Super story ideas

With all the talk of Tom Brady’s ankle, a possible 19-0 record, New York vs. Boston and the (current) 12-point spread of Super Bowl XLII, one may forget that there is a simple football game going on in six days and not an event that will determine the fate of the universe.
It seems that the game itself is lost in the hyperbole machine that just waits for the championship games to end and runs on its own energy (and waste) for 14 days. If you were to watch the continuous onslaght of coverage for two weeks straight, you might see the same stories recycled as breaking news twice maybe even three times.
With all due respect to those hard-working indviduals covering this game and/or the teams involved, here are 42 (or should I say “XLII”) storylines that I’d like to see addressed before the game kicks off or during the game.
(Blogger’s note: As a Patriots fan, some of my ideas could be slanted towards New England or against New York. It happens.)

XLII: Let’s get the presidential hopefuls involved in this shindig. Poll all the candidates on their opinions and prognostications and see who is man (or woman) enough to risk losing votes by virtue of their thoughts on the game.
XLI: Could the NFL find the time to individually introduce all the players, writers, radio hosts and other media folk that wanted Tom Coughlin fired this season before the game? And could they be forced to run through a inflatable helmet tunnel with a smirking Coughlin at the end? He seems vengeful enough to actually go for his idea.
XL: How does Archie Manning feel about this? He couldn’t get to the playoffs during a 14-year NFL career with three teams, yet two of his sons have made it to the Super Bowl. At least his oldest son, Cooper, can always share the feeling of never playing in the NFL postseason.
XXXIX: Is it possible that Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald might try to stow himself away on either the Patriots or Giants team shuttles to the airport or the team’s planes and beg to be put on the rosters to know the freedom of playing for a team that aspires for better records than 7-9? It’s almost like Cuban defectors coming to America and playing Major League Baseball.
XXXVIII: What is the over/under for televisions in America that won’t be tuned into the game? Can someone call Vegas and find out?
XXXVII: Would there ever be a unification game between the NFL and CFL champion like they have from time to time with the alphabet soup known as professional boxing? How many people would watch that game over the Pro Bowl? How many players would want to play in that game over the Pro Bowl?
XXXVI: Who at the AP (or any other news service) is willing to write the story of all the filler and garbage that networks will be running opposite of the Super Bowl? Is this out of respect or fear? Will Fox return the favor when the Food Network gets the rights to Super Bowl IL?
XXXIV: Speaking of fillers. Does anyone have any good ideas for a diverse Super Bowl spread that will serve a party of four.
XXXIII: I’m taking bets on the first major news/sports network to mention baseball’s spring training and when it starts after the game ends. No network or paper in New England/Boston counts in this – I’m sure mostly all of them are playing up the battle for the 25th spot on the Red Sox roster more than the Super Bowl as you read this.
XXXII: Can we find the person that booked Tom Petty for the halftime show and saint him immediately or do we wait until after the threat of “wardrobe malfunction” has passed?
XXXI: The retractable field (not a roof, a field ) at University of Phoenix Stadium. How has this gone unnoticed?
XXX: Forget about the stories of how high the resale prices are for Super Bowl tickets. Find me the people stupid enough to pay these prices for those seats.
XXIX: From a media overkill standpoint, raise your hand if you’re relieved about Brett Favre’s non-involvment in this game. I’m thinking that a Hands Across America story could be done now.
XXVIII: Since the game is on Fox this year, how far away are we from having American Idol-type voting for the evening’s best commercial? Can this be set up in six days?
XXVII: With the oft-concussed former Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman returning to Arizona, the state where he won the last of his three Super Bowls, what are the chances of Aikman experiencing a flashback during the game?
XXVI: If the Giants lose, how long before the ‘New York is a cursed city’ stories come about? If you think about it, it was the Giants’ Super Bowl XXXV loss that started the Big Apple’s championship futility. After all, in a media market like New York’s, eight years is bordering on the nadir.
XXV: If this game comes down to a last-second field goal by the Patriots, will Adam Vinatieri be able to watch? Better yet, will former Bills kicker Scott Norwood be able to watch?
XXIV: Can Conemaugh Township graduate and former Giants quarterback Jeff Hostetler get some kind (any kind) of love when someone is referencing New York’s second Super Bowl title?
XXIII: Steve Grogan and Tony Eason, where are they now?
XXII: Which Fox television promotional read is going to sound the most awkward coming from Joe Buck?
XXI: Has the writers’ strike really saved us from the Fox promo monster that usually drives baseball fans up a wall during the playoffs?
XX: Can we profile Bill Belichick’s sleeve cutter during the 46-hour pregame show?
XIX: Will Reebok or the NFL force Belichick to wear a special edition hooded sweatshirt for this game?
XVIII: For those who don’t have time to watch the game: A Tribune-Democrat co-worker and I recently played out the game on Madden NFL 08 with the Patriots in my control. New England won 31-13, benefitting from four Eli Manning picks, though the co-worker in question passed the ball very well against my defense to the tune of 296 yards and for the most part played even-up with me throughout. It was weird, but I can really see the real game playing itself out like this.
XVII: Someone at Fox needs to find Mercury Morris and keep him handy for a possible Patriots victory and have someone ask him what it’s like to finally have a team move in to the vaunted ‘neighborhood’ of the 1972 Dolphins. Bonus points if it’s mentioned by the interviewer that the ’72 Dolphins are no longer relevant.
XVI: How many clashes between New York and Boston/New England fans will result in fisticuffs this week? Has Vegas set the over/under on this yet?
XV: With the Super Bowl involving a New York team that calls New Jersey home, how much gambling (legal and illegal) will go on this week in the Garden State?
XIV: When Gatorade or other liquids get dumped on the winning coach, does he get to pick the beverage before the game?
XIII: Have mathematicians discovered a number high enough for how many times Tom Brady’s ankle will be mentioned between now and the end of the game?
XII: It is at this point that I discover how hard it is to come up with 42 items and not sound more hackneyed than I already am. Has any other writer fared better?
XI: How many commercials during the game will involve Colts quarterback Peyton Manning? I mean, he’s really not doing anything on Sunday, he could probably film a few live.
X: If the Giants lose, and it’s not Eli Manning’s fault, will the Earth fall off its axis?
IX: Who will be the first player to say something that begins the annual war of words between the Super Bowl teams? If it’s from the Giants camp, how quickly will that be turned into the most disrespectful thing ever said about the Patriots by Tom Brady?
VIII: Is anyone else waiting for the NFL Network to cash in on the good karma from allowing the trimulcast of the Week 17 meeting between the teams and snatch up the rights to this Super Bowl on Friday. Could anyone really protest this?
VII: Would Bryant Gumble be an upgrade over Joe Buck?
VI: Who has a smaller Christmas card list? Tom Coughlin or Bill Belichick?
V: Which player will snap at seemingly endless sea of stupid questions awaiting them during Tuesday’s media availability?
IV: Which player is most likely to get arrested on Saturday night? Has the NFL commissioned the Eugene Robinson Trophy for this occurence.
III: Will the NFL ever play this game outdoors in a cold-weather city? Could you imagine the potential disaster waiting to happen if the game were scheduled in Buffalo and a snowstorm dumped 14 inches on western New York the night before. I think I’d pay money to see this happen.
II: If comedian Frank Caliendo chloroformed Joe Buck mid-game and started calling the game in his John Madden voice, how many people would be fooled into thinking that Madden had pulled this off himself.
I: The sun will come up on Feb. 4 if New England loses, right?

