SportsNetUSA Blogs

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.

Prediction at start of season: New England wins division at 12-4

Prediction after Week 2: New England wins division at 11-5

Prediction at start of season: Pittsburgh wins division at 11-5

Prediction after Week 2: Pittsburgh wins division at 11-5

Prediction at start of season: Indianapolis wins division at 11-5

Prediction after Week 2: Indianapolis wins division at 10-6

Prediction at start of season: Chargers win division at 14-2

Prediction after Week 2: Chargers win division at 10-6

Prediction at start of season: New York wins division at 12-4.

Prediction after Week 2: New York wins division at 12-4.

Prediction at start of season: Bears win division at 11-5.

Prediction after Week 2: Bears win division at 11-5.

Prediction at start of season: Atlanta wins division at 11-5.

Prediction after Week 2: Atlanta wins division at 11-5.

Prediction at start of season: Arizona wins division at 9-7.

Prediction after Week 2: Arizona wins division at 9-7.

The above is what makes sports and sports broadcasting so much fun. The uncertain, the unknown, the-who-knows-what quality. Everyone knows the answer on a given day, but everyone gives the wrong answer on a given notice. Sports, much like politics, are not absolute; the best teams do not always win. The sure bet is not always the right answer, earlier this year the above was part of a blog by a bright young sports broadcaster , if he would have needed the above to get his college degree he might have to try again and again and again.

So many times on Friday Nite Mics we have heard THE Franchise, Title IX, Big E, Buddha of Babble or Pedal to the Metal say “three shows ago I said…” My goodness the other day I had Title IX say to me, “Who said Servite was going to win the state title?” Franchise, Big E put your hands down. Yes everyone in sports has those moments when words of wisdom coming pouring out of their mouth and for a second they seen brilliant.  After the Packers went 4 and 4, I told Phillip (a true Packer fan) that the Pack was going to win 5 in a row and get into the playoffs and look where they are now.

Boys was I brilliant or is that what sports is all about, the unknown. You see, I think that is why most people look at us sports guy/girl with a twinkle in their eye. Because we still are the little kid, we like to play, we like to watch others play, we like to win and we love it when the teams we root for win. Plus, we love the unpredictable atmosphere of sports even though we think we have all the answers and know all the outcomes.

Sports is just what it is suppose to be a game, not with a precursor that is attached to it saying: Team A will beat Team B on this date by this score.  So, have fun this coming year. Be like us and state your mind, make your bold choices and when you are right, do like the above group does and raise your hand. When you are wrong do like the above group does, point at your closest cohort and point at their team when they lose.

There are too many things in this world that are certain, and we all know what they are, and I think we dislike most of them. So have a ball, come join the world of uncertainty. Most of the time you are going to be right, but when you are wrong, you will hear it from Corey, Rahshaun, Erik, Ed, Randy, Mr. T, Steve, David, Nate, Andrew, Andrew and of course me, but that is what makes it so much fun. WELCOME 2010——from all of us at SportsNetUSA.net

The Tiger Woods meltdown, we all know how it started.  News bulletins stating he collided with a fire hydrant and a tree leaving his driveway after 2am.  One of my first thoughts was how do you do that with the front of your car?  Perhaps if your wife is running down the driveway swinging a driver at your SUV, trying to “rescue” you it could happen.  Shouldn’t she have picked a rescue hybrid wood?

I thought it was interesting that many fans initially dismissed the National Enquirer’s report of Tiger’s mistress.  They called the paper a rag, a toilet paper and other slurs.  However, once again the Enquirer (much as they were with the John Edwards affair) nailed one inches from the pin.  Then the dam broke loose.  It was two women, then three.  Then the Tiger infidelity story took the turn after 9, and got to 10.  Now it sounds as if his round of infidelity could be on the 13th. 

Those thoughts were crossing my mind when I stopped in the supermarket on the way home.  As I was going into the checkout line, I saw the cover of the latest National Enquirer.  It mentioned a love child and a sex tape.  This is something I was discussing with a colleague when the count was at ten women.  The nay Sayers may once again question the Enquirer, but what if they are right again?  What if Tiger Woods has fathered at least one child outside his marriage?

A new report from ESPN has a Canadian doctor busted for allegedly trying to smuggle HGH and another banned drug into the U.S.  The doctor has links to American athletes including Tiger Woods.  Does this mean Tiger buffed up using HGH?  No.  However it does lead me back to a report from the first day when he hit the hydrant.

