There was a reason I went on about that lie detector story last time. It's called progress. Consider what was going on, or not going on, back in 1962 when that happened.
Very few people even had color TVs. There was no such thing as cable or a satellite dish. We could choose between channels 2,4,7, and 9. Period. High definition was obtained by adjusting the "rabbit ears" on top of the TV set when one turned the rotary dial to change the channel. Remote controls were decades away. The word "digital" had to do with one's fingers or toes. Look at the technology now.
Nobody had microwave ovens or home computers, much less laptops or Ipads. Pagers weren't even invented yet, let alone smart phones. Getting an AM/FM radio on a passenger car was considered a luxury. No CD's, DVD's, etc. Take a look around these days.
We were 7 years away from putting a man on the moon. Knowledgable people have said that all the capabilities that were included in the computers that were aboard the Apollo moon shots, could easily be contained in a modern day cell phone, with room to spare. It's incredible when you think about it. Most citizens flew on airplanes that had propellers. Since then the US's Skylab and the USSR's Mir space stations have been built, outlived their usefulness, and crashed back to earth.
Amazing strides have been made in the worlds of science, medicine, and just about everything else.
The point is that if a 6th grader could build a functional lie-detector a half century ago, then adults that had much more expertise in such things could no doubt build better ones. Fast forward 50 years and it's not much of a stretch to assume the people that engineer these machines have made the same amount of progress in their technology as the above examples.
Translation? I'm thinking the modern-day polygraphs are so sophisticated, they're virtually impossible to fool.
So here's an idea. Want to know if Lance Armstrong was doping? Wire him up and ask him. Instead of taking 5-6 years and millions of dollars, it would take about 5 minutes and we'd know what happened -- or didn't. Same with Roger Clemens and all the other alleged steroid users. We don't need congressional hearings that prove nothing in the end (no pun intended regarding the Rocket and where he may have been injected) -- we need a technician.
Jonathan Vilma, the linebacker and alleged ring-leader of the New Orleans Saints' "bounty-gate" fiasco, recently stated they (the NFL) have nothing on paper tieing him to any wrong doing. Therefore, he should never have been suspended. Well OK. Step right over here Jonathan to this polygraph. We have a few questions we'd like to ask. It'll only take a couple minutes. Have Roger Goodell waiting outside, because he's next. This whole mess would have been over a long time ago.
Same with Penn State and their former president recently being accused of a cover up. Or the NHL vs The Players union. The average sports fan doesn't know what's going on. One way to find out. Quiz the former Prez, and wire up commissioner Gary Bettman, to be followed by union chief Donald Fehr. It might have gotten ugly, but one way or the other, the NHL season would have started on time. And isn't playing the games what it's supposed to be about anyway? Hello?
There are those that would say wait a minute. Polygraphs aren't allowed in court, because they're not always reliable. People that are mentally unhinged and pathological liars can sometimes defeat them. That may be true, but yours truly would counter by saying asking a crazy person questions in the first place won't exactly yield reliable testimony. Further, what do we have now?
Lawyers on both sides lie all the time anyway. Sometimes guilty people walk. Innocent folks are sometimes thrown in prison for years, maybe even executed, for a crime they never committed. Both ways, it's all because there were too many lies going on for various reasons. And that's not right.
We don't hear much about polygraphs these days, and most of us don't even know what one looks like. I suspect there's another larger reason for that.
If lie-detectors have made the same progress in the last 50 years as most other things, they have to be kept a tightly guarded secret. Because if they ever get as popular as microwaves and cell phones, 90% of the lawyers would no longer be needed -- and we just couldn't have that. Could we?
Besides quickly resolving various sports issues, think of the other possible benefits. When politicians are on TV, have them wired up. A green light means truth, and a red light means another lie. I dare say those debates would get a whole lot more interesting. And you just know that once they become available to the public, some Asian country will find a way to miniaturize it and sell them back to us for a couple hundred bucks or so. Hand held versions. Suspect your spouse or kids of being up to no good? No more counselors or endless questions and answers that still leave you wondering. You could know for sure in a couple minutes.
If the technology got REALLY good, they might even devise a way to put sensors on keyboards to determine whether sports writers or bloggers are telling the truth or just plain "full of it" when they're typing out their articles.
Hmmm. On second thought, that's getting a little too close to home. Maybe this isn't such a good idea after all.
