87 Sports Articles, 57 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Jobs and Careers Articles, 26 Internet Marketing Articles, 44 News and Comment Articles (372 total articles) plus 629 Famous Quotes.

AP Top 25 Poll Offers Clear Evidence of College Football's Current Parity - Call It Musical Chairs

2007-12-17T09:36:00.000-08:00

Ed's Sports Corner:

Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley

If you wanted clear evidence that college football's current parity is real, you have only to study the AP Top 25 Poll during the 2007 regular season. I charted the AP Poll of sports writers and broadcasters for 14 consecutive weeks and discovered some amazing facts.

Here are some eye-openers that give every college football team in America hope that next year could be their breakout year, and give you some conversation tools to impress your friends while tipping a brew at the local pub:

1) Only 10 teams that started out the 1st week were able to remain in the AP Top 25 Poll all 14 weeks. Here they are with where they started the 1st week and finished the 14th week:

Southern California (1st to 6th), Louisiana State (2nd to 2nd), West Virginia (3rd to 11th), Florida (4th to 9th), Oklahoma (5th to 3rd), Texas (7th to 17th), Virginia Tech (9th to 5th), Georgia (11th to 4th), Ohio State (12th to 1st) and Hawaii (20th to 10th).

2) Only 5 teams moved into the Poll after the 1st week and were able to stay in the Poll through the 14th and final week. Here they are with the week they started, their place and where they finished:

Boston College the 2nd week (21st to 14th), Missouri the 3rd week (25th to 7th), Arizona State the 4th week (23rd to 12th), Kansas the 6th week (20th to 8th) and Brigham Young the 12th week (23rd to 19th).

3) Three teams rose to the No. 1 spot in the AP Poll before losing—Louisiana State, Missouri and Ohio State. Only the Ohio State re-gained the No. 1 spot, and that happened on the 14th and final week of the regular season when the Buckeyes were idle.

4) No less than 6 teams rose to the No. 2 spot in the Poll before losing—West Virginia, California, Oregon, Boston College, South Florida and Kansas.

5) No less than 45 teams among the 119 Division 1A schools made it into the Top 25 during the 14-week regular season. The 45 teams represent more than one-third (37%) of the 119 schools.

6) Only 6 of the 45 teams were in and out of the poll twice (in, out, in and then out again)—California, Penn State, Rutgers, Alabama, Kentucky and Kansas State.

7) Only 2 of the 45 teams were in and out of the poll three times (in, out, in, out and then in again)—Auburn and Tennessee.

8) Only 4 of the 45 teams became what I would call one-week wonders, they appeared in the Top 25 for one week and then vanished, never to return. They were Purdue, Florida State, Texas Tech and Wake Forest.

Here is the final AP Top 25 Poll following the 14th and final week of regular season play: 1 Ohio State, 2 Louisiana State, 3 Oklahoma, 4 Georgia, 5 Virginia Tech, 6 Southern California, 7 Missouri, 8 Kansas, 9 Florida, 10 Hawaii, 11 West Virginia, 12 Arizona State, 13 Illinois, 14 Boston College, 15 Clemson, 16 Tennessee, 17 Texas, 18 Wisconsin, 19 Brigham Young, 20 Cincinnati, 21 Virginia, 22 Auburn, 23 South Florida, 24 Boise State and 25 Arkansas.

The best state for football in 2007? Clearly Virginia, with Virginia Tech finishing 5th, West Virginia 11th and Virginia 21st. No other state had 3 teams in the Top 25.

The upcoming 32 bowl games can and will change the final AP Top 25 standings when the holiday season is over.

Editor's 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 140 Movie Reviews, 87 Sports Articles, 57 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Jobs and Careers Articles, 26 Internet Marketing Articles, 44 News and Comment Articles (372 total articles) plus 629 Famous Quotes.

College Football - Evaluating Three First-Year Coaches: Saban, Erickson and Dantonio - Part 3

2007-12-09T18:13:00.000-08:00

Ed's Sports Corner:

Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley

Unlike the hiring of Dennis Erickson at Arizona State and Mark Dantonio at Michigan State, the hiring of Nick Saban as Alabama's new head coach became a national media event.

It was not just Saban's incredible coaching record that made his signing such a big deal, it was more the fact that his 8-year, $32 million contract made him the highest paid college football coach ever.

Saban paid his dues in the trenches as a defensive assistant and/or defensive coordinator at Kent State, Syracuse, West Virginia, Ohio State, Navy and Michigan State in the college ranks and with the Houston Oilers in the pros. As a head coach, Saban:

1) Took the Toledo Rockets from a 6-5 record to a 9-2 mark and the Mid-American Conference co-championship before leaving after a year to become Defensive Coordinator for the NFL Cleveland Browns for 4 years under Bill Belichick.

The Browns went from allowing the most points in the NFL (462) prior to Saban's arrival to allowing the fewest points in the league (204) in 2004, the sixth-fewest points surrendered in NFL history at the time. In 4 years of guiding Cleveland, the Browns never allowed an average of 20 points scored for any opponent.

2) Left the Browns to return to Michigan State as its head coach. When he arrived, the Spartans had played one bowl game in the last 5 years. Saban had the Spartans in 4 bowl games in 5 years, becoming the first Spartan coach to lead his team to consecutive bowl appearances in his first 3 seasons.

In 1999, his last year, Michigan State defeated Notre Dame, Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State in the same year for the first time since 1965, and recorded 6 home victories for the first time since the 1912 season. The Spartans were ranked 7th nationally as a team, 5th nationally in Rushing Defense and 11th in Total Defense.

3) Served another 5-year stint at Louisiana State (LSU), producing a 48-16 record (.750 winning percentage in the SEC) while winning a national championship in 2003, 2 Southeastern Conference titles, and 3 SEC West Division championships. His 48 victories in 5 years were the 3rd most among Division 1A head coaches at that time.

He was selected as the 2003 National Coach of the Year by the Associated Press, and earned both the Paul "Bear" Bryant National Coach of the Year Award, and the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award by the Football Writers Association of America.

Saban promoted academic success at LSU as well as football success, producing 84 Academic All-SEC honorees in 5 seasons, including 25 members of his 2003 national championship team, which led the national in Scoring Defense and Total Defense. Twenty-eight of his players were selected in the NFL draft. Thirteen of his players from his 2003 national championship team would go on to play in the NFL.

Saban's 2001 team went 10-3 and won the program's first outright SEC title since 1986 and its first victory in a New Year's Day bowl game since 1968. And, yes, he probably could have been elected governor of Louisiana.

4) Spent 2 years as head coach of the Miami Dolphins in the NFL. Miami was 4-12 when he took over and 9-7 in his first season.

5) Moved on to the Alabama job after bolting from the Miami Dolphins 2 years into a 5-year contract. No one has questioned his success on the field but many have questioned his loyalty and coaching methods. Saban is not a big fan of mediocrity, and he does not tolerate false effort. He demands and gets a lot from his players.

He is comfortable under the klieg lights of Hollywood, and some think he is too full of himself. Given a vote at the University of Alabama, I would guess that the Crimson Tide are happy he is on their side of the field.

Among the three first-year coaches being evaluated in this article—Dennis Erickson of Arizona State, Mark Dantonio of Michigan State and Nick Saban of Alabama—Saban has had the least success.

Alabama's offense was Average in Scoring Offense, Total Offense, Rushing Offense and Passing Offense and Poor in Pass Efficiency Offense. Saban's defense, his strong suit, was Good in Scoring Defense (29th nationally), Total Defense and Pass Efficiency Defense (both 28th nationally), and Average in Rushing Defense and Passing Defense.

Overall, Alabama scored 32 of 50 possible points in my rating system, Michigan State scored 33 of 50 and Arizona State 35 of 50.

Alabama was 6-2 this year at its zenith before hitting a downward spiral in its last 4 games, losing by a touchdown to LSU 41-34, getting beat on the road at Mississippi State 17-12 (bad), losing at home by a touchdown to Louisiana-Monroe 21-14 (terrible), and then dropping its last game to Auburn by a touchdown on the road 17-10 (horrific). Friend, you just do not lose to Auburn when you coach Alabama.

Nick Saban and his Crimson Tide will have at least one shot at some redemption when they face Colorado (6-6) in the Independence Bowl on Dec. 30. A more accurate name for this bowl match-up might be the Mediocre Bowl. Despite Saban's first-year record, the smart money will still be on Alabama, at least for this game.

Editor's Note: This is the last of a 3-Part Series.

Editor's Note: Read my sports articles on "Nick Saban: A Great College Football Coach Who Might Bring Alabama Back to Greatness", "Dantonio Finally Arrives on the Big 10 Stage as Head Coach at Michigan State" and "Boise State Looked Oklahoma in the Eye and Showed How Belief Makes a Winner".

Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
Discover 138 Movie Reviews, 81 Sports Articles, 55 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Jobs and Careers Articles, 26 Internet Marketing Articles, 40 News and Comment Articles, and 616 Famous Quotes.

College Football - Evaluating Three First-Year Coaches: Saban, Erickson and Dantonio - Part 2

2007-12-08T10:51:00.000-08:00

Ed's Sports Corner:

Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley

When Mark Dantonio took over as head coach at Michigan State University this year, he was really a low-profile appointee and far less known than Dennis Erickson and Nick Saban outside of the college football fraternity.

Dantonio had made his biggest impression as an assistant coach at Ohio State rather than as a head coach at Cincinnati. Not that he did poorly at Cincinnati. He became only the second head coach in Cincinnati history to take the Bearcats to a bowl game in his first season in 2004, topping Marshall 32-14 in the Fort Worth Bowl to cap a 7-5 season.

His 2006 Cincinnati Bearcats played the second toughest schedule in the country and went 7-5 overall with four losses to ranked teams and also an upset victory over then-ranked No. 7 Rutgers, marking the highest-ranked opponent ever defeated in Bearcat history.

While serving as the Defensive Coordinator at Ohio State, Dantonio helped the Buckeyes to a 32-6 record in three seasons, and Ohio State was 14-0 and won the national championship in 2002. His national championship defense was 2nd nationally in Scoring Defense.

In the 2003 season his defense ranked first nationally in Rushing Defense and 9th in Total Defense, which led the Buckeyes to an 11-2 record and a No. 4 national ranking. Six Buckeye defenders were named first team All-Big 10 during Dantonio's 3-year tenure and 13 were drafted into the NFL, including two first round picks.

Prior to becoming Michigan State's head coach, he spent 6 years with the Spartans as the secondary coach and associate head coach. He was instrumental in Michigan State's successful 1999 season when the Spartans were 10-2, won the Florida Citrus Bowl, and ranked No. 7 in the final polls.

