The Victorious Opposition

What a thrashing, even Maradona had nothing to say.

The Germans put on a clinic as yet another of the vaunted S.American powerhouses was eliminated. Although Brazil kept it close, the Argentinians got smashed, dashed, and rehashed. going down 4-0 in what got Chancellor Merkel jersey popping and break dancing. The Germans are now the highest scoring team in this W.C. but atrocious refereeing (yep, it is still happening despite the FIFA president assuring the world that they got their act together) will sideline Germany’s top scorer for the next round. Mueller got called for a hand ball (and got a yellow card in the process) which will keep him out of the semi’s. Sight blocked referees are still influenced by whinny players and their theatrics, hence, Mueller got flagged on a deflection that might of hit a pectoral muscle (even instant replay could not confirm it). Unlike that clear and intentional handball by the Uruguayan player in the box that saved them yesterday, this was not only unintentional but unavoidable (if in fact it even happened) so to garner a yellow card and get removed from the next round was just plain awful and provided one more nail in the coffin of burying the current methods of football officiating.

A few words on yesterday’s match. The Dutch beating Brazil was not that big of an upset. They have great players and were the sleeper for this W.C. They should easily handle Uruguay who can thank a bad shooting Ghana team for allowing them to stick around. That missed penalty kick after the hand ball was absolutely killer, leaving them deflated and dejected for the penalty round. I thought Ghana was the much better team yesterday.

And what about these South Americans being whiny cry babies when they either lose fall behind? The petulance of Brazil yesterday, and Argentina today (until the score overwhelmed them resolving them to their fate,and allowing them some semblance of manners) revealed some poor sportsmnaship that was nor flattering.

The Spain/Paraguay match starts in about an hour. Naturally Spain is favored, even with Torres doing his best Ronaldo imitation so far, although, here is one reason to root for Paraguay. You can tell she has a terrible publicist, this should of been crafted much better, like a promise of wearing her underwear to the semi’s,and going topless if they made the finals.

That deserves a Becks.

Well, it was a nice (and short) run while it lasted.

Surrendering an early goal 5 minutes into the match, the US team found themselves down early, yet again. Undaunted, they picked themselves up and played pretty good the rest of the match, several shots on goal (I don’t think Altidore could find his ass with both hands) allowed them to tie it up. But early in the overtime period a brief nap allowed a pucky Ghana team to take (and keep) the lead.

It is disappointing, but to tell you the truth, I don’t think they would of beaten Uruguay anyway, so C’est la vie.

The nice thing about this late stage in the W.C.is that all the remaining games now are big and I will probably watch all of them from here on in.

Tomorrow we get 2 nice match ups, England/Germany and Argentina/Mexico,the last will probably be a much better game than the first, and I’m going with the underdogs in both, such is my nature.

this article places the blame for the loss squarely on the shoulders of Coach Bradley with regards to his poor choice’s in the lineup. I don’t know enough about the team to give it credence, but Clark was badly beaten early in giving up that first goal, that was obvious.

But here is to Ghana, the only African team left, and I will be pulling for them against Uruguay.

The sweet smell of that game of all games, a seventh game of the finals. There’s nothing quite like it, is there? You can almost inhale the serenity of this crowd, and the kumbiyah spirit that will encompass an inevitable Game Seven win for the Lakers.

Except that the Lakers fans are being warned by the Po-Pos that if they don’t have any business in Downtown (meaning a ticket to the game, or a reservation at the Hilton Twin Towers) to steer clear of the city.

LOS ANGELES – Police geared up to prevent violence in Los Angeles ahead of Thursday night’s Game 7 of the NBA finals between the Lakers and Boston Celtics.

But manager Jesus Rocha, who runs Joe’s LA Market and Deli near LA’s Staples Center, says he’ll close before the game ends just in case.

He remembers last year, when some fans celebrating the Lakers’ defeat of the Orlando Magic in Florida set fires, stole computers from a nearby office and looted a fancy tennis shoe store next door.
“We’re really worried,” he said.