Nevermind.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Sorting out the liars
Have you just about had it with the whole Lance Armstrong doping thing? Are you sick and tired of hearing about whether or not Roger Clemens got a shot in his butt once in a while several years back? Had your fill of the whole Penn State child molesting debacle that's been resurrected with new charges? Can't tell who's telling the truth between NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell or the players regarding the on-going New Orleans Saints' "bountygate"? Are you clueless about what's really going on behind the scenes regarding the NHL vs Players Union negotiations?
Me too. There's a better way. Has been for a long time.
A little background story. (Because it happened so long ago, and I'm telling it from whatever is left of my memory -- I may get a detail wrong here, or have accidentally embellished there, but the gist of it is true). Way back when I was in 6th grade, during the Kennedy administration, the classroom was told by our teacher there would be a "science fair" in a couple months. Every kid could pick their own "project", but on "judgment day" we had to bring in an exhibit, show it to the rest of the class, and give a little speech explaining what we did.
I had no clue what to do. My late father, being an avid outdoorsman, was into hunting, fishing, and even trapping animals for their pelts. My exhibit wound up being a few different pieces of animals pelts stapled to cardboard, with a picture of such an animal when it was still alive in the wild, and a short hand-written note beside each detailing a few things about each creature. Of course, I got the latter info from that volume of encyclopedias every parent got conned into buying for their kids back then by a door-to-door shyster salesman, that would wind up on a bookshelf somewhere and never get used. But it looked good, and I can say our set got used at least once.
At any rate, my exhibit was half-way decent and, if I remember right, I won a white ribbon for 3rd place. Not too bad.
Until you consider who actually won the blue ribbon. That was a nerdy classmate of mine named Larry Bacow. Likely with considerable help from his own dad, he brought in a primitive lie-detector. It was just a little black box, with one meter on its face, and some kind of cuff that went around one's arm or finger with a couple wires plugged back into the box. And it actually worked. Every time. Granted, only simple questions were asked, but if a boy named Joe said his name was Joe, the needle on the meter sat still. If he said his name was Susie, the needle jumped. He tried it out on lots of classmates and nobody could fool it. If I remember right, the lady teacher wanted no part of that thing because Larry was also asking us simple questions about how old we were. Guess she had her reasons. Go figure.
While I would go on to become a retired shop rat and write this wildly popular and internationally acclaimed sports blog, Larry took a rather mundane different direction in life. He got his BS from MIT, went through Harvard law school, and got his PhD from Harvard's School of Government. He became Chancellor at MIT, then served 10 years as president of Tufts University. An Eagle Scout as a youth, a Distinguished Eagle Scout as an adult, elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and was appointed by President Obama to the board of advisors on the White House initiative on black colleges and universities. Recently, he was named as a board member of the Harvard Corporation -- whatever that means.
The dude even runs marathons. (Google Lawrence Bacow to check him out. I did, and there was no mention of that lie-detector amongst his other accomplishments, but I was there back in the day in that classroom. And it really did work.)
Larry this, Larry that, yeah, yeah, yeah, but he was never that good at sports, and I'd bet he doesn't even have one single Princess commenting on HIS sports blog. I suspect that makes us about even in the long run.
Old story over and I'll finish what I started about sorting out the modern day liars next time. You already know where I'm going with this. Wish I did. Right now, I don't have a clue what I'll write tomorrow, but it's my rant, and I plan to see it through. Hope you check it out. Besides, chances are I'm probably weirder than you anyway. I've heard from others they read my nonsense because it makes them feel better about themselves. Huh. Wonder what they mean by that?
Me too. There's a better way. Has been for a long time.
A little background story. (Because it happened so long ago, and I'm telling it from whatever is left of my memory -- I may get a detail wrong here, or have accidentally embellished there, but the gist of it is true). Way back when I was in 6th grade, during the Kennedy administration, the classroom was told by our teacher there would be a "science fair" in a couple months. Every kid could pick their own "project", but on "judgment day" we had to bring in an exhibit, show it to the rest of the class, and give a little speech explaining what we did.
I had no clue what to do. My late father, being an avid outdoorsman, was into hunting, fishing, and even trapping animals for their pelts. My exhibit wound up being a few different pieces of animals pelts stapled to cardboard, with a picture of such an animal when it was still alive in the wild, and a short hand-written note beside each detailing a few things about each creature. Of course, I got the latter info from that volume of encyclopedias every parent got conned into buying for their kids back then by a door-to-door shyster salesman, that would wind up on a bookshelf somewhere and never get used. But it looked good, and I can say our set got used at least once.
At any rate, my exhibit was half-way decent and, if I remember right, I won a white ribbon for 3rd place. Not too bad.