There was a “report” from an unnamed source that Tiger had been taking powerful painkillers such as Vicodin at the time of the crash.  The fact was some law enforcement officers on the scene wanted Tiger’s blood tested.  It didn’t happen.  Prosecutors felt there wasn’t enough evidence. 

I think this points to something new in the saga.  Has Tiger Woods really ever recovered from his knee surgery?  Is he still taking powerful prescription painkillers to deal with the pain?  Even worse would be if Tiger has come to rely on them just to be able to compete on the tour. 

His marital affairs are separate from Tiger Woods’ triumphs on the golf course.  They shouldn’t affect his standing on the PGA Tour or his place in golf history.  However, the specter of drugs, whether legal prescription or illegal performance enhancing ones will probably be scrutinized.  Hopefully for the PGA, the fans and the game of golf, Tiger is clean.  If not, then we may see the total unraveling of a legend.  SportsNetUSA.net’s Mark Pavlovich said long ago that Tiger Woods would not beat the record for most career major championships held by Jack Nicklaus.  And just like that story of Tiger’s mistress in the National Enquirer, many people scoffed.  We may all owe Mark an apology.

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.

Hero, model, conqueror, victorious general, prize athlete, master, warrior, man of courage, great man, a man among men, man of the hour, popular figure, martyr, saint, man of courage, man of character, champion…

It seems that nowadays, we as fans put too much faith and stock in our athletic heroes of today and the past. We the fan, no matter how old we are, look at athletes as if they should walk on water, heal the sick and win every weekend. We wear their jerseys, the brand of clothes and shoes they endorse, their sports drinks and in some cases, we name our children after them. We cheer for them in ever contest they are involved in and we curse them under our breaths when they lose, as if they lost just to get even with us. There are even fans that refer to a sports hero’s victories as ours, or respond to the teams their heroes may be on as we. For some reason we forget that they owe us nothing more than a great show and we owe them even less, absolutely nothing.

We have argued the responsibility of the athlete, actor, pitch person, minister for numerous hours on FRIDAY NIGHT MICS on SportsNetUSA.net, but we never seemed able to get everyone at the table to agree about responsibility and its connection to money. Or responsibility and its connection to fame.  Or reponsibility and it connection to a career that is publicly oriented. We have argued every sport imaginable and talked about every level of athlete that exists. We have talked about the racist days of Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth, the drug days of baseball in the past, present, and maybe future, we have talked major college scandals that involve coaches and athletes, point shaving in basketball and infidelity in all sports. But at the end of the day, it seems that Title IX, The Franchise, Big E, Pedal to the Metal, Stick boy, Radio Ex and the Buddha of Babble cannot agree on the obligation of the athlete as it relates to responsibility vs fame.

So maybe we the fan should wipe the sleep out of our eyes, clean up the empty bottles and put away the half eaten boxes of pizza and reexamine our thoughts when we look at our so-called sports heroes. Maybe we should count on both our hands and feet how many times WE the FANS have let our families, friends, and co-workers down when we did not live up to our responsibilities.  We all have done things wrong in our lives, for some of us they are enormous, for others of us they are not even worth being mentioned, but they were all WRONGS.

Am I saying we shouldn’t follow our heroes and their lives? No. Am I saying that we can’t see their missteps like ours in life and go, wow? No. But do not forget they are us. Yes, I know someone is starting to get hot and is getting ready to write back and tell me that they do not make their kind of money. Or they do not have the notoriety that they have as named people. But remember, that person worked to get where they are, they used the tools in life they were given, they took advantage of the opportunities that were offered them and they understood how to play the game in life and on the field. Do not be mad at them because of that, they were just better at it than us, and remember that somewhere, somehow, they were like us.  They wake up, they do their thing, they go to sleep and the next day they do it again, just like us. OH yes, and they make mistakes JUST LIKE US.

I did not watch the entire Patriots-Saints match up but I did see enough.  I saw enough to know that the Patriots dynasty as we have come to know it can be closed.  New England will probably make the playoffs this year but they will not win the Super Bowl and the aura has dimmed.  Bill Belichick is a great coach but it is no longer a given he is the best coach on the field.  I do not understand how the negatives never seem to stick to this coach and this team.  The NFL caught them cheating and fined for it.  Were they called cheaters?  No, most people I know shrugged and said, well all teams do that.  Really?  All teams secretly record the other teams and the NFL only picks out the marquee team to fine?  Sorry, I never bought that. 

