Football Magazine Season

Football season now ends in February. A lot of us need a football fix that only a magazine can bring. Therefore, football season previews now appear on newsstands as early as the third week of May. We now have a full-blown football magazine season, which lasts almost as long as football season itself.

Most magazines regionalize themselves, at least with the cover. A national magazine may have Texas players on the cover in Texas, and have USC players on the cover of the same magazine in California, for example. There are also magazines (Lindy's, Athlon, etc.) that publish regional editions, in addition to their national edition. If you want to spring for it, you can also order all their regional editions from their websites. With the advent of the Internet, there's no need to buy eight magazines at once.

I look for magazines on the shelves beginning in May, but rarely buy one until June. I don't want to buy a magazine merely because it's first on the shelf (Lindy's and Athlon are out). I want quality and quantity, and I don't want something rushed to press just to be first on the shelves.

Every year, I make sure to buy Dave Campbell's Texas Football. It is sold on newsstands only in Texas (could they sell many of them anywhere else?). DCTF gives good previews of all Big XII South teams and other Texas major college teams. It gives a couple of pages of lip service to the Big XII North, and a couple of pages to national college football. There are also sections devoted to small colleges and the two Texas NFL teams. The magazine is best known, though, for its exhaustive preview of high school football, with previews of every school, public and private, 11-man and six-man. There are over 1100 football-playing schools in Texas, and DCTF touches all of them.

Tonight, for the first time, I picked up Phil Steele's College Football Preview. This is a football geek's dream. It contains 328 pages of full-color, small-print information. It is full of more statistics and point spreads than anyone could ever use. The magazine is short on aesthetics, but is chock full of information. And, it doesn't just cater to gamblers, but appeals to fans as well. I plan to put it to good use.

I love football magazine season. I'm ready for the action on the field, though.

Big XII Rumblings, Part 4

Continuing the speculation on Big 12 membership, we now turn to the Big XII South Division.

Once again, I'm not advocating the breakup of the Big 12. These schools are better off with each other than without. But, each school has to explore its own options, in case the Big 12 heads for disaster.

Here are my thoughts on the Texas and Oklahoma schools:

Baylor
2006 Average Football Attendance: 37,080
TV Market: Waco/Temple/Bryan (95) Significant alumni presence in Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio.
Where could they go? Nowhere they would want to go willingly.
What do they have to offer? Honestly? Nothing. They have been competitive in non-revenue sports, including a national championship in women’s basketball in 2005. But, the revenue sports of football and men’s basketball drive the bus.
What’s the holdup? None. This is a very fortunate school. If Baylor alum Ann Richards had not been governor, and Baylor Law alum Bob Bullock had not have been lieutenant governor at the time of the breakup of the old Southwest Conference, Baylor would have most likely been out in the cold during the conference shuffle of the 90’s, and would now be playing football games against Rice before crowds of maybe 10,000. Political pull is all that got Baylor into the conference in the first place. Waco as a market is nothing to write home about, and the school is not nearly as large as its state school brethren. Baylor is glad and lucky to be in the Big 12.

Oklahoma
2006 Average Football Attendance: 84,561
TV Market: Oklahoma City (45) (also brings Tulsa)
Where could they go? SEC
What do they have to offer? One of the top five football programs in the history of college football, now generating more money than ever. Football money drives the success of the rest of the athletic department. OU is a football-crazy school, just like most of the SEC.
What’s the holdup? OU is a charter member of the Southwest Conference, the Big Six/Seven/Eight, and the Big 12. They’ll think twice before they jump. Also, the Oklahoma legislature will keep them from moving unless such a move also benefits Oklahoma State. Finally, as good as OU’s football program is, Oklahoma is still not that big of a state, with only 3 ½ million people, and the #45 and #61 TV markets. Still, they would fit very well with the SEC, if forced to make a move there.

Oklahoma State
2006 Average Football Attendance: 40,954
TV Market: Oklahoma City (45) (also brings Tulsa)
Where could they go? Nowhere, unless the Oklahoma legislature intervenes
What do they have to offer? Nothing, except for T. Boone Pickens’ $165 million donation to improve the stadium and other facilities.
What’s the holdup? Remote location, small state, small markets. They offer nothing Oklahoma doesn’t already offer, without the advantages of a nationally recognized football program. Praying the Big 12 stays together.

Texas
2006 Average Football Attendance: 88,505
TV Market: Austin (52) (also brings the entire state of Texas, including Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio)
Where could they go? Anywhere they want, except independent status. Were unofficially offered membership in the Pac-10 in the 90’s. The SEC and Big 10 would love to have them, also.
What do they have to offer? Everything. Third-largest enrollment in the nation, huge alumni base, more money than Fort Knox. Largest school in second-largest state in the U.S. Exceptional all-around athletic program. Strong academic reputation.
What’s the holdup? They control the Big 12 politically, just as they did the SWC before it. They’re the biggest and baddest out there, and they throw their weight around accordingly. They wouldn’t be able to carry as much weight in another conference, and everyone knows that.

Texas A&M
2006 Average Football Attendance: 80,532
TV Market: Waco/Temple/Bryan (95) (also brings the entire state of Texas, including Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio)
Where could they go? The SEC would love them, and almost had them when the SWC broke up.
What do they have to offer? Almost as much as UT. Large enrollment, large alumni base, almost as much money as UT. The Ags have also built a strong all-around athletic program, and have scoreboard on Texas this past school year in most sports. Strong academic reputation.
What’s the holdup? Political pressure from the Texas Legislature sent them into the Big 12, and it will keep them there, unless UT wants to make a move.

Texas Tech
2006 Average Football Attendance: 50,874
TV Market: Lubbock (147) (also brings west Texas markets of Amarillo, Abilene, Midland/Odessa, Wichita Falls, and a significant presence in Dallas-Fort Worth)
Where could they go? Nowhere they would want to go willingly.
What do they have to offer? If West Texas were its own state, Tech would be its university. But, West Texas is sparsely populated, and is not its own state. Significantly improved facilities, and, for now, the winningest coach in college basketball history.
What’s the holdup? Geography, and limited perceived academic reputation. Third banana in state of Texas, behind UT and A&M. Large institution, but unable to deliver the entire state of Texas to a conference by itself. Praying the Big 12 stays together.

Big XII Rumblings, Part 3

The Big XII is a young conference, moving into its twelfth year. It does not have the tradition of conferences such as the Big Ten or SEC. Eight of the schools were together in the Big Eight, while the four Texas schools were together in the Southwest Conference. It was a marriage of convenience and survival, and has been rocky at times.

Issues such as revenue sharing raise their ugly head, and the schools have to consider their options, if they are not happy with the direction of the conference. This blog post is purely speculation. I’m just a guy in Texas with a computer and an internet connection. I have no inside information, just analysis.

I will preface this with two statements: 1) As an OU fan, I miss the days of the old Big 8. Native Texans miss the Southwest Conference. But, those days aren’t coming back. The two sides need each other. Which leads to my second statement: 2) Any talk of a conference breakup is preposterous. These schools are better off together than apart.

However, it is fun to speculate. Each school has something to offer. Some have more to offer than others. Where could they go? Would they go?

In this, the 21st century, conference affiliation is determined by the ability to generate revenue, and institutional fit.