Until you consider who actually won the blue ribbon. That was a nerdy classmate of mine named Larry Bacow. Likely with considerable help from his own dad, he brought in a primitive lie-detector. It was just a little black box, with one meter on its face, and some kind of cuff that went around one's arm or finger with a couple wires plugged back into the box. And it actually worked. Every time. Granted, only simple questions were asked, but if a boy named Joe said his name was Joe, the needle on the meter sat still. If he said his name was Susie, the needle jumped. He tried it out on lots of classmates and nobody could fool it. If I remember right, the lady teacher wanted no part of that thing because Larry was also asking us simple questions about how old we were. Guess she had her reasons. Go figure.
While I would go on to become a retired shop rat and write this wildly popular and internationally acclaimed sports blog, Larry took a rather mundane different direction in life. He got his BS from MIT, went through Harvard law school, and got his PhD from Harvard's School of Government. He became Chancellor at MIT, then served 10 years as president of Tufts University. An Eagle Scout as a youth, a Distinguished Eagle Scout as an adult, elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and was appointed by President Obama to the board of advisors on the White House initiative on black colleges and universities. Recently, he was named as a board member of the Harvard Corporation -- whatever that means.
The dude even runs marathons. (Google Lawrence Bacow to check him out. I did, and there was no mention of that lie-detector amongst his other accomplishments, but I was there back in the day in that classroom. And it really did work.)
Larry this, Larry that, yeah, yeah, yeah, but he was never that good at sports, and I'd bet he doesn't even have one single Princess commenting on HIS sports blog. I suspect that makes us about even in the long run.
Old story over and I'll finish what I started about sorting out the modern day liars next time. You already know where I'm going with this. Wish I did. Right now, I don't have a clue what I'll write tomorrow, but it's my rant, and I plan to see it through. Hope you check it out. Besides, chances are I'm probably weirder than you anyway. I've heard from others they read my nonsense because it makes them feel better about themselves. Huh. Wonder what they mean by that?
Sunday, November 4, 2012
The Detroit Lions' Koolaid is back
It's incredible. Not only that, it's stupefying and mind-boggling. If I didn't see it with my own eyes, I wouldn't believe it. Yet after the Detroit Lions beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, the kool-aided local sports media is revved up higher than a red-lined Indy car motor.
Yes, the Lions thumped the Jaguars, no doubt about it. Yet the Jaguars are a very, very, VERY bad football team, at least by NFL standards. The bottom of the barrel. The Jags are terrible on offense, defense -- you name it. Defeating such a team, even handily, is certainly nothing to crow about.
And what do we hear? If the Lions can only beat Minnesota next week, they'll move all the way up to third place in their division -- out of 4 teams. Well, good gawd a-mighty, why didn't they say such an historic accomplishment might be on the horizon? Sound the trumpets, stop the presses, and start printing the playoff tickets. They're rolling now, say the kool-aiders as they're zooming through the stratosphere on their Honolulu blue and silver starships.
Please.
Reality check. The Lions are 4-4, with 8 games to go. Out of those 4 wins, they've yet to beat a really good team. In fact, they've lost to some teams that weren't so good during the first half of their schedule.
But wait a second, say the hyperglycemic folks -- the last half of their schedule favors the Lions because they play 5 of their remaining 8 games at home.
Really? Looking at their schedule, the first half was the easy part. Now it's going to get a lot tougher. Out of the last 8 games they've got the Packers twice, the Houston Texans, arguably the best team in the AFC, coming to town on Thanksgiving day, and the current 8-0 Atlanta Falcons. Throw in a road trip to Arizona, the resurgent Indy Colts under rookie QB phenom Andrew Luck, and Da Bears, who last time I looked had already beaten the Lions and are currently 7-1.
Yours truly thinks the Lions will be lucky to finish at 8-8, hopefully without half their team on the disabled list after they've run the gauntlet of the "big boys" as the season starts winding down and the games pick up in intensity.
So no, there will be no Super Bowl this year. Forget about that. The kool-aiders can wish I may, wish I might, and feed you terabytes of print and spoken words all they want, aka propaganda -- but it still ain't gonna happen. Because the Lions aren't good enough to be considered an elite team by anybody except those folks currently zooming around overhead on a misguided sugar rush. Not even close.
Credit where credit is due, though. Hats off to the folks piloting those starships, because if nothing else -- they're a persistent bunch. Once the Lions have finally succumbed to the laws of physics, more specifically the reality of the NFL, the sugarnauts will likely quickly refuel with a different flavor and start telling you about how great the Detroit Pistons are going to be this year.
Please.
