Nebraska vs. Missouri
This initially sounds like a pretty good game between two good Big 12 teams, but when you look at the rankings, it is odd that Nebraska is ranked #21, while Missouri is barely on the top 25 at #24. What’s up with that?
And for that matter, how important is this game?
Well I’ll be watching, you can bet your remote on that!
So, who has the advantage? If you have read some of my blogs, you know I like to start back a year, and then add on what has transpired so far this year, so let’s step into the Way-Back Machine (patent pending) and look at these two teams a year ago:
Nebraska is one of those teams who in the past were too smart for their own good, and had to reap the benefits of what they sown. Remember a few years ago they felt that their coach, who gave them NINE wins that year, was not good enough, so they got rid of him, expecting another coach to step in. But as it turned out, that coach didn’t want the job, and it made Nebraska look like idiots for getting rid of a very good coach for…nobody.
There’s that Nebraska education for ya.
But they eventually DID get a coach, but things just haven’t been the same. But maybe things are back on the upswing. The Cornhuskers finished 9-4 last year, and might be knocking on the door as the next squad of Big 12 power teams. They started the season last year 3-0, scoring tons of points in wins over Western Michigan, San Jose State and New Mexico State.
The problem came when the played a real team in Virginia Tech, and lost 35-30. It continued when they lost to Missouri at home 52-17. That old strategy of stringing up a bunch of home games doesn’t always work.
The losing carried over when Nebraska went on the road and lost to Texas Tech 35-7 before winning their first road game at Iowa State. They would beat Baylor at home before losing to Oklahoma on the road to get the record to 5-4, but would win their last 4 games over Kansas, Kansas State, Colorado and Clemson, all pretty convincingly at that.
Missouri had one of those magical years, where everybody was talking about the powerful Big 12, and Missouri was one of them. A 10-4 record, this team jumped to a 5-0 start, knocking off Illinois, Southeast Missouri State, Nevada, Buffalo and Nebraska. But the big game vs. Oklahoma State was their stumbling block, as they got their first loss of they year.
They took the second loss to Texas before rebounding against Colorado, Baylor and Kansas State. The Tigers would win one more game, at home vs. Iowa State, before losing two games to Kansas and Oklahoma, before pulling off a close win vs. Northwestern in a bowl game.
Fast forward to this year, 2009.
Nebraska, at 3-1 comes in ranked #21, but has only beaten Florida Atlantic (49-3), Arkansas State (38-9) and Louisiana-Lafayette (55-0)…what?
THIS is why they are #21???
They lost to Virginia Tech 16-15, but why is this team ranked with these wins? This is much how it went last year, scheduling multiple cupcakes at home to bolster a record. Geez, Notre Dame is whining about why their 4-1 record does not put them on the top 25, their schedule is at least a LITTLE better than this.
Why don’t you go ahead and schedule all the OTHER teams in the Sun Belt? Combined, the 3 teams Nebraska beat are currently 3-9. Hardly a top 25 team.
Yet if they beat Missouri, then a 4-1 record would be hard to deny to the top 25.
Missouri is currently 4-0, and have wins over Illinois, Bowling Green, Nevada and Furman. I’ll be honest, this is a better list than Nebraska’s. I don’t quite get why they are ranked lower than Nebraska, but this is one of those arguments that will be settled on the field in a short time from now.
Both teams are coming with new quarterbacks, at least from last year, but Mizz comes in as the 10th ranked passing team in the nation…they like to air it out. Where is Nebraska? Around number 33, which makes a difference of about 60 yards passing per game. But therein is a difference….Missouri has 4 more touchdowns by passing than Nebraska.
But the rushing game is different, Nebraska has 10 rushing touchdowns, but Missouri has only 4. This is a team known for rushing, but times apparently have changed. Is this change good for Nebraska? Well, they lost to Missouri last year in their house, now they are playing on the road. Two of the 4 games they lost last year were on the road, against quality opponents. If you consider Missouri a quality foe, and at 4-0 why don’t you, then this could be a loss to Nebraska.
But if Missouri has lost their luster after Chase Daniel left, then this could be every bit as close as it may seem. But I gotta favor the home team this time, by 3 points. Tigers over the Cornhuskers.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Should a 4-1 Notre Dame team be ranked?
Should Notre Dame be ranked now?
I was watching some of my favorite sports shows on ESPN when I listened to a story about how Charlie Weis, the head coach for Notre Dame, apparently feels that the Fighting Irish ought to be ranked.
Agree or disagree?
Should Weis keep his mouth shut or does he have a point?
Let’s review.
At this moment, if the AP poll had a top 35 list, Notre Dame would NOT be on it, with only 9 votes. If the USA Today poll had a top 30, Notre Dame would NOT be on that either, getting only 57 votes. But the great and mighty Notre Dame is 4-1, isn’t that worth a top 25 ranking?
I personally felt at the beginning of the season that Notre Dame is a lot of hype, and is a sad expression of how college football tries to force people to believe that a team is good only by name only. Granted I am not a fan of Notre Dame, and lost a heck of a lot of respect when they ran Tyrone Willingham out, and how they apparently give Charlie Weis far more credit for doing at BEST the same thing Willingham did.
Bit we do have a credible argument here. Why is a 4-1 team not even close to being recognized as a top 25 team. I mean, didn’t these same voters place Notre Dame in the top 25 at the beginning of the season, based off a paltry 7-6 record?
You guys remember last year, right? Where Lou Holtz on ESPN sat there with a bold-faced lie and said that Notre Dame would win the National Championship… mainly because the school made him an idol during the Michigan/Notre Dame game…
(hmm…idol…religious school….something not right there…)
You remember how the mighty Fighting Irish beat San Diego State, then Michigan to cement themselves in the BCS National Championship, right?
Right?
Oh wait, I forgot…they lost to Michigan State the next week. But they did beat Purdue and Stanford…oh that’s right, then they lost to UNC. And beating a hapless Washington team last year didn’t really mean anything, then they lost to Pittsburgh and Boston College back to back.
So much for that BCS Championship.
Notre Dame split the last 4 games, beating Navy, losing to Syracuse and Southern Cal before beating Hawaii. And yet, based on that performance, the voters felt that this was a top 25 team in the nation coming into 2009.
