Favre Surging

This season is fascinating for me from an NFL perspective. The Saints are awesome, the Colts are consistent, the Patriots have fallen, and the Packers are building a solid foundation for the future.

While I am super happy with Aaron Rodgers and what he has done in Green Bay so far, I can't help but wonder a little bit what it would be like if the master of the fountain of youth, Brent Favre was still in Green Bay as Brett Favre, how good we'd be. The hated Viqueens are in the NFC Title Game (against the just as red-hot Saints) with Brent under center. Would the Pack have been there?

Now, take into account that A-Rod had to run a lot this year and his O-Line was pretty weak. That would have gotten Favre beaten up. But the receivers in GB are top notch and it'd be fun to throw the ball their way. As well, Brett is a guy that can seemingly galvanize a team if his passion is there.

If the Vikes do win the Super Bowl, I of course will feel awful cuz the Vikings won and happy for Brent at the same time cuz he still kicked everybody's butts. This one won't shake out for a few more years though when we finally see how many Super Bowls A-Rod can lead the Pack to.

Until then, let's go Saints. You're my boys for at least this week.

Passer Rating

I knew passer ratings were complicated to calculate. This is ridiculous

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passer_rating

It's more science than sport now. The reason this came up is cuz there are some beefy passer ratings this season. Lots of guys in the high 90s and even hundreds. I mean, Aaron Rodgers (of Packers lore) is in his second year as a starter and hovering on a 102.4 rating. Sweet

Its that time of the summer again

I just skimmed this article, because honestly, I don't care as much as last year. I'm sure I'll be heated about it sooner than later, but seriously, I can't give it all the energy I gave it last summer.

Brett Favre

Also, I've spent a lot of time dreaming about cars. I suppose it is summer and the road is open and I spend 3+ hours a day in a car. But nothing now. I can't afford it, and my aquamarine-ish Ford Escort Wagon with a ton of power, sex appeal, and versatility (as well as really great gas mileage) is treating me super well. It isn't ideal, but man she is beautiful.

Smell The Roses: 1 year after

The Rose Bowl Game is today. Starting in just a matter of minutes, the game between Penn State and the University of Suck Southern California. A year ago, at this time, I was in Pasadena for this game with the Illini position to defend the Big Ten. This didn't really work out...

Here's to hoping that the Nittany Lions will defend the Big Ten's honor and destroy the arrogant Californians (No bias in my mind, is there?)

Oh, and Happy 2009!

5-9, 9-5

Green Bay is officially eliminated from the NFL playoffs this season, and the Jets are still in contention.  Not that one man makes a huge difference on just the field, but lets just say, once again, I feel vindicated.

5-9 Packers and 9-5 Jets

Bowl Boycott

So, this year, we have the potential for 4 undefeated teams in college football.

As of right now, they are

Alabama

Utah

Boise State

Ball State

Two of these programs will probably go to BCS games.  Alabama at the very least, and maybe Utah as well.  Boise State and Ball State will probably be denied the right to play in these games.  Granted, you can make arguments about strength of schedule, blah de blah.  But they are in the same division.  If you want them to not have a right to play with the big dogs, create a new division that these schools CAN WIN.  It is garbage.

Therefore, I propose Boise State and Ball State (as per seeing a snippet of Around the Horn on ESPN today) boycott any bowl game invite and instead host their own bowl of undefeateds.  This would be a game that I'm sure somebody would want to pick up tv rights to and it would spit in the face of the bowl system.  And heck, if Utah doesn't make it, invite them, and a one loss team and hold your own mini-playoff.  Let's start a movement to change things.  Boise State has helped to keep the ball rolling by beating Oklahoma in epic fashion.  I hope this continues to be the case...

Kinda wish Brett was in Green Bay still?

Just saying...

Watching Sports

Saturday, I feel like I entered a new era in my Illinois sports watching.

