Ohio State please stop the charade

Ohio State punished their football program for playing ineligible players by vacating their 2010 season.  In my book this really doesn’t mean anything.  So… the records will say that they didn’t win any games last season when they actually did?  Come on.  Everyone remembers the games.  People know what points were scored.  I don’t know how Ohio State considers this self-imposed penalty enough for the infractions committed by their players and coach.

Punishments are supposed to deter programs for committing the offense again.  Vacating wins from one season will not discourage any player from selling memorabilia or any coach from covering it up.  This does not even show that Ohio State is seriously contrite about the situation.

I should not be surprised.  This is the same program that gave out suspensions last December to players’ for the first five games of the 2011 season.  The suspensions were not effective immediately because they wanted their star players to play in the Sugar Bowl.  They also waived the $250,000 fine that they threw at former coach Jim Tressel for lying about the scandal.  On top of that they are now giving Tressel money for “retirement.”  Can’t you see how furious Ohio State is?

If Ohio State really wants to show that they are not only embarrassed about what happened, but will not tolerate it; they need a harsher punishment.  Forget a past record.  It’s already in the books and removing it does not change what happened.  Ohio State needs to lose some scholarships and not be eligible for a bowl game. 

Ohio State’s act of disappointment and outrage is not fooling me.  I don’t think that it is convincing the NCAA either.  Their hearing before the NCAA Committee on Infractions in Indianapolis is scheduled for August 12.  I’m sure more penalties are to come.

Ciao!

Heels & Helmets®

College summer break brings on top 25 debate

College spring practices are completely over.  Now everyone is reviewing their notes and fast-forwarding to August.  The debate for the Preseason Top 25 will get college football fans through the next three months. 

It’s way too early for me to participate and give any predictions on the landscape of college football.   This isn’t just because of the questions about talent, filling voids left by the NFL Draft or starting quarterbacks.  It’s because of the uncertainty on NCAA investigations and discipline for NCAA violations.  Will USC win their appeal?   Will South Carolina’s starting quarterback, Stephen Garcia, play this fall?  Will Jim Tressel and his starting quarterback, Terrelle Pryor, get a longer suspension?  The answers to these questions will make an impact on the Top 25 and the BCS race.

I don’t want to paint a picture that all is gloom in college football.  It is not.  The spring displayed a lot of promise for several programs. 

1.     Alabama fans can breathe because the Crimson Tide do not have a problem filling the running back position left by Mark Ingram.

2.     Oklahoma has the foundation to their offense intact and they don’t have to worry about playing Nebraska to win a conference title. 

3.     LSU Tigers fans must be excited that they now have some depth at the quarterback position.

4.     Michigan State is returning the leaders of their offense.  Playing Ohio State early, hosting Wisconsin and playing Nebraska late are all pluses for them to contend for the Big Ten Title.

Those are a few bright spots that I observed, but just in case you have an itch to see what is going on, check out ESPN’s Way-Too-Early Preseason Top 25 Poll.

Ciao!

Heels & Helmets®

I just want to talk about FOOTBALL, good grief!

I have not shared this with anyone, but I have been a little depressed.  Well maybe not depressed, but the headlines on football have my spirits a little down.  NFL lockout and players suing the league take up all of the news when I should be reading about trades, free agency and draft assessments.   I look to college football for some real gridiron action and find headlines about NCAA infractions, coaches being suspended and investigations.

Where is the real football talk?

I get it.  I have worked in college and professional sports, so I know that it is part of the game.  I do not expect that conversations about the game be void of the events related to the game. What happens off the field certainly has implications for results on the field.  I actually enjoy discussing the social and business issues related to the sport, however does it need to steal every headline?  Can we discuss the game? 

At this moment…

I could careless about Ochocinco playing soccer.  When I want to know what footballers are up to, I read about Cristiano Ronaldo or David Beckham.

I’m not really interested in Randy Moss Motorsports splitting with driver Mike Skinner.  I’d love to know which (if any) teams are considering the free agent for their receiving corps.

