Triple Coupon Wednesday!

One thing I've learned this week

Blogging is apparently not like riding a bike, it's hard to get back on a regular schedule...

The Masters: Lay off Mickelson

If there's one thing I get sick of, it's people talking about how Phil Mickelson is supposed to be this great rival of Tiger Woods, and how he gets hated on when he's not performing up to Tiger's standard, especially by Jim Rome clones who are always bagging on Mickelson's weight.

First off, Tiger Woods has no rival. Period. We haven't seen a golfer of his mental toughness and physical skill ever and we may never see it again once he hangs up his bag. Tiger's not competing against his peers, he's competing against Arnold and Jack.

Second, Mickelson's got 3 majors and 2 green jackets, so frankly, to call him a failure as a golfer is absurd. That's a pretty darn good career considering most touring pros are lucky to win one major. Most of us regular folk would be lucky to break 100 at these major courses on our best day.

So just lay off the guy, already.

LaMarcus leaves; Barnes stays

Well, two Longhorns made key career decisions this week, and both are probably going to turn out to be the right ones

LaMarcus Aldridge is going pro; Rick Barnes is not going to N.C. State

Yeah, LaMarcus probably could have benefitted from another year at Texas, but an opportunity to collect first or second pick money from an NBA every day, and if he gets hurt next year, he's better off getting injured as a pro, than getting injured as a college player.

Plus, as much as I like college ball, you have to be fully committed to coming back if all you're getting for doing so is a scholarship and the title of "student-athlete". Aldridge was kinda hemming and hawing there for a while, and if you're doing that when making the decision to stay or go, it's best to just declare, get an agent, and go pro.

Barnes, on the other hand, took one look at the NC State job and decided that he was better off at Texas, where it's his team and his recruits, and he doesn't have to play 2 games each against Mike Krzyzewski and Roy Williams every year. Call it a hunch, but I think Memphis's John Calipari may come to a similar conclusion.

Support Your Local Arena Football Team
(not starring James Garner)

Austin, Texas, you really need to get behind your Wranglers

The Wranglers are 7-4 and in the hunt for the AFL playoffs after getting off to a 5-1 start, which is a heck of a lot better than they were this time last year. But frankly, the attendance figures at the Erwin Center have been pathetic.

Especially since this is football that Austin folks should be able appreciate. After all this isn't normal football, it's weird football.

They pass almost every play. They score almost every trip down the field.

The AFL is the "homeless drag-queen running for mayor" brand of football compared to the buttoned up, respectable NFL. Last I checked, the unofficial city slogan wasn't "Keep Austin Normal."

Maybe if they had local bands play after the game, it would be a better-attended event, who knows.

Green Jackets

We're waiting for the Masters to finish to do our take.

See you Sunday after the Final Round.

Baseball: The new pro wrestling?

They might as well stop selling major Major League Baseball as a bona fide sport.

The top players are juiced like pro wrestlers

The system is fixed so that the Yankees, Red Sox and occasionally the Mets get top of the line free agents, just like Triple H and Jeff Jarrett always seem to get title shots.

And the frequent Bud Selig-Donald Fehr battles bear much resemblance to a WWE Raw angle involving Vince McMahon and Eric Bischoff.

Maybe instead of home whites and road greys, we can throw some tights on these guys, put turnbuckles where the bases are and make a 'rassling ring out of the diamond.

Because basically, pro wrestling is what this sport has become.

Major League Baseball was dying in just about every market after the 1994 strike. Only Boston, New York, and the north side of Chicago were the only places drawing as many fans after 1994 as before. In many places today, it still is because most people outside of Boston, New York, and the north side of Chicago only pay attention to baseball if their team is doing well. (Except for the Atlanta Braves, they still can't even sell out a playoff game).

Anyway, by 1994, the alleged national pastime had been long since passed by the NFL, the NBA, and college sports and, at the time, hockey and NASCAR were nipping at it's heels. Oh, and that summer the first soccer World Cup in the U.S. managed to steal the summer spotlight baseball usually has to itself.