The two biggest indicators of revenue-generating ability are football attendance (ticket sales), and TV market size (to add value to TV contracts). I will keep those in mind as I evaluate the possibilities for each school.

Institutional fit describes similarity with other institutions. The Big Ten is both an athletic conference and an academic consortium, made up of large flagship state universities and Northwestern, the lone private school. The conference values perceived academic reputation as much as they do butts in seats for football games. The Pac-10 has similar institutional values, with USC and Stanford serving as the lone private schools. The SEC, on the other hand, values academics, but does not have the culture of academic elitism. It is made up of Southern state flagship schools and Vanderbilt, the most prestigious private school in the South.

Attendance figures are taken from the NCAA website. My first analysis will be of Big XII North schools. The South will be discussed in a later post.

Pros and cons for each member:

Colorado
2006 Average Football Attendance: 46,048
TV Market: Denver (18)
Where could they go? Pac-10
What do they have to offer? Similar culture to western schools. Could partner with Utah to make the Pac-10 a 12-team conference, opening up the possibility of a football championship game. Have already unofficially been offered membership in the 90’s.
What’s the holdup? Competes with four major professional sports franchises in Denver market. Fan base is not as large as size of school or state would suggest. Facilities are behind the rest of their current conference-example: no indoor practice facility for football.

Iowa State
2006 Average Football Attendance: 46,171
TV Market: Des Moines (73) (also offers Cedar Rapids, Sioux City, and Omaha markets)
Where could they go? Big Ten (based on geography)
What do they have to offer? Membership in prestigious Association of American Universities (AAU), as all other Big Ten schools are. Proximity to Iowa and Minnesota.
What’s the holdup? Smallest athletic budget in Big XII, would also have smallest budget in Big Ten. Does not add TV markets, as Iowa already brings Iowa TV markets to the Big Ten, though all of those markets are small.

Kansas
2006 Average Football Attendance: 44,137
TV Market: Kansas City (31) (also offers Wichita and Topeka markets)
Where could they go? Big Ten (only as a package deal with Missouri and/or Nebraska)
What do they have to offer? Traditionally strong men’s basketball program, in top 5 all time. Key part of Kansas City TV market. School is a member of AAU-important to Big Ten.
What’s the holdup? The Big Ten would look at four or five other schools before looking at KU. Kansas legislature would frown on any deal that would not also benefit Kansas State. Traditionally mediocre football program.

Kansas State
2006 Average Football Attendance: 46,693
TV Market: Topeka (138) (also offers Kansas City and Wichita markets)
Where could they go? Nowhere, really.
What to they have to offer? Recently strong football program.
What’s the holdup? Everything. Remote location, smallest state with two BCS programs, small TV markets. In tough position, having too large a program for a smaller conference, but having the second-smallest budget in the Big XII.

Missouri
2006 Average Football Attendance: 55,918
TV Market: Columbia-Jefferson City (139) (also offers St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield, Joplin, and Cape Girardeau)
Where could they go? Big Ten
What do they have to offer? Location bordering Illinois and Iowa. St. Louis (21st) and Kansas City (31st) TV markets. Member of AAU, like Big Ten schools.
What’s the holdup? The Big Ten is waiting on Notre Dame. If they decide to expand without Notre Dame, Mizzou is a leading candidate. But, Mizzou is really an underachiever, as the only Division I-A school in a state with over 5 million people.

Nebraska
2006 Average Football Attendance: 85,044
TV Market: Lincoln (104) (also offers Omaha, Sioux City, and the rest of Nebraska)
Where could they go? Big Ten
What do they have to offer? Historical Top 10 football program, with fanatical following and national recognition. Money generated by football supports strong all-around athletic program. Borders Big Ten state of Iowa. Member of AAU.
What’s the holdup? Big Ten has a line of more convenient options. However, Nebraska brings a lot to the table, and is considering options in case they become unhappy with Big XII revenue sharing/generation.

The Taco Bowl

In the good old days of the Big 8 Conference, Oklahoma and Nebraska normally met yearly at the end of the season for the conference championship, and a trip to the Orange Bowl in Miami. 1980 was no exception. The two teams met in Lincoln, Nebraska, with the winner going to the Orange Bowl. The Sun Bowl in El Paso cut a deal with the two teams to take the loser.

Nebraska athletic director and ex-football coach Bob Devaney taped a weekly television show on Friday nights at a Lincoln TV station. He was taping the show at the same time that OU coach Barry Switzer was doing a live interview at the station for the 10:00 news on Channel 4 in Oklahoma City. Devaney had a pineapple on stage, as a consolation prize for Switzer and his imminent trip to El Paso. Switzer decided to play a trick. He sent someone to a nearby Mexican restaurant to pick up a sack of tacos. While Devaney was taping his show, Switzer walked onto the set, handed him the sack of tacos, and wished him well on his upcoming trip to El Paso.

The Sooners won the next day, earning a Big 8 championship and a trip to Miami. The Huskers got to spend the holidays in the west Texas town of El Paso.

This was great stuff when I watched it on the 10:00 news with my parents 27 years ago, and it's good stuff now. Enjoy...

(special thanks to Jim's Oklahoma Sports Page, and YouTube)

Ugly Uniform of the Day

UUOTD is back!

I saw this during this week's College World Series. Or, the Men's College World Series, as the NCAA now refers to it. UC-Irvine made their first appearance in the CWS, ending in a loss to defending champion Oregon State. Their nickname is the Anteaters.

These uniforms aren't that bad, in and of themselves.

But, putting the short form of the name, "Eaters", on the jersey allows for all kinds of connotations. If one didn't know they were the Anteaters, the person would ask all kinds of questions. What do they eat? Are they overeaters? Are they proud to eat?

UC-Irvine could solve this issue by putting Anteaters on the jersey, instead of "Eaters".

At least they're not the Boogereaters.

Big XII Rumblings, Part 2

As I wrote earlier, the Big 12 finds itself in a bit of conflict over revenue sharing. The high-revenue schools, such as Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Texas A&M see no problem with the status quo, where half of football and non-conference basketball television money are distributed to the schools based on appearances. Up until now, it’s been an issue, but not a deal-breaker. A school such as Texas is bringing in about $1.5 million more per year under this setup, than they would if all revenues were shared equally. With the advent of the new, more lucrative, TV contract, this becomes more of an issue with the Kansas States of the world.

As I mentioned earlier, the new commissioner will have to broker a deal that will please everyone. In a perfect world, Texas, OU, and Nebraska shouldn’t have to give up revenue they have earned from having high-profile football programs. At the same time, it would cost one of these schools more money to switch conferences than they would give up through equal revenue sharing. Equal revenue sharing helps build the conference by treating all members equally, instead of as Texas, Oklahoma and Friends. It hasn’t hurt Ohio State and Michigan to help Northwestern. Ohio State now has an athletic budget of over $100,000,000. I have read that Northwestern is getting more from the new Big Ten TV deal than Notre Dame will from their exclusive deal with NBC. I don't know if that's true, but it’s pretty incredible for that to even be a possibility. By and large, the schools and alumni/population bases of the Big 12 are smaller than those of the Big Ten, therefore not commanding the same amount of money. Nonetheless, the schools of the Big 12 can work together toward solutions that benefit everyone.