Shawn Curtis is a sports writer for The Tribune-Democrat. If there’s a storyline that he missed, feel free to submit it to the preceding e-mail address.

January 27, 2008 11:52 pm

Blog Championship Series | Championship

So it’s a few days late and therefore totally irrelevant, but here’s the championship game, that was simmed out on ‘Monday,’ for the Blog Championship Series tournament.
On an aside: Have we learned our lesson about Ohio State and the Big Ten in general when it comes to this wonderful farce that we call the BCS Championship? Two years in a row the Buckeyes were the best team that the computers and pollsters could come up with, and two years in a row the season ended with Ohio State getting trounced by an SEC team. I understand that both Ohio State and LSU backed into the game this year thanks to eggs laid by then-No. 1 Missouri and No. 2 West Virginia on Dec. 2, but who’s to say that you’re the best team in the country simply because your loss came less recently than another team’s did?
Had West Virginia not torched Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl two days after Missouri did the same to Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl, my argument holds about as much water as Roger Clemens’ B12 and lidocaine defense.
From what I saw Monday night, it was pretty clear that almost every team involved in a BCS bowl game this year could have done the same to the Buckeyes on a neutral field (and Kansas did it at Ohio Stadium in this very crude simulation of actual football).
The realist in me knows that a tournament will never happen in college football simply because there’s too much money that would allegedly be lost from bowl tie-ins. The fan in me is naive enough to hope that one day someone that has enough power within collegiate athletics will try to create something that will give us a truer national champion than the current method of popularity contests and random math while the kid in me loves the sweet, sweet frosting.
Either way, the BCS, which has produced two good title games and enough dogs to fill a shelter since its inception, is flawed and/or the Big Ten is overrated.
But I’m just a lowly blogger with an obsession for video games, I could be wrong.
And now, on with the show ...
Championship: Oklahoma vs. LSU, at New Orleans
NEW ORLEANS – Not even four first-half interceptions by Matt Flynn could derail BCS No. 2 Louisiana State from its rightful coronation as the Tigers rattled off 31 unanswered points to dispatch BCS No. 4 Oklahoma Monday at the Louisiana Superdome in the Blog Championship Series championship.
The Tigers’ 31-14 win was the second championship win over Oklahoma in the Superdome, with the first coming in 2003’s BCS title game when the Sugar Bowl was the designated host.
Flynn’s lone touchdown pass – a 75-yard strike to Terrance Tolliver late in the second quarter – gave the SEC champions a 21-14 lead heading into the half. Keiland Williams’ 58-yard run and a 64-yard punt return by Trindon Holliday (on a reverse by Jai Eugene) allowed LSU to knot the score midway through the second. Flynn finished 9 of 21 for 175 yards with the four picks.
Eugene helped the Tigers wrap the game up late in the third on his 13-yard interception return after a muffed punt Marcus Walker pinned the Sooners at their 1-yard line. Colt David’s 35-yard field goal midway through the fourth capped the scoring.
Two of Flynn’s three first-quarter picks led to 14 Sooners points with an 18-yard run by Allen Patrick opening the scoring and a 15-yard interception return by Lendy Holmes padding the lead just 14 seconds later.
Interceptions No 3 and No. 4 – both made by Oklahoma’s Lewis Baker – were quickly erased by a stifling Tigers defense that held Oklahoma to 84 total yards of offense.
Blogger’s note: OK, so the tournament produced the same national champion that the real BCS did, but I almost feel better about the outcome because it was decided by a tournament. If the Super Bowl match-up was simply determined by a silly formula like this every year, would the NFL be as big as it is now? How many people would care about college basketball if the RPI was used to pick two finalists and the heck with the other 63 schools that make it in every year in a tournament that captivates rabid and casual basketball fans across the nation.
As popular as college football is at the FBS level is, a way of finding out a true national champion is lacking in the sport that is second only to baseball in my heart. If this simple mistake were to be fixed, I’d feel a whole lot better with the results, even if a two-loss team from the SEC that played a title game in its home state won the big crystal football.
Again, I am but a lowly blogger.

Shawn Curtis is a sports writer for The Tribune-Democrat. Now that this burden of a tournament is over, he can get back to what this blog was mae for: Knee-jerk reactions to pointless happenings in the world of sports.

January 12, 2008 12:33 am

Blog Championship Series | Semifinals

Two dominating performances gave us the most logical final that could have occured after No. 1 went down in the quarterfinals. For those concerned, the championship will go up on Jan. 7 with possible championship-related fun between now and then.

Semifinal round - Game 1: Kansas at Oklahoma
NORMAN, Okla. – BCS eight seed Kansas outgained and held a decisive edge in time of possession against Oklahoma Saturday at Owen Field.
Oklahoma held edges in more important categories - score and turnovers. As a result, the No. 4 Sooners trounced the upstart Jayhawks 42-14 to earn a spot in the Blog Championship Series Championship on Jan. 7 in New Orleans.
Sooners running back Allen Patrick rushed for 144 yards and a pair of touchdowns on a day where five of Oklahoma’s six touchdowns covered 43 or more yards.
Three of those touchdowns came as a result of Kansas turnovers starting when the Sooners capitalized on a muffed punt by Ryan Murphy late in the first, taking over at at the Jayhawks’ 20. Oklahoma covered the distance in three plays with an 8-yard run by Allen Patrick pushing the hosts to a 7-0 lead.
Kansas knotted the score in the latter portion of the second quarter as Todd Reesing connected with Dexton Fields from 19 yards away. Within the span of 11 seconds and an 89-yard kickoff return by the Sooners’ DeMarco Murray had given Oklahoma a 14-7 lead heading into the half.
It was merely the beginning of the end for Kansas.
Oklahoma wasted little time on expanding that lead following the second-half kickoff as Patrick darted through the Kansas defense on his way to a 66-yard touchdown just two plays into the half.
Two more big plays followed in the third for Oklahoma with an 89-yard interception return by Ryan Reynolds and a 43-yard touchdown pass from Joey Halzle to Brody Eldridge on Oklahoma’s first pass at the game. Halzle, who threw just one pass, ended the game with a 791.2 rating.
Sooners’ backup Sam Bradford completed his only pass on his squad’s next possession when he found Adron Tennell behind the Jayhawks secondary for a 74-yard touchdown strike. Bradford’s QB rating following the game topped out at 1051.6.
Reesing’s 47-yard touchdown pass to Fields capped off the scoring against Oklahoma’s second-team defense.

