SportsNetUSA Blogs

Did you hear that huge wailing and loud cries of No, No, No shortly after Boise State snuck by Virginia Tech, 33-30.  Let me tell you where those cries were coming from.  They were coming from all of the current BCS schools presidents.  Hey guys you had better try some more quick conference realignments or readjust the current BCS formulas so it can favor your guys even more than it does.

This constant crashing or near crashing of your private party by Boise State, TCU and Utah is ugly.  You really should have put the Pac 20 together and the Big 10-50 or whatever they will be called when you had the chance.  I know you guys are all about the student athlete and care only about the fine tradition of college football.  You had this championship thing set up nicely in that only the biggest conferences could play for a National Title.  It was so sweet, all of that extra money and recognition.  You convinced everyone that those weak WAC teams and Mountain West Conference teams could not be on the same field as the real college football teams of the SEC, Pac 10 and Big 10.

Boise State beats mighty Oklahoma and most said it was a great game and Boise was lucky to beat the Sooners.  Utah beats Alabama and the tide apologists say, well, you know, Alabama really did not want to be there because there was a let down after they thought they would be in the championship game.  I cannot wait to hear the pundits crying about what may lie ahead after the Broncos beat the Hokies in their backyard.  They don’t play anyone!  They are not qualified to be in the final game.  No one would watch a game with Boise State playing for the title.  My favorite of course will be, the system is not fair!  Wha, wha, wha and ha, ha, ha.  No need for playoffs and when the system works for your conference, well everything is fine.

Non BCS teams have been on the outside looking in and maybe this year they will strike pay dirt.  Suddenly the system will not be fair.  Keep your ears open this week and listen for the cries!  Speaking of not playing anyone, VA Tech must regroup and play James Madison next week.  I knew they had a basketball team but did not realize they had a football team.

My quick run down of those weak Mountain West and WAC teams this opening weekend.  Utah beat Ptt, Fresno State beat  Cincinnati, BYU beat Pac 10 Washington, TCU beat Pac 10 Oregon State and Boise State finishes off Virginia Tech.  Speaking of the SEC how about Ole Miss getting beat by Jacksonville State.  Show me the hands of those that like me thought Jacksonsville State had to be from Florida.  Turns out they are from Alabama.  They are in the mighty Ohio Valley Conference.  Other Ohio Valley Conference winners were, Austin Peay and Tennessee State.  Southeast Missouri State did not win but they are an Ohio Valley Conference member as well.  How could an Ohio Valley Conference team even dare to step on the field with the so called Big Boys of the SEC.  I am cheering for Boise State, TCU and Fresno State this year.

Finally let me give you the California connection as I like to do in college sports.  There are 37 players on the Boise State roster that are from California.  I think that is a good reason to be a Bronco fan.  Their head coach is Chris Petersen and by all accounts he is a classy person.  He has a 50-4 record so far as the head coach and twice his team has gone undefeated.  Special note, Joe Paterno had five undefeated teams and his Penn State teams were denied three times a title because they were an independent and ” did not play anyone.”   Coach Petersen played quarterback at UC Davis and before that he played quarterback at Sacramento City College.  Austin Pettis from Orange Lutheran scored two touchdowns and Tommy Gallarda from Brea Olinda High School scored a touchdown against the Hokies.  All good reasons to cheer for the Broncos this year.

One last note on the Monday night game.  Was anyone else curious about the final Boise State drive when Pettis was hit out of bounds.  It looked like to me he was out of bounds and then kept running and the late hit came after he had already stepped out of bounds by Tech’s Bruce Taylor.  Can you have a late hit if the guy was out of bounds and the play should have been blown dead?  Just asking because that was a huge 15 yard penalty.  This season may be even better than last season.

I am feeling somewhat blue now that the college football season is over.  No I do not count the various All Star games.  What a let down that Colt McCoy got hurt and missed most of the game.  He deserved better, we all deserved better.  I do not know if Texas would have won the game or not but it would have been fun to see.  Mark Ingram definitely impressed and proved he was a deserving winner of the Heisman Trophy.  It was good to see this Alabama team was motivated to play this year.  Since the BCS likes to play the game on paper I have decided to crown on paper Boise State as Co-National-Champions.  I guess that is what I will have to do for the next four years at least.

Three teams have ever finished the season 14-0.  Two of them were crowned BCS National Champions.  That would be Ohio State when they beat Miami and now this years Alabama team.  One team finished 14-0 and never even had a chance to play for the championship.  Boise State beat the Pac-10 Champs Oregon and then beat TCU.  TCU was favored and ranked higher in the BCS than the Broncos.  Most of the experts thought TCU would win and most thought they could play with the Tide and the Longhorns.  Somehow Boise overcame all of that and finished 14-0.  There was not much outcry because the system wins and most of the public accepts that you can not fight city hall.  So I will have my own individual protest and congradulate the Boise State team on being Co-Champs.  I counted 35 players on their roster from California so that is great representation for the National Champions.

