Thursday, August 29, 2013

College Football Kicks Off


Fifth–ranked Georgia and #8 Clemson
face each other in Saturday's season opener.


College football returns tonight, and, as is usually the case in the first week or two, predictions are largely based on reputation.

At least until the teams show us what they can do on the field. Until then, it's really all on paper.

To be fair, you won't learn much about most of the Top 25 teams from the games they play. Not naming any names, but most of the games look like foregone conclusions. The ones that get out of hand early are likely to resemble an NFL preseason game — with the starters sitting on the bench for most of it.

(Every college football fan can tell you about an upset or two that happened in the first few weeks of a season, though. It does happen.)

To be sure, there are some intriguing matchups on this weekend's schedule — which starts tonight and continues through Labor Day. There are even a couple of head–to–head battles between Top 25 teams. Fifth–ranked Georgia and #8 Clemson will play on Saturday night, as will #12 LSU and #20 TCU.

But, unless we see an upset or two, you can expect next week's Top 25 to look a lot like this week's.

Idle: #4 Stanford

Today
  • North Carolina at #6 South Carolina, 5 p.m. (Central) on ESPN: These border rivals have played each other 55 times in the last 110 years, but this will be their first encounter since 2007, when South Carolina prevailed 21–15.

    And that was their first meeting since 1991.

    They played each other fairly regularly in the years before 1991. In fact, there were long stretches in which they played every season.

    Anyway, in the absence of any recent history in this series, I have to look at what the teams have done recently.

    North Carolina has had five straight winning seasons. South Carolina, on the other hand, hasn't lost more than it won since 2002, and the Gamecocks have now had two straight 11–win seasons. I pick South Carolina.
  • #24 USC at Hawaii, 10 p.m. (Central) on CBS Sports: This will be the ninth time these schools have faced each other in football, and the Trojans have won all eight of the previous meetings. No reason to expect anything different this time.

    Southern California should prevail.
Saturday
  • Virginia Tech vs. #1 Alabama in Atlanta, 4:30 p.m. (Central) on ESPN: Alabama has dominated this series, winning 11 of 12 meetings.

    But Virginia Tech's only victory over the Crimson Tide came when the teams met at a neutral site — as they are doing this year.

    Virginia Tech could be a deceptive opponent. Tech went 7–6 last year but won 10 or more games in each of the eight previous seasons. I think Alabama will win, but the Crimson Tide cannot afford to be complacent.
  • Buffalo at #2 Ohio State, 11 a.m. (Central) on ESPN2: This is the first meeting of these schools.

    Buffalo is coming off a 4–8 year. It was the school's fourth straight losing season, but it did indicate steady improvement. Buffalo was 3–9 in 2011, 2–10 in 2010.

    Ohio State, meanwhile, was 12–0 last year but ineligible for a bowl. The Buckeyes are eligible this year, and many folks are predicting that Ohio State and Alabama will meet for the national title in January.

    What's more, Ohio State has only lost 11 times at home since 2000. And those home losses usually come against acknowledged powerhouses from the Big Ten.

    I pick Ohio State.
  • Nicholls at #3 Oregon, 3 p.m. (Central) on Fox Sports: There can be no reason for most sports fans to watch this game.

    There will be other games being televised at the same time, and Oregon's starters should be on the bench by halftime.

    Oregon should win this one hands down.
  • #5 Georgia at #8 Clemson, 7 p.m. (Central) on ABC: There was a time when Georgia and Clemson played each other almost every year.

    Between 1902 and 2003, they met 57 times. Georgia leads the all–time series, 38–15–4, and the Bulldogs have won the last five meetings. In fact, the Tigers haven't won since 1990 — which also happens to be the last time the Tigers won at Clemson.

    Historically, Clemson has done better at home than on the road when playing Georgia. But that isn't really applicable, is it? These teams haven't played in a decade.

    This game may turn out to be more interesting than the LSU–TCU game. Clemson had a Top 10 offense last season; Georgia's offense was good, but it didn't even finish in the Top 20. Statistically, Georgia's defense was much better, and it may be prepared to make a season–opening statement, but only three starters return from last season.

