There are those who firmly believe the wave of political correctness washing across the NFL this season is the beginning of a long downbound train for the great game. It is fine and admirable for the league to place an emphasis on the diagnosis and treatment of concussions. And no one would argue about a drive toward safer game equipment, especially equipment that provides protection for the head and neck.
But by making hard hits a point of emphasis for game officials the League has planted the seeds for an erosion of its fan base. Tackling and blocking are physical acts intended to mimic violent physical contact. Coaches for years have emphasized that good football is analogous to hard hitting in tackling and blocking. Now some off-the-field types are telling the sport that it is too violent. Players are being penalized for "rough play." I actually heard a game official use those exact words.
Ed Reed, the Hall-of-Fame-bound safety of the Baltimore Ravens, has been the number one victim of the League crackdown. Today it was announced that Reed is being fined again, this time for a fourth quarter hit on Victor Cruz of the Giants. That play was so over-emphasized by highlight announcers that it became nauseating. First, you must understand that until the PC crowd got their foot in the door, that hit would have been perfectly legal and would have been shown on NFL films as an example of how hard the hitting is in the Good Ole NFL. Reed's intention was to hit Cruz hard enough to make him drop the ball, which he had gotten his hands on an instant before Reed made contact. It worked. Cruz could not hang on and the pass went incomplete. Then in came a very late flag and the Ravens were penalized. Now the penalty has been increased by adding a $55,000.00 fine to Reed's list of previous fines. The on-air announcers at first described the hit as hard and legal but then they remembered their league talking points and started mouthing that, oh yeah, his helmet did eventually hit Cruz and that made it illegal and you know, wasn't that an awful thing for Ed Reed to do.
Reed has once again been named to the Pro Bowl. He is such a dangerous and effective player that teams devise game plans around his presence. Two years ago he missed the first six games of the season due to injury and still lead the league in interceptions. Raven Coach John Harbaugh has to hold his breath, however, when Reed makes an interception because there is a 100% chance he will return the interception. Against the Red Skins he made a decisive interception in the endzone by leaping high in the air and catching the ball with both hands, then falling to the ground. Five yards deep in the endzone, flat on his back, Reed did not just lay there and take a well-earned touchback. instead, he jumped up, narrowly avoided being hit in the endzone and returned the ball out to the 25-yard-line. One of his favorite ploys is to lateral the ball to a teammate when he is about to be tackled. He has done it so often on interceptions that other defensive backs start trailing him on the returns, staying in position to take such a lateral. Once or twice this has resulted in a fumble that was recovered by the other team. Too bad; Reed won't stop doing it.
He is a great player. He has never been a dirty player. After putting the hit on Cruz he jumped to his feet and offered Cruz a hand to help him up. He always plays hurt. The NFL needs to stop gussying up to the PC crowd and remember who its fans are; i.e., who are the ones paying the bills. That would be the fans. Do you think there will be nearly as many of them if the game begins to resemble flag football?
Friday, December 28, 2012
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Winning Points
While this story might be, what, apocalyptic(?), it might be true and even if it isn't its funny and no harm can come of it. Emma Watson is the English Actress and Model who starred in all of the Harry Potter Movies. Not that it matters to this story, but she was amazing, actually growing up while playing the role without messing either up. In fact, she grew up without a hint of trouble while learning to be - and being - a superb actress. Anyway, she enrolled in and began attending Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. It's one of the Ivy League schools and an increasingly popular choice of the rich and famous. Among it's recent grads was John Kennedy, Jr., late son of the late President. She is said to be majoring in English and while she is on a "break" from the school, she has vowed to return for her senior year and graduate. In this story which takes place in an English class full of students, the Professor poses a question. Ms. Watson raises her hand and responds. The answer, apparently, is correct. At which point a fellow student exclaims, "Ten Points for Griffendor!" Ms. Watson is said to have been angered or embarrassed and stormed out.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
The GOP and the wimp factor
Everywhere you turn, some obscure or not-so-obscure member of the GOP (with the not-so-obscure racing to obscure status with amazing speed and dexterity) is "hinting" that "new revenue" will have to be part of any solution keeping the government from falling over the so-called fiscal cliff.
Tell me the name of an American member of Congress who is still adamantly opposing tax hikes. I know of one, Tim Huelskamp of Kansas. Huelskamp is angry about GOP members who are giving in during an economic meltdown that features a National Debt so large it is difficult to comprehend. Despite the humongous size of the debt, no meaningful cuts of current spending are even on the table and obama is gung-ho on spending billions more. Got that? obama wants to spend more. When the only thing that can save us is for obama to implement massive spending cuts, he is insisting on spending more. More spending. More. As the national debt skyrockets, obama says: spend more, lots more.
obama is a sinister man; the American Nero in-person. He tells this ridiculous and sinister story about the only way to save the American economy is to raise taxes on the top two percent of all money earners. And yet if you are paying even the slightest bit of attention, you will know that even if the government confiscated all of the top two percent's money it would not make even a slight dent in the national debt. It will solve nothing. What obama says is a joke and a diversion to his plan to spend more on entitlements. Entitlements for those who don't know, is welfare and other plans to give people who don't work more money. obama says it is government money, but the government, all but imbeciles know, is getting its money from you and me. obama wants to take money from the middleclass and give it to those making little. He says he isn't going to raise taxes on the middle class. But he absolutely is. He is calling attention to the idea of taxing the rich in order to pin the defense of the rich on the GOP. The GOP is too stupid and spineless to fight obama. No one, or hardly anyone, will tell obama to knock it off. No one says that taxing the rich isn't worth talking about because it won't begin to solve the problem. The only thing that solves the problem is massive spending cuts. obama won't do it. and no one will call him on it consistently and vigorously. obama is sinister and the gop is spineless. is it clear now?