I am not sure if you saw it or not but there is a new BCS executive director named Bill Hancock.  Bill has worked with the BCS for some time and no surprise here, he sees no reason to change.  They have a new four year contract with ESPN and so the playoffs will have to wait.  Bill says they will not go to a playoff system for some of the same great reasons you have heard before.  Come to think of it they are some of the same reasons I have heard from ESPN guys.  Playoffs lead to more injuries; conflicts with final exams; they would kill the bowl system; and it would diminish the importance of the regular season.  I am not sure but I heard that Mark McGwire had a hand in these reasons.  He and Bill both seem to have trouble with coming clean.

Some more quick notes on the season:  How bout my old guys Bobby and Joe coming through in the bowl games.  Guess the head coaches on the other side must have had the game pass them by.  Bowden finishes 7-6 and they run him out of town.  Lane Kiffin goes 7-6 and gets to be the head coach at USC.  Go figure, I guess Lane must be a bright new mind in the game.  Good choice bringing along his old man, Monte.

Back up quarterback Aaron Corp from USC is transferring to Richmond University.  Good luck to the former Orange Lutheran High School standout.

The Pac 10 went 2-5 in bowl games and the mighty SEC went 6-4.  By the way did you know that the mighty SEC Champs, Alabama played powerhouse teams like Florida International, North Texas and Tennessee-Chattanooga?  Here is another fact you won’t care about.  There have been twelve BCS Championship games and eight were decided by 10 or more points.  What incredible drama that is right?  In my opinion there are only two that really are memorable.  Ohio State over Miami and Texas over USC.  I did enjoy the tradition of having the game played on Thursday night.  Why I remember when I was a boy and all of my relatives would come over to celebrate New Year’s day on Thursday January 7th.  I have a tear in my eye right now thinking about how important tradition is in college football.  Thank you BCS supporters.

Let’s end on a positive note.  I suggest that every high school coach record the interview with Colt after the Championship game was over.  That should be shown to every high school and college team across America.  That was as classy as you can get.  The guy was so disappointed and yet he gave credit to his opponent, his team, his backup and said he had given his all.  I do not know if he and Tim Tebow will be great pros or not.  I want to thank them both for being great athletes and for being two great things about college football.

All right, I have had it. I am sick and tired listening to talk radio sports hosts trying to tell me that “musical coaches” is the way of new business. Please, we all understand that the business world is ugly, underhanded, seedy, and treacherous, 50 percent truthful and 50 percent untruthful. We also understand that business deals are broken all the time, but in back rooms where the lights are dim, the smell is musty and the atmosphere is dank. Okay they are boardrooms, but still the proceedings are usually kept very quiet until they hit the courtroom.

But for some reason coaches, especially football coaches (college and yes pro), do not understand that their contractual agreements are not just a business agreement. They are emotional agreements with a fan base, a university or college, a town, city, community and recruits, their families, and current and future players, co-workers, other coaches on their staff and everyone else committed to that sports program they are leaving. New business?

When a CEO bankrupts a company we get angry, cry, pout and go out kicking and screaming until everyone realizes him or her was a scoundrel. When a company closes down a plant in our region, state, county or city and tens of thousands lose their jobs for the sake of company profits, we have a fit.  When we are fired, let go, relieved, laid off, terminated, shown the door, betrayed, thrown out in the cold, shut down or retructured, we panic, we cry foul, we stare into the distance as if we can go back in time.  But when a coach does any of the above to the community he cherished and loved being a part of when they handed him the multi-layered contract that helped him have financial security for his family, his families’ family and other so called relatives, I am told by sports writers, broadcasters and hosts of talk shows to grow up because it is part of the new business era.

New business?  Let me explain NEW BUSINESS TO YOU, YOU OVERRATED BIG MOUTH (NATIONALLY KNOWN SPORTS COMMENTATOR) KNOW IT ALL WHO COULD NOT HOLD A CANDLE TO ANY OF THE PANELIST, GROUPS, CO-HOSTS, FRIENDS, PARTNERS, AND FOUNDERS on Friday Night Mics; New Business- “Here is my offer, oh you accept the terms, as you can see there is no buyout clause, no early release for the job of your dreams and yes if some reason we do let you go YOU ARE PAID IN FULL until your contract expires. OH yes let me explain a contract to you in a  way you might understand it”  CONTRACT: agreement, compact, stipulation, contractual statement, contractual obligation, understanding, promise, pledge, covenant, obligation, guarantee, gentlemen’s agreement, commitment, bargain, pact, arrangement, deal, accord, common view, concurrence, pact, alliance, affiliation, unity. This is business, new/old, upside down, right side up, backwards and forwards.