There needs to be a major BCS conference in the middle of the country. Texas and OU need conference mates and true partners, not merely patsies to fill schedules in multiple sports. I'm not saying that the other ten schools are patsies in every sport. However, there is a big difference in revenue generated and spent. All-around athletic success tends to correlate with money for facilities, coaches, travel, etc. Here are some figures for athletic expenditures for 2006, from midmajority.com:

Texas: $83,600,248
Oklahoma: $64,322,580
Nebraska: $63,695,480
Texas A&M: $61,419,536
Texas Tech: $53,337,768
Kansas: $47,554,572
Colorado: $45,731,544
Missouri: $45,184,836
Oklahoma State: $44,061,812
Baylor: $36,228,960
Kansas State: $34,834,468
Iowa State: $32,541,236

I am as big of a free-market capitalist as there is out there. I hate socialism. But, when it comes to sports leagues, the NFL has proven that revenue sharing benefits everyone. In the NFL, what helps Green Bay eventually helps New York. New York doesn’t benefit from a weak franchise in Green Bay.

A league is no stronger than its weakest link.

To come: Options for conference members, in case of a breakup.

Big XII Rumblings, Part I

Last week, as I was on blogging sabbatical, the Big XII was rocked (well, that’s a strong word) by the resignation of commissioner Kevin Weiberg. Weiberg is leaving the Big 12 after 8 ½ years for a newly created position with the Big Ten Network.

As a fan of the University of Oklahoma, I am glad to see this happen. OU was ill-served by the conference office on three occasions in the last two years: the football officiating debacle at Texas Tech in 2005, the highway robbery in football at Oregon last season, and the elbowing incident involving Longar Longar in a basketball game at Texas Tech. In each case, the interests of OU were not defended, forcing the OU administration to defend itself. Furthermore, the commissioner allowed Tech coach Bob Knight to bully him into suspending Longar for two games as a result of an unintentional elbow, ignoring the pleas of the OU administration.

The conference, however, faces bigger problems. There is unrest in the league regarding revenue sharing. Currently, the league splits all non-television revenue equally. Conference members also split half of all television revenue equally. The other half of television revenue is placed in an “appearance pool”. This money is distributed based on football TV appearances and non-conference national TV appearances in basketball. This benefits schools like Texas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska (football), as well as Kansas (basketball). The more powerful programs earn up to $1-1/2 million more per year than the less-exposed schools under this plan.

Lesser-exposed members would like to see the Big XII follow the lead of the Big Ten and ACC, and share all revenue equally. This idea goes over like a lead balloon at places such as the University of Nebraska, who is considering the option of leaving the conference if they lose money in any revenue-restructuring deal. Currently, the conference requires 9 of the 12 schools to vote in favor of rewriting the conference constitution. As it stands now, 8 of the schools would be in favor of revenue sharing. Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Texas A&M are in favor of the status quo. Rumor is that A&M may be on the fence, and could change their position.

The Big XII is in an unenviable position. There are really only three programs that can draw a national audience, or large numbers of casual fans, for a television appearance against any random opponent. This explains why OU will play North Texas on national cable television in September, and why Texas can play Louisiana-Lafayette on national cable television. Therefore, Texas, OU, and Nebraska can bring in more money for TV appearances.

The lesser-exposed members argue that revenue sharing would make for a greater spirit of cooperation in the conference, resulting in more exposure and money for everyone involved. They point to the Big Ten and their new television deal as an example. The early NFL would be another example, as franchises such as New York and Cleveland gave up lucrative local TV deals in the 60’s so the league could share revenues from their national TV deal with CBS. The NFL mushroomed into the most valuable television property in the U.S.

OU, Texas, and Nebraska can also make the argument that they should get to keep the money they have earned, by having high-powered football programs that fans will watch on TV.

The next commissioner will have to broker a solution to this dilemma. The conference cannot afford to disintegrate. If the conference were to break up, the lesser-exposed schools would suffer the most.

At this point, I think rumors of a Big 12 breakup are premature and preposterous. But, anything can happen. In a future post, I will post possible scenarios for conference members.

Rivals Yahoo!

I wrote earlier of the imminent merger between Fox corporate siblings Scout.com and Myspace.com. Today brings news of the purchase of Rivals.com by Yahoo!.

I'm not the biggest fan of Rivals. I don't subscribe to their recruiting service, and I find most of their message boards hard to navigate. For their sake, hopefully Yahoo will improve the service.

In the details of the article is the following tidbit:

News Corp., a media empire controlled by Rupert Murdoch, reportedly has even offered to swap MySpace.com _ the most trafficked social networking site _ in exchange for a 25 percent stake in Yahoo. If it were consummated, the transaction would be valued at more than $10 billion, based on Yahoo's current market value.

So, if Fox owns MySpace and Scout, merge them together, then sell MySpace to Yahoo, it would combine both Scout and Rivals with MySpace. That can't be good for the sports fan.

I think I'll go check my MySpace page.

Silver Boot, Part 2

It should be an interesting series this weekend at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. The mediocre Houston Astros visit the Temple for a three-game series with the sorry Texas Rangers.

My Rangers have the worst record in the American League. Until recently, they had the worst record in baseball, before the Cincinnati Reds assumed rock bottom.

But, throw the records out, because the Silver Boot is on the line. The Rangers won last month's series in Houston, 2 games to 1, and have an 11-run lead on the Astros, thanks to a 14-1 win in the teams' last meeting. The Astros need a sweep in Arlington, or at least two wins including a one-sided thrashing, to put a trophy on owner Drayton McLane's shelf.

Tom Hicks may stink as an owner, but he has a good chance for one trophy this year. How bad would it be for the Astros, if they lost this trophy to a team on track to lose 100 games?

At least Sammy Sosa has 600 career home runs. Even if he was on the juice, he probably would have still hit 500 without performance-enhancing supplements. Good for Sammy.

Drydock

It's summer. It's offseason. I'm busy at work. I'm busy at home. My creative juices are gone. I'm tired.

I'm taking a one-week sabbatical from blogging. That is, unless something catches my eye, and I feel like blogging about it.

After then, the Spurs will have a fourth championship, there'll be more ugly uniforms, more message boards, and maybe even some football talk. After all, NFL training camps start next month! Don't forget to sign up for Yahoo Fantasy Football! Leagues are starting now.

Until then, I'm in drydock. Best to all in blogland....

MySpace Sports

This is interesting: MySpace and Scout Are Getting Married

I wrote last week about the meltdown of the network known as Scout.com. Apparently, they are in the process of merging with Myspace.com. Both entities are owned by the News Corporation, owner of the Fox network.

I have a MySpace account. I don't do much with it, and I don't go there that often. I do get many random friend requests there from twenty-something young women, often looking for love in all the wrong places. It is obviously spam, as my wife is in my profile picture with me. They definitely don't know me. I put the "Deny" button to good use in those cases.

This is synergy with Fox attitude. Now, I can go to a site for my favorite team, or for a team I don't even care about, and receive friend requests from random women all over the world. That's what the Internet is all about. Yeah, right. Fox can laugh all the way to the bank, if Scout doesn't blow up first.

Actually, the comment from the great Brian Bishop, publisher of OU Insider, is more accurate: "Imagine that -- you'll now be crossing paths with your fourth grader as you visit your favorite team site. That's not exactly the affiliation we wanted when we signed on with Scout."