Semifinal round - Game 2: Virginia Tech at Lousiana State
BATON ROUGE, La. – First it contained a high-powered Southern California offense. On Saturday, the Louisiana State defense served a bagel to BCS No. 3 Virginia Tech as the second-seeded Tigers advanced to the Blog Championship Series finals with a 13-0 win over the Hokies.
The next mission for the LSU defense will be BCS No. 4 Oklahoma on Jan. 7 at the Louisiana Superdome. The Sooners trounced Kansas in their semifinal game.
The clash will serve as a rematch of the 2003 BCS title game – played at the Superdome – that resulted in a 21-14 win and a split of the national title for LSU.
While the score wasn’t as dominating as LSU’s 48-7 win over Virginia Tech on Sept. 8, the Tigers’ defense looked just as good as it recorded six tackles for loss and registered two sacks against the Hokies with sophomore right end Ali Highsmith picking up a sack and two tackles for loss.
Two first-half turnovers forced by the Tigers pass rush went towards two field goals by Colt David and a 6-0 lead. David connected twice from 43 yards away with his first field goal coming after a Curtis Taylor pick. David then set up his next field goal when he recovered Eddie Royal’s fumble on the ensuing kickoff.
LSU managed the game’s only touchdown early in the second on a 2-yard run by Keiland Williams polished off a nine-play, 85-yard drive. Matt Flynn threw for 79 yards on the drive with a 38-yard strike to Terrance Toliver moving the ball inside the Hokies’ 5.
Even with the Tigers offense seemingly in cruise control for the rest of the game, the Hokies never threatened to dent the lead despite holding onto the ball twice as long as LSU in the final three quarters.

Shawn Curtis is a sports writer for The Tribune-Democrat. Had he known that his tournament championship would have just been a rematch of another BCS championship that should have never happened, he’d have just saved everyone’s time.

December 26, 2007 11:59 pm

Blog Championship Series | Quarterfinals

A first round full of surprises in the Blog Championship Series gave way to three expected results and an upset that would shock me as much as I was after finding out that Roger Clemens was named in the Mitchell Report (not at all).
(Blogger’s note: All Clemens dislike aside, about the only names that would have honestly shocked me had they come up in the Mitchell Report would have been Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine. I say this only because I saw their workout in a 1999 Nike commercial. The only thing enhancing their performances was impressing the ladies.)
Back on track, this was a pretty uninteresting second round after having a game (Hawaii at USC) that would have been lauded as one of the best ever had it acually happened. Yet another reason for a tournament: Potential for multiple classics every December. Look at the basketball tournaments. Even if the championship game is a dog, epic first-rounders are part of the reason that the first weekend NCAA basketball tournament is almost a religious holiday.
But that’s merely one man’s opinion. ... On with the tournament.

Quarterfinal round - Game 1: No. 8 Kansas at No. 1 Ohio State
COLUMBUS, Ohio – BCS No. 1 Ohio State did all it could to stop the high-powered offense of No. 8 Kansas Saturday at Ohio Stadium.
The Buckeyes couldn’t stop Jayhawks kickoff returner Ryan Murphy or overcome four turnovers – two in the red zone – as Kansas upset the top-seeded Big Ten champions 10-0.
Murphy broke the ice in the third opening the second half with his second kickoff return for a touchdown – this time an 84-yarder. The Jayhakws led 7-0 eight seconds into the period.
Murphy also had a 93-yard return to open up a sizable lead in Kansas’ first-round win over West Virginia.
A fumble by the Buckeyes’ Chris Wells on the ensuing drive allowed the upstart Jayhawks to add to their lead as Scott Webb connected on a PAT-distance field goal after Kansas moved the ball 25 yards from the Ohio State 28 to the 3-yard line.
It was all Kansas needed and really all it could muster against a Buckeyes’ defense that limited the Jayhawks to 106 yards of total offense and only one trip across the 50-yard line.
While the Buckeyes outgained Kansas by 42 yards, the Kansas defense stiffened at the right time and forced two Todd Boeckman interceptions in the second half. One by Tang Baheyie in the end zone to thwart a third-quarter march and another by Arist Wright late in the fourth.
Baheyie also had an interception on Ohio State’s opening drive when Boeckman sent a deep pass to Wells, who was on a wheel route during a third-and-12 play. Boeckman was 11-of-18 for 131 yards and the three interceptions.
Kansas’ Todd Reesing passed for 113 yards on 10 of 13 passing.

Quarterfinal round - Game 2: No. 12 Florida at No. 4 Oklahoma
NORMAN, Okla. – BCS No. 4 Oklahoma kept Florida’s offense at bay and knocked Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow out of action twice as the Sooners blanked No. 12 Florida 20-0 Saturday at Owen Field.
Florida turned the ball over four times while never posing a threat to the host Sooners, who did not look overwhelming even in holding the Gators to 103 total yards.
Oklahoma guaranteed that a Big XII team will be present in the tournament championship by setting up a semifinal clash with No. 8 seed Kansas, which had upset top-ranked Ohio State earlier in the day. That Kansas win gave the Sooners a chance at another home game after the higher-seeded Buckeyes were eliminated.
The Sooners and Jayhawks did not meet this season.
The Sooners grabbed a 3-0 lead on a 28-yard field goal by Garrett Hartley and quickly built on it when Brian Jackson intercepted a Tebow pass on the Gators’ next possession. Oklahoma parlayed the turnover into a six-play, 34-yard drive with a 1-yard run by Allen Patrick to increase the lead to 10-0.
Marcus Walker’s 62-yard punt return upped the Oklahoma lead to 17-0 in the second quarter after the Gators lost Tebow temporarily with an elbow injury en route to a three-and-out.
A Curtis Lofton interception in the fourth put the Sooners in position for the game’s final tally – a 40-yard field goal by Hartley.
The Gators, who bounded out to a 28-3 halftime in the first round of their 28-18 win over Georgia last week, had to rely on Cameron Newton for most of the second half after Tebow took a shot from Oklahoma’s Lewis Baker, knocking him out of the game midway through the third.
Tebow had passed for 73 yards before his departure. He was also lifted for two plays after injuring his elbow in the second.