But somewhere along the way, you coach, you Mister Sports know it all (as his yes man), you decided to change the rules in favor of only one player in the entire game, you. I have to tell you coach, coaches, general managers, athletic directors, Presidents of all the colleges and universities, NCAA (ESPECIALLY the NCAA), I as a fan am sick and tired of you thinking that the SPORT is all about YOU. And please, if you, or your mouth, piece are going to try and tell me how much money you create for your college or university, the surrounding community, then coach, you better have your schools and organizations print out the numbers and SHOW US.

Don’t just talk about the nebulous good that your program does. Because you need to satisfy your greatness to the community, you need to satisfy your above the norm attitude, you need to give ME a REASON to say GOOD-BYE to you with open arms and a thank you in my heart. But if you can’t, then shut up, sit down and let the bus pull away from the spot you thought you wanted to get off at, because WE (the schools, the fans, the students, the professors, the staff, the co-workers, the players, the families, the friends., the local businesses, the city) we live up to our contractual obligations. So coach, welcome to my campus, it is called the campus of business and if you do not like it here, do not sign on the dotted line ………

I was going to write about Jason Bay and his new four-year deal guaranteed for $66 million. Gosh and I say this with a straight face that is just a steal. Gosh the second coming of the Bambino hit .267 last year and a career high 36 home runs.  A penny below $66 million would be a sin.  Baseball owners continue to prove they are the dumbest of all sports owners.  I was going to rant about this contract but then I did an Urban Meyer. You know what an Urban Meyer is, a changing of the mind. I got soft and decided to go a different direction. I know American sports fans detest someone who changes their mind. I learned that earlier when BF or if you prefer, the despised Brett Favre changed his mind and was vilified for it. How great is it that Favre and Rodgers made the Pro Bowl? Where is all of the outrage about how terrible Urban Meyer is for changing his mind?  There was no outrage.

Having said all of this I still have not stated what I wanted to share with you. I have mentioned here many times about my strong desire for a college football playoff system. I took some heat for it and because of this I have my first New Years resolution. I have seen the light and the error of my misguided ways. I do not know what I was thinking. How could I have been so wrong, so stubborn and so far off base? Thanks to all of you that have convinced me that a college football playoff system just cannot be. There is no money to be made and no one would care if there was a playoff. I see now that it would be too hard on these put upon student athletes and their studies. I have heard conference commissioners wail about the logistics would be a nightmare.  I heard one commissioner talk of the fear he had that the poor athletes would be ground down by a playoff system.  Ignore the fact that there used to be an eight game schedule, a ten game schedule and now it is twelve or thirteen games. 

No, they are right, forget a shorter regular season because that is not a grind, just a playoff schedule. A playoff system could not work.  Please ignore the fact that the lower divisions have them and their kids seem to be fine.  Besides, I really enjoy the fact that there is over a month between the last regular season and the BCS Championship Game.  I did not realize before how many magnificent teams with a 6-6 record there are!  With a playoff, teams may have to have winning records and mercy, is that really what we should reward?  I say I now understand that the NCAA is just trying to make sure all 120 teams get into the post season.  How could I have been so foolish?

As a part of my new resolution for 2010 I am determined to find the most ridiculous sounding sponsors and I will not rest until even winless teams are rewarded with post season play that does not include a playoff system.  I have heard people say well look at teams in college basketball that are upset because they are not chosen.  Again, I was crazy and stand corrected. I was thoughtless and cruel to not understand that 65 teams make the NCAA basketball tournament.  Another 32 teams make the NIT but how could I not feel for that 98th team that did not quite make it in either tournament.  The old me would have said one word, Intramural!  But the new me says yes, there must not be anyone omitted.

Now that I have switched over to the anti-playoffs side, I think we should keep going. I say no playoffs for everyone!!!!  To you who may be getting excited about the upcoming NFL playoffs, I say, forget it! There should be no deciding a championship on the field.  Let’s just pick out two teams now to be in the Super Bowl.  Then let’s not even play that game.  Let’s just pick a winner on paper.  No World Series on the field again.  Think about how bad a seven game series between the same two teams is.  Forget a 162 game schedule on the field.  We can all just pick the winners and never even have to play a game.  Imagine how much time and energy could be saved.  We would not have to read the paper or check our computers for scores.  No Saturdays or Sundays watching TV!  More time for more important matters.  Student/athletes would not have to practice.  They could just study more.  We could just use video games to simulate what the action would be and the results would be.

In keeping with that thought, no conferences outside the BCS conferences would be allowed to participate in the simulated games.  I heard some people say that poor old Alabama last year was just not motivated when they played Utah in the Sugar Bowl.  They almost were in the BCS Championship Game and had to settle for a game against lowly Utah.  Poor Nick Saban makes four million a year and my goodness he could not get his players motivated.  There are five undefeated teams left in college football this year and only two have a chance at being the Champion.  Imagine the old me said that something was wrong with that.  The new me says, no worries.

