How about a real Division 1 Championship

I just got back from a great BC-Michigan State game. Jared Dudley played amazing, doing all the little things, energizing the crowd, and leading the team to victory behind his 30 points. I then rushed back to watch the UNC-Ohio State game, which was simply an amazing display of talent, coaching, and pure basketball on both sides. Two great teams, and let’s hope they meet again in April in Atlanta. Dickey V echoed this, and as always he was more excited and on the highest high her had ever been on, ever. During this classic he reminded all us viewers about the great thing about college basketball, that match-ups like this OSU/UNC one were created because a loss in December doesn’t ruin your hopes for a national title. Naturally he then called out college football, because “90% of the college football teams are out of it by week two,” which makes little sense mathematically, but did get me to think…..
What if the real division 1 of college football had a playoff system like the newly renamed “NCAA Football Division 1 Championships.” I know it has been proposed before, but I want to expand it to 16 teams like 1-AA. Wouldn’t it make almost perfect sense. Throw out those early games to Buffalo and Maine (sorry BC) play some legit teams (Brigham Young for BC, sad I know, but Notre Dame next year) and have only 10 regular season games and a conference championship. Each BCS conference would have an automatic spot, and the 10 other teams would be taken directly from the BCS pools. There would be a mid-major exception of course (maybe a top 15 ranking), just to throw those guys a bone. It rewards good conferences and penalizes conferences in down years. It would start on thanksgiving, and the championship would be one of the four main bowls. Two of the others would be the semifinals, and the fourth BCS bowl would disappear (sorry to the Fiesta for those who care). Instead of having to watch Tony Romo make the Tuna look like the greatest coach ever on Thanksgiving, we could have 3 of the 8 high profile college bowl games to be played that weekend, Insanity in November, which I am in the process of patenting like Phil Reilly and “three-pete.”
Of course it will never happen, and the Eagles will probably be left out, but we can always hope.
That’s all I got folks, I’ll be posting a little more regularly after this week, so stay tuned.

Manny Being Missed? Maybe

Well, well, well...it seems that Manny Ramirez is on his way out of town. I've wrestled with this for the last few days as opposed to wrestling with any schoolwork of any kind, and I've come to this conclusion: I have no conclusion. I know that might seem a little weak for something like a sports blog that should be centered around opinion, but back off. It's such a dilemma. I'll be the first to admit that I do not buy at all that Manny was legimately hurt down the stretch last year. He quit on his team, simple as that. And it wasn't the first time. Manny apologists would say this and other shenanigans are "Manny being Manny." That's a load, and if you think otherwise you're naieve. On the topic of being naieve, I would be that if I didn't realize that Manny puts up 30 home runs and 100 RBI in his sleep. Truth is, the clubhouse will be better off without the guy, as there have been rumors that certain teammates of Man-Ram went off the record to complain about his nonsense to reporters. But the line-up will obviously be hindered a lot, and there is no chance in hell that JD Drew will be a suitable replacement in the line-up for Big Papi. I'm sick of Manny's crap, but unless a deal too good to be true comes through, I guess I'll need to cowboy up and deal with it for yet another long summer.

Anyone catch Monday Night Football this week? My Packers blew another one, but that's not what I'm here to talk about. I must say, I absolutely love the MNF broadcast combo of Mike Tirico, Tony Kornheiser and Joe Theismann. The Raiders could be playing the Temple Owls for Christ's sake and I'd still watch. The banter between Kornheiser and "Mr. Know It All" Theismann, is priceless. Kornheiser makes a point pretty much irrelevant to the game, Theismann tries to sound smart, and then Kornheiser interrupts Theismann for another irrelevant point. This in turn, pisses off Theismann and then there's that awkward silence until Tirico chimes in with a random stat. Gets me every time. Throw in Jimmy Kimmel, like ESPN did for a solid, albeit too short, five minutes and you have comedic gold. The look on Theismann's face when Kimmel asked him how his leg, which of course was famously broken by Lawrence Taylor in a MNF game that ended Theismann's career, was something you can't describe. The two went back and forth for the rest of the piece with Kornheiser egging them on. And Theismann even got one more jab in when Kimmel was leaving basically calling Kimmel a dick for bringing up the "bad break." Fantastic stuff, people.