Rocha, 42, said he told an employee: “You want to be safe. Forget about the business — close the doors and go home ... (if) there are people coming in, you could lose your life.”

Rocha said he had no faith that police could protect the little corner store.

“The last year, they didn’t show up — nobody,” he said.

Perhaps all of our 10,000 strong will be out tonight in force for the game, so while Chris Kein and Thomas Kinkade started the party a little early, the rest of the drunken crowd staying out of the city might get a freebie drive home tonight. The LAPD has some bigger fish to fry, being the Lakers fans celebratory ritual of rioting and cheerful looting that history has shown to accompany a championship ring. It’s a right of passage for the Laker fan of LA to pass the torch (literally) to the next generation, and spread some of the fervor out into the city. Mercedes dealerships, stores lining the Staples Center streets, and even a Po-Po squad car are all targets of love for this peaceful outfit’s flower brigade.

Not all Lakers fans are like this, I have to point out. Like an Albino in the herd, there is that occasional fan who might only tackle a Corona or two and maybe let his dog crap on the Celtics fan’s lawn on the neighborhood before calling it a Series. If it sounds to you, by now, that I am calling it for the Lakers, I am. Even I can’t bring myself to call the game for an upset; the Game 6 trouncing and Brown dunk highlights proved to me that the Celtics are already on summer vacation. I mean, seriously, allowing Jordan Farmer to spread his Dumbo like wings and drive in for a fast break dunk should have been the ultimate in humiliation, but allowing Sasha to play horse form the three point line let us all know that the elevator hadn’t quite hit the ground floor.

So, without further hesitation, here’s Mr. NBA’s prediction on tonight’s Game 7, in two scenarios:

For the Lakers to win: They need a repeat performance of Game 6, with all of the missed shots included. They really stuffed the Celtics into the locker and took their lunch money, pride, and Perkins. The combined effort of the starters runaway explosion, and maintenance of the bench sent the Celtics reeling into a tailspin of missed shots and the butt end of dazzling dunks (FYI-the first round loser of the dunk contest has more in game dunks than the winner). The total domination of the boards took away missed shots and allowed a runaway lead to balloon past the twenty point mark by the third, and made the Celtics end of third quarter score look to the casual observer if it was really halftime. Nothing more than this performance again tonight needs to happen to send the Celtics home, wilted four leaf clover in hand.

However, for the Celtics to win: Dig deep, and for all of you new-comers who came to this team possibly in the middle of the season, or after the Celtics last ring…..A reminder that this is it. Garnett’s best years are behind him, as are Pierce’s, and Allen’s. There probably won’t be another trip to the promised land for quite sometime after this season, so they have to dig deep. Aggressive play, maybe a technical or two, some hard fouls and high percentage shot choices are all in order to beat teh Lakers at home. Nobody cares about crying over missed calls, a little unwarranted rough housing under the hoop, and gas faces after wide open shots don’t fall. The Coliseum demands results, and the winner gets to write history.

For the Celtics to win, sans home court advantage and the crowd will be a Herculean task. They have the skills, the defense, and the talent to drive this home, but do they want it? Game 6 should have provided enough of an ass whoopin’ to be mad. The need for the ring in the younger players should be strong, and the sense of urgency boiling over like an unwatched tea kettle. However, the question remains as to whether the Caltics really want this ring or not. If you’re Robinson, do you take this opportunity as quite possibly the only real chance to own a piece of NBA history? The same goes for any of the other players who have hunger, as the older battle horses are going to need everything, from everybody tonight.

For the Celtics to win an away Game 7 they need production like never seen before, perfection, steely nerve and a little kiss from Lady Luck.