Quarterfinal round - Game 3: No. 11 Arizona State at No. 3 Virginia Tech
BLACKSBURG, Va. – By controlling both sides of the line of scrimmage and turning in their usual special teams dominance, the No. 3 Virginia Tech Hokies advaned to the Blog Championship Series semifinals with a 15-0 win over No. 11 Arizona State at Lane Stadium on Saturday.
The Hokies victory was the third shutout of the day in a quarterfinal round highlighted by exceptional defense.
Branden Ore carried the ball 22 times for 81 yards while the Hokies held Arizona State’s Rudy Carpenter to his lowest output of the season – 10-of-20 for 80 yards. Carpenter was sacked five times by an aggressive Virginia Tech pass rush that yielded three sacks from defensive linemen.
The Sun Devils hung tough with Virginia Tech throughout but could never establish any consistency on offense only picking up six first downs against the ACC champions. The Sun Devils’ 1-of-8 performance on third downs also prevented any chance at scoring on a dreary December evening – a far cry from the normal conditions in Tempe, Ariz.
Virginia Tech tallied the game’s first points in the second quarter when Jared Develli connected on a 37-yard field goal with help from a carom off the inside of the left upright.
Another Develli field goal – this one from 51 yards away – increased the Hokies’ lead to 6-0 late in the third period. A drive filled with steady doses of Ore stalled at the Sun Devils’ 34 after Ore was stood up by multiple Arizona State defenders on third-and-1.
The Hokies wrapped the game up in the early moments of the fourth quarter when Glennon found senior wideout Josh Morgan for a 43-yard touchdown. Ore’s two-point conversion try was stopped short of the goal line.
A 40-yard kick by Develli with six seconds remaining closed out the scoring.

Quarterfinal round - Game 4: No. 7 Southern California at No. 2 Louisiana State
BATON ROUGE, La. – Turnovers and missed opportunities plagued BCS No. 2 Louisiana State throughout Saturday’s quarterfinal clash with seventh-seed Southern California.
If not for the Trojans having more turnovers than the Tigers and failing to cash in on multiple chances in the second half, the 17-14 LSU win would not have been possible.
Southern Cal turned the ball over four times leading to three LSU points. The three turnovers committed by the Tigers harvested no points for the Pac-10 champions.
Those three points proved to be the difference for LSU, which hosts No. 3 Virginia Tech in the semifinals next Saturday. The Tigers trampled the Hokies 48-7 in an early-September meeting in Baton Rouge.
After picking off a Booty pass at the Tigers’ 7 in the first quarter, LSU’s Jai Eugene gave the hosts a 7-0 lead thanks to a 70-yard punt return early in the second. Eugene picked up impressive blocks five yards ahead of where he fielded the ball giving him room to wiggle free.
Matt Flynn’s 27-yard touchdown pass to Early Doucet expanded the Tigers’ lead following a USC three-and-out. The touchdown pass, which was the fifth play of a 63-yard drive, was tipped in the air by Southern Cal’s Kevin Ellison right to Doucet at the Trojans’ 12.
The hole was dug deeper on Trojans’ next play from scrimmage when Patrick Turner’s 12-yard reception became a lost fumble at the USC 43. LSU added three more points to its lead on Colt David’s 46-yard field goal just before the half.
Southern Cal posted its first points midway through the third quarter when Terrell Thomas stepped into the backfield to pick off Flynn and race 44 yards to the end zone.
USC drew closer with 50 seconds remaining as Booty hooked up with tight end Jimmy Miller on fourth-and-goal from the Tigers’ 1. Twice before that touchdown drive, the Trojans picked off Flynn only to give the ball back on failed fourth-down conversions. Southern Cal’s only successful third- or fourth-down play came on the Booty touchdown toss.
The Tigers recovered the ensuing onside kick to put the game under wraps.

Shawn Curtis is a sports writer for The Tribune-Democrat. He had no idea that Kansas would be known for more than college basketball and having a band named after the state that’s produced multiple mullet – I mean classic – rock staples.

December 16, 2007 11:25 pm

The Blog Championship Series | Opening Round

As threatened, a look into the magical world of what would happen with the 12-team tournament for the Division I FBS if it were implemented this year.
(Blogger’s note: I know that I said I’d have this up on or around Saturday, but with free time at a premium, there wasn’t much I could do until now. Hopefully, I’m blessed with more free time this week for completing Round 2 in a more timely manner.)
The games of the Blog Championship Series were played using NCAA Football 2008 for the PlayStation2 on CPU-vs.-CPU simulations. All I do is watch and document what happens for the dozens of readers itching to know how a tournament at the highest level of college football would turn out.
I even went so far as to check the weather forecasts for the game sites to give that ultra-timely feel to this whole thing.
(Blogger’s note II: I am fully aware that there’s all kinds of randomness that ‘would never’ happen in real life when you sim out a video game. But this is a year where seven No. 2 teams went down and Michigan went down to Appalachian State, so who knows what would really happen.)
And now, on with the show:

Round 1 – Game 1: No. 12 Florida at No. 5 Georgia.
ATHENS, Ga. – Florida quarterback Tim Tebow started an amazing day with 281 passing yards and three touchdown passes. His day ended with the Heisman Trophy.
His season will live on for at least another week after BCS No. 12 Florida upset SEC East rival and BCS fifth-seed Georgia 28-18 Saturday at Sanford Stadium.
The win, while ensuring that Florida has another week to try to defend its national title from last year, avenged an emotional 42-30 loss to the Bulldogs on Oct. 27 in Jacksonville, Fla. That game saw a rush of more than 70 Georgia players onto the field at ALLTEL Stadium following a Bulldogs touchdown. On Saturday, any touchdown celebration of that nature by the Bulldogs would have come long after the Gators had put the game away.
Tebow – who was 12 of 17 in collecting those 281 yards – led Florida to a 28-3 halftime lead and then put the Gators offense in cruise control as the Georgia comeback fell short.
A trip to BCS No. 4 Oklahoma will be the reward for Florida (10-3)
The Gators moved quickly towards the game’s first score as Tebow completed three passes for 61 of the 75 yards covered by the six-play drive Kestahn Moore’s 8-yard run capped off the drive to give Florida a 7-0 lead.
After forcing a Bulldogs three-and-out, Florida expanded its lead through the air when Tebow hooked up with Percy Harvin for a 22-yard strike to end another six-play march with a touchdown. Joey Ijjas’ point-after gave Florida a 14-0 lead.
Moore pushed the Gators’ lead to 21 when he hauled in a 48-yard pass from Tebow just after Florida’s Louis Murphy reeled in a 9-yard pass to covert on a third-and-9. The Gators were 4-for-7 on third-down conversions with a 3-for-3 mark on their first three drives.
A 32-yard field goal by Brandon Coutu late in the second quarter cut the Florida lead to 21-3, a score that would only stand for 14 seconds. A 76-yard pass from Tebow to Riley Cooper put the game out of reach before the half.
A Thomas Brown 4-yard run pulled the Bulldogs closer at 28-10 to open the second half to complete a 10-play march that chewed up 76 yards. Georgia hit the end zone again with 30 seconds remaining when Matthew Stafford connected with Mohammed Massaquoi from 45 yards away. Michael Moore hauled in the two-point conversion pass to set the final.
Stafford, who faced constant harassment from the Florida pass rush, passed for 217 yards with all but 68 coming in the second half.