Tell me the name of an American member of Congress who is still adamantly opposing tax hikes. I know of one, Tim Huelskamp of Kansas. Huelskamp is angry about GOP members who are giving in during an economic meltdown that features a National Debt so large it is difficult to comprehend. Despite the humongous size of the debt, no meaningful cuts of current spending are even on the table and obama is gung-ho on spending billions more. Got that? obama wants to spend more. When the only thing that can save us is for obama to implement massive spending cuts, he is insisting on spending more. More spending. More. As the national debt skyrockets, obama says: spend more, lots more.
obama is a sinister man; the American Nero in-person. He tells this ridiculous and sinister story about the only way to save the American economy is to raise taxes on the top two percent of all money earners. And yet if you are paying even the slightest bit of attention, you will know that even if the government confiscated all of the top two percent's money it would not make even a slight dent in the national debt. It will solve nothing. What obama says is a joke and a diversion to his plan to spend more on entitlements. Entitlements for those who don't know, is welfare and other plans to give people who don't work more money. obama says it is government money, but the government, all but imbeciles know, is getting its money from you and me. obama wants to take money from the middleclass and give it to those making little. He says he isn't going to raise taxes on the middle class. But he absolutely is. He is calling attention to the idea of taxing the rich in order to pin the defense of the rich on the GOP. The GOP is too stupid and spineless to fight obama. No one, or hardly anyone, will tell obama to knock it off. No one says that taxing the rich isn't worth talking about because it won't begin to solve the problem. The only thing that solves the problem is massive spending cuts. obama won't do it. and no one will call him on it consistently and vigorously. obama is sinister and the gop is spineless. is it clear now?
Monday, December 10, 2012
Where are the replacement refs when you need them? And a Great Coach is Noble in Defeat
Missing the Replacement Refs: By the time the so-called 'real' referees returned from their job action against the NFL in September, fans everywhere had had about enough of the screw-ups and blunders the replacements were making in virtually every game. The real refs got a brief reprieve and then got down to the ridiculous business of changing something that not only wasn't broke but was, in fact, wildly popular in its present form. With the "help" of the league office, we are witnessing the nitwit efforts to screw up a wonderful, highly competitive game that has evolved to an almost perfect form. Study the history of the game and you see the evolution in progress. Players today are equipped to reduce injury, and improvements in the equipment continue at a feverish pace. The development of the forward pass as an offensive weapon is amazing. In the early days of the game there was virtually no passing and most of the runs were right up the middle. One rule change - albeit a short-lived one - saw the entire field lined with horizontal and vertical lines. The vertical lines were parallel to the sidelines and about five yards apart. The purpose of this was to make runs of the middle illegal. When the ball was spotted before a play, the offense was prevented from running a play where the ball crossed the line of scrimmage within five yards of the spot.
Radical rule changes have been non-existent for sometime because the game was getting to a point where players and coaches had the perfect amount of latitude to prevail against another team if their plans and abilities permitted such a result. In other words, under the present scheme, the best team on any given Sunday ended up winning. But this is not necessarily true today as a wave of bleeding heartism sullies the game.
Former all-pro linebacker Stan White watched the replay again of the "helmet to helmet contact" against everybody's new darling of the gridiron, RG Griffin, III. The Ravens Paul Kruger was chasing Griffin in the Redskin backfield yesterday (December 8) as the rookie QB tried to throw. But it wasn't one of those funny chases where a big slow lineman chases a fleet QB. Kruger is big and fast and he had a plan. All-Pro lineman Haloti Ngata was moving fast into Griffin's path and Kruger elected to simply chase him right into Ngata's arms. It worked to perfection but the game ref wasn't about to chance Griffin getting injured, so he called a penalty on Ngata for helmet-to-helmet contact. Except there was no helmet-to-helmet contact. And the call was nothing short of pathetic. There is no more perfect description. It was called a bad call and a lousy call. But Stan White had the best comment. He said, "you can't play football like that." He wasn't referring to any of the players. He was referring to the referees and the idiots at league headquarters who are performing this lobotomy on the game. Everyweek you read that somebody is getting fined and suspended for rough play. Rough play? Good football is, by definition, rough play. But alas, politics has krept into the game via league headquarters. Shame is amply quantities should be dolled out to all at fault. There is plenty to go around. Last week we read that some genius wants to do away with kickoffs all together. Instead, the team that just scored will be awarded the ball on their own 30 yard line and it will be fourth down and fifteen yards to go for a first down. Going for it in that scenario is equivalent to an onside kick in this genius' mind. The reason for this new change in the game is because there are too many injuries on kickoffs, or so they say. (Who is "they?") On the play with Griffin, he threw the ball away an instant before he ran into Ngata and was penalized for intentional grounding. But the call against Ngata offset the call on Griffin and the Redskins got the down over. On that play they made a first down and went on to score in a game they eventually won in overtime. The refs weren't finished. In the fourth quarter, with the Ravens up by a single point, Joe Flacco directed a wonderful drive for a go-ahead touchdown. The big play was a breathtaking catch and run by the Ravens' wonderful receiver, Anquan Bouldin. Flacco spotted Boldin on a down and out about seven yards past the line, and threw a perfect pass against tight coverage. Boldin caught the ball on the run and then literally carried a Redskin defensive back twenty yards down the sideline. From the place where Boldin was finally forced out of bounds - near the 7 yard line - Ray Rice slashed through a narrow opening for a touchdown which, after Justin Tucker's conversion kick, put the Ravens up eight points with just over four minutes left. The refs got into the act on the ensuing kickoff, and on that play they set the table for the Redskins victory. Ravens rookie LB Courtney Upshaw laid a monster tackle on the Redskin's kick returner as he got near the 20 yard line. The ball popped out some three yards from the sideline and a very alert Raven, David Reed, pounced on the ball. Reed was sliding slowly toward the sideline as he made his recovery. But his arms were wrapped around the ball and the ball never came loose from his grip. Reed was adjusting his hands and arms to improve his hold, but there was never even one split second where Reed didn't have total control of the ball. A game official could not have been better positioned to make his call. He was one yard out of bounds and crouched down during Reed's entire effort. What's more, he was only three or four feet away from the ball during the entire process. When he signaled Ravens' ball, first and ten, no one near the play was surprised in the least. Joe Flacco and Anquan Boldin were already back on the field within two or three seconds of the call.
