Brett Favre should retire....now

It seems like a bad drama flick that just won't end.  The lead actor won't fess up to his poor performance.  The director promises that the sequel will be better.  And even the media hype has reached ridiculous proportions.  But it's time for this saga to end.  Brett Favre should thank his teammates, coaches and fans, and call it a career.  Not once the season is over.  Not pending the results of the next MRI on his elbow, or whatever body part is ailing him at the time.  Not even when his Vikings are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.  There is little more for Favre to accomplish, and the Favre sob story press conferences that ESPN shamelessly replays like a B movie on TNT have become so irritating to the general public they're almost like fingernails scratching against a chalkboard. Life goes on.  ESPN will still draw ratings post Favre.  The NFL will still be able to sell tickets, even in Green Bay, where a legend not named Favre is still etched on the league championship trophy, and in Minnesota.  And Brett Favre will be able to get on with his life, and perhaps work on repairing the damage to his family life the scandal with Jenn Sterger has done.  And, most importantly, those people who are not really fans of Favre can turn on Sportscenter without having to watch an entire hour devoted to him.  Even as I write this post, it makes me sick to think I am contributing to the whole debacle that is Brett Favre.  But this is the last time I write about the man, and hopefully last Sunday was the last game he played.  Ever.

Anchors Aweigh! United States Naval Academy Torpedoes Notre Dame

There used to be a time when it was a given that whenever the midshipmen of the United States Naval Academy got on the football field with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, the end result was a Notre Dame victory. For 43 straight years(dating back to when Roger Staubach played for the Mids, the former heisman trophy winner and Dallas Cowboy hall of famer) Notre Dame owned this rivalry(if you could call it that). Many times it wasn't even close.  Yet, yesterday in New Meadowlands Stadium, these two teams met again for another epic battle.  And, when it was all said and done, the end result was another blowout.  However, if I told you beforehand that the final score would be 35-17 in favor of Navy you would have laughed.  That was the final score in a rivalry where the balance of power has shifted in favor of the Naval Academy, and has a once proud Notre Dame football program clearly reeling. The Navy offense sailed to more than 430 yards against the Irish D, fueled by the perfomances of its cruiser-qb Ricky Dobbs, who ran for three touchdowns and threw for another, and its destroyer, fullback Alexander Teich, who ran for over 200 yards and caught Dobbs only touchdown pass. Defensively, the Midshipmen never really allowed the Irish to get into the flow of things, harassing quarterback Dayne Crist all day, including a few sacks and a couple of interceptions.  While this lopsided loss by Notre Dame underlies just how far this storied program has fallen, it should also serve notice that the Navy football program, once considered division I football doormats, can no longer be taken lightly.  Because what other conclusion can one come to when they soundly beat a program that is supposed to beat them every year?