Round 1 – Game 2: No. 11 Arizona State at No. 6 Missouri.
COLUMBIA, Mo. – If the gameplan for the No. 11 seed Arizona State Sun Devils revolved around chasing Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel. Saturday’s 10-3 upset of the sixth-seeded Tigers at Faurot Field proved to be a resounding success of executing that strategy.
Daniel, while never sacked, was hurried 11 times, knocked down six times and threw three picks in the loss – Missouri’s second straight after picking up a No. 1 ranking after topping rival Kansas on Nov. 24 in Kansas City, Mo.
The Missouri quarterback wasn’t the only member of the Tigers offense wearing Arizona State defenders all afternoon as five Missouri receivers combined for eight dropped passes.
Daniel’s counterpart – ASU’s Rudy Carpenter – was 18-of-26 for 189 yards with a touchdown.
Carpenter put the Sun Devils on the board first with just 24 seconds left in the opening quarter as Rodney Glass hauled in a 15-yard strike to wrap up an eight-play, 80-yard march.
After snuffing out a Missouri response drive, Arizona State added to its lead with Thomas Webber’s 41-yard field goal.
The Tigers broke the ice late in the third driving to the Arizona State 9 before calling on Adam Crossett to connect on a 26-yard field goal.
A Daniel interception on Missouri’s next drive seemingly nixed hopes of a Tigers comeback midway through the fourth. A quick three-and-out and a punt that just rolled into the end zone put Missouri at its own 20 with 1:46 showing.
Missouri drove to the Sun Devils’ 21 before Justin Tryon intercepted a pass intended for Tommy Saunders at the 2 with three seconds remaining. Daniel had completed four straight passes to move the Tigers 38 yards from their 41.
Arizona State travels to Virginia Tech next week to face the third-seeded Hokies.

Round 1 – Game 3: No. 10 Hawaii at No. 7 Southern California.
LOS ANGELES – No 7 Southern California stands as one of the teams with the most to gain from this Blog Championship Series tournament. After narrowly ecsaping with a win over Hawaii Saturday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the Trojans also showed that they had an awful lot to lose.
Southern Cal quarterback John David Booty outdeueled Hawaii’s Colt Brennan in a highlight-reel quality 32-29 win over the previously unbeaten Warriors.
Awaiting the Trojans (11-2) will be BCS No. 2 Louisiana State, the school that split the 2003 national title with Southern Cal. Were it not for Booty’s fourth-quarter heroics the highly anticipated quarterfinal clash would have fallen as quickly as other first-round hosts Georgia and Missouri.
Booty passed for 329 yards and four touchdowns – including the go-ahead score with 21 seconds remaining. Brennan
The Warriors drew first blood using a 10-play, 49-yard drive to move into range for a 43-yard field goal by Dan Kelly early in the second.
Southern Cal replied quickly, moving 72 yards in 10 plays with Vidal Hazelton’s 27-yard touchdown grab pushing the Trojans ahead 7-3.
Hawaii regained the lead in quicker fashion, using only four plays, as Brennan found Ryan Grice-Mullen in the end zone from 34 yards away. A John David Booty fumble in Trojans territory led to another Kelly field goal just before halftime, increasing the Warriors’ lead to 13-7.
Booty’s 57-yard touchdown pass to tight end Fred Davis gave the hosts a 14-13 lead just 50 seconds into the second half. Davis, who was blocking on a play-fake, found a hole in Hawaii’s zone and raced to the end zone untouched.
Hawaii grabbed a 16-14 lead three minutes later thanks to 25-yard field goal by Kelly. Twice a Brennan pass was dropped in the end zone after the Warriors moved inside the Southern Cal 20 – once by Grice-Mullen and the other by Jason Rivers.
Two plays later Myron Newberry picked off Booty and returned the ball 38 yards to the end zone. Kelly’s point-after put Hawaii up 23-14.
The Trojans inched closer at the start of the fourth, calling on David Buehler to connect on a 44-yard field goal.
Kevin Thomas’ interception on Hawaii’s next drive set up USC’s go-ahead score late in the fourth as Booty found fullback Michael Coleman in the end zone on third-and-goal from the 2. The point-after try from Buehler gave the Trojans a 24-23 lead.
Rivers atoned for his earlier gaffe just two plays later when he hauled in a 51-yard touchdown pass from Brennan. Hawaii’s try for two was stopped short when Brennan’s to Leon Jackson was batted down. Rivers’ 171 yards on eight catches led all receivers.
With 52 seconds left, Booty calmly moved USC down the field with a 37-yard pass to Patrick Turner setting up a 7-yard strike to Turner. Davis was on the receiving end of the two-point conversion throw. Turner led the Trojans in catches and yardage, pulling in eight passes for 126 yards.
Hawaii could not answer with only 21 seconds showing on the clock, moving the ball to their 38 before Brennan misfired on two straight deep passes to run off the remaining time.
Brennan, who finished third in Heisman Trophy voting, was 23-of-42 for 349 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Round 1 – Game 4: No. 9 West Virginia at No. 8 Kansas.
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Not even the vaunted spread attack of West Virginia could derail the dream season of BCS No. 8 Kansas Saturday night at Memorial Stadium.
The Jayhawks (12-1) utilized big plays on special teams and defense to eliminate No. 9 West Virginia by a 35-14 count.
Kansas weathered big runs by West Virginia’s Patrick White, who totaled 151 yards on nine carries, while keeping Steve Slaton in check with 55 yards on 12 rushes.
After chipping away at the Kansas defense and coming up empty on their first two drives, the Mountaineers scored quickly on their third possession as White ran 57 yards on an option keeper with 2:39 left in the second. White easily outraced the Jayhawks’ secondary, crossing the goal-line 10 yards in front of the nearest blue jersey.
Kansas knotted the score in three plays on a 61-yard run by Jake Sharp through the heart of the West Virginia defense.
After picking off White at midfield on the ensuing drive, Kansas traveled 50 yards in seven plays with Marcue Henry’s acrobatic catch in the end zone putting the Jayhawks ahead 14-7 with six second remaining in the second quarter.
A dazzling 93-yard kickoff return by Kansas’ Ryan Murphy expanded the Jayhawks’ lead to 21-7 only 10 seconds into the third quarter.
In 41 seconds West Virginia fired back with a winding 65-yard scamper by White. Pat McAfee’s point-after kick pulled West Virginia with seven.
Kansas pulled ahead by two touchdowns again with 46 seconds left in the frame when Brandon McAnderson reeled in a 16-yard pass from Reesing.
After a West Virginia punt, the Jayhawks iced the game with Reesing’s 40-yard pass to Marc Dierking. Reesing was 17-of-23 for 212 yards.
Kansas will battle BCS top seed Ohio State in the quarterfinals.

Shawn Curtis is a sports writer for The Tribune-Democrat. Holding this year’s cyber-version of Missouri to only three points is something that he couldn’t do. He offers his kudos to the cyber-Sun Devils.