I don’t really rule out a Game 7 victory. If you’ll remember, I wrote the Celtics of in the playoff series. I wouldn’t be stunned to find out they pulled on that effort that propelled them into the finals one more time for the win. However, my gut tells me that if the Lakers are up by ten in the first quarter to switch to the Food Network, because the Laker’s fans will surely be holding a barbeque.

I realize soccer is not real big here in the states, but that is changing. Some Americans, perfectly capable of watching a 20 minute ass scratching session done by a pitcher stepping on and off a mound all the while marveling at the “strategy” of it all, can’t seem to hang with a game that does not have a “score” every few minutes. It does not help that we as a nation have kinda sucked at it (at least the men) for a while now. But here is a game that requires superb athletic ability, stamina, lightening reflexes (at least for the goalie) and emphasizes teamwork, and I have been a fan for a long time.

First of all, if you didn’t see the W.C. championship game four years ago (Italy won), you would of missed this:

Ah, now you guys are intrigued!!!!

And even this time around, we have lots of controversy, such as the funny way the new ball is bouncing:

That ball is the adidas Jabulani, and it already has sparked a storm of controversy. The manufacturer claims it is the most accurate ball ever made, but some weird plays on the field say otherwise.

No doubt England’s goalie would heartily agree.

Or, who exactly were those N. Korean fans in the stands:

Tyler claimed that a rather rambunctious group that appeared to be North Koreans, weren’t actually North Koreans, but rather “handpicked Chinese Actors.” Reports have said these “fans” were Chinese actors, acting on behalf of China as a way to support its long-time ally. Roughly 1,000 Chinese citizens, “including musicians and actors, to cheer for the North Koreans,” the report said.

My favorite was the mini skirted Dutch women arrested for ambush marketing, I thought one of the prerequisites for hosting a W.C. was that you had to be part of the 21st century, not mired in antiquated inquisition style morality.

A nice game is on tap for tomorrow, USA/Slovenia, and the Slovs are already talking trash. There is some urgency though for the Americans to secure a win (not a tie), but that is doable.

And then, there is the vuvuzela controversy, was there a more annoying thing ever created by man? As a tennis fan, I am pretty much use to the home team crowds making as much racket as possible during Davis Cup matches, drums, cow bells, tambourines, nothing is out of bounds.But I gotta draw the line with these damn horns. Like Thunderstcks,what was cute for about 2 seconds is now beyond the pail. But this guy can put it more succinctly than I ever could:

Kevin is probably they only member that will read this post, but I could not let this weekend’s games go without commenting.

I’ve seen many NCAA tournaments in my day, but for sure drama, story book finishes and unpredictability, it is hard to come up with anything even close.

Being ancient, I even remember what Sports Illustrated claims as the best college basketball game in history:

We did not have any finishes like that (although Tenn/Mich.State was close) but some pretty remarkable (and unlikely) outcomes, none the less.

Butler/Kansas State- I heard some commentators blame fatigue as the likely demise, nope, it was Gordon Hayward, who all of the sudden decided it would be cool to be Michael Jordan for a day, then knocked down three’s, cleaned the glass, and played out of his mind.

WVA/Kentucky- For a team that sports 3 future NBA stars (supposedly) it came down to three throws, Kentucky could not make theirs, so they are sent home.

Duke/Baylor- Duke (the only #1 seed to advance) needed Smith to hit 29 (he will never do that again) while their main scorer went 0 for 10 from the field (every game it seems that one of their stars decides to go to sleep). If there is a team that riding destiny and not talent, it is Duke.

Mich.State/Tenn.- the best played game all the way around of the four. Both teams played well and within themselves, with the game coming down to one lapse on the defense at the end. State has both talent and destiny on their side.

I am happy for both Izzo and Coach K, they took unstellar teams, coached them up, and got them to believe, for my money,the two best active coaches out there.

Predictions- I would think that the Vegas money has got to be on State and WVA in the finals, they are peaking at the right time. I would like to see the two power house coaches go at it, but it ain’t going to happen. I got The Mountaineers winning it all, even with their female mascot (what’s up with that?).

