Make or break season for Cards

The buzz is already in the air. While I’m already irked at the fact that even four weeks before the NFL draft, in the middle of spring training and NCAA Tourney time, sports radio is all ga-ga about the draft. Of course everything is all speculation about each athlete discussed, but theymust persist.

So to combat that point, I’m putting the proverbial stake in the ground… If the Cards can’t put a playoff team on the field this year… season ticketsales will plummet.

2006 – The Cardinals left $16 M in their pockets and didn’t make the playoffs – AGAIN!

2007- The Cardinals are slow off the blocks in free agent signings, with a high salary cap and plenty in the coughers. And while they may have been right that Leonard Davis isn’t worth the money… he was the BEST player on the NFL’s WORST offensive line! How can the Cardinals let the best leave, which in the same breath makes the previous “worst” even worse!?!

Here’s the point, those season ticket holders remaining from last season are there this season in hopes of getting their little grubbies on one of this years Golden Tickets… remember, the Super Bowl is in Arizona next season. So there will be a lottery and everyone wants a piece of that pie.

The Cardinals have one chance left to make a name for themselves before the residents of AZ get wise to the greedy ways of the the Bidwells. While I’m not a fan, I wish the Bidwells and Cardinals would succeed. I don’t think the Cardinals have a chance while Mr. B. (and his son for that matter) is still driving. But I hope they prove me wrong.

In the end, if the Cardinals can’t put a product on the field that satisfies the expectations of the fans… the fans will leave which is unfortunate because there is plenty of star power on the field to watch.

Super Bowl Opening Girlie Ceremony

The NFL Super Bowl is THE single televised event of the year which not any other occasion even comes close to rivaling.

It’s got football, it’s got chips, it’s got football, dip, football, beer (Pepsi for me) you get the picture.

But for some reason, which is still lost on me, the NFL thinks it doesn’t have enough. It started going overboard with the halftime show when Diana Ross changed close 5 times during a single song back in SBXXX in AZ.
BTW – I actually thought Prince was decent except for some of the cover songs.

Now the NFL has gone the way of the Olympics with overdone pre-game entertainment.

Let me paint the picture for you — I’ve just finished grilling my rack of ribs to perfection. I’ve got my giant mug of Pepsi. I’ve got my chips, my dip and the remote. I should be set to go.

I turn on the machine and what do I see? I see butterfly’s running over the NFL shield with a kaleidoscope of colors that is about to make me barf. Someone is singing a Alternative-Salsa style song with no discernable words and more fluffy (used in a condecending tone) stuff going all over the place.

It still make me made that on the most Male dominated sport holiday of the year, there are butterflies and caterpillars disrupting what should be something about football.

Save all that stuff for the olympics. This is the day of football. Don’t descecrate it with images that belong on the Martha Stewart show.

Sport Not a Sport

Sports bar discussions regularly include debates comparing one activity to another and which event is better. Somewhere in the conversation, someone tries to through in a curve ball and include an activity that changes the debate to whether or not the event is a “true” sport vs an entertainment event.

I’ve began what will be considered the

Bill of Sports Rights

. Your comments can be used to submit amendments to the Bill of Sports Right pending review of the committee. If your amendment is approved, I’ll include reference to your blog site.

Keep in mind as you read the rules below, ones percieved athleticism is not valid criteria as we’re not talking about the person or team, we’re talking about the activity/event. While athleticism, training and fitness are admirable; those traits define the person not the event.

There are a couple traits that a sport must posses in order to qualify as a sport.

1. The event must include a physical element that challenges the person to be at a certain level of fitness in order to realistically compete.

- sub.1 Bicycling requires extreme endurance abilities to complete all the stages of The Tour de France
- sub.2 Football includes mixes of strength and speed in order to be competitive.

2. A certain amount of technique/skill level must be apparent in order to separate a novice from an expert.

– sub.1 A valid pitch is required to pass through a predefined area of space
– sub.2 Ping pong includes spin on the ball to exaggerate the path of the ball

3. There should be a component to the event which enables an opponent to challenge the other from completing a desired goal.