I am just getting warmed up here but I will do you a favor and stop.  Last thing, are you with me?  What do you say?  No playoffs for everyone in 2010!  With this attitude I just may become president or a conference commissioner at a BCS school.  Thanks to all of you who made me see the light and be sure to watch the Insight Bowl as it will be outstanding.

cheer for old Notre Dame and their new coach Brian Kelly.  I may be accused of over reacting but I am disgusted.  I am not disgusted towards Notre Dame nor Brian Kelly but towards the system.  This system of allowing coaches to go to new schools before the season is over stinks.  I cannot be alone in being disgusted by a coach lying on a TV interview.  No sir, I love my current university, my wife and kids love it here, our dog loves it here.  We have the best administration, fans and players in the country.  I have no interest in being the head football coach at another school.  I wish you nasty old media people would just take me at my word and quit asking.  Come on, we have all seen this type of game! 

Then after much media speculation and denial for a few days it goes something like this.  I am happy to be the new coach at my new school.  This is a dream job and to come to a school with all of this tradition and support well it is beyond my wildest dreams.  I will be happy here as will my wife, family and our dog.  I hope there are no hard feelings fellas but I cannot finish the season because I am at my dream job now.  I appreciate everyone at my old school for letting me use them as a stepping stone.  I hope everyone understands that I will not be there at the biggest bowl game in school history.  I would like to finish the season but I now have to go recruit new players and tell them to forget about my old school and come to my new and better school.

Brian Kelly is not alone.  There have been many before him, with Rich Rodriguez coming to mind.  Let’s call it enough okay.  I suggest the NCAA make a rule that prohibits schools from signing new coaches until after all bowl games have been played.  I know there will be those that say the system cannot be changed because of recruiting and whatever.  All systems can be changed and yes there will always be challenges with a new system.  The challenges can be met.

Years back Iowa State violated an NCAA rule when a coach gave a recruit a ride for a few blocks in the wintertime.  You know the NCAA they are all about the kids.  I have heard and read complaints about spoiled college athletes and their lack of respect.  What about spoiled coaches and their lack of respect?  I hear coaches talk about demanding commitment, effort and work from their teams.  They will use strong emotional words like challenges, loyalty, commitment, honor and integrity.  Then when a sweeter offer comes along these same coaches demand understanding.  I do not blame Brian Kelly but the system can be made better.  I can hear some of you saying well Randy that is just life.  Those words are always said by those that would rather keep status quo and expect more from the kids than the adults.

Imagine the uproar if players did this same trick?  Let’s say quarterback Tony Pike decided that he could not risk playing in the Sugar Bowl.  I have decided that I am choosing not to play in the Sugar Bowl because I am very close to my dream of playing in the NFL.  It has always been my dream to play for the Denver Broncos and so I am not going to play in the biggest game in our school history.  I hope you all understand this is the system and I have to go for my dream job.  I can hear all of the calls about no respect and what is wrong with spoiled athletes.  Where do athletes get the idea of using the system?  They see how those above them use the system and get ahead.  Brian Kelly lies and says he has no interest in the Notre Dame job and he is rewarded with a five year multi-million dollar payday.  That is the system.  Oklahoma State wide out Dez Bryant lies about being at Deion Sanders home.  For his lie he is suspended for the rest of the season.  That is the system.  This part of the system is broke so the NCAA needs to fix it.  Then we can all do some cheering as coaches are forced to finish what they started.  What is expected of the players should be expected of the coaches that lead them.

As this year ends and I look forward to the New Year, I just hope that some of my holiday wishes come true.  Maybe the BCS will really understand that no matter what you (the BCS) do there is going to be many of us that will argue that your system is flawed and you should have left well enough alone. No playoff system, no computers judging teams, no strength of schedule, no more ranking all off the who, what, where of football. Let us go back to 7 to 8 traditional bowl games on New Year day and let us the FAN argue who should be number ONE (#1).

HEY NFL-the SUPER BOWL is about FOOTBALL, not the so-called build up that lets us the fan down because the hype is bigger than the game.  For all us hockey fans, I think all games should be played outside, it would shorten the season and hockey would only be played where hockey should be played, where it is freezing.

Not Below Average, I am sorry that is what I thought the N.B.A. initials stood for but I guess not, as this will be another year of sub par teams having a chance to call themselves WORLD CHAMPIONS. So may we have two divisions, those who can and those who cannot and the cannots are the NON-WORLD CHAMPIONS.

And let us call March Madness what it is: the madness of coaches and fans whose teams are left out of the elite group that is selected to play for an NCAA Championship.  Another tournament where we the fan can see a non-deserving team being crowned the best in the NCAA. HYPE-HYPE-HYPE. Plus if we are going to call it MARCH MADNESS let us put an equal sense of MADNESS for the MEN and the WOMEN, because some of us are FANS of both. EQUALITY!