Jerry West is smiling.

Found this the other day, talk about scaring the bejesus out of you.

Conventional wisdom says you need to save $1 million for retirement.

That target may be easy to remember, but it falls short of the true cost of what’s required for post-career comfort. Longer life spans, the threat of inflation and the uncertain future of Social Security benefits make this long-touted savings advice inadequate for most, advisers say.

————-

Generation Y (ages 18 to 26) needs to save at least $2 million, according to 77% of advisers. Forty percent put the figure at $3 million.

Nearly half of advisers (46%) said Generation X (ages 27 to 42) should at least double the $1 million goal. Twenty-two percent suggested more than $3 million.

For Boomers (ages 43 to 64), 35% recommended $2 million to $3 million. Thirty percent suggested $1.5 million to $2 million.

Why take any chances? As long as we are throwing large sums of money around, why not make it $5 million, or 10?

Other than slapping people with the reality that you need to save for your retirement, I see nothing useful with assigning arbitrary numbers to retirement goals, first off, nobody has a clue what the collective economy as well as each individuals will be like come retirement time, and second, the amount of money you will need is hugely dictated by that amount that you will spend, and who has a handle on that?

Some predictions can be made with a modicum of accuracy, such as, taxes will be higher, that you can take to the bank. Also, inflation over time will erode your nest egg, but to what extent, nobody can predict.

If only these conditions could be managed by the individual alone, he could plot a truer course, but circumstances beyond our control will modify the results. Things like the economy, how much the government goes into debt, how much money it prints, what percentage of your paycheck is required for the essentials like food and clothing, how strong are America’s businesses ( will people invest in them as will the rest of the world), or will government interference in the form of onerous taxes and undue regulation stifle innovation and productivity, and most importantly, what percentage of our paycheck will be needed to keep the IRS off our back and our butts out of jail.

There was probably no one as anal about retirement as I was, knowing 4 years from the month when I was going to say “adios” , and I read all the recommendations from all these adviser guys, who’s job is to scare the crap out of you so you will give all your money to them to invest for you.but in the end, no magic number or arbitrary figure was reached. It was an impossibility because my spending habits could not be predicted.

Some basic generic advice is sound, such as, start a 529 plan for your kids college as soon as possible, get long term care medical coverage,  and when you leave the work force make sure your debt load is minimal ( pay off your house and chuck the expensive car payments). Other than that, live within your means and you will have a happy retirement.

Debt needs to be carefully considered as well as leaving money for the kids.

I will quibble with this last part. There is a financial adviser that has a radio show in the Bay Area that I use to listen to years ago, he always said that the goal is to spend your last dollar the day you die, I like this for a couple of reasons. Death and estate taxes are just plain wrong, the government should not tax the same income twice, so for this reason I say screw them and don’t leave anything to tax. The other is dependency. I know too many instances of rich kids who expected an inheritance, a free ride, to insulate them from the realities of life, and consequently lived a lifestyle of consumption and dependency instead of productivity. I expect my kid to make his own fortune just like I made mine and will move him in that direction, helping him along the way.

So don’t let these cosmic numbers get you down, you can all get there, and let me tell you, “there” is pretty cool.

There was a hockey game today.

Disclaimer: Just because I posted a picture of the US team, it should not be inferred that they won. In fact, no claims are being made that they even played today.  For you TIVO people, for all you know, it was the Vatican City against Tonga, so don’t be jumping the gun.

Alright, now that we are square with the legal department, scroll down for the meat and potatoes.

Almost a complete reversal of the last game, with the US getting about a 3 to 1 ratio of shots on goal, and up until the last minute it was a one goal match. Jonas Hiller had a “Miller” like performance, frustrating the American’s through out. But that is not to say that Miller was not his usual stellar self. I see how important these goalie’s are, nothing like soccer, these guys work harder than anyone. Today Zack Parise was “The Man”, putting in both goals.