The rule on video reviews may as well not be on the books, because the fine folk at the Redskin park yesterday completely ignored it. The rule says that the call on the field is presumed to be correct and only irrefutable video evidence can overrule it. The official making the call was in such perfect position that he had to have had a better look at the play than any sideline camera. You make a fool out of a game official if you overrule him on such a call. But that is exactly what they did. The lads on the TV didn't even mention this. Nor did they mention that the call is presumed correct. Nor did any of them explain that controlling a fumble is not the same as catching a pass. Reed did not have to have his hands under the ball and he did not have to keep the ball off the ground. All that he had to do was "control" the ball before it went out. He clearly clearly clearly did that. But, of course, were such a call to stand, the wonderful and talented RG Griffin III would've suffered a heartbreaking loss. And the league has had about enough of that. You know?
Cirovski Stands Out Even in Defeat: Few will question the assessment that Sasho Cirovski is one of the best, if not the best soccer coach in the NCAA. His University of Maryland teams are perennially at or near the top of the college soccer world. This year was no exception. The College Cup - the name given the NCAA Division I Final Four - again included the Terps. Except this year, somebody beat Maryland in the semi-final Friday night. That team was Georgetown, a cross-town rival for all of Maryland's teams. In soccer, however, Maryland has owned the Hoyas. Until Friday, Maryland's all-time record against Georgetown was 28-0.
Swish that one around. When all was said and done, after 90 minutes of regulation and two overtime stanzas, and then after a heart-stopping penalty kick session, the Hoyas emerged victorious. {Technically, the game is recorded as a tie with Georgetown advancing in the tournament by penalty kicks. It's a nice touch and a concession to soccer fans who abhor a game being decided by a technique that has no resemblance to ebb and flow of a soccer game.)
If the all-time series record were all you knew about the Friday night match-up, what you witnessed Friday night would have stunned you. The game between 20-1-2 Maryland and 19-2-2 Georgetown was one of the great college soccer games of all time. The upstart Hoyas proved their gaudy record was no fluke as they broke on top of the young and powerful Terps, 3-1 and then 4-2, the latter lead lasting until only 17 of the regulation game's 90 minutes remained. Even worse for Maryland, Schillo Tshuma, their magnificent freshman striker, was gassed. He had scored both of Maryland's goals to that point, but he would score no more from the bench. Georgetown's Steve Neumann scored three goals in addition to converting one of the Hoyas penalty kicks in the decisive final session. The game and the entire College Cup was played in Hoover, Alabama for the second-straight year. Some have questioned why the NCAA has picked a venue in an area of the country that is not exactly soccer crazy. But the facility itself is perfect for soccer and the chances of getting good weather this far south are excellent.
That the two teams would match up well was not really a surprise. All season long both Maryland and Georgetown dominated their opponents. Friday night, they were both intent on dominating again. The raced back and forth through the midfield like a rocket ship in a hurry. Maryland's intricate passing game results in shots on goal that are bunched together. For a defense and keeper trying to defend them, it must seem like an attack by dozens of rockets fired simultaneously. You would think, also, that with a result like this one that the defenses and keepers had bad games. They did not. Maryland's All-American center defender, London Woodberry, was superb. Georgetown's keeper, Tomas Gomez, made a number of wonderful saves as Maryland pressed hard for the win after drawing even on Freshman Christiano Francois valiant effort in the final ten minutes. In fact, Gomez literally saved the game in the second overtime after a disastrous error on an attempted clear by a defender almost resulted in a goal for Maryland. On the play Maryland was again on a serious attack and a Hoya back managed to get a foot on the ball right in front of the goal. But he powerful clearing effort instead caught another defender square in the face and the ball trickled across the goal mouth where Maryland All-American Striker Patrick Mullins - who had already scored one goal - quickly moved to shoot it in. Gomez had no time to think and few options. He moved quickly also, but not to the ball. He moved to Mullins and knocked him down, apparently deciding that a penalty kick was preferable to a point-blank shot from one of the best scorer's in college soccer. To the horror of Mullins and his coach, no call was made against Gomez. Prone on the ground, the gritty Mullins managed nonetheless to get a shot off, but the ball rolled wide.
In the penalty kick session, Maryland moved into the lead, 2-1 and 3-2 after Terp Keeper Keith Cardona made a save on Georgetown's second kick. Maryland made all three of its first kicks. John Stertzer, London Woodberry and Patrick Mullins all had relatively easy times of it. But Gomez pulled himself together and saved both of Maryland's final two efforts. After the second he sprinted the length of the field with his team in hot pursuit. Even Maryland fans had to appreciate the pure joy of the sight. And even a seasoned coach like Cirovski was absolutely impressed by the pure athletic beauty of what he had witnessed. His remarks evidenced that and showed, at the same time, why his approach and perspective are so credibly noble. The Maryland Coach said:
"In today's game you see the absolute beauty of this game and you see the cruelty. I know many coaches have said that, but that's the absolute truth. Today was an incredibly beautiful game. This was a game that people will be talking about twenty, thirty years from now as one of the greatest College Cup games ever. I've been around for 25-plus years and never seen anything close to it."
Radical rule changes have been non-existent for sometime because the game was getting to a point where players and coaches had the perfect amount of latitude to prevail against another team if their plans and abilities permitted such a result. In other words, under the present scheme, the best team on any given Sunday ended up winning. But this is not necessarily true today as a wave of bleeding heartism sullies the game.