    Some observers pick Georgia to play for the national title in January, but I am inclined to think that Clemson will win this game, perhaps ending such talk.
  • Rice at #7 Texas A&M, noon (Central) on ESPN: These two old Southwestern Conference foes meet for the first time since 1995. The Aggies own a 15–game winning streak over the Owls dating back to 1981, but Rice's last victory over A&M came at College Station in October 1980.

    There are lots of story lines surrounding the Aggies this season, and most of them have at least a connection to the SEC. It is taken for granted that A&M will win this game, even with Heisman winner Johnny Manziel on the bench for the first half — and next week's game against Sam Houston State — before the early season showdown with Alabama on Sept. 14. It will be a major upset if the Aggies lose either game.

    I think Texas A&M will win this game — and probably the one next week, too — but I need to give that third one some thought.
  • Toledo at #10 Florida: These schools have never played each other in football, but here's guessing Toledo will remember its trip to The Swamp.

    Unofficially the toughest place for a visiting team to play, The Swamp is known for the incredible noise generated by Gator fans. Not counting Florida's rivalry with Florida State, the Gators haven't lost at home to a nonconference foe since losing to Miami (Fla.) on Sept. 7, 2002 — and Miami went on to play for the national championship that year.

    If Toledo wins, it will be a huge upset. I don't think that will happen. Give me Florida.
  • #12 LSU vs. #20 TCU in Arlington, Texas, 8 p.m. (Central) on ESPN: TCU faces a considerable challenge in this game. LSU hasn't lost a regular–season nonconference game since falling to Virginia Tech in the 2002 season opener.

    That's 34 consecutive regular–season nonconference wins for LSU — so far.

    These teams have faced each other eight times, including once in the Sugar Bowl, but they haven't faced each other since Lyndon Johnson was president. In the absence of any recent history between these two teams, I have to go with my gut, and I expect LSU to win.
  • Mississippi State vs. #13 Oklahoma State in Houston, 2:30 p.m. (Central) on ABC: These teams have met four times in the past, and the winner of this game will take the lead in the series.

    It will also be the first time they have played in a truly neutral site. They played once in Jackson, Miss., which is about 100 miles from Mississippi State's campus, but that isn't much, considering it is nearly 500 miles from Oklahoma State's campus. Houston is another matter.

    This could be a really close game. I pick Oklahoma State.
  • Temple at #14 Notre Dame, 2:30 p.m. (Central) on NBC: When last we saw them, the Fightin' Irish were being destroyed by Alabama in the BCS Championship Game in Miami on Jan. 7.

    The crowd in South Bend should be much friendlier, and Temple, which went 4–7 last year and lost five of its last six games, should be easier to handle than the Crimson Tide.

    I've heard a lot of people say that Notre Dame wasn't the most appropriate foe for Alabama in that game, and the outcome of the game would tend to support that. The Irish will have a lot of work to do to prove themselves in 2013. I expect Notre Dame to win the opener, but I doubt the Irish will prove much by doing so.
  • New Mexico State at #15 Texas, 7 p.m. (Central) on Longhorn Network: These teams have met four times — always in Austin — and the Longhorns have won all four.

    I suspect their ranking is based on history — and not recent history, either. Texas is 22–16 in the last three seasons. But it's taken New Mexico State nearly a full decade to win 22 games.

    And I don't think these Aggies will be able to leave Austin with a win. The Longhorns have a lot to prove, but they won't prove anything in this game. I pick Texas.
  • Louisiana–Monroe at #16 Oklahoma: I'm inclined to be skeptical of Oklahoma and Texas when I see them in the rankings these days.

    Well, not so much Oklahoma. The Sooners have had 10 wins or more in every season but two in the last 13 years.

    I guess it's their postseason record that is the cause for concern. The Sooners have barely won more bowls than they've lost in those 13 seasons.

    Consequently, I suppose, Sooner fans should be concerned in December or January — not August.

    Besides, it's hard to see Louisiana–Monroe causing much trouble in Norman. I have to go with Oklahoma.
  • Central Michigan at #17 Michigan, 2:30 p.m. (Central) on Big Ten: The Wolverines won their first two games against Central Michigan, both of which were played in Ann Arbor.