I would rather read early predictions about who will play in the Fiesta Bowl than read about the nonprofit organization’s CEO, John Junker, being fired for reimbursing employees for political contributions.

I would like to debate on where Auburn and Ohio State will land in the preseason top 25, not about which program the NCAA infractions committee will focus on.

On top of all of this, the weather has been cold and rainy in DC.  Not good for my already gloomy mood.  But, yesterday things changed.  The sun came out and my mood improved.  My smile began to widen when I remembered that Texas was playing their spring scrimmage.

I exhaled… Football… 

Not the drama surrounding football.  Real. Football.

The Texas Longhorns hosted their annual Orange and White Scrimmage yesterday afternoon in Texas Memorial Stadium.  It was Bryan Harsin’s debut as the Co-Offensive Coordinator for Texas.  He is the coach from Boise State that developed all of the trick plays that the team used to confuse defenses and garner national attention.  Yesterday fans saw the offense in fresh formations and reverse plays typical of Harsin’s style.  After a 5-7 finish last year, that is exactly what Longhorns wanted to see.   

There was not a clear distinction between the top two quarterbacks, Garrett Gilbert and Case McCoy, younger brother of former Texas and current Cleveland Browns quarterback Colt McCoy.   Head Coach Mack Brown does not plan to name a starter this spring because there is too much for everyone to learn with the new offense.  The pre-snap motion and trickery was fun to watch, but with players running into each other and inaccurate passes, it is evident that the Longhorns need to do some more work so that they don’t confuse the defense AND offense.  Overall, it seems as is Texas is off to a good start to compete in the shrinking Big 12.

Competing for the starting QB job.  A new offensive system.  Now that’s talking about football.

I’m better now.

Ciao!

Heels & Helmets®

Spring is here and so is college football

While the NFL is still battling on labor issues with its players, college programs started spring practice.  These practices symbolize that football is in full spring on college campuses.  Most programs culminate the spring training session of 15 practices with a big intra-squad scrimmage.  They are usually dubbed by the schools colors.  For example, Florida has the “Orange and Blue” game every spring.  At The University of Michigan, it is simply, “Michigan Spring Game.”

At some universities the scrimmage is just an open practice that allows students, alumni and fans to see the team run plays.  At the larger programs, it has become just as big as the first home game with all of the fanfare, tailgating and display of school pride that you see in the fall.  Last year, the Florida Gators attracted close to 51,000 fans to their scrimmage.  Ohio State packed over 65,000 fans in the Horseshoe to see them last spring.

These scrimmages provide a good snapshot at the team’s development as they transition from last season.  How is the new coach directing the team?  Are players buying into the new coach’s message?  How does the offense or defense look after losing several players to graduation and/or the NFL draft?  Who will be the starting quarterback?  These are some of the questions that fans look to get answers for watching the spring game.

A lot has happened since the BCS Championship game.  Here are a couple of spring games that I think are noteworthy.

1.     Auburn – The Tigers lost the foundation and strength of their offense to the NFL Draft.  How they will replace the speed, rushing yards and size of Cam Newton will be interesting.

2.     Nebraska – This will be the Cornhuskers first scrimmage as a member of the Big Ten.  They were the Big 12 North Champions last year, but everyone is curious to see how they will fare in the oldest football conference.

3.     Ohio State – With Terrelle Pryor and Head Coach Jim Tressel out for the first five games of the season, fans will want to see how the backups fill in.

4.     Michigan – After three years of being embarrassed on the gridiron, the wolverines have a “Michigan Man” back at the helm of the program.  Head Coach, Brady Hoke, has one mission - restore greatness back to college’s most winningest program.  He has been clear about his expectations to win Big Ten titles and beat Ohio State.  All eyes will be on Michigan Stadium on April 16 to see the strides that he is making.

Get information on every school’s spring practice schedule.

Ciao!

 Heels & Helmets®

The NFL opened its doors, school is in session

The NFL is in full swing!  NFL Kickoff weekend is like the first day of school.  New coaches, new players, new stadiums lead fans to get new TVs, grills, NFL game packages and of course gear.  This is all necessary to start the school year.  Ask any kid; you can’t go back to school without new supplies and new gear!