Please someone shorten the season, Mike is eating too many post-game meals. Just how much baseball can we watch in sub zero winter gear? Mike looks horrible in a down filled jacket (he looks like an apple that should be dipped in caramel). Baseball is the game of spring, summer, and autumn, not the game of “it was a Cold Day at Lambeau field”.  Before I let you go baseball, how many bad teams do we have to watch? I feel as if you are taking on the NBA’s business plan. “psssst…hockey tried it and it does not work”.  Dump some clubs. Less teams, fewer games, more interest, and hey the season is shortened.

Watch out for that can, step over that person I think he is sleeping, for the rest of you NASCAR yahoos, please realize that there are other drivers out there that are not called “Junior”, I understand that fans love their heroes but NASCAR exist outside of the Confederate south. Wake up, you’re going to have an educated female driver on Junior’s teams, so understand that it is 2009 and fixing a flat is not done with bubble gum and you blowing on the tire stem  (The previous statement was not aimed at any NASCAR fans associated with SportsNetUSA.net).

Fore, or in the case of playing golf with any of us at SportsNetUSA.net, it is seven or eight. I will be the first to say-Michelle you may be on your way and that is good for the LPGA and that the shortened season will be good for women’s golf because then everyone will play. But please ladies stop hugging after you lose or play rotten, be like the rest of us ACT like YOU want to WIN. As a fan of the LPGA it drives me crazy that you just accept defeat as ho hum. As for the men, who cares? There are just too many mediocre millionaires, MEN SHOULD HAVE TO CUT THEIR GOLF PURSES SO THEY WORK FOR A LIVING.

Last but not least, could just once, or maybe even more than once, could a team WE broadcast for WIN an OVERTIME GAME, yes we are not just broadcasters we are FANS.

That’s it- Happy holidays from SPORTSNETUSA.NET and thank you all for listening to High School football, Fullerton College Football, Golden West Football, Sacramento City College Football, Anaheim Jr. Ducks Ice Hockey, Vanguard University Basketball and of course High School Sports Zone, Friday Night Mics and (New Notes! on 90.1 FM KBPK) have a great sports NEW YEAR

Last week shows why they play the game on the field rather than on paper.  I was sure Florida would find a way to beat Alabama and that Texas would beat Nebraska.  I also believed that Colt McCoy would have a big game and wrap up a close vote over Tebow for the Heisman Trophy.  Feel free to not call me Nostradamus.  I had to look up the spelling of his name which led me to predictions of 2012.  The end of the world is supposed to happen in 2012 so I strongly urge the powers of college football to put in a playoff system.  After last weekend I think McCoy and Tebow go to the bottom of the Heisman list.  If either one had a very good performance they could have wrapped up the trophy.  I love both players and was pulling for McCoy but sadly I do not see it happening.  The five finalists were announced and the other three are Ingram, Gerhart and Suh.  First, all of these are outstanding players and any of these would be a good winner. 

We hear of Heisman Trophy all of the time so I decided to look up some history.   For you that like history, here you go and for those who do not, enjoy your nap.  The award goes to the most outstanding player in collegiate football.  That is it.  Not the player on the best team or a national tile contender.  It is not even for the best FBS or in the old days, Division I player.  However no player in the lower divisions has ever won the award.  It does not go to the player that will go on to have the best NFL career.  Many use that argument when their guy does not win and yet has a great career as a pro.  See, so and so could not have been the best college player because look at how he did nothing in the NFL.  So let’s not get confused by that.  This is not an MVP award either.  I always have to remind myself that these awards are subjective and how do you compare a quarterback to an offensive tackle.  Like the Oscar for best movie, how do you compare a comedy to a drama.  By the way, no interior lineman on either side of the ball has won the Heisman. 

Only eight Heisman winners are in the NFL Hall of Fame.  Two high schools have had two winners.  Woodrow Wilson High School in Lakewood, Texas produced 1938 winner Davey O’brien from TCU and Tim Brown from Notre Dame.  While Mater Dei from Santa Ana, California had 1964 winner quarterback John Huarte from Notre Dame and Matt Leinart from USC.  Colt Brennan from Mater Dei finished 6th in 2006 as well.  O.J. Simpson from USC had the most votes and won by the widest margin in 1968.  He and Charles White from USC both had to sell their trophies for financial reasons.  Paul Hornung is the only winner that played on a losing team.  His Notre Dame team went 2-8 in 1956.  There was a guy named Jim Brown for Syracuse that finished 5th that year.  No-non USC player from the West Coast has won the Heisman trophy since Stanford’s Jim Plunket in 1970. 

Steve Spurrier from Florida won the trophy in 1966 and gave his to the universities president.  It was after that year that two trophies were awarded, one to the player and one for the school.  Jay Berwanger from Chicago was the first winner in 1935 although it was called the Downtown Athletic Club Trophy that year.  The next year it was won by Larry Kelley from Yale.  It was named after coach John Heisman who coached various colleges including Georgia Tech from 1892-1927.  He worked on the award and before the second award could go out in 1936 he died and the trophy was named in his honor.  Final history note, the trophy is bronze, stands 13.5 inches high and weighs 25 pounds.

