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.  

Quick Points About A-Rod, Tony, and NASCAR

Why is anyone surprised that Alex Rodriquez tested positive for performance enhancing drugs? Really folks. Let's get in the game. A-Rod was one of 104 that tested positive for banned substances back in 2003. He is one of many. No one should be surprised. On average, each team had 3 players that tested positive. This is not a surprise anymore. Players in this era use performance enhancers.

Tony Romo talked to Babe Laufenberg about the Terrell Owens situation. Romo said he expects receivers to complain about not getting enough passes thrown their way, so when T.O. does it, it's no big deal. Really, no big deal. It's a huge deal. T.O. is a locker room breaker. That guy makes enough noise for 20 players combined, and he gets people to follow him. The Cowboys need to get rid of Terrell Owens. He's a malcontent, and he's getting older and easier to cover. 

By the way, if you listen to reports, Tony Romo is part of the problem in Dallas, too. He evidently needs to worry more about his practice habits and less about having fun. 

Finally, I have come to the conclusion that I am a NASCAR fan. This realization kind of snuck up on me this past weekend while I was watching the PRACTICE for the Bud Shootout and the PRACTICE for the Daytona 500. For some reason, I am intrigued by the different drivers personalities, and I like the way the engines go "VRRRRROOOOOMMMM". I still don't know an awful lot about the strategies, and I don't watch races from start to finish. I do, however, enjoy NASCAR. There, I said it. They say admitting you have a problem is half the battle.

SUPER Bowl 43

Now that's what I'm talking about. When the 2 best teams in the NFL get together in the Super Bowl, I want to see the kind of great show the Arizona Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers put on in Super Bowl 43. I want the Super Bowl to come down to the last 15 minutes of the game, and for the 2nd year in a row, I got exactly what I wanted in the Steelers 27-to-23 victory over the Cardinals.

The Cardinals showed great heart in the final quarter, and they scored 16 points in the first 13 and a half minutes of the 4th quarter to take the lead, 23-to-20. However, Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers offense answered the call. Pittsburgh drove 78 yards in 8 plays to retake the lead 27-to-23 on a Roethlisberger to Santonio Holmes touchdown pass for the game winner. Not only was it the game winner, Holmes made a great catch in triple coverage for the score.

The stars came out to play and played a major role in this one:

-Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw for 256 yards and the game-winning touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes.

-Holmes, the Super Bowl MVP, caught 9 passes for 131 yards and the game-winning touchdown.

-Steelers linebacker and NFL Defensive MVP James Harrison set a Super Bowl record for the longest play with a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown.

-Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner threw for 377 yards and 2 touchdowns.

-Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald caught 7 passes for 127 yards and 2 touchdowns.

This is what the Super Bowl should look like. A great game that comes down to the last few seconds with all the stars making big plays for their team. The my wife has always said the Super Bowl should be a close game. Well, that's what happened this year in Tampa, and they are beginning to be close more often than not. Super Bowl 43 is the 4th championship game in the last 6 years to be decided in the last minute of the game.

The NFL's championship game is finally becoming a SUPER BOWL.

Hayes Finally Runs Into Hall of Fame

"Bullet" Bob Hayes was elected posthumously to the Pro Football Hall of Fame(PFHOF), and I say, "IT'S ABOUT TIME!"

Most athletes can't say they changed the sport in which they played, but former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver "Bullet" Bob Hayes can say that he changed professional football.

Hayes won the gold medal in the 100 meter dash and the 4x100 meter relay in the 1964 Olympics. The Cowboys drafted the fastest man in the world in the 7th round and unleashed his speed on the NFL in 1965. Speed that the rest of the league could not handle.

NFL defenses typically played man-to-man in the secondary. Hayes scored 25 touchdowns and averaged over 20 yards a catch against that man coverage his first 2 years with the Cowboys. The rest of the league got wise and started playing more zone defense, and defenses in the NFL are still playing zone whether the team they are playing has a guy as fast as Hayes, or not. By the way, Hayes scored 20 more touchdowns the next 2 seasons against zone defenses.