Yes, the Lions thumped the Jaguars, no doubt about it. Yet the Jaguars are a very, very, VERY bad football team, at least by NFL standards. The bottom of the barrel. The Jags are terrible on offense, defense -- you name it. Defeating such a team, even handily, is certainly nothing to crow about.
And what do we hear? If the Lions can only beat Minnesota next week, they'll move all the way up to third place in their division -- out of 4 teams. Well, good gawd a-mighty, why didn't they say such an historic accomplishment might be on the horizon? Sound the trumpets, stop the presses, and start printing the playoff tickets. They're rolling now, say the kool-aiders as they're zooming through the stratosphere on their Honolulu blue and silver starships.
Please.
Reality check. The Lions are 4-4, with 8 games to go. Out of those 4 wins, they've yet to beat a really good team. In fact, they've lost to some teams that weren't so good during the first half of their schedule.
But wait a second, say the hyperglycemic folks -- the last half of their schedule favors the Lions because they play 5 of their remaining 8 games at home.
Really? Looking at their schedule, the first half was the easy part. Now it's going to get a lot tougher. Out of the last 8 games they've got the Packers twice, the Houston Texans, arguably the best team in the AFC, coming to town on Thanksgiving day, and the current 8-0 Atlanta Falcons. Throw in a road trip to Arizona, the resurgent Indy Colts under rookie QB phenom Andrew Luck, and Da Bears, who last time I looked had already beaten the Lions and are currently 7-1.
Yours truly thinks the Lions will be lucky to finish at 8-8, hopefully without half their team on the disabled list after they've run the gauntlet of the "big boys" as the season starts winding down and the games pick up in intensity.
So no, there will be no Super Bowl this year. Forget about that. The kool-aiders can wish I may, wish I might, and feed you terabytes of print and spoken words all they want, aka propaganda -- but it still ain't gonna happen. Because the Lions aren't good enough to be considered an elite team by anybody except those folks currently zooming around overhead on a misguided sugar rush. Not even close.
Credit where credit is due, though. Hats off to the folks piloting those starships, because if nothing else -- they're a persistent bunch. Once the Lions have finally succumbed to the laws of physics, more specifically the reality of the NFL, the sugarnauts will likely quickly refuel with a different flavor and start telling you about how great the Detroit Pistons are going to be this year.
Please.
The Pizza Bowl match-up
It's Michigan and Michigan State, of course. And all things considered, why not?
UM was ridiculously over ranked #8 in the preseason polls, and MSU was somewhere around #15. Since the season started, both of them have stunk it up -- bad. With the lone exception of MSU somehow winning a game against Wisconsin, every time these two teams take on half way decent competition -- they get beat. They've not only fallen out of the top 25, they've fallen off the radar screen completely outside of southeastern Michigan.
UM just today handily beat Minnesota. So what? I suspect a team of blue hairs could be recruited from retirement communities in Florida that could put the Gophers back in their holes.
Nebraska just pinned another home loss on MSU. The Cornhuskers had shucked the Maize just last week.
Earlier, Notre Dame had also beaten both Michigan teams. It's seem the "N" words are death on them. Lucky thing they both didn't have Northern Illinois on their schedules who, BTW, are pretty good, or it might have become even uglier than it already has.
Some will say not all is lost for UM and MSU. Something can still be salvaged. Indeed, it can, in a loser's world. They'll probably both wind up going to meaningless bowl games somewhere. But they don't deserve it, because mediocrity should not be rewarded. It only encourages more mediocrity, and that's not good enough.
Typically, a bowl bound Michigan team will arrive in Florida, Arizona, California, or wherever, a couple weeks before the game is going to be played. They will tell you it's about getting "acclimated" to their surroundings. Yours truly will tell you that's BS, because it's just another road game, which they don't seem to have any problem with during the regular season week to week -- even if they're travelling across a few time zones. What's it's really about is a colossal waste of money.
Look at it this way. Considering the entire entourage -- players, coaches, trainers, cheerleaders, the band, and God knows who else, we might be talking 300-400 people here. Do the math. Add up round-trip fare for that many people. Throw in all the hotel rooms (and trust me -- they don't stay in cheap joints). Feed them. When it comes to the team itself -- pick up the room service tabs they may ring up. Pay for their entertainment while they're out "seeing the sights". Add it all up, and we're talking a serious chunk of change here. And for what? Because a team might have a 7-6 record that somehow qualified them for a bowl? This is ridiculous.
There's a better way. When it comes to UM and MSU, again two very mediocre teams, forget about sending them off to the Tidy Bowl, or Sno-Bowl, or Outhouse Bowl, or whatever in a faraway place which comes with a huge price tag.