Once again, if you're an OU fan, and you're looking for the best independent source for OU information, go to OU Insider.

Ugly Uniform of the Day

Wyoming has some redeeming qualities. It has lots of wide open spaces, lots of pastures and mountains, and fewer people than the city of Fort Worth. It is a place where the Wild West still exists.

There is only one university in the entire state: the University of Wyoming in Laramie. There is no Wyoming State, Wyoming Tech, or Wyoming A&M. Nor is there a Northwestern Wyoming State University, or a Dick Cheney State University.

The Cowboys have some ugly colors: brown and gold. For their sake, I wish they didn't have colors that looked like the land.

These football uniforms are just plain ugly. Sports Illustrated recently gave them a ranking of the second ugliest uniform in college football, right behind Oregon. If they played a home game in the mud, we'd barely know it, because the mud would blend right in with the uniform.

The good people of Wyoming deserve better.

Declaration of Independence

A big change was made today at my favorite college message board, OUInsider.com. The site has been part of the Scout.com network, until today, when the publishers of OU Insider reached the end of their contract with Scout, and broke away from Scout. There was much rejoicing in the Sooner Nation.

Scout.com and Rivals.com are networks of independent websites and magazines, providing premium recruiting content, and both pay and free message boards. Rivals is primarily a college site, while Scout is a network of both college and pro sites, dominated by college ones. Independent publishers partner with Scout to provide content, while Scout hosts the website and message boards. Scout also publishes fan magazines for many schools. Scout is now owned by Fox Interactive Media.

The Scout network has taken some major hits this year. Three of their most popular sites have declared their independence and have broken away from Scout, for various reasons. The leading sites for Ohio State (Bucknuts), Florida (Gator Country), and Oklahoma (OUInsider) have all broken away from Scout, and none have departed on good terms. The USC fan site, WeAreSC.com, has announced their departure. Word is that sites for Stanford and Texas are soon to follow. There have been differences of opinion on content for each of the sites, as the publishers did not experience the freedom they desired for each of their sites. Furthermore, Scout moved all their sites away from the popular EZboards platform, to their own message board software. This was met with anger from the masses. Currently, the leading site left on Scout is InsideCarolina.com, a North Carolina fan site.

This is a bitter divorce, and Gator Country, Bucknuts, The Bootleg (Stanford), OUInsider, and Inside Texas are now party to a lawsuit against Scout, due to disagreements over the terms and length of contracts, unpaid advertising monies, and major customer service issues. Scout is in danger of losing a large portion of their subscriber base. Ohio State, Florida, USC, and OU represent four of the last seven national football champions.

I applaud today's move by OUInsider. I lurk there every day, but rarely post. I have found a lot of independent sites that I find superior to a lot of what is found on the Scout and Rivals networks. This is purely a matter of opinion, because I don't subscribe to recruiting information, and only peruse message boards. Some good independent sites belong to schools such as TCU (KillerFrogs.com), Baylor (BaylorFans.com), Texas A&M (Texags.com), Nebraska (Huskerpedia.com), Arkansas (Hogville.net), and Virginia Tech (TechSideline.com).

Good luck to the new OUInsider.com!

One Championship Down, Another To Go

The Anaheim Ducks put the Ottawa Senators out of their misery tonight, winning Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals, 6-2, and winning the Cup, 4 games to 1. The Ducks kicked the Sens all the way back to Canada. The series really wasn't close. As a result, there are riots in Newport Beach tonight. Not really. The Ducks' players can now shave their Grizzly Adams-style beards, since the playoffs are over.

The hockey finals ended tonight just in time for the beginning of the NBA Finals, which start tomorrow night in San Antonio. The Spurs go for their fourth championship in nine years over the upstart Cleveland Cavaliers, a/k/a LeBron James And A Bunch Of Guys. LeBron will be worth watching, all by himself. But, the Spurs will be too tough for them. The championship will go to a team on I-35. Problem is, it's not the Mavericks (remember them?). Spurs win in six.

A Little Cherry On Top

(warning: 7 minute video)

NBC gave those of us in the U.S. a treat on Monday night, as the great Don Cherry was their guest during the second intermission of Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

Cherry, also known as "Grapes", is known for his "Coach's Corner" segments on the CBC's Hockey Night In Canada. He is known for loud suits and bombastic commentary. He is the king of the hot sports opinion. Cherry once got in hot water for suggesting that most players that wore helmet visors were French-Canadians or Europeans. He is a defender of old-school Canadian hockey. He has also been known to register hot political opinions, coming out in favor of the U.S. war in Iraq, definitely a minority opinion north of the 45th parallel. Nonetheless, he was rated 7th in a poll to determine the Greatest Canadians of all time, for a series broadcast on CBC. Coach's Corner is must-see TV on Saturday nights in Canada during the hockey season. Don Cherry is an icon north of the border.

Last night, Cherry threw down some hot sports opinions in favor of fighting. He made the point that TV ratings would be up in the U.S. if more fighting were allowed. I never thought about it, but he has a point. Hockey's ratings can't be much worse than what they are now. What is the fastest growing sport in the U.S.? Ultimate Fighting Championships. Americans love violence. Hockey can meet that demand. Brett Hull, in this video, went along with him.

I disagree with Grapes on one thing, though: Brett Hull's Stanley Cup-winning goal was legitimate. Here's to the 1999 Stanley Cup Champion Dallas Stars!

Props

Props go out to some universities for athletic excellence:

Tonight, the Tennessee Lady Vols have the first of two chances to win the NCAA national women's softball championship. They lead Arizona, 1-0, in a best-of-three series. The Lady Vols have already won the women's national championship in basketball. It's not quite what Florida did in football and men's basketball, but it's still quite an achievement, if the Lady Vols take care of business.

There are, in essence, five sports that get the majority of media exposure in college athletics. All five of these get quality airtime on the ESPN family of networks, with football and men's basketball getting the majority of the exposure. Women's basketball, men's baseball, and women's softball have developed their own followings, as well. There are three schools that qualified for post-season play in all five sports: Ohio State (they of the $100,000,000 athletic budget), Louisville, and Texas A&M. Props to the Buckeyes, Cardinals, and Aggies.

Update: Tennessee didn't win the national championship in softball. Arizona won two games in a row over the Lady Vols, to win the national championship.

Ugly Uniform of the Day

This, by all means, is one of the most hideous uniforms in the history of football.

The Orlando Thunder played in the World League of American Football, the predecessor of NFL Europe. They lasted all of two seasons, 1991 and 1992. They are best known for these electric green jerseys. Can you say: LOUD? These probably would glow in the dark, if given the chance.

That part of Florida is known for the high amount of lightning strikes. Obviously, someone's brain was struck by lightning when these uniforms were designed.

Lee Corso was the general manager of the team for part of their existence. I don't know if the uniforms were his idea, but he'd be a good person to blame.

Be glad these jerseys never made it to the NFL.

On The Roady

The bowl game in Boise is already the laughing stock of the college football world. Events of this week did not help them.

The Boise bowl game signed a three-year naming rights deal with Roady's Truck Stops. The game will be called the Roady's Humanitarian Bowl.

Humanitarian is nice. It was the original title of the bowl game, taking its name from the Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame in Boise. But Roady's?

