Best Team to Watch In the Last 25 Years

The phrase they keep saying repeatedly about the BCS bowl rating system is "the computers can't see them play."

You and I can see them play. Oregon is the best team to watch that I have seen in soooo many years. I am saying 25 years, but I honestly cannot remember when I have seen a more intriguing team. I didn't say they were the best, just the most fun to watch. Also add unique to that description. The motion they run. On one play alone La Michael James went in motion and switched positions 4 different times before the snap. Their coach is like a mad scientist. He adjusts to what the other team gives and then its over. They score so fast that their defense is on the field a ton, so they tend to give up points. I have noticed in the second half, the defense does not give up many points and the offense turns the game into a rout. They are the point a minute Ducks and are must watch if you like exciting college football.

Someone brought up a good point. How do you prepare for this team. Every team I have seen them play was gassed by the second half. They are not the fastest, but the fastest tempo ever played for sure.

La Michael James is very fast but small. Don't let that fool you, he is really strong as well. He's another Texan, along with their quarterback, that got away from Mack Brown. They may be the most well coached offensive team in the past 25 years.

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My heart goes out to all involved at the tragic incident at Notre Dame this past week. It was one hellacious storm...it was even a problem flying around it as I had to do. I am not going to point any fingers because all parties feel extremely bad and I am sure they are second guessing themselves.

Not to sound like a broken record, but in a normal Notre Dame atmosphere, Tulsa is down 40 at the half. I am not a Notre Dame homer. I was when I grew up Catholic. I watched them routinely kill us when I was at Miami. We never said anything bad about it, we sort of expected the result. Where I drew the line was when Golden Domers said it was unfair when Miami did the same to them. The Irish throttled teams for years and when you have a talent laden team like Miami used to field, you can't tell your players to go half speed. That's a certain recipe for injury. They cancelled the Miami series, but recently re-signed a new series with the Irish. It's great to see this ferocious rivalry renewed. Now I sort of wish the Irish would be a power again. The world of college football is really much more intriguing when they are in the mix. Hopefully they figure it out sooner rather than later. Again, my condolences to all involved.

Notre Dame: Now those Were the Days

Long ago and far away many, many years ago, young men would get in their cars with their dads and listen to the golden voice of the Real Dan Patrick, the voice of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The Irish were on every radio station that mattered and if you didn't see the game, no problem. The Sunday after we could tune into Lindsey Nelson on the Notre Dame highlight show. Every week Walt Patulski or Jack Snow would beat almost all comers. Every year Ara Parseghian would sign a bumper crop of players...big strong boned kids from the Midwest up front, a killer QB and backs and receivers that could run over you or around you.

Last week All American Quarterback candidate Ricky Dobbs of the Naval Academy ran over under around and through the Irish. This would never have happened in the good old days. But now something else is happening.

• Most 18 year olds don't know of the Notre Dame Mystique.
• ND's admission department will not let in the marginal academic qualifier. Most of their competion does, even the good academic schools.
• Younger players are going down to Southern schools more than ever. Most of the talent is concentrated in a Sun Belt state. Dallas had 4 of the top ten Draft Choices in the NFL in 2009. The top 3 producers of talent for college and the NFL are Texas, Florida and California.

Brian Kelly has one great Track record everywhere he has coached. If he can get the players, the Irish will return. Because once upon a time if the head coach of the Irish came knocking on your door, you signed on the dotted line, no questions asked. Now, the youngster may not understand what Notre Dame has been all about. It's been a long time.

They're Out Of Here! Audios Yanks and Phils

Every Week during baseball season you tune in Espn and hear the announcers melodious voice "And this Sunday night from BEE-yooo-teee-fulll Fenway Park (Drumroll Please) Its the Yankees at the Red Sox." Like I would have never guessed right? What they should say is "Ladies and Gentlemen, let's see if they can buy another pennant...yes its the boys from the Bronx coming up to Beantown for some of the same old thing." These are the last teams I want to see...(in fact if I watch more than 2 innings of televised baseball I consider that labor). The Sox and Yanks are the last 2 teams I want to watch. And the beauty of this whole deal is that we have eliminated two of the most obnoxious fan bases in the world.
Now the TV boys on Madison Avenue hate this, but I think it's pretty cool. We get to see two teams that actually built themselves through drafted homegrown talent.
The Rangers are sort of interesting. They tried to go the Yankee route and went bankrupt doing it. Then they rebuilt through the draft.
They also have one of the most interesting stories in the last decade. Josh Hamilton. You would have movies about this guy if he played in the big Apple. He was hopelessly addicted to drugs. He had all the things that plague a drug addict...weight loss, loss of family and friends as well as a promising career. His talent level is amazing because after dropping out of the game he has made an exceptional comeback. He posted MVP numbers this year. So check out the series this year and get hip...and take that California trip.

Musings

Last time out I wrote they are dropping like flies. NFL Players who are sustaining tough injuries are all too common. Today a recently retired player from the NFL said that if the season is increased to 18 games, people would lose their lives and get even more time taken off their time here on the third stone from the sun.
These players have to bulk up in size more than ever. When they are done the smart/lucky ones drop the weight. Others keep on eating like they were when they played and their bodies balloon. That coupled with the collisions make for some real damage. Check out poor Earl Campbell . He can barely make it down the stairs. That's just sad.
A friend wrote the following. I hope he wasn't talking about me in the last few sentences. Check out our writer below.

Maybe the solution is to go back to leather helmets with no face masks.

I remember my dad telling me when I was in HS that he believed the increase in head injuries was actually due to the evolution of helmet design. When they went from leather and no face guards to plastic ones with cages, the head became a weapon. Kids used to be taught to tackle by sliding their head off to the side and letting their shoulder take brunt of the impact. By the time I was in high school, we were taught to lead with our heads and plant our face in their chests, and wrap up. The result was an increase in neck and head injuries. With leather helmets and no facemasks, you might see a rise in broken noses, but they will be more likely to think twice about leading with their head in a violent collision.

At least they are making spearing and helmet-to-helmet tackling illegal. But there is still the problem of QB’s as sitting ducks being drilled by 300-llb lineman onto their backs while their heads bounce off the artificial turf. Not much you can do about that. Ever look at Danny White’s eyes? Something not right there. And we had a classmate who got a severe concussion in HS who was never the same after that. And, sadly, there were other HS classmates who never changed . . . . but that’s for a different blog, eh?
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If you are looking for an article about a boxer you may never have heard of but will exemplify courage and get to your heart, click the story below by Jerry Crowe, a fantastic writer. Click to Page 2 when you are done with the first page of the article. Click below

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/mar/01/sports/la-sp-crowes-nest1-2010mar01

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Artis Gilmore is connected in many ways with a few of us. Click below for a great article on how he is being shafted for the basketball Hall of Fame. Again, Jerry Crowe picks up the human side really well. Click Below

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/mar/14/sports/la-sp-crowe-20100311