The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

We're in a recession,

the economy sucks.

I should be doing work,

but my mind's full of muck.

I have college essays to write,

governmental duties to perform.

The nation's healthcare system,

still hasn't been reformed.

I'm going to be a senior,

the hardest four months of my life.

But I just can't help but smile,

in the face of all this strife.

Why, why, why, why, you may ask,

well guess what, it's 'cause football's back!

Okay, so maybe those last two lines didn't rhyme, but you get the point. FOOTBALL SEASON IS HERE. This year more than ever our nation needs a pick-me-up, a stimulus package for morale and not just money. And once again, swooping in like your friendly neighborhood Spiderman is the football season.

But there is something about this season of the National Football League that seems to have me more excited than usual. Maybe it's the fact that I spent the majority of my summer in Beijing, China, where ping-pong and Olympic re-runs vie for the title of national sport. I'm not kidding about the re-runs, I'm pretty sure there is a Chinese T.V. channel dedicated to replaying the 2008 Beijing Olympics 24-hours a day. But that's besides the point, which is that I am excited to be back in the US of A and even more excited to engage in the extreme-couch-potato-ing, chips-and-salsa-consuming, watching-guys-hit-each-other-ing action that defines the daily Sunday routine of any true football fan.

Or maybe it's the fact that my beloved San Francisco 49ers actually mean something this year. With a coach who isn't afraid to drop his pants at any time, a rookie wide receiver who lives in some sort of virtual reality where he is always the number one pick in the draft, and a quarterback who is unknown even to his own fan base, it appears as if the Niners are just about ready to hit pay-dirt. But really, with Frank Gore returning for another year of ballin', Vernon Davis hoping to live up to the hype, and Patrick Willis back to put the "D" in domination, my Niners are going to "run train" this year. There is simply no other way to describe it.

Or maybe I'm so excited for football this time around because the Oakland Raiders are going to bite the dust this year. Nah it can't be that; that happens every year.

I think that in the end, the reason I'm so excited for football this year is simply because it's football, the most gloriously fun-to-watch team sport in the world. So if you would excuse me, I'm going to go play some Madden, sleep, play more Madden, lather, rinse, and repeat until September 10th, the day that marks the commencement of most wonderful time of the year.

A Game that Transcends the Sport

Often times in sports, you have a game or a tournament that transcends the bounds of a sport. It reaches past a sports' usual target audience of teenage junkies and middle-aged couch-potatoes, and becomes a symbol of something greater. The NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament embodies this very quality in a sport, as it consistently brings economic growth, excitement, and passion to the cities, universities, and people that are a part of it.

But this year, the championship game also transcended the game of basketball, although not in a way most Americans would like to believe.

You see, Michigan State's 89-72 loss to the UNC Tar Heels was not just a basketball loss, it was a metaphor and perhaps a bad omen of the hopes and dreams of the American Auto Industry.

The Spartans came into Monday's championship games as underdogs that had fought off many challenges throughout the tournament, including defending National Champion Kansas and a pair of #1 seeds in Louisville and UCONN. Hailing from Michigan, these Spartans were out to defend and represent the city where the title game was held, Detroit, a city that had faltered in the face of the recent economic recession. They were out to restore hope and pride to America's deadened engine.

Unfortunately, they were unable to. However, more discouraging is the manner in which their failure occurred, one that could foreshadow the future of the auto industry.

Michigan State is a team that prides itself on recruiting homegrown talent (as most state schools are obliged to) for their sports teams. Thus the majority of their players come from the Great Lakes area and are all proud Michigan State fans. Similarly, the American Auto Industry holds its deepest roots in Michigan, and rarely if ever outsources any of its work to other states, much less other countries. The American Auto Industry keeps most of its manufacturing within the state of Michigan

The University of North Carolina, however, is in many ways the polar opposite (recruiting-wise) to the Spartans. They search the country for the best talent, regardless of location, and are willing to bring in recruits from all over the country and all over the world. Similarly, the Japanese Auto Industry is willing to take the best talent from all over the world and is willing to develop its technology at any one of its plants in different countries.

Both teams, and both industries, have had their ups and downs. However, recently UNC has been considered a perennial powerhouse, just as the Japanese Auto Industry has established a dominant market share in North America. Michigan State, and the American Auto Industry, has attempted to rally and has been willing to ride emotion and innovation to challenge the elite. And in many ways they have.