One last thing: Tony Romo comes off the bench for the goddamn Cowboys, becomes a star, and now is involved in a romantic fling with Jessica Simpson? Screw you, guy.

My time is done kids. Thanks for your time.

Coked Out

Did the University of Miami football team have anything to really play for last night? Sure, by beating Boston College the Hurricanes are now bowl-eligible. It was a tumultuous season for the Canes, with a 6-6 record that some might say is unacceptably low, the nasty on-field fight with Florida International and the tragic murder of Miami player Brian Pata. Miami head coach Larry Coker, through it all has been the face of the program, never surrendering, never making excuses and seemingly working his hardest to get through the difficult times for "The U". All of this made last night's upset of a Boston College team in the thick of gaining a conference championship bid and bettering their oppurtunity for a BCS bid, that much more impressive. Coker was seen before the game, loose as ever, joking with his players and staff. So where is Larry Coker this morning? The unemployment line. And it's unfair. Completely unfair. Lets look at Coker's tenure with Miami. The guy went 49-15 over six seasons winning a National Title in his first season. And if it weren't for a bogus pass interference call, he would have won two in his first two seasons. Only one coach in the storied history of Miami has ever won more games in his first six seasons at the helm. Is part of the reason Miami is where it is now Coker's fault? Sure. Is it worth him losing his job, after he was there like a father for his team through everything this year? No, not at all. The Miami program as a whole needs to look in the mirror and fix itself. It's a program that's had a reputation for being at times, a bunch of thugs that long precedes Coker. If Coker has to go, why shouldn't athletic director Paul Dee go? Oh yeah, that's right school president Donna Shalala can get by with letting the axe fall on Coker, but Dee survives because the rest of the athletic department is undeniably one of the best in the nation. It's unfair and Larry Coker deserves better. And judging by Coker's attitude and demeanor this year, he'll end up with something better. Here's hoping he does.

Macy’s Day Extravaganza

According to the HistoryChannel.com, the original Thanksgiving in 1621 lasted three days, so in patriotic celebration this wonderful tryptophan-laden holiday, I will celebrate this years feast for three days. In fact, I actually started yesterday with a turkey sandwich, but that’s besides the point.
But without further adieu, here are the Thanksgiving foods and their sports equivalent:
Cranberry Sauce: Troy Smith. This Heisman frontrunner has quite the supporting cast, with Ted Ginn, Anthony Gonzalez, and Mashed Potatoes, and often gets overshadowed. Not this year, I mean, let’s be honest, it’s the sweetest thing at the table.
Gravy: LaDanian Tomlinson. Please, he is just amazing. The fastest player to 100 touchdowns, and rapidly approaching the once coveted but recently broken single season record.
Mashed Potatoes: The BCS. No one knows, but everyone seems to think that an 11-1 USC team is better than an 11-1 Michigan (or Notre Dame if they beat SC), or the 12-1 Florida/Arkansas winner. It really doesn’t matter, so maybe just send Boise State. The situation is mashed up and will need weeks to be digested, and then the lucky team will be smashed by Ohio State in Glendale.
Stuffing: Andrei Kirilenko. The do-it-all Jazz Forward is third in the league, averaging 2.6 blocks. The Jazz have equaled the best start in franchise history at 9-1. John Stockton is crying somewhere, and he never cries.
Spiked Apple Cider: The tipsy season of U of Miami football. I know it has been beaten to death, but I have to throw in because BC needs a win there Thursday night, coupled with a Wake loss to go to the ACC Championship. Oh and by the way the Eagles haven’t beat the Canes since 1984, when they pulled out some heroics with 2 seconds left on a big play by an undersized, tough as nails quarterback from Natick.
Turkey: Bill Parcells, and not in the good holiday sense. The ex-Patriot (ha) coach gets his due respect for beating Indy, something the Pats couldn’t do. Despite his picks and his lack of mobility, we New Englanders have a special place in our hearts for the benched Drew Bledsoe. And nobody will forget the antics of the Tuna in the preceding weeks of Super Bowl XXXI, when as I remember from my childhood, all the people on TV were talking about his imminent move to the Jets, not the game the Pats had to play. Ba-Cawk!!!