Former all-pro linebacker Stan White watched the replay again of the "helmet to helmet contact" against everybody's new darling of the gridiron, RG Griffin, III. The Ravens Paul Kruger was chasing Griffin in the Redskin backfield yesterday (December 8) as the rookie QB tried to throw. But it wasn't one of those funny chases where a big slow lineman chases a fleet QB. Kruger is big and fast and he had a plan. All-Pro lineman Haloti Ngata was moving fast into Griffin's path and Kruger elected to simply chase him right into Ngata's arms. It worked to perfection but the game ref wasn't about to chance Griffin getting injured, so he called a penalty on Ngata for helmet-to-helmet contact. Except there was no helmet-to-helmet contact. And the call was nothing short of pathetic. There is no more perfect description. It was called a bad call and a lousy call. But Stan White had the best comment. He said, "you can't play football like that." He wasn't referring to any of the players. He was referring to the referees and the idiots at league headquarters who are performing this lobotomy on the game. Everyweek you read that somebody is getting fined and suspended for rough play. Rough play? Good football is, by definition, rough play. But alas, politics has krept into the game via league headquarters. Shame is amply quantities should be dolled out to all at fault. There is plenty to go around. Last week we read that some genius wants to do away with kickoffs all together. Instead, the team that just scored will be awarded the ball on their own 30 yard line and it will be fourth down and fifteen yards to go for a first down. Going for it in that scenario is equivalent to an onside kick in this genius' mind. The reason for this new change in the game is because there are too many injuries on kickoffs, or so they say. (Who is "they?") On the play with Griffin, he threw the ball away an instant before he ran into Ngata and was penalized for intentional grounding. But the call against Ngata offset the call on Griffin and the Redskins got the down over. On that play they made a first down and went on to score in a game they eventually won in overtime. The refs weren't finished. In the fourth quarter, with the Ravens up by a single point, Joe Flacco directed a wonderful drive for a go-ahead touchdown. The big play was a breathtaking catch and run by the Ravens' wonderful receiver, Anquan Bouldin. Flacco spotted Boldin on a down and out about seven yards past the line, and threw a perfect pass against tight coverage. Boldin caught the ball on the run and then literally carried a Redskin defensive back twenty yards down the sideline. From the place where Boldin was finally forced out of bounds - near the 7 yard line - Ray Rice slashed through a narrow opening for a touchdown which, after Justin Tucker's conversion kick, put the Ravens up eight points with just over four minutes left. The refs got into the act on the ensuing kickoff, and on that play they set the table for the Redskins victory. Ravens rookie LB Courtney Upshaw laid a monster tackle on the Redskin's kick returner as he got near the 20 yard line. The ball popped out some three yards from the sideline and a very alert Raven, David Reed, pounced on the ball. Reed was sliding slowly toward the sideline as he made his recovery. But his arms were wrapped around the ball and the ball never came loose from his grip. Reed was adjusting his hands and arms to improve his hold, but there was never even one split second where Reed didn't have total control of the ball. A game official could not have been better positioned to make his call. He was one yard out of bounds and crouched down during Reed's entire effort. What's more, he was only three or four feet away from the ball during the entire process. When he signaled Ravens' ball, first and ten, no one near the play was surprised in the least. Joe Flacco and Anquan Boldin were already back on the field within two or three seconds of the call.
The rule on video reviews may as well not be on the books, because the fine folk at the Redskin park yesterday completely ignored it. The rule says that the call on the field is presumed to be correct and only irrefutable video evidence can overrule it. The official making the call was in such perfect position that he had to have had a better look at the play than any sideline camera. You make a fool out of a game official if you overrule him on such a call. But that is exactly what they did. The lads on the TV didn't even mention this. Nor did they mention that the call is presumed correct. Nor did any of them explain that controlling a fumble is not the same as catching a pass. Reed did not have to have his hands under the ball and he did not have to keep the ball off the ground. All that he had to do was "control" the ball before it went out. He clearly clearly clearly did that. But, of course, were such a call to stand, the wonderful and talented RG Griffin III would've suffered a heartbreaking loss. And the league has had about enough of that. You know?
Cirovski Stands Out Even in Defeat: Few will question the assessment that Sasho Cirovski is one of the best, if not the best soccer coach in the NCAA. His University of Maryland teams are perennially at or near the top of the college soccer world. This year was no exception. The College Cup - the name given the NCAA Division I Final Four - again included the Terps. Except this year, somebody beat Maryland in the semi-final Friday night. That team was Georgetown, a cross-town rival for all of Maryland's teams. In soccer, however, Maryland has owned the Hoyas. Until Friday, Maryland's all-time record against Georgetown was 28-0.
Swish that one around. When all was said and done, after 90 minutes of regulation and two overtime stanzas, and then after a heart-stopping penalty kick session, the Hoyas emerged victorious. {Technically, the game is recorded as a tie with Georgetown advancing in the tournament by penalty kicks. It's a nice touch and a concession to soccer fans who abhor a game being decided by a technique that has no resemblance to ebb and flow of a soccer game.)
If the all-time series record were all you knew about the Friday night match-up, what you witnessed Friday night would have stunned you. The game between 20-1-2 Maryland and 19-2-2 Georgetown was one of the great college soccer games of all time. The upstart Hoyas proved their gaudy record was no fluke as they broke on top of the young and powerful Terps, 3-1 and then 4-2, the latter lead lasting until only 17 of the regulation game's 90 minutes remained. Even worse for Maryland, Schillo Tshuma, their magnificent freshman striker, was gassed. He had scored both of Maryland's goals to that point, but he would score no more from the bench. Georgetown's Steve Neumann scored three goals in addition to converting one of the Hoyas penalty kicks in the decisive final session. The game and the entire College Cup was played in Hoover, Alabama for the second-straight year. Some have questioned why the NCAA has picked a venue in an area of the country that is not exactly soccer crazy. But the facility itself is perfect for soccer and the chances of getting good weather this far south are excellent.
That the two teams would match up well was not really a surprise. All season long both Maryland and Georgetown dominated their opponents. Friday night, they were both intent on dominating again. The raced back and forth through the midfield like a rocket ship in a hurry. Maryland's intricate passing game results in shots on goal that are bunched together. For a defense and keeper trying to defend them, it must seem like an attack by dozens of rockets fired simultaneously. You would think, also, that with a result like this one that the defenses and keepers had bad games. They did not. Maryland's All-American center defender, London Woodberry, was superb. Georgetown's keeper, Tomas Gomez, made a number of wonderful saves as Maryland pressed hard for the win after drawing even on Freshman Christiano Francois valiant effort in the final ten minutes. In fact, Gomez literally saved the game in the second overtime after a disastrous error on an attempted clear by a defender almost resulted in a goal for Maryland. On the play Maryland was again on a serious attack and a Hoya back managed to get a foot on the ball right in front of the goal. But he powerful clearing effort instead caught another defender square in the face and the ball trickled across the goal mouth where Maryland All-American Striker Patrick Mullins - who had already scored one goal - quickly moved to shoot it in. Gomez had no time to think and few options. He moved quickly also, but not to the ball. He moved to Mullins and knocked him down, apparently deciding that a penalty kick was preferable to a point-blank shot from one of the best scorer's in college soccer. To the horror of Mullins and his coach, no call was made against Gomez. Prone on the ground, the gritty Mullins managed nonetheless to get a shot off, but the ball rolled wide.