Ohio State's loss underlies an unprepared Jim Tressel team

  The final score last Saturday evening in Madison, Wisconsin, was like an uppercut to the jaw for the thousands of Buckeye fans who actually made the trip to Camp Randall Stadium to watch the Ohio State University football team lose to the University of Wisconsin Badgers.  Even worse had to be the disappointment of the throngs of OSU fans watching the game on television in their homes, many of whom had declared that both head coach Jim Tressel and starting quarterback to be overrated once again.  Tressel has taken a lot of heat from the fans and media alike the last several years for what they term as his inability to win the big game.  Two consecutive national championship game losses followed by losses to the University of Southern California in back to back seasons is likely to earn any big name coach that reputation, not just Jim Tressel.  And the Buckeyes' victory in the Rose Bowl over Oregon this past January many of the doubters had thought Tressel had finally gotten that monkey off his back.  Yet the loss to Wisconsin has once again brought the boo birds back in full effect.  However, looking at this game objectively, did Ohio State lose to Wisconsin because they played Tresselball, or was it because for one of the very few times in Jim Tressel's career as head coach of OSU, his team was unprepared for its opponent?   Looking back at the gameplan Tressel had devised Saturday, and how Wisconsin reacted to that gameplan, it would certainly seem that way.
   Offensively it seemed that the Buckeyes were never really in sync.  Tressel could not really be chastized for going ultra conservative, as the Buckeyes went to the air early, albeit with limited success. Quarterback Terrelle Pryor had been making plays all season to this point with his arm, and Tressel believed against Wisconsin would be no different.  Yet it was only when Pryor tucked the ball under his arm and ran in the first half that Ohio State would gain any first downs, yet Tressel would still try to air it out.  Down 21-3 at halftime, Tressel knew he would have to find another way to beat Wisky, so he then went to the ground.  Ohio State would eventually cut the lead to 21-18, but a Terrelle Pryor interception late in the fourth quarter would seal the upset for the Badgers.  But for a brief moment it seemed that running Pryor would have been there all day had Tressel called it.  Kinda makes one wonder if Tressel held on too tightly to the offensive script because he felt he would have been blasted if he didn't.
  On the defensive side of the ball, Ohio State knew what was coming, yet they were unable to stop it.  Everyone, the Buckeyes' defense included,  knew the Badgers' bread and butter was their running game led by tailbacks John Clay and James White, nicknamed 'thunder and lightning.'  Yet the Buckeyes seemed unable to stop either one all day, sort of reminiscient of the nc game against Florida, when, inside the Buckeyes' 20, the defense knew Tim Tebow was going to run the ball out of the shotgun yet could not stop him.  Obviously Tressel has less to do with the defense, as defensive coordinator Jim Heacock runs that side of the ball, but one would think that after Wisconsin marched down the field on their second possession of the game (on mostly runs) to take a 14-0 lead, those two would have had a chat on what needed to be done to stop their running game.  Of course this may be why Tressel should step down as OC, but that might be a topic for another discussion.  At the end of the day, while all week long prior to the game Tressel said his team was unconcerned about its number one ranking, and more concerned about the Badgers, his team's lack of focus, especially on the defensive side, would indicate otherwise.
  This bellyaching about Tressel's shortcomings is nothing new.  What is alarming, however, is that it comes against an opponent that the Buckeyes should have beat.  Sure John Clay is an impressive athlete, but he did not have near the speed of a Beanie Wells, and Ohio State has shutdown much more prolific offenses in the past year(the aforementioned Rose Bowl vs Oregon comes to mind.)  And with all the weapons that the offense has at its disposal, it still seems Jim Tressel does not understand how to properly utilize his star quarterback.  Sure the only way Pryor is going to become a better quarterback is by passing the ball more, but sometimes in order to win one has to scrap the gameplan he wants for the one that will win.  But all is not lost.  Let all Buckeye fans hope that this once again serves as a wakeup call for the "Senator", and the Ohio State football team rolls its way into January like it did after a similar wakeup call last year against Purdue.

Ohio State in control of its own destiny after impressive win vs. Miami

So the critics will say that Ohio State should have beaten Miami by four touchdowns on Saturday, rather than the 12 point differential that was the game's actual final result.  They will say Terrelle Pryor was inefficient, completing under 50% of his passes and almost throwing a couple of picks.  And then there is the continual bashing of head coach Jim Tressel, whom they will say is directly responsible for letting Miami back in the game with his conservative gameplan.  Fact of the matter is, Ohio State was rather impressive in its win Saturday, scoring 36 points against a Miami team that was believed to have much more speed than its Buckeye counterparts.  Pryor played well for the second time against a big school opponent, throwing two touchdowns, running for another td, and accounting for more than 300 of Ohio State's 414 total yards on offense.  And that doesn't even take into account that Pryor, by the way, did not throw any interceptions.  Ohio State's defense also shined brightly Saturday, holding to Miami to only 10 points if you don't count the to special teams returns that Miami had that led to touchdowns.  And for all the bellyaching about Tressel, Ohio State has won its eighth straight game dating back to October of last season, including its second straight win against a top 15 ranked non-conference opponent.  Bottom line is that Ohio State now controls its own destiny in its pursuit of the BCS national championship game.  If the Buckeyes can win out from here on out they are in the nc game.  And based on my observations of how they played Saturday, they have a pretty good chance to do just that.