So now, we got probably the two best teams in the world squaring off next. I will miss most of this game, I am coaching the boy’s high school tennis team this year so I will be at practice (tomorrow is our first actual match). I will be pulling hard for Canada. Post liberally so when I get back I know what happened.

I am turning into a rabid hockey fan (like I don’t have enough irons in the fire already).

I am not much of a hockey fan, who is in California? but yesterday’s preliminary round match up between Canada and the US of A was (aside from “Do you believe in miracles?”) the best hockey match I have ever seen.

I have a terrible, terrible secret: I think I might be a hockey fan. And after tonight’s goosebumps-inducing USA/Canada hockey game, I don’t think I’m alone. In a game marked by a break-neck pace and a final two minutes that was full of “most exciting sports moment of 2010″ candidates, the U.S. hockey team emerged victorious over Canada 5-3.

You can see the actual goals here

Oh, so that’s what MSNBC looks like.

Before I cover the game, kudos to NBC and their stellar Olympic coverage over at nbcolympics, their video section is superb. For those events that I’m not real jazzed about, I can see the highlights here, like the gold medal performance of Evan Lysacek.

While watching the video of the goals, you get a sense of how rabid the Canadians are about hockey. Santino had said in an earlier post that the only competition that really matters in these games is hockey.

Olympic hockey is so different from the NHL, both in grace and motivation. Davis Cup is a good corollary, when you play on a team for your country, patriotic motivations percolate to the top causing extra ordinary effort and achievement.

Check out the last goal scored by Ryan Kessler, that could be the greatest hockey goal of all time.

A few things you don’t get from the video,  the absolute frenetic pace of the action and blistering attacks of the Canadian team to even things up in the last half of the third period. Ryan Miller was a total stud in blocking, deflecting, and smothering almost all attempts made at his goal. It was a shooting gallery and he literally left everything on the ice. During the short interview after the game, he looked like he went 15 rounds with a grizzly bear, sweat pouring off of him, he could barely talk.

Although a clear set back for the Canadians, they can come back, but their road just got harder. If they can get by the Germans tomorrow, they will face the mighty Russians in the quarter finals, which means that one of these two great power houses will be sent home without a medal.

I know they expected greater tonnage in medal counts but anything short of Gold for the hockey team will bring a national depression about the likes nobody has seen before.

We can’t have an Olympic games without some kind of juicy scandal, is this all they got?

The fuddy-duddy suits who run the Vancouver Games got their scapegoat. Scotty Lago was kicked out of the Winter Olympics. Yes, kicked out.

Do not believe the party line served by the United States Ski and Snowboard Association, nor the words of United States Olympic Committee spokesman Patrick Sandusky, who said: “Scotty left on his own accord. He wasn’t forced to leave.” Lago, the bronze medalist in halfpipe, was forced to leave, two sources close to him told Yahoo! Sports, and did so only to prevent an even greater escalation of a situation that already had been blown far out of proportion.

Lago is the smiling 23-year-old in the now-infamous pictures of an Olympic medalist celebrating. The photos are kids’ play, and yet because somebody caught Michael Phelps taking a bong hit, anything – anything – gets the USOC’s tighty-whities in a bunch.

Lago must not of read the fine print, that obscure code section that says ,“All athletes will turn off their libido one day prior to the opening ceremonies, up until one day after the closing”.

OK, now the offending photos:

Yep, that’s it, no bending over a local Canadian in front of CNN, and nothing that would require a post coital smoke (hopefully, they took care of business later in the evening).

Whether Lago broke any formal code of conduct is unclear. Rule 4 of the USSA’s code says: “USSA members shall maintain high standards of moral and ethical conduct, which includes self-control and responsible behavior, consideration for the physical and emotional well-being of others, and courtesy and good manners.”

Scratch your butt, pick your nose in public, out you go.