So let’s review what has happened so far.
Notre Dame beats Nevada at home 35-0, and everybody is blowing sunshine about how great Nevada is…remind me again how many bowls Nevada has won, or the last time they were RANKED?
We all saw how Michigan beat Notre Dame 38-34, so the Fighting Irish has a problem on the road. They get a home game vs. the Spartans and beat them 33-30... Reminds me of the movie, “The 300”…lots of threes….
And then Notre Dame goes on the road to beat Purdue 24-21 before winning last week against Washington at home, 37-30 in overtime.
And Charlie Weis is upset that this 4-1 team isn’t ranked.
Last year my argument against ND was that for all the talk about how good they were supposed to be, their schedule was suspect. Navy was perhaps the best team they beat last year, with all the others being cupcakes. Is it any different this year?
Consider the teams they played and beat so far, Nevada, currently 1-3. Michigan State, currently 2-3. Purdue, currently 1-4. Washington, currently 2-3. Collectively the teams Notre Dame has beaten are 6-13.…and yet this same team is BARELY beating them.
Charlie Weis whines about how they could have beaten Michigan and now be 5-0, but with the other close games, they could just as easily have been 1-4.
So now Notre Dame has Southern Cal coming to visit, and to be honest, this COULD be a game they might get, if ever they need one. A win here validates a top 25 ranking and could give them an inside track to a BCS bowl, possibly a national championship game.
But IF they lose, look at the rest of the schedule: A tough game vs. a 4-1 Boston College, although it is at home. A road game vs. 1-4 Washington State. A tough game vs. a 3-2 Navy squad. Two games vs. Big East contenders Pittsburgh at 4-1 and UCONN at 3-1. Then the season finale vs. a currently 4-1 Stanford.
We can’t be sure which 4-1 team is legit at this point, but at this moment Notre Dame has to face 6 out of 7 teams with a winning record. Last I checked, the Irish had a problem playing up to the challenge.
If Notre Dame sweeps all of this, then nobody will be laughing at the Irish. But how many close games can you win before a few fall against you? Do I think Notre Dame should be on the top 25? Based on the performance they have given, it is hard to believe they are one of the top 25 teams in the nation, but on grace I might give them #25.
If they win this game vs. Southern Cal, then they are squarely in, no doubt about it. But if they lose…looks like they might be in for a bumpy ride the next 6 or 7 games. With this in mind, perhaps it is better for Charlie Weis to be quiet and make his point on the field, rather than trying to get political about votes. Politics is how Notre Dame got rid of Tyrone Willingham, and that didn’t work out too well for them, did it?
I was watching some of my favorite sports shows on ESPN when I listened to a story about how Charlie Weis, the head coach for Notre Dame, apparently feels that the Fighting Irish ought to be ranked.
Agree or disagree?
Should Weis keep his mouth shut or does he have a point?
Let’s review.
At this moment, if the AP poll had a top 35 list, Notre Dame would NOT be on it, with only 9 votes. If the USA Today poll had a top 30, Notre Dame would NOT be on that either, getting only 57 votes. But the great and mighty Notre Dame is 4-1, isn’t that worth a top 25 ranking?
I personally felt at the beginning of the season that Notre Dame is a lot of hype, and is a sad expression of how college football tries to force people to believe that a team is good only by name only. Granted I am not a fan of Notre Dame, and lost a heck of a lot of respect when they ran Tyrone Willingham out, and how they apparently give Charlie Weis far more credit for doing at BEST the same thing Willingham did.
Bit we do have a credible argument here. Why is a 4-1 team not even close to being recognized as a top 25 team. I mean, didn’t these same voters place Notre Dame in the top 25 at the beginning of the season, based off a paltry 7-6 record?
You guys remember last year, right? Where Lou Holtz on ESPN sat there with a bold-faced lie and said that Notre Dame would win the National Championship… mainly because the school made him an idol during the Michigan/Notre Dame game…
(hmm…idol…religious school….something not right there…)
You remember how the mighty Fighting Irish beat San Diego State, then Michigan to cement themselves in the BCS National Championship, right?
Right?
Oh wait, I forgot…they lost to Michigan State the next week. But they did beat Purdue and Stanford…oh that’s right, then they lost to UNC. And beating a hapless Washington team last year didn’t really mean anything, then they lost to Pittsburgh and Boston College back to back.
So much for that BCS Championship.
Notre Dame split the last 4 games, beating Navy, losing to Syracuse and Southern Cal before beating Hawaii. And yet, based on that performance, the voters felt that this was a top 25 team in the nation coming into 2009.
So let’s review what has happened so far.
Notre Dame beats Nevada at home 35-0, and everybody is blowing sunshine about how great Nevada is…remind me again how many bowls Nevada has won, or the last time they were RANKED?
We all saw how Michigan beat Notre Dame 38-34, so the Fighting Irish has a problem on the road. They get a home game vs. the Spartans and beat them 33-30... Reminds me of the movie, “The 300”…lots of threes….
And then Notre Dame goes on the road to beat Purdue 24-21 before winning last week against Washington at home, 37-30 in overtime.
And Charlie Weis is upset that this 4-1 team isn’t ranked.
Last year my argument against ND was that for all the talk about how good they were supposed to be, their schedule was suspect. Navy was perhaps the best team they beat last year, with all the others being cupcakes. Is it any different this year?
Consider the teams they played and beat so far, Nevada, currently 1-3. Michigan State, currently 2-3. Purdue, currently 1-4. Washington, currently 2-3. Collectively the teams Notre Dame has beaten are 6-13.…and yet this same team is BARELY beating them.
Charlie Weis whines about how they could have beaten Michigan and now be 5-0, but with the other close games, they could just as easily have been 1-4.
So now Notre Dame has Southern Cal coming to visit, and to be honest, this COULD be a game they might get, if ever they need one. A win here validates a top 25 ranking and could give them an inside track to a BCS bowl, possibly a national championship game.
But IF they lose, look at the rest of the schedule: A tough game vs. a 4-1 Boston College, although it is at home. A road game vs. 1-4 Washington State. A tough game vs. a 3-2 Navy squad. Two games vs. Big East contenders Pittsburgh at 4-1 and UCONN at 3-1. Then the season finale vs. a currently 4-1 Stanford.