    Historically, Michigan beats Central Michigan by about 30 points. That sounds about right to me. I pick Michigan.
  • Wyoming at #18 Nebraska, 7 p.m. (Central) on Big Ten: These teams have played each other half a dozen times in the last 80 years, and Nebraska has won them all.

    Most of the games have been, like this year's, at Nebraska. But the teams did meet in Wyoming two years ago. Nebraska prevailed, as usual. And I don't expect Wyoming, which has had nine losing seasons since the start of the 21st century, to reverse that this week.

    Nebraska will win.
  • #19 Boise State at Washington, 9 p.m. (Central) on Fox Sports: This is a rematch of last year's Las Vegas Bowl, which Boise State won, 28–26.

    I think it will be another close game, but I'm going to give the edge to the home team, Washington. Not so long ago, the Huskies were hard pressed to win a handful of games each season (they even went winless one year), but they've put together three straight winning seasons.

    I think they're ready to move to the next level.
  • Nevada at #21 UCLA, 9 p.m. (Central) on Pac–12 Network: These schools are only about 400 miles apart. You'd think they would play each other if not frequently then at least with some regularity.

    But the truth is the two have never met in football.

    I'll give the advantage to UCLA.
  • #22 Northwestern at California, 9:30 p.m. (Central) on ESPN2: These teams have only faced each other once — in the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day 1949.

    Obviously, there isn't much insight you can gain when two teams are about to meet for the first time in more than 60 years, but last year's numbers aren't much help, either. Northwestern was better than California on both sides of the ball, but neither team was terribly impressive. Cal went 3–9 and lost its last five games. Northwestern was 10–3 and won five of its last seven games, including the Gator Bowl.

    I'll take Northwestern.
  • Massachusetts at #23 Wisconsin, 11 a.m. (Central) on Big Ten: These teams have never faced each other in football.

    Last year, UMass was 1–11, its only win coming against Akron (also 1–11). Wisconsin was 8–6, destroyed Nebraska in the Big Ten championship game and lost to Stanford in the Rose Bowl.

    I'm comfortable picking Wisconsin to win.
  • Eastern Washington at #25 Oregon State, 5 p.m. (Central) on Pac–12 Network: I don't know much about either team, but I saw some of Oregon State's games near the end of last season, and I was impressed.

    I have to go with Oregon State to win this one.
Sunday
  • Ohio at #9 Louisville, 2:30 p.m. (Central) on ESPN: Next Sunday, the NFL will be back.

    But this week, the only football game in town will be the first–ever meeting between Ohio and Louisville.

    Ohio has enjoyed some success in recent years, but it really can't compare with what Louisville had in 2012. Louisville beat Florida in the Sugar Bowl last January, finishing the season 11–2.

    And Louisville did things the old–fashioned way last season — with a defense that was ranked 23rd in the nation.

    Ohio actually had a higher–ranked offense than Louisville last season, but its defense was ranked 55th.

    I'll give the edge to Louisville at home.
Monday
  • #11 Florida State at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m. (Central) on ESPN: Historically, this should be an interesting game.

    These two teams do have a limited history. They've played eight times, and Pitt has won five of them.

    On the other hand, this will be their first meeting in 30 years — so Pitt's three–game winning streak doesn't mean a lot.

    I pick Florida State.






Saturday, August 17, 2013

Attention, TWC and CBS: Settle Your Differences



I'm a football fan.

If you are also a football fan, you will understand what I am about to say.

Time Warner Cable has the concession in my apartment complex. As you may have heard, TWC is squabbling with CBS — and, until this matter is resolved, TWC is blacking out CBS affiliates and CBS–owned stations in certain cities.

One of which is Dallas.

Whether a city is blacked out depends on local terms of agreement, I suppose, because some cities, like Dallas, are blacked out, and others are not.

Now, I'll admit — without hesitation — that I don't know much about the business side of cable television.

But I do know that I have been waiting for football since February. And, because of this squabble, I haven't been able to watch the first two Cowboys preseason games.

Fox broadcasts NFC games during the regular season so I'll be able to watch the Cowboys play on Fox when the season begins.

Actually, missing the Cowboys games wouldn't bother me too much. See, I'm not a Cowboys fan. As I have mentioned here before, I am a Packers fan. Been one since I was a child. And the Packers, like the Cowboys, play in the NFC.