Okay, back to the current vote.  This will be close and it is a toss up.  The Heisman voting splits the country into six regions with 145 media votes in each region, the former trophy winners get a vote and there is one public balloting vote.  It is done on a points system of 3,2,1.  The voters vote for their first, second and third place finishers. So you can see that you can win without having the most first place votes.  I have already said that I think the two qb’s are out.  Mark Ingram of Alabama had a great game in the Sec Final.  That will go a long way because of the reputation of the SEC and remember, Alabama has never had a Heisman Trophy winner.  Toby Gerhart of Stanford was the most consistent player all year.  I think he will be hurt by his team’s record and the Pac 10 does not have a championship game.  Ndamukong Suh, the defensive tackle from Nebraska is the next finalist.

If ever voters decided to give it to an interior lineman, now would be the time.  The game he played against Texas is one of the most amazing I have ever seen.  He had 12 tackles, 4.5 sacks and 7 tackles for a loss.  Plus on the replays he was being held nearly every play.  For two years he has led the Nebraska defense in tackles.  I am not sure if that has ever happened.  Usually the leading tackler is a linebacker or a safety but a defensive tackle, amazing.  His was the most impressive individual performance I have seen all year.  It was also the only game I saw him play.  If I had a vote(I do not), I would vote for Gerhart.  I think the winner will be Ingram and it will be well deserved.  College football has five outstanding finalists for the Heisman this year.  Good luck and enjoy the ceremony.  I would also like to recommend the Heisman website, www.heisman.com .  If you enjoy history this is a great website for college football lovers.

For us at Sportsnetusa.net, it was the football game to end all football games. My partner Corey Neyland and I have had the pleasure to be associated with some schools that have given us emotional highs and lows as we have broadcasted their games.  We have done Community college playoff games in the past, we have called games for the finals in the Golden State Athletic Conference, we have journeyed back to Tennessee on more than one occasion to broadcast for the NAIA Championships, we have even called games for the now defunct ABA and oh yes Oklahoma and Nebraska softball, but this last weekend’s game might have been the most enjoyable game we have ever witnessed.

First you must realize that we here at SportsNetUSA.net have had a wonderful relationship with Fullerton College football. It goes back to the 90.1 fm KBPK days and even further to the days of Hal Sherbeck.  But for Corey and me the years are more recent and we have had the pleasure of working arm and arm with the personalities of Gene Murphy, Mickey Flynn, Time Byrnes, Bryan Crooks, Casey Mazzotta and a few other eccentrics along our Fullerton College football Journey.  So now let’s get back to our game on Saturday, you need to realize that being broadcasters for Fullerton and other schools all of us pride ourselves on the fact that we try to call a evenly fair games across the board, yes we dislike being called “homers”.

With that in mind THE GAME:
IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL DAY AT CAL STATE FULLERTON TITAN FIELD AND THE ATMOSPHERE WAS ELECTRIC. MR. NEYLAND AND MR. PAVLOVICH EXPECTED A CLOSE FOUGHT BATTLE BETWEEN TWO TEAMS THAT THEY FELT DESERVED TO BE PLAYING FOR THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA TITLE. AS THE BROADCAST DUO HEADED FOR THEIR NORMAL PERCH AT C.S.U.F, THE FROVOLITY AND INTRODUCTIONS OF NEW AND OLD FACES TRIED TO MASK THE ANTICIPATION OF THE COMING BATTLE. AS THEY ENTERED THE BROADCAST AREA THE KNEW THE BATTLE WAS ON BECAUSE THEIR SPOT WAS TAKEN BY………………

Now that the tone is set it was a game that was controlled by stall worth defenses at the start, even though the hornets broke out on top all of us knew that Palomar was not going to go away.  There were brilliant plays on both sides; Brian Crook’s defense taking on the mantle as the best in the west stopped the comet offense with Orenzo Davis and Martavious Lee at point blank range with a first and goal from inside the 5, 3, 1 ……… Then it was the comet defenses putting up road blocks and concrete barricades as they forced the best running back in community college football to fumble on the goal line and turn the hornets away with nothing.

It was a day when Darius Banks and Kenny Turner aka “Smoke” showed everyone that the words that had been spoken about them were not hollow. It was also a day for names like, Ong, Hakim, Lee, Moore and Davis on the other side of the football.  Plus it was a day that showed you the true hearts of modern day student athletes. It was that day that the glass was always half filled never half empty and all of us who might have been rooting for our team quietly on the air saw time after time the almost thrill of victory. It was a game that had you feeling that your team was going to win every time they touched the ball and as the game went to half with Fullerton up over Palomar 10 to 7 you knew this game was not over and that moment you didn’t know how right you were, until later.

