Everyone has that one team that despite their losing you still root for them. In my case, that team has become the Tennessee Volunteers football team. It seem like forever ago, but once a point of time the Vols were crushing the likes of Florida, Alabama and LSU on a regular. It was a given that Tennessee was the team to beat in the SEC. Phil Fulmer was looked at like a God in orange. Peyton Manning was throwing passes to Peerless Price and handing off to Jamal Lewis (Peyton was also robbed for the Heisman that year but thats another conversation). Tee Martin led the Vols to the national championship in 1999 and all was good in Vol ball land. Those were the good ol days in my memory of Tennessee football from the mid to late 90's. In the 2000's, Fulmer went from God to canned after a few lackluster seasons and some recruiting classes not panning out for him. That was all the ammunition new athletic director Mike Hamilton needed to pull the trigger and bring in of all coaches Lane Kiffin (His name in TN is like a curse word now). After all of one season filled with petty arguments with Urban Meyer, a few recruiting violations and ill conceived last minute press conference telling the big orange faithful that his dream job came calling, Lane and his dad went back to the west coast when USC couldn't find anybody else to take the job( See Reggie Bush and recruting violations) and left the program in shambles. I could go on all day speaking on how Lane Kiffin did this and that to the program but its not all his fault. Lane Kiffin did not hire Lane Kiffin even though I'm sure he is the type of egotistical person who would if he had the chance. Mike Hamilton went for the home run hire and ended up striking out. Now, after numerous shots at high profile coaches only to be turned down by numerous coaches, Derek Dooley from Louisiana Tech steps in to try to lead the Vols back to the glory days. He seems like a good fit but has a ways to go to fill out the roster to be able to compete in the SEC. That means a lot of losing and bad football in a state that is use to seeing their team win. As evidenced in the Oregon demolishing of UT 48-13, this is going to be a long season for us UT fans.
However with all that being said, I still love my Vols. We might get blown out by 40 but I bet you want go to Neyland Stadium and brag about it. I know one day we will rise up and beat the crap out of Florida again (God I hate that stupid Gator chomp hand thing they do) and Alabama. Hell it might be a long time but as the saying goes every dog has its day and going threw the bad times with your team makes you a better fan. Real fans stick with their team in the bad and good times, not jumping onto the hot team of the moment. I actually know a few guys who rooted for the Vols until Florida started taking off and now these same guys are wearing Florida jerseys. Those are not real fans just team groupies as I call them.
So what do you guys think? I know there are some Cub, Clippers (ok maybe not), Lions, Vandy fans out there that know what I mean. I love real fans, not the fair weather guys. If you are a real fan, share a story of your favorite loser team and tell me why you still root for that team.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Weekend Observations
At this time of the year, Autumn is settling in and football is king again. There are Plenty of things to catch up to so we will just get to it.
College Football- Three up and Three down
Three up
1. South Carolina- I continue to be impressed with this team. Marcus Lattimore tore Georgia racking up 182 yards in his first conference game. He is a load to contain in between the tackles and gives the Gamecocks a reliable offensive weapon. Steven Garcia was good enough going 12-17 for 155 yards but he doesn't have to put up spectacular numbers with the addition of Lattimore. Georgia couldn't do anything with the kid and the Gamecocks offensive line looks very good. They are my darkhorse pick for the SEC east division.
2. Oklahoma- I was one of the critics going into their game with FSU and boy was I wrong about this team. In what looked to be a shootout int the beginning of the game, Oklahoma turned into a blowout. They came out and put a beat down on what is suppose to be a decent Seminole squad (I guess we can say Utah State must be pretty good or the Sooners were looking to next week). Landry Jones made Florida State's secondary look like Swiss cheese. It was amazing to see the separation his receivers had before catches. Ryan Broles had a field day with 12 catches for 124 yards. This had to be dishearten for Jimbo Fisher and his staff. Bob Stoops may have taught little brother Mark a thing or two but not everything.