1)  I went to the Illinois vs. Louisiana-Lafayette football game (which we looked awful in).  This was the first time I'd been in the fully renovated Memorial Stadium.  It seems as if the old Illini watching is long gone.  The students are now completely content 

to be placed in the end zone, the boosters have their seats in the boxes, and the Chief no longer graces the field.  It is a definitely different climate than 5 years ago when I sat in the second row on the forty yard line chanting "Fire Turner!"  Overall, I think the new look and feel is a plus.  I just hope that we don't forget the things of old, like where students used to sit, the fact that die-hard fans deserve a seat too, and the Chief.  Now, I'd say, regardless of your opinion of him, you should not want to forget, just as you don't want to forget any other tradition or monumental change.

2)  As I ramble on, I also will say I went to the Illinois Legends Alumni basketball game.  That was truly a treat.  It was a lot of fun to see so much talent gathered on one floor at the same time.  There are many fine memories in that group of people.  The thing that has truly changed though, is once again, my Freshman year, I saw those 'legends' playing their way to a 37-2 season and a 2nd place finish in the nation.  Now they were back for the new freshman who might not even know their name, yet sit in the Orange Krush ready to cheer them on.

I guess the point of this whole exercise is to say that I feel older, and I hadn't written in a while

Other Notes...

• Green Bay looked pretty good/bad in a victory over Detroit, and Aaron Rodgers looked quite solid.
  
• Brett Favre looked good against New England, considering the lack of pass protection he had.
  
• Carlos Zambrano pitched a No-Hitter against the Houston Astros.  Seems like a good momentum builder as we hope to look towards October baseball.
  

ROLL SEC

The SEC (Southeastern Conference) is the greatest conference in football, and if you disagree with me, I won't be your friend. I love Alabama. I grew up on Alabama football and I remember the last championship like it was yesterday, so I guess I 'll just act like it was that recent. ROLL TIDE!!!

Wow, I sound really sarcastic writing that. Living down here in Alabama, and loving football, has led to quite a few conversations. The people down here love their football, especially the collegiate variety. I'm pretty sure the Iron Bowl (Auburn-Alabama) is bigger than the Super Bowl in this state. And in many ways it is a lot of fun. The games are neat to watch. That is, until I run into the fanhood. I can be quite the obnoxious fan, and I need to watch out, especially after watching Alabama fans especially. Their ability to talk trash is second to none. But their ability to win is second to Auburn. A fun joke I learned down here goes something like this...

How do you get an Alabama fan to stop being an alcoholic?
Paint his beers all orange and blue. He won't be able to touch them for 6 years.

I think I've been really worn down by the presumptuously cocky nature of a program that has been as successful as Illinois recently.

Then I try to tell them that Big 10 football is football too (Ohio State is not helping me), and I get an earful. Check out this little comment from ESPN.com

Since 2003, the SEC is 30-31 in out of conference games against BCS conference schools. Out of the 30 wins, only 14 came on the road. I believe a win is a win, but Georgia beating Ga Tech at Ga Tech and Fla beating Fla St in Tallahassee are not extremely impressive lately - that accounts 5 of the road wins. Georgia and LSU are the two schools that stand out in out of conference wins against BCS conference schools - though no big win has been away from Athens or Baton Rouge. By contrast since 2003, the Big Ten is 43-31 in non-conference games against BCS schools. 19 of the wins have been on the road. Similarly, the big wins are usually at home with the exception being my Buckeyes win at Texas in 2006. The SEC's win/loss OOC record against BCS schools suggests the SEC is like every other conference - great on the top, avg in the middle and pretty awful on the bottom. The one difference is defensive line play - not skill players, not DB's, not speed, it is the D-line. Very impressive. I presume this is why Tressel recruited and got the best OL this year.

Oh, and in defense of Ohio State, let's play the national championship in the midwest, so a Big 10 team can have a home game.

I'm not sure what the whole point of me writing this was, other than to get it off my chest. I'm really frustrated by that aspect of the south, and I can't wait until Illinois rises to the occasion. You know Zook has a chip on his shoulder, and he's ready to beat on a conference that he wasn't 'good enough' for.

ZOOK 'EM

Sports and such

Well, MLB has passed a big event in the season. The trade deadline. This season has been one of the more active in my memory, with many big named players changing cities, leagues, and looking to either help a contender or rot in obscurity.