Dantonio's first season at Michigan State was the school's most successful since 2003. His Spartans went 7-5, losing all 5 games by 7 points or less, and becoming bowl eligible for the first time in four years. The Spartans will play the Boston College Eagles in the Champs Sports Bowl on Dec. 28. Coincidentally, Michigan State defeated Boston College for the College Hockey National Championship in 2007.

Dantonio, known for his defensive prowess, won 7 games this year despite his inherited players scoring Average in all major defensive categories: Scoring Defense, Total Defense, Rushing Defense, Pass Defense and Pass Efficiency Defense.

His offense was Good in Scoring Offense (24th nationally), Rushing Offense (22nd nationally) and Pass Efficiency Offense (23rd nationally) while his Total Offense and Passing Offense were Average.

The former defensive back at South Carolina inherited a team that was not bowl-eligible and went 5-7, 5-6 and 4-8 the last three years. Going 7-5 and earning a bowl game in his first season was an accomplishment, especially since Dantonio did not pick the talent-level of his players, and trust me when I say they had some slugs on defense.

Michigan State lost by a touchdown to both No. 1-ranked Ohio State and Iowa in away games, lost by a field goal to Wisconsin away, lost by a touchdown to Northwestern in overtime at home, and lost by 4 points to Michigan at home. In 4 of those losses, the Spartans gave up 48, 37, 34 and 28 points; that is simply giving up too many points to expect to win.

Dantonio's first recruiting class currently ranks 55th according to Scout.com with no recruits in the Top 100, no 5-star players and one 4-star player. This is not a good sign. Notre Dame has the top recruiting class in the country with seven Top 100 players, four 5-star players and thirteen 4-star players. Yikes!

Ohio State, another big competitor for recruiting in the Midwest, has nine Top 100 players, four 5-star players and eight 4-star players. The Spartans are going to have to tighten their helmet strap a little tighter and dig deeper to fight off this kind of opposition.

Let us hope that Mark Dantonio and his players understand that motivation is an inside job. The coaches pick the talent and convince the talent to come to their program, but the players ultimately make their talent pay. You cannot win big without talent, but talent has to not only show up but play on game day or you lose anyway.

Editor's Note: This is Part 2 of a 3-Part Series. Part 3 evaluates Nick Saban's performance at Alabama.

Editor's Note: Read my sports articles on "Dantonio Finally Arrives on the Big 10 Stage as Head Coach at Michigan State", "Nick Saban: A Great College Football Coach Who Might Bring Alabama Back to Greatness", and "Boise State Looked Oklahoma in the Eye and Showed How Belief Makes a Winner".

Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
Discover 138 Movie Reviews, 81 Sports Articles, 55 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Jobs and Careers Articles, 26 Internet Marketing Articles, 40 News and Comment Articles, and 616 Famous Quotes.

College Football - Evaluating Three First-Year Coaches: Saban, Erickson and Dantonio - Part 1

2007-12-06T21:32:00.000-08:00

Ed's Sports Corner:

Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley

Early in the 2007 college football season I identified three capable, experienced new first-year coaches brought in to rescue troubled programs—Nick Saban at Alabama, Dennis Erickson at Arizona State and Mark Dantonio at Michigan State. Since the regular season has ended, it is time to evaluate their performance.

I created a new system to do so. The basis is the actual NCAA regular season team statistics for the 5 main offensive and 5 main defensive categories. These are Scoring Offense, Total Offense, Rushing Offense, Passing Offense, Pass Efficiency Offense, Scoring Defense, Total Defense, Rushing Defense, Pass Defense and Pass Efficiency Defense.

A numerical value (1 to 5) was then assigned for the 119 Division 1A schools. The Top 10 in each category got a "Great" rating of 5, the next 20 got a "Good" rating of 4, the next 59 an "Average" rating of 3, the next 20 a "Poor" rating of 2, and the bottom 10 a "Terrible" rating of 1.

The Great and Good ratings represent the top 25% of the schools, the Average rating represents the middle 50%, and the Poor and Terrible ratings represent the bottom 25% of the schools.

Given this system, the best results were clearly produced by Dennis Erickson, followed by Mark Dantonio and then Nick Saban.

When Arizona State signed Dennis Erickson as its head coach, the Sun Devils won the lottery. Erickson is arguably among the 5 greatest current college football coaches in the country, and he has the performance record to back up my assertion. Before arriving at Arizona State, Erickson had:

1) Led Miami (FL) to a 63-9 record (.875 winning percentage) during a 6-year period that produced two national championships in 1989 (11-1) and 1991 (12-0). Erickson logged 32 straight home victories, part of the longest home winning streak in college football history as Miami won 58 straight from 1985 to 1994.

2) Engineered one of the biggest turnarounds in college football history at Oregon State, taking a team that had not had a winning season in 28 years to a 7-5 record his first year, and an 11-1 mark his second year, beating Notre Dame 41-9 in the Fiesta Bowl and ending the year ranked No. 4 in the AP Poll. He was named Pac 10 Coach of the Year, and the Sporting News National Coach of the Year.

3) Inherited a pathetic Washington State team and was 9-3 his second year, upsetting top-ranked UCLA and beating Houston 24-22 in the Aloha Bowl in 1988. The bowl victory was the first for Washington State in 57 years. He was named Pac 10 Coach of the Year.

4) Inherited a struggling Idaho program and instantly turned it into 4 consecutive winning seasons with a 32-15 record and two Division IAA playoff appearances.

5) Joined Lou Holtz as the only coaches in the past 20 seasons to win 3 games against No. 1 ranked teams in the AP Poll. He beat top-ranked UCLA, Notre Dame (snapping a 23-game winning streak for the Fighting Irish) and Florida (snapping a 16-game winning streak for the Siminoles).

So how did Erickson do in his first regular season at Arizona State? Not too shabby. He inherited a 7-6 team that had suffered an embarrassing 41-24 loss to Hawaii in the Hawaii Bowl, and promptly won his first 8 games, rising to No. 6 in the AP Poll before losing to Oregon.

The Sun Devils finished the season at 10-2 with a No. 11 ranking in the BCS Standings. Arizona State will face Texas (9-3) in the Holiday Bowl on Dec. 27. He was again selected as Pac 10 Coach of the Year this year, and also nominated for the 2007 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award.

Erickson did start with some talent but the statistics highlight his coaching ability. On offense the Sun Devils were no more than Average in Scoring Offense, Total Offense, Rushing Offense and Passing Offense and Good in Pass Efficiency Offense. On defense they were Good in Scoring Defense, Total Defense, Rushing Defense and Pass Efficiency Defense and Average in Pass Defense.

Erickson is known as an offensive innovator but his greatest legacy is winning football games. He lifetime record is currently 158-67-1. Dennis Erickson was a better coach than either Nick Saban or Mark Dantonio this year.

Editor's Note: This is Part 1 of a 3-Part Series. Part 2 evaluates Mark Dantonio's performance at Michigan State.

Editor's Note: Read my sports articles on "Dantonio Finally Arrives on the Big 10 Stage as Head Coach at Michigan State", "Nick Saban: A Great College Football Coach Who Might Bring Alabama Back to Greatness", and "Boise State Looked Oklahoma in the Eye and Showed How Belief Makes a Winner".

Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
Discover 138 Movie Reviews, 81 Sports Articles, 55 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Jobs and Careers Articles, 26 Internet Marketing Articles, 40 News and Comment Articles, and 616 Famous Quotes.

College Football Statistics - Washington Huskies Led Nation in One Critical Category: Strength of Schedule

2007-12-05T22:11:00.000-08:00

Ed's Sports Corner:

Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley

If you ask a Husky fan or rabid booster to describe Washington's recently completed football season in 3 words the answer might be "another losing season." In 2 words it might be "lousy coaching" or "terrible defense" or "stupid mistakes." My description in 2 words would be "Locker" and "schedule."

Schedule would be strength of schedule. The Huskies ended their season as the No. 1-rated team in strength of schedule (difficulty of opponent) among the NCAA's 242 Division 1A and 1AA teams.

With a 4-9 season record, some fans might say, "So what?" While it is true that playing the toughest schedule in the country did not win Washington any more games, it did provide the one ingredient the Huskies need most to improve more next year: experience against quality opponents.

In effect, a lot of inexperienced Huskies got up-close, personal lessons in what it takes to win at the highest level. They, according to the most recent BCS Standings:

1) Upset No. 24-ranked Boise State 24-10 at home.

2) Led No. 1-ranked Ohio State 7-3 at the half before losing 33-14 at home.

3) Led No. 7-ranked Southern Cal 17-14 at the half before losing 27-24 at home.

4) Led No. 11-ranked Arizona State 17-13 at the half before losing 44-20 on the road.

5) Led No. 10-ranked Hawaii 21-0 after 10 minutes and 28-21 at the half before losing 35-28 on the road.

The inexperienced, talent-challenged Huskies never did really learn how to lock down and finish off an opponent. It was not the offense that let them down, they averaged more than 4 touchdowns a game; it was the defense that most often collapsed in the second half.

Among 119 Division 1A schools, the Washington defense was ranked 94th in Scoring Defense (Poor), 102nd in Total Defense (Poor), 89th in Rushing Defense (Poor), 99th in Pass Defense (Poor) and 99th in Pass Efficiency Defense (Poor).

Name calling is never nice, however, the Husky defensive secondary could not cover their grandmother on their best day. Note to Coach Ty Willingham: Recruit and offer scholarships to players with speed. You cannot coach slow.

If God did not give you speed, you cannot make players faster by coaching them to death. They are already dead, dead slow in a fast player's game. If the entire Husky defensive secondary were all seniors and gone next year, Washington would do no worse. Speed kills in football. If the defensive staff cannot recognize speed, have them watch NFL films of Randy Moss separating from defenders.

Which brings me to Locker, Jake Locker, as in Washington's redshirt freshman quarterback. Locker is a NFL quality running back with size, strength and speed right now. He just happens to play quarterback.

Running is all about instinct and speed. Passing is about arm strength, quick release, patience, presence and proper technique. Passing is so much more complicated than running; no wonder Locker is so impressive running rather than passing. I believe Locker will improve his accuracy and touch in passing, Lord knows he has the arm strength.

How good is Locker? He was just named the Pac 10 Conference Freshman of the Year. Locker broke the Husky and Pac 10 record for rushing yards by a quarterback, finishing the year with 986 yards and 13 touchdowns (also a Husky QB record). He also set a new Husky freshman record for most yards passing with 2,062. Unless injured, he will be playing on Sundays in the NFL.

Ty Willingham's Washington Husky recruits for next year include 5-star Kavario Middleton (rated No. 2 nationally as a tight end), and 4-star recruits Craig Noble (DT), Senio Kelemete (OT), Drew Schaefer (OT), Jermaine Kearse (WR) and Cody Burns (WR). Washington has the 18th best recruiting class in the country, according to Scout.com and Dawgman.com.