So to juice the revenues, the higher ups at Major League Baseball let the players juice themselves.

Unfortunately, it turned out to be like injecting cancer cells to cure chicken pox, it didn't help the initial problem (lack of overall revenue), and made the game sicker than ever.

Of course, there's nothing Major League Baseball can do to cure itself. The only way the fans will accept that Major League's steroid policy as legit is if Barry Bonds flunks a drug test and gets every homer he hit since 2001 erased from the record books.

And, as our friend Corey at Sporting Fools would probably remind all of us at this point, Barry ain't the first hall of famer who cheated. So basically, they'd have to take a wrecking ball to the Hall of Fame if they did anything to Barry Bonds. MLB probably doesn't want to do that, considering that baseball's contrived history is one of it's few selling points.

Problem is, Bart Giamatti set the standard for baseball dealing with scandal when he banned Pete Rose for life, and Bud Selig has to live up to that standard. Anything less and and it would be the capper of a tenure most would regard as the worst by a commissioner in American sports history.

A Catch .22 that Joseph Heller himself probably wishes he could have written.

Like I said before, the only thing for MLB to do at this point is to script the games, throw 'rassling tights on the players, juice them all up and market it as "sports entertainment". Maybe while they're at it, they can put foreign objects under the bases to make close plays that much more exciting. Oh, and a few random steel chairs would liven up those bean brawls.

-------

By the way, baseball as a legitimate sport is still out there, you just have to drive to a college game or minor league park to find it.

Catching up, Part 2: NCAA Hoops

The Big XII: Major (conference) Disappointment

A lot of hoopla was made over the mid-major conferences getting multiple bids. Problem is, when they're getting that many bids, it means that there's a a lot of bad teams in the middle of the pack of major conferences.

Yes, the ACC was down, the PAC-10 outside of UCLA and Washington wasn't so hot and the Big East turned out to not have the depth we expected come tournament time as 5 of their members were bounced on the first day.

But the worst offender among the major conferences had to be the Big XII.

Face it folks, whether it's Texas, Kansas, Missouri, or Baylor (who probably saved themselves further embarassment by cancelling their non-conference schedule this year), almost everyone in the Big 12 underachieved or just outright stunk.

In order for a season to be a "success", major conferences that take in BCS money have to get at least half their teams in the tournament and land at least one in the Final Four. I realize this means there will be at least a couple major conferences left out every year, but BCS schools spend too much money on hoops to do anything less.

Every one of the teams of the Big 12 has issues right now.

Texas, show us you can translate good recruiting classes into Final Fours. You've had 2 highly rated recruiting years the past 2 years, and so far, you've gotten a first round exit and a near miss at the Final Four to show for it.

Kansas, show us you can be Kansas again. You're one of the elite programs in college hoops history, there's no excuse for you losing first round games like you've done the past 2 years.

Oklahoma State, show us you can uphold your tradition also. That was a weak effort from the Cowboys last season

Oklahoma, show us that there is life after Kelvin Sampson.

Texas A&M, show us you can hang on to Billy Gillespie. Every time major conference jobs open up Gillespie's going to be mentioned.

Colorado, show us you can provide Ricardo Patton with the resources to do his job. Patton's bunch almost made the NCAAs in spite of the budget issues in the athletic department, now you need to give him the resources to take the next step.

Nebraska, show us you're not just a football school.

Baylor, show us you can finish somewhere other than last in the Big XII.

Missouri, show us ... well .... heck, just don't make another hire as bad as Quin Snyder ever again. Failing that, keep the current head coach away from the Kroenke and Laurie families so you're next firing will be painless.

Kansas State and Iowa State, show us you can at least be competitve in you're own state. You're both in states where basketball is the #1 sport. Even if you're overshadowed by State U., you two should be able to make more of an impact in college basketball.

