When You Play With Fire...

As most of you know, Abilene Ruff Riders quarterback Quincy Carter was arrested on Sunday here in Abilene. He didn't do anything new, but he was picked up for an outstanding warrant in the D/FW area for a parole violation. 

So, where do I begin? 

I will start by saying, I want Quincy Carter to succeed here in Abilene with the Ruff Riders, and I want him to become a productive member of our community. However, I don't see that 2nd part happening. 

Carter knew he had a warrant out for his arrest for a parole violation. Why on earth didn't he go and take care of the matter? The best explanation I can come up with is that he is a 12 year old little boy in a man's body, and he forgot, or he thought it would just go away. I don't know how many of you have had pre-teens, but most of them need adults to remind them to pick their clothes up off the floor, or to make their bed, or to take their dirty dishes to the kitchen. 

That's what we've got here. Carter is supposed to be an adult, but he clearly isn't. He is a pre-teen that can't handle the responsibilities of adult life. 

You know the Ruff Riders are embarrassed each and every time their franchise quarterback does something less than smart. This kind of thing puts the team in a bad light because he is representing the team. TV stations do stories about Quincy Carter, and they start those stories with, "Abilene Ruff Riders quarterback Quincy Carter". This doesn't help the team build a good reputation with the community. 

The signing of Quincy Carter was a high risk, high reward kind of deal for the Ruff Riders. If he keeps his nose clean and he plays well, Carter puts people in the stands. If he keeps doing less than intelligent things that land him in jail, Carter will help keep people out of the stands. 

Message for Quincy Carter:

IT IS TIME FOR YOU TO GROW UP!

Message for the Abilene Ruff Riders:

When you play with fire, sometimes you get burned. 

Honesty and Life

I was at a tennis tournament this weekend, and I witnessed something that just boggled my mind. A 7th grader was not playing an honest game against her opponent. 

At 1st, I was stunned. I mean after all, this was a 7th grade tennis match. It wasn't Wimbledon or the U.S. Open. Upon reflection, I realize that somewhere down the line, a person told this 7th grader that winning was the most important thing in the world. Don't get me wrong, I know that winning is the goal and it is important, but honesty and ethics can not be thrown out the window when they get in the way of winning. 

We can't live in the world where the slogan for life is, "Get what you can, anyway you can." That little slogan is how we end with Barry Bonds and his gigantic head lying about using steroids. That slogan gives you point shaving scandals in sports. That slogan gives us Bernie Madoff and his billion dollar "Ponzi" scheme. Somewhere along the way, these folks were told that winning is the ONLY thing. 

I am not that kind of person. My wife is not that kind of person. My daughter is not that kind of person. We compete at our jobs and at school, but we are going to be honest and ethical in that competition. If we win, that is just great. If we lose, we will try again. 

I am no Pollyanna. I know that that's not how a lot of the world thinks. I say, that's too bad because "get what you can, anyway you can" works for a while, but eventually, it jumps up and bites you. Everybody knows that Bonds is a liar, and Madoff and the point shaving guys almost always go to jail. 

Live life to the fullest, and live your life honestly. You may not get everything you ever wanted, but you will be respected and known as an honest person. 

Well, There's Always Next Year

I just want to start this by telling you, I am a genius. In a manner of speaking.

I predicted at the start of the NCAA Tournament that 2 number 1 seeds, a number 2 seed, and a number 3 seed would advance to the Final 4 in Detroit. Genius, right?

Now to the manner of speaking part. I predicted that Pittsburgh, Louisville(both #1 seeds), Memphis(#2 seed), and Syracuse(#3 seed) would go to the Final 4. North Carolina, UConn(#1 seeds), Michigan St(#2 seed), and Villanova(#3 seed) are the teams headed to Detroit this weekend.

So really, not so much the genius.

The regional semi's and finals were great for this tournament because it was going to much to form in the first 2 rounds for my liking. I know I said last week that it's good for ratings, but that doesn't mean I like it.

Villanova's appearance in the Final 4 brings back memories of the Wildcats upset victory over Georgetown in the NCAA Finals back in 1985. That is still considered one of the biggest upsets in sports.

Common sense tells us North Carolina and Connecticut will play for the NCAA Championship on KTAB on April 6th, but basketball is a funny sport. You should not be surprised if you are watching Michigan State and Villanova on the 6th.

The Final 4 is this Saturday in Detroit. Michigan St. and UConn start the night at 5:07. The 2nd game between North Carolina and Villanova tips at 7:47.

Enjoy the games on KTAB.

Okay Through 2 Rounds

After the 2nd day of the NCAA Tournament on KTAB, I was thinking about throwing my bracket away, but the weekend made me rethink.

I missed 10 games in the 1st round, but I picked it up in the 2nd round. I picked 13 of the 16 games correctly. I am proud of that, and more importantly, I go to the 2nd weekend with all of my Elite 8 teams still alive and kicking. 