Despite a 3-year record of 11-25, it was announced today that Ty Willingham will return as the Husky head coach next year. Some fans and boosters wanted Willingham gone, others loved that he is staying on to finish what he started when he signed a 5-year contract. Can Washington go from a 4-9 record this year to a 9-4 record next year? Only time will tell.

One thing is for sure: Eight of the Huskies' 12 opponents next season are playing bowl games this year—Brigham Young, Oregon, Oklahoma, California, Oregon State, Southern Cal, Arizona State and UCLA. Their other 4 opponents include Stanford, Arizona, Notre Dame and Washington State.

They better be better or the odds say Ty Willingham and his assistant coaches will be job hunting.

Editor's Note: Read my 11 other Washington Husky articles including "Meet the Nation's Most Statistically Incredible Team – The University of Washington Huskies", "Anatomy of a Team on the Rise: Washington Will Get Over Freshmanitis and Really Thrive" and "College Football Mayhem: Flagrant Helmet-to-Helmet Shots Need to Stop Before Someone Gets Killed".

Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com/
Discover 138 Movie Reviews, 81 Sports Articles, 55 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Jobs and Careers Articles, 26 Internet Marketing Articles, 40 News and Comment Articles, and 616 Famous Quotes.

Facts to Impress Your Friends: Picking Apart the 10 Teams that Won College Football's BCS Bowl Lottery

2007-12-05T00:00:00.000-08:00

Ed's Sports Corner:

Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley

While the BCS Standings may have had a mess in determining which teams should play for college football's national championship, it turns out that Ohio State and Louisiana State may have been the best possible choice after all.

In analyzing the 10 teams that won this year's bowl lottery with the highest payouts for the 5 major BCS bowl games, I created a new system to evaluate the teams involved. Rather than add to the already flooded opinions about who should or should not have been chosen, I have decided to apply some cold, hard facts that are beyond dispute.

The basis is the actual NCAA regular season team statistics for the 5 main offensive and 5 main defensive categories. These are Scoring Offense, Total Offense, Rushing Offense, Passing Offense, Pass Efficiency Offense, Scoring Defense, Total Defense, Rushing Defense, Pass Defense and Pass Efficiency Defense.

A numerical value (1 to 5) was then assigned for the 119 Division 1A schools. The Top 10 in each category got a "Great" rating of 5, the next 20 got a "Good" rating of 4, the next 59 an "Average" rating of 3, the next 20 a "Poor" rating of 2, and the bottom 10 a "Terrible" rating of 1.

The Great and Good ratings represent the top 25% of the schools, the Average rating represents the middle 50%, and the Poor and Terrible ratings represent the bottom 25% of the schools.

Given this system, the best quality game (not necessarily the best game) during the bowl season may well be the Ohio State-Louisiana State (LSU) match-up in the Allstate BCS National Championship Game. Here is why:

1) A perfect score in the 5 defensive categories is 25 and Ohio State (11-1) fits the profile with a perfect 25 score. The Buckeyes lead the nation in 4 of the 5 categories: Scoring Defense, Total Defense, Pass Defense and Pass Efficiency Defense, and rank No. 3 in Rushing Defense. Ohio State is, in fact, the best defensive team in the country based on actual results.

2) LSU (11-2) is among the Top 10 teams in 3 defensive categories: No. 3 in Total Defense and Pass Efficiency Defense, and No. 9 in Pass Defense. The Tigers are Good in the other two categories for a total score of 23.

3) On offense neither team is really good. Ohio State is Good in 2 categories and Average in 3 others for a 17 total score, while LSU is Good in 3 categories and Average in 2 others for an 18 score.

4) Adding up their offensive and defensive totals, Ohio State scores 42 out of a perfect 50, and LSU scores 41. This should be a lower scoring defensive battle with all of the earmarks of a great national championship game going down to the final moments. Call it a toss-up.

The Rose Bowl pits Southern California (10-2) and Illinois (9-3) with a distinct advantage for Southern Cal (USC) because it is the only other team among the 10 BCS bowl contestants that has a perfect 25 score on the defensive side of the ball.

USC, like Ohio State, is in the Top 10 nationally in all 5 defensive categories, ranking No. 2 in Total Defense and No. 4 in both Rushing Defense and Scoring Defense. Illinois is Good in 2 categories and Average in 3 others for a total of 17 out of 25.

Both USC and Illinois tie for the lowest total score with 15 among the 5 offensive categories. USC is only 1 of 2 teams to rate Average in every offensive category. Illinois is Great in Rushing Offense (No. 5 nationally) and Terrible in Passing Offense (No. 114 nationally).

The question is "Can USC's top-rated rush defense stop Illinois' top-rated rushing offense?" I think the Trojans can. USC has far more experience at this level than Illinois, and a great defense generally stops a great offense when the great offense meets better competition.

The Tostitos Fiesta Bowl should prove to be an interesting clash between Oklahoma (11-2) and West Virginia (10-2). Oklahoma scores out a little better on offense (21 to 18) and West Virginia scores a little better on defense (22 to 20). Oklahoma's total score is 41, the same as LSU's, and West Virginia's is 40. Another good contest.

The Oklahoma Sooners are Great in 4 categories: Scoring Offense (No. 3 nationally), Pass Efficiency Offense (No. 2 nationally), Scoring Defense (No. 9 nationally) and Rushing Defense (No. 8 nationally).

The West Virginia Mountaineers are Great in 3 categories: Rushing Offense (No. 4 nationally), Total Defense (No. 4 nationally) and Scoring Defense (No. 7 nationally). West Virginia is Terrible in Passing Offense (No. 113 nationally).

Look for West Virginia to run, run, run and Oklahoma to use its great rushing defense to stop them. While Oklahoma is no Ohio State defensively, they bring much more experience to the table, having played in 3 national championship games in the past 7 years. The Sooners beat Florida State 13-2 for the national title in 2000, lost to LSU 21-14 in 2003 and lost to USC 55-19 in 2004. West Virginia has yet to play in a national championship game.

Oklahoma should win this game. The Sooners have to be smarting after last year's humiliating 43-42 loss to Boise State in last year's Fiesta Bowl. Oklahoma returns to the same bowl game as last year's loss and has some unfinished business, like winning against a better team this year.

The FedEx Orange Bowl game between Virginia Tech (11-2) and Kansas (11-1) should also be interesting. Virginia Tech has the 3rd highest total defensive score (24 of 25) among the 10 bowl teams.

The Hokies are Great in Scoring Defense (No. 2 nationally), Pass Efficiency Defense (No. 4 nationally), Total Defense and Rushing Defense (both No. 5 nationally). Virginia Tech's offense is Average to Poor so the Hokies better be good on defense.

Kansas has the best offensive score (23 of 25) among the 10 bowl teams. The Jayhawks are Great in 3 categories: Scoring Offense (No. 2 nationally), Total Offense (No. 6 nationally) and Pass Efficiency Offense (No. 7 nationally).

Kansas is also Great in 3 defensive categories: Scoring Defense (No. 5 nationally), Rushing Defense (No. 7 nationally) and Pass Efficiency Defense (No. 10 nationally). The Jayhawks and the only team among the 10 bowl teams rated Great in 6 categories. Their loss to Missouri hurt a bunch; they just might send Virginia Tech home with a loss.

The Allstate Sugar Bowl game brings Hawaii (12-0) face-to-face with Georgia (10-2). On paper Hawaii has a much better offense, scoring Great in 4 categories: Scoring Offense and Passing Offense (both No. 1 nationally), Total Offense and Pass Efficiency Offense (both No. 3 nationally). The Warriors have Colt Brennan, a quarterback to be feared.

Hawaii's defense in not good but neither is Georgia's offense; the Bulldogs, like the USC Trojans, are Average across the board. Georgia's defense is better but its Pass Efficiency Defense is Average. Georgia has played much better competition than Hawaii and should win this game, but I have seen Colt Brennan pass, and he is THAT good.

Editor's Note: Read my articles on "Want a Six-Figure Income Without Getting a College Degree of Any Kind? Here Is How", my 2-part series on "There Is No Huge Correlation Between Education and Income and Here Is Why" and "Who Earns the Most Based on Their Educational Level".

Editor's Note: Explore my main blog at:
http://www.edbagleyblog.com
Discover 138 Movie Reviews, 81 Sports Articles, 55 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Jobs and Careers Articles, 26 Internet Marketing Articles, 40 News and Comment Articles, and 616 Famous Quotes.

College Football - The BCS: What a Mess - Now It Becomes Crystal Clear: There Is No No. 1 Team in College Football

2007-12-03T21:32:00.000-08:00

Ed's Sports Corner:

Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley

Both No. 1-ranked Missouri and No. 2-ranked West Virginia had to go and lose in the final weekend of this year's regular college football season, throwing the Allstate BCS National Championship Game into a crapshoot in which No. 3-ranked Ohio State and No. 5-ranked LSU won.

Had Missouri beaten Oklahoma for the Big 12 championship, and had West Virginia beaten Pittsburgh, they would be playing in the BCS National Championship Game. Instead, it will be Ohio State (11-1) and LSU (11-2) for all the marbles. LSU will be the first two-loss team to play for the national title since the inception of the BCS in 1998.

No. 9-ranked Oklahoma (11-2), which whipped Missouri 41-31 earlier in the season, humbled Missouri again by 3 touchdowns, 38-17, to end the Tigers national title hopes. By winning again the Sooners won the Big 12 championship and a BCS bowl game berth. They will face West Virginia (10-2) in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.

West Virginia lost to Pittsburgh (5-7) 13-9 on its home field in a defensive battle. It was a sad end to the Mountaineers regular season. The Mountaineers continue to vex themselves by having won more games than any other team in major college football without winning a national title.

Pittsburgh Coach Dave Wannstedt, a Pitt grad who played tackle for the Panthers, was a former defensive coordinator for the NFL Dallas Cowboys and also Head Coach for the Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins. He has made Pitt a tough opponent despite a 16-19 record since taking over in 2005.

LSU helped its case immensely by turning back Tennessee 21-14 and winning the SEC championship. By staying the course, the Tigers find themselves playing for their 2nd national championship in 5 years. LSU won the title in 2003 by beating Oklahoma 21-14.

The LSU Tigers also benefited by losing both of their only losses to Louisville and Arkansas in triple overtime. They could have just as easily been 12-0 like Hawaii. Ohio State, which was idle this weekend after beating Michigan 14-3 for the Big 10 title a week earlier, just sat patiently and watched as Missouri and West Virginia blew their chances.