And finally, my beloved alma mater Texas Tech, show us you can freaking recruit! There's no excuse for a program with a name coach like Bobby Knight to be fielding the least athletic guards in the conference and a 6'8" center.

RD's "Shining Moments" of the NCAA tournament
- Craig Littlepage calling out Billy Packer for asking why the ACC and Missouri Valley Conference got the same number of bids. Yes, on the surface it looks like Littlepage and the NCAA are trying to influence the coverage, but Packer is an ACC homer who was just upset that the ACC didn't get 12 bids. Nice to see someone put him in his place.

- Northwestern State sinking a 3 to beat Iowa. A shot that will forever go down as "The shot that cost Steve Alford the Indiana job."

- LSU beating Duke. Not so much for the huge upset factor, but more because it proves that you don't have to play perfectly to knock off a number one anymore

- George Mason's run. Not only was it a great cinderella story, it was also an educational opportunity. Honestly, did you know who the heck George Mason, the founding father whose name is on the school, was before?

- Joakim Noah. Most second-generation athletes don't perform as well as their fathers do, usually because they know they have talent, but don't have the work ethic. Noah has proven that he's got both.

Catching up Part 1: NFL

Hines Ward, with the KISSSSSS! (NFL.com)

Thoughts about the Super Bowl

Normally the Super Bowl is either a dominating coronation of the best team in the league, or a close struggle that is a game for the ages. So where does this fit in? Yes, Pittsburgh won, and deservedly so because they cashed in when Seattle couldn't. But the Steelers didn't dominate. In fact Seattle had more total yards and first downs.

I have the same feeling about the MVP. I really have no problem with Hines Ward winning, it's just there really wasn't a game changing or dominating performance by anyone.

I have a thought about Mike Holmgren's post-game comments about the officiating, it's just not something I want to print. Still, the officials served him a softball with the way they've been officiating this entire postseason, especially with the way they've called the instant replay. You have to wonder if the officials are blowing some of these replay calls to try and get replay thrown out.

The combine: Emphasis on "Wonder"

People are making way to much of a deal about Vince Young's alleged score of 6 on the Wonderlic test. The guy's got the football smarts and the intangibles to play QB at the NFL level. He'll show the physical abilities soon enough.

Now, you NFL personnel people don't have to completely hate on Vince, just hate on him enough to drop him down to the Cowboys' pick.

OK, back to reality...

The labor dispute: What labor dispute?

Former Oakland A's owner Charlie O. Finley once said that baseball should just forget about arbitration and make every player a free agent.

The union head at the time, Marvin Miller, reportedly hoped he was joking.

Why? Miller knew better than anyone that a market with a few key free agents creates scarcity and drives the salaries up, but a market flooded with free agents means demand outpaces supply and the salaries go down.

So what does this have to do with football?

Well, everyone seems to have been sweating the potential for an "uncapped" year when, in reality, it would have been a nightmare for the players.

See, a lot of players don't get cut from NFL rosters because owners are afraid of the dead cap space created when players with large signing bonuses are cut or traded. An uncapped year meant owners could sign freely, but they could also cut freely too which would have flooded the market with free agents.

Now you know why the players association caved again.

By the way, kudos to the NFL for getting this CBA done years ahead of time.

The Dallas Cowboys become "Dallas" the soap opera

Yeah, I know, I know, Terrell Owens is a Cowboy now.

And I'm glad to see a receiver with his talent, work ethic, and lack of arrest record on the Cowboys.

But I can't see this ending up anything but badly.

First off, Terrell's already on a short leash in Dallas, no thanks little stunt he pulled with the star some years ago. He may be a Cowboy, and there's not going to be a rush of people turning in their season tickets over this, but that doesn't mean Cowboys fans are automatically going to accept him in their uniform. If he doesn't produce a Super Bowl this year, Cowboys fans will let him have it.