But when UNC and Michigan State met in the final, the result was both highly discouraging and highly predictable; a blowout victory for the Tar Heels that destroyed the Spartans. What does this say for the American Auto Industry, one that has a similar philosophy and many of the same attributes that Michigan State does, when put up against the might of the Japanese Auto Industry that seems so similar to UNC? I don't know and I don't think that anyone really knows, but if the recent turmoils at GM, Daimler-Chrysler, and Ford are any indication, then perhaps the NCAA Tournament is a symbol of what's to come for our auto industry. Don't get me wrong, I had my money on Michigan State and am rooting for American cars, but one can't help but think that this might be one of those times when a sport truly transcends its "usual" meaning to become a symbol of the present or future.

MACHINE IS BACK!!

Okay, so I know that the Los Angeles Lakers are dominating the NBA right now, but it was not so long ago that these very same Lakers were being run out of their own building by the Celtics in the Finals last year. Needless to say the Lakers have come a far ways since that point, but Sasha Vujacic still hasn't gotten over it. Here, listen to Sasha tell it as it happened:

I still just can't get over how funny these videos are. From the voice acting to all of the other reference clips in there, it's all very well put together. But hey, it wouldn't be a true NBA post if we didn't have any clips from the recent All-Star Game, one that featured former-Laker Shaquille O'Neal:

Again, Shaq shows off his ability to capture the crowd with his clownish antics, yet amazingly personable style. He was also pretty good during the game:

Who knows, maybe in the world of A-Rod's 'roids and Michael Phelps' controversy we just need to step back and appreciate all that is fun and exciting about sports. Because at the end of the day, that is all that really matters.

Basketball is Interesting Again

Yes I know the Warriors suck. Yes I know that NBA refs haven't been able to improve on the Tim Donaghy model of corruption. Yes I know that JJ Redick still isn't getting any playing time from Grump of the Year candidate Stan Van Gundy. But it doesn't matter, because LeBron James and Kobe Bryant are going at each other. And it is getting pretty entertaining.

Two days after Kobe lit up the New York Knicks for 61 points, LeBron fired back with an equally brilliant performance against the same team: 52 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds for the first 50-point triple-double since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar prowled the paint. The performances, their proximity, and the building in which they occurred only add to the glory of the legend. It is the first time we have seen two greats of the game take clear aim at each other since Michael Jordan and Larry Bird.

Yet the two performances have also given insight to the different aspects of each player's games. Kobe's performance was one in which he put his team on his back and carried them. He was looking for his shot from the beginning of the game, and ended up taking 31 shots (making 19 of them) and going 20 for 20 from the free throw line. He tallied no rebounds and just three assists, but the offensive dominance was impressive, even leaving Spike Lee's jaw dropped. 

LeBron's dominating performance, however, shaped up in a completely different way. He started out firing at the same pace as Kobe and had 20 points at the end of the first quarter. But then he cooled off, and as the game got closer, began to look more for his teammates while continuing to crash the boards. The end result was impressive, the triple double legendary. But more importantly, it began a rivalry that will last for the rest of the season, and into the future. So for now, we might as well watch Kobe and LeBron go at it, because they're the only entertaining part of the NBA season so far.

Picture Courtesy of the AP

Superbowl Pick

So, seeing as this is a sports blog and it is Superbowl Sunday, I figured it is time to make a predicting about who is going to win the Superbowl. It's common sense, like running away if you're being attacked by a grizzly bear, like eating food when you go to a restaurant, or like pulling out your camera-phone if Shaquille O'Neal starts to rap in a nightclub.

As it turns out, picking the Pittsburg Steelers to win the Superbowl is just as intuitive.

I mean, come on, if the Prez is throwin' it up then you have to roll with it, right? Seriosly though, the Steelers are led by a tough-nosed, hardball defense that plays as a unit. They force turnovers, limit scoring opportunities, and will beat the life out of your offense. Granted that the Arizona Cardinals, who are in the Superbowl by virtue of an improbable run, have a high-flying offense, the saying, "Defense wins championships" exists for a reason.

I'm not saying that it's 100% foolproof. Certainly the Indianapolis Colts beating the Chicago Bears a couple of years ago in the Superbowl is a good indication of an offensive team thoroughly outplaying a defensive team.

But Kurt Warner (as much praise as the media has been giving him) is no Peyton Manning and Nathan Vasher is certainly no Troy Polamalu. The Steelers "D" is too strong for the Cardinals inconsistent and young offensive line, and they will dominate the trenches by mixing up blitz packages to confuse the young blockers. Kurt Warner will have less time to sit in the pocket and wait for deep routes to develop from his wide recievers, so even if he gets the ball out, it will be for a relatively short gain.

On the other side of the ball, Pittsburg's offense matches up well with Arizona's defense. Neither unit is outstanding, but I think that the playmakers that Pittsburg has in the form of Willie Parker and Santonio Holmes will overcome the agility of the Cardinals' defense in order to bust some long gains. We all saw what Willie Parker did the last time he was in the Superbowl (for those of you who weren't watching, it was a Superbowl record 72-yard touchdown run) and there is no reason why he can't do it again against a relatively mediocre Cardinals' "D".