We can’t be sure which 4-1 team is legit at this point, but at this moment Notre Dame has to face 6 out of 7 teams with a winning record. Last I checked, the Irish had a problem playing up to the challenge.
If Notre Dame sweeps all of this, then nobody will be laughing at the Irish. But how many close games can you win before a few fall against you? Do I think Notre Dame should be on the top 25? Based on the performance they have given, it is hard to believe they are one of the top 25 teams in the nation, but on grace I might give them #25.
If they win this game vs. Southern Cal, then they are squarely in, no doubt about it. But if they lose…looks like they might be in for a bumpy ride the next 6 or 7 games. With this in mind, perhaps it is better for Charlie Weis to be quiet and make his point on the field, rather than trying to get political about votes. Politics is how Notre Dame got rid of Tyrone Willingham, and that didn’t work out too well for them, did it?
Top 10 NFL teams, after 4 weeks
NFL Top 10 after week 4!
I think I missed a week, so I better jump right in this one….
There were a lot of questions asked and answered after the Monday Night Game, in which Brett Farve showed why he is one of the best quarterbacks in the league… and why Green Bay management screwed up big time.
But that’s another blog, we have to decide who are the top 10 teams in the NFL as of this week, after many teams have played 4 games, some having played only 3 games.
When I looked over my list, I saw that there are currently 5 teams that are 4-0, and then there are 6 teams that are 3-1. That technically should make up my top 10, but we shall see. I also noticed that there are 2 teams that are 2-1, and 7 teams that are 2-2... Could they possibly make the top ten?
First off I had to eliminate a few teams from my list, which include the following:
Philadelphia Eagles: As long as McNabb is injured this is not the team to beat, even at 2-1 their wins were over the hapless Panthers and the Chiefs. We have to wait and see what happens as the season goes on.
Pittsburgh Steelers: At 2-2 I know they had a good win over the Chargers, but two losses to the Bears and Bengals hurts bad. And here too, they have injury issues. Seems to imply more and more that the best teams are the healthy teams.
San Francisco 49ers: yeah, a 3-1 team is not on my list, but only because I had to drop one of them. In effect I am saying that the 49ers, at this point, are the weakest 3-1 team in the NFL. Yeah, I know they beat the Cardinals, Seahawks and Rams, but where are these teams now? Not any real quality wins yet. But they won enough to get Michael Crabtree to sign…but will they get better with him?
So, let’s get into those top 10, shall we?
#10 New York Jets: At 3-1 there is a lot of fanfare for the Jets, especially after beating the Patriots. This clearly is a team to watch out for, but they have more division games to play, and beating the Texans and the Titans at this point really isn’t saying a lot. But any team that can beat the Pats gets my vote.
#9 Cincinnati Bengals: I almost forgot to put these guys on the list, I forgot that they were winning. A loss to the Broncos seemed to put them in a bad light, but winning three straight games over the Packers, Steelers and Browns isn’t so bad. Some may argue that at this point, neither is a really solid quality win, but anytime you beat the defending Superbowl champs and the Packers, that is saying something.
#8 Baltimore Ravens: Another 3-1 team that has shown that they can score, even with a loss to the Patriots. I think if the refs had not been so careful to make sure Tom Brady’s dress was on right, this game could have gone the other way. The Ravens were always a threat with their defense, and now with some offense, they look awesome. But beating the Chiefs and Browns isn’t saying too much, and the Chargers may not be the team we thought they were. Still, these guys are in the hunt.
#7 Chicago Bears: Who woulda thought that they would be 3-1 after the way they started the season? But beating the Steelers is a nice feather in the cap for Da Bears. The problem here is that their other wins were over the Seahawks and Lions…ugh. And losing to the Packers hurts them in their own division. But like the Ravens, this team has a great defense…but like the Eagles and Steelers, they also have very key injuries.
#6 Minnesota Vikings: Some are gonna fry me for this, because this means I have a 3-1 team ranked ABOVE a 4-0 team. This also means I think the Vikings are the weakest 4-0 team in the NFL. I submit to you that this is a good team, and for what it is worth, I am personally rooting for Farve, but beating the Browns and Lions isn’t saying too much. Beating the 49ers is great, but it took the last play to do it, and the Packers game could have been high emotion for Brett Farve. I know, they are all still wins, but I just think that there are 5 other teams that are better than the Vikings at this period in time. Another win could change my mind, but it still depends on what the other 5 are doing.
#5 Indianapolis Colts: This 4-0 team had me comparing with the Vikings, and what it came down to was quarterbacks. I could have easily put the Colts and Vikings tied, but I thought about who, in the course of a game, would I most likely want on my team. Peyton Manning or Brett Farve? This was very hard, and I love both, but I had to edge with youth. Both have great experience, but I think I want Peyton Manning just a sliver more than I want Farve…neither is a bad choice, I just thought the Colts were a bit better…but again, not by much at all.
#4 New England Patriots: Yep, I put this team above some 4-0 teams because this is one of the best teams in the NFL the last 10 years. We all know how they lost to the Jets, but the Patriots have defeated the Bills, Falcons and Ravens, ALL are pretty good. Few other teams can say that right now. Considering their strength of schedule, I believe at this point the New England Patriots are one of the 4 best teams in the NFL. Better than the Colts, well, that would be a good matchup, but I do think better than anybody else on the list…and mind you, they play the Jets again this year.
#3 Denver Broncos: This is odd, having them here at this time of the year. But they are 4-0, with wins over the Bengals, Browns, Raiders and Cowboys. But I think this might be short lived. Beating the Bengals at the beginning of the year is great, since we see that at this moment the Bengals are actually good. But the Browns, Raiders and Cowboys…well, they can’t all be steaks. But consider their division, and already at 4-0, they could run a bunch of games by the end of the year…maybe 12 wins?
#2 New Orleans Saints: Oh yeah, my HOMETOWN! Finally I can break out my Saints hat and wear it with pride. At 4-0 the Saints have knocked off the Lions, Eagles, Bills and Jets. Now, outside the Lions, that is a pretty good trio. This team is like a Ferrari with a turbo boost, and a defense that can hold it’s own. I know it’s still early, and with division foes like the Falcons still yet to play, and a Carolina team many expect to find a way to rebound, it’s not locked up for the Saints yet…but it is looking good.