Send them both to the Little Caesar's Pizza Bowl in Detroit for a rematch. Instead of high-priced air fare, we're talking buses. No need for fancy motel rooms. They can both jump on Greyhounds the morning of the game, be there in plenty of time to play at night, shower up after the game, get back on the buses and go back to Ann Arbor and East Lansing to their dorms. No muss, no fuss, and no big tab either. And who in their right mind would want to get to Detroit a couple weeks early to walk around and see the sights anyway?
There would be other benefits, as well. Their faithful fans would likely pack the house at Ford Field because of the in-state rivalry, and they'd save a fortune on air fare and motels rooms themselves. They could drive there in an hour or two, and be back home in time to go to church, or at least watch the NFL on Sunday.
Besides that, the first game between UM and MSU, narrowly won by Michigan, was probably amongst the most boring games all season long across the spectrum of NCAA football. A rematch would HAVE to be more interesting than THAT one.
Don't lavish money on mediocrity, make it cheaper and easier for their fans, and feature two teams that deserve each other, while the rest of the country couldn't care less about whatever happens. Little Caesar's baron Mike Ilitch might even throw in free pizza -- with half the pepperoni dyed blue, and the other half dyed green.
What could possibly go wrong with that?
UM was ridiculously over ranked #8 in the preseason polls, and MSU was somewhere around #15. Since the season started, both of them have stunk it up -- bad. With the lone exception of MSU somehow winning a game against Wisconsin, every time these two teams take on half way decent competition -- they get beat. They've not only fallen out of the top 25, they've fallen off the radar screen completely outside of southeastern Michigan.
UM just today handily beat Minnesota. So what? I suspect a team of blue hairs could be recruited from retirement communities in Florida that could put the Gophers back in their holes.
Nebraska just pinned another home loss on MSU. The Cornhuskers had shucked the Maize just last week.
Earlier, Notre Dame had also beaten both Michigan teams. It's seem the "N" words are death on them. Lucky thing they both didn't have Northern Illinois on their schedules who, BTW, are pretty good, or it might have become even uglier than it already has.
Some will say not all is lost for UM and MSU. Something can still be salvaged. Indeed, it can, in a loser's world. They'll probably both wind up going to meaningless bowl games somewhere. But they don't deserve it, because mediocrity should not be rewarded. It only encourages more mediocrity, and that's not good enough.
Typically, a bowl bound Michigan team will arrive in Florida, Arizona, California, or wherever, a couple weeks before the game is going to be played. They will tell you it's about getting "acclimated" to their surroundings. Yours truly will tell you that's BS, because it's just another road game, which they don't seem to have any problem with during the regular season week to week -- even if they're travelling across a few time zones. What's it's really about is a colossal waste of money.
Look at it this way. Considering the entire entourage -- players, coaches, trainers, cheerleaders, the band, and God knows who else, we might be talking 300-400 people here. Do the math. Add up round-trip fare for that many people. Throw in all the hotel rooms (and trust me -- they don't stay in cheap joints). Feed them. When it comes to the team itself -- pick up the room service tabs they may ring up. Pay for their entertainment while they're out "seeing the sights". Add it all up, and we're talking a serious chunk of change here. And for what? Because a team might have a 7-6 record that somehow qualified them for a bowl? This is ridiculous.
There's a better way. When it comes to UM and MSU, again two very mediocre teams, forget about sending them off to the Tidy Bowl, or Sno-Bowl, or Outhouse Bowl, or whatever in a faraway place which comes with a huge price tag.
Send them both to the Little Caesar's Pizza Bowl in Detroit for a rematch. Instead of high-priced air fare, we're talking buses. No need for fancy motel rooms. They can both jump on Greyhounds the morning of the game, be there in plenty of time to play at night, shower up after the game, get back on the buses and go back to Ann Arbor and East Lansing to their dorms. No muss, no fuss, and no big tab either. And who in their right mind would want to get to Detroit a couple weeks early to walk around and see the sights anyway?
There would be other benefits, as well. Their faithful fans would likely pack the house at Ford Field because of the in-state rivalry, and they'd save a fortune on air fare and motels rooms themselves. They could drive there in an hour or two, and be back home in time to go to church, or at least watch the NFL on Sunday.
Besides that, the first game between UM and MSU, narrowly won by Michigan, was probably amongst the most boring games all season long across the spectrum of NCAA football. A rematch would HAVE to be more interesting than THAT one.