But I still like to watch the area teams, even if I don't tend to pull for them.

And if I don't have CBS when the season begins, I will be deprived of AFC games — and there are several teams in the AFC I would like to watch.

One more thing: Each teams plays a few interconference games which might be carried on CBS.

For me, this is a bad arrangement all the way around — and there are only a few weeks left before football season begins in earnest.

My advice to TWC and CBS is simple — Stop acting like petulant children, and settle your differences.

If this squabble drags into the official start of football season — and Bill Carter of the New York Times writes that this seems to be more and more likely — there are going to be some pretty angry subscribers, including yours truly.

Some of TWC's customers are pursuing a legal resolution. Frankly, I prefer to avoid being a part of that.

Perhaps most discouraging of all is BusinessWeek's Justin Bachman's conclusion that no one on either side has the influence necessary to resolve the dispute. Bachman writes that it may take the arrival of football season — and the blackouts of games involving NFL stars like Denver's Peyton Manning and New England's Tom Brady.

In the meantime, I suspect there are going to be a lot of increasingly frustrated football fans.

"The contract dispute is approaching the two–week mark with no hint of an imminent settlement," Carter writes. He goes on to quote a media analyst who believes "these guys are going to need the NFL to add a sense of urgency to this."

It isn't just the NFL. I'm a graduate of the University of Arkansas, and I've been pulling for the Razorbacks since I was a child. Back in those days, there were fewer college football broadcasts, and teams were restricted to one, maybe two appearances on TV during a regular season.

But now there are multiple channels carrying college football from morning until late at night on Saturdays in the fall.

Arkansas plays in the SEC, and CBS carries an SEC game of the week every Saturday. Now, Arkansas can appear — and has appeared — on other stations. But the big games — the ones with Texas A&M and Alabama and the LSU game on the Friday after Thanksgiving (which is always carried by CBS) might not be available to me.

What does the future hold? Well, Bachman reports that a spokesman for American Television Alliance, a pay–TV coalition, says, "If it goes to football season, I think Congress will definitely get involved."

Great. Congress can't agree on what to have for lunch.

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Herb Brooks' Inspiring Life




"You're looking for players whose name on the front of the sweater is more important than the one on the back. I look for these players to play hard, to play smart and to represent their country."

Herb Brooks (1937–2003)

Yesterday, I was surfing my cable channels, and I landed on an airing of "Miracle," the re–creation of the U.S. hockey team's triumph over the mighty Soviet Union in the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y.

It is one of my favorite sports movies of the last 25 years — along with "Eight Men Out" and "Secretariat." I'm not a hockey fan, but I do remember watching that game when it happened. My heart was beating as if I had been a hockey fan all my life.

Trust me, whatever one was the rest of the time, on Feb. 22, 1980, every American was a hockey fan. I recall Al Michaels saying that most observers probably "don't know the difference between a blue line and a clothesline." There was a lot of truth in that.

Many of us — myself included — couldn't explain any of hockey's rules, but we were all chanting "U–S–A! U–S–A!" before that game ended.

I know I was.

If you ask people who watched that game on TV what their most memorable moment was, you'd probably get a variety of responses. Some would say it was Michaels' astonished comment in the final seconds, "Do you believe in miracles? Yes!"

For me, the most memorable moment came at the end, when the U.S. players were celebrating on the ice, and the Russians stood in a silent line, some leaning on their sticks, and watched the celebration. Some seemed genuinely bemused by the scene. And why not? That Soviet hockey team didn't lose very often.

That game came at the right time in America's history, a time when Americans were feeling helpless and knocked around by the rest of the world. Brooks and his hockey team gave the whole country a shot in the arm. It was a different place in the days after the United States beat the Soviet Union than it had been for weeks, months, even years before.

Many people mistakenly believe the Americans won the gold medal when they beat the Soviet Union that day. But the fact is that they still had to play the gold–medal game a couple of days later against Finland. The Americans, who were given virtually no chance to earn a medal before the Games began, did go on to defeat Finland, of course. It wasn't like boxing, where you win the title if you beat the champ. It was a tournament, and beating the defending champ only meant that you advanced to the next round — unless you beat the champ in the final round, and that was not what happened in 1980.