This intense trade pattern started with the Milwaukee Brewers picking up C.C. Sabathia from the Indians, who promptly changed his name to CC Sabathia. The Cubs counter punched with the pick up of high risk, high reward pitcher, Rich Harden, from Oakland. Both pitchers have performed very well for their respective new teams. Harden has an ERA for the Cubs hovering around 1, and has had around 9 strikeouts per start. Sabathia pitched 3 complete game wins. More on this little gem of a story later.

The trade deadline then came upon us today, and big names were flying across the map. Mark Teixeira went from Atlanta to the best team in the majors, the Angels. Pudge Rodriguez traveled from Detriot to New York and the Yankees, Ken Griffey Jr. left longtime home Cincinatti to go to Chicago and the Sox, and Manny Ramirez went coast to coast to the Dodgers from the Red Sox. These are all big name trades that definitely help to redraw some lines in baseball. I'd watch for all these teams to push for their division leads even stronger and to hold them as well.

Back to the Cubs and Brewers. CC came to Milwaukee to help get a struggling Brew Crew over the hump to the playoffs. And it looked that way, until the Cubs came into Miller Park, and forced a no decision out of CC and beat the Brewers in the first game of a four game series. This led to more beating by Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster, and Rich Harden, who finally got the run support to help his low ERA actually win a game. The Cubs swept the second place Brewers today and depending on how Saint Louis does in Atlanta today, they could drop to third in the division. Pretty great time to be a Cubs fan. Let's hope this momentum flows for a while.


On to more awful matters. Brett Favre. I know, if you watch sports, you're tired of it, and if you don't, you just don't care. But, being a Pack fan, I have an opinion. Here is what I told a buddy of mine today.

I think Ted Thompson is a dirt bag who wants to help Ted win and Green Bay be Ted's team. If all the things I see are true, he has tried to bribe a legend to sit on the couch, rather than trying to win right now. The NFL doesn't work on risks of winning now vs. maybe winning later. You try to win now, even if that means your handpicked QB (Rodgers) leaves after the season. You drafted Brohm for a reason, didn't you? I think Favre was forced into retirement, just like I think he was being forced out for the last 3 season. I haven't liked Ted Thompson, even though we were 13-3. That says more for McCarthy and Favre and the D than Thompson. We have signed like 3 free agents in 3 seasons. The biggest was Charles Woodson (which was good), but Moss was available twice. It is frustrating. I wish they would take Brett back and let their be a QB competition. If they think Aaron is so good, let him win his position. And if you don't want him back, send him away in a trade, and I hope that team does very well..VERY WELL, even if Chicago. I have a loyalty to a franchise, not Ted Thompson

That should be enough to get my thoughts out there. AND SERIOUSLY...a 20 million dollar bribe to not play. You really must be desperate to not be embarassed Ted Thompson. But by trying to cover your own butt, you are becoming a very shady character. Oh, and yes Brett did retire. But would Microsoft turn down Bill Gates for his replacement since he has retired. NO! They'd find a way to fit him in. Obviously this is a bit different, as you can only have one starting QB, but think about it. Brett gives you the best chance to win, and he wants to come back.

Anyway, I hadn't written about sports in a while, but this is what I have been seeing.

Confusion about control

Here I go into sports. I haven't written about them in a while, so let's go...

Deron Williams. #8 on the court and #1 in my heart. Deron was a superstar basketballer at the University of Illinois and my freshman year he went nuts along with his teammates to go 37-2. That was a fascinating season that I will remember for the rest of my life. One of Deron's signature moments came in the NCAA Midwest Regional Final against Arizona where he nailed a shot to tie the game after being down 15 with 4 minutes left.

Deron left the college ranks for the NBA after that season, and ended up as the 3rd overall pick in the NBA draft for the Utah Jazz. Singlehandedly, (with a bit of help from my roommate Jonathan) he has helped bring me into the watching the NBA. It has been a joy to watch him excel to the level of one of the two best point guards in the NBA.