In the penalty kick session, Maryland moved into the lead, 2-1 and 3-2 after Terp Keeper Keith Cardona made a save on Georgetown's second kick. Maryland made all three of its first kicks. John Stertzer, London Woodberry and Patrick Mullins all had relatively easy times of it. But Gomez pulled himself together and saved both of Maryland's final two efforts. After the second he sprinted the length of the field with his team in hot pursuit. Even Maryland fans had to appreciate the pure joy of the sight. And even a seasoned coach like Cirovski was absolutely impressed by the pure athletic beauty of what he had witnessed. His remarks evidenced that and showed, at the same time, why his approach and perspective are so credibly noble. The Maryland Coach said:
"In today's game you see the absolute beauty of this game and you see the cruelty. I know many coaches have said that, but that's the absolute truth. Today was an incredibly beautiful game. This was a game that people will be talking about twenty, thirty years from now as one of the greatest College Cup games ever. I've been around for 25-plus years and never seen anything close to it."
Thursday, December 6, 2012
On we go: Ben Over-Rated-Berger back in practice and the American Nero ruining a great nation
The national sports media raced to western Pennsylvania this week to document Ben Over-Rated-Berger's return to practice. He dodged the Ravens and the inevitable reinjury so he could return as a champ this week when the home team plays the inept Chargers and their so-to-be ex-coach Norv Turner.
In Washington, meanwhile, the newly re-elected American Nero; i.e., obama, was back at work using backhanded negotiation tactics and other lowbrow plans to gut the America that led the economic way for over a century and leave it little more than a third world nation. (Remember: tens of thousands of Americans fought and died to preserve our nation as it was: freedom for all, freedom from oppression and unnecessary government intrusion into our lives, freedom of speech and association, all of that. Now, obama, who is openly warm to Marxists - whom thousands upon thousands died to keep out of America - and islamic jihadists, who have been in open warfare with the west for a milenium, are, in obama's world, america's first friends, while allies who have stood with us through thick and thin are openly trashed. First to go under the new Nero-like plan the American Nero is espousing is the American Military. Once over the fiscal cliff - and this is where he was taking America all along - the military will be hit with a massive funding cut that will cause great losses of active troops, weapons and weapons development, and enlistments. The Military Academies will also be gutted soon enough and who'd be trying to get into one under obama anyway?
Radio hosts like Mr. Limbaugh and Mr. Levin are spouting the cold and quite miserable reality of four more years under this sinister man. Massive tax increases for the middle class. Massive military budget cuts - because we are not threatened by those fine Muslims. (How many centuries have Christian countries been threatened, plundered and pillaged by Muslim-controlled nations? Am I allowed to even ask that question? Well, I just did. What's the answer? How long have there been Muslims?)
obama won re-election by convincing a majority of Americans, almost all of whom receive public benefits, that the life they now have would only be continued if he were re-elected. He formed this majority by telling voters that his opponent was only interested in helping rich people and cared little for the average American. The fact that these were all lies had no impact on the national press, which supported him without question and without vetting his radical and demagogic background. obama appointed a cabinet of those who did not merely ignore American traditions like freedom and the right to improve one's lot in life, but actually were hostile to it. Many of those top obama officials are openly Marxist
In Washington, meanwhile, the newly re-elected American Nero; i.e., obama, was back at work using backhanded negotiation tactics and other lowbrow plans to gut the America that led the economic way for over a century and leave it little more than a third world nation. (Remember: tens of thousands of Americans fought and died to preserve our nation as it was: freedom for all, freedom from oppression and unnecessary government intrusion into our lives, freedom of speech and association, all of that. Now, obama, who is openly warm to Marxists - whom thousands upon thousands died to keep out of America - and islamic jihadists, who have been in open warfare with the west for a milenium, are, in obama's world, america's first friends, while allies who have stood with us through thick and thin are openly trashed. First to go under the new Nero-like plan the American Nero is espousing is the American Military. Once over the fiscal cliff - and this is where he was taking America all along - the military will be hit with a massive funding cut that will cause great losses of active troops, weapons and weapons development, and enlistments. The Military Academies will also be gutted soon enough and who'd be trying to get into one under obama anyway?
Radio hosts like Mr. Limbaugh and Mr. Levin are spouting the cold and quite miserable reality of four more years under this sinister man. Massive tax increases for the middle class. Massive military budget cuts - because we are not threatened by those fine Muslims. (How many centuries have Christian countries been threatened, plundered and pillaged by Muslim-controlled nations? Am I allowed to even ask that question? Well, I just did. What's the answer? How long have there been Muslims?)
obama won re-election by convincing a majority of Americans, almost all of whom receive public benefits, that the life they now have would only be continued if he were re-elected. He formed this majority by telling voters that his opponent was only interested in helping rich people and cared little for the average American. The fact that these were all lies had no impact on the national press, which supported him without question and without vetting his radical and demagogic background. obama appointed a cabinet of those who did not merely ignore American traditions like freedom and the right to improve one's lot in life, but actually were hostile to it. Many of those top obama officials are openly Marxist
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Who to blame for Ravens loss to Steelers: if you're honest, it's the bloody referees, again
Game Officials toe the company line and get Pittsburgh undeserved win. In Baltimore Monday there was weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth because the Ravens lost to Pittsburgh. There is also a lot of finger-pointing. Some blame the defense. Some blame Cam Cameron, the offensive coordinator and play-caller. There are always a few who blame Joe Flacco, who shouldn't take it personally because in Baltimore there were those who blamed Johnny Unitas. For what? you ask. It didn't matter. Except when the Colts were the champs, it was somebody's fault.
As far as the Ravens-Steelers game Sunday, the blame should lay squarely on the shoulders of the game officials, who, doubtlessly having heard talking points about how well the Steelers draw on national TV and how a win yesterday and then getting Ben Over-Rateds-Berger back next week and wow what a story line.