The two things that always made me anxious about the first day of school were the unknown and a new beginning.  I did not know what to expect from my new teacher.  Older students may have told me about the teacher, but I had not experienced his or her class myself.   Week 1 in the NFL is the same way.  It is the only week that teams prepare for without regular season game tapes of their opponents.  Sure they read about training camp and watch some preseason games, but teams will not truly know what the other teams are made of until the first game of the regular season.

So how was the first day of school?  Let’s take a look.

Welcome Back Carroll - Pete Carroll, Seattle Seahawks Head Coach, enthusiastically returned to a NFL sideline after coaching the University of Southern California Trojans for 9 seasons.  He was welcomed back with smiles and the smiles got bigger after Seattle trampled on the 49ers 31 – 6.

Unfair Detention – The Detroit Lions loss to the Chicago Bears 19 – 14 at home.  Many blame this on Calvin Johnson’s “touchdown” being ruled incomplete.  For the record, according to NFL Rule 8, Section 1, Article 3, Item 1 it was incomplete.  The rule states:

Going to the ground. If a player goes to the ground in the act of catching a pass (with or without contact by an opponent), he must maintain control of the ball after he touches the ground, whether in the field of play or the end zone. If he loses control of the ball, and the ball touches the ground before he regains control, the pass is incomplete. If he regains control prior to the ball touching the ground, the pass is complete.

The rule may need to be changed, but as Lions Head Coach Jim Schwartz said, “He didn’t finish with the football.”  I really respect Coach Schwartz not blaming this loss on one call or one play.  Four quarters of football were played and the loss does not simply rest on a play that happened in the last 31 seconds of the game.  Going forward, the problem for the Lions is that their starting quarterback, Matthew Stafford, suffered a shoulder injury and may be out 4 – 6 weeks.  Just when I had them winning 4 games this year. 

Needed more summer school – The Redskins beat rival, Dallas Cowboys at home 13 – 7, but it was not because they did anything great.  Redskins quarterback, Donovan McNabb, showed hints that he can still compete at an elite level with nice completions to Santana Moss and one run of 17 yards.  However, the offensive line did not protect well and the defense was lackluster.  On the other side of the ball, the Cowboys offense just couldn’t connect and the defense seemed confused.  Both teams need some work.  It was a disappointing matchup that was supposed to be a battle between archenemies.

Bullies not so scary after all – With thousands of microphones around to catch every word that Cincinnati wide receivers, Ochocinco and T.O. say; I was expecting the dynamic duo to be a threat and… catch a lot more balls.  Despite both receivers reaching milestones, Ochocinco surpassed 10,000 passing yards and T.O. topped 15,000, the offense did not live up to the hype.

Teachers Pet – Over the weekend, Tom Brady, became the highest paid player in the NFL.  The $72 million contract makes the two-time Super Bowl MVP a Patriot for four more years.  New England Head Coach Bill Belichick summed up his feelings on the contract extension by saying, “There’s no other quarterback I’d rather have.”  Yesterday, Brady displayed why.  He had 258 yards, completed over 71% of his passes, did not throw an interception and led the Patriots to a 38 - 24 win over Cincinnati.

After school – Tonight Monday Night Football (MNF) starts the regular season with a double header.  The Baltimore Ravens head to the New Meadowlands Stadium to face the New York Jets at 7 p.m. EST and the Kansas City Chiefs will open its doors to the San Diego Chargers at 10:15 p.m. EST.  My thoughts?  The Jets and Ravens both have strong defenses and new additions to their offense, but I’m giving the edge to the Jets.  As for Kansas and San Diego, there is no competition.  Even without LaDainian Tomlinson, the Chargers will win in Arrowhead Stadium.