No. 6-ranked Virginia Tech (11-2) slapped Boston College 30-16 to win the Atlantic Coast championship and a BCS bowl game spot in the FedEx Orange Bowl against Kansas (11-1).

No. 8-ranked Southern California (10-2) beat UCLA 24-7 to earn an unprecedented 6th consecutive Pac 10 championship. The Trojans were ranked No. 1 starting the season but suffered a shocking 24-23 loss to 41-point underdog Stanford, and then they were upset by Oregon 24-17 to knock them out of national title contention.

Do not feel too bad for Southern Cal though as the win gets them a BCS bowl game appearance in the Rose Bowl against Illinois (9-3). It also marks the Trojans 6th straight BCS bowl berth and 32nd appearance in the Rose Bowl, commonly referred to as the "Granddaddy of All Bowl Games".

No. 11-ranked Hawaii ended its season with two 4th quarter touchdowns to edge Washington 35-28 and finish as the nation's only undefeated Division 1A team at 12-0. By winning, Hawaii—the outright Western Athletic Conference champions—earned a BCS bowl game spot in the Allstate Sugar Bowl against Georgia (10-2).

Washington stormed to a quick 21-0 lead in the first 10 minutes of the game on 3 Hawaii turnovers, but the Warriors proved their mettle by coming from behind on the strong and accurate arm of senior Colt Brennan, who completed 42 of 50 passes for 442 yards, 5 touchdowns and no interceptions.

Brennan, who should be playing on Sundays in the NFL, notched a school record 20 straight completions against the pathetic Husky secondary that ranks 99th among 119 Division 1A schools in both Pass Defense and Pass Efficiency Defense. Brennan has thrown for 4.174 yards and 38 touchdowns this season.

Here is some well deserved love for Hawaii: The Warriors may have played a weak schedule (rated 137th among 119 Division 1A teams), and the Washington Huskies may have played the nation's toughest schedule (rated No. 1 nationally), but Hawaii beat Washington straight up 35-28 and is the better team. Period, that's it.

And more Hawaiian love: Like it or not, the Warriors have won a national-best 13 straight games, and 22 of their last 23 games. They have a chance to make it 14 straight wins and continue the streak by beating Georgia in the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

Two teams that were passed over for BCS bowl games were Missouri (11-2) and Arizona State (10-2), each of which could have gotten a bid.

The real winner of that elusive last spot among the 5 BCS bowl games went to Illinois (9-3), which lost to Missouri, Iowa and Michigan during the regular season. The choice of Illinois should be no mystery when you know that Illinois was 2-10 last year and 9-3 this year. Credit Head Coach Ron Zook for the incredible turnaround the Fighting Illini experienced.

Perhaps even more important to advertisers is that Illinois is in the nation's 3rd largest metro market (9 million people) and its opponent—Southern Cal—is in the nation's 2nd largest metro market (12.3 million). These markets dwarf Arizona's largest market (13th at 4 million) and Missouri's largest market (18th at 2.7 million). It is all about people and money and where they are at for advertisers.

Arizona State did beat in-state rival Arizona 20-17 but the win was hardly impressive, not that it mattered. The Sun Devils could have beaten them by 4 touchdowns and the result would probably have been the same: no BCS slot for Arizona State. Both Arizona State and Missouri will play in bowl games, just not the 5 major BCS ones with big payouts.

Here is a complete list of this year's bowl lineup; all game times are listed in EST.

2007-08 College Football Bowl Schedule

Dec. 20 – Thursday
Utah (8-4) vs. Navy (8-4) in the Poinsettia Bowl – ESPN, 9 p.m.

Dec. 21 – Friday
Florida Atlantic (7-5) vs. Memphis (7-5) in the New Orleans Bowl – ESPN2, 8 p.m.

Dec. 22 – Saturday
Cincinnati (9-3) vs. Southern Mississippi in the Papajohns.com Bowl – ESPN2, 1 p.m.
New Mexico (8-4) vs. Nevada (6-6) in the New Mexico Bowl – ESPN, 4:30 p.m.
Brigham Young (10-2) vs. UCLA (6-6) in the Las Vegas Bowl – ESPN, 8 p.m.

Dec. 23 – Sunday
East Carolina (7-5) vs. Boise State (10-2) in the Hawaii Bowl – ESPN, 8 p.m.

Dec. 26 – Wednesday
Purdue (7-5) vs. Central Michigan (8-5) in the Motor City Bowl – ESPN, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 27 – Thursday
Texas (9-3) vs. Arizona State (10-2) in the Holiday Bowl – ESPN, 8 p.m.

Dec. 28 – Friday
Michigan State (7-5) vs. Boston College (10-3) in the Champs Sports Bowl – ESPN, 5 p.m.
Houston (8-4) vs. TCU (7-5) in the Texas Bowl – NFL Network, 8 p.m.
Oregon State (8-4) vs. Maryland (6-6) in the Emerald Bowl – ESPN, 8:30 p.m.

Dec. 29 – Saturday
Wake Forest (8-4) vs. Connecticut (9-3) in the Meineke Car Care Bowl – ESPN, 1 p.m.
Central Florida (10-3) vs. Mississippi State (7-5) in the Liberty Bowl – ESPN, 4:30 p.m.
Texas A&M (7-5) vs. Penn State (8-4) in the Alamo Bowl – ESPN, 8 p.m.

Dec. 30 – Sunday
Alabama (6-6) vs. Colorado (6-6) in the Independence Bowl – ESPN, 8 p.m.

Dec. 31 – Monday – New Year's Eve
Air Force (9-3) vs. California (6-6) in the Armed Forces Bowl – ESPN, 12:30 p.m.
Oregon (8-4) vs. South Florida (9-3) in the Sun Bowl – CBS, 2 p.m.
Georgia Tech (7-5) vs. Fresno State (8-4) in the Humanitarian Bowl – ESPN, 2 p.m.
Kentucky (7-5) vs. Florida State (7-5) in the Music City Bowl – ESPN, 4 p.m.
Indiana (7-5) vs. Oklahoma State (6-6) in the Insight Bowl – NFL Network, 5:30 p.m.
Auburn (8-4) vs. Clemson (9-3) in the Chick-fil-A Bowl – ESPN, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 1 – Tuesday – New Year's Day
Wisconsin (9-3) vs. Tennessee (9-4) in the Outback Bowl – ESPN, 11 a.m.
Missouri (11-2) vs. Arkansas (8-4) in the Cotton Bowl – Fox, 11:30 a.m.
Virginia (9-3) vs. Texas Tech (8-4) in the Gator Bowl – CBS, 1 p.m.
Michigan (8-4) vs. Florida (9-3) in the Capital One Bowl – ABC, 1 p.m.
Illinois (9-3) vs. Southern California (10-2) in the Rose Bowl (a BCS Bowl Game) – ABC, 5 p.m.
Hawaii (12-0) vs. Georgia (10-2) in the Sugar Bowl (a BCS Bowl Game) – Fox, 8:30 p.m.

Jan. 2 – Wednesday
Oklahoma (11-2) vs. West Virginia (10-2) in the Fiesta Bowl (a BCS Bowl Game) – Fox, 8 p.m.

Jan. 3 – Thursday
Virginia Tech (11-2) vs. Kansas (11-1) in the Orange Bowl (a BCS Bowl Game) – Fox, 8 p.m.

Jan. 5 – Saturday
Rutgers (7-5) vs. Ball State (7-5) in the International Bowl in Toronto, Canada – ESPN, Noon.

Jan. 6 – Sunday
Tulsa (9-4) vs. Bowling Green (8-4) in the GMAC Bowl – ESPN, 8 p.m.

Jan. 7 – Monday
Ohio State (11-1) vs. LSU (11-2) in the Allstate BCS National Championship Game in New Orleans – Fox, 8 p.m.

Note: ESPN dominates bowl game broadcasting. ESPN will broadcast 21 of the 32 bowl games, Fox 5, and ABC, CBS and the NFL Network 2 apiece.

Editor's 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 138 Movie Reviews, 81 Sports Articles, 55 Articles on Lessons in Life, 18 Jobs and Careers Articles, 26 Internet Marketing Articles, 40 News and Comment Articles, and 616 Famous Quotes.

"Chariots of Fire" Is Very Simply the Greatest Running Movie Ever Made

2007-11-29T22:41:00.000-08:00

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.

Erik's Reader Feedback: "I Hope Hawaii Demolishes Washington on Saturday"

2007-11-28T19:54:00.000-08:00

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.

College Football 2007 - Week 13: If the BCS National Championship Game Was Today, Missouri and West Virginia Would Play

2007-11-26T00:29:00.000-08:00

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.

College Basketball - How Can Losing Still Be a Positive? When You Are Playing Good Teams

2007-11-25T12:55:00.000-08:00

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.

If You Thought SEC Was the Toughest NCAA Football Conference, Think Again - Statistics Tell Another Story

2007-11-20T19:54:00.000-08:00

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:
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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 Statistics: Only 8 Teams Now Vie for BCS Title Game, Sagarin Reveals a New View of the Rivals

2007-11-19T17:47:00.000-08:00

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
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College Football 2007 - Week 12: Oregon and Oklahoma Lose BCS Ttile Hopes, Only 0 and 1 Loss Teams Remain in the Hunt

2007-11-18T23:17:00.000-08:00

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
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College Basketball - Lorenzo Romar's Washington Husky Recruits Are Among Top 15 Classes

2007-11-17T23:24:00.000-08:00

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.

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College Basketball - Huskies Earn Spot in NIT Season Tip-Off Semis, Head to the Big Apple

2007-11-16T00:39:00.000-08:00

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:
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College Football Mayhem: Flagrant Helmet-to-Helmet Shots Need to Stop Before Someone Gets Killed

2007-11-12T17:06:00.000-08:00

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:
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College Football 2007 - Week 11: Illinois Upends Ohio State 28-21, Creating a Scramble for the BCS Championship Game

2007-11-11T19:47:00.000-08:00

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.

An Unforgettable Gift: What Makes a Person Want to Run, and Why Few Will Ever Know the Joy of Running

2007-11-08T23:49:00.000-08:00

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.

College Football - Washington Takes Off the Training Wheels and Thumps Stanford 27-9

2007-11-08T23:45:00.000-08:00

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".

WA State 2007 Cross Country Meet: 2 Girls Teams Win Consecutive Championships: No. 3 for Gig Harbor and No. 2 for NW Christian

2007-11-07T22:31:00.000-08:00

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".

College Football 2007 - Season's 4 Biggest Surprises: Oregon, Kansas, Boston College & Arizona State

2007-11-05T23:07:00.000-08:00

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.

College Football 2007 - Week 10: There Are Only 3 Unbeaten Teams Left: 10-0 Ohio State, 9-0 Kansas & 8-0 Hawaii

2007-11-04T23:10:00.000-08:00

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".