#1 New York Giants: One guy on ESPN said this about the Giants, that he felt they were better because they already have 2 division wins under their belt. Well, so does the Vikings. But come on, the Lions don’t count….no jokes about the Redskins yet. Still, the Giants have everything in place to prove that they are one of the best teams in the NFL, and with the Redskins faltering, the Eagles banged up and the Cowboys confused, this could be a run for them. They do have some key injuries, including Eli Manning, but if they can put a healthy team on the field, they may well be in the Superbowl at the end of the year.
So that is my top 10 for now, this can change easily from week to week, and as teams get healthy…or lose players. We shall see.
I think I missed a week, so I better jump right in this one….
There were a lot of questions asked and answered after the Monday Night Game, in which Brett Farve showed why he is one of the best quarterbacks in the league… and why Green Bay management screwed up big time.
But that’s another blog, we have to decide who are the top 10 teams in the NFL as of this week, after many teams have played 4 games, some having played only 3 games.
When I looked over my list, I saw that there are currently 5 teams that are 4-0, and then there are 6 teams that are 3-1. That technically should make up my top 10, but we shall see. I also noticed that there are 2 teams that are 2-1, and 7 teams that are 2-2... Could they possibly make the top ten?
First off I had to eliminate a few teams from my list, which include the following:
Philadelphia Eagles: As long as McNabb is injured this is not the team to beat, even at 2-1 their wins were over the hapless Panthers and the Chiefs. We have to wait and see what happens as the season goes on.
Pittsburgh Steelers: At 2-2 I know they had a good win over the Chargers, but two losses to the Bears and Bengals hurts bad. And here too, they have injury issues. Seems to imply more and more that the best teams are the healthy teams.
San Francisco 49ers: yeah, a 3-1 team is not on my list, but only because I had to drop one of them. In effect I am saying that the 49ers, at this point, are the weakest 3-1 team in the NFL. Yeah, I know they beat the Cardinals, Seahawks and Rams, but where are these teams now? Not any real quality wins yet. But they won enough to get Michael Crabtree to sign…but will they get better with him?
So, let’s get into those top 10, shall we?
#10 New York Jets: At 3-1 there is a lot of fanfare for the Jets, especially after beating the Patriots. This clearly is a team to watch out for, but they have more division games to play, and beating the Texans and the Titans at this point really isn’t saying a lot. But any team that can beat the Pats gets my vote.
#9 Cincinnati Bengals: I almost forgot to put these guys on the list, I forgot that they were winning. A loss to the Broncos seemed to put them in a bad light, but winning three straight games over the Packers, Steelers and Browns isn’t so bad. Some may argue that at this point, neither is a really solid quality win, but anytime you beat the defending Superbowl champs and the Packers, that is saying something.
#8 Baltimore Ravens: Another 3-1 team that has shown that they can score, even with a loss to the Patriots. I think if the refs had not been so careful to make sure Tom Brady’s dress was on right, this game could have gone the other way. The Ravens were always a threat with their defense, and now with some offense, they look awesome. But beating the Chiefs and Browns isn’t saying too much, and the Chargers may not be the team we thought they were. Still, these guys are in the hunt.
#7 Chicago Bears: Who woulda thought that they would be 3-1 after the way they started the season? But beating the Steelers is a nice feather in the cap for Da Bears. The problem here is that their other wins were over the Seahawks and Lions…ugh. And losing to the Packers hurts them in their own division. But like the Ravens, this team has a great defense…but like the Eagles and Steelers, they also have very key injuries.
#6 Minnesota Vikings: Some are gonna fry me for this, because this means I have a 3-1 team ranked ABOVE a 4-0 team. This also means I think the Vikings are the weakest 4-0 team in the NFL. I submit to you that this is a good team, and for what it is worth, I am personally rooting for Farve, but beating the Browns and Lions isn’t saying too much. Beating the 49ers is great, but it took the last play to do it, and the Packers game could have been high emotion for Brett Farve. I know, they are all still wins, but I just think that there are 5 other teams that are better than the Vikings at this period in time. Another win could change my mind, but it still depends on what the other 5 are doing.
#5 Indianapolis Colts: This 4-0 team had me comparing with the Vikings, and what it came down to was quarterbacks. I could have easily put the Colts and Vikings tied, but I thought about who, in the course of a game, would I most likely want on my team. Peyton Manning or Brett Farve? This was very hard, and I love both, but I had to edge with youth. Both have great experience, but I think I want Peyton Manning just a sliver more than I want Farve…neither is a bad choice, I just thought the Colts were a bit better…but again, not by much at all.
#4 New England Patriots: Yep, I put this team above some 4-0 teams because this is one of the best teams in the NFL the last 10 years. We all know how they lost to the Jets, but the Patriots have defeated the Bills, Falcons and Ravens, ALL are pretty good. Few other teams can say that right now. Considering their strength of schedule, I believe at this point the New England Patriots are one of the 4 best teams in the NFL. Better than the Colts, well, that would be a good matchup, but I do think better than anybody else on the list…and mind you, they play the Jets again this year.
#3 Denver Broncos: This is odd, having them here at this time of the year. But they are 4-0, with wins over the Bengals, Browns, Raiders and Cowboys. But I think this might be short lived. Beating the Bengals at the beginning of the year is great, since we see that at this moment the Bengals are actually good. But the Browns, Raiders and Cowboys…well, they can’t all be steaks. But consider their division, and already at 4-0, they could run a bunch of games by the end of the year…maybe 12 wins?
#2 New Orleans Saints: Oh yeah, my HOMETOWN! Finally I can break out my Saints hat and wear it with pride. At 4-0 the Saints have knocked off the Lions, Eagles, Bills and Jets. Now, outside the Lions, that is a pretty good trio. This team is like a Ferrari with a turbo boost, and a defense that can hold it’s own. I know it’s still early, and with division foes like the Falcons still yet to play, and a Carolina team many expect to find a way to rebound, it’s not locked up for the Saints yet…but it is looking good.