I find it difficult to equate Phelps’ bong embrace with some post celebratory good natured fun, like what is exhibited here. Lago is a 22 year old male athlete who just won an Olympic medal, if that feat can not be parlayed into some serious (and memorable) shagging, what’s the point of all that training?

I am finding this all much ado about nothing and I can just see the Europeans laughing at the USSA and their prudish expectations. The Euro’s use a different standard, anything not involving the local police SWAT team is hunky dory , and even then, as long as barn yard animals are not involved, “C’est la vie”.

Things are heating up in Vancouver. Team USA has decided to kick it in gear.

If Canada wants to “Own the Podium,” it might need to buy it from the United States.

Americans dominated from the mountains to the city Wednesday, winning six medals, including golds in women’s downhill, men’s 1,000-meter speedskating and men’s snowboard halfpipe. That set a U.S. record for a single day of the Winter Olympics (five medals, including three golds, at Salt Lake City in 2002).

Some very nice video coverage can be found here.

I think we see a nice contrast between Olympians and other athletes, the discipline and commitment involved for an event that comes but once every four years, and the euphoria of the big pay off in the end.

The down hill was made even more amazing, not only for the icy conditions and the terrible spills by other skiers, but Lyndsey’s race was not perfect.

Forget the sore shin, Vonn said she had so much adrenaline she couldn’t feel a thing. “It helped not to think about the pain,” she said.

And yet, we could plainly see her favoring that shin (finishing the last 100 meters on one ski) but her lines were so clean through out, bettering her team mate Julia Mancuso by half a second.

Kudos to both Shanie Davis and Shawn White, doubling up on the golds they won at Turin, very nice.

There is still a lot of Olympics to go. Canada can easily redeem themselves with some nice hockey wins. The Canadian women made quite a statement the other night. The men will have a tougher road, with some very good teams (Russia, Sweden, Czech Republic, USA, and Finland) standing in their way. Although a USA/Canada final would be great, I’m thinking we will get another Crosby/Ovechkin rematch (where have we seen that before?).

This is why they do it:

A decal on the helmet of America’s hockey goalie has caused the latest fracas with the Olympic fashion police.

Trouble is brewing over United States ice hockey goalie Jonathan Quick and the “Support Our Troops” slogan on his helmet. Slogans of this sort are banned under Olympic rules and Quick will be told to remove it, the International Ice Hockey Federation has told Reuters.

First off, that is a really cool decal, I want one.

As the resident totalitarian here (or at least that is the accusation) I gotta say that the rules apply to everyone, so as outrages go, this is not blowing up my skirt. Most rules and laws are formulated because people can not be left to their own devices to do the right thing, so the Olympic rules ban all political propaganda and advertising from apparel worn by athletes, and I have to agree with this. Just as I don’t want to see, “Massengill, for that -not so fresh- moment”, or ,“I just saw Lindsey Vonn on the medal podium and my Cialis kicked in”, political statements like ,“Free KSM”, “Israel out of The West Bank”, or , “Adopt Sharia Law” do not belong at the games,and without rules targeting the displays, you can count of someone trying to lobby a particular cause. So no black glove salutes, and no “support the troops” decal.

Some would say that this phrase instills no hegemony since “troops” is generic, and active blatant patriotism is practiced after every event, both in the form of flag waiving and national anthem playing, I concede both these points, but since a line in the sand has to be drawn somewhere, I appreciate it’s existence even if I don’t agree with it’s placement.

I wonder, where was the fashion police when these guys walked in:

Talk about needing a good ass whooping.

I have been debating this post for two weeks now, and if the house of cards all come tumbling down tonight, its not my fault, so back off.

For those living in caves, 2 NFL teams are still undefeated, and it’s not just any 2 teams, it’s the two teams that America absolutely adores. Forget the ‘boys, they can’t win in December so even smoking hot cheerleaders is not enough for them to hold the moniker of “America’s Team”. But in the last few years, two other teams have decided to fill the void, and they got style in abundance. 