3. Kansas- How many people thought they would go beat ranked Georgia Tech after losing to FBS North Dakota State. If you said you did than your lying. Turner Gill's bunch came out looking like a totally different team. Gill changed quarterbacks and that seemed to rejuvenate his team. Jordan Webb sparked the offense with 3 touchdown passes ,the same offense that was so dismal and scored just 3 points last weeks vs. North Dakota State. After the week of turmoil Kansas had to deal with, this was a much deserved win.
Three down
1. The ACC- What a crappy weekend for the conference. It seems like everybody lost this weekend: Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Virginia, Florida State, and Miami (FL). The Virginia Tech lost hurt the entire conference as far as credibility and the losses by FSU and Miami (FL) to other nationally ranked schools shows where the ACC is as far is the pecking order in College Football. The only two teams to win was Maryland, who played Morgan State ( They better had won) and Wake Forrest who beat conference rival Duke (does that really count?). Bottom line is that the conference had a chance to make a statement this weekend playing some quality teams and guess you can say statement made although in a very bad way.
2. Virginia Tech- Sorry ACC fans but I have to pile on even more here. Virginia Tech, which is suppose to be the cream of the crop in the ACC lost to freaking James Madison. Maybe they should have taken this weekend off, they still looked uninspired and uninterested after playing Boise State this Monday. The offense couldn't score more than 16 points vs a FBS opponent, really? Tyrod Taylor, really? Frank Beamer really? The craziest part about this is that this deals a blow to Boise's national title hopes with such a bad loss.
3. Florida State- I had a hard time picking between Miami (FL) and FSU but after watching some footage of the horrendous defensive performance, State gets the nod here. Look at Landry Jones stats: 30-40 380 yards and 4 touchdowns. He had 300 yards passing in the first half alone. If Bob didn't call off the doesn’t call off the dogs, he could have easily threw for 500 yards. You just don't expect this from a Seminole defense and yeah I know they are in transition on defense but God I know they still have some athletes back there that can compete. In what was suppose to be the momentum for his Heisman campaign, Christian Ponder finished 11-28 for 113 yards. He had back to back INTs on consecutive plays. It was just an ugly performance after a lot of fanfare from the Seminole fan base.
NFL three up and three down
Three Up
1. Houston Texans- It has to feel good to beat the Colts the way that they did. Facing Peyton Manning and the dark cloud that hangs over the franchise, Houston came out and just pounded Indianapolis on both sides of the ball. Arian Foster (from the University of Tennessee I have to add) rushed for 231 yards and made the Colts D look very suspicious. The Colts are not use to playing from behind and Houston jumped out to a 13 point lead. From there they just gave it to Foster who ran wild yesterday. If I had told you that Matt Schuab would go 9-17 for 107 yard and the Texans would beat the Colts by ten you would call me a liar.
2.Seattle Seahawks- Way to break in the new regime by handing it to the Niners. Pete Carroll is one cool guy. If you just look at him on the sidelines, it looks likes at any moment he could be leaving to go surfing but this guy can coach and motivate as well. The 49ers were supposed to be the class of the division but Seattle was the one who took San Fran to Class. Matt Hasselbeck looked liked Matt circa 2004 making some great throws and displaying his keen pocket awareness running for a touchdown. Mike Williams showed why they let go of Housh. I am very impressed and excited to see how they build off this win.
3. New England Patriots- The demise of the Pats have been greatly exaggerated. The Bengals were a popular pick to take down New England but Brady and the boys came out and whooped Cincinnati. Wes Welker came back and caught 8 passes for 64 yards and a touchdown. Brady finishes a week where he was in a car wreck signed a new contract making him the highest paid player in football and then beating up on the Bengals. Not a bad week in my book.
Three down
1.Oakland Raiders- I was pretty high on this team. I thought that Jason Campbell would finally give them the stability of a legitimate starter coupled in with the facts that Darren Mcfadden would have a breakout year and the defense would provide enough to at least make for a 8 or 9 win season for this team. Wrong, wrong and wrong. They came out and got man handled on both sides of the ball. Campbell was sacked 4 times and pressured and hurried many other times. Chris Johnson couldn't have asked for a better team to go against starting his 2,500 yard campaign.