Three things jump out at you about the way the game was called and wasn't called, and all three favored the Steelers. First, in the NFL, when Ray Rice or Maurice Jones-Drew run into the line then bounce out and go around the pack, it is what you call great athleticism and great quickness. When the Steelers' hulking Jonathan Dwyer does it time after time, what are you witnessing is wholesale holding by the offensive line. Why so? Simple. Dwyer runs into the line but there is no hole. Yet he can step back with care and saunter around the pack. By comparison, of course. But don't take my word for it, watch the replays. You'll see Ngata's arms pinned to his sides and you'll see him in a bear hug. Yet not one holding call yesterday on the runs by Dwyer or slow Charlie Batch in the pocket. Not one. Well it was just a great performance by this unduly criticized line. Sure it was. This is why the offensive holding call on an offensive linemen is pro football's tribute to pro wrestling. And those pro wrestler's are great athletes too. Especially when those gritty steelers need the win. They're so tough!
Let's look at the call on Paul Kruger. Awful. And really, embarassing. Phil Simms is the best color man on TV and this is because he won't follow the company line, preferring instead to tell the truth. Such a novel idea; maybe he could give a seminar for the lads and lassies at the New York Times. When Simms saw the replay of the call on Kruger he nearly swallowed his tongue. How many times was Flacco knocked down yesterday? And not just knocked down: he was thrown down on at least two occassions. By thrown I mean grabbed around the waist and whipped down. But it was right after he threw the ball. Sure it was. Again, watch the replay with your timer. Make a count of the seconds between Flacco's passes and his being hit and knocked down. Then time the space between Slow Charlie's pass and Kruger's love tap. You say there is more time on the hits on Flacco? Shocking! The Steelers could not have won without that extra fifteen yards on the last drive. Doesn't that answer your question. Oh and the FG would've been good from 57? For you lads at league headquarters, that is 42 (distance of winning FG) plus 15 (penalty yards assessed on Kruger).
This is the third time the Ravens have lost a game directly because game officials called a late hit that wasn't even close to being a late hit. And what ever happened to the absolute duty of game officials to avoid winning or losing games for a team in the final minutes? Sunday's boneheaded call lead directly to the wrong team winning. And by wrong team, I don't mean the Steelers as opposed to the Ravens. Say what you want, but the Ravens outplayed and outscored the Steelers for most of the game and still lost because the league office sent some talking points to the refs. (And don't you dare tell me that this doesn't happen.) Not one Steelers drive was halted because of a holding call. In fact, holding against the Steelers wasn't called, period. I suppose they just stopped holding. Right. And Flacco was knocked down how many times? And not one was just a bit late, like the one Kruger did. And after Kruger flung Batch down early in the game (he took the drama of the call away from the refs on that first quarter play by doing it when Batch still had the ball), he forgot how to rush an old warrior like Charlie Batch, so the Steelers didn't have to hold him. And, of course, all those times Dwyer ran into a road block at the line of scrimmage, not one Raven defender could reach out to grab him as he taried at the road block. Not a speed demon like Dwyer. No siree, he just out-quicked Ngata and Kruger and Suggs, because he is just that quick, quick as a turtle, that is. Right. If you watched the game on CBS you saw a closeup of Mike Tomlin in the first half berating a game official for what Tomlin called, over and over again, a "bad call." That call was pass interference, and while it was correct, it was close. There were no more such "bad calls" on the steelers, even though replays caught several that were not called. I know I wasn't the only one who saw Dennis Pitta being held on the play when Flacco was intercepted. On another occasion Tandon Doss was held, flagrantly, by his jersey, but didn't draw a call. Tomlin's derisive shouts, league talkling points, and common sense left at the airport and by gollie we have a race in the AFC North.
Valparaiso Anchors Under-the-Radar Tough Horizon League: Even as Maryland's resurgent basketball team begins corralling votes in the Top 25 Coach's Poll, enough so that if the poll were extended to a top 40, the Terps would be No. 40, there is a growing feeling that a relatively obscure league in the midwest, made even more obscure by the defection of their most prominent member, might be the best kept secret in all of college basketball.
The league we refer to is the Horizon. The defector is Butler, already back in the headlines with their stunning upset of previously undefeated North Carolina and their tough loss to Big Ten Power Illinois one night later in the prestigious Maui Invitational. The Bulldogs were in the Horizon last season, where they struggled to finish in the middle of the pack. Everyone knows that in the two seasons before that the Bulldogs played in the National Championship Game. The Bulldogs have had far more success over the last three seasons playing in the NCAA Championship Tournament than playing in the Horizon League. The teams left behind in the Horizon saw to that. Now, Butler says they have matriculated to the Atlantic 10 to play against the likes of Dayton, St. Josephs, LaSalle and George Washington.
Those "left behind" teams are the likes of Valparaiso, Northern Iowa, Cleveland State, Green Bay, Milwaukee and, of course, Detroit. It was Detroit that won the Horizon last season, coming from behind to beat Regular Season Champ Valparaiso when the Crusaders best player - and the Horizon League Player of the Year - was badly injured in the first half.
That player, Australian native Steve Broekhoff, sprained his ankle near the completion of a strong first half, a half that saw Valparaiso in front, which wasn't a surprise since Valpo had alread whacked the Titans twice before that game. Tough as nails, Broekhoff played in the second half, and somehow scored 5 points, but was a shadow of his normal self. He had scored 19 points and snared 16 rebounds in the Crusaders semifinal win over Butler. He had 8 points at half-time against Detroit, but in the second half he could neither jump or cut on the ankle and was pounded on by the Titans' huge front line. Strange thing about Valpo: you will not find a word about that injury on their website. Game after game he put up double-double numbers - not just in the laughers, mind you - but in the big games against the big front lines. Yet the 13 point performance is not explained and the game story doesn't even mention the injury. If you didn't see it yourself, you won't know it happened. I saw it. They don't make excuses at Valpo. It's called character. Detroit beat the champs that day and took the Horizon's only NCAA bid. Valparaiso played in the NIT and took the ACC's Miami to the buzzer in Florida before losing in the first round. They only had six regular players available. Broekoff was one of them and he scored 18.
This season the Crusaders are again off and running with a 5-2 record, the only losses being a two=point nail-biter at Nebraska of the Big Ten, and a 62-49 loss today at St. Louis, playing the day after their coach died of heart disease.