That’s all I got folks, happy Turkey Day,

Dave

Early Morning Madness

Well, it's like 1:00 a.m. and I just got my creative juices flowing to cap off a 1700 word article on SC alum and GHS's own Coach Kuchieski. They're still going strong, as I just thought up an idea. I call it Mike's Billboard Top 10 Sports Stories. I'll take the Top 10 singles according to Billboard and relate them to a sports stories. Fun, isn't it? Stay tuned for how often you'll see this. Without any further ado, here it is, from 10 to 1.

10. Justin Timberlake- SexyBack
For this one, I'm thinking the subject of my post the other day, Mr. Emmitt Smith. The NFL rushing king, just nabbed the Dancing With Stars final. The sexy bit comes from that great outfit he was wearing. (Think Ahmed Johnson, wrasslin' fans) Congrats Emmitt.
9. Snow Patrol-Chasing Cars
Quick note, I've never heard this song. Anyone, for this one I'll go with Jimmie Johnson. Johnson, barring a wreck and a miracle for someone else in the Nextel Cup race, will win the Chase for the Cup.
8. Jay-Z-Show Me What You Got
Great song. Simple one. This song goes out to Daisuke Matsuzaka who is right now embarking upon a journey to become the most anticipated arrival in Boston since Tim Dunc- er, scratch that, thanks to those damn ping-pong balls. Thing is, if "D-Mat" flops, the Sox are in the hole $100 mil probably, which is not fun. Remember what happens when Bostonians get mad at something they're overpaying for? That's right, they throw it off a ship into the Hah-bah. So Dice-K, show me what you got. For your own sake.
7. The Fray-How To Save a Life
This one's for the powers that be in college football. God help you if someone gets blown out in the OSU-Michigan game Saturday. How do you decide who plays in the National Championship when you have 4 or 5 teams with one loss from BCS conferences? We need a tournament, that would save your lives, not the computers.
6. Ludacris feat. Pharrell- Money Maker
This is for any baseball free agent this winter. Kids are going to get paid. Big time. I mean cmon, JD Drew for 4 years and 56 million? Nutty.
5. Hinder- Lips of An Angel
Um...great song, real tough for this post. However, red-hot racer Danica Patrick has kinda nice lips. Right? I know from experience, dude...
4. Beyonce-Irreplaceable
Well I'm not sure who this belongs to, but I sure know who the hell it doesn't belong to. That's right, the next big thing in basketball analysts...Doc Rivers!!!
3.Fergie- Fergalicious
Yeh, you try that one.
2. Akon feat. Eminem- Smack That
You should know where I'm going with this one. This one writes itself. It's Texas Tech mens basketball coach Bobby Knight. Dude "slapped" one of his players the other night to get the kid's attention. For this list's sake, we'll say he smacked him.
1. Justin Timberlake-My Love
Anyone else thing they were listening to a girl first time they heard this? My Love is going out to my boy Brett Favre. Here's to you pulling one out against the Pats this Sunday on the Frozen Tundra, buddy.

You guys have been great, I need sleep. Busy weekend. Put your money on the SC Pride over Curry College this weekend though on Alden Street. Night kid-o's.
-MC

Hoosiers!!!!!

Hello all 73 viewers, just a couple of thoughts, and some pigskin picks for Saturday as I sit here watching the backyard brawl.
But a lil shout out first…
Congrats to the Hoosiers intramural basketball team for overcoming adversity and injuries to take home the championship and the goods. You want to know what the goods were? No? Well I’m going to tell you anyway.
1. A unisex, multi-sport Boston College intramural champions t-shirt, which has an angry picture of Baldwin with a laurel crown around it, classy. (Just a note, that Baldwin got his name from the synthesis of “bald eagles who are going to win.” I never got the “win” part, yes I did get into BC.)
2. A beer mug with the same picture and the intramural champs inscription. Way to go BC for promoting alcohol for minors, but it really is a sweet mug, but then again in my house I can remember drinking many a glass of milk out of a mug which said, “Stonehill College Junior Weekend: Class of 1980.” Its still in the cupboard today, so I guess these things are cool relics for your kids, weird.
3. A genuine pair of Champion socks, but they are really soft Champion socks trust me, just great, I guess Christmas came early this year.
4. The satisfaction that champions get, which no one can take away (until winter term), I’m just grasping at straws now, but seriously good job Alex, Pat, Sean, Brennan, Eric, Andy, Paul, and that other kid (oops).