It seemed rather anticlimactic to most Americans, I guess, but it was still a shared national experience that Americans were reluctant to see end.

And they didn't have to, at least not at first.

Coach Herb Brooks made the obligatory appearance on The Tonight Show, of course. He was an instant celebrity, as was Mike Eruzione, the team captain who may have been the most recognizable player for ordinary viewers who knew little about hockey and next to nothing about the members of the team. At the time, everyone knew Eruzione had scored what proved to be the winning goal against the Russians.

A few of the other players were sort of minor celebrities, I guess, and the entire team was commemorated on Wheaties boxes.

(It is still possible to buy those boxes, too, but if you get one and it has any Wheaties in it, I would not recommend consuming the contents. Nothing against Wheaties, but 33–year–old Wheaties can't possibly have the radioactive half life of, say, a Twinkie ...)

I don't recall if the Olympic hockey team paid a visit to the White House the way Super Bowl champs and World Series champs do now. President Carter was kind of busy in those days.

Anyway, the movie brought all those memories back. It was so vivid that, even though I knew how the game ended, I was on the edge of my seat hoping the Americans could hold on to their one–goal lead for 10 more minutes.

They did, of course, and the photo of their celebration became the only cover in Sports Illustrated's history that had no text with it — other than the magazine's nameplate, the date of publication and similar stuff.

But no headline. None was needed.

When the movie's final credits rolled, viewers were informed that it was dedicated to the memory of Brooks. He was killed in a car accident 10 years ago today, after the conclusion of filming but before the final product made its debut in theaters.

"He never saw it," the screen message said. "He lived it."

His life story was certainly compelling. As a young hockey player, he had been a member of the U.S. Olympic hockey team in 1960, but he was cut a week before the Games started.

The Americans went on to win the gold medal that year. The Soviets won the gold in every Olympics after that and didn't lose to the Americans again — until 1980, when Brooks guided the U.S. to the gold medal, finally winning the gold that had been denied to him 20 years earlier.

The year before he died, Brooks coached another U.S. Olympic hockey team, this time to a silver–medal finish. On the 22nd anniversary of the miracle on ice, the Americans defeated the Russians in Salt Lake City.

Talk about a storybook ending to a storybook life — a life that was filled, as most are, with disappointment and sadness but also a life that experienced joy and redemption.

It made me reflect, as I often do, about lives that are more inspiring than anything any fiction writer could make up.

Herb Brooks' was such a life.

He never saw "Miracle." He lived it.

And, because he lived it, the rest of us did as well.

Sunday, August 4, 2013

One More For The Road



As I have mentioned here before, I have been a Dodger fan since I was a boy.

Most of the time, it hasn't been very satisfying — kind of like most of the years that I spent as a Packer fan when I was growing up.

Twenty–five years ago, though, the Dodgers won it all. They confounded all the experts, who were convinced that the mighty Oakland A's would prevail.

During their late–season run in 1988, the Dodgers were led by pitcher Orel Hershiser, who threw 59 consecutive scoreless innings, breaking the major–league record that had been held by Don Drysdale for 20 years.

The baseball playoffs won't start for a couple of months, but I'm kind of having the same sensation this year that I had in 1988.

After a rough start to the season, the Dodgers have bounced back and surged to the lead in the National League West. OK, that's a team accomplishment, not an individual one, but I really like what they've been doing lately.

Yesterday, they matched the team record (which stood since 1924) for consecutive road wins — 13. As Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times pointed out, it was the longest road winning streak in the National League since the Philadelphia Phillies won 13 in a row in 1976.

Until today. The Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs, 1–0, for their 14th straight win.

Having set a team record for consecutive road wins, I suppose the next thing for the Dodgers to do is take aim at the NL's all–time record of 17 set by the New York Giants in 1916.

We'll find out in the next few days if the Dodgers can set a new league record. They play a four–game series in St. Louis starting tomorrow.

Eventually, I know the road win streak will end. But when it started, the Dodgers were 16–24 on the road. Twenty–seven road games remain to be played now, and the Dodgers only need to win about two–fifths of them to have a winning record on the road.

And tonight, the Dodgers are 5½ games ahead of the slumping Arizona Diamondbacks in the NL West.