Saturday, November 20, 2004
Oh, how the sometimes mighty have fallen: Could Indiana football be in a worse position? Not only have they blown leads against equally lousy teams (Ill., Penn State, Northwestern) that have kept them from getting bowl eligible for the first time in a decade. But now the biggest game of their season -- the battle for the Old Oaken Bucket against Purdue -- is not even televised!! The only way IU fans could catch the beating (IU was down 42-10 at halftime) was through ESPN Broadband on the Internet.
I know IU football is in a bad position. They can't find a lot of talent and they have replaced Northwestern as the Michigan and Ohio State's annual cupcake. But the bucket game should at least draw SOME interest from the TV people, if for no other reason to let Purdue fans watch their underachieving team get another win and maybe a better bowl game.
As another IU football season closes, here's to hoping IU can actually improve sometime this century. I'm still patiently waiting and praying for Rose Bowl #2...
I know IU football is in a bad position. They can't find a lot of talent and they have replaced Northwestern as the Michigan and Ohio State's annual cupcake. But the bucket game should at least draw SOME interest from the TV people, if for no other reason to let Purdue fans watch their underachieving team get another win and maybe a better bowl game.
As another IU football season closes, here's to hoping IU can actually improve sometime this century. I'm still patiently waiting and praying for Rose Bowl #2...
A pathetic display: I suspect the blogosphere, as a friend of mine calls it, is going ballistic over the Pacers-Pistons version of Smackdown. So I will offer my thoughts just to get in the mix...
This was truly disgusting. I didn't see it live, but ESPN aired the entire melee on SportsCenter. And the ESPN crew was right, there is blame to go all around in that situation. Ben Wallace shouldn't have pushed Ron Artest, it wasn't that hard a foul. And the fans shouldn't have been throwing bottles, popcorn, beer, you name it, at the players. And the players shouldn't have gone into the stands to beat on people.
But my question is, why did it get to the point where a hard foul with 45 seconds to go could escalate it to that level? Were the fans that drunk? Were they that mad that the Pacers pretty much dominated the Pistons on their home floor? This was not a playoff game, nor a regular season game that really mattered that much.
The brawl is not the problem in my mind. My problem is the ripple-effects on the NBA. Are they going to make the teams play games inside a steel cage to keep the fans under control? Are they going to remove the courtside seats so fans can't get near the players? By far one of the neatest things about basketball is the fans can literally sit right on the action without any real fear of injury. Baseball fans must worry about wayward bats and foul balls. Football and hockey fans would be killed if they were allowed to sit right on the field or rink.
Are we going to have to worry about belligerent fans like Europeans do during soccer matches? I really hope not. Maybe I'm still overly naive, but I don't want our sports games to feel like a police state. We need security, but I don't want to be handcuffed to the seat or dragged to jail because I yelled a little louder than allowed.
This was truly disgusting. I didn't see it live, but ESPN aired the entire melee on SportsCenter. And the ESPN crew was right, there is blame to go all around in that situation. Ben Wallace shouldn't have pushed Ron Artest, it wasn't that hard a foul. And the fans shouldn't have been throwing bottles, popcorn, beer, you name it, at the players. And the players shouldn't have gone into the stands to beat on people.
But my question is, why did it get to the point where a hard foul with 45 seconds to go could escalate it to that level? Were the fans that drunk? Were they that mad that the Pacers pretty much dominated the Pistons on their home floor? This was not a playoff game, nor a regular season game that really mattered that much.
The brawl is not the problem in my mind. My problem is the ripple-effects on the NBA. Are they going to make the teams play games inside a steel cage to keep the fans under control? Are they going to remove the courtside seats so fans can't get near the players? By far one of the neatest things about basketball is the fans can literally sit right on the action without any real fear of injury. Baseball fans must worry about wayward bats and foul balls. Football and hockey fans would be killed if they were allowed to sit right on the field or rink.
Are we going to have to worry about belligerent fans like Europeans do during soccer matches? I really hope not. Maybe I'm still overly naive, but I don't want our sports games to feel like a police state. We need security, but I don't want to be handcuffed to the seat or dragged to jail because I yelled a little louder than allowed.
Tuesday, November 09, 2004
Football follies: I read with interest ESPN The Magazine's story on former Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett.
Here is a link to the story: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=1919246
Clarett alleges he took money and cars from boosters and had tutors ensure he remained eligible for football, which really is understating it.
The story itself really does not surprise me. At many big-time schools, especially one that is successful like OSU (they won the National Championship during Clarett's freshman and only season there), there certainly are going to be temptations like these. But my question, and the question of many sports writers now, is why is he saying all this stuff? This doesn't make him look better to NFL general managers who will have the opportunity to draft him next year. If anything I think it raises many more questions. Integrity is a big character trait pro football officials look for now.
The interesting thing in this whole discussion is Clarett was never considered a high draft pick, even before all this happened. During the Buckeye's title run, there was talk about whether he would leave school after his freshman year. Everything I read and heard was he was projected a 4th or 5th round draft pick.
Is this payback to Ohio State? Clarett says the school let him down after he protected them during the NCAA investigation. There is no question OSU will take some heat over this. But really the only person who will be hurt here is Clarett. OSU football will go on. OSU will remain a Big Ten school that will continue granting degrees and turning out quality graduates.
But Clarett likely will have trouble breaking into the NFL. He says in the story that he is getting his body in shape for the combine next year, when he is eligible for the draft. I can't help but feel a little sorry for Clarett. It seems the deck is stacked against him no matter what he does.
Here is a link to the story: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=1919246
Clarett alleges he took money and cars from boosters and had tutors ensure he remained eligible for football, which really is understating it.
The story itself really does not surprise me. At many big-time schools, especially one that is successful like OSU (they won the National Championship during Clarett's freshman and only season there), there certainly are going to be temptations like these. But my question, and the question of many sports writers now, is why is he saying all this stuff? This doesn't make him look better to NFL general managers who will have the opportunity to draft him next year. If anything I think it raises many more questions. Integrity is a big character trait pro football officials look for now.
The interesting thing in this whole discussion is Clarett was never considered a high draft pick, even before all this happened. During the Buckeye's title run, there was talk about whether he would leave school after his freshman year. Everything I read and heard was he was projected a 4th or 5th round draft pick.
Is this payback to Ohio State? Clarett says the school let him down after he protected them during the NCAA investigation. There is no question OSU will take some heat over this. But really the only person who will be hurt here is Clarett. OSU football will go on. OSU will remain a Big Ten school that will continue granting degrees and turning out quality graduates.
But Clarett likely will have trouble breaking into the NFL. He says in the story that he is getting his body in shape for the combine next year, when he is eligible for the draft. I can't help but feel a little sorry for Clarett. It seems the deck is stacked against him no matter what he does.
Wednesday, November 03, 2004
Only Election Day post: I am a nervous wreck, so I am going to go home and drink Scotch heavily.
However, people ask me, "Why does Derrick hate Kerry so much? Why does he have such hatred for Teresa Heinz? Why does he no longer have ketchup on his food?"
The answer is simple, very simple.
At least he tasted some revenge Sunday!