2. San Francisco 49ers- This is suppose to be their year to win the division and this is how come out and play. Mike Singletary has to be disappointed and I feel one those great speeches of his will be needed after this one. Alex Smith looked decent but every once in a while he reverts back to the old Alex Smith as when he had a perfect play action called and had his man in the end zone wide opened and over threw him. Frank Gore couldn't find any running room in what was suppose to be a revamped offensive line. They tried on the goal line, going for 4th down multiple times but couldn't punch it in. San Fran is a good team but its time to start performing week in and week out and they are going to take the division crown this year.
3.Cincinatti Bengals- So after all the hooting and hollering about this team has a Super Bowl or bust mentality, they come out and lay an egg in the first game. The Score was 31-3 at one point for crying out loud. When you have the weapons the Bengals have there is no excuse not to put up points on anybody. This New England team got lit up by Sam Bradford in their last preseason game and Carson Palmer, Terrell Owens, and Ocho whatever he is calling himself these days have to right this ship before the media jumps in and hijacks their season. If they have another bad performance next week, watch out because the light will be burning hot on them.
Other things I noticed:
How many people thought that was touchdown by Calvin Johnson? I have my hand raised at this moment. I understand the interpretation of the rule but the guy clearly had his leg, butt, hand and everything else touched the ground but because when he got up he used the ball as leverage they called it an incomplete pass? Dumb rule in my book
Michael Vick looked like the old Michael Vick in clean up duty for Kevin Kolb. Do I smell a QB controversy in Cheese steak city? I don't think so, Kolb makes to much money to make that debatable but if he does not perform well again or is out for an amount of time, Vick looks to have control of the offense and flashed some of the brilliance that made us fall in love with him in the first place.
College Football- Three up and Three down
Three up
1. South Carolina- I continue to be impressed with this team. Marcus Lattimore tore Georgia racking up 182 yards in his first conference game. He is a load to contain in between the tackles and gives the Gamecocks a reliable offensive weapon. Steven Garcia was good enough going 12-17 for 155 yards but he doesn't have to put up spectacular numbers with the addition of Lattimore. Georgia couldn't do anything with the kid and the Gamecocks offensive line looks very good. They are my darkhorse pick for the SEC east division.
2. Oklahoma- I was one of the critics going into their game with FSU and boy was I wrong about this team. In what looked to be a shootout int the beginning of the game, Oklahoma turned into a blowout. They came out and put a beat down on what is suppose to be a decent Seminole squad (I guess we can say Utah State must be pretty good or the Sooners were looking to next week). Landry Jones made Florida State's secondary look like Swiss cheese. It was amazing to see the separation his receivers had before catches. Ryan Broles had a field day with 12 catches for 124 yards. This had to be dishearten for Jimbo Fisher and his staff. Bob Stoops may have taught little brother Mark a thing or two but not everything.
3. Kansas- How many people thought they would go beat ranked Georgia Tech after losing to FBS North Dakota State. If you said you did than your lying. Turner Gill's bunch came out looking like a totally different team. Gill changed quarterbacks and that seemed to rejuvenate his team. Jordan Webb sparked the offense with 3 touchdown passes ,the same offense that was so dismal and scored just 3 points last weeks vs. North Dakota State. After the week of turmoil Kansas had to deal with, this was a much deserved win.
Three down
1. The ACC- What a crappy weekend for the conference. It seems like everybody lost this weekend: Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Virginia, Florida State, and Miami (FL). The Virginia Tech lost hurt the entire conference as far as credibility and the losses by FSU and Miami (FL) to other nationally ranked schools shows where the ACC is as far is the pecking order in College Football. The only two teams to win was Maryland, who played Morgan State ( They better had won) and Wake Forrest who beat conference rival Duke (does that really count?). Bottom line is that the conference had a chance to make a statement this weekend playing some quality teams and guess you can say statement made although in a very bad way.