So in the end, it's going to be the Steelers: I'm guessing a final score of 23-17. Anyone who wants to mess with me can take it up with my man Barack.

A couple of other predictions: no wardrobe malfunction for Bruce Springsteen (thank God), another really shallow, yet steamy ad from "Go Daddy" (extremely awkward if watching game with parents), and a really awesome episode of "The Office" after the game. Oh, and 3 tons of chips and salsa will be consumed by the population of America by the end of the game.

I hope you all enjoy the game, not only for the excessive consumption and consumerism that it promotes, but also for the unity and oneness that it can create in a time of hardship. That said, let's play some football!

BCS Madness

You might want to get to know the BCS. Because it isn't going away anytime soon.

The popularity, glitz, and glamor of the Florida Gator's and the Oklahoma Sooner's BCS Championship game yesterday proved that the BCS is going strong and will not be stopped by the critics and detractors. Yet what is most disheartening is that the game itself showed that NOW is the time to scrap the ineffective system.

The game itself was a disaster for most fans. Both defenses, much maligned and believed to be incapable of stopping the other team's high-powered offense, severely outplayed their offensive counterparts. Tim Tebow and Sam Bradford threw two interceptions each, not quite the Heisman-caliber performances we would expect from two Heisman winners. The Sooners' high-powered offense, which averaged nearly 60 points per game during the season, was held to a measly 14 points. Not that the Gators did much better, as they were held to 24 points by a mediocre Oklahoma defense. The game was not even worth watching until the fourth quarter, when Tebow led a heroic fourth-quarter drive that culminated in his signiture jump-pass for a touchdown to ice the game. But other than that drive and the game's overall impact on Tebow's legendary legacy, this was quite an average game in which neither team performed well.

Which brings us to the complete and utter failure of the BCS. First of all, holding the Championship game nearly a full month after the end of the regular season hurts the quality of play in the game; indeed both teams seemed sluggish and sloppy in the first two quarters of the game. Secondly, the lackluster nature of the game brings up a major, legitimate idea: that Utah, USC, or Texas could have easily replaced either one of the teams and created a better match-up. That Utah, the only undefeated team in the nation, deserved to be in the title game.

So, why do we still have the BCS anyways? I don't want it, you don't want it, and Barack Obama doesn't want it. But the people who matter really, really want to make sure it doesn't go away. These people, athletic directors and conference commisioners and news corporation owners, want to keep the BCS for one major reason: it makes them money. Boatloads of money.

This is undeniable; the BCS is certainly a cash cow. From the television network money that trickles down to different college conferences to the large checks that colleges earn for just participating in the games, the BCS turns college sports into a high stakes business with millions of dollars on the table. Not to mention the money that is made off of publicity, mostly generated by people who want to abolish the BCS. Even when we try to fight the system, we still end up helping it out.

However, in order to cover up the obvious money-centric motives behind the BCS, the men at the top of the game have just one measly excuse for the travesty of the system: it turns every regular season game into a playoff game. Uh-huh, right. If that were true, Utah would be in the national championship game. Why? Because they went un-freakin'-defeated. No losses. Nada. Zip. Zilch. How many other languages do you need? The fact of the matter is, even when you try and cover the BCS, you still end up uncovering its dirty little secrets.

So, what should we do about the BCS? Despite all of the talk about adding another bowl game to the BCS in order to include more teams, I have to agree with President-elect Obama on this matter: it has to be a playoff system or bust. This is what I propose: 8 teams, no limitations on conference or strength of schedule, seven games (total to decide a national championship, and scrap the uselessness that is called a "conference championship". Essentially, the 8 best records at the end of the year get into the tournament. I don't care if Hawaii gets into the playoffs over Alabama, if they have the better record, they deserve it. From there, the best team will be determined by seeding the teams and playing out games until one team stands, a la March Madness.

Yeah so you're going to have to play three extra weeks after the season ends to win the championship. Cry me a river. Yes this does mean that college football season will go a little bit longer than usual. But, it also will bring a whole new level of buzz to the game. America's favorite sport in America's favorite format. We would have college footbal bracket tourneys, the bookies in Vegas would go crazy, the big guys at the top would still get their money, and all of the annoying little reporters like me would achieve a level of happiness. It is a win-win-win-win situation.

But, alas, it isn't going to happen anytime soon. ESPN just locked the BCS up to a contract for the next three years, meaning we won't be able to bask in the presence of a true national champion in college football until that contract runs out. Until then, let's just hope and pray that common sense and business sense will win a battle against truckloads upon truckloads of cash. If history is any indicator, well...then...we're screwed.