So that went well

Couple of things:

The NFL continues to bedevil me, with a 1-3 start to the playoff season. 
Not only was I 100% certain that the Saints would pummel the Seahawks, I was also pretty darn sure the Chiefs would get the job done against the Ravens.  Obviously I was woefully incorrect on both counts.  But hey, that's playoff football, as unpredictable as it gets.  I still have absolutely no idea how the New Orleans defense folded so totally and completely, guess I should've put greater stock in Mr. Hasselbeck.  On the other side of things, it's tough to defend a team that got drubbed 30-7 at home, but if anyone can do it, it's this guy. 

Kansas City was absolutely GOUGING the Baltimore defense in the running game.  Jamaal Charles was doing exactly what he'd done all season, ripping off yardage at 9 yards a clip, then he put the ball on the ground and that was it.  Don't understand why the Chiefs went away from the run game so fast, particularly after watching Matt Cassel do everything short of taking a dump on their logo at midfield, but there it is.  I mean if you're planning on throwing indefensible picks anyway, why not just chuck a couple of jump balls to the guy who led the league in TDs?  His new nickname should be The Amazing Dwayne Bowe, no magician has ever pulled off a better disappearing act.

Michael Vick looked strikingly similar to the guy who couldn't throw in Atlanta.
That's really all that I have, just know that I'm rooting for $30 million in guaranteed money and a Kevin Kolb trade to either the Vikings or the AFC, pronto.  Let's get this done Philly, nevermind that you might be removing the strongest incentive factor for a guy who doesn't exactly have the greatest track record of staying motivated or on the field, SHOW HIM THE MONEY!!!  Not a rip on Vick personally, more so running QBs in general, they're going to get dinged, pay them large sums of guaranteed money at your peril.

In hindsight, I was a bit harsh on the Wild last week.
Okay, fine, so they don't suck as much as Maroon 5.  That's a terrible thing to say about anyone and it really isn't true.  The truth is the team has fought it's way back into contention during the past month, to now sit only a tiebreaker out of the playoffs and 3 points out of the #4 seed.  But there's some pesky stuff going on that makes it tough to shake my skepticism.  Like the .500 home record.  And the -11 goal differential that's the worst among the West's top 10 teams.  And the fact they average 2.5 goals per game.  And the likelihood that the team leader in goals will once again fail to crack 30.

Yes, it's all about results, so don't worry so much about the aesthetic, but the reality is it's hard to sustain things this way.  We've seen it play out many times before with this team, the only difference is that the hot streak usually comes early and then it's a slow slide down the standings.  With a tightly packed Western Conference that's full of good teams, the runs of good hockey can't be as sporadic as they've been so far.  But hey, it is their third best first half ever and the first two resulted in playoffs.  Not to mention that, more than any other sport, hockey provides a good chance to make a run from a high seed.  So I apologize for all those derogatory remarks.  Somewhat.

The BCS Championship Game is tonight
If limited to a two-syllable response on this, they'd be: Ho and Hum.  Fortunately ink is cheap here on the internet, so I can expound.  Frankly I doubt I'd be able to limit myself to two syllables about anything, two paragraphs is barely enough to curse out a Twins pitcher appropriately.

Once upon a time I would've been excited for tonight's matchup of the #1 and #2 teams in the nation.  After all, a showdown between the consensus two best squads in college football is always to goal when the season starts.  But lately, I just can't get excited about the sport's postseason.  I'll always love the action on fall Saturdays, the great stadiums, fans and rivalries; but the proliferation of bowl games and stringing out of the conclusion are starting to wear on me.

It's now January 10th, both Auburn and Oregon played their first game over 4 months ago and their last one over a month ago.  Last night the legendary Nevada Wolfpack outlasted a 7-5 Boston College team in the culmination of a rivalry as epic as there is in sports.  I'd tell you more, but surely there's no need, as you were likely glued to your TV just as I was.  I mean no true sports fan ever misses the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, been watching it since I was a kid myself.

But beyond the calls for a playoff that have become common, I'm even struggling to find a rooting interest here.  Auburn should've been right in my wheelhouse, a historically strong program with a transcendent star player, they are fun to watch and easy to root for.  But then this whole Cam Newton debacle sprung up, and it's making it hard for me to throw my support the Tigers way. 

It's naive to think that money and favors aren't being handed out under the table in big-time college athletics, and really the idea of players getting perks doesn't bother me all that much.  In fact, I'd be in favor of a system that paid the players some amount of money, if the logistics could be worked out so more than just the top few could afford it.  But if there's one thing I can't stand, it's hypocrisy, and the NCAA has truly set a new standard in that department this season.

The rules may be dumb, and I may disagree with more than a few of them, but if they're going to be on the books, they should be enforced consistently.  What has happened in the case of Mr. Newton, with the governing body admitting it knew rules were broken, but exempting the player from fault, was questionable.  What happened with Ohio St, with everyone knowing and admitting what happened, to the point of suspensions being handed out, then the players being allowed to play in a bowl?  Well that was ridiculous.  Reserve "disgrace" and "tragedy" for the important stuff, but the NCAA's enforcement has become a total farce and it's laughable.

I'd have no problem with any of it, if it were up front an honest.  This is a billion-dollar enterprise, a business of the highest order, please stop telling me that anything is about education and the rules of fair play.  The unfairness of it all is demonstrated constantly these days, with big time players being the safest from punishment, lest their exclusion from a game tick the ratings down 1% and upset a sponsor. 

To repeat, nothing about the corruption of the amateur athlete is my problem here, there is no longing for bygone days and love-of-the-game nonsense from me.  Amateur athletics, at least in the case of football and basketball, are a fraud that has been co-opted to provide power and money to a group of people who, as far as I can tell, deserve neither.  Sure there are plenty of kids out there who get opportunity and degrees they otherwise wouldn't from college sports, no doubt about it.  But as far as the folks at the top, please stop and smell what you're shoveling before you come down too hard on the easy targets who know one will miss, or hold back on the big guys on New Years, because nobody will miss them against Coppin St. next fall.

So Oregon, even though you have title to the 4 ugliest jerseys in sports, even though you play that atrocious delay-option offense, which is the type of fad that creates a dearth of good pro QBs, I am rooting for you. 

Go Ducks.