I have to admit, I had never heard of Roady's Truck Stops. According to their website, it is a chain of independent truck stops.

It's bad enough that teams have to go to the cold and snow of Boise to play in a bowl game on the blue turf. Now, they have to deal with the embarrassment of playing in the Truck Stop Bowl. This makes the Poulan Weed Eater Independence Bowl look high-class. The Weed Eater Bowl is still a laughing stock, though Weed Eater hasn't sponsored the bowl in several years.

A coach will get fired for taking his team to the Roady's Truck Stop bowl this year. Of course, Miami went to this bowl last year, and Larry Coker was fired.

Would you like regular, or diesel?

This Guy's Awesome

LeBron James is the real deal. If there were any doubts, they went away tonight. LeBron scored 48 points in tonight's Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals, as the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated Detroit, 109-107 in double overtime. He scored 29 of the last 30, and the last 25 points of the game for Cleveland. It was a truly awesome performance. At times, it looked like LeBron was taking on the Pistons all by himself. The Cavs have a cast of spares surrounding the great LeBron James.

The Cavs now lead the series, 3 games to 2, with a potential series-clincher Saturday night in Cleveland. The Cavs have never been to the NBA Finals. The city of Cleveland has not had a team play for a championship since 1997, when the Indians lost to the Marlins in the World Series. However, a Cleveland team has not won a championship since 1964, when the Browns won the NFL championship. That was before the Super Bowl came along. It was also before I was born.

Thanks to a guy from Akron, Cleveland has a chance.

Ya gotta look out for CLE...

By the way, what is Chris Webber doing wearing the number 84?

They're Crazy

Word is that Mark Cuban is part of a group that is investigating the formation of a new professional football league, to compete with the NFL. This league would begin with eight teams, and would play on Friday nights.

Cuban has a good point: the NFL salary cap drives down the salaries of players drafted in the third round and lower. He sees where the new league could offer those players more money, and can build their league around them. They don't see the need to start a bidding war for stars, like the AFL and the USFL. Like NFL scouts, they see plenty of quality players chosen on the second day of the draft.

However, I'm not sure if there is a market for another pro league. First, there are stadium issues, as most quality stadiums are occupied by NFL teams. There are a handful of universities willing to rent out their stadiums (are you listening, SMU, Rice, and U of Houston?), and there are the old reliables of Birmingham, Memphis, and Orlando (I think Birmingham has had a team in every pro league not called the AFL or NFL). Second, who is going to televise this league? The NFL is on every broadcast network except ABC, whose sports department is now owned by NFL TV partner ESPN. Friday nights are a wasteland for networks, but what network is going to risk the wrath of the NFL by televising its competitor? I guess they could join the NHL in anonymity by playing on Versus. Third, playing on Friday nights in most of the country is suicide. Friday nights are traditionally reserved for high school football. Will a second-rate pro team in the South or Midwest be able to compete with lower-priced high school football? I don't think so. There would be a TV audience, as Friday night college games draw viewers. However, pro games from empty stadiums get really dull really quick. Ask the XFL or USFL.

I like renegade football leagues. I loved the USFL in the 80's. I watched one week of the XFL, then turned it off like the rest of America. However, unlike Mark Cuban, I don't see enough remaining market for pro football to justify the creation of a new league.

Good luck with all that..

Stanley Cup, Eh?

Flying under the radar, at least in this country, are the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Hockey still exists, and the NHL is still in business, in spite of their lockout of two years ago. In the United States (outside of NHL cities), hockey gets lower TV ratings than poker, and is less popular than tractor pulls. It is a great spectator sport that has not translated well to TV. Now that the league is no longer seen on ESPN, the league has become out of sight and out of mind to most sports fans.

The Stanley Cup Finals begin Monday night just outside of Disneyland in Anaheim. Canada's Team, the Ottawa Senators, face the 57 Freeway's Team, the Anaheim Ducks. The Ducks are no longer Mighty, as Disney sold the team a couple of years ago, and they are simply the Anaheim Ducks. Games 1 & 2 are on TV in the US, just barely, as they will be on Versus (way up the dial on digital cable and satellite). The remaining games will be on NBC, as long as there is no horse racing pre-game show. (NBC last Saturday left the Senators-Sabres playoff game before overtime to go to the Preakness pre-race show. The pre-race show got much better ratings than hockey) It's still a big deal in the Great White North, though.

These teams have not played since January 2006. What kind of league plays an 82-game schedule, but doesn't let every team play each other at least once or twice? In the NBA, even the Lakers have to play the Charlotte Bobcats twice.

I still like hockey. I can't bring myself to root for the Ducks, as I'm still a Dallas Stars fan. Go Sens!

Ugly Uniform of the Day

This is painful, but I have to be fair.

College baseball is pretty far off the radar of everyone except the most rabid college sports fans. The competition is pretty good, especially when rivalries from football and basketball spill over to the diamond. The caliber of play is somewhere around low minor league quality, as college programs have 11.7 total scholarships to offer to the whole team, and are competing with major league organizations and their large bonuses offered to high draft picks. College baseball, overall, is a fun sport, though not nearly as popular as football or basketball.

Here is the painful part. Anyone that knows me knows that there are really only four things that are important to me: God, my family, the Oklahoma Sooners, and America. Sometimes, those priorities get mixed up. So, it pains me to throw the Sooners under the bus. But, I have to.

OU has broken out these black baseball uniforms. There are two major strikes against them: 1) black for a school that does not have it as a primary color, and 2) the red stripe under the arm and down the side of the jersey. Nike really stunk up the joint here. Someone at Nike needs to be drawn up and quartered.

Berry Tramel, lead columnist for The Oklahoman in Oklahoma City, hits it right on the mark in this video/column (link is to the video-column is in the list to the right). The Sooners should wear crimson and cream. They should not wear black. Black is for their cousins in Stillwater.

Nike and OU better not try this in football or basketball. Black does not go with crimson and cream, no matter how cool anyone thinks it may be.

Ugly Uniform of the Day-Sort Of

It's a slow time of year, as my major sports interests, the NFL, college football, and college basketball are out of season.

With that being said, it's also a slow time for uniforms. I did see something the other night that caught my eye.

My wife and I were eating dinner in the Seattle airport, and I saw this guy with this houndstooth baseball cap. Sure enough, it had the Alabama "A" on it.

I like Alabama. The Crimson Tide have a football tradition that is second to none, rivaling Notre Dame, USC, and Oklahoma. They packed their stadium with 90,000 people for their spring game. They have the Million Dollar Band, and the Four Million Dollar Coach, Nick Saban. However, there is an ongoing obsession with Bear Bryant. The Bear has been dead almost 25 years, and every coach is still expected to replace him. Paul "Bear" Bryant was greatness. But, he's been gone a long time.

This hat symbolizes that obsession. Bear Bryant was known for his houndstooth derby hat. This cap combines the houndstooth design with a baseball cap. Ugly. Bear Bryant wouldn't be caught dead in that. Come to think of it, Bear Bryant wouldn't be caught alive in it, either.

Somewhere, Nike is making some bucks off of this. I don't expect the Four Million Dollar Coach to wear this on the sideline this year, though.

The Super Bowl Is Coming

Today, on the fourth ballot, the NFL owners awarded Super Bowl XLV to Arlington. The 2001 game will be played at Jerryworld, the new stadium to be named later in Arlington.