Seattle SuperSonics Basketball: Hey, Clay Bennett: "Take a Flying Leap Off of a Short Pier"

2007-11-04T11:57:00.000-08:00

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".

What Exactly Is a Jimmy Jack?

2007-11-03T00:12:00.000-08:00

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"

A Look at the Stats: So Who Is Really Overrated? Hawaii (8-0) or Washington (2-6)

2007-11-01T18:46:00.000-08:00

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.

College Football Enjoys Parity: Only 10 of AP Top 25 Poll Teams Have Remained Alive All 9 Weeks

2007-10-30T23:06:00.000-08:00

Ed's Sports Corner:

Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley

Is there parity in the 2007 college football season?

I think so, given the fact that parity means equality in this case. The old adage that any team can beat any other team on any given Saturday has never been more evident than this season.

My analysis shows only 10 of the initial AP Top 25 Poll teams have remained in the Top 25 during the first 9 weeks of the season. The standard bearers are:

No. 1 USC is now ranked 13.

No. 2 LSU is now ranked 3 (the most consistent team all season).

No. 3 West Virginia is now ranked 7.

No. 4 Florida is now ranked 18.

No. 5 Oklahoma is now ranked 5 (they were No. 10 and bounced back).

No. 7 Texas is now ranked 14.

No. 9 Virginia Tech is now ranked 11.

No. 11 Georgia is now ranked 10.

No. 12 Ohio State is now ranked 1.

No. 20 Hawaii is now ranked 12.

Eight late bloomers arrived the second week or after and have remained in the Top 25. They are South Carolina, Oregon and Boston College (8 weeks in the poll), South Florida and Missouri (7 weeks), Arizona State (6 weeks), Kansas (4 weeks) and Michigan (3 weeks).

Michigan lost its first two games, one to AA Appalachian State in one of the biggest upsets in college football history. Big Blue from the Big House has rebounded with 7 straight wins, including victories over Penn State, Purdue and Illinois (the rest were slugs).

Four teams were in the Poll then out and played their way back in. They are Auburn, Boise State, Clemson and Alabama.

Four other teams were in, then out, back in and now back out. They are Penn State, Rutgers, Tennessee and Kansas State.

Ten more teams were in for more than a week, then out and have not been back in. They include California (8 weeks in), Wisconsin and Kentucky (6 weeks), Nebraska (5 weeks), Cincinnati (4 weeks), Louisville and Texas A&M (3 weeks), UCLA, Arkansas and Georgia Tech (2 weeks).

Six other teams have been one-week wonders; they made it into the Top 25, were bounced out the next week, and never returned. They include TCU, Purdue, Illinois, Florida State, Texas Tech and Virginia.

Overall, no less than 44 teams have been represented in the AP Top 25 Poll in the first 9 weeks of the season, that is 37% of the 119 Division 1-A teams eligible for the AP Poll voting by the nation's elite sports writers and broadcasters.

So more than a third of the nation's Division 1-A teams have been in the Top 25 in 9 weeks. Two newcomers this week—Connecticut and Wake Forest—may or may not be in the Poll when this week's 10th Poll appears late Sunday.

Editor's Note: Get a Free Analysis of PIP, Empowerism and SFI for Affiliate Marketers. Email me at: edbagley@comcast.net and put "Subscribe List 2" in the Subject Line.

College Football 2007 - Week 9: Two Game Scores With Some Hidden Meanings Are 57-43 & 6-0

2007-10-30T01:05:00.000-08:00

Ed's Sports Corner:

Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley

As if the 2007 college football season has not been confusing enough, along comes week 9 with some hidden game scores that reveal much: 57-43 and 6-0. Both of the scores involve the AP Top 25 Poll teams.

First the 57-43. The only 5 teams still unbeaten remained perfect, 7 others won while 4 more were upset by unranked teams and 3 did not play. To wit:

No. 1 Ohio State (9-0) dominated No. 22 Penn State 37-17, No. 2 Boston College (8-0) came from behind to upend No. 8 Virginia Tech 14-10, No. 7 Arizona State (8-0) beat No. 18 California 31-20, No. 12 Kansas (8-0) moved by Texas A&M 19-11, and No. 16 Hawaii (7-0) ripped New Mexico State 50-13.

Seven other leaders recorded victories, including No. 5 Oregon over No. 9 USC 24-17, No. 6 West Virginia over No. 25 Rutgers 31-3, No.13 Missouri over Iowa State 42-28, No. 17 Texas over Nebraska 28-25, No. 19 Michigan over Minnesota 34-10, No. 20 Georgia over No. 9 Florida 42-30, and No. 23 Auburn over Mississippi 17-3.

Four teams were upset by unranked teams, including No. 11 South Florida falling to Connecticut 22-15, No. 14 Kentucky falling to Mississippi State 31-14, No. 15 South Carolina falling to Tennessee 27-24 in overtime, and No. 21 Virginia falling to North Carolina State 29-24.

The 3 teams that did not play were No. 3 LSU, No. 4 Oklahoma and No. 22 Alabama.

Then the 6-0. The 6 ranked losers which were beaten by other ranked teams—Virginia Tech, Florida, USC, California, Penn State and Rutgers—now have zero chance at playing in the BCS national championship game.

Some important notes from the sidelines:

1) Points, and lots of them, seem to be a common theme this season. Scores have become ridiculous, as witnessed over the weekend when Weber State beat Portland State 73-68 in the highest-scoring game in NCAA history. The score could have been a basketball game.

2) Three unbeaten teams are serious about scoring and defending. Ohio State averages 34 points scoring and gives up only 9 points per game. Kansas scores 42 and gives up 10. Arizona State scores 36 and gives up 15.

3) Ohio State is No. 1 in total defense (yards allowed), Kansas is No. 5 and Arizona State is No. 19.

4) The once bright future of the California Bears and Coach Jeff Tedford just suffered their 3rd straight loss.

5) The Florida Gators and 43-year-old Coach Urban Meyer just dropped their 3rd loss in 4 games to Georgia 42-30. You remember Urban. Prior to this season his career record was 61-12 (83%).

He led Bowling Green to 8-3 and 9-3 seasons, led Utah to 10-2 and 12-0 records and two Mountain West Conference titles, and led Florida to 9-3 and 13-1 seasons during his first two years, winning the BCS national championship last year.

This year he is now 5-3. Southeast Conference opponents have seen Florida for two years under Meyer and have begun to figure out how to stop his Gators. Welcome to the always nasty SEC Urban and break a leg on the way to practice.

6) You can pretty much forget the USC supremacy trip. Pete Carroll's reign as the toast of the nation and Hollywood is all but over. USC is about to join the great unwashed at 6-2.

There are now at least 25 Division I schools with better records than 6-2. The road ahead for USC includes Oregon State (The Civil War), California, still unbeaten Arizona State and UCLA, all salivating at a chance to humble the Trojans.

7) Coach Steve Spurrier's great comeback at South Carolina has hit a brick wall with its overtime loss to Tennessee, handing the Gamecocks their 3rd loss.

8) Expect a Northwest earthquake Saturday when No. 7 Arizona State invades No. 5 Oregon. Expect road kill in the South as No. 3 LSU invades No. 22 Alabama. First year Coaches Dennis Erickson at Arizona State and Nick Saban at Alabama will have their hands full.

9) My poor alma mater Michigan State is now officially sucking pond water and folding faster than a K-Mart deck chair, losing 3 of its last 4 after starting the season at 4-0. The Spartans have folded almost every year for the last too many years.

I believe Mark Dantonio will turn things around at MSU, just not this year. The Spartans lost to Wisconsin by a field goal and then lost in overtime to Northwestern and Iowa.

Dantonio apparently inherited more slugs than a Northwest garden. For the uninitiated, a native Northwest slug is a tough-skinned, slow-witted terrestrial (as in ground crawling) mollusk that lacks a shell and secretes a film of mucus.

In football, speed kills. Dantonio needs more speed everywhere, and he needs some players who, if they do not want to win badly enough, refuse to lose until they learn how to win. Culture might be an academic subject, but on the football field it is all about environment, a winning environment.

10) The Washington Huskies did the unthinkable Saturday, they lost at home to Arizona, 48-41, and are now 2-6. Ty Willingham's charges must now win their last 5 games to finish 7-6 and earn a bowl bid.

Is it possible? Anything is possible with parity, but do not ask the Huskies, ask their next 5 opponents: Stanford, Oregon State, California, Washington State and Hawaii.

The Huskies are short on wins, full of mistakes and flat out of excuses. They are exciting to watch, full of explosive offense, a crappy defense and have started to develop a stench from losing.

A word to the wise: If the Huskies cannot get a victory, they need to get angry, very angry, legally violent and start hitting players and hurting players. Hurt your opponent enough and they will not be able to run over you, around you and by you.

If you cannot tackle or will not tackle, sit on the bench and write letters home to your mother about how tough it is to be a Husky at Washington.

I do not know about you, but I am not going to get kicked in the face 45 times before I get up and hurt somebody. I do not care if they are bigger or more talented, they are going to get hurt, and hurt bad.

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.

College Football 2007: Who Would You Rather Be Now, Arizona State or Washington?

2007-10-25T00:40:00.000-07:00

Ed's Sports Corner:

Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley

Loyal University of Washington fans should be heartened by the fact that the Huskies played No. 7-ranked Oregon to a 31-31 tie through three quarters Saturday (10-20-07) before being outscored 24-3 in the fourth quarter and losing 55-34.

Up until Saturday's confrontation at home against the Ducks, the Huskies had pretty much lost it coming out of the locker room for the second half.

The media coverage following the loss concentrated mostly on the Huskies giving up 661 yards to Oregon's high-scoring offense, 465 rushing yards and a career-high 251 rushing yards to Duck tailback Jonathan Stewart, a product of Timberline High School in Lacey, who should have been a Husky.

Instead of acknowledging the fact that Oregon gave up 34 points in its win, the media drew attention to the fact that the loose rushing defense caused the Huskies to drop to 118th in rushing defense among 119 major college teams, and rank 107th overall in defensive yards allowed.

Heck, at least half if not three quarters of the teams in America would be exactly where the Husky defense is ranked if they had played Washington's schedule through the first seven games. Washington has played the toughest schedule for the last five weeks among 242 Division I teams.

The Husky defense is not as bad as the statistics would suggest. For one thing, Washington has no depth anywhere and by the 4th quarter, not only were too many players out of position, they were winded from being on the field with Oregon's offense for more than 34 minutes.

For another, Washington has played 5 nationally-ranked teams straight up halfway through those games, leading in 3 of them against Ohio State (only the current No. 1 team in the country), USC (then ranked No. 2) and No. 12-ranked Arizona State.