First, who dat gonna beat dem Saints? N.O. has gone from abysmal underachievers, to wayward stepkids playing their home games in circus tents due to Katrina and its aftermath, to honest to God alpha dogs, winning games either too easily or too lucky for words. Beating the Skins two weeks ago was just plain ridiculous, but then last week, with that lame ass fake field goal, any other team would of went down. At this point, I can only chalk it up to providence.

Ditto with the Colts. We have seen them go 8-0, even 10-0, but this year they keep winning ugly. Providence reared its head last week when for the first time in Manning’s career, he threw 3 picks….......and they still won.

Tonight, Manning and company travel to Jacksonville, a team needing a win for any playoff hopes and the first sold out game this year. Jim Caldwell has said that he will only play his “healthy” players tonight. They have home field locked up through out the playoffs so this game is of little consequence, except to continue the drive for perfection. NFL teams routinely rest critical players at season end so benching some starters would not be out of the ordinary. But will the fans allow it? Not only Indi fans, but the rest of the country?

After tonight, they got the Jets and the Bills, not exactly powerhouses.  Caldwell is in a tough spot. Throw a game to rest players and history suffers, go for the streak and get somebody hurt, again, hell will have to be paid.

The Saints got the Cowboys (at home), then the Bucs and the Panthers. I think they got the best chance of running the table, but will they?

The scenario is playing out like a Dickens’ novel. The whole world wants to see an undefeated Colts team play an undefeated Saints in the Superbowl, what kind of ratings you think that would pull in?

We need someone to go undefeated to shut those old Dolphin players up, although why anyone would think that record is of equal weight and magnitude to someone doing it now is beyond me. It is analogous to all those titles won by the old Boston Celtics (when there was only nine teams in the league, and only 3 were any good year in and year out). What the Dolphins did 30 years ago was great, but this would be truly spectacular.

So here are the questions:

Will both teams go undefeated?

Will they meet up in the Superbowl?

Should Peyton and Caldwell forget about any records and nurture their perspective teams (bench starters in meaningless games) to give their teams the best possible chance at winning a title?

Will the Colts go down tonight?

And most important, does the very fact that I am writing a post on this damn all chances straight to hell of the perfect scenario?

For those that started early and watched the Civil War (Oregon/Oregon St., a rivalry going back 115 years), they got treated to one of the best games of the year, a match up that literally game down to who had the ball last. Ohio St. will yet again embarrass the Big 10 come Rose Bowl time.

But on to today’s match ups. I’m looking forward to judging for myself to see just how good the Bearcats are. Pitt is a good team, and a fair caliber for evaluating Cinci.

Texas/Nebraska, for the Big 12 championship, should be good. McCoy cannot sit back for this, he is in the Heisman hunt (more on that to follow) and Nebraska is peeking at the right time. This game will not be a walk over. But the Longhorns are a team of destiny, so I look at this as the next hurdle in their march to the national championship.

OK, the granddaddy, Florida/Alabama. For all you Tide fans (blameme) the journal had an interesting article on their maturation, good reading. If this game was played a month ago, I would of given the edge solidly to ‘Bama, but Tebow decided to wake up, and now he is pissed (for a Christian guy). With Carlos Dunlap cooling his heels on the sidelines (hey, knucklehead, next time you want a nap, don’t do it behind the wheel at an intersection all liquored up) their defense is mortal, this will help Ingram. But the Tebow factor (Superman is now on a mission) skews all prognostications, so I will just go with who I want to win. Roll Tide.

My Hesiman picks:

I guess the selections will come out this weekend. The top four contenders are two quarterbacks and two running backs, how I see it.

1) Colt McCoy will win the Heisman. Naturally, much of this will be determined on his play today, but he is the most deserving. his stats are far superior to Tebows, and his arm (and legs) have been a greater factor this year than in others. And, the committee likes candidates who play for front runners, the very fact that goes against Gerhart. He has had a Heisman type year and is “in the grove”, an essential trait for QB’s.