Don't lavish money on mediocrity, make it cheaper and easier for their fans, and feature two teams that deserve each other, while the rest of the country couldn't care less about whatever happens. Little Caesar's baron Mike Ilitch might even throw in free pizza -- with half the pepperoni dyed blue, and the other half dyed green.
What could possibly go wrong with that?
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Bowling for mediocrity
There used to such a thing called the Motor City Bowl in college football. That was played in Detroit, and typically featured two teams that weren't good enough to qualify for any other bowl, but were glad to have a chance to go to SOME bowl after the regular season was over.
Last time yours truly looked, there were 34 bowl games associated with college football, which means 68 teams get to go to one. Put a different way, that pretty much means any team that posts a record over .500 is going bowling somewhere. Bring on the cheerleaders, strike up the marching bands, and let the small town hype begin. Thing is, after air fare, motel accomodations, and everything else included in taking a team on the road for such games -- despite the prize money -- it actually wound up being a financial loss for most universities to participate in such a venture. Still is.
At that, recently there's only been one bowl game that REALLY mattered, and that's the national championship game. Sure, there are other very respectable bowls, pitting two very respectable teams against each other, and it can be interesting to see such teams battle it out. Though it matters little whether one's team winds up being ranked #3 or #8, because that will be remembered about as long as this blog post, it's still a matter of school pride.
However, the Motor City Bowl was the bottom feeder of them all. A last resort for two teams that couldn't find their way anyplace else. The Motor City Bowl has been renamed the Little Caesar's Pizza Bowl. Gee, considering how pizza baron Mike Ilitch owns the Tigers, Red Wings, and everything worthwhile in the Fox district of Detroit, I can't imagine how that happened, but it did.
Problem is, Ilitch can call it whatever he wants, but it's still a bottom feeder that will get two teams to play there, that probably don't want to anyway, while a mere few hundred people are in the stands. So why not think out of the box and make it interesting?
There's a perfect match-up just waiting to happen, which would fill the stadium to capacity.
Can you guess who?
Next time.
Last time yours truly looked, there were 34 bowl games associated with college football, which means 68 teams get to go to one. Put a different way, that pretty much means any team that posts a record over .500 is going bowling somewhere. Bring on the cheerleaders, strike up the marching bands, and let the small town hype begin. Thing is, after air fare, motel accomodations, and everything else included in taking a team on the road for such games -- despite the prize money -- it actually wound up being a financial loss for most universities to participate in such a venture. Still is.
At that, recently there's only been one bowl game that REALLY mattered, and that's the national championship game. Sure, there are other very respectable bowls, pitting two very respectable teams against each other, and it can be interesting to see such teams battle it out. Though it matters little whether one's team winds up being ranked #3 or #8, because that will be remembered about as long as this blog post, it's still a matter of school pride.
However, the Motor City Bowl was the bottom feeder of them all. A last resort for two teams that couldn't find their way anyplace else. The Motor City Bowl has been renamed the Little Caesar's Pizza Bowl. Gee, considering how pizza baron Mike Ilitch owns the Tigers, Red Wings, and everything worthwhile in the Fox district of Detroit, I can't imagine how that happened, but it did.
Problem is, Ilitch can call it whatever he wants, but it's still a bottom feeder that will get two teams to play there, that probably don't want to anyway, while a mere few hundred people are in the stands. So why not think out of the box and make it interesting?
There's a perfect match-up just waiting to happen, which would fill the stadium to capacity.
Can you guess who?
Next time.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Alabama/Notre Dame
Few would dispute that Alabama is generally considered to be the best college football team in the country. Though losing a slew of starters to the NFL after last year's national championship season -- they don't appear to have lost a beat. The Tide continues to roll.
They have a pretty tough game coming up this weekend @ LSU, but if they can get by that, chances are good they'll run the table and qualify for a spot in another national championship game.
Assuming that happens, what gets interesting in who their opponent might be. The Oregon Ducks are currently undefeated and have a tough game of their own @ USC. If they manage to handle the Trojans, they might run the table as well.
Kansas State is still unbeaten, have a very impressive win @ Oklahoma on their resume, and are steamrolling everybody that gets in their way. They could win out.
Then of course there's Notre Dame. They've played a pretty tough schedule and have yet to suffer a loss. The Irish just seem to keep getting better and better.
So what happens if Oregon, K State and ND all finish the season undefeated? One will get the nod to face Alabama, and the other two will have a justifiable beef over being excluded. So who would be the "chosen" one?