Here is a news flash: Washington was supposed to lose to Oregon. I predicted it weeks ago.

Rather than focus on everything that was not happening against Oregon, let's recognize what did happen:

1) Redshirt freshman quarterback Jake Locker threw an 83-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Anthony Russo, the 4th-longest TD pass in Husky history. Russo now has at least one reception in 31 consecutive games.

2) Jake Locker threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Marcel Reese.

3) Jake Locker threw a 43-yard touchdown pass to senior tailback Louis Rankin, the longest reception of his career.

4) Jake Locker threw another touchdown pass to Marcel Reese, this one for 38 yards.

5) Louis Rankin racked up 238 all purpose yards, 132 in kickoff returns, 73 in rushing (a 6.6 yard average per carry) and 43 receiving.

6) Jake Locker added 78 yards rushing at 6.0 yards per carry.

I fully expect Washington to lose to California for its 6th loss of the year, after all, California is not like playing against the scout team in practice.

On the plus side, I fully expect Washington to beat Arizona, Stanford, Oregon State, Washington State and Hawaii to end the season with a 7-6 mark and play in a bowl game.

I do not care if the Huskies win in the last minute or if they win by a field goal, a safety or an extra point. If flat does not matter. I do not care if the Huskies finish dead last in rushing defense or overall defense.

Hawaii has won games by 45-44 in overtime against Louisiana Tech, 42-35 in overtime against San Jose State, 52-37 against Utah State, 63-6 against AA Northern California and 66-10 against AA Charleston Southern. Hawaii is 7-0 and currently ranked No. 16 in the AP Top 25 Poll.

If Hawaii can pull off such wonder I think Washington can do the same against better competition.

The Huskies have been through hell and back and have survived. They are getting better and better offensively.

If you think things cannot get worse, check out Minnesota. The Gophers are 1-7 in the Big 10 and still have to play Michigan, Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin. Their lone win came against a mediocre Miami of Ohio team 41-35 in overtime. My guess is they drink an awful lot after games at Minnesota.

Dennis Erickson and his Sun Devils are 7-0 and riding high, but they still have to play California, Oregon, UCLA, USC and Arizona. Have fun, and good luck Dennis.

Who would you rather be now, Arizona State or Washington?

The fun for fans in Huskyville is just beginning. Strap on your shoulder pads, paint your face and put on your helmet because things are going to get better.

Editor's Note: Pop the top on a cool one or uncork a bottle of wine and check out my sports articles. Nobody is writing what I am writing because they do not have big enough grapefruits.

Editor's Note: Get a Free Analysis of PIP, Empowerism and SFI for Affiliate Marketers. Email me at: edbagley@comcast.net and put "Subscribe List 2" in the Subject Line.

College Football - Week 8: 7 Top 25 Teams Suffer Defeat, including South Florida

2007-10-21T22:46:00.000-07:00

Ed's Sports Corner:

Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley

Seven AP Top 25 teams were upset over the weekend, none more stunningly than No. 2-ranked and previously unbeaten South Florida. The Bulls looked awesome this season until losing to Rutgers 30-27 on the road.

South Florida, who many thought was THAT good, is now at best 6-1 and at worst a paper tiger.

The Bulls still have to travel to Connecticut, Syracuse and Pittsburgh, and host Cincinnati and Louisville at home. Connecticut is 6-1, Cincinnati is 6-2 and Pittsburgh just upset No. 23-ranked Cincinnati, 24-17.

Of the 6 unbeaten teams going into the weekend—Ohio State, South Florida, Boston College, Arizona State, Kansas and Hawaii—I predicted that South Florida and Arizona State had the best chance of finishing undefeated. So much for the South Florida prediction.

Boston College, Arizona State and Hawaii—all 7-0—were out of harm's way as they did not play. Make a mental note of the fact that Arizona State is ranked No. 4 in scoring defense, giving up only 15 points per game.

No. 1-ranked Ohio State and No. 15-ranked Kansas remained undefeated as the 8-0 Buckeyes eased by Michigan State 24-17 at home, and the 7-0 Jayhawks traveled to Colorado and won 19-14.

Ohio State has the No. 1 scoring defense in the nation, giving up only 7.9 points per game.

Kansas has the No. 2 scoring defense, giving up 10.1 ppg. If you think defense wins championships, you are right.

Earning the short end of the stick were:

1) Steve Spurrier's No. 6-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks hosted Vanderbilt and lost, 17-6, giving the Commodores their biggest win in 70 years. Vanderbilt's last big win was a 7-6 victory over No. 6 LSU in 1937, evidence of how ineffective Vanderbilt has been during the last 70 years. Imagine being in charge of fundraising for the Vanderbilt football program for the last 69 years.

The defeat had to be awful for Spurrier whose South Carolina team had been looking better and better on its climb up the Top 25.

2) No. 8-ranked Kentucky hosted No. 14-ranked Florida and promptly was outscored 45-37.

3) The No. 10-ranked California Bears traveled to UCLA and lost 30-21 to the Bruins. UCLA is like a yo-yo this year. The formerly 10th-ranked Bruins took a butt whipping at Utah, 44-6, then hosted Notre Dame and lost 20-6, giving the 1-7 Irish their only win of the year. It made perfect sense that UCLA would then upset California.

There is, of course, no truth to the rumor that Bruin players underwent psychological testing.

4) No. 20-ranked Tennessee traveled to Alabama and got slammed 41-17. Keep your eye on Nick Saban's Crimson Tide who are now 6-2 and host LSU this Saturday.

5) As mentioned earlier, No. 23-ranked Cincinnati lost to Pittsburgh 24-17.

6) No. 25-ranked Kansas State had trouble on the road, getting nipped by Oklahoma State 41-39.

The new AP Top 25 Poll shows Arizona State leaping from No. 12 to No. 7, Florida from No. 14 to No. 9, and Michigan from No. 24 to No. 19.

Entering the Top 25 this week was Virginia at No. 21, Alabama at No. 22, Penn State at No. 24 and Rutgers at No. 25. All except Virginia were ranked in the Top 25 earlier in the season.

So the new Top 10 after week 8 are: 1 Ohio State, 2 Boston College, 3 LSU, 4 Oklahoma, 5 Oregon, 6 West Virginia, 7 Arizona State, 8 Virginia Tech and tied for 9 USC and Florida.

I have to give props to Ohio State (No. 1) and Kansas (No. 2) because of their defense, but the best balanced scoring offense and scoring defense is Kansas as the Jayhawks are also No. 3 in scoring offense while Ohio State is No. 33.

Dennis Erickson has his Arizona State Sun Devils at No. 4 in scoring defense and No. 12 in scoring offense. Oklahoma is No. 5 in offense and No. 12 in defense. West Virginia is No. 7 in offense and No. 10 in defense. These figures are among 119 Division 1-A schools.

Sagarin's Ratings have the Top 10 in this order: 1 LSU, 2 Kansas, 3 Ohio State, 4 Arizona State, 5 South Florida, 6 Oregon, 7 West Virginia, 8 Florida, 9 Oklahoma, and 10 Boston College. For some fans, this is a more accurate guide to who the fanny-kickers really are.

For the record, the worst of the worst is 0-7 Florida International. The Golden Panthers are not so golden. They lost again Saturday to Louisiana-Monroe 28-14, extending their losing streak to 19 consecutive games, the longest in the nation.

Yes, Florida International does have a football team, just not much of a football team. The Golden Panthers rank dead last (No. 119) in scoring offense (8 ppg) and No. 114 in scoring defense (34 ppg). No wonder they are 0-7 and 0-19 in their last 19 games.

Florida International joined Duke last year as the only other winless team in Division 1-A. I had to look up their nickname, a sure sign that they are not worthy to even be on my radar screen. Unless they start winning, their nickname may as well be: Florida Who?

Note: Check out my newly reorganized Sports Section, it's fantablous (fan-tab-u-lous).

Meet the Nation's Most Statistically Incredible Team: The University of Washington Huskies

2007-10-16T19:50:00.000-07:00

Ed's Sports Corner:

Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley

University of Washington football fans came up on the short end of the stick Saturday (10-13-07) when the Arizona State Sun Devils blew into Seattle and extended their winning streak to 7 with a 44-20 second half victory.

The Sun Devils outscored Washington in the third quarter 21-0 and in the second half 31-3, and it is a good thing because if the game had ended at the half, Washington would have won 17-13.

Therein lies the challenge of the youthful, inexperienced Washington Huskies: they played a terrible 3rd quarter and have not yet learned how to win games.

This statistic would not mean much unless you know that:

Washington led then No. 10-ranked Ohio State 7-3 at the half and lost 33-14 in its 3rd game.

Washington was tied with then No. 27-rated UCLA 10-10 at the half and lost 44-31 in its 4th game.

Washington led then No. 1-ranked Southern Cal 17-14 at the half and lost 27-24 in its 5th game.

Washington led then No. 12-ranked Arizona State 17-13 at the half and lost 44-20 in its 6th game.

You better believe that Sun Devil Coach Dennis Erickson was more than sweating bullets after watching redshirt freshman quarterback Jake Locker scamper for a 32-yard touchdown run with 4:11 to go in the first half, giving Washington its 17-13 lead.

Do Husky fans realize that if each of these games ended at the half, Washington's record would be 5-0-1 rather than 2-4?

Washington would have an unbeaten record after polishing off Syracuse 42-12 in an away game and upsetting then No. 22-ranked Boise State 24-10 in its first two games.

Please, do not be sophomoric (as in sometimes moronic) and remind me that a game lasts 60 minutes and only the final score counts. To do so would ignore the point I am making.

You could with fairness make the point that the Huskies have been tripping over themselves coming out of the locker room to start the second half of their last 4 games.

Why this has been happening leaves Coach Ty Willingham clueless. He is quoted in the Tacoma News Tribune (10-14-07 edition) as saying, "It's obviously a difficult thing to talk about because I don't have a solution to it."

Willingham, a man of heretofore impeccable standards and integrity, is also honest. Less than 1% of all college football coaches would not publicly repeat Willingham's admission.

One thing is for sure: Whatever Willingham and his coaching staff members are saying or not saying to Husky players at halftime, it is not working worth a crap and needs to be changed.

Do not tell me that the same Husky players who might play above their head with guts and enthusiasm in the first half go brain dead and unfeeling during the second half. I would love to be a bee on the wall in Washington's locker room at halftime and see what—if any—stinging comments are made.

As a certified Monday morning quarterback and coach, this would be the first words out of my mouth at halftime during the Arizona State game:

"Let me be the first to congratulate you on a phenomenal first half. Arizona State made some mistakes in the first half and we did too, but you are leading the unbeaten and No. 12-ranked team in the country at halftime, 17-13.