– sub.1 A field goal can be blocked
– sub.2 The path of a pitch can be altered to give misdirection

4. The winner/scoring mechanism must be objective.

– sub.1 True the requirements of a double flip in gymnastics are defined, but the range of variation in voting results lend that scoring is not absolute. With a scoring range between 7 & 9 among 5 judges, who’s right, who’s wrong?
– sub.2 A place kicker scores a point when the ball moves between and above the polls of a goal post

5. The winner must be decided as a result of human powered activities.
6. Things that detract/disqualify from the possibilites of being a sport:

- sub.1 Enibriation “adds” to the experience or even enables higher scoring
- sub.2 Any performance which scores points for appearance or style
- sub.3 If anyone has ever successfully competed at the highest level while wearing a custome
- sub.4 Adendum 1/23/2007 – Anytime the activity/event can also be described as “art”… automatically disqualified as a sport.

Races (some) are considered sports. Swimmers can draft or prevent some from drafting. Distance runners struggle with break away tactics. Skiing is all challenged by the clock as if the contestants are on the course at the same time.

Should the coach stay or go

The end of any football is ripe with rumors and controversy (this is a non-BCS post).
Already begun is the speculation regarding which coach will move to or be fired from.

Today the rumors have started swirling that Mike Stoops is being considered for the Head Coach assignment at ‘Bama and Miami.

I’m all for getting your dues when you feel you’ve earned them. Not saying that Stoops hasn’t, but he still hasn’t gotten to a bowl game yet as a head coach. Sorry, that’s the bitterness talking.

I also appreciate someone who takes a position with the intent to take a job, and move the program to the highest level of success. Not use it as a stepping stone to other venues.

Lute Olsen in my opinion is the epitomy of this example. Having taken the team from subpar to a perrenial title contender. A legacy like that speaks volumes. Otherwise you’re just a Phil Jackson who takes the job with the best possibilities to win without actually having to coach.

BCS/BS Merry-Go-Round

How can anyone say the system is “flawed” when the intent isn’t clear?

What is the intent of any exiting playoff system? It certainly isn’t to match up the two best teams and determine THE best team overall… case in point: St Louis winning the 2006 MLB… George Mason in the 2006 Final Four…

Just because a team wins a tournament, doesn’t necessarily “crown them” the best (a la Dennis Green).

In this year’s debate, pretend a playoff pits Michigan against Ohio State in a rematch. If Michigan wins, the headlines the next day would read… “Who’s #1?” since Ohio State won the first match and both teams only have one loss.

Conversely, without a playoff system, if Ohio State wins a rematch with Michigan, the “could have been” contenders cry foul that they weren’t given a chance to win once when Michigan would have been given two chances at a title.

What was the purpose of bowl games prior to 1998? I don’t know the answer… I’m asking.

In the end… any newly implemented playoff system would still be dependant upon a ranking system as it exists today (“flawed”?). Which means instead of the #3 & #4 teams complaining about their end state, the #5 and #6 teams would whine. I use a little creative license in limiting a playoff to only four teams because someone would be hard pressed to make a case that a #8 team should have a chance to play… and nobody else should try to make that case since no one is making a case for Boise State to be in the championship game today. To through more heat on the fire, if you limit to four, then in this years debacle, USC cries fowl as they are the team with the hardest schedule BY FAR.

Additional cons to a playoff system:

- Who would get the higher seed?

- Do you limit BCS playoff to only Conference Champions? If you let Michigan in this year, then a conference tournament/championship means nothing unless you miss out on a playoff otherwise. The regular season would probably lose much of its importance.

- For those that cry foul about the current system benefiting the colleges monetarily, who do you think benefits more with a playoff system? And who SHOULD benefit most? Your answer should be, the colleges, and not the media/networks which would be the result of a playoff system.

- Who would travel to the remaining (leftover) bowl games?

- Team travel/hotel logistics (see State Fans Nation blog here)

“Can 50K people afford to travel 3 different times in a month to exotic locales?”

- It would be more advantageous for BCS schools to schedule cupcakes than they are now

- If you’re not a fan of a football powerhouse, be ready to be excluded – you won’t be invited.

Again, Just say NO to pre rankings.

———————————————–

The above statements are designed to insite discussion and not violence. I only take pleasure in playing the role of the Devil’s Advocate