College men - The ACC had a bad weekend because their four ranked teams (Florida State, Miami, Virginia Tech and last season’s conference champ, Georgia Tech) lost to nonconference opponents.  Miami is the only school that remains in the ranking at #17.  The Big 10 is shining.  Penn State #22 loss to Alabama, but the conferences other three ranked teams (Ohio State #2, Iowa #9 and Wisconsin #12) all pulled out victories.  Michigan entered the top 25 at #20 (AP) and #22 (USA Today) after beating Notre Dame. 

Ciao! 

Heels & Helmets

College, NFL, fantasy leagues – Are you ready for football?

College football started, the NFL kicks off its season tomorrow and fantasy leagues have completed their drafts.  With so much going on, I decided to take a quick look at all three and give you some info to prepare for this weekend.

College Football

The first weekend of college football was really exciting!  The University of Michigan opened its new stadium to a sold-out crowd by demolishing Connecticut.   Quarterback, Denard Robinson, set a school record rushing for 197 yards at that position.  (I told you that the third year would be a charm.)  Boise State traveled to the nation’s capital and legitimized its #3 ranking by defeating Virginia Tech (#13) at FedEx Field, home of the Washington Redskins.  Boise gets to rest this weekend.  Michigan will go on the road to play non-conference rival Notre Dame led by new coach Brian Kelly.  Both teams are trying to climb its way into the top 25.  The Fighting Irish opened its season with a win over Purdue.  But, I do not think that their defense will be able to handle the speed of Robinson. 

The game to follow will be Ohio State (#2) and Miami (#12) at the “Horseshoe” in Columbus.  Miami lost the 2003 National Championship Game (Fiesta Bowl) to Ohio State in which a controversial call was made against Miami for pass interference.  The Hurricanes will be playing for all of the former players who were on the 2002 team.  They seem good enough to beat the Buckeyes.  I know that football is a team sport, but this is going to come down to the performance of one guy – Ohio State quarterback, Terrelle Pryor.  He is good enough to contend for the Heisman, but he also makes decisions that make him look like he should be on the bench.  I have been told that your greatest strength can also be your greatest weakness.  If TP is the Buckeyes’ greatest strength they will send Miami back to South Beach with an “L.”  If he is the team’s greatest weakness, there will be a serious hurricane in Northern Ohio.

Who Dat going to New Orleans?

It’s NFL Kickoff in the Big Easy!  Drew Brees and the Saints start the road to defend their Super Bowl Title at home against Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings tomorrow.  Both teams have their quarterbacks intact, but Favre’s ankle is still questionable.  The last time the teams played was earlier this year in the NFC Championship game.  In that game, Favre took a tough hit that injured his left ankle and threw an interception that ended the game.  Favre did not come back at 41 after major surgery on his ankle to lose.  I see him willing his way to victory and avenging his performance in last season’s NFC Championship game.  OK, I need him to do well because he is my fantasy QB.  Which brings me to…

Fantasy Football

You drafted your players and selected your defense.  Don’t worry if you did not get everyone that you wanted.  You can trade and draft new players throughout the season.  If you are new to fantasy football these three easy things will help you be successful with your team:

1. Keep up with your players’ schedules and do not have them on your roster when they have a “Bye” week.

2. Check in on injury reports and make sure that you are starting players who are still healthy and able to play.

3. Have patience and don’t trade immediately.  A player may start off slow and end up with a great season.  Try benching a player before you trade.

Now turn in your rosters and kick butt!  Just don’t mess up your heels.

Ciao! 

Heels & Helmets

College football is here!

It’s August and college football is here!  Over the weekend, college football programs opened camped and the USA TODAY Coaches’ Poll released its 2010 Preseason Top 25.  Here are the teams that the 59 head coaches on the USA TODAY Board of Coaches voted to be on the 2010 preseason poll. 