"Some people would say that the Sun Devils have more talent on their team than we do, but we lead at the half, 17-13.

"Others would say that the Sun Devils have an unbeaten record and our record is 2-3, but we lead at the half, 17-13.

"Still others would say that the Sun Devils are ranked No. 12 in the country and since we are not ranked in the Top 25, they will win this game, but we lead at the half, 17-13.

"Now, we are going to quickly hand everyone a slip of paper and a pen, and by secret ballot I want you to quickly write down which player you think is the leader of this team."

After the ballots are immediately collected and Jake Locker's name is on every ballot or almost every ballot, I would say this:

"Jake, you may be a redshirt freshman but your teammates believe you are the leader of the Washington Husky football team.

"I want you, Jake, to get up right now and tell the coaching staff and your fellow teammates why we can win the second half of this game, how we are going to do it, and what it will take to do it."

I would then, as the head coach, sit down, shut up and listen. After Jake is done with whatever he says, I would ask any other player who received a vote as THE team leader to get up and do the same thing.

Let the players convince themselves and believe they can do in the second half what they did in the first half: outscore the opponent. Do that and Washington upsets its opponent.

Now, why is Washington the nation's most statistically incredible team?

1) The Huskies are rated No. 41 in the Sagarin Ratings.

2) Their current record is 2-4.

3) They are rated No. 1 for having played—for the 4th consecutive week—the toughest schedule among all 242 Division I-A and 1-AA teams.

4) There is not another team among Sagarin's first 40 rated teams with less than 4 wins.

5) The next highest rated Sagarin team with only 2 wins is No. 60 North Carolina at 2-5.

6) The Huskies, as Sagarin's 41st best rated team in the nation, are ahead of No. 42 Alabama (5-2), No. 44 Wisconsin (5-2 and ranked No. 5 in the AP Poll just two weeks ago), No. 46 Louisville (4-3), No. 48 Texas A&M (5-2), No. 51 Air Force (5-2), and No. 52 Indiana (5-2). Not too shabby, as the former Opera Man (Adam Sandler) would say on Saturday Night Live.

7) The highest rated team with the same 2-4 record as Washington is Stanford at No. 68. Stanford has played the 4th toughest schedule in the country.

8) North Carolina, which has a 2-5 record, is rated No. 60. The Tar Heels have played the 3rd toughest schedule through college football's week 7.

I know, now you wonder who has played the 2nd toughest schedule. It is 1-6 Notre Dame.

I expect the Huskies to lose against Oregon (hopefully not by 53-7 like cross-state rival Washington State) and California. I predicted this two weeks ago on October 3.

I also predicted on October 3 that Washington would beat (in order) Arizona, Stanford, Oregon State, Washington State and Hawaii, finishing the year at 7-6. Hang on, Husky fans, the best is yet to come.

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.

College Football - Week 7: Top 2 Ranked Teams Get Burned; Now There Are Only 6 Undefeated Teams Left

2007-10-14T23:51:00.000-07:00

Ed's Sports Corner:

Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley

Top dogs LSU and California were upset over the weekend so now there are only 6 undefeated teams left: Ohio State, South Florida, Boston College, Arizona State, Kansas and Hawaii.

Three weeks ago there were 23 undefeated teams, now 17 of them have come up sucking pond water on their way to a national championship. It is possible that several of those teams with only one loss could win the national championship when it is all said and done.

Trust me when I say that 5 of the 6 teams left undefeated are in rarified air, only Ohio State is used to being in the hunt for the national championship. The Buckeyes hosted and dispatched a weak Kent State team 48-3 on Saturday.

Keep in mind that Ohio State's 7-0 mark comes playing the 72nd weakest schedule among Division I teams. They do have a defense, but they have not played the best competition.

South Florida extended its record to 6-0 by easily beating Central Florida 64-12. At least the Bulls have played the 31st most difficult schedule among all 242 Division 1-A and 1-AA teams.

Boston College went 7-0 by downing a pathetic 1-6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish squad 27-14. The Eagles may look and sound like a big deal, but given the fact that they have the 79th toughest schedule they probably are not. At least Notre Dame has played some competition; its strength of schedule is currently No. 2 nationally.

Arizona State was trailing Washington 17-13 at the half, but the Huskies collapsed again in the 3rd quarter giving the Sun Devils 21 points as Arizona State went on to win 44-20.

Arizona State has played the 54th toughest schedule; the Huskies (now 2-4) have played the toughest schedule in the country for the past 4 weeks. Nonetheless, first year Coach Dennis Erickson stretches his record to 7-0.

Kansas took care of the woefully weak Baylor Bears 58-10, but the Jayhawks 6-0 mark has come from playing the 126th toughest schedule. Remember that there are only 119 Division 1-A teams.

That leaves Hawaii as the last undefeated team at 7-0. The Warriors beat San Jose State 42-35 in overtime. Hawaii's strength of schedule is 149th among 119 Division 1-A schools. San Jose State's schedule strength is 52nd nationally which might explain why the Warriors were probably lucky to win in OT.

I believe that South Florida (31st toughest schedule) and Arizona State (54th toughest) have the best chance of continuing undefeated. When Boston College, Kansas and Hawaii start playing someone worth talking about, they are going to have their hands full.

Boston College plays only 1 of the current AP Top 25 teams in its last 5 games. Kansas plays only 1 (Missouri) and Hawaii plays none. Hawaii's toughest competition appears to be 5-1 Boise State.

The Boise State Cowboys nipped (and I do mean nipped) Nevada 69-67 Sunday night in what I would not even consider a football game. Sure, it was exciting, but get serious, this is WAC (as in wacky) football at its best, all offense and no defense. Both defenses on the field were all but irrelevant.

The combined 136 points in this Western Athletic Conference game tied the all-time NCAA record for the most points scored in a game. Call it WAC pride.

So who upset LSU? Kentucky won 43-37 in the 3rd overtime playing at home. Up till now, LSU appeared to have one of the best defenses in the country. The Cal Bears lost at home to Oregon State, 31-28.

The AP Top 25 Poll late Sunday showed Ohio State No. 1, South Florida No. 2, Boston College No. 3, Arizona State No. 12, Kansas No. 15 and Hawaii No. 17.

So who is rising in the AP Poll? Ohio State, South Florida, Boston College, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Oregon, Kentucky, Virginia Tech, Arizona State, Kansas, Auburn, Texas, Tennessee, Georgia, Texas Tech, Michigan and Kansas State.

Many of the teams that are back on the rise now were there earlier and dropped lower in the poll or out of the poll. This reflects parity and the overall weakness of the teams involved.

So who is dropping? LSU, West Virginia, California, USC, Florida, Missouri, Hawaii and Cincinnati.

The top 5 teams that I believe are not overrated are Ohio State, South Florida, South Carolina, Oregon and Arizona State. I am not as impressed with the rest despite their record and where they are ranked.

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.

College Football - How to Predict When Teams Are Overrated and Due for an Unexpected Loss

2007-10-10T22:10:00.000-07:00

Ed's Sports Corner:

Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley

When you understand how to measure the substance of a college football team, you can often predict an unexpected loss. It is more difficult to predict exactly when it will happen.

When Stanford upset Southern California 24-23 last Saturday (10-6-07) many people were surprised. I was not.

No. 2-ranked USC was a perfect 4-0 coming into the game and had enjoyed 5 straight seasons of national top-4 finishes, BCS bowl appearances and Pac 10 Conference titles.

Stanford was a 6-touchdown underdog, had lost 41-3 at home to Arizona State a week earlier, had lost to USC 42-0 a year ago, and finished last year with a lousy 1-11 record.

So what happened? Study these three sets of figures to identify some clues. The first is the prior week's AP Top 25 Poll, the second is Sagarin's mathematical ratings of a team's performance strength against shared opponents, and the third is Sagarin's mathematical ratings of a team's schedule strength.

The AP Poll is made up of 65 media types who follow and report on college football teams. Sagarin is Jeff Sagarin, who produces the gold standard among rating services. Sagarin's ratings represent the average schedule difficulty faced by each team, taking into account the rating of the opponent and the location of the game.

AP Top 25 Poll - Sagarin Rating - Schedule Rank

1) LSU 1) LSU 1) Washington

2) Southern California 2) Southern California 2) Notre Dame

3) California 3) Ohio State 3) Colorado State

4) Ohio State 4) Oklahoma 4) Stanford

5) Wisconsin 5) California 5) Marshall

6) South Florida 6) South Florida 6) Tennessee

7) Boston College 7) West Virginia 7) Mississippi

8) Kentucky 8) Arizona State 8) North Carolina

9) Florida 9) Florida 9) Colorado

10) Oklahoma 10) Auburn 10) AA Sam Houston

11) South Carolina 11) Oregon 11) Auburn

12) Georgia 12) UCLA 12) Akron

13) West Virginia 13) Georgia 13) Duke

14) Oregon 14) Cincinnati 14) East Carolina

15) Virginia Tech 15) Boston College 15) LA-Monroe

16) Hawaii 16) Kentucky 16) Florida International

17) Missouri 17) South Carolina 17) Florida State

18) Arizona State 18) Missouri 18) Syracuse

19) Texas 19) Kansas State 19) UCLA

20) Cincinnati 20) Connecticut 20) Brigham Young

21) Rutgers 21) Florida State 21) Oregon

22) Clemson 22) Boise State 22) San Diego State

23) Purdue 23) Purdue 23) Washington State

24) Kansas State 24) Wisconsin 24) Wake Forest

25) Nebraska 25) Texas 25) Miami (Ohio)

How could Stanford upset USC? Well, for one thing, although USC has far more talent, its talent did not show up for the game. USC's talent was "at" the game but not "in" the game.

USC was 4-0 and ranked No. 2 going into the game and Stanford was 1-3 and ranked No. 83, yet Stanford had played the 4th toughest schedule in the country before the Cardinal arrived at USC as the visiting team. USC had played the 38th toughest schedule.

You decide if this was a factor or not. I say it was a factor. Certainly, USC did not think Stanford was that tough of an opponent; the Trojans paid a big price by not being prepared.

Here is another example. I have said for weeks that Wisconsin was overrated. The Badgers were 5-0 and ranked No. 5 going into Illinois while the Illini were unranked, but upset Wisconsin 31-26.

Wisconsin may have been ranked No. 5 but its Sagarin rating was No. 24 and the Badgers had played the 90th toughest schedule. Sagarin's rating for Illinois was No. 40, but the Illini had played the 39th toughest schedule.

Still not convinced? Kentucky was 5-0 and ranked No. 8 going into South Carolina and lost to the Gamecocks 38-23.

Kentucky had a Sagarin rating of No. 16 and had played the 92nd toughest schedule. South Carolina was 4-1 and ranked No. 11, had a Sagarin rating of No. 17 and had played the 47th toughest schedule.