{Majerus had resigned suddenly before the season, and while the reason wasn't made public, news began to circulate that it was a serious cardiac disorder. A month ago the school confirmed that the leave of absence was, in fact, permanent. Jim Crews, the top assistant, is coaching in the interim, and one would expect a quality guy like Crews, a former player and assistant coach for Bobby Knight at Indiana and former head coach at Army and Evansville, would stay on at least until the end of the season. One wonders why somebody like Crews was an assistant anywhere with his credentials. But if you had to be an assistant, being one for Rick Majerus would seem like the place to be. Last season, with Majerus running the show and Crews his tip assistant, the Bilikens were 26-8 and made it to the third round of the national tournament, including a second round win over Memphis.}
Valpo was only down four with 15:44 left and still within 8 with 3:22 left, but the height and defense of the Bilikens was too much on this emotional day. After a home game this week against IPFW, the Crusaders get to play in the snake pit at New Mexico, which broke the top 25 this week.
Maryland, meantime, beat back always tough George Mason, 69-62, in the one game that still makes up the old "BB&T" Classic at the Verizon Center in DC. Dez Wells poured in 25 to lead the Terps, and he got help from Nick Faust, with 14, and Alex Len with 12 and a huge inside game. The Terps should be in the top 25 but this isn't to say they will be. On Tuesday night they pummeled UMES, 100-68. Logan Aronhalt led the Terps with 17 points and Conner Lipinski hit two free throws in the final minute to break the century mark for the Terps, now 7-1.
Soccer's Final Four includes surging Maryland: It was fitting that Patrick Mullins scored the goal that assured Maryland of another appearance in College Soccer's Final Four. Late in the second half of a one-goal game, Mullins scored to put Maryland up 3-1 over Louisville. That was also the score at the end, and the Terps play cross-town rival Georgetown in the national semi-final at 5 pm on Friday in Hoover, Alabama, a game to be televised on ESPNU.
And Finally: A poll of journalists who cover the Atlantic 10 had Dayton finishing eighth. Don't bet on it. Tuesday night the Flyers went south to Tuscaloosa, Alabama to play the University of Alabama's powerful Crimson Tide. And Dayton took it to them. Don't be fooled by the closeness of the final score, 81-76, because the Flyers led by double digits for most of the second half before a storm of three point shots from the desperate Tide cut the lead to respectable portions at the end. Going in, the Tide's defense was hailed as the best in the nation and teams were scoring under 60 per game. Dayton showed the undependable nature of these early season stats by lighting up the Tide with great guard play and wonderful rebounding. Senior guard Kevin Dillard scored 25 points for the Flyers, and got lots of help from 6'9" Senior Forward Josh Benson, who had 21. This is the same Dayton team that held a decent Northern Illinois team to five first half points on December 1. That is the lowest number of points scored in a half since the NCAA started using a shot clock, and the fewest number of points ever allowed in a half by a Dayton team in the "modern era," that is, since 1917. Overall the Flyers are 6-2, and they play an incredible schedule, with very few, if any, patsies.
As far as the Ravens-Steelers game Sunday, the blame should lay squarely on the shoulders of the game officials, who, doubtlessly having heard talking points about how well the Steelers draw on national TV and how a win yesterday and then getting Ben Over-Rateds-Berger back next week and wow what a story line.
Three things jump out at you about the way the game was called and wasn't called, and all three favored the Steelers. First, in the NFL, when Ray Rice or Maurice Jones-Drew run into the line then bounce out and go around the pack, it is what you call great athleticism and great quickness. When the Steelers' hulking Jonathan Dwyer does it time after time, what are you witnessing is wholesale holding by the offensive line. Why so? Simple. Dwyer runs into the line but there is no hole. Yet he can step back with care and saunter around the pack. By comparison, of course. But don't take my word for it, watch the replays. You'll see Ngata's arms pinned to his sides and you'll see him in a bear hug. Yet not one holding call yesterday on the runs by Dwyer or slow Charlie Batch in the pocket. Not one. Well it was just a great performance by this unduly criticized line. Sure it was. This is why the offensive holding call on an offensive linemen is pro football's tribute to pro wrestling. And those pro wrestler's are great athletes too. Especially when those gritty steelers need the win. They're so tough!
Let's look at the call on Paul Kruger. Awful. And really, embarassing. Phil Simms is the best color man on TV and this is because he won't follow the company line, preferring instead to tell the truth. Such a novel idea; maybe he could give a seminar for the lads and lassies at the New York Times. When Simms saw the replay of the call on Kruger he nearly swallowed his tongue. How many times was Flacco knocked down yesterday? And not just knocked down: he was thrown down on at least two occassions. By thrown I mean grabbed around the waist and whipped down. But it was right after he threw the ball. Sure it was. Again, watch the replay with your timer. Make a count of the seconds between Flacco's passes and his being hit and knocked down. Then time the space between Slow Charlie's pass and Kruger's love tap. You say there is more time on the hits on Flacco? Shocking! The Steelers could not have won without that extra fifteen yards on the last drive. Doesn't that answer your question. Oh and the FG would've been good from 57? For you lads at league headquarters, that is 42 (distance of winning FG) plus 15 (penalty yards assessed on Kruger).
This is the third time the Ravens have lost a game directly because game officials called a late hit that wasn't even close to being a late hit. And what ever happened to the absolute duty of game officials to avoid winning or losing games for a team in the final minutes? Sunday's boneheaded call lead directly to the wrong team winning. And by wrong team, I don't mean the Steelers as opposed to the Ravens. Say what you want, but the Ravens outplayed and outscored the Steelers for most of the game and still lost because the league office sent some talking points to the refs. (And don't you dare tell me that this doesn't happen.) Not one Steelers drive was halted because of a holding call. In fact, holding against the Steelers wasn't called, period. I suppose they just stopped holding. Right. And Flacco was knocked down how many times? And not one was just a bit late, like the one Kruger did. And after Kruger flung Batch down early in the game (he took the drama of the call away from the refs on that first quarter play by doing it when Batch still had the ball), he forgot how to rush an old warrior like Charlie Batch, so the Steelers didn't have to hold him. And, of course, all those times Dwyer ran into a road block at the line of scrimmage, not one Raven defender could reach out to grab him as he taried at the road block. Not a speed demon like Dwyer. No siree, he just out-quicked Ngata and Kruger and Suggs, because he is just that quick, quick as a turtle, that is. Right. If you watched the game on CBS you saw a closeup of Mike Tomlin in the first half berating a game official for what Tomlin called, over and over again, a "bad call." That call was pass interference, and while it was correct, it was close. There were no more such "bad calls" on the steelers, even though replays caught several that were not called. I know I wasn't the only one who saw Dennis Pitta being held on the play when Flacco was intercepted. On another occasion Tandon Doss was held, flagrantly, by his jersey, but didn't draw a call. Tomlin's derisive shouts, league talkling points, and common sense left at the airport and by gollie we have a race in the AFC North.