His final numbers, 371 receptions for 7414 yards and 71 touchdowns, are not eye-popping like Jerry Rice's, and he doesn't have as many Super Bowl rings as Lynn Swann, but he still leads the Cowboys in TD receptions, and neither one of those guys fundamentally changed the game of football.

Sammy Baugh changed the game of football. He was in the 1st class of the PFHOF. Lawrence Taylor changed the way outside linebacker is played. He was elected to the PFHOF on the 1st ballot. Bob Hayes changed the way the NFL plays defense. He was FINALLY elected to the PFHOF 29 years after he was eligible and 7 years after his death.

It took 29 years, but The Bullet is in the Hall of Fame.

Top 10 Things I Expect On Super Bowl Sunday

Well, it's that time of the year, again. It's time for sports guys like myself to make our predictions about Super Bowl XLIII.
Well, here are a few for you:

1)There will be a coin-flip, and the Steelers will call heads or tails.
2)Peyton Manning will be in at least 3 commercials.
3)John Madden will say, "That's what it's all about", 10 times.
4)I will marvel at the "1st down line" that the network's superimpose on the field.(Greatest innovation in televised sports since the instant replay, by the way)
5)The network will find Kurt Warner's wife in the stands and put her on television 1,000 times.(That never gets old.)
6)The Steelers Troy Palamalu and the Cardinals Larry Fitzgerald will compare hairstyles.
7)Some company, we've never heard of and will never hear from again, will have a commercial in the game.
8)Somebody at your Super Bowl party is going to say, "Now, who's playing this year?"
9)Cowboys fans and 49ers fans will be pulling for the Cardinals to win because they don't want the Steelers to be the 1st team with 6 Super Bowl titles.
10)The Pittsburgh Steelers will beat the Arizona Cardinals.

That's How I See It.

Birds Take Flight

Everybody knows, that birds have no trouble being on the road in the Winter. So, we should not be surprised that all 3 road teams with bird mascots in the NFL Playoffs won their games this past weekend.
The Arizona CARDINALS went to number 2 seed Carolina and beat the Panthers.
The Baltimore RAVENS went to number 1 seed Tennessee and beat the Titans.
The Philadelphia EAGLES went to number 1 seed New York and beat the Giants.
This is clearly the year of the bird in the NFL. 4 bird mascots made it to the post-season, and 3 of those are still alive, and bird teams are 6 and 1. Even more impressive, the birds are 5 and 1 on the road in the playoffs, and that lone loss by the Atlanta FALCONS came to the CARDINALS.
So, we've got the Philadelphia EAGLES at the Arizona CARDINALS in the NFC Championship game, and the Baltimore RAVENS at the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship game.
These are not my official picks, but you've got to think that the RAVENS and the EAGLES are headed to Super Bowl.
Granted my whole "the bird is the word" philosophy is not science, but I am guy who looks at history. Recent history tells me we are looking at our first-ever all bird Super Bowl.

I Don't Like the BCS

I don't like the Bowl Championship Series. Yeah, I know, no real shocker there. What college football fan likes the BCS? Well, I don't like the Bowl Championship Series for a different reason that most. I miss the the excitement of New Year's Day. The BCS took the most important bowl games away from me on January 1st under the premise that we would get an undisputed national champion. Well, that didn't happen this year, and the bowl games on New Year's Day, with the exception of the Cotton Bowl, were of no interest to most people. I loved getting up on January 1st to watch the parades, and then I spent the day watching the Cotton Bowl, the Sugar Bowl, the Rose Bowl, and the Orange Bowl. It was the best day of the year for college football fans. We don't have that anymore, and we don't have an undisputed national champion. I say that's a lose-lose for college football fans. I don't want a playoff in Division 1 football. I want the old bowl system. I want the excitement of New Year's Day back in my life.