In a clash of unbeatens, Purdue was 5-0, ranked No. 23 and hosted the Ohio State Buckeyes who beat them 23-7. Sagarin's rating for Purdue was also No. 23 and the Boilermakers had played the 124th toughest schedule. There is only 119 Division 1-A schools.

Ohio State was also 5-0 and ranked No. 4 with a Sagarin rating of No. 3 and had played the 60th toughest schedule.

Some fans and pundits put no credence in Sagarin. I put a lot of credence in Sagarin's team ratings and schedule rank, and now you know why. I can with some accuracy predict when a team is overrated and due for an unexpected loss.

Note: See weekly wrap-ups of the 2007 college football season and articles on statistics in my Blog Archive.

College Football - Week 6: The Attention Is Exciting, But Sooner or Later You Get Found Out

2007-10-09T01:16:00.000-07:00

Ed's Sports Corner:

Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley

Ah, the adulation and attention are so exciting. The approbation from the boosters, the fans, the students, the fellow athletes and the media is unbelievable. You are unbeatable, unstoppable and perhaps the greatest team ever assembled.

They tell you all of this and they tell your opponent nothing. Your opponent is just another walk through game. You are flying at 4-0, you are Southern California, the team that has enjoyed 5 straight seasons of national top-4 finishes, BCS bowl appearances and Pac 10 Conference titles.

You are playing a 6-touchdown underdog, a team that lost 41-3 last week, a team that you beat 42-0 last year, a team that finished with a lousy 1-11 record.

So No. 2-ranked Southern California loses Saturday (10-6-07) to Stanford 24-23. Don't ya just love college football? The excitement of college football makes pro football look boring.

I am not surprised that USC lost a game. The Trojans were lucky to get by Washington a week earlier, winning by a field goal, 27-24, while making a ton of penalties and turnovers. I am surprised that it was Stanford that did it.

A team that is loaded with talent like USC will win every time unless the talent is "at" the game but not "in" the game. Talent simply has to show up every week or even a powerhouse like USC gets embarrassed.

The Trojans are now the new No. 10-ranked team in the AP Top 25 Poll.

Louisiana State remained No. 1 by scoring 14 points in the final quarter to hold off No. 9-ranked Florida, last year's national champion, 28-24. Florida led at the half 17-7. LSU is 6-0.

Unbeaten and No. 5-ranked Wisconsin, a team I have said all year was overrated, finally proved it by losing to unranked Illinois 31-26 on the road.

Unbeaten and No. 8-ranked Kentucky, another team I have said is overrated, proved it by losing to No. 11 South Carolina, 38-23.

Unbeaten and No. 23-ranked Purdue, another team I have said is overrated, proved it by losing to No. 4-ranked Ohio State, 23-7.

Unbeaten and No. 6-ranked South Florida had more than its hands full in getting by Florida Atlantic 35-23.

Unbeaten and No. 17-ranked Missouri put a major butt-whipping on No. 25-ranked Nebraska, 41-6. I have been dumping on Nebraska as unworthy of any ranking for weeks and finally the Cornhuskers have been booted out of the Top 25 Poll. Amen.

Unbeaten and unranked Kansas upended No.24-ranked Kansas State 30-24 and the Jayhawks are now ranked No. 20. Kansas is off to its first 5-0 start in 29 years.

No. 22-ranked Clemson lost to No. 15-ranked Virginia Tech 41-23 and fell out of the poll.

Unbeaten and No. 16-ranked Hawaii ripped over winless and hapless Utah State 52-37. Utah State is 0-6; Hawaii is 6-0.

Unbeaten and No. 20-ranked Cincinnati upset No. 21 Rutgers on the road, 28-23. Cincinnati is now 6-0 but faces a much tougher schedule as it travels to Pittsburgh and South Florida and faces Connecticut and West Virginia at home.

Three teams that I wished well and hoped would do well have now dropped in my estimation.

One is Alabama with new Coach Nick Saban. Alabama went to 4-2 by getting by Houston, 30-24, but that is not saying much. Apparently Saban does not have much talent in Crimson Tide country. It will take him two more seasons to put real winners in place.

Another is Michigan State with new Coach Mark Dantonio. The Spartans lost at home to Northwestern, 48-41, in overtime. Not a good sign for Dantonio. MSU lost last weekend at Wisconsin to an overrated bunch of Badgers 37-34.

Spartan players are going to have to learn how to win, and that is not easy when you have a culture of choking and losing to even mediocre teams. Dantonio, a great defensive coach, can score points but apparently has very little defense when it matters. You cannot win in the Big 10 without great defense.

A third disappointment is Arizona State, and the Sun Devils with new first-year Coach Dennis Erickson are still unbeaten at 6-0. Ranked at No. 18, the Sun Devils just managed to get by Washington State, 23-20, not a good showing given that the Cougars—a team Erickson use to coach—have lost 4 of 6 games. The Cougars missed a 46-yard field goal with 12 seconds left that would have sent the game into overtime.

Granted Arizona State was on the road, but it needed to beat Washington State by at least three touchdowns to be impressive and could not.

Games like Texas-Oklahoma, Boston College-Bowling Green and Georgia-Tennessee fail to interest me. Thank goodness for my bottom feeders—Buffalo, Wyoming and UTEP.

God Bless the Buffalo Bulls who polished off the Ohio Bobcats 31-10 for a homecoming victory. Go Bulls! I would like to see Buffalo knock off Toledo at home this weekend. Buffalo has been one of the lowest rated teams in college football in recent years, and I am happy to see the Bulls have some real success.

Get excited, Buffalo fans, the Bulls actually have an offense! James Starks ran for a career-best 183 yards against Ohio. Maybe we should call him James "Scamper" Starks. Hello, University of Buffalo, is anybody home?

Another team I like is Wyoming because the Cowboys win at home. TCU found that out again this week when the Cowboys rode them to a 24-21 victory. Wyoming defensive end Mitch Unrein was tabbed as Mountain West Conference's Defensive Player of the Week.

I am convinced that if some ranked team came into Cowboy country they just might leave a loser. Heck, Wyoming is now 4-1 on the season. Go Cowboys!

Mike Price's Texas-El Paso team edged by Tulsa in a typical high-scoring game, 48-47. UTEP climbed to 4-2 and the Miners have just as good a chance as any team to win the Conference USA title.

UTEP's redshirt freshman quarterback Trevor Vittatoe was named Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week after throwing for 319 yards and 3 touchdowns against Tulsa.

Mike Price turned around UTEP football in a hurry. Football is not just conversation in Texas, football is serious business in Texas. Everything is large in Texas, including the UTEP victories. Go Miners!

Note: See weekly wrap-ups of the 2007 college football season and articles on statistics in my Sports Archive.

College Football: Washington Lost to USC 27-24 But the Huskies Could Have Easily Won

2007-10-02T23:31:00.000-07:00

Ed's Sports Corner:

Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley

The USC Trojans blew into Husky Stadium Saturday (9-29-07) looking to put another notch on their armor as the AP's No. 1-ranked team in the nation.

They left with a 27-24 victory marred by 16 penalties, 2 interceptions, a fumble and a blocked punt, including one interception that senior strong safety Mesphin Forrester returned for a 54-yard touchdown.

USC Coach Pete Carroll looked upset, sometimes confused and totally aggravated by his team's inept showing, and well he should have been because Washington could have easily won the game if not for its youth and exuberance.

At one point Jake Locker, the Huskies' redshirt freshman quarterback, had senior wide receiver Corey Williams open in the end zone and could not connect.

Junior cornerback Byron Davenport had an apparent interception in the end zone that a replay showed was incomplete when the ball hit the ground before he gained possession. USC went on to kick a field goal that proved to be the difference in the game.

Washington, trailing 27-17, pulled within 3 when senior cornerback Roy Lewis blocked a punt, returned the ball to the USC 9 and Locker ran it in. However, USC got possession on the ensuing onside kick attempt and ran out the clock.

Once again, the Huskies could not finish off an opponent due to errors and missed opportunities.

It is amazing that Washington allowed two Trojans to rush for more than 100 yards, gave up 224 yards rushing and 236 yards passing which allowed USC 9 minutes more of possession on offense, and Washington still only lost by a field goal.

Washington honored its 1960 national championship team members Saturday, and the Huskies played in 1960 replica uniforms which unfortunately could not block, tackle, run, pass or catch the ball.

Before any die-hard Husky fans get upset about another loss, consider these facts:

1) USC has had 5 consecutive seasons of national top-4 finishes, BCS bowl appearances and Pacific 10 (Pac 10) Conference titles.

2) The Trojans came into the game with the 10th best rushing offense in the nation, and the 8th best rushing defense.

3) USC was ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25 Poll and rated as the No. 1 team by Sagarin.

The Huskies are off next week before traveling to Arizona State on October 13 to face Dennis Erickson's Sun Devils, who are 5-0 after beating San Jose State, Colorado, San Diego State, Oregon State and Stanford.

Arizona State is ranked No. 18 in the AP Poll and rated No. 8 by Sagarin. The fact that Sagarin rates them No. 8 means the Sun Devils are better than their No. 18 ranking.

I do not expect Washington to upset Arizona State, which would drop the Huskies' season record to 2-4. No big deal. I also expect Washington to lose to California and Oregon at home.

I see the Huskies biggest game of the season against Arizona at home for homecoming. This is the first game Washington must win in order to have a winning season and secure a bowl bid.

Then Washington needs to get the best of Stanford, Oregon State, Washington State and Hawaii to post 7 wins against 6 losses. Can they do it? I will be personally disappointed if they do not.

I consider the losses to Ohio State, UCLA and USC, and future expected losses to Arizona State, Oregon and California as tune-ups and learning experiences for the wins to come.

Should Washington upset Arizona State, Oregon or California it would be a sweet reward for some deserving first-year players who are playing their hearts out and getting embarrassed too often.

In order to win the games I am projecting, Washington needs to immediately improve in at least two areas.

First, they need to open holes for senior tailback Louis Rankin. All of this crap about Rankin not being able to get rushing yards is just that, crap. Rankin has more in common with Seattle Seahawks Shaun Alexander than people think.

Alexander does not get yardage unless the Seahawk offensive line opens holes for him to run through. Give Rankin any running room and he will gain big yardage.

Second, Jake Locker needs time to throw, and he needs to become a more accurate passer so that when his receivers get open he delivers the ball and they catch it and run.

USC teed off on Locker and darn near injured him with vicious hits, even helmet to helmet shots. Locker may be as tough as nails, but no one can put up with the hits he has been getting while trying to do too much. He needs more of his teammates to step up and become the players they were meant to be.

Note: See more articles on Washington Husky football in my Sports Archive.