O-H-I-O!!!! Buckeyes open 2010 by stampeding over the Herd

Turns out that the only thing in doubt yesterday was whether I was going to get off work in time to see the opening kickoff of Ohio State's season opener versus Marshall.  At the end of the day (or the end of my workday, to be more precise), even that wasn't in question as the supervisors at Cardinal Health called the shift at almost exactly 5:30 pm and I made it to see opening kickoff.  It was a thing of beauty, unless you were a Marshall fan, as there happened to be one sitting in my section amongst a sea of scarlet and gray.  He spent the whole game yelling expletives at everyone, his own team, the refs, Ohio State players. But I digress.  Coach Tressel seemed to open up the playbook last night, much to the delight of the more than 105,000 fans in attendance, but such a lopsided score (45-7 was the final) begs the question: how bad was Marshall?  Certainly they're not as good as next weeks opponent, Miami(Fla), but then again they can't be as bad as the Hurricanes, opposition, Florida A&M, whom Miami also ended up routing (45-0). So the Buckeyes will have their hands full next week at the 'Shoe.  There were several good things that came out of this contest, first and foremost the evolution of Terelle Pryor: he seemed to have maintained the poise and swagger he had in the Rose Bowl, and he looked comfortable running what appeared to be more of a pro-style offense, even taking more than a few snaps from directly under center.  We all know Devier Posey has speed as well, but Dane Sanzenbacher (sp) showed he can be a downfield threat as well.  And Herron and Saine provided an effective one two punch at the running back position.  The bad: unless Herron and Saine had wide open holes to run through (and I mean wide open) neither got much on the ground.  That needs to be worked on, as I am not sure they are going to find that kind of real estate against Miami.  Additionally, while the defense was on for most of the night, let's not forget Marshall looked like it was playing scared, and I doubt Miami receivers make the drops that some of the Herd players were making.  Then there was Ohio State special teams.  Well I won't go into detail only to say they did a nice job forcing a fumble on the opening kickoff, and other than that they have a lot to work on for next week.
  All in all it was a great game, the first night game I have ever been to at the Shoe.  It was an experience I will remember for the rest of my life.  The crowd was electric from the start and did not let up, even after OSU got up 42-7; it seemed as if school was already in session, even if classes don't start until the end of this month.  And my buddy pointed out to me something I never noticed because I had never been to a night game before: near the north endzone scoreboard they had lit up all seven years that OSU had won a national championship.  And I left the game last night feeling as if I had been a part of something special, and, just maybe, that this season OSU could indeed bring home number eight.

OSU-Michigan in different divisions?!!! The Game moved to October?!!! Oh the horrors!!!

