Pat Forde - Wah!

If you want to read the column I am talking about, go here....

I'm the type of person who enjoys good sports writing. I am not one to harp and criticize when I don't see it, typically.

Pat Forde, I've been reading your columns for years. I've been pretty excited and even exasperated by some of the things you have said. But this takes the cake. I read and spend time on ESPN.com to find good stories, heart-warming or heart-rending stories.
But who gave a bunch of writers (including Mr. Forde) the right to whine? Is it the same company who, for years, has given us good quality analysis and great information? I admit, now it's caged, quite often, in the 'insider' information. The whole company seems to be having issues... Is it the Disney influence or something else?

American society in general seems to have issues with entitlement. In a day and age when reporters can hop on a plane and get to point B, I'm surprised Mr. Forde didn't get to leave Little Rock and head to Tampa.

Of course, he's writing this column for a bunch of people who didn't get to see the basketball games of gloriously tumultuous Tampa except on television. I might add that since I don't have DirectTV, I was caught up in the choices of CBS.

That, and watching on the 15" laptop screen.

Sorry, but this is one of those times I have to say, "Boo Hoo Wah!"

What... March? Where Did The Last Three Months Go?

I must apologize. I've thought of writing a lot. I have written in my other (mostly anonymous) blog and yet, there I don't write about my passion for sports. I have so much that I could write about.

Like me rooting against the Patriots and for the Celtics. Like me rooting for the Football Giants and forever against the Yankees. And as I read the pages of the paper and the internet, I shake my head at the entire Knicks organization.

And now, it's March. March? The month of madness that is okay for all of us. The month were non-sports fans turn on the television and flip to CBS and root for teams like Belmont. My beloved Kentucky Wildcats lost yesterday. I haven't expressed much of an opinion on my favorite team for a while because of my own thoughts on what happened in the last year.

I was not one of the Kentucky fans who thought that Tubby Smith should go. I wasn't one of those folks who thought that he was so awful that he didn't deserve to be coaching in Division I. I only thought Tubby Smith should leave Kentucky because of one reason: the pressure was getting to him. He needs to be some place (like Minnesota) where he'll be loved for doing a good job.

And I'm glad he's there. I don't know how Billy Gillispie is going to do at UK, but I do know that many of us UK fans out here really like the way he handled this season. And he had a comparably awful season. I am sure the Tubby-bashers don't want to hear that he won less than 22 games at any point during his ten-year tenure.

I'm proud of Kentucky the same way I was when Rick Pitino took over during the NCAA's punishment of the program. The team played under adversity and did not succumb.

And I now look forward to more basketball. I don't know if any of my readers (I believe there might be two, once in a while) know that I am just that big a sports fan.

Thank you for reading

All Apologies

I am writing this with the thought that I wanted to write more this month. My Mom has been in the hospital, so I ask the readers out there (who probably isn't anyone) to forgive me for not writing.

I'm writing this as the Patriots and the Giants take on a game of epic proportions. Seriously, do you think that the Patriots might be a little tight and a little nervous? They are currently down by 4 with the Giants offense taking the field.

I cannot believe the orgy of football on the television this evening. Why would the NFL network cave? Oh yeah, the threat of anti-trust lawsuits! Personally, I didn't hear that whining when the Colts played on a Thursday night! I seriously believe if the Colts were unbeaten two years ago, or last year, no one would have cared if the NFL network was bringing the game.

But the East Coast and it's power over the US, with the threat of anti-trust, everyone gets to see this game. And now, the rest of us are complaining. I'm not, I don't mind seeing the game. I just don't believe the ridiculousness of the whole thing. I should be watching Joe Paterno's Penn State squad take on Texas A & M. Strangely enough, I'm for JoPa's team.

Thankfully, there's some basketball on. And at this moment, the Flyers are up 45 to 33. I'm actively rooting for Dayton, as Pitt is in the Big East. Go Dayton! Go Giants! Go Penn State! And now, I rest my fingers and watch more football and basketball.

BCS Mess Part II

Okay, Ohio State made it in. Just like I thought. And now, I can only hope that they get kicked right out of New Orleans, on their ear, much like last year when they lost to the previously underrated Florida. This year, LSU has had it's moments in the sun and lost two very close games. At least both the teams that they lost to will also be in bowls, Arkansas in the Cotton, Kentucky in the Music City. And Illinois gets recognition for beating Ohio State by being in the Rose Bowl.

Missouri, do you remember them, they are playing against Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl. They aren't good enough to be in the BCS bowls, are they? The Big 12 and the SEC were so much stronger this year than the Big 10. And the SEC has more teams playing in the 'post season' than the Big 10. I just can't get over the ridiculousness of Ohio State being in the National Championship. ESPN's Sportsnation says that Ohio State will win, but goodness, in that same poll they said that LSU is the stronger team on offense and defense. Give me a break.

I was worried Hawaii would get shafted. They didn't. So, if LSU were beaten by Ohio State, but Ohio State played a crappy game, could Hawaii, if they beat Georgia, be National Champion? Oh wait, that's gone by the wayside. We know who will be national champion... the winner of the game in New Orleans.

I am excited, but seriously wonder... When will we get a playoff?

BCS Mess

The title is something I have seen on almost every sports show since yesterday. The possibility of so many teams vying for the spot against Ohio (which I have already written about) leaves many people frustrated and sometimes speechless. Here's how I see the picture: Ohio will be in there even if I think that's a ludicrous thing. I thoroughly believe it will be a travesty if the SEC doesn't have a team in the national championship. I believe that if Hawaii doesn't get a BCS bid, the computers need to be shot and the people need to have their voting privileges revoked. Oklahoma deserves a bid. Virginia Tech (in my mind) almost deserves a spot in the National Championship. In fact, if the BCS folks were smart (which I haven't ever given them credit for that) it should be LSU versus VaTech. Ohio could play in the Rose Bowl against USC or something like that. Hawaii goes to the Fiesta against Oklahoma (and proves that the WAC is underrated). And Georgia in the Sugar Bowl against Kansas. Okay, so that makes sense to me. And I have left out a bowl game, but since the BCS is a mess, I may as well be too.

Wait, two wrongs don't make a right. In the Orange Bowl, in Miami, they should have some team versus West Virginia. At this point, who knows? I surely don't. But my decisions are based on what I have seen, and I am not paid to watch football, I just watch what I can.

And I bet that what I think will not happen. And that's fine. But what the BCS does, no doubt, will be a travesty to many.