2. Virginia Tech- Sorry ACC fans but I have to pile on even more here. Virginia Tech, which is suppose to be the cream of the crop in the ACC lost to freaking James Madison. Maybe they should have taken this weekend off, they still looked uninspired and uninterested after playing Boise State this Monday. The offense couldn't score more than 16 points vs a FBS opponent, really? Tyrod Taylor, really? Frank Beamer really? The craziest part about this is that this deals a blow to Boise's national title hopes with such a bad loss.
3. Florida State- I had a hard time picking between Miami (FL) and FSU but after watching some footage of the horrendous defensive performance, State gets the nod here. Look at Landry Jones stats: 30-40 380 yards and 4 touchdowns. He had 300 yards passing in the first half alone. If Bob didn't call off the doesn’t call off the dogs, he could have easily threw for 500 yards. You just don't expect this from a Seminole defense and yeah I know they are in transition on defense but God I know they still have some athletes back there that can compete. In what was suppose to be the momentum for his Heisman campaign, Christian Ponder finished 11-28 for 113 yards. He had back to back INTs on consecutive plays. It was just an ugly performance after a lot of fanfare from the Seminole fan base.
NFL three up and three down
Three Up
1. Houston Texans- It has to feel good to beat the Colts the way that they did. Facing Peyton Manning and the dark cloud that hangs over the franchise, Houston came out and just pounded Indianapolis on both sides of the ball. Arian Foster (from the University of Tennessee I have to add) rushed for 231 yards and made the Colts D look very suspicious. The Colts are not use to playing from behind and Houston jumped out to a 13 point lead. From there they just gave it to Foster who ran wild yesterday. If I had told you that Matt Schuab would go 9-17 for 107 yard and the Texans would beat the Colts by ten you would call me a liar.
2.Seattle Seahawks- Way to break in the new regime by handing it to the Niners. Pete Carroll is one cool guy. If you just look at him on the sidelines, it looks likes at any moment he could be leaving to go surfing but this guy can coach and motivate as well. The 49ers were supposed to be the class of the division but Seattle was the one who took San Fran to Class. Matt Hasselbeck looked liked Matt circa 2004 making some great throws and displaying his keen pocket awareness running for a touchdown. Mike Williams showed why they let go of Housh. I am very impressed and excited to see how they build off this win.
3. New England Patriots- The demise of the Pats have been greatly exaggerated. The Bengals were a popular pick to take down New England but Brady and the boys came out and whooped Cincinnati. Wes Welker came back and caught 8 passes for 64 yards and a touchdown. Brady finishes a week where he was in a car wreck signed a new contract making him the highest paid player in football and then beating up on the Bengals. Not a bad week in my book.
Three down
1.Oakland Raiders- I was pretty high on this team. I thought that Jason Campbell would finally give them the stability of a legitimate starter coupled in with the facts that Darren Mcfadden would have a breakout year and the defense would provide enough to at least make for a 8 or 9 win season for this team. Wrong, wrong and wrong. They came out and got man handled on both sides of the ball. Campbell was sacked 4 times and pressured and hurried many other times. Chris Johnson couldn't have asked for a better team to go against starting his 2,500 yard campaign.
2. San Francisco 49ers- This is suppose to be their year to win the division and this is how come out and play. Mike Singletary has to be disappointed and I feel one those great speeches of his will be needed after this one. Alex Smith looked decent but every once in a while he reverts back to the old Alex Smith as when he had a perfect play action called and had his man in the end zone wide opened and over threw him. Frank Gore couldn't find any running room in what was suppose to be a revamped offensive line. They tried on the goal line, going for 4th down multiple times but couldn't punch it in. San Fran is a good team but its time to start performing week in and week out and they are going to take the division crown this year.
3.Cincinatti Bengals- So after all the hooting and hollering about this team has a Super Bowl or bust mentality, they come out and lay an egg in the first game. The Score was 31-3 at one point for crying out loud. When you have the weapons the Bengals have there is no excuse not to put up points on anybody. This New England team got lit up by Sam Bradford in their last preseason game and Carson Palmer, Terrell Owens, and Ocho whatever he is calling himself these days have to right this ship before the media jumps in and hijacks their season. If they have another bad performance next week, watch out because the light will be burning hot on them.
