Bowling
for Dollars On your mark, get set...go! Prepare yourself for 34 bowl games between now and the first week of January. Of course, only one matters, and that's the BCS title game between Texas and Bama. Watching the BCS Selection Show, I couldn't help but think about how my favorite sport completely sucks, this time of the year. Don't get me wrong; the conference title games over the past weekend were sensational......great games, finishes and drama. It's the BCS part of this process that turns me off. In my lifetime, I want to see the FBS turn into the FCS. Appalachian State @ Montana in a "loser leave town match" in the semi-final round this Saturday will be more interesting than a majority of the 34 bowl games that are loaded with 7-5 and 6-6 wannabes. As I was glued to the tube on Saturday watching one great game after another, I thought about how much fun a true playoff would be in college football's "big-boy" division. Can you imagine if the games this past weekend were round one of the "tourney"? It would dwarf March Madness...and in the process, generate tens of millions of dollars for the institutions. It's a total no-brainer, but I digress. I'll talk about the bowl games involving the teams from the ACC, SEC and East Carolina in a later post. Now we know the answer to the question of which NBA team would be the first team to lose to the New Jersey Nets..... Congrats to the Charlotte Bobcats, who found a way to snap the Nets' record 0-18 start to the 2009-10 season. I'm not surprised. I thought Matt Moore played OK against the Tampa Bay Bucs. He didn't embarrass himself like some folks thought. Why John Fox and the Panthers waited until a "broken finger" for Jake Delhoome to put the guy in a real game is beyond my comprehension. Granted, the Panthers were playing the inept Tampa Bay Bucs, but it still counts in the "win" column. I would say it's probably the last time you see the Panthers on the winning side of the 2009 ledger. The last four games of the season present Carolina with the toughest schedule in the NFL. Road trips to New England and New York sandwiched with visits by Minnesota and N'awlins....well, it doesn't look good for the home team. They are staring right down the barrel of a 5-11 record and a major overhaul in the off-season. I would start Moore in each of the final four games....even if he turns into Jake-Light. The Delhomme contract extension in the off-season along with his horrific 2009 performance makes this easily the worst move of the year by Fox, Hurney and anybody else associated with that terrible decision. Even though the Panthers are light years from the playoffs, they will still be interesting to watch during the last month of the regular season. How many UNC basketball fans watched John Wall of Kentucky torch them in the first half on Saturday and wondered...."what if"? The kid is a talent...and the kind of guard that would have made this UNC team a factor for an encore performance later in March. I'm still trying to get a handle on the college basketball season....it's too early to determine if there are any dominant, great teams that can separate themselves from the field. Congrats to the Big Ten for finally winning the "Challenge" against the ACC. While some UNC fans ragged Duke for losing at Wisconsin and causing the conference to drop the series....the real culprit was Clemson. The Tigers blew a 23-point second-half lead at home to unranked Illinois, and that was the swing game in the Challenge. It was part of a nightmare week for Clemson athletics, in which the Tigers lost to their arch-rival Gamecocks in football; a blown 23-point lead in a loss to the Illini; and an ACC football title defeat in the last minute to Georgia Tech. Bad things come in threes....just ask Clemson. Congrats to Bobby Lutz and his Niners, for treating Louisville and Rick Pitino with no respect during their last visit to Freedom Hall. Charlotte's record victory eliminates the distant memory of their lopsided loss at Cameron Indoor from earlier this season. I hope Niner fans get back on Bobby's Bandwagon...he's a good man, and a perfect fit for the school and hoops program. |
Packman
on Sports Commentary
|