No doubt, the pollsters will have their say, as will the computers that also get to vote. Supposedly, a lot of things are taken into consideration. How teams fared against mutual opponents, strength of schedule, and a bazillion stats that nobody but the computers can comprehend anyway would likely all figure in.
But if the scenario plays out that way, yours truly suspects it's a foregone conclusion. That's because the one thing all the statisticians and computers don't, or can't take into account is the TV factor. Those pesky network executives are a very powerful force behind the scenes. And what do they crave the most? Ratings.
With all due respect to Oregon and K State, an Alabama/Notre Dame game for all the marbles would be the stuff ratings from heaven are made of. The viewing audience would be off the charts. The price of ad time would spike. In turn, the TV folks make more money. It always seems to boil down to that, one way or the other, doesn't it?
So Oregon and K State better hope somebody finds a way to derail the leprechaun express in the next few weeks. Because if they don't, despite ND currently being BEHIND both those schools in the polls, I'll bet you a box of Lucky Charms the pollsters, computers, and TV people will magically find a way to have Notre Dame do some leap-frogging and wind up at #2 when the regular season ends.
We'll see. I'm just saying...........
They have a pretty tough game coming up this weekend @ LSU, but if they can get by that, chances are good they'll run the table and qualify for a spot in another national championship game.
Assuming that happens, what gets interesting in who their opponent might be. The Oregon Ducks are currently undefeated and have a tough game of their own @ USC. If they manage to handle the Trojans, they might run the table as well.
Kansas State is still unbeaten, have a very impressive win @ Oklahoma on their resume, and are steamrolling everybody that gets in their way. They could win out.
Then of course there's Notre Dame. They've played a pretty tough schedule and have yet to suffer a loss. The Irish just seem to keep getting better and better.
So what happens if Oregon, K State and ND all finish the season undefeated? One will get the nod to face Alabama, and the other two will have a justifiable beef over being excluded. So who would be the "chosen" one?
No doubt, the pollsters will have their say, as will the computers that also get to vote. Supposedly, a lot of things are taken into consideration. How teams fared against mutual opponents, strength of schedule, and a bazillion stats that nobody but the computers can comprehend anyway would likely all figure in.
But if the scenario plays out that way, yours truly suspects it's a foregone conclusion. That's because the one thing all the statisticians and computers don't, or can't take into account is the TV factor. Those pesky network executives are a very powerful force behind the scenes. And what do they crave the most? Ratings.
With all due respect to Oregon and K State, an Alabama/Notre Dame game for all the marbles would be the stuff ratings from heaven are made of. The viewing audience would be off the charts. The price of ad time would spike. In turn, the TV folks make more money. It always seems to boil down to that, one way or the other, doesn't it?
So Oregon and K State better hope somebody finds a way to derail the leprechaun express in the next few weeks. Because if they don't, despite ND currently being BEHIND both those schools in the polls, I'll bet you a box of Lucky Charms the pollsters, computers, and TV people will magically find a way to have Notre Dame do some leap-frogging and wind up at #2 when the regular season ends.
We'll see. I'm just saying...........
Being happy -- or sad
The Detroit Pistons were happy to get the new season underway. Excitement abounded. Then the Houston Rockets came to town and thumped them in their own building. Now they're probably sad. Given the brutal west coast rode trip coming up next, if they don't play a lot better than what they did against Houston, they're going to be a lot sadder when they finally get back home.
James Hardin, AKA Grady from Sanford and Son, is the Rockets' newly acquired point guard from a trade with the Okla City Thunder. He just lit up the Pistons for 37 points. He's happy. Better yet, he signed an $80 million 5-year contract. Averaging it out, that means Grady, ahem, James will make about $200,000 for every game during the next 5 years, whether he plays or not. He's REALLY happy. The fans in Houston that will have to skip a house payment to attend a game, while paying for these insane contracts, have every right to be sad.
On a related note, the LA Lakers just got trashed by the Portland Trail Blazers. This, after spending national deficit type money acquiring point guard Steve Nash and all-around superman center Dwight Howard. I'm not sure there's such a thing as being sad in LA-LA land. It's just like, you know, such a downer.