This is one of the major reasons for the new stadium: attracting a Super Bowl. The Super Bowl will be good for business in North Texas.

I hope the Cowboys are a Super Bowl contender in four years. Maybe they will get to play a Super Bowl on their home field.

The Silver Boot

This weekend brings us interleague play in Major League Baseball. With that, comes the annual renewal of the battle for the Silver Boot, between the Texas Rangers and the Houston Astros.

The Rangers and Astros did not play each other in the regular season in the first four years of interleague play, because the Rangers were in the American League West, and the Astros are in the National League Central. Major League Baseball adjusted some schedules to allow the teams to play every year. Of course, the Rangers were promised the opportunity to move to the American League Central, but Tom Hicks chose not to hold baseball to that, and to remain in the American League West..I guess he doesn't mind staying up until 9:30 to watch his team play road games..but I digress. Anyway, the teams play three games this weekend in Houston, and will play three more later this season in Arlington. The Rangers won Friday night's game, 7-4.

The teams have played for the Silver Boot trophy for the last six years. It sounds and looks kinda silly, but if the owners like it, then we'll roll with it. Each team has won the Silver Boot three times. If the teams split the series, the boot goes to the team with the most total runs in the series. Ironically, the Rangers won the Silver Boot in 2005. The Astros went on to the World Series. I think the Rangers would rather go to the World Series than win a little trophy. Last year, the Astros won the trophy.

Though I now live in Houston, my loyalties are still with the Rangers. They may be forever mediocre, but they're still my team. Let's go win that Silver Boot!

What Is Up In The East?

The NBA Eastern Conference playoffs, just a few days ago, were looking like a two-team race. Both Detroit and Cleveland had swept their first round series, and had taken 3-0 leads in their second round series. They were on a collision course for a rematch of their playoff series from last year.

But, something happened on the way to DET vs. CLE. First, the Chicago Bulls won game 4 in Chicago, then surprised the Pistons last night in game 5 at the Palace. Then, the New Jersey Nets did the same thing to the Cavs, whipping the Fighting LeBrons in game 5 at the Q in Cleveland.

Something weird is going on in the East. The Bulls and the Nets aren't done yet.

Turn Back The Clock-More Cheesy Music

I had posted this briefly last week, but took it down, because I was unable to embed the Youtube video into the blog.

ABC carried NBA games up until 1974. There is a clip of their opening from 1973, with B.J. Thomas (or someone that sounds like him) singing this cheesy theme song, ending in "Timeout for the NBA Game Of The Week", with video of such NBA greats as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (with Milwaukee), Wilt Chamberlain, and Jerry West.

The owner of the video does not allow embedding, but he still has the video posted on YouTube. It is cheesier than a Kraft dinner.

NBA Game of the Week

He has other great video posted there, as well.

Good stuff...

BCS History At A Glance

We're still a long way from another college football season. And, the BCS is still a bunch of B.S. Nonetheless, it has become an even higher level of bowl game, and the prestige has increased along with the payouts. The upcoming season will be the 10th season of the BCS. Some interesting things I uncovered, while researching at College Football Data Warehouse:

The BCS has existed for 9 years.

38 different schools have been involved in BCS bowl games.

Nine different schools have won BCS national championships in the nine years of the BCS: Tennessee, Florida State, Oklahoma, Miami, Ohio State, LSU, USC, Texas, and Florida.

Florida State has appeared in the most BCS bowls, with six. The Seminoles have only won one of those bowl games.

USC and Ohio State have won the most BCS bowls, with four wins each.

Florida State has lost the most BCS bowls, with five. Hey, at least they got there.

Three schools from outside BCS conferences have appeared in BCS bowls. Notre Dame has a special deal with the BCS. They have appeared in, and been spanked in, three different BCS games. Can you say not ready for prime time? On the other hand, Utah and Boise State have both capped undefeated seasons with victories in the Fiesta Bowl.

The following schools have appeared in the BCS:
ACC: Florida State, Miami, Virginia Tech, Maryland, Wake Forest
Big East: Syracuse, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Louisville
Big Ten: Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin, Penn State, Purdue, Iowa, Illinois
Big XII: Oklahoma, Texas, Nebraska, Texas A&M, Colorado, Kansas State
SEC: Florida, LSU, Tennessee, Georgia, Auburn, Alabama
Pac-10: USC, Oregon, Oregon State, Washington, Washington State, UCLA, Stanford
Notre Dame
Non-BCS: Utah, Boise State

The BCS is a poor imitation of a playoff, but it's all we have at this time.

Looking forward to the next BCS National Championship game next January in the Big Easy...

Rumor of the Day

There is a rumor out there that Shaquille O'Neal will be traded to the Mavericks.

Shaq to Dallas?

This would be cool. Shaq doesn't feel like busting it for an 82-game regular season. The Mavs don't need him for that. However, they can sure use Shaq, even if it's 36-year old Shaq in the twilight of his career, in the playoffs.

If nothing else, it would make for good radio, as Shaq would be united with his friend Corby from The Ticket.

Turn Back The Clock: Moody Madness Edition

The Dallas Mavericks' season may be over prematurely, but the Mavs live on, thanks to YouTube.

The Mavs made their first playoff appearance in 1984, against the Seattle Supersonics. The teams were tied at 2-2 in a best-of-5 series, when the series moved back to Dallas. Reunion Arena was booked, as the Mavs were not expected to still be playing. So, the series shifted to Moody Coliseum at SMU. Moody is an old, underrated pit of an arena where the fans are on top of the action. 10,000 fans packed into the old barn to watch the Mavs defeat the Sonics, 105-104 in overtime. This was their first win in a playoff series.

This is a CBS recap of the series, highlighted by a review of the deciding Game 5.

UUOTD-Thursday

Nike has thrown some really hideous uniforms out there in the last few years. Perhaps their most infamous unis were worn on only one weekend in 2005.

Both Florida and Virginia Tech wore orange on one shoulder of these home jerseys. These met with such outrage that neither school dared to wear them again. Nike was so embarrassed that they did not dare to try this with any other school.

These are awful. Eye-gouge rating: Two

(note: the VT player being pile-driven by guys from the "U" is no relation to the author of this blog)

Ugly Uniform of the Day

This will make another appearance during football season, but this one is so bad, it deserves mention now.

The Philadelphia Eagles are entering their 75th season in 2007. In honor of the occasion, they will, for one game, wear these replicas of their 1933 uniforms. The Eagles will wear them on September 23 against the Detroit Lions.

Jevon Kearse is shown modeling these fine pieces of high fashion. They look like something UCLA would have worn.

Blech.

Turning Back The Clock Again

More classic video from the folks at CBS and YouTube...

This is the opening of Game 5 of the 1976 NBA World Championship Series, between the Boston Celtics and the Phoenix Suns. The Celtics were heavy favorites, but had lost two games in Phoenix, and were tied 2-2 with the upstart Suns. This game is regarded by many as the greatest game in the history of the league, with the Celtics winning in triple overtime. The Celtics then went out to Phoenix and closed out the Suns in Game 6.