The year the Colts won the Super Bowl they actually trailed the Patriots 21-6 at halftime before rallying to win.  Were the Patriots charged with being a team that could not close the deal?  Most people I know said well you can’t win them all.  The Patriots go undefeated and go to the Super Bowl against the Giants.  The Patriots are huge favorites against a Giants team that rallied to make the playoffs.  The so-called greatest quarterback and the best offense ever scores fourteen points and lose.  Did people then call the Patriots chokers?  No, it became more about the Giants winning than it was about the Patriots choking.  This coach and his team are like Teflon; nothing bad sticks to them.  I even heard before the Saints game that Brady was back to being Brady.  I heard that the genius Belichick would scheme and stop the Saints dead.  The Saints pounded them 38-17 and outplayed the Patriots in all aspects.  Now I hear that the defensive genius Belichick does not trust his defense and now must gamble on offense.  If he is a genius why not just fix the defense?  Belichick is a great coach but hold the genius talk please.

During the undefeated season and before the Super Bowl loss, the word genius was in front of Bill Belichick’s name always.  Many pundits claimed he was the greatest coach in the history of the NFL.  Why is it that his first head coaching stint in Cleveland is never mentioned?  Bill was 36-44 with the Browns and had only one winning season there.  He followed Pete Carroll at New England and lost his first year before winning three Super Bowls.  The genius took the so-called best quarterback of all time in the sixth round.  It took an injury to Drew Bledsoe before Brady got to play and then Bill really became a genius.  I am not one of those old guys that think all the players and coaches back in my day were the best.  I believe that overall there is stronger coaching and better athletes today.  I do not think there is much of a point in comparing coaches and players of different generations.  That is like comparing apples to a cross of an  apple and an orange.  The cross may look like an apple but it is still something different. 

Is Bill better than Lombardi?  Vince took a down franchise and turned them into champions.  He won championships before there were Super Bowls.  Is he better than the winning-est coach in history, Don Shula?  Don had success with the Colts and then took an expansion franchise in the Dolphins.  He won Super Bowls and had an undefeated season.  Is he better than Landry, Walsh and Chuck Noll.  I am saying let’s not be prisoner of our times and label someone a genius or the best ever.  The same can be said for Tom Brady, the greatest ever?  Is he better than Elway, Starr, Staubach, Graham, Bradshaw and Montana?  You can go back even further to Sammy Baugh and Sid Luckman.  The game and the rules were so much different then.

Years ago the defenses were dominating the NFL.  Fans always want to see more offense so rules were changed to open up the game.  Lineman could use their hands and receivers could only be hit five yards off the line of scrimmage.  Who knows if Jerry Rice would have all of the receiving records if he could have been pounded all over the field.  Rice would have been great in any generation and that is my definition of great.  I believe great coaches and athletes would find a way to be great in any era.  However, ask Lynn Swann if he would have liked to played the Raiders under today’s rules.  Players like Jack Tatum, George Atkinson and Mel Blount used to be merciless in smacking guys around.

The Patriots demise is because of loss of talent. Here is a list of players that are gone:  Teddy Brushi from Roseville High School in Nor Cal, Willie McGinest from USC and Long Beach Poly, Jr Redmond from Carson High School in LA, Adam Vinatieri, Deion Branch, Troy Brown, Mike Vrabel, Richard Seymour, Ty Law, Corey Dillon, David Givens, Chritian Fauria and Rodney Harrison.  That is way too much talent to be without.  They have also lost talented assistant coaches.  Assistant coaches do not get enough credit.  Most fans overlook the impact assistants have on their teams.  Gone are Charlie Weis, Romeo Crennel, Eric Mangini and Josh McDaniels.  Tom Landry had on his staff at one point: Gene Stallings who won a National Championship at Alamba, Dan Reeves took two teams to the Super Bowl and Mike Ditka won one with the Bears.  Landry lost those three guys and the team began to slide.  The Patriots also lost their president of player personnel, Scott Pioli.  

Brady and Belichick may be able to rebuild but the odds are neither will win another Super Bowl.  So let’s call them very good, excellent and even great.  Spare me the title of genius or best of all time.  The Patriots as we knew them are over.

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.