Secondly, the Cowboys are already depleted at offensive line, and they just let future hall of famer Larry Allen go. And we all know that without a quality O-line, Drew Bledsoe is never gonna get Owens the football. And when Owens ain't getting the football, that's when the side of Terrell Owens that gets him in trouble comes out.

Thirdly, his coach is Bill Parcells. Parcells is practically bullet-proof when it comes to the media. We're talking about the only white male in the last 30 years of political correctness to utter the word "j*p" in a public setting and not get fired because of it. Terrell Owens may be able to hold his own in a PR battle with Steve Mariucci or Andy Reid, but he cannot possibly win a PR battle with Bill Parcells. At least if he had gone to Denver, he would have had a fighting chance in a PR battle with Mike Shanahan, who's coaching acumen has been frequently questioned since John Elway retired.

And it will be worse for Owens if Parcells quits or gets fired, because Owens will get the blame for that too (even if it's not his fault), which just will push him into Kobe Bryant territory.

Finally, there's too many potential match lighters in that locker room now. From Roy Williams, who almost ended Terrell Owens' season 2 years ago, to Mike Vanderjagt, who's not afraid to throw a guy under the bus himself, there's too many people who could potentially set Terrell off.

If any team is screaming for a reality show, it's this team.

"The Drive": College Edition?

Top: Rich Karlis's OT field goal in the '86 AFC championship game never would have happened without John Elway's "Drive"(Tony Tomsic/Sports Illustrated) Bottom: Vince Young authored his own drive last night (Deborah Cannon/Austin American Statesman)

Broncos fans will probably argue that the end of the Rose Bowl was more like "The Fumble": Pete Carroll Edition than "The Drive": College Edition.

Plus, no one would confuse the slightly damp field and unseasonably humid conditions of the Rose Bowl for old Municipal Stadium in the January cold with the wind coming of Lake Erie

And, yeah, Vince Young had a shorter field than John Elway.

But the singular-minded determination of the winning quarterback is the same. Like John Elway in the AFC championship game almost two decades ago, Vince Young willed the Texas Longhorns to victory last night in the Rose Bowl.

And in Young's defense, he willed them to the score that set up the game winning drive as well.

Also, just like the 1987 AFC Championship catapulted Elway to legend status, the 2006 Rose Bowl may have done the same for Young.

For those of you old enough to remember, Elway was perceived as a million-dollar brat who got to choose his team prior to "The Drive." Afterward, well, he was on his way to the Hall of Fame.

Young wasn't given his due by a lot of media people and bloggers (myself included), but it was for more on-field reasons. He was always second to someone before then. Second to Cedric Benson in importance last year, second to Oklahoma in the Big 12 prior to this year, Second-best QB in the nation behind Matt Leinart coming into this year.

This year, while he finally emerged from all the other "seconds", he still was percieved by a lot of people as the second best player in the country, as evidenced by the Heisman vote.

Reggie Bush was supposed to be the next legend in the making, not Vince Young.

Now, Vince Young is the legend in the making.

And he needs to go pro now to take advantage of it. His draft stock will never be higher than it is now and Vince's hometown Houston Texans have the first pick in the draft. Can you imagine what it would be like if he took the Texans to the Super Bowl? Or if he had an Elway-esque career in Houston where he wins a couple Super Bowls and is the face of that franchise for a decade or more?

I know, as a Cowboys fan, I can already picture him in the Ring of Honor, but I don't think he'd be around by the time the Cowboys are picking this year.

Wherever he goes, Vince Young is going to be great, and we're going to look back on this Rose Bowl as the place where it started.

Happy New Year, everyone

Happy New Year everyone,

Yeah, this whole blogging and working thing is neither blogging nor working very well, plus we hit a busy time at work because the thing we are supporting (which the non-disclosure clause I signed prevents me from saying what it actually is) was a hot christmas gift, so all of us at the center were putting in a lot of hours at work. Now it seems to have slowed down, so we should be back to regular posting shortly

After our Rose Bowl post: Big XII bowl wrap.