#1 New York Giants: One guy on ESPN said this about the Giants, that he felt they were better because they already have 2 division wins under their belt. Well, so does the Vikings. But come on, the Lions don’t count….no jokes about the Redskins yet. Still, the Giants have everything in place to prove that they are one of the best teams in the NFL, and with the Redskins faltering, the Eagles banged up and the Cowboys confused, this could be a run for them. They do have some key injuries, including Eli Manning, but if they can put a healthy team on the field, they may well be in the Superbowl at the end of the year.
So that is my top 10 for now, this can change easily from week to week, and as teams get healthy…or lose players. We shall see.
Is excessive celebration based on race?
Is Celebration Penalties based on race?
I wrote a blog last year about the celebration penalties in college football, and how they really take a huge part of the pageantry of college football out based on the judgment of an official. Last week during the LSU/Georgia game, we see this rear it’s ugly head:
As many of you know, the big battle between LSU and Georgia was a major game to decide the superior teams of the SEC. But in a crucial part of the game, Georgia scores a touchdown and in the midst of the exuberance, one of the officials threw a flag for “excessive celebration”.
The penalty gave LSU an extra 15 yards and helped immensely in them making the final drive to score…and win the game.
A couple of days later, the SEC reviews the penalty and finds out that there was no penalty at all…oops. Sorry about losing that game Georgia, but we made a boo-boo.
Yesterday while I am watching “Around the Horn” on ESPN, they raised the question about whether this was a big deal or not. And folks, pay close attention to what I am about to say…
The question of excessive celebration was asked to three members of the media, two was Caucasian, one was African American. The African American journalist said that it DID make a difference because it cost a team a game and the entire idea of excessive celebration was a punishment to students who work hard and want to enjoy as much of their hard work as the fans do in watching it.
The two Caucasian journalists said that it did NOT make a difference, because Georgia was know (LAST YEAR!) to be excessive, and that these players need to learn how to be more calm and professional when they are on the field of play.
This was split right down race lines.
The issue of “excessive celebrations” has been in issue for years, which is ironic because some of the most memorable clips of NCAA football are those where there is celebration…how many of you remember the Desmond Howard pose…
Yeah, thought so.
But in the years I have been watching college football, I have noticed a kinda disturbing trend when it comes to these penalties…it does seem to be race related. Now don’t get me wrong, I am not trying to pick apart the LSU win, folks, I have a LSU hat here in my house that I wear because I was born in New Orleans…I am a Saints fan for life and anything out of Louisiana. So I LIKE LSU, but the game of college football has seemed to have gotten more about “taming” rather than playing.
Is celebration penalties based on race or discrimination? I think so, but before I get into that, let’s be clear about what I mean about “excessive celebration”.
The word “excessive” by my dictionary, means, “greater than what is normal or necessary”. So in some form we can say that an excessive celebration penalty is based on a player that celebrates above what is normal or necessary. But now let’s also define “celebration”:
“To do something to show that a day or event is important; to honor with festivities; to make merry on such an occasion”
That’s from my Oxford American Dictionary, I didn’t make that up.
So in some essence, we can say that an excessive celebration is when an athlete is too merry, or giving too much honor for a certain event….but folks what this ALSO says is that they ARE in fact allowed to do so.
The penalty isn’t for ANY celebration, it’s for EXCESSIVE. But this is where the problem lies…who determines what is excessive? Who determines that what a player does is greater than normal or necessary? What is the norm of celebrations, and who decides that?
What is normal to you might not be normal to me, what you do to celebrate or show honor or make merry might not be what I do. It might be more, it might be less. It is purely based on personal judgment. This is the same that can be said for referees in college football. They are not necessarily making the RIGHT call, they are making a personal call…there is a major difference.
Yet having said that, we can come so some conclusion to what could be excessive. If I run in the end zone and did a back flip, THAT can be considered excessive. If I ran in the end zone and then tried to do a Thriller video, then THAT can be considered excessive.
(R.I.P MJ)
Any knowledgeable fan in college football can have a decent idea of what is celebratory, and what is too much. But often times the officials are there to punish these players for scoring for their team.
What really irks me off is when a guy runs into the end zone, scores a touchdown, and even before his teammates get to him, the ref is all in his face trying to get him off the field. I personally think that is unfair because remember folks, the penalty is for EXCESSIVE celebration… not simply celebration. Players are allowed to show joy and enthusiasm on the field, especially when they do something good. For a ref to get all in his grill is an attempt to prevent him from even celebrating… that is NOT their job.
So there has to be some even ground where a player can do something to show his joy and honor for what has been done. I mean, how can a referee sit there, at a Georgia home game, with THOUSANDS of Georgia fans rooting for their team, and a guy managed to get in the end zone during a crucial time of a major game, and get flagged for what?
Nothing.
And the fact that there is no review of such a judgment call, it has cost Georgia the game, and likely a shot at the BCS Championship. Don’t tell me that LSU would have scored anyway, we don’t know that, but what we DO know is that they were given an extra 15 yards to work with.
To me, the refs threw that flag in a prejudiced motion, pre-judging the actions of the players, and were to damned quick to flag something that never happened. This is based purely on the beliefs of those refs which were Caucasian.
It comes back to race.
Even now in 2009, we as Americans try to live together and our cultures have mixed with one another. Music, entertainment, sports, religion, all these things we can enjoy and participate with in unison. But in our personal lives, there are still things we separate as what we deem is “right” and what is not right.
And one of the most controversial subjects in sports is the celebration penalties, because it is based squarely on race. For the most part, we see African American receivers and backs scoring touchdowns, and for the most part, the refs are Caucasian.
So what we have happening is older Caucasian “judges” making a judgment on whether an African American is celebrating too much. And because the cultures of an older white guy and a younger black guy are light years apart, it seems easier for the ref to create the illusion that the younger guy is being too riotous.
But that’s ONLY an opinion, one the NCAA sadly sides with. Look where it got Georgia…an unfair loss that the SEC can only hide behind a cheap apology like a coward.
Oh by the way, this from a conference that in their history has only had ONE African American head coach, and I personally believe they only did that to get the…excuse the saying, monkey off their back.
Get with the 21st century SEC!
And let us also add that Georgia last year had not one, but two separate celebration penalties called for a touchdown and had all the players run on the field. Ok, I get that, and the penalty was partly justified, but was there any attempt to punish the team this year for what happened last year?