December 12, 2007 12:29 am

MLB Power Pros: Swinging for the fences and greatness

While never the intent of the blog, there’s been an awful lot of video game talk whether it be on purpose or strictly by accident. The following would fall into the former while possibly opening a few eyes to a wonderful game that I stumbled upon by accident. Even if it was a cruel trick by 2K Sports and Konami to release the game at the end of baseball season.
MLB Power Pros is an Americanized version of Japan’s Jikkyo Powerful Pro Yakyu series of games and the first to be released into the United States. And on Oct. 3 (the release date) or Nov. 27 (my purchase date), the game jumped into the pantheon of great video baseball games. ... No wait, into the pantheon of greatest video baseball games I’ve ever played.
Through my long gaming career, baseball has always been a distant third in favorite sports to fritter away my free time on while also giving me three gems to compare all baseball titles to prior my purchase of MLB Power Pros.
Then again, Japan is the country that gave us Lupin the Third and a fanatical love of pro wrestling, so I shouldn't be that surprised that it brought the awesome with this game.
RBI Baseball, Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball and MVP Baseball 2005 have company thanks to a game that combines all the great things about the previous three titles.
RBI Baseball was the first baseball game I played and you always remember your first. Even with the limited team selection and that annoying feature where if you were fielding a ball hit to right field, every player on the right side of the defense moved RBI Baseball took a lot of quarters from me before I finally nabbed my own copy.
Ken Griffey Presents was the first baseball game that I actually managed to complete a full season on and the fact that all 28 (at the time) teams were on the game and while it didn’t have the MLBPA license, anyone with a copy of the 1993 rosters for each team and about 20 hours could have a game with real players.
MVP Baseball 2005 was the total package. All 30 teams, AAA, AA and A affiliates, 125-year dynasty mode, great play and any game that lets you hit 67 home runs in a season with Craig Wilson is automatically an awesome game.
For the younger or less aggressive sect of gamers, Power Pros is very simple to pick up and play with over a dozen different modes to play. The graphics, with big-eyed cartoonish looking players will never be confused with the baseball titles currently competing for your gaming dollars. (Speaking of gaming dollars, this game – which is available for the PlayStation2 and Nintendo’s Wii – is a steal at $30) The simplicity of the gaming harkens back to RBI Baseball and Ken Griffey Jr. Presents while the eyes of the players (the show within the game) tell the story better than any broadcaster can.
Parents of younger children who are just learning the sport can be assured that the “E” rating this game receives really means that it is for everyone. At its heart, it is a very friendly game, which is pretty rare in today’s world. Plus I have a feeling that the game can be a decent teaching tool with the proper supervision close by.
(Blogger’s note: For those who do pick up this game. The facial expressions of Pirates catcher Ryan Doumit are amazing good fun, especially after fanning horribly on a strike.)
A note to the hardcore players: Don’t let the sweet and innocent look of Power Pros turn you away. You can get lost in the depth of this game very easily. All 30 teams and their rosters are on the game with super-realistic results – not so realistic that I couldn’t start 10-1 with Pittsburgh, but you’ll have that.
The postgame stats alone can keep you occupied for at least 15-20 minutes following a game – which on average takes about 30 minutes to complete. The season/franchise mode isn’t as spectacular as MVP Baseball 2005 was, but there is a lot to love with the game with practice modes that can turn your weak-hitting infielder into a slugger without having to make a call to BALCO Labs. Plus 10 years is plenty of time to build your team into an unstoppable force.
Another feature that caught my interest was that you can mix and match teams into the different leagues. So as long as you keep an even number of teams in each league, you can arrange teams any way you’d like. The possibilities are endless.
Another word to the dedicated gamers of the world, this game obliterates the “Awww, how cute” factor with the ladies. Some may actually want to play the game with you, and isn’t that what almost every guy who loves video games and has a girlfriend/wife wants? Quality time with the console and the other half at the same time. (The last time that this happened with a sports title was when the EA Sports NCAA Football series introduced mascot games. You get a game going with 11 Ottos – Syracuse’s giant orange mascot – and 11 Smokeys – Tennessee’s Muppetized blue-tick hound mascot – and the “Awww, how cute” comments never end.)
The broadcaster is maybe the only downside that I’ve noticed thus far and really I can’t even blame Jack Merluzzi for it. Merluzzi, a Pennsylvania native, has lent his voice to dozens of video games over the years and does a somewhat decent job during gameplay but the constant climbing of his voice during a routine play can be grating. Aside from that, he’s really no worse than any other broadcaster that has supplied his voice talents to a game.
One glitch that took me awhile to get over was when Merluzzi introduces Blue Jays third baseman Troy Glaus as “Tony Glaus.”
While the game apparently missed the boat on taking advantage of the Wii’s motion control capabilities, it has received glowing reviews from almost any gaming site that matters.
Count me in. MLB Power Pros has me wishing it were April already.

Shawn Curtis is a sports writer for The Tribune-Democrat. He thinks he may have met Tony Glaus before, but it may have been Troy Glaus. Either way, he wasn’t going to chance making a mistake in identification.

December 06, 2007 01:12 am

Making the FBS a better place

When I started this blog back in February, it was meant for this kind of entry: A chance for me to make the world better through my PlayStation.
It’s been 24-plus hours since the BCS rankings and bowl matchups were introduced for public consumption. By now, there have been hundreds of television pundits, columnists, writers, fans, bloggers and anyone that has even watched a college football game this decade who have expressed their disdain toward a system that has flaws in how its used, but not necessarily in the formula used.
I won’t go into detail about my disgust concerning Missouri not getting a BCS bowl nod while Kansas and Georgia – two teams that didn’t even win their own divisions – did.
And yes, as expressed in a column in The Tribune-Democrat three years ago, I’m a huge advocate for a playoff in college football, if only to erase the ridiculous Football Bowl Subdivision moniker from what was formerly Division I-A. Plus every level of football except for the FBS has a playoff determining its champion.
My idea - and it’s an awesome idea and better than any other “solution” that has been offered because it’s my idea - a 12-team playoff using the BCS formula as the seeding tool. Twelve was the number selected because it’s the magic number for non-BCS teams to qualify for a BCS bowl game. In the event that a champion from a BCS conference is ranked lower than No. 12 in the BCS rankings, then the team at the No. 12 spot would be out of luck - unless it came from a non-BCS conference.
With this system, the top four teams would receive first-round byes with the first-round matchups consisting of No. 12 vs. No. 5, No. 11 vs. No. 6, No. 10 vs. No. 7 and No. 9 vs. No. 8.
So in the event that the NCAA realizes its error and uses my format for a playoff this season: No. 12 Florida would play at No. 5 Georgia with the winner taking on No. 4 Oklahoma. No. 11 Arizona State would be at No. 6 Missouri for the right to face No. 3 Virginia Tech. No. 10 Hawaii would head off to face No. 7 Southern California for a chance at No. 2 LSU and No. 9 West Virginia would travel to No. 8 Kansas with No. 1 Ohio State awaiting the winner.
Those who support the BCS may be asking: “But Shawn, wouldn’t a playoff eliminate the sanctity of the bowls?”
My answer: The first time that the BCS was used, it rendered the bowls other than the designated championship unimportant except for the giant payouts. Therefore, a playoff that may use the bowl games and the respective locations as sites would be great. And there will still be plenty of teams that could play in bowl games to keep the lower-tier bowls in business.
BCS Supporters: “But Shawn, these student-athletes play too many games already. Adding three more games might be too much.”
My response: Then the NCAA should have considered that before approving a 12th game across the board and letting conferences generate money through a championship game. LSU’s players already have played 13 games.b With a BCS title game awaiting on Jan. 7, what’s another game on the schedule to prove your worthiness as a national champion? Plus, FCS, Division II and Division III schools seem to do just fine with the extra workload.
(Blogger’s note: There would be the issue of finals for a bunch of these schools and athletes which might be a roadblock to this system actually taking flight.)
So how does my PlayStation, mentioned earlier, come into play? If I can pull myself away from repeated viewings of “Superbad” on DVD and playing MLB Power Pros (more on that game Wednesday) this week, this tournament will happen if only for my entertainment and will be documented through this blog starting on Saturday with the first-round games and how they’d play out through a CPU vs. CPU simulation.
Dec. 15 would be the quarterfinal date with Dec. 22 serving as the semifinals. The championship would stay at Jan. 7 to give the kids a Super Bowl-like break before the big game.
(Blogger’s note II: For all intents and purposes, the games will be ‘played’ at the stadium of the higher seed until the championship game, which will be kept in New Orleans.)
Feel free to follow if you choose.