Other things I noticed:
How many people thought that was touchdown by Calvin Johnson? I have my hand raised at this moment. I understand the interpretation of the rule but the guy clearly had his leg, butt, hand and everything else touched the ground but because when he got up he used the ball as leverage they called it an incomplete pass? Dumb rule in my book
Michael Vick looked like the old Michael Vick in clean up duty for Kevin Kolb. Do I smell a QB controversy in Cheese steak city? I don't think so, Kolb makes to much money to make that debatable but if he does not perform well again or is out for an amount of time, Vick looks to have control of the offense and flashed some of the brilliance that made us fall in love with him in the first place.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Floyd Mayweather and Matt Barnes accused of domestic abuse
Floyd "Money" Mayweather is a very interesting guy. Recently he made a racially infused rant about Manny Pacquiao and days later he apologized if he offended any one in the process. Now he is being accused of domestic violence against his baby mother Josie Harris. According to TMZ.com, Multiple police cars showed up at Mayweather’s home early this morning after receiving a call at 5:03 AM from Harris who said she had been attacked by the boxing superstar.
For what reason is not known to me why would this guy jeopardize himself by giving his baby mama a left jab and right hook combo? Now to be fair, I don't have any kids so I don't know the strain of a relationship with kids, but I do have friends who give me a bleak description of their relationships. Hope Harris was bobbing and weaving.
As for newly signed Laker Matt Barnes his case is different. According to NBC sports: An incomplete 911 call prompted a police visit to Barnes' residence and deputies determined Barnes and the woman he lives with had been in a physical confrontation, during which Barnes prevented her from talking to 911 operators. Barnes was determined to be the primary aggressor and will be in court on Monday.
Come on Matt, You was just on Shaq's ex-wife T.V show Basketball wives and now you do this? What is it with these guys? You can have all the money in the world and still beat up on your girlfriend. I guess money doesn't change that. To be fair, all the details from both of these cases have not come forward. When its a domestic case it usually mean some juicy details are just around the corner. These incidents remind me of the movie Next Friday. " Hey Dada, That crazy bitch outside." Sorry but its the true.
Finally Friday Edition 3
vs
Brett Favre showed some life in that soon to be arthritic arm in the first half hooking up with Visanthe Shiancoe for some beautiful throws, but he looked more his age in the second half. His number don't indicate the story (15/27 171 yards 1 TD). He made some bad throws and got away with some interceptions throughout the game. Adrian Peterson had a solid performance, but I was surprised he didn't get more carries as he was by far the most effective player Minnesota had going for them. New Orleans was able to get away with rushing the ball only 3 times in the first half. Sean Payton stated that he was trying to spread out the defense. In the second half they did go back to the run game establishing Pierre Thomas with 19 carries 71 yards and a touchdown ( Bush 2 carries for 14 yards big numbers for the former 2nd overall pick). Garrett Hartley could have made the game a lot easier for the Saints missing two makeable field goals.
The one thing I will take from this game is how formidable the Saints D was. They don't get the credit always but the defense is what won the game for them. I did predict a Saints Victory and they did come away with the win although in an unconventional manner. As the season picks up their offense will again be one of the best in the league. Drew Brees was 27/36 237 yard and a touchdown. He doesn't get the respect of Manning and Brady, but the guy gets it done. I just wish this game could have been played later in the season when both teams were a little more settled in, but overall not the worse start to the season.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Floyd Mayweather and Matt Barnes accused of domestic abuse
For what reason is not known to me why would this guy jeopardize himself by giving his baby mama a left jab and right hook combo? Now to be fair, I don't have any kids so I don't know the strain of a relationship with kids, but I do have friends who give me a bleak description of their relationships. Hope Harris was bobbing and weaving.