The first half was filled with “almost miscues and maybe’s” as Kenny Turner just always got tripped up at the line of scrimmage.  It was Palomar’s methodical marches inside the twenties that kept you waiting for them to break open the game. It was another yellow “flankie”(my term) on Fullerton every time they did something right on offense, that was turned into a wrong.  When the second half started, you hoped, if you were a Hornet fan, that Fullerton who was getting the ball could pull away and end the game. But that wasn’t the case and when Palomar tied the game and then took the lead 16-10 you felt as if the game was now the Comets to win. But the hornets moved down the field on the arm of Banks, the legs of Turner and the hands of Clarkson, Florence and Shine.

After the smoke drifted to the ground it was the HORNETS 17 and the COMETS 16, everyone from Fullerton felt a sense of calm until they kicked off deep to Orenzo Davis of Palomar who lassoed the ball deep in the corner of the field and rambled roughly 96 yards for the go ahead score, add a two point conversion and the comets were up by seven.  Fullerton answered, Palomar answered back and then the FOOTBALL GODS stepped in, with fullerton trailing and deep in their own territory Darius Banks gets intercepted and it looked as if the gates were about to come crashing down on the Hornets.   All Palomar needed to do  was take a knee and run the clock.  But GODS have funny senses of humor and on the second attempt to take a knee the comets fumbled and the hornets with a recovery had new life. 59 seconds and twelve miles of bad road the blue Hornet started to motor down that highway and on a short pass and a great catch by Justin Dunford the game was knotted and overtime became our muse.

It has been a great year for college football and the end is near for this season.  Despite surprises and ups and downs this season looks to be headed for a pretty simple ending.  Here is how it looks to be shaking out as I see it.  The BCS final will have Florida as the number one team taking on the number two team, the Texas Longhorns.  Yes, both teams have not looked as strong as some expected but they both have continued to win.  Do you want to pick against Tim Tebow or would you prefer to pick against Colt McCoy?  I am leaning towards Texas to win it at this point.  Of course I would prefer to see a playoff and wouldn’t it be great to see a tournament with TCU, Cincinnati, Boise State and Oregon in the mix?

 Would someone please explain to me why we do not have a playoff, and come on, convince me.  No lame, it can not be done because of time away from their studies.  No lame, a playoff would take away from the regular season.  Give me a break.  This BCS system has made teams with two losses irrelevant as well as the bowl games.  We all know that the only bowl game that matters is the BCS final game and this year in keeping with “tradition”, it will be played January 7th at 5pm.  Is that really a Thursday night at the Rose Bowl?  That is just great tradition.  The only interest in the other bowl games will be alumni and fans of a particular school and the school getting paid to be in those bowl games. 

Watch the games and see how many empty seats there are.  How many empty seats would there be in a playoff system?  Tell me how many of these bowl games will you leave work early to see:  Meineke Car Care Bowl, Motor City Bowl, Insight Bowl, Brut Sun Bowl or the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl.  You had better soup up your Tivo or DVR. I counted 34 bowl games and if I am off my a game or two, well forgive me.  That means there are 68 teams playing in bowl games, over half of the 120 teams in FBS.  When did the term FBS come into play?  I hope the other schools that do not make it at least get nice participation ribbons.

The Heisman race looks to be a simple call as well.  The top four candidates come down to Tim Tebow, Colt McCoy, Mark Ingram and a late push for Toby Gerhart.  I think Ingram will finish fourth.  He has had a great year 1,429 yards, 12 touchdowns and a 6.5 yards per carry and his team is undefeated.  He is a great player but they will lose to Florida and he will lose his chance, plus he is only a sophomore.  Something I learned this week is this storied program of the Bear, Joe Willie Namath and Kenny Stabler has never had a Heisman Trophy Winner.  I was stunned!!  Toby Gerhart of Stanford came on strong late, 1,736 yards rushing with 26 touchdowns and a 5.6 average.  His team is 8-4 and they will not give it to a team ranked that low.  So in my book it comes down to Tebow and McCoy.  They have both had very good years but McCoy’s year is not as good as last years and Tebow’s is not as good as his Heisman winning season two years ago.  It is a  toss up.

I said at the beginning of the year that I was for McCoy and I will stand by that.  His touchdowns to interceptions is 27-9, 3,328 yards passing and he has a 71.8 percentage completion.  He ran for two touchdowns and 368 yards on the ground.  Tebow has 17 touchdown throws with 4 picks and a 66.4% completion rate.  He has thrown for 2166 yards, rushed for 796 yards and 13 touchdowns.  That is a great year for anyone but Tebow.  His sophomore year he was ridiculous.  He threw for 32 touchdowns with only 6 interceptions and he ran for 895 yards and 23 touchdowns.  Remember these two players should not have to be judged by their previous seasons.  They are competing only against other players and only for this season.  You can not go wrong with either one but I think McCoy wins a close one.