Now to the picks

12:00 PM – Maryland at BC. BC, c’mon who did you think I would pick.
7:00 PM – Virginia Tech at Wake Forest. Wake, at least I am praying.
8:00 PM – Cal at SC. Cal, not with the points (+6, for those who care) but outright.
Those are all the big games this week, right? What? Apparently the entire lower-Canadian section of the United States (that’s right) just threw up all over their Desmond Howard and Archie Griffin XXL jerseys.
Ok I’ll take a crack at it.

Michigan over Ohio State, 27-24, I just got a feeling, a feeling deep inside, oh yeah (courtesy of The Who).

Peace out Girl Scout,

Dave

At Least It's Almost Friday

No real thought-provoking thoughts so I'll just leave you with that picture...
-mc

Matsuzaka Mania

I awake this morning, with my bowl of Strawberry Mini-Wheats (garbage by the way), to see that the Red Sox are going to be the top bidder to talk to Japanese pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka. The Reports on Matsuzaka is that he's just nasty. The guy went 17-5 with a 2.13 ERA last year in Japan with the Seibu Lions. He was also the tournament MVP of the World Baseball Classic this past spring. And he also threw a 17-inning game in high school which is irrelevant besides the fact that it's cool. To be honest, I don't know about this guy. There's been a few guys who come over from wherever and suck (see Hideki Irabu and just about anyone from Cuba). I'll buy into it for now I guess, because the Red Sox sure as hell going to buy in. $40 mil to just talk to the guy, and then probably another $40 mil to sign him. So it's either going to be a pitching murderer's row with the likes of Schilling, Beckett, Papelbon, and Matsuzaka, or you know, the biggest financial flop in the history of baseball. Sweet.
In the ho-hum department, Bob Knight slapped one of his players in the face last night. Kind of. More of a strong pat on the chin to get his attention. You'll hear more in the coming days on this. But if you catch the video, check out the kid sitting on the bench trying to stretch it out or something like he just took a hook from Jim Braddock.
That's all I have, condolences to Dave who had the UVM Catamounts come in and spank his Eagles last night on Chestnut Hill. Long day today, I'll check in soon. Thanks for checking us out guys, 72 views at last check. -MC

Vermont just waxed BC off the floor, up 14 at half and didn’t get under 9 the entire second. I don’t know how many boards they had on offense, but it was ridiculous. It was basically 5-1 Vermont against Dudley the entire first half, and then Tyrese Rice was the only person to play in the second. Its early in the season, but this was not a good game. They really need Sean William back.
Some other thoughts:
Rutgers and the BCS: give it to ‘em if the beat WVU, I mean you would have given it to 12-0 Louisville or West Virginia right?
NBA Most Disimproved team: the Celtics, I mean they were up 25 on the Cavs in the 4th.
The NFL: weak. Me and Mike were talking about how the upper echelon teams aren’t as good as they had been in the past couple season, there just doesn’t seem to be a team that stands out, a lot of mediocrity.
I got nothing else, hopefully some wins next time.

Shake and bake baby

Dave

NFL Picks

I'll try picking some winners this weekend

Baltimore over Tennessee - Ray Lewis and Co. against a rookie QB. Nuff said
Indy over Buffalo - Duh
Cleveland over Atlanta - Upset Special right there
Minnesota over Green Bay - Hurts me to do that
Jacksonville over Houston - Who cares?
Kansas City over Miami - Sorry Cal
San Diego over Cincy - Just a hunch
New England over NYJ - Great division, lots of competition...
Philly over Washington - The Good McNabb shows up today
San Francisco over Detroit - The Niners are HOT
Denver over Oakland - See Jacksonville-Houston pick
Arizona over Dallas - That's how much I hate the Cowboys
Pittsburgh over New Orleans - Pittsburgh really isn't that bad are they?
St. Louis over Seattle - Bulger is having the best season you don't know about
Chicago over NYG - This means Grossman will probably make me look like an idiot
Carolina over Tampa - Because Tampa is bad. Simple as that.

