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Just
Win, Baby Al Davis has gone deep for the last time. One of the iconic figures in NFL history passed away over the weekend, at the age of 82. I grew up as a huge fan of Kenny Stabler and the great Oakland Raiders teams of yesteryear. Al Davis was part of that mystique which was Raiders football. When the club moved to Los Angeles, I disowned them...I simply couldn't root for a team that had an association with LA. I'm convinced it has everything to do with being a fan of the San Francisco Giants, so it probably makes sense. But the Oakland Raiders and Snake Stabler were my favorite football stars, growing up as a kid...unfortunately, it has been a while since the Raiders have been a factor in the NFL. The last time they mattered is when they got screwed by the refs in the "Tuck Rule" made famous by Tom Brady and the Patriots in that classic snow game in the playoffs. I was saddened to hear the news about Davis passing, but there is no question that the founder and leader of Raider Nation left quite an impact on the game of football and the NFL. Al loved the vertical passing game, and now he's found the end-zone of life. He will be missed and the Raiders will continue to strive for excellence. "Just Win, Baby".....Al Davis was an American classic. Speaking of winning: the college football weekend provided very little drama at the top of the polls. The Top 10 was in cruise control. No upsets and the average margin of victory was just under 35 points per game. Even the showcase game in Big D at the Red River Shootout between Oklahoma and Texas was a blowout. The Sooners staked their claim to the Golden Hat Trophy and to the national championship debate that they are a serious threat to any team that emerges from the SEC. Perhaps the biggest story centered around the Sunshine state. Florida State lost (again) to Wake Forest....Miami lost (again) to Virginia Tech.....and Florida lost (again) to LSU. It marked only the second time since 1978 that all three lost on the same day. What is more amazing is that in the latest AP Top 25 Poll, there isn't a single team from the state of Florida.....not one. It is the first time that has been the case since 1982.....nearly 30 years! The absence of Sunshine football powers in the poll snapped a streak of 472 consecutive polls with at least one team from Florida ranked in college football. Getting back to Florida State, for a second: their embarrassing performance against Wake Forest needs to be noted. The Noles were a pre-season Top 5 team in America.....they were also the pre-season favorite to win the ACC. They have failed miserably at living up to the hype, but it's time to give Jim Grobe some credit at Wake Forest. He's one of the best in the business, and he does more with less than just about any coach in the country. You can't explain how tiny Wake Forest has been able to defeat FSU four times in the past six years. What else is impossible to explain is how Duke football is undefeated in ACC play this year and the Noles are winless. They play this weekend in Durham....plenty of good seats are still available. The Carolina Panthers are fun to watch. They still don't know how to win....because they make terrible mistakes each and every week, but something tells me that they will get that figured out in due time....just not this season. I can't imagine that there is a happier NFL city that sports a losing team than Charlotte, NC. The Panthers are 1-4, but fans are having a good time watching their beloved team compete. It is a very strange feeling, around Charlotte. The John Fox era and style put Panther Nation in a fog or some type of football trance. Even though the team is 1-4, and despite losing 18 of their last 21 regular season games.....Cam Newton is going to give you something to talk about at the water cooler on Monday. That seems to be the difference. Eventually, Ron Rivera and his boys will figure out how to win some games.....I still think 5-11 sounds about right for these guys in 2011....you would never know it, listening and watching the reaction of Panther fans. For once, they can see light at the end of the tunnel. Hank Williams, Jr. is a moron. His attempt to join the political discussion last week on FOX News was a complete disaster. Anybody that tries to use a Hitler analogy to make any point....whether they are right or wrong......is about to conduct career suicide. ESPN and the rest of the country heard Hank's diatribe and cringed...just what exactly did Hank think was going to happen when he decided to break down the latest in Washington DC? Why did FOX News think Hank had any credibility to discuss this matter, or anything else that could appear on their network? ESPN eventually kicked Hank and his opening theme song to the curb.....or if you believe Hank, he fired ESPN....it really doesn't matter, at this point. It was a total cluster. I wonder if FOX News is ready to bring on Ted Nugent this week to talk about gun control? I couldn't believe the comments from Ohio State University President Gordon Gee this week, when he claimed that the Buckeyes were the "poster child of compliance". That's hilarious. I can promise you that the last school in America that I think of when it comes to NCAA compliance is The Ohio State University. After all the nonsense that has taken place this calendar year involving the football program, it might be time for Gee to get caught up on the true definition of "compliance". Unfortunately for the school, Buckeye football players were given additional suspensions by the NCAA prior to their game with Nebraska.....and ironically they included the same players that placed the school in the crosshairs of the NCAA investigators in the first place. Is there a statute of limitations where Ohio State officials can't blame every infraction on former football coach Jim Tressel? I will never forget earlier this year when Gordon Gee entered a press conference to discuss the investigation surrounding the cheating taking place within the football department and he claimed that he wouldn't fire Coach Tressel, but he would be concerned that the coach could dismiss him. That was embarrassing enough. Now he thinks Ohio State is the "poster child of compliance"? Unreal. Maybe Hank Williams, Jr. can write a new theme song for Gee and the Buckeyes. It seems appropriate. |
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