  Recently there has been much ado made regarding the potential move of "The Game", that is the OSU vs. Michigan football game to October, and the potential separation of the two schools into different divisions within the Big Ten.  There seems to be a widespread consensus among Ohio State fans that either move is sacreligious; among Michigan fans...wait, does anyone really care what Michigan fans think? Just kidding, I know you guys are actually more concerned that Rich Rod deserves a lifetime contract if he can beat Notre Dame again this year while going sub-500 in the Big Ten. I'm joking! Lighten up.  Even Hitler seems to be weighing in on the subject of the Big Ten realignment and how it will affect OSU and Michigan, albeit posthumously: http://video.yahoo.com/watch/8153883/21627589.   This is a big deal. Or is it?  Decades of tradition to go by the wayside because of the almighty dollar.  But does this necessarily have to be a bad thing? I mean c'mon people, they said the addition of Penn State would never fly, yet here they stand today as a pillar of the conference.  So while there might be many grumblings by OSU and Michigan supporters that the athletic directors of those respective schools have sold out, it might also be possible they are on to the start of something big.
    Detractors of the realignment plan will say that moving the game to October reduces its importance in the conference schedule, thereby lessening the relevance that the game has had for more than half a century.  Supporters of Ohio State would argue that the Michigan game not only has proven who is the conference champ more than any other game, but it is also an effective barometer as to how far their team has progressed(or regressed) that year. Of course Michigan fans, having had to endure their team losing five straight season finales to the Buckeyes recently, might relish the chance to play OSU at the beginning of October, as it appears the Wolverines have started a trend of peaking right around mid-October.   Even those fans might be considered in the minority, as I would have to believe that many UM fans are still fond of Bo(Schembechler) and Bo would have wanted "The Game" played as the season finale as well.  Placing Ohio State and Michigan in the same Big Ten division allows for the rivalry to remain intact as it has been for quite some time.
  Proponents of the realignment argue that, Michigan's current ineptness (sorry UM fans, haha) notwithstanding, Ohio State and Michigan have historically been the two best teams in the conference, and it is only fair that they be split in such a manner that allows them to compete for the Big Ten Title at the end of the season. The thinking here is that, if OSU and Michigan are the two best teams, then by playing each other at the end of the season one will eliminate the other, and thus the Big Ten Championship will not be decided by no.1 vs. no.2.  There is also the added bonus of a potential second matchup between the schools each year should they be in different divisions; while purists would argue once is enough I can't believe that too many OSU fans would argue beating Michigan twice a year would get boring.
  So, having heard the pros and cons of the conference realignment, where exactly does that leave us? I myself am a firm supporter of conference realignment.  There is something to be said for tradition, for sure; the potential change in the OSU-Michigan dynamic initially led me to be opposed to the thought of Big Ten expansion. However, aren't old traditions supposed to eventually give way to new ones?  When we learned that we could cover great distances faster in a fuel-injected automobile, did we still want to travel by horse and buggy? This may take some getting used to, and no one said conference expansion would be easy.  But, at the end of the day, I believe if the Big Ten does separate Ohio State and Michigan into different divisions, not only will it re-energize the rivalry it will help put the conference on equal footing with that league down south I will refrain from mentioning.

NFL's Rookie Salary Problem. It needs fixed. Now

  So you think Sam Bradford has the tools to be the next Tom Brady.  Wanna bet on it?  How about if we bet $50? No? How about $50million? What's that? You think I'm crazier than John Rocker? Every, year, however, a few NFL owners wager close to that amount that guys like Bradford will indeed turn out to be the next Peyton Manning, even before they have taken one NFL snap.  The St. Louis Rams made such a wager on Bradford himself this year, making him the highest paid rookie in history.  So what's the big deal?  The big deal is that for every Peyton Manning, there are 10 players like Ryan Leaf, Tim Couch, or Akili Smith, guys who are rated as potential perennial pro bowlers who never make it more than two or three years as starters. And that can be a very risky wager indeed, especially to a team such as the Rams, who once were considered annual Super Bowl contenders, but now are regulated to the ranks of cellar dwellers.  For it only takes one torn acl to not only ruin the career of Sam Bradford, but along with that goes the 50 million dollars the Rams could have used to on other players to make themselves a legitimate playoff contender.  I would argue that guaranteed money for rookies should be eliminated altogether, and I am probably not alone in this.(Just for fun, next time you go to a job interview, if the employer decides to hire you, demand that you be given $100,000 guaranteed for your first year in addition to your base salary or you're not showing up for work. I've heard it can do wonders to jump start your career ha ha.)   Roger Goodell said during his visit to the Cleveland Browns training camp that the rookie pay scale would be revisited, but did not explain what he meant by that.  I say the first order of business the owners have in the new cba is to redo the whole rookie pay scale.  It's just not a wise decision for owners to be throwing huge sums of money in front of players who have not played a single down of pro ball.  The New York Jets have labeled Darelle Revis as selfish for holding out, but unlike the rookies that entered the league in April's draft, Revis has only been one of the top corners in the league for the last two years.  Compare that with Cleveland rookie defensive back Joe Haden of Florida, who recently signed a contract that will pay him $50 million, including $12 million of that guaranteed this season.  Haden might be the next Revis, heck, he might end up being better than Deion Sanders when it's all said and done.   However, should Cleveland really have to front 12 million dollars just to find out?  That might be a costly decision for any other business, and it is a lesson that NFL owners should take heed of now before they learn it the hard way down the road.