 |
|||||||||||
Tiger
Tale Anybody buying Tiger Woods' story? In what was a bizarre Thanksgiving weekend of college football upsets, NFL match-ups, Bobcat winning streaks, Charlie Weis speculation and loads of leftovers....the Tiger Woods accident is the one that left me speechless. It's not every day, especially at 2:25 in the AM, that I find myself in an automobile accident in my front yard. Listen, I'm not the safest driver on the planet, but I can't tell you the last time I hit a fire hydrant and a neighbor's tree in the middle of the night while pulling down my driveway. Throw in the fact that Tiger's wife is using a 60 degree wedge, knocking out the back window while retrieving him from behind the wheel....what's going on, here? Just when you thought it was strange, how about going a few days without talking to the cops? I know Tiger likes his privacy, but that's ridiculous. I need to preface this by stating that I'm posting this blog without hearing the 911 tape or the "official press conference", whenever that might take place. The whole episode seems a little fishy, to me. Forget the stupid National Enquirer story about any domestic dispute or any infidelity surrounding the Woods family....I'm just talking about using common sense. I'm sure there is a reasonable answer to all the questions....I'm just ready to hear them. Hey, Tiger...just do it. How bizarre was the college football rivalry weekend? Just take a look at the Top 25..... Ranked rivalry losers included: #
7 Georgia Tech Every team lost to an unranked rival. It was a disastrous weekend for the ACC, too. After watching Clemson get thumped by the South Carolina Gamecocks, the league watched their other championship contender, Georgia Tech, get pounded at home by Georgia. I won't even mention what happened to Florida State at the Swamp. Add it all up, and it was a SEC sweep in the rivalry games. It also puts a damper on the ACC title game in Tampa, between Clemson and Georgia Tech. Neither team did a very good job in matching their rival's intensity, given the title game looming the following week. You can read more about it on my blog at www.southernfriedfootball.com. Another surprise near home was the North Carolina Tar Heels and Butch Davis falling to 0-3 against their rivals in Raleigh. The Heels were on a roll, and the Pack couldn't stop a cold for the past two months....but crazy things happen in rivalry games. For the N.C. State Wolfpack, it was their bowl game, and they made the most of it with a stunning 28-27 win. In the process, Tom O'Brien continued his ownership of Butch Davis, and even though the Heels are going bowling, the State smack talk will continue for another year. All year, the college football season has been missing some pizzaz.....this past weekend, we saw it in full display. I'm ready for the Florida-Bama game. It's the one game we've been waiting for since they played last year for the SEC title. I know the hype will be insane....and seldom do games like this live up to their billing, but I plan on watching every minute. The ACC-Big Ten Challenge starts this week. This is the 11th year of the made-for-television event, and the ACC is currently pitching a shutout....10 years/10 wins. That could change this year, for a number of reasons. The first one is that the ACC is off to a slow start. With the exception of Duke, and possibly Miami, has anybody looked impressive? Just look at the ranked conference teams: UNC has been defeated by 16 points to Syracuse. Wake has a loss to William & Mary. Clemson lost to Texas A&M. Maryland has a pair of losses. And Georgia Tech, oh that's right, they aren't playing in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge this year since they were the last-place team in the conference last season. The UNC-Michigan State game will get tons of hype, given what happened last year in the title game, but I'm curious to see how this "challenge" pans out. Is it possible that the Big Ten is primed for their first victory in the series? And keep this in mind, Jay Bilas believes that the Big Ten is the best league in the country. That's got to count for something, right? Speaking of ESPN basketball talking heads, I saw that Doug Gottlieb made a comment before the UConn-Duke game that he thought the Blue Devils were "alarmingly non-athletic". Well, after Duke's thrashing of UConn, Coach Mike Krzyzewski had a field day with Gottlieb's remark. Coach K stated: "He should be an expert on alarmingly non-athletic. So, I'll have to take a look at that a little bit closer, because it comes from an expert who actually knows what it feels like to be alarmingly non-athletic." That's classic Coach K. It should be noted that both Duke and UConn combined to miss 90 shots in the game, and it marked the Blue Devils' first win since 1950 when they shot under 30% from the field. I can't wait to watch the Monday Night game between New Orleans and New England....Brady vs. Brees...new school vs. old school. The Big Easy will be rocking. Can you say "Super Bowl Preview"? The Carolina Panthers were able to produce 6 points, 176 total yards and 4 Jake Delhomme interceptions in another anemic performance against the powerful New York Jets. It's a good thing that John Fox and offensive guru Jeff Davidson were able to install some new formations and an amazing game plan with the extra days since their Thursday night home loss to Miami. I didn't know if there was something wrong with my flat screen, but there was no crowd reaction, no noise, no excitement, no big plays, no creativity.....you name it. It was simply the most boring NFL regular season game that I've ever witnessed. With only 5 games remaining, it's time for John Fox to tell Jake to grab a Bojangles' biscuit and chill out from the sidelines for the remainder of the season. You have to find out if any of the back-ups can play. The season is over and has been for a long, long time, despite the rah-rah playoff talk from certain media outlets and individuals. Can you imagine the home crowd this Sunday, for the 1-10 Tampa Bay Bucs? If Fox stays the course with Jake as his starter, you can bet on as many empty seats as a Tuesday night Bobcat home game.....check that; the Bobcats have the Celtics in town on Tuesday. It's time for a massive overhaul in Panther-land. Don't look now, but the Charlotte Bobcats have won four games in a row. I was in the building to watch them destroy the Toronto Raptors by 35, and I will be back when they host the Boston Celtics Tuesday night. The team looked good in dispatching LeBron James and the Cavs, and then proceeded to pick up their first road win of the season against Washington, the next evening. That's a good sign, for a club that is trying to win back some basketball fans. The Stephen Jackson trade has been a good one, and once again the team has a chance to get people talking if they can beat the talented Celtics. It is a strange scheduling week for Charlotte. Not only do the Bobcats host Boston on Tuesday, but they travel to New Jersey on Friday. The Nets have opened the season 0-16, and face the Lakers Sunday night with a chance to tie the record for the worst start in NBA history. Trust me, nobody wants to be the first team to lose to the Nets. |
Packman
on Sports Commentary
|
||||||||||