Woody Paige on “Around The Horn” tried to validate it because it was something Georgia did last year…what the hell is that about? That is a stupid argument based on what happened LAST YEAR. Why is Woody Paige implying that Georgia somehow deserved a penalty for what happened a year ago? That had nothing to do with last week’s game, and it makes it even more wicked that somebody felt that Georgia deserved more punishment, even after they got two penalties stacked on one another from that game.
It is absolutely amazing what people say about the excessive celebration penalties, because to me there often times is no validation. Again, there are many reasons to throw the penalty, like if a guy takes off his helmet, or if he dances in the end zone. Ok, I get that, but where do you draw the line on what is acceptable and what is not?
You notice that no player ever got flagged for kneeling down to pray after a score… hey, that is celebration. I guarantee you if an ref that does not believe in God threw a flag, THEN everybody would start talking about what is excessive.
I said before in another blog that even guys who call the games show their true colors. One of the guys I don’t like listening to is Mike Patrick of ESPN. I noticed that when such celebration penalties come out during a game he is calling, he makes it a point to say that the player is “stupid”. He likes to say, “it’s just plain stupid”. I have never once heard him defend the possibility that the refs might have prejudged the athlete.
Mark Jones is the opposite. I love listening to him on the games on ESPN because he is very quick to point out that this is a GAME, and these are KIDS and they have every right to enjoy the fruits of their works. He has criticized the officials at times when they make a excessive celebration penalty that is overboard. I am not saying that he argues every call, but he had a good idea of what is excessive and what is not.
Mike Patrick, does not.
And folks, this isn’t just along race lines either. It’s not like every African American commentator criticizes these penalties, while every Caucasian supports it. There are many exceptions, but more times than not, it seems that there is a clear generation and racial gap between older non-athletic Caucasians and younger African American college football players.
And it kills me when I hear them talk about how more athletes ought to act like Barry Sanders. I mean, when he scored, all he did was give the ball to the official and go back to his sideline. He is professional and does what he is expected to do.
But when you take one person and try to make everybody be like him, you are falsely applying a prejudice to every person, when you know no two people are alike. Barry Sanders is one of the best running backs of all time, to be sure….but Emmitt Smith IS the greatest of all time, and we have seen him do some celebrations when he scored.
How many of you remember the 49ers/Cowboys game when Terrell Owens mocked the Cowboys by putting the ball on the center star…what did Emmitt Smith do when HE scored….
The game of football is filled with a lot of aggression, and it takes superior talent going through hard core training to be the best. Those students have to manage an academic profile while playing at the highest level. They go through practices that no ref or media member could endure. The do it for the love for the sport, and for the glory and honor of their team and university.
So when they get on that field, with anywhere from 50,000 to 100,000 in that stadium, and millions watching on tv, they are dead set to give it their all… against a team dead set to stop them in their tracks. But IF that person is able to get in that end zone, especially in the 4th quarter of a home game, with the fans going nuts in a score that could give them a win, it is absolutely natural to celebrate, because that is part of college football.
But when some idiot ref tosses a flag based on what he THINKS he knows, it destroys all the celebration for the player, team, and fans, and cheats the tv audience out of a valid game. There is no two ways about this folks, the refs destroyed Georgia’s game, and the SEC won’t do anything about it…cowards.
All this on the foundation that many of these calls are indeed racially based. I say again, there are times where a guy can go overboard, and when he does, then you flag him. But to make a snap decision from an older Caucasian ref to decide if an African American is “hamming it up” is too judgmental, and usually results in a bad call. But sadly the NCAA says that these opinions by the refs are not reviewed for change…cowards.
It reminds me of the Hawaii team, and how their culture has been virtually eliminated from college sports because the NCAA does not like the way they celebrate. The Hawaiian culture is a very celebratory culture, and you see that in how they play. I absolutely LOVED watching them play, because you get to see the true nature of sports and all the pageantry that goes with it. But because it is a culture that the Caucasian refs and the NCAA does not understand, they feel that it is not good “sportsmanship”.
Last year I made a blog about a Duke game where one of their players dove in the end zone and was flagged for excessive celebration. I saw that game and I agreed that yes, it was excessive. But I also saw how not one, but two of the Duke coaches lit into that guy as if he stole their mother’s Christmas gift. To me, that was foolish for the coaches because come on, when was the LAST time Duke fans had a chance to celebrate? Yeah the kid made a mistake, but don’t crucify him for that, you need every edge you can get to inspire your team. Perhaps that’s why Duke football is where is it now…on the bottom.
And I remember joking with my brother about it last year and I said, “I bet you, if Duke is on tv, I guarantee you that one of the highlights they will show in the commercial will be that guy diving in the end zone”. And sure enough, it was.
The irony of how the NCAA tries to condemn celebrations, but corporate America such as CBS, ESPN, FOX and all the other media will use that very penalty to sell the college football product.
To me, all those commercials the NCAA show about “Sportmanship” is garbage. There is a level of honor that is supposed to be shown by players and fans, but the way the NCAA tries to sell it is that celebrations are not allowed. Ironic because it is the pageantry and celebrations of college football that make it a BILLION dollar business, and why businesses can’t stop creating new bowls to jump in….Yankee Bowl? What’s up with that?
All this plays on these decisions that out-of touch refs make when a young student makes a touchdown. I say again, there are times where a flag needs to be thrown, I get that, but there are also times when these guys make foolish snap judgments based on what they don’t like. How much longer before they outlaw the chest thump? How much longer before they outlaw the “hi-five”? I mean, that’s a coordinated move, isn’t it? It takes two to do it, right?
Sadly I think it may be years, or even decades, before there is any real change in the excessive celebration penalty. If you ever get the chance, watch these games and look at the factors that seem to imply that this could be a race issue. Most times the refs making these calls are indeed Caucasian. I said MOST, not all. Most times these calls are on African American athletes. I said MOST, not all, there are exceptions.
If you ever watch some of the historical black college games (which are great too), notice how they make such calls. Yes, they DO make excessive celebration calls, but when they make them, there is no question about it. You KNOW that the player was out of line when he did it. But in other college games, sometimes you have to wonder.