2)Toby Gerhart. Naturally, I love this guy, he plays just down the road, he has twice the TD’s and more yards than Ingram, he alone was responsible for many of the Stanford wins this year, and pound of pound the most powerful running back in the country. I would love for Gerhart to win, but he plays for an egg head school who is not known for football domination, so he will get passed over.

3)Tim Tebow will go down in history as the best college football player, ever, wow, that is some tag. His numbers this year are pretty ordinary, but, as with great champions, he has decided to step it up. I expect him to have a monster game today. If he puts the entire team on his shoulders and carries them to the finish line (as he is apt to do) they win the championship and he will get another Heisman. McCoy is more deserving but as the saying goes, don’t tug on Superman’s cape.

4)Mark Ingram is a fine back and is responsible for much of the Tides success. He has Barry Sanders like moves and was the early front runner. But Ingram tends to falter in the big games and none is bigger than today. He needs his best effort for them to have any chance.

I’m going to go hit the gym right after this, watch the first half of the Bearcat game while on the treadmill, after that, it is coach potato time with a “Do not bother me” sign around my neck.

Happy football day.

As Canada prepares the welcome mat in a few months for the Winter Games, a curious phenomenon is taking place there, some much needed jersey popping. In the land of maple leaves and mediocre athletes, some new found pride, a sports jingoism if you will, is catching on like wild fire.

The following is a message from the people of Canada to all other nations sending teams to compete at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver: While we hope you enjoy your visit in our country, please be advised that Canada reserves the right to beat you and, if it so chooses, to celebrate with behavior that could be described as “gloating.”

Dominick Gauthier, a former Olympian now coaching two of the country’s top medal prospects, describes the country’s new Olympic philosophy this way: “Canada,” he says, “is finally more concerned with winning than being nice.”

It’s about damn time.

Anybody that has ever played sports competitively on any level understands that putting forth your best effort ranks right up there with good sportsmanship, that if you are not prepared to crush your opponent and exert your will on him, well, you might as well take up knitting. Second place is reserved for losers, and if that is OK with you, fine. The achievement of beating the brains out of your opponent is that much sweeter because your opponent feels the same way and is prepared to do the same to you.

But the ability to be a gracious loser (lets face it, everybody loses from time to time) is paramount. Most of us understand (Lebron, are you listening?) that paying homage to the winner once the contest has ended is all part of competing.

But Canada does not have much experience when it comes to winning medals.

Canada has never placed first in any Winter Games, something much-tinier Norway has done six times (seven if you include ties). In fact, Canada hasn’t even come in second. During its hosting of the 1976 Montreal Games and the 1988 Calgary Winter Games, the national team failed to win a single gold.

I remember vacationing in Norway a month before their hosting of the Winter Games. The Norwegians are the 1000 pound gorilla when it comes collecting Olympic medals, and that pride showed in all the little shops, the road signs and in the folks. One of the biggest sellers in the gift stores was a map of Scandinavia, sans Sweden (a big black hole where Sweden should be) this exemplified the rivalry, causing me a chuckle and ticking off my wife in the process.

. This year’s motto, “Own the Podium,” shows no such timidity. In the history of the Olympics, in fact, no host country has ever talked such smack in its slogan.

Losing will do that to you, but I like it. As a big fan of the Olympics, both winter and summer, to have the locals win medals, everybody loves that, and if the Canadians beat out the Americans, any Americans, on their home field, I will be as thrilled as anyone and will celebrate right along with them.

The human interest stories behind the athletes is appealing to the viewers and the host nation is always spotlighted. And they better win the hockey competition. Their record in Stanley Cups is pretty pathetic, but the Olympics is a different animal, so I’m pulling for The Hosers.

Whether Canada gets criticized for being too “American”,  we will let all the losers banty that around. Come time to compete, gold is all that matters.