Yearly Archives: 2009

The MAC Still Hasn’t Figured this “13 Teams” Thing Out

Some of you may recall that the past two years I’ve done a rundown of college football’s top non-conference schedules.

I usually start around this time in March. And lo and behold, there’s nothing here! Why?

Well, blame the Mid-American Conference, for starters.

“We don’t know what exactly is going to happen at this point,” Miami assistant AD Pearson said. “Frankly, we’re waiting and waiting, as are all the other MAC schools, for the conference schedule to come out so we can get our schedule out there. Until then, we cannot comment.”

Basically, the MAC is running into a classic problem with round-robin scheduling an odd number of teams, created when Temple joined the league a few years ago. The Wizard of Odds points out that this isn’t the first time this has happened. And in the midst of all this, the MAC also hired a new commissioner.

Currently, no one knows when the MAC will have a schedule. Because of the repercussions, I can’t really do anything until all the schedules are set. For instance, Colorado almost certainly won’t play Miami of Ohio now, so until I know how will replace them how can I make any statements about their schedule? And what if the need for a 12th game causes CU to reschedule on of their other games?

This could get real messy.

Joe Morgan Apparently Does Not Wear Shoes

Generously transcribed by Will:

Will: q: “how do you tie your shoes, joe?”
Will: “well, i haven’t really seen enough of them to say… i mean, there’s so many styles of shoes out there… sneakers, pumps, loafs, sandals… i just have to say that i think that if they have shoelaces, they can probably be tied”

In short, it’s best just not to agitate Joe Morgan by asking him questions, especially questions about shoes.

This Post is About Soccer

Over two years ago on this site, I talked about my sports background. I left something out, though.

I love watching (good) soccer.

It all started with the 2002 World Cup. It was during the summer after my junior year of high school, which meant I had little responsibility and could get away with staying up late enough to watch the games live. I even posted about it a little on my old website. But after it ended, I resumed my normal life of, well, staying up too late but generally not watching soccer.

Fast forward 4 years. I have just finished my junior year of college and I’m sitting in my room in Barcelona as the city explodes around me. The occasion? FC Barcelona had just won the Champions League. Oh, and then the World Cup happened. While I did not visit Germany during the competition, I made every effort to watch (even though the place I stayed at did not carry most of the games). I have three memories from the competition. The first is packing into a generic Irish pub off Las Ramblas in Barcelona, half-full of Americans and half-full of Italians for the US’s epic 1-1 draw. (Too bad it was, by far, their best effort in the competition.) The second was a couple weeks later, when my friend and I were walking down a street in Sevilla and noticed a bar packed to the gills with Germans. Looking in (since there was no space actually left inside) we could see the epic Germany-Argentina quarterfinal match. I think we arrived at some point in the second half and watched all the way to the conclusion. And then, of course, was the final. Back in Barcelona, my group headed out to a local bar. We got there early and ended up sharing a table next to a group of 4 friends, half of whom were British and half of whom were French. There was a fair amount of jawing and (but not mean sprited) talking going on during the match, that is, until Zinedane Zidane showed us all an entirely new meaning of “using your head”. And I’m still mad that Spain lost to France when I was in a packed hostel in Madrid that was quite ready to explode with a Spanish victory.

The obeservant reader will note that I haven’t seen a game in person, though I hope to remedy that this year. (A big anti-shout-out to US Soccer, by the way, for not having a qualifying match here on the West Coast. I mean, come on, I’d even be willing drive down to L.A.!) Right now, though, I watch decent soccer on Fox Soccer Channel and GolTV when I can. Like most American soccer fans, I have a favorite European club, and due to living there for most of summer 2006, it’s FC Barcelona. I realize this is like saying, “Oh, I’m a casual baseball fan and my favorite team is the Yankees because they’re good and on TV all the time!” but you’ll just have to deal with it. Besides, as my friend JD would point out, it’s not like I really know anything about any of their players anyway. (But I’m working on that!) I haven’t really attached myself to a US club yet, though with the lack of a Southern MLS franchise I may have to go for the Earthquakes. I kind of have to get used to watching MLS soccer, though – I think even the most diehard MLS fan would be forced to admit it’s not as exciting to watch as a good European match. (Case in point: I watched US Soccer struggle to scrape together their goals in a game against Mexico. I get home, turn on GolTV, and within 30 seconds Barca has converted the opponent’s corner kick into a fastbreak goal for them. Once again, I realize I’m talking probably the best club in the world right now. But still, they have a player who has more goals than several teams on La Liga. It’s ridiculous.)

Anyway, that all explains why there’s a soccer tracker on the right side of the page now, in case you were wondering.

Bowl Games: Part VI, The Last One

Here we go, the close of the 2008 college football season. As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

  • Oklahoma vs. Florida, BCS National Championship (@Miami, FL; 8:00 PM, FOX): This is it. While I am a playoff proponent, it’s hard not to get excited about the potential of this game. In fact, the main problem I have right now is that this game takes place too late, to be completely honest. A Thursday? Really? What time will they start in Pasadena next year? At 5:00 PM in LA both teams are liable to still be on the bus. Anyway, about this game. Like I said, I’m excited about the potential of this game, but I think Florida is the better team and have picked them accordingly.

Following this weekend or next week, a wrap-up of bowl season.

Bowl Games: Part V, The Run-Up

With 10 games in two days out of the way, it’s time go down the home stretch to the national title game. As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong:

Friday (note that these are all after the fact reflections, since I was lazy/busy)

  • Texas Tech vs. Mississippi, Cotton Bowl (@Dallas, TX; 2:00 PM, FOX): How the hell did Texas Tech get owned in this game? It makes no sense. I don’t even want to think about it.
  • East Carolina vs. Kentucky, Liberty Bowl (@Memphis, TN; 5:00 PM, ESPN): I’m pretty much on a 3 day losing streak at this point. The last predictions I got right was Kansas over Minnesota, and I missed everything else on the 31st. Ugh.
  • Alabama vs. Utah, Sugar Bowl (@New Orleans, LA; 8:00 PM, FOX): Watching this right now. Utah jumped out to a big lead but Bama just pulled within a score. I think Bama can still come back and run away with this, but going in I thought it would be pretty close. So yeah. I wouldn’t be upset to be wrong about this one, that’s for sure.

Saturday

  • Buffalo vs. Connecticut, International Bowl (@Toronto, ON, CA; 12:00 PM, ESPN2): Hey, it’s the International Bowl! Maybe I’ll actually get to see it this year (since I missed it previously due to traveling). UConn should win this, but the way things are going for me right now, who knows?

Monday

  • Texas vs. Ohio State, Fiesta Bowl (@Glendale, AZ; 8:00 PM, FOX): Probably the best of the remaining bowls, this should provide an interesting game between two teams who did not have their seasons go quite the way they wanted. I really think Texas is more talented than OSU, but it will probably really hinge on how they’ve handled the let down of not being in the title game.

Tuesday

  • Ball State vs. Tulsa, GMAC Bowl (@Mobile, AL; 8:00 PM, ESPN): It’s the Disappointment Bowl! Ball State was undefated, and then lost in their conference championship game. Tulsa was also undefeated until they played Arkansas late in the year, and then should’ve beaten a very moribund East Carolina in the C-USA title game. In other words, both these teams probably expected more. I also think Tulsa is light years more talented than Ball State and should win this one by a couple of scores.

Next up, national title game predictions!