Tonight I watched game 2 of the Lakers-Jazz series and the Jazz lost to go down 2-0 in the series. The series returns to Salt Lake City on Friday for the 3rd game. The Jazz lost 120-110 and Deron had 25 points and 10 assists. So the box score looks like he played fantastic, and yet I am left disappointed. Having watched Deron play for a few years now, I am convinced that he can totally CONTROL a game if he chooses to, but instead he wants to be unselfish and play soft. Then something clicks and he goes GaGa in the game. This happened today multiple times. You can see the determination in his eyes at times and I know it can be there more. I really hope the man can get his head on straight for the next 2 home games, because they need him to take control.

Pointless thought...

Just found out Brett Favre's middle name is Moses...

Aaron Rodgers is his successor as QB in Green Bay

So, what does the Bible tell me but more of the same success will come as Aaron continues the legacy of Moses...They worked together for a while at least.

Rose Bowl Road Trip: Post 5

Day 6: Today was the day we looked forward to. The big game. We arrived in Pasadena before sunrise. There was already a mass of people parking in the lots around the stadium as we arrived. This was an intense scene where we saw people polarized in their maroon and opposing orange. We walked ourselves over to the grandstands for the Tournament of the Roses Parade. It was nuts seeing people who had slept on the street for as much as a couple days before the parade to make sure they got the best seats. The parade was a slight disappointment, although the floats were out of this world complex. Check out this Germany tribute...
After the parade ended, we returned to the stadium park. There we grabbed some food, changed into wonderfully warm weather clothes, as it was in the 70s. What a glorious piece of weather we had. We got a chance to interact with a lot of different people outside the stadium before stepping into The Rose Bowl itself. What a antastic piece of history that stadium is. It is absolutely incredible inside. You see palm trees from the inside peeking over the edge and it has a neat shape to it. However, it is no Memorial Stadium...:)
Once in the stadium, we got a chance to see the place fill up and had orange poms on our seats from the U of I alumni association. Our seats were near the Illinois end zone, and were actually pretty fantastic. Well, the game went uhhhh, uhhh, well, Rashard Mendenhall had an awesome game, and now he's projected to be a top 15 pick int he NFL draft. That was nice.
OK, the game was a blowout. USC destroyed Illinois, but it was a lot of fun to be there still. Once we left the stadium, we avoided some of the more obnoxious USC fans and hightailed it out of town. We ate at In and Out Burger and ran off to Kingman, AZ, where we stayed at my buddy Chuck's house. His parents were fantastic in letting us stay and I still thank them so much.

The End of an Age

Well, the NFL has just ended up with one less legend within it. Brett Favre has retired. The NFL's all time leader in consecutive QB starts, touchdown passes, passing yards, interceptions, and more has told the Packers that he will hang up his hat. While he said that he was physically able to keep playing, he was mentally drained.

For the avid sports fan, the obvious commentary would be that Ted Thompson (the Packers GM) failed to pursue free agent Randy Moss. This would send a message to Favre (who wanted to play with the all star wideout) that he isn't too concerned to have him back.

This leaves us with one of the most passionate players of football watching the next NFL season off of the field.

Thanks Brett, you have been an inspiration and a joy to watch...

NFL Combine

So the NFL combine was/is going on, and it's been a good weekend for the Illini's two invites to the combine.

Rashard Mendenhall (who I love sooooo much) helped solidify his first round status moving his way up to the 13th best player in the draft according to Mel Kiper and the second best running back behind McFadden out of Arkansas. He was consistently in the top performers in the combine events and his size/speed combo makes scouts drool.

J. Leman didn't wow statistically, but I still love the guy. He is considered a top ten linebacker, and hopefully his moxy will gain him a bit more credit.

LOLMendenhall #2

Not as funny I think. Still pretty wacky

LOLmendenhall

OK, so I couldn't resist showing you my newest creation creation...sorry about posting twice in one day.

A Tom Brady Fantasy

Check out this ridiculous article on ESPN.com about the what could've beens of Tom Brady's career. He definitely got lucky with that Bledsoe injury...

PS, I love the hilarity of the last link in the article...

I'm just saying

I know this should be a dead issue for us Illinois fans, but c'mon Indiana, don't you think this is gonna get the rest of the league a bit fired up?

NCAA lists five major violations against Sampson, Indiana Staff

Time for THE GIANTS to vanquish evil...

sad