I said at the start of the season that I love college football and only a playoff would improve the game.  The athletes are great, there are great fans all over the country and there are many amazing coaches at so many schools.  If we could just get the big mucky mucks and this is a nice term for them, to see how great a playoff system would be.  Other college sports have playoffs and so do other divisions in football.  Pigheadedness, power and money are the only things stopping it from reality. 

Locally congrats to Marshall Sperbeck at Sacramento State as the Hornets finished 5-6 and beat rival UC Davis for the second straight year.  Sperbeck has the program headed in the right direction as he is getting more local recruits to stay home.  The UC Davis game at Sac State was the third largest home attendance mark.  The fans here are starved for a winner and I believe he will provide that soon.  Kudos to Dannie Walker the head coach at Sacramento City College who in his first season as the head coach guided his team to a 6-5 season and a bowl victory.  Coach Walker and his staff have a solid foundation on which to build for next season and also down the road.  Finally, speaking of coaches, my next entry will be about two old guys that have taken heat and deserve better.  So be ready to tell me why Paterno and Bowden must go.

I need to say this right up front, I am only joking about firing these guys.  These guys are all excellent coaches and Joe Paterno is an all time great.  I am not the type of fan that calls for guys losing their jobs very often.  Anyone that chooses to go into coaching gets the utmost respect from me.  Think about what is involved with being a college coach and only the most successful get credit.  Even the most successful coaches of all time like Paterno and Bobby Bowden are not immune to ridiculous criticism.

To begin with the college football coach is dealing with young athletes that are usually 18-24 years old.  He must recruit and coach athletes that are supremely talented and they know it.  He also must do the same with athletes that are not supremely talented and they do not know it.  He must follow all of the crazy rules that the NCAA has on the books, including do not visit with Deion Sanders.  He must organize a coaching staff that consists of coaches with varied talents, experience and motivations.  Some of these assistants may be eying his job.  He must answer to an athletic director, school president,  board of trustees, the media and alumni.  Then he goes out and puts his product on display in front of thousands and in the case of a top bowl game, before millions counting tv viewers.

How would you like people watching you at your office and yelling each time you made a move or having it taped and played later that day over and over.  Work highlights or low lights and let’s run it over and over and check out different angles as you type on your keyboard.  Remember the Peyton Manning commercial, Cut that meat, cut that meat.  Then, not only are you trying to have your team accomplish its goal, there are other guys trying to stop you from getting there.  Again imagine you need to call a client by one but you must first get past eleven people surrounding your phone.  Whew, I am tired just thinking about it.  I know, some of you will respond, well that is what they chose to do and what they get paid for.  With that said let’s check out what the above guys got paid for.

Pete Carroll and his Trojans come back after losing to Oregon with a resounding victory over ASU 14-9.  Kirk Ferentz and his undefeated team lose Ricky Stanzi and lose to power Northwestern.  With Stanzi out, I am afraid the Hawks will lose this week to Ohio State.  Big Game Bob Stoops loses 10-3 to Nebraska.  The old Sooners under Stoops used to score more than three points before the anthem had ended.  The great Joe Paterno (many of you think Joe is too old to get it done) his Lions lost to Ohio State.  Then there is new head coach Chip Kelly that was headed for the genius status after pasting USC, the Ducks lost to power house Stanford.  Stanford had not been bowl eligible since 2001.  The Sports Dr. loudly proclaimed last week that Oregon could play with any team in the country.  Sports Dr., they can play with any team except a team from a conference that is not part of the BCS and another team whose mascot is a menacing tree!  The Pac 10
has many good teams but no BCS quality team this year.  They will probably do well overall in bowl games but there is not standout team.  So good luck to the aforementioned coaches in the what have you done for us lately world of college football.

What a job Jim Harbaugh is doing at Stanford.  His first head coaching job at San Diego University he went 29-6.  You have to love his attitude and enthusiasm.  Did you know he went to Palo Alto High School?  Some more facts about Harbaugh I was not aware of.  He played 15 years in the NFL and ranks 35th all time in completions, 39th in pass attempts and 48th in passing yardage.  His redshirt freshman quarterback Andrew Luck is the son of Oliver Luck.  Oliver Luck for those of us old enough to remember was a back up quarterback for the Houston Oilers.  His tailback is Toby Gerhart from Norco High School and last week rushed for a record 223 yards.  We will find out if they are for real this week as they play the Trojans.

Other games to watch for are undefeated TCU colliding with 8-1 Utah.  These teams are led by two great coaches in Gary Patterson and Kyle Whittingham.  Two more great coaches have their teams squaring off: Pat Hill of Fresno State and Chris Ault of Nevada.  I have great concern for Jahvid Best and his health and future.  Last point, I  said it earlier and I will say it again now.  When is the last time Charlie Weis was called a genius?