Some things to notice:

1) Young Brent Musburger.
2) Rick Barry. Now better known as Jon and Brent's dad, he was a great player in his own right. On this night, however, he appears on CBS with a toupee, and with this baby blue leisure suit, unbuttoned, with a huge cross hanging around his neck. Classic.
3) CBS had an ex-ref doing commentary, in Mendy Rudolph. Imagine if ABC/ESPN hired say, Joey Crawford, to do commentary.
4) The red checked jackets Mendy Rudolph and Sonny Hill are wearing on camera. Nice.

Not on this clip: the sixth man for the Celtics, none other than Don Nelson.

Good stuff.

Guess Who Else Is On Vacation

How do you lose Game 7 at home? That's what the Houston Rockets did tonight. Therefore, one side of the Western Conference playoffs is between the Utah Jazz and the Golden State Warriors. Bizarre.

As a Dallas Mavericks fan, I can say: At least Houston had a Game 7.

Looking forward to that series between San Antonio and Phoenix...

Turn Back the Clock

From the archives of CBS, ESPN Classic, and YouTube...

This is the intro to Game 7 of the 1975 Western Conference Finals, between the Chicago Bulls and the Golden State Warriors. This is a long time before hip-hop and the NBA became intertwined with each other. Heck, this is even slightly before disco. Some things to notice:

1) The cheesy opening intro music, complete with lyrics and 70's-style silhouette animation. "You'll see the best in basketball, when you watch the NBA..when you watch the NBA on CBS.."
2) A young Brent Musburger, when he was becoming the voice of EVERYTHING for CBS. He was better then, before his ego got in the way. He's now been with ABC/ESPN longer than he was with CBS, but ESPN has cheapened him by placing him on those spare Tuesday night Big Ten games, among other things. He is, however, filling the shoes of the once-great Keith Jackson on college football, and is the subject of a drinking game.
3) The Bulls in the Western Conference? Yes, they were. The Bulls and Milwaukee were in the Western Conference until 1980, when the Dallas Mavericks came into the league. When the Mavs came into the NBA, Houston and San Antonio moved to the West with them, and the Bulls and Bucks went east.

This video clip is really good stuff. By the way, the Warriors went on to win this game, then won the championship in the next round by sweeping the Washington Bullets, four games to none.

Knee-Jerk

The Mavs are down 12 with 6:39 to go in the 3rd quarter. It doesn't look good.

When in the world are the Warriors going to stop hitting 3's? Everything they throw up goes in the hoop.

Ouch!

4th quarter update: Mavs still down 23. I'm going to bed.

Where's Dirk? He's sure not in Oakland tonight.

League Of Nations

Recent years have brought us the description of fan bases as (Your Team Here) Nation. These are not nations in the sovereign sense, but definitely every bit as tribal as any ethnic group. Many fans identify with teams deeply, just as they would with a country or ethnic group.

I do not know the origin of (Your Team Here) Nation. I first heard it in 1995, when new football coach Howard Schnellenberger referred to Oklahoma fans as the Sooner Nation. That was the only thing I liked about Howard's reign in Norman. Now, it seems there are more (Your Team Here) Nations than there are Native American tribes. Kentucky has the Big Blue Nation. Texas has Burnt Orange Nation. Virginia Tech has the Hokie Nation. Boston has Red Sox Nation. Florida uses Gator Nation as a marketing tool for its entire university, calling itself The Foundation for the Gator Nation, marketing itself to Florida residents and fans that never went to school there.

I think all of this is pretty funny. It reminds me of a guy I saw on a Kentucky message board, who is currently serving our country in Iraq. He used as a signature on his posts: "Fighting in Iraq for the Big Blue Nation. And, the United States, too".

As long as another civil war doesn't break out, it's pretty cool.

Stayin' Alive

Up 21 in the first half. Down 9 with less than 3 minutes to play. I can't handle the suspense any longer. Great 15-0 run by the Mavs to close it out. (or was it a meltdown by Golden State-those 3's aren't going to fall forever)

Back to California for Game 6..

Ugly Uniform of the Day

I caught these threads while watching this past weekend's coverage of the NFL Draft.

The University of Pittsburgh wore these all-gold threads last year in their season finale vs. Louisville. They played like puke, losing to the conference champion Cardinals, 48-24. Worse than that, they looked like puke in these uniforms. This combination just doesn't work. Yuck.

At least they didn't wear an all-gold version of the shade of gold they wore in the 70's and 80's. (Pictured is an autographed replica of Tony Dorsett's helmet) That would have looked like butterscotch candy.

Train Wreck

There is a train wreck of Biblical proportions occurring in the NBA playoffs.

The Dallas Mavericks, winners of 67 games in the regular season, are down 3 games to 1 in their first round playoff series with the eighth-seeded Golden State Warriors. Over the weekend, the Mavs lost two winnable games near the City by the Bay. I cannot describe how upset I am with them.

The Mavericks are on track to totally blow two entire seasons. Last season, they won the first two games in the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat, then blew a lead late in Game 3, as they lost the last four games of the series and the title to the Heat. While that was embarrassing and disheartening, the little Mavs bounced back to post the third best regular season record in the history of the league. At this point, though, that doesn't matter. They're getting their butts kicked by ex-coach Don Nelson and the Golden State Warriors. The window for a championship is closing, faster than the Road Runner can say, "Beep, Beep".

This series is not over. This team is capable of winning three games in a row, in spite of the matchup problems. After all, this team had a 17-game winning streak and two 12-game winning streaks.

But, it is so easy to knee-jerk over this thing, and that's what I'm doing here. If the Mavs blow this golden opportunity, where do they go from here? Does Mark Cuban fire Avery Johnson after winning 67 games? Do the Mavs trade Dirk Nowitzki after a possible MVP season? Heck, does Cuban get sick of it all, and cash out and sell the team?

This is bad. Really bad.

UUOTD-Saturday

Nike makes a good shoe. Their influence is worldwide. They didn't become the world's largest athletic shoe manufacturer by accident. They finance college athletic departments to the tune of millions of dollars per year.

As good as their shoes are, they have room for improvement in their uniform designs. The company is based in Oregon, and founder Phil Knight is a benefactor of his alma mater, the University of Oregon. UO has made multiple appearances in this blog for their ugly uniforms. Now, it's their archrival's turn.

Oregon State is rolling out these funky new uniforms next year. They don't have psychedelic helmets, but they have a lot of different combinations of orange and black with these. The orange jersey on the left is particularly glaring. With the stripes and font, these look weird. I read a message board where they were compared with bikinis.

The "Civil War" between UO and OSU-West will be interesting this year. Who knows what kind of uniform combinations will be rolled out that day. Deep within the bowels of Nike headquarters, there is a happy mad scientist.

Ugh.

The Ultimate Draft Geek

Today is one of my favorite days, the NFL draft. I purposely do not get into all of the pre-draft hype, as there is just way too much information to process. If I had more time to become a draft "expert", I would blog on it. I do enjoy, though, the wheeling and dealing that comes with draft day, and the spectacle that draft day has become. The draft is one of those things where the bang-to-hype ratio is not out of whack.

I cannot watch the draft without thinking about the late Joel Buchsbaum. I remember him most from his appearances on Norm Hitzges' show on KLIF radio in Dallas. He was a long-time regular on radio shows in St. Louis and Houston, and was a full-time draft analyst for Pro Football Weekly.