So sadly, Georgia loses a game because the refs made a stupid call, one likely racially based, certainly one based on pre-judgement…or prejudice. And it does not surprise me that the SEC, which are at the back of equal opportunity, would hid behind their desks and say “sorry for that bad call, but we can’t do anything about it”…
Sounds like some other bad apologies our country has made in the past…
I wrote a blog last year about the celebration penalties in college football, and how they really take a huge part of the pageantry of college football out based on the judgment of an official. Last week during the LSU/Georgia game, we see this rear it’s ugly head:
As many of you know, the big battle between LSU and Georgia was a major game to decide the superior teams of the SEC. But in a crucial part of the game, Georgia scores a touchdown and in the midst of the exuberance, one of the officials threw a flag for “excessive celebration”.
The penalty gave LSU an extra 15 yards and helped immensely in them making the final drive to score…and win the game.
A couple of days later, the SEC reviews the penalty and finds out that there was no penalty at all…oops. Sorry about losing that game Georgia, but we made a boo-boo.
Yesterday while I am watching “Around the Horn” on ESPN, they raised the question about whether this was a big deal or not. And folks, pay close attention to what I am about to say…
The question of excessive celebration was asked to three members of the media, two was Caucasian, one was African American. The African American journalist said that it DID make a difference because it cost a team a game and the entire idea of excessive celebration was a punishment to students who work hard and want to enjoy as much of their hard work as the fans do in watching it.
The two Caucasian journalists said that it did NOT make a difference, because Georgia was know (LAST YEAR!) to be excessive, and that these players need to learn how to be more calm and professional when they are on the field of play.
This was split right down race lines.
The issue of “excessive celebrations” has been in issue for years, which is ironic because some of the most memorable clips of NCAA football are those where there is celebration…how many of you remember the Desmond Howard pose…
Yeah, thought so.
But in the years I have been watching college football, I have noticed a kinda disturbing trend when it comes to these penalties…it does seem to be race related. Now don’t get me wrong, I am not trying to pick apart the LSU win, folks, I have a LSU hat here in my house that I wear because I was born in New Orleans…I am a Saints fan for life and anything out of Louisiana. So I LIKE LSU, but the game of college football has seemed to have gotten more about “taming” rather than playing.
Is celebration penalties based on race or discrimination? I think so, but before I get into that, let’s be clear about what I mean about “excessive celebration”.
The word “excessive” by my dictionary, means, “greater than what is normal or necessary”. So in some form we can say that an excessive celebration penalty is based on a player that celebrates above what is normal or necessary. But now let’s also define “celebration”:
“To do something to show that a day or event is important; to honor with festivities; to make merry on such an occasion”
That’s from my Oxford American Dictionary, I didn’t make that up.
So in some essence, we can say that an excessive celebration is when an athlete is too merry, or giving too much honor for a certain event….but folks what this ALSO says is that they ARE in fact allowed to do so.
The penalty isn’t for ANY celebration, it’s for EXCESSIVE. But this is where the problem lies…who determines what is excessive? Who determines that what a player does is greater than normal or necessary? What is the norm of celebrations, and who decides that?
What is normal to you might not be normal to me, what you do to celebrate or show honor or make merry might not be what I do. It might be more, it might be less. It is purely based on personal judgment. This is the same that can be said for referees in college football. They are not necessarily making the RIGHT call, they are making a personal call…there is a major difference.
Yet having said that, we can come so some conclusion to what could be excessive. If I run in the end zone and did a back flip, THAT can be considered excessive. If I ran in the end zone and then tried to do a Thriller video, then THAT can be considered excessive.
(R.I.P MJ)
Any knowledgeable fan in college football can have a decent idea of what is celebratory, and what is too much. But often times the officials are there to punish these players for scoring for their team.
What really irks me off is when a guy runs into the end zone, scores a touchdown, and even before his teammates get to him, the ref is all in his face trying to get him off the field. I personally think that is unfair because remember folks, the penalty is for EXCESSIVE celebration… not simply celebration. Players are allowed to show joy and enthusiasm on the field, especially when they do something good. For a ref to get all in his grill is an attempt to prevent him from even celebrating… that is NOT their job.
So there has to be some even ground where a player can do something to show his joy and honor for what has been done. I mean, how can a referee sit there, at a Georgia home game, with THOUSANDS of Georgia fans rooting for their team, and a guy managed to get in the end zone during a crucial time of a major game, and get flagged for what?
Nothing.
And the fact that there is no review of such a judgment call, it has cost Georgia the game, and likely a shot at the BCS Championship. Don’t tell me that LSU would have scored anyway, we don’t know that, but what we DO know is that they were given an extra 15 yards to work with.
To me, the refs threw that flag in a prejudiced motion, pre-judging the actions of the players, and were to damned quick to flag something that never happened. This is based purely on the beliefs of those refs which were Caucasian.
It comes back to race.
Even now in 2009, we as Americans try to live together and our cultures have mixed with one another. Music, entertainment, sports, religion, all these things we can enjoy and participate with in unison. But in our personal lives, there are still things we separate as what we deem is “right” and what is not right.
And one of the most controversial subjects in sports is the celebration penalties, because it is based squarely on race. For the most part, we see African American receivers and backs scoring touchdowns, and for the most part, the refs are Caucasian.
So what we have happening is older Caucasian “judges” making a judgment on whether an African American is celebrating too much. And because the cultures of an older white guy and a younger black guy are light years apart, it seems easier for the ref to create the illusion that the younger guy is being too riotous.
But that’s ONLY an opinion, one the NCAA sadly sides with. Look where it got Georgia…an unfair loss that the SEC can only hide behind a cheap apology like a coward.
Oh by the way, this from a conference that in their history has only had ONE African American head coach, and I personally believe they only did that to get the…excuse the saying, monkey off their back.
Get with the 21st century SEC!
And let us also add that Georgia last year had not one, but two separate celebration penalties called for a touchdown and had all the players run on the field. Ok, I get that, and the penalty was partly justified, but was there any attempt to punish the team this year for what happened last year?
Woody Paige on “Around The Horn” tried to validate it because it was something Georgia did last year…what the hell is that about? That is a stupid argument based on what happened LAST YEAR. Why is Woody Paige implying that Georgia somehow deserved a penalty for what happened a year ago? That had nothing to do with last week’s game, and it makes it even more wicked that somebody felt that Georgia deserved more punishment, even after they got two penalties stacked on one another from that game.