Valparaiso Anchors Under-the-Radar Tough Horizon League: Even as Maryland's resurgent basketball team begins corralling votes in the Top 25 Coach's Poll, enough so that if the poll were extended to a top 40, the Terps would be No. 40, there is a growing feeling that a relatively obscure league in the midwest, made even more obscure by the defection of their most prominent member, might be the best kept secret in all of college basketball.
The league we refer to is the Horizon. The defector is Butler, already back in the headlines with their stunning upset of previously undefeated North Carolina and their tough loss to Big Ten Power Illinois one night later in the prestigious Maui Invitational. The Bulldogs were in the Horizon last season, where they struggled to finish in the middle of the pack. Everyone knows that in the two seasons before that the Bulldogs played in the National Championship Game. The Bulldogs have had far more success over the last three seasons playing in the NCAA Championship Tournament than playing in the Horizon League. The teams left behind in the Horizon saw to that. Now, Butler says they have matriculated to the Atlantic 10 to play against the likes of Dayton, St. Josephs, LaSalle and George Washington.
Those "left behind" teams are the likes of Valparaiso, Northern Iowa, Cleveland State, Green Bay, Milwaukee and, of course, Detroit. It was Detroit that won the Horizon last season, coming from behind to beat Regular Season Champ Valparaiso when the Crusaders best player - and the Horizon League Player of the Year - was badly injured in the first half.
That player, Australian native Steve Broekhoff, sprained his ankle near the completion of a strong first half, a half that saw Valparaiso in front, which wasn't a surprise since Valpo had alread whacked the Titans twice before that game. Tough as nails, Broekhoff played in the second half, and somehow scored 5 points, but was a shadow of his normal self. He had scored 19 points and snared 16 rebounds in the Crusaders semifinal win over Butler. He had 8 points at half-time against Detroit, but in the second half he could neither jump or cut on the ankle and was pounded on by the Titans' huge front line. Strange thing about Valpo: you will not find a word about that injury on their website. Game after game he put up double-double numbers - not just in the laughers, mind you - but in the big games against the big front lines. Yet the 13 point performance is not explained and the game story doesn't even mention the injury. If you didn't see it yourself, you won't know it happened. I saw it. They don't make excuses at Valpo. It's called character. Detroit beat the champs that day and took the Horizon's only NCAA bid. Valparaiso played in the NIT and took the ACC's Miami to the buzzer in Florida before losing in the first round. They only had six regular players available. Broekoff was one of them and he scored 18.
This season the Crusaders are again off and running with a 5-2 record, the only losses being a two=point nail-biter at Nebraska of the Big Ten, and a 62-49 loss today at St. Louis, playing the day after their coach died of heart disease.
{Majerus had resigned suddenly before the season, and while the reason wasn't made public, news began to circulate that it was a serious cardiac disorder. A month ago the school confirmed that the leave of absence was, in fact, permanent. Jim Crews, the top assistant, is coaching in the interim, and one would expect a quality guy like Crews, a former player and assistant coach for Bobby Knight at Indiana and former head coach at Army and Evansville, would stay on at least until the end of the season. One wonders why somebody like Crews was an assistant anywhere with his credentials. But if you had to be an assistant, being one for Rick Majerus would seem like the place to be. Last season, with Majerus running the show and Crews his tip assistant, the Bilikens were 26-8 and made it to the third round of the national tournament, including a second round win over Memphis.}
Valpo was only down four with 15:44 left and still within 8 with 3:22 left, but the height and defense of the Bilikens was too much on this emotional day. After a home game this week against IPFW, the Crusaders get to play in the snake pit at New Mexico, which broke the top 25 this week.
Maryland, meantime, beat back always tough George Mason, 69-62, in the one game that still makes up the old "BB&T" Classic at the Verizon Center in DC. Dez Wells poured in 25 to lead the Terps, and he got help from Nick Faust, with 14, and Alex Len with 12 and a huge inside game. The Terps should be in the top 25 but this isn't to say they will be. On Tuesday night they pummeled UMES, 100-68. Logan Aronhalt led the Terps with 17 points and Conner Lipinski hit two free throws in the final minute to break the century mark for the Terps, now 7-1.
Soccer's Final Four includes surging Maryland: It was fitting that Patrick Mullins scored the goal that assured Maryland of another appearance in College Soccer's Final Four. Late in the second half of a one-goal game, Mullins scored to put Maryland up 3-1 over Louisville. That was also the score at the end, and the Terps play cross-town rival Georgetown in the national semi-final at 5 pm on Friday in Hoover, Alabama, a game to be televised on ESPNU.
And Finally: A poll of journalists who cover the Atlantic 10 had Dayton finishing eighth. Don't bet on it. Tuesday night the Flyers went south to Tuscaloosa, Alabama to play the University of Alabama's powerful Crimson Tide. And Dayton took it to them. Don't be fooled by the closeness of the final score, 81-76, because the Flyers led by double digits for most of the second half before a storm of three point shots from the desperate Tide cut the lead to respectable portions at the end. Going in, the Tide's defense was hailed as the best in the nation and teams were scoring under 60 per game. Dayton showed the undependable nature of these early season stats by lighting up the Tide with great guard play and wonderful rebounding. Senior guard Kevin Dillard scored 25 points for the Flyers, and got lots of help from 6'9" Senior Forward Josh Benson, who had 21. This is the same Dayton team that held a decent Northern Illinois team to five first half points on December 1. That is the lowest number of points scored in a half since the NCAA started using a shot clock, and the fewest number of points ever allowed in a half by a Dayton team in the "modern era," that is, since 1917. Overall the Flyers are 6-2, and they play an incredible schedule, with very few, if any, patsies.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)