Wednesday, January 10, 2007

The Dark Lord Awakens...New Year, New Rants...

What I've learned during my slumber.....

That's it's ok to root against your team in the playoffs if it means a coach that never should have been hired in the first place..gets the boot. Please Fire Coughlin!!!

That the Coughlin mess has reminded me of something I learned in Kindergarten. People forget what you do to them and for them. But they never forget how you make them feel. If he focused more on how to deal with the strong personalities in a civil but forceful way, rather than worrying whether guys are five minutes early for his meetings, than he probably wouldn't have players throwing him under the bus publicly and privately.

And maybe if he didn't treat the press like they were child sex offenders who were moving next door, he'd get the benefit of the doubt from the press. Coughlin is a better in-game coach than Herm Edwards. Yet Herm, consistently got the benefit of the doubt from his players and the press. Why? People skills. He spoke to you not at you. Even his critics liked and respected him as a man. And his players never quit on him. But as soon as the Giants started to fall apart due to injuries and bad coaching, the media was asking for his head. Never underestimate the importance of being liked. You can't be perfect all the time.

And if you treat press conferences like root canal, than you'd better be as smart as Bill Belichick.

That as important as it is for a team to have a QB that's tough and smart, it's more important if he can throw the ball down the field for more than 25 yards. You give Chad Pennington, Eli Manning's arm, they beat the Patriots last Sunday. Now if we could only give Eli, Chad's guts and accuracy....

That talent wins games. Coaching wins championships.

That the SEC is clearly the best conference in College Football. Go Gators!

That the Big 1O is the most overrated conference in the land. East Coast Bias? What about Midwest Bias?? Compare that conference to the SEC and the PAC 10 and tell me which conferences are better from top to bottom. The Rose Bowl and BCS Championship game only confirmed what serious unbiased college football fans have known all year. Guess what the records of Ohio State and Michigan against teams who ended the year in the top 25? 5-2 COMBINED. The records of USC and Florida? 9-2. By the way, one of those wins for OSU/U of M? The Buckeye win versus the Wolverines in November.

That despite overwhelming evidence to the obvious, that some idiot sports writer will still use their ballot to make a statement. Just for the sake of being contrary. Take the idiot writer who decided to give Boise State a National title vote to prevent Florida from getting a unanimous vote. I thought their Fiesta Bowl win over Oklahoma was one of the three greatest football games that I've ever seen. But this was not vintage Oklahoma. Top 20 team? Yes. Top 10. Hardly. Another overrated big-name team from a overrated conference. Boise State deserved a top 5 finish not a vote for National Champion. Undefeated or not.

The same goes for the idiot baseball writers who decided to hand in a blank ballot for the Hall of Fame rather than vote for Cal Ripken and Tony Gwynn. I don't care what their reasoning might be, take away their privileges please.

That Charlie Weis needs to come to his sense and go to the Giants. He's never winning a National title in South Bend. Ever. And as Notre Dame continues to get waxed in BCS bowl games and their bowl game losing streak continues (it's currently at nine), his star is going to begin to lose its luster. Weis is never going to recruit enough blue-chippers to compete with the Big Dogs. And as mid-major conferences start to gain stature, it's going to be even harder for them to compete. Stay in the Top 25? Yep, Weis' coaching acumen and Notre Dame's TV contract will guarantee that. But their tough academic standards guarantees a beatdown everytime they play one of the big boys.

That in sports, it's better to be called a liar than a loser (See Nick Saban). Hopefully Charlie Weis will get the hint. You wanted the Giants job before. I'm sure if you express interest, that Big Blue will find a way to buy out your contract and run Coughlin out of town. And I'd be willing to bet that you'd win a Super Bowl in New York before you win a National title in South Bend.

That the stigma about Black Quarterbacks still exists. NFL teams are still squeamish about making a black man the face of their franchise. That's the only reason why Brady Quinn is getting better press than Troy Smith and DaMarcus Russell. Chris Leak, despite winning a national title and playing in the best conference in college football for four years, will be lucky if he gets drafted.

That giving number three starters $100 million contracts is tantamount to putting your head in a lit oven and lighting a match. Same goes with bidding eight figures just to talk to Japanese starters who have never thrown an inning in the majors.

That having nothing to do watch intently until April isn't a bad thing. I've discovered a wonderful invention that you might have heard of. They're called the books.

Happy New Year Everyone!