Shawn Curtis is a sports writer for The Tribune-Democrat. He gave up on the concept of bowls after the unexpected demise of the Poulan/Weed Eater Independence Bowl.

December 04, 2007 12:31 am

Week 9 picks have gone to the dog

With a 9-7 record to show for my picking “expertise” in Week 8, my pride has taken a big hit. Granted 9-7 could win me two divisions in the NFC, but I digress. As my usual end-of-season tailspin starts to drag me down again, I had to do something desperate to get these picks on the right track and regain office bragging rights.
Enter my puppy, a 28-week-old basset-lab mix named Tessie. Surely a dog that looks forward to eating, sleeping and chewing anything that she can carry wouldn’t fold underneath this picking pressure that I succumb to every season.
Plus, she’s probably researched enough high school football this season judging by the amount of newspaper that lines her crate underneath her pile of blankets.
So how can I get a dog, that is illiterate (I think ), to help me with my picks? By the most scientific process that I can conjure up: Turning breakfast time into pick time for the little one.
The selection process began with a paper plate marked with a “V” on the left and “H” on the right. I’d place a piece of dog food on each side of the plate and place it in the floor so that the V side was to her left. The kibble she inhales first would be my pick. What scares me is that her stomach agreed with my brain on 11 of the 15 games on this week’s docket. (Blogger’s note: Draw your own conclusions.)
The picks made by Tessie are what appear in the Week 9 picks as per my threats and Cory Isenberg’s proclamation from earlier in the week in her Monday column.
The thoughts that follow the picks are merely guesses as to why she made that pick. In all honesty, I have no idea what this dog thinks about 99 percent of the time.
(Blogger’s note II: This is about as tongue-in-cheek as a picks blog can get. No slights toward any schools are intended – this is simply what happens when I have a few free minutes and a puppy that needs entertained and fed.)
Bedford at Richland
Tessie’s pick: Richland.
My pick: Richland.
Thoughts: Tessie always has been partial to the color red as judged by the amount of red dog toys she’s shredded throughout her short time at the house.
Bishop Carroll at Forest Hills
Tessie’s pick: Forest Hills.
My pick: Forest Hills
Thoughts: I thought she’d opt for the canine-based nickname at Bishop Carroll, but I guess her love of the outdoors won out.
Westmont Hilltop at Central Cambria
Tessie’s pick: Central Cambria
My pick: Central Cambria
Thoughts: Her love of climbing the furniture made me think that she’d pick the Hilltoppers, but Central Cambria does have “Red” in its nickname.
Rockwood at Conemaugh Township
Tessie’s pick: Rockwood.
My pick: Conemaugh Township.
Thoughts: Tessie’s first underdog selection - no pun intended.
Ferndale at Windber
Tessie’s pick: Windber.
My pick: Windber.
Thoughts: When she first came home in June, Tessie’s favorite pasttime was chasing insects around the yard – until she caught a yellow jacket one day. I think she remembered that experience. (Note: The bee did not sting her in the mouth, but it got out quickly)
Johnstown at Cambria Heights
Tessie’s pick: Johnstown.
My pick: Johnstown.
Thoughts: Tessie is a car dog and she’s probably been in Johnstown on various trips with me more than any other place but home. Her fond memories may have swayed her.
Bishop McCort at Penn Cambria
Tessie’s pick: Bishop McCort.
My pick: Bishop McCort.
Thoughts: Again, the Johnstown link comes into play. Plus one of her favorite outdoor (and sometimes indoor) games is catch, and not many toss the ball around better than Bishop McCort.
Meyersdale at Portage
Tessie’s pick: Meyersdale.
My pick: Meyersdale.
Thoughts: It looks like the partiality to most things red have turned her towards the Red Raiders. Though she almost scooped up the piece on the Portage end first. Her first waffle.
Shade at North Star
Tessie’s pick: North Star.
My pick: North Star.
Thoughts: This is a puppy that fears going outside in the dark. The North Star shines bright. Maybe some wishful thinking to help her during her evening romps outdoors?
Northern Cambria at Ligonier Valley
Tessie’s pick: Ligonier Valley.
My pick: Ligonier Valley.
Thoughts: When traveling to my two schools for our preseason tab, Tessie enjoyed her time at Ligonier as I chatted with coach Roger Beitel. The squad and coaching staff made sure that she was treated very well. The hospitality is rewarded.
United at Marion Center
Tessie’s pick: United.
My pick: Marion Center.
Thoughts: When I’m working at home while she’s around and come to a block, my fingers will tap out the drum cadance to the United Marching Band’s “African Symphony” out of nervous energy. This may have had a subliminal effect.
Chestnut Ridge at Tussey Mountain
Tessie’s pick: Chestnut Ridge.
My pick: Tussey Mountain.
Thoughts: She likes to run about as much as the Lions do. This pick makes perfect sense to her though she may not realize that I have family that she can sponge attention from in the Tussey Mountain School District.
Blacklick Valley at Conemaugh Valley
Tessie’s pick: Blacklick Valley.
My pick: Blacklick Valley.
Thoughts: Like our cat, Tessie enjoys watching the birds that gather in the yard at the bird feeders. Her disappointment of never catching a blue jay - or any bird - may have her rooting for the Vikings to nab a few Blue Jays on her behalf.
Blairsville at Laurel Valley
Tessie’s pick: Laurel Valley.
My pick: Laurel Valley.
Thoughts: I’ve learned the hard way to not go against the alma mater. For Tessie, it was a love-hate pick: She loves to lay on the Laurel Valley throw blanket on my bed. She hates the phone calls I get from the locals when I pick against the Rams.
Somerset at Bishop Guilfoyle
Tessie’s pick: Bishop Guilfoyle.
My pick: Somerset.
Thoughts: This was accomplished on the third try because Tessie twice knocked the kibbles off the plate before I had set it down. Could that mean triple overtime?