Contrary to popular opinion, I am not doing well because I am a genius. The tournament is going pretty much according to form. The lower seed won just 7 times in the 1st 48 games of the Big Dance.  Arizona is the lowest seed at #12. Purdue is next with a 5th seed. Every 1, 2, and 3 seed are in the Sweet 16.

While that may be kind of boring for casual viewers, it works out pretty well for those of us who are trying to pick these games. 

It also works out for the folks at CBS. When the top teams advance, more people watch the tournament. People say they like the underdog, but almost without exception, ratings are higher when the top teams like Louisville, Kansas, North Carolina, and UConn are playing. The top teams are the names you know, they are the teams with more fans, and they are the teams that get better ratings. 

CBS is loving this tournament because they have the big names from the big conferences playing in the Sweet 16. I am loving this tournament because I have a great chance to do well on my bracket. It's a win, win for us. 

We start to knock it down to the Elite 8 on Thursday on KTAB. Enjoy the tournament.

It's Madness

The MADNESS is here. Basketball, basketball, basketball and more basketball.

The 1st weekend of the NCAA tournament is being played in 8 cities around the country. 64 teams started the day with a shot at the national championship. I say that, but that's 1 of the myths of the tournament, not all 64 teams had a legitimate chance to win the tournament. American, Northern Iowa, Binghamton, and the like DON'T have a shot at the championship.
They MIGHT win a game in the tournament, but they are not going to win the whole thing.


That said, it's still fun to watch teams like Akron and Morgan St. take on the teams from the Big 6 conferences to see how they do. Sometimes those teams surprise us. Sometimes, they prove they belong among the top teams in the nation.

Or do they? Are they that good, or are the teams from the Big 6; Big East, Big 12, Big 10, SEC, Pac-10, ACC, and SEC, over-rated? Probably a little of both. Quite often, good or bad, teams get seeds based on their conference or reputation.

I love watching the little guy win games in sports, that's one of the reasons I love the NCAA Tournament. The little guy gets a shot, and they come thru every now and then.

F.Y.I., I picked Louisville, Memphis, Pittsburgh, and Syracuse to go to the Final 4. I picked Louisville to beat Pitt for the title.

Enjoy the tournament. I know I will.

Put the Popcorn Down

It's been awhile since I wrote on my blog, but leave it to the NFL to give me motivation. 

The Dallas Cowboys are releasing Terrell Owens, and I say good. I have been a T.O. apologist for the last 2 years. I believed that his antics were worth the headache since he could produce so well on the field. 

Now, the antics are a distraction and Terrell is old. In the past, T.O. could take a swing pass to the sidelines, make the first guy miss, and get 10 to 20 yards. That is not the case anymore. He can still give you the big play, on occasion, but they are not nearly as common. 

The Cowboys are sending him out the door along with his troublesome ways. I am sure some team will pick Owens up, but he's not the same player. He is older, slower, and weaker. That's a bad combination if you are a receiver in the NFL. 

How I See ACU's Probation

The ACU football and track teams were put on 2-years probation for violations of NCAA rules. The violations range from letting a prospect use a coaches computer for an on-line course to a Sunday morning Bible class, that I am a member of, giving foreign athletes Christmas gifts.

Before you guys start saying, "I knew they were up to something", I want y'all to know that Jared Mosely is not running a renegade program over on Judge Ely Blvd. The Wildcats violations, by the NCAA's own admission, are considered minor, but there were so many of them, the NCAA had to punish the school in some manner. 

EDUCATION, EDUCATION, EDUCATION. 

The primary problem at ACU in this case is many of the coaches were not as well versed on the rules as they should have been. For example, we were asked by A COACH to bring food and Christmas gifts to the Christmas party mentioned in the NCAA's report. The members of my Bible class were not trying to gain an advantage for the school with these gifts. They were taking care of some kids who couldn't go home for Christmas. 

I believe that in most of the cases mentioned in the report, the coaches weren't trying to cheat, THEY WERE NOT AWARE that what they were doing was against the NCAA rules. This where ACU dropped the ball, and they are working to pick it back up. Coaches are being required to attend rules seminars held by the NCAA. I know, sounds like a hoot, but it's important to do, so the school doesn't have to suffer thru another day like they did on Thursday. 

Bottom line, the ACU track and football teams broke the rules, and they should be punished in some form or fashion. Even though these were minor infractions, they were infractions. We don't want the NCAA to subjective. I believe if you break a rule, you should suffer the consequences. 

Upside for ACU:

1)They were honest. Once the violations were known, the school reported itself to the NCAA.

2)The penalties are not too severe. They give up 2 scholarships for 2 years on the track side and the football team has to take 10 victories off the record from 2007. Really no big deal.

3)The school will now be monitoring the athletics program more closely, and that means that the Athletic Director will be monitoring the individual sports more closely, and in turn, the head coaches will be monitoring themselves and their assistants more closely.