Not a whole lot to say...
-Interesting story out of here at Springfield, 13 of the field hockey players got suspended for alcohol-related incident for one game. That game though, turned out to be the first round of the NCAA tournament. Needless to say, the Pride, playing with JV players, lost the game, and 10-4 at that. But it gets better, the next the day, the school paper, The Springfield Student runs the article on the front page, above the fold. This upsets the field hockey team, which is understandable, and they pull off one of the most bizarre heists ever. Equipped with duffle bags, the ladies go around campus taking every copy of the Student they can find. They were eventually ordered to return them, but only about 600 or so of 1900 were returned. Hmmmm....
-I still haven't decided which side of the fence I'm on regarding Rutgers football, but I think I'm going to say, they are not worthy of a National Championship bid. I expect West Virginia's dynamite run offense to end the dream season for the Scarlet Knights on Dec. 2. But what do I know?
-The Celtics still suck. That's not really subject to change either I fear.
-Even more depressing, the Bruins still suck too. I think they have more of a chance to turn it around, but I'm not expecting any parades down Causeway Street anytime soon.
That's all I've got for now, off to watch some AHL hockey tonight maybe. Adios kids
-MC

A few quick happenings around BC in the last couple days….
Women’s ice hockey won their 4th game in a row, good job ladies, look for my story Monday in The Heights.
The men’s team routed UNH last night in front of a surprisingly sparse crowd. Kinda weak with the ticket distribution, because the student section was packed while the stands weren’t, so I think they should add more student tickets. I saw a listing on EBAY where a BC kid was selling a full season package for $700, (they only cost $96). Had to be a kid in the business school with no soul. I figured that if you are paying 45 grand to come here, and one of the major draws to this school is it’s athletics, what is an extra $600 in your pocket compare to the seeing the games. The extra $600 is a band-aid on to knife wound tuition. If you don’t want the tickets, don’t sign up, let them go to somebody who really wants them and give a break to your BC brethren. I guess I shouldn’t be holding my breath for people to do the right thing, I’ll be dead shortly. All this might sound like its coming from an angry kid that didn’t get tickets, but actually I was one of the 3 kids to get a full season (go figure), but these are some of the G-rated responses people have when they find out I have full season.
BC Football has to step it up for the big football game tonight against Duke… oops that was last week, against Wake. That statement could also describes BC basketball a year ago. My buddy Ross is coming down from Bentley, should be fun.
Oh and a little shout out to Greenfield High FH team, good job winning WMass.
That’s all I got for you folks today, stay but don’t touch that dial I’ll be back after a quick commercial break.

The nasty man,

Dave

Just finished up some stuff for the Basketball preview coming out tomorrow, check it out on The Heights site.
Just a few random thoughts from the last few days…
-My deepest sympathies go out to the family and friends of The U’s Bryan Pata, but the first thing that crossed my mind when I saw the headline was “do they know which FIU player shot him?”
-Celtics are winning as I write this with 3 minutes to go over Charlotte, but ya never know.
-Article in today’s Globe about BC’s own Jared Dudley. (boston.com/sports/colleges/mens_basketball/articles/2006/11/08/forward_thinker/ ) He weighed 230 pounds when he was 12, no wonder nobody wanted him coming out of high school, but he looks poised to be sick this year, and I think he will.
- After writing a few articles about the upcoming women’s basketball season, I am legitimately interested in them this year. (Hold your applause until the end please)
- I don’t even have the patience to end this talking about the C’s, the last 3 minutes have been approximately 4 hours real time, and I need buffalo chicken ASAP.
As Ron Artest says on his hit debut album “Matt Lawer, on NBC, you look like a girl don’t talk to me.” You need to listen to this song Haterz, just ridiculous.
Good stuff by my colleague Mike, kid is the man.
I lied, the Celts are in OT, but buffalo chicken beckons me.