Shawn Curtis is a sports writer for The Tribune-Democrat. In the event that his dog’s picks are more successful than his own, we’re going to Vegas!

October 25, 2007 06:11 pm

The Empire falls apart?

In between the 47 promos for the new TBS series “Frank TV,” viewers were able to witness the possible end of an era Monday night.
The Cleveland Indians topped the New York Yankees 6-4 in Game 4 of the American League Division Series to eliminate the Yankees in four games and in turn, possibly trigger a domino effect that may leave room for many changes in Pinstripe personnel before pitchers and catchers report to spring training in February.
To be honest, even as a card-carrying Yankee hater, I’m almost saddened at the prospects of seeing this generation’s “Evil Empire” left for scrap.
Just like any other form of entertainment, baseball needs villains, that team that can brighten your day by simply losing, no matter who your favorite team is. Unless you’re a fan of the Bronx Bombers, who better to hate than the Yankees?
That’s what made this generation of Yankees great. In the late ’90s it was team built with home-grown talent and just the right amount of additions from free agency and trades to become a juggernaut that rivaled and exceeded the standards of almost every great Yankees team before it while winning four World Series titles from 1996-2000.
Then the payroll ballooned with the likes of Jason Giambi, Alex Rodriguez, Gary Sheffield, Randy Johnson, Johnny Damon and a number of other big names coming to the Bronx. Each one made New York look almost more unbeatable on paper. All in all, a reported $1.3 billion was spent so that the Yankees could win as many World Series titles as the Pirates, Royals, Devil Rays and Expos/Nationals from 2001-on: Zero.
The regular seasons were agonizing as the entire baseball world revolved around the horrible early season starts, the great late-season finishes and the around-the-clock speculation of whether or not Joe Torre would get fired this second. It was enough to make anyone hate the Yankees as well as the media’s love affair with the club. The postseasons were much better, with the Yankees falling in the 2001 and 2003 versions of the Fall Classic, four ALDS eliminations and the most satisfying of all - the blown three-game lead against Boston in 2004.
Age, suspect pitching and some big names disappearing in the clutch were the culprits of the Yanks’ demise in the past seven postseasons.
All of a sudden, it could all get blown up. With a ton of stalwarts up for free agency, Torre closer to not being brought back by the club than ever before and A-Rod’s status as a Yankee uncertain, New York may have to rely on the greatest spending binge this side of any rap video budget over the last decade. Either that or go the opposite direction and hope that a lot of this year’s Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees are ready to make the leap. It may take a few seasons for either to garner a World Series trophy, which in Steinbrenner Time is too long.
An even scarier prospect is that the right blend of farm-grown talent and veterans could don the pinstripes next season with a journeyman manager that wasn’t even the club’s first choice and it’s 1996 all over again.
While that might be agonizing for us Yankee-haters, it would be great for baseball.


Shawn Curtis is a sports writer for The Tribune-Democrat. He hopes that if Joe Torre is in fact a former Yankees manager at the start of next season, that the club treats him with the same class that Torre has shown throughout his entire managerial career.

October 10, 2007 12:49 am

That was a crazy month of football

With enough upsets and drama to fill up an entire season, September proved to be a hectic first month of football season in the college game.
Here are some of my takes on the first calendar month of life on the national gridiron.
- I’m simply not ready for Kentucky to be good at football. It’s great that the Wildcats are unbeaten and ranked eighth in the latest AP Top 25 and all, but there are some schools that you never expect to climb that high in the rankings. For me, Kentucky fits that bill.
- Worst-case scenario for the Big Ten in 2007? Michigan, a team embarrassed by early-season home losses to Appalachian State and Oregon, running the table in conference play. It would be a great story of recovery for the Wolverines, but not the best thing for the Big Ten.
- Pitt is simply bad. Yeah, there were some injuries that have crippled the Panthers, but they’ve just looked awful in their current three-game slide, one that doesn’t look to be ending at any point in the near future.
- Will the real Penn State Nittany Lions please stand up? A team that looked solid against the Murderer’s Row non-conference schedule of Florida International, Notre Dame and Buffalo hasn’t shown much of anything against Michigan and Illinois in two Big Ten roadies. Thankfully for those that worship at the Beaver Stadium altar, their two toughest remaining (and beatable) opponents - Ohio State and Wisconsin - come to State College.
- Notre Dame is 0-5. I’ll just let that sink in.
- South Florida is ranked sixth in the AP Top 25, Boston College takes seventh, Cincinnati is 20th. How is this happening?
- This past weekend had to be one of the craziest in recent college football history. Nos. 3, 4, 7, 10 go down on Saturday and No. 5 goes down on Friday. For those keeping track at home, only South Florida, which beat No. 5 West Virginia, was ranked. Of the other schools that pulled off upsets, only Kansas State, a 41-21 winner over previous No. 7 Texas, joined the poll at No. 24. Auburn (over then-No. 4 Florida) and Colorado (over then-No. 3 Oklahoma) remain unranked.
- Explain to me how a Southern Cal team that I’ll admit looked sloppy, but still beat a very capable Washington team in Seattle on Saturday, loses No. 1 to LSU, which struggled against less-than-mighty Tulane before pulling away. Call me crazy, but a win in an amped Husky Stadium should hold more weight than beating a very overmatched, non-conference rival.
- Are Oregon and Oregon State holding a contest to be the team with the ugliest uniforms in college football?
One note about the (fantasy) pro game.
- Here’s what hurt the most about Kevin Curtis’ 211-yard, three-touchdown eruption on Sept. 23 against Detroit. The Eagles receiver that is not related to me - as far as I know - was on the bench of Good Newz Kennel in a crushing fantasy football loss. His replacement that day, Dwayne Bowe scored 32 fewer points than Curtis last week. So I put Curtis back into the starting lineup this week ... two catches and 21 yards, 70 fewer yards than Detroit’s Mike Furrey, who found his way to the bench this week. The consolation in it all: At least I didn’t bench Hope Solo.


Shawn Curtis is a sports writer for The Tribune-Democrat. His kneejerk reactions in benching and starting mediocre wide receivers should not be held against him. The selection of said receivers should be called into question first.

October 01, 2007 12:08 am