Come on Matt, You was just on Shaq's ex-wife T.V show Basketball wives and now you do this? What is it with these guys? You can have all the money in the world and still beat up on your girlfriend. I guess money doesn't change that. To be fair, all the details from both of these cases have not come forward. When its a domestic case it usually mean some juicy details are just around the corner. These incidents remind me of the movie Next Friday. " Hey Dada, That crazy bitch outside." Sorry but its the true.
Carmelo Anthony the Chicago Bull?
The rumor mill is circulating and now reports are coming out saying that the Chicago Bulls are trying to acquire the Nuggets all-star forward. According to multiple sources, the Bulls are said to be trying to send Luol Deng, James Johnson and Taj Gibson. Another possibility is Joakim Noah. To be fair it sounds like a good trade for Denver. New York doesn't have enough to offer them and neither does New Jersey so this might get done. If Carmelo is indeed moved to the Bulls than that immediately are thrust into championship level talk. We will have to see how this one shakes out.
Are you ready for some Football?
vs .
In the instant classic that it was, last years NFC championship game had so many thought provoking twists and turns in it. Between all of the turnovers (Vikings had 5 ouch), the big hits (Brett aged another 3 years after that game) and the intensity of the fans in the Superdome this game had it all.
When you look at the stats, other than the turnovers, it is hard to fathom how the Vikes lost this game. Minnesota won all the measurables that you look for in a contest: Time of posseion Vikes 36:49 to Saints 27:46, Rushing yards Vikes 168 Saints 65, First downs Vikes 31 Saints 15, Total yards Vikes 475 Saints 257, Total plays Vikes 82 Saints 55, Turnovers Vikings 5 Saints 1. What this breakdown demonstrates is that the Vikings controlled the ball, had the offense running effectively, and for the most part held the Saints offense in check.
It can not be understated the effect that turnovers has on games. If you can create opportunities for your offense to have the ball more than the other team by logic you give your team a shot to win. The Saints defense was a perfect example of this. The Saints were 20th in points allowed and 25th in total yards but were 2nd in turnovers. Turnovers dictate big plays. Darren Sharper revived his career with a league leading 9 interceptions and 3 returned for a touchdown. As for Minnesota, Adrian Peterson for the most part punished the Saints defense with 25 carries and 122 yards 3 TDs. The only knack for Peterson is those careless fumbles. No one doubts this man is a beast and every team would love to have him but those turnovers just kill the offense. As well as Brett Favre throwing into coverage, when he could have ran for the first down on the Vikings final drive. Brett will be Brett and the same for Peterson. I give the coaching staff of the Saints all the credit, especially Gregg Williams for designing just a brutal defensive scheme that left Favre leaning toward retirement after the game. Drew Brees will always bring it and as long as he and Sean Payton are together look for a good offensive strategy with this team.
As for tonight's game, you have a lot of different factors going into it. 1. How is the ankle Brett? Favre has reportedly been receiving pain killer shots in his ankle. If he is getting this in week 1, that should worry Minnesota fans. 2. Are the Saints still hungover from partying? I have never really cared about championship celebrations. They are usually filled with dumb speeches (who can forget Shaq with "Can you dig it?"), terrible dancing (Mark Madsen, Robert Kraft, the entire Chicago White Sox team) and crazy fans in attendance. The Saint's celebration was different because it just felt like that region needed to be uplifted. That was until that BP spill thing anyway. I actually wanted to be there and take that one in. Can you imagine a partying for a Super Bowl victory on top of Mardi Gras, are you freaking kidding me? The Saints have good leadership and should be back to speed by now.
In a match up of NFC contenders once again, I have to go with the Saints. They have so many weapons on offense, even more than last year when you add Lance Moore who was injured last year. The run game is sound and the defense is opportunistic. The Vikings are a solid team as well. Brett will show some rust in his first game but once the arm is greased, he will again be the old Favre. The real key to the Vikings will be Adrian Peterson. He has to carry this team until Favre gets hot. I can see getting 25 to 30 carries in the range of 125 to 150 yards. Jared Allen (minus the mullet) will lead the defense and will wreck some havoc but the Saints proved last year they can stand up after being knocked down on offense.
Final prediction: Saints 28 Vikings 24.
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