The Nasty Man,

Dave

I don't wanna make Nasty look bad, but I have just got to post about my night tonight. First of all, since you all care, it was Amherst in a sweep in one of the most one-sided volleyball matches you could imagine. I'll just throw in that UMass basketball coach Travis Ford was in attendance(the UMass AD's daughter plays vball...go figure). He kicked me escorting his son down the bleachers, so yeh, Travis Ford kicked me. Patted me on the back when he got back though, so we're practically friends now. Anyways, the game gets done at 8:05, keep that in mind.

It seemed like everyone I had to interview was busy, so we're just standing around doing nothing for God knows how long. I finally get my interviews done, one as they're shutting off the gym lights and another in the parking lot, as I'm one of the last 5 people to leave the goddamned school. So anyhoo, I get a phone call on my way to my car, which is actually somewhat relevant as you'll see. I get in the car to make the 20 minute trek back to the Gazette. About half way there, I make a Dunkin' Donuts stop for a coffee and a snack. Pull up to the drive through. I get the "We'll be right with you" line after waiting for about 3 minutes. I wait another minute or two and I get, "I'm really sorry, please give us a minute." Five minutes later, I've had enough of these shenanigans, so I go in to try my luck inside. Another seven minutes or so passes, I get my iced coffee, even though I wanted hot, and I'm off.

Back to the Gazette, only to find I don't have my notepad. I figure that I put it on the top of my car and left it there when I was on the phone. So I go from the parking lot of the Gazette back to the school (hitting every traffic light of course) only to find it's nowhere to be found. So, it's back to the office, manage to write the story and of course I'm there longer than I need to be. Starving, I go for a quick food stop when I get back to Springfield. I choose McDonalds. Bad idea. This is another 20 minutes naturally. So it's back to college, where of course I have to park 10 minutes from the dorm. And naturally, it was raining tonight. In the room at 12:20, 4 hours after the game ended. So there you have it, a night from hell, and I couldn't make this up if I tried.

Play of the Day: Me catching the ripped McDonald's back halfway between my car and the dorm before it hits the ground, saving my McNuggets.
time for some homework now, and then passing out. Night kids. -MC

Just a few quick thoughts before tonight's exhilarating Western Mass Division II volleyball match between Amherst and Agawam...try to contain your excitement, God knows I am.

1. I'm grumpy today because Deval Patrick will be our next governor. This whole campaign was eerily similar to the Red Sox-Yankees race, or lack thereof this year. Both candidates started out pretty strong with the Red Sox (in this analogy, Kerry Healey) looking better than some expected. However, as the season/campaign approached the stretch run, the Red Sox had their injuries, Healy her negative campaign ads, and the Yankees (or Patrick), breeze to the finish line. And unfortunately, I think our state will see about as much success as the Yankees did once they get to the playoffs.

2. Roger Clemens filed for free agency yesterday. This is the first stand I'm taking on this, likely to change, but I'm going to have to say no thanks to the Rocket re-launching in Boston. Too much money (12 million a month?!?) to pitch in the hitter-friendly American League. Results outweigh nostalgia here for me.
That's all I have for now, maybe I'll check in with reaction to tonight's match later.
-MC

Thanks for Tuning in...

Hi I am Dave, I am a freshmen at Boston College and a writer for The Heights newspaper. My buddy Mike and I decided to start a blog covering everything sports related. In the ensuing days, months, and hopefully years, we plan on bringing you sporting news and opinions. I am sure there are a million blogs like ours out there, but hopefully you will enjoy enough to come back. All the best, -Dave

Welcome I Guess...

Well, here goes nothing. Welcome to our blog. My name is Mike, and my friends call me Mike. Hopefully myself and my compadre Dave, better known as Nasty, will provide some entertainment within the world of sports or something to just pass the time at least. There's not much to know about me besides I'm a typical college kid who loves sports and loves to write. Makes sense, right? Simple enough. Look for Nasty's first post as well and then we're off. Stay tuned kids.

-MC