Remember Matt Barkley, USC's quarterback? He used to be happy. After last year, he was a huge success. Barkley could have declared for the NFL draft. It's debatable whether he would have been drafted ahead of such players as Andrew Luck or Robert Griffin III, but he was a given to go in the top 5. He would have raked in countless millions before he ever set foot on a professional football field. But no, MB decided to return for his senior season as the BMOC, and go out with a blaze of glory, perhaps even a national championship. Indeed, some pre-season polls had USC as #1. Fast forward. USC's already lost to Stanford and Arizona, the Oregon Ducks might well beat them again in their upcoming game, and the unbeaten and resurgent Notre Dame lurks at the end of the season. The national championship shot is history, as is any hopes of being a Heisman contender, and he might be stuck with 4 losses, if not more, before this season is over. Dear Matt's NFL stock is falling faster than GM's did just before the bailout. And that's assuming he stays healthy. A possible serious injury is always just one play away, and one never knows what fate has in store. The NFL has a way of shying away from damaged goods. He's probably sad.
Tiger Woods has reason to be happy. It appears he's finally got his game back together, recently blistering a golf course over in Kuala Lumpur at 20-something under par for the tournament. Yet Eldrick also has reason to sad, because he still couldn't win. Though they may rotate, every tournament it seems a couple other guys are always just a little bit better. When Tiger was winning everything, he was happy and used to say second place is for the first loser. The field was sad. Times change. These days Tiger might be understanding what those other guys felt like back in those days. He's probably sad. The field now knows he's beatable. They're happy.
Still no word on a contract resolution any time soon in the NHL so the games can begin. Most owners, the players, and certainly all the pro hockey fans are sad. Everybody's sad -- except for league Commissioner Gary Bettman and his NHL office cronies, and Donald Fehr and his union cronies. They're happy. Know why? Because they're still getting their regular paychecks. Turn that spigot off and there would be an agreement in 2-3 days. Who's kidding who here?
Only a few more days to go. Yours truly cares not about which parties, people and/or proposals y'all might be fer or agin, and some may indeed be sad when the final tally comes in.
But on some level, can we all at least agree to be happy that this election year madness is finally over?
James Hardin, AKA Grady from Sanford and Son, is the Rockets' newly acquired point guard from a trade with the Okla City Thunder. He just lit up the Pistons for 37 points. He's happy. Better yet, he signed an $80 million 5-year contract. Averaging it out, that means Grady, ahem, James will make about $200,000 for every game during the next 5 years, whether he plays or not. He's REALLY happy. The fans in Houston that will have to skip a house payment to attend a game, while paying for these insane contracts, have every right to be sad.
On a related note, the LA Lakers just got trashed by the Portland Trail Blazers. This, after spending national deficit type money acquiring point guard Steve Nash and all-around superman center Dwight Howard. I'm not sure there's such a thing as being sad in LA-LA land. It's just like, you know, such a downer.
Remember Matt Barkley, USC's quarterback? He used to be happy. After last year, he was a huge success. Barkley could have declared for the NFL draft. It's debatable whether he would have been drafted ahead of such players as Andrew Luck or Robert Griffin III, but he was a given to go in the top 5. He would have raked in countless millions before he ever set foot on a professional football field. But no, MB decided to return for his senior season as the BMOC, and go out with a blaze of glory, perhaps even a national championship. Indeed, some pre-season polls had USC as #1. Fast forward. USC's already lost to Stanford and Arizona, the Oregon Ducks might well beat them again in their upcoming game, and the unbeaten and resurgent Notre Dame lurks at the end of the season. The national championship shot is history, as is any hopes of being a Heisman contender, and he might be stuck with 4 losses, if not more, before this season is over. Dear Matt's NFL stock is falling faster than GM's did just before the bailout. And that's assuming he stays healthy. A possible serious injury is always just one play away, and one never knows what fate has in store. The NFL has a way of shying away from damaged goods. He's probably sad.
Tiger Woods has reason to be happy. It appears he's finally got his game back together, recently blistering a golf course over in Kuala Lumpur at 20-something under par for the tournament. Yet Eldrick also has reason to sad, because he still couldn't win. Though they may rotate, every tournament it seems a couple other guys are always just a little bit better. When Tiger was winning everything, he was happy and used to say second place is for the first loser. The field was sad. Times change. These days Tiger might be understanding what those other guys felt like back in those days. He's probably sad. The field now knows he's beatable. They're happy.
Still no word on a contract resolution any time soon in the NHL so the games can begin. Most owners, the players, and certainly all the pro hockey fans are sad. Everybody's sad -- except for league Commissioner Gary Bettman and his NHL office cronies, and Donald Fehr and his union cronies. They're happy. Know why? Because they're still getting their regular paychecks. Turn that spigot off and there would be an agreement in 2-3 days. Who's kidding who here?
Only a few more days to go. Yours truly cares not about which parties, people and/or proposals y'all might be fer or agin, and some may indeed be sad when the final tally comes in.
But on some level, can we all at least agree to be happy that this election year madness is finally over?
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