Buchsbaum was the unlikeliest of sources. He rarely left his Brooklyn apartment, except to work out at his local gym once per week. Manhattan was a long trip for him, much less Chicago or any other city. He never went to scouting combines, and never traveled out of New York City. He really only met his employers and sources personally at the draft. Nonetheless, many in the pro football community felt close to him. He was constantly on the phone with scouts, and reviewed an endless amount of tape in his apartment. He never married, and lived in an apartment next door to his parents in Brooklyn. He refused to have his picture published with his articles. He was a total recluse, yet was a fountain of information for NFL coaches and management.

He was most known for his encyclopedic knowledge of the NFL draft. Coaches, general managers, and scouts trusted his knowledge of players. If there was a third-string deep snapper from McNeese State, Buchsbaum knew something about him. He would go on radio shows and rattle off endless amounts of information on players and anyone remotely considered a prospect.

The great John McClain of the Houston Chronicle became close to Buchsbaum in his later years. He has some more great comments on him this week, here and here, including a rare photo from his draft lair in Brooklyn.

He passed away in 2002 at the age of 48. At the 2003 scouting combine, a memorial service was held for him, which was attended by a host of NFL coaches, general managers, scouts, and media. Among the speakers at the memorial was Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who considered him a close friend, though he never met him personally.

He is still missed. He unknowingly helped make the NFL draft what it is today.

My hat is off to anyone that can make a living from being a draft geek.

UUOTD

The Boston Red Sox have been wearing a green jersey with a green cap on St. Patrick's Day for a few years. This normally falls during spring training. Last week, the Red Sox decided to honor the passing of Celtics great Red Auerbach by wearing the green jerseys against the Yankees. The sentiments are appreciated, but this is just making a mockery of what was once Celtic Pride.

This look is just plain gross. The Celtics are green. The Red Sox are not. At least they didn't wear green socks.

Yuck.

Ugly Uniform of the Day

It's been a while since there's been a UUOTD, as last week was no time to be throwing any team under the bus. But, UUOTD returns with a vengeance today.

The Atlanta Hawks aren't playing right now. They don't play past the middle of April, because they only play in the pre-season and in the regular season. They don't play in the playoffs. We'll hear from them next in the draft lottery, when they hope to get lucky with a ping-pong ball and get one of the top two picks in the draft. The Hawks are one of the worst franchises in professional sports. They have not made the playoffs since the Clinton Administration. Don't totally give up, though, Atlanta. The Dallas Mavericks were once the laughing stock of the NBA.

With that said, the Hawks are gone right now, but not forgotten. Their third jersey is a mixture of Del Monte mustard and Heinz ketchup. That combination fits on a hot dog, but not on a uniform. Ugly, ugly, ugly. The only saving grace to this look is that it is not one of their primary uniforms.

Would you like some chips with that hot dog?

I'm glad I'm not an Oscar Mayer wiener.

Eye gouge rating: two

You Know It's A Big Deal When...

...you have an Official Automobile.

The NFL Draft is this weekend in New York. Hummer, for at least the second year in a row, is the official automobile. It's not the official car of the league, or of any particular team. It's the official car of the draft.

It fits, as a lot of young men officially become millionaires on that day, and can afford to buy multiple Hummers. Plus, a lot of the type of people that would buy a Hummer are most likely interested in the NFL draft.

The draft has come a long way, when it has an official anything. At one time, the draft was about as exciting as watching paint dry. Now, the draft capitalizes on the popularity of anything connected with the NFL. Plus, people are starved for the NFL, as it has been almost three months since the Super Bowl.

Pictured above is Reggie Bush, who received not one, but two Hummer H2's for becoming the second pick in last year's draft. This was a legal gift, unlike what he has been accused of receiving during his college days at USC. On the Hummers, though: will the #3 pick in Saturday's draft get three Hummer H3's?

A Two-Team League

Baseball's biggest rivalry has been on stage this weekend, as the hated Yankees have invaded Fenway Park in Boston. Fox and ESPN have been all over this, as would be expected.

Both franchises view themselves as the most popular teams in baseball. The networks definitely view them that way. Both teams do have legions of fans, both in the Northeast, and across the country.

On the other hand, when baseball was attempting geographic realignment a few years ago, there were no volunteers to go to the American League. Only the Milwaukee Brewers changed leagues, and they went to the National League. (I'm too young to remember the Milwaukee Braves in the NL, but it's still unstable to see the Brew Crew in the NL-they belong back in the AL)

An off-the-wall suggestion, that will never see the light of day: Let every team, except Boston and the Yankees, move to the National League. Then, let Boston and the Yankees have the American League to themselves, and play every game against each other. The networks would jump at the chance to show Boston vs. New York every night. Plus, one of them would be guaranteed a spot in the World Series, increasing the value of the major leagues' TV contract.

Most teams would probably rather be in the National League anyway, so this will satisfy some franchises on that end, as well.

I hate both the Red Sox and the Yankees. I've always hated the Yankees, but I'm getting to where I despise the Red Sox even more.

This is a silly idea, but one that some in baseball would probably like. TV executives would love it.

Baseball is a talking sport.

Pickin' Cotton

I am a little stunned. The greatest rivalry in college football, the OU-Texas game, is staying at the Cotton Bowl until 2015. City of Dallas officials are set to announce the deal at a Friday press conference on the 50-yard-line at the decaying old stadium.

The city of Dallas is promising to increase the amount of money paid to OU and Texas, as well as to Grambling and Prairie View, who also play at the Cotton Bowl during the Texas State Fair. The city has recently approved $30 million in bond money for improvements to the stadium, in an effort to attract more college football games. The stadium is losing the Cotton Bowl game to the new Cowboys stadium in Arlington, as the bowl game attempts to crack the lineup of the BCS.

At first glance, this looks like Dallas is putting lipstick on a pig. The stadium is a dump, and will still be a dump after the city puts $30 million into it. They plan to rip out the chairs, replace them with bench seating, and to increase capacity to 90,000. I wonder if $30 million is a good investment to attract four or five college football games per year. OU-Texas brings in plenty of out of town visitors, but how will a neutral site game between Oklahoma State and Texas A&M fly at the Cotton Bowl? (How about that: the Ag Bowl presented by John Deere, live from the State Fair!) Or, Notre Dame vs. Baylor? (OK, I know, Notre Dame sells out everywhere they play...)

The stadium doesn't have to be a total palace for college football fans to be happy with it. All that most fans ask for are working toilets and leg room, two things that have been in short supply at the Cotton Bowl in recent years.

This is the city of Dallas we're dealing with, so I'll believe Cotton Bowl renovations when I see them. But, it looks like some people in Big D are seeing some light, even if it's too little, too late.

By the way, OU-Texas belongs at the State Fair, as long as the stadium isn't falling down. I'd hate to see it rotate between Norman and Austin.

Slow

I'm not blogging much this week.

I am absorbed by the Virginia Tech tragedy. I am 1100 miles away from it, and have only been to the campus once. I fell in love with the place. I do not know anyone there, though I am learning that I know people that know people that lost loved ones in the shooting. (Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon? It's a really small world)

I am in awe of the spirit and resilience of the Hokie Nation.

I am having a hard time getting anything done. I'll be back up within a matter of time.

Let's Go, Hokies!

Today, We Are All Hokies