It is absolutely amazing what people say about the excessive celebration penalties, because to me there often times is no validation. Again, there are many reasons to throw the penalty, like if a guy takes off his helmet, or if he dances in the end zone. Ok, I get that, but where do you draw the line on what is acceptable and what is not?
You notice that no player ever got flagged for kneeling down to pray after a score… hey, that is celebration. I guarantee you if an ref that does not believe in God threw a flag, THEN everybody would start talking about what is excessive.
I said before in another blog that even guys who call the games show their true colors. One of the guys I don’t like listening to is Mike Patrick of ESPN. I noticed that when such celebration penalties come out during a game he is calling, he makes it a point to say that the player is “stupid”. He likes to say, “it’s just plain stupid”. I have never once heard him defend the possibility that the refs might have prejudged the athlete.
Mark Jones is the opposite. I love listening to him on the games on ESPN because he is very quick to point out that this is a GAME, and these are KIDS and they have every right to enjoy the fruits of their works. He has criticized the officials at times when they make a excessive celebration penalty that is overboard. I am not saying that he argues every call, but he had a good idea of what is excessive and what is not.
Mike Patrick, does not.
And folks, this isn’t just along race lines either. It’s not like every African American commentator criticizes these penalties, while every Caucasian supports it. There are many exceptions, but more times than not, it seems that there is a clear generation and racial gap between older non-athletic Caucasians and younger African American college football players.
And it kills me when I hear them talk about how more athletes ought to act like Barry Sanders. I mean, when he scored, all he did was give the ball to the official and go back to his sideline. He is professional and does what he is expected to do.
But when you take one person and try to make everybody be like him, you are falsely applying a prejudice to every person, when you know no two people are alike. Barry Sanders is one of the best running backs of all time, to be sure….but Emmitt Smith IS the greatest of all time, and we have seen him do some celebrations when he scored.
How many of you remember the 49ers/Cowboys game when Terrell Owens mocked the Cowboys by putting the ball on the center star…what did Emmitt Smith do when HE scored….
The game of football is filled with a lot of aggression, and it takes superior talent going through hard core training to be the best. Those students have to manage an academic profile while playing at the highest level. They go through practices that no ref or media member could endure. The do it for the love for the sport, and for the glory and honor of their team and university.
So when they get on that field, with anywhere from 50,000 to 100,000 in that stadium, and millions watching on tv, they are dead set to give it their all… against a team dead set to stop them in their tracks. But IF that person is able to get in that end zone, especially in the 4th quarter of a home game, with the fans going nuts in a score that could give them a win, it is absolutely natural to celebrate, because that is part of college football.
But when some idiot ref tosses a flag based on what he THINKS he knows, it destroys all the celebration for the player, team, and fans, and cheats the tv audience out of a valid game. There is no two ways about this folks, the refs destroyed Georgia’s game, and the SEC won’t do anything about it…cowards.
All this on the foundation that many of these calls are indeed racially based. I say again, there are times where a guy can go overboard, and when he does, then you flag him. But to make a snap decision from an older Caucasian ref to decide if an African American is “hamming it up” is too judgmental, and usually results in a bad call. But sadly the NCAA says that these opinions by the refs are not reviewed for change…cowards.
It reminds me of the Hawaii team, and how their culture has been virtually eliminated from college sports because the NCAA does not like the way they celebrate. The Hawaiian culture is a very celebratory culture, and you see that in how they play. I absolutely LOVED watching them play, because you get to see the true nature of sports and all the pageantry that goes with it. But because it is a culture that the Caucasian refs and the NCAA does not understand, they feel that it is not good “sportsmanship”.
Last year I made a blog about a Duke game where one of their players dove in the end zone and was flagged for excessive celebration. I saw that game and I agreed that yes, it was excessive. But I also saw how not one, but two of the Duke coaches lit into that guy as if he stole their mother’s Christmas gift. To me, that was foolish for the coaches because come on, when was the LAST time Duke fans had a chance to celebrate? Yeah the kid made a mistake, but don’t crucify him for that, you need every edge you can get to inspire your team. Perhaps that’s why Duke football is where is it now…on the bottom.
And I remember joking with my brother about it last year and I said, “I bet you, if Duke is on tv, I guarantee you that one of the highlights they will show in the commercial will be that guy diving in the end zone”. And sure enough, it was.
The irony of how the NCAA tries to condemn celebrations, but corporate America such as CBS, ESPN, FOX and all the other media will use that very penalty to sell the college football product.
To me, all those commercials the NCAA show about “Sportmanship” is garbage. There is a level of honor that is supposed to be shown by players and fans, but the way the NCAA tries to sell it is that celebrations are not allowed. Ironic because it is the pageantry and celebrations of college football that make it a BILLION dollar business, and why businesses can’t stop creating new bowls to jump in….Yankee Bowl? What’s up with that?
All this plays on these decisions that out-of touch refs make when a young student makes a touchdown. I say again, there are times where a flag needs to be thrown, I get that, but there are also times when these guys make foolish snap judgments based on what they don’t like. How much longer before they outlaw the chest thump? How much longer before they outlaw the “hi-five”? I mean, that’s a coordinated move, isn’t it? It takes two to do it, right?
Sadly I think it may be years, or even decades, before there is any real change in the excessive celebration penalty. If you ever get the chance, watch these games and look at the factors that seem to imply that this could be a race issue. Most times the refs making these calls are indeed Caucasian. I said MOST, not all. Most times these calls are on African American athletes. I said MOST, not all, there are exceptions.
If you ever watch some of the historical black college games (which are great too), notice how they make such calls. Yes, they DO make excessive celebration calls, but when they make them, there is no question about it. You KNOW that the player was out of line when he did it. But in other college games, sometimes you have to wonder.
So sadly, Georgia loses a game because the refs made a stupid call, one likely racially based, certainly one based on pre-judgement…or prejudice. And it does not surprise me that the SEC, which are at the back of equal opportunity, would hid behind their desks and say “sorry for that bad call, but we can’t do anything about it”…
Sounds like some other bad apologies our country has made in the past…
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