Aug. 6 2010 preseason poll
Rank	Team (first-place votes)	2009 record	Points	Final 2009 rank
1.	Alabama (55)	14-0	1,469	1
2.	Ohio State (4)	11-2	1,392	5
3.	Florida	13-1	1,245	3
4.	Texas	13-1	1,240	2
5.	Boise State	14-0	1,215	4
6.	Virginia Tech	10-3	1,052	10
7.	TCU	12-1	1,051	6
8.	Oklahoma	8-5	1,035	NR
9.	Nebraska	10-4	1,001	14
10.	Iowa	11-2	952	7
11.	Oregon	10-3	940	11
12.	Wisconsin	10-3	778	16
13.	Miami (Fla.)	9-4	728	19
14.	Penn State	11-2	508	8
15.	Pittsburgh	10-3	492	15
16.	LSU	9-4	476	17
17.	Georgia Tech	11-3	455	13
18.	North Carolina	8-5	445	NR
19.	Arkansas	8-5	438	NR
20.	Florida State	7-6	374	NR
21.	Georgia	8-5	312	NR
22.	Oregon State	8-5	263	NR
23.	Auburn	8-5	260	NR
24t.	Utah	10-3	169	18
24t.	West Virginia	9-4	169	22

With the preseason poll out, I want to give some thoughts on the top three teams and their quest to play in the BCS title game on January 10, 2011.

1. Rollin’ with the Tide – The University of Alabama Crimson Tide (#1), 2009 National Football Champions, have one goal: University of Phoenix Stadium to defend their title.  From the preseason poll, it looks like the majority of the coaches think that they have the talent to accomplish this goal.  They have a solid foundation on offense.  Starting quarterback, Greg McElroy is 14-0 as a starter at Alabama.  Plus, they return a powerful and fast running back duo in Mark Ingram (2009 Heisman winner) and Trent Richardson.  However, as Head Coach Nick Saban admits the preseason poll is all about what a team did last year.  This year is a new year.  Saban’s challenge getting Alabama back to the BCS title game is an inexperienced defense.  The Crimson Tide lost 14 defensive players to the 2010 NFL Draft.  The defense was key to keeping Tim Tebow and the Florida Gators to just 13 points in the 2009 SEC Championship Game.  This offense will put up some points, but remember defense wins championships.  

2. No Consistency in Columbus – The Ohio State University Buckeyes (#2) is the highest ranked school representing the Big 10 in the poll.  Quarterback, Terrelle Pryor has a decent arm and leads the team in rushing, but he has not shown any consistency to demonstrate that he will do anything great.  The Buckeyes passing game was ranked 103rd last year.  That is not the performance of a Heisman quarterback and national championship offense.  As a result, Iowa (#10), Wisconsin (#12) and Penn State (#14) could easily challenge Ohio State for the Big Ten Conference Championship and a spot in the BCS title game.  Iowa will play all three schools.  While Wisconsin and Penn State will both play Ohio State, they will not play each other.  This could make things tricky if they have similar records with victories over Ohio State.  (A Big 10 Conference Championship game can’t start fast enough.)  On the other hand, if Pryor avoids 9 interceptions in 13 games and is the guy that we saw against Oregon in the 2010 Rose Bowl all season, this will not be a conversation.  The scary part for Buckeye fans is that they could see the guy who was a disaster when Purdue upset them last year.

3. Life After Tebow – The University of Florida (#3) feel that the 2009 season was a disappointment.  The Florida Gators started the season as the defending National Champions ranked #1.   They held on to this spot until they suffered their first and only loss of the season to Alabama in the SEC Championship Game.   This cost them the opportunity to play for a back-to-back championship.  The Gators want to avenge last season, but it is going to be difficult.  They are starting over after the “Tim Tebow Years” and beginning a season without any returning All-American players since 2007.  The young man who is now leading the Gators at the quarterback position, John Brantley, has never started a game; but he did spend three years behind one the best quarterbacks to play at Florida.  Now we’ll see if Brantley learned enough job-shadowing Tebow to get the Gators back to a BCS title game.

Looking at the top three teams, I think that Nick Saban will get his defense together during camp and play in the BCS title game for the second consecutive year.  Let's see how they handle their SEC match-up against Florida on October 2.  You also have to be leery of Boise State (#5) because they always have some tricks up their sleeves.

Ciao!

Heels & Helmets