I Phelta Thi Sports Blog

Oh BCS How Do I Hate Thee, Let Me Count The Ways

2012-12-04T10:45:00.000-07:00

I haven't been too vocal this football season, but I can't be sit back and be idle about this atrocity. The BCS who (keep in mind) was created to supposedly "help" the big boys stay the big boys has screwed over my favorite team the Oklahoma Sooners in a BCS Bid this year! They did this by overlooking my beloved Sooners and giving the at large to Northern Illinois. WHAT?!?! Granted Oklahoma shouldn't have put themselves in a spot to be an at large bid, but HOLY COW Northern Illinois... Really? The only top 25 team they beat was the "Power House" Kent State the 2nd OVERTIME, that apparently was SUPER impressive to the computers! It might have been impressive if Kent State had more wins from a ranked team. The only ranked opponent Kent State has beat this year is the currently unranked Rutgers! In the previous paragraph, I pointed out how they didn't play anyone who was ranked except for Kent State, and they barley got that. This paragraph will talk about their successes this season that got them to play Florida State! Bobby Bowden would role over in his grave!!! He passed away right? Anyways, rest in peace Bobby B. The tough non-conference schedule that earned Northern Illinois a spot to play with the big boys was a narrow loss to Iowa of the Big Ten and a confident win to Kansas Jayhawks of the Big 12. Keep in mind that neither Iowa or Kansas had been invited to participate in a bowl game this year! Those had been the three games that told the computers that... "Yeah! they have earned this more than the Sooners had this year"! Even though, Oklahoma's only two losses came from the Fighting Irish and Kansas State. I've been saying for a while that Oklahoma's ranking was too low anyways. Whatever! BCS I'm sorry I've stuck up for you for so long. I hated you last year when you made the National Championship between two SEC teams and I hate you now for picking Northern Illinois over Oklahoma! I wish a pox on you BCS! Not on Northern Illinois, that would be unfair, that would be like getting mad at a snake for biting a child instead of getting mad at the parent who let the child play with the snake... YOU SUCK AS A DAD BCS!

Tebow Time.......

2012-03-27T00:56:00.005-06:00

So ol Timmy Tebow is a New York Jet now? Well I'll be damned.....Most likely from Tim Tebow himself. Ah I'm just kidding. He'll defiantly try to throw me some sort of a life line to keep from going to Hell since he is such a nice guy. Although chances are that it will be out of my reach.

But lets break this trade down. The Broncos, if they get the Peyton Manning of 2010, defiantly made the right decision by trading Tebow away. I know that a lot of the fan base is killing John Elway right now but come on, its not like they are replacing Tebow with Mark Sanchez or anything(too soon?). It Peyton Manning! Elway is pretty savvy though. He was never sold on Tebow and this was probably the only way to get out of this situation. But if Manning isn't healthy or just doesn't have it anymore then so help him Tebow cause it will get ugly.

Now just what the Jets are thinking here I don't know. But since it is the Jets it makes so much sense for them. As in it makes no sense to any of the other 31 teams so the Jets make a knee jerk reaction that, if I may go out on a limb here.......(ok I'm back, just needed some fresh air.) But I feel like they kind of panicked here. And why did they panic? The Patriots won the division again and made it to the super bowl. Now you might think that I think this cause I am a Pats fan but think about it. This was the third year in a row that the Jets were supposed to finally win the division and one up the Patriots. What happened? They finish 8-8 and watch the Pats go to, although lose, in the game the Jets came up one game short of the two years previous. Now Rex Ryan is the impulse buyer of the NFL. Instead of shopping around and getting good deals and better products he just buys the first thing he see. Tebow was the flashiest thing on the shelf so he snatched it up real quick. I could be wrong but I have a feeling there is at least a little bit of truth to this.
Now to the part on weather this will work or not. It has a chance, albeit a small chance. And if you ask me the only way this will work is if they admit Sanchez is not their answer at QB and go with Tebow from the start and stick to their guns on the run game. And if Tebow can hit the broad side of a barn. And if that defense can get back to their 2010 form. And with divine intervention. But honestly this Jet (see what I did there) is already on fire and if they don't put it out real soon they are going to be looking for a place to ditch it.
And this was a late night rambling of Thome about Tm Tebow. I'm sure there will be more to come......

The Winners Conference?

2012-03-03T18:23:00.001-07:00

The New York Giants officially ended an era by beating the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. But I'm not talking about this year's team, I'm talking about the 2007 New York Football Giants that employed David Tyree and Michael Strahan.
That was the team that put an end to the AFC's winning streak in the big game and ushered in our current age. An age where the NFC is one Ben Roethlisberger to Santonio Holmes in the closing seconds touchdown away from having won the last five Super Bowls.
Am I saying the NFC is a superior conference like they were in the 80's and much of the 90's? No, this isn't the NBA where Western Conference fields two or three teams with winning records who miss the playoffs each year while the East gets usually gets a few in with losing records. Most of the last few Super Bowls could have been pretty even-matched, which is why I think this is the year the AFC re-claims the title.
Without further ado, here are my pre-draft, pre-free agency playoff predictions.

NFC North: Green Bay Packers - To be honest I have picked these guys to win it all every year over the last five years and I was right once (which is a helluva lot more often than Sports Illustrated ever is, am I right? am I right?) Secretly I'm picking them again this year, but not in public. In order to avoid bias I'll pick someone else, and it's not like the Pack will be a consensus pick this year anyway. That defense sure needs some fixing before Mr. Rodgers can hoist his second trophy.

NFC East: New York Giants - SuperBowl hangover? Fuggetaboutit! With tons of confidence and momentum, the Giants will win more regular season games than they did last year. Come playoff time coaches are being doing plenty of not sleeping thinking of how they can beat New York, and unlike this year, someone will succeed.

NFC South: Atlanta Falcons - Let me be the first to say I love the New Orleans Saints and Drew Brees may be my favorite player in the league. Here's the thing, I know that not all the same teams will win their division that did last year. It just doesn't happen. The Saints lose Carl Nicks and Marques Colston in free agency. Jimmy Graham still plays well but Brees gets sacked a little more and throws a few more picks and New Orleans wins 9 games this year making Atlanta's 10 wins enough to clinch.

NFC West: San Franciso 49ers - These guys had a new head coach and no off-season and I don't think anyone outside of their locker room believed they could win 13 games last year. The defense is impregnable and having a full training camp will do wonders for their offense. Alex Smith having the same offensive coordinator for two years in a row for the first time in his career won't hurt either.

Wildcard: Philadelphia Eagles - They need to draft some nasty linebackers and need an adequate backup for when (not if) Michael Vick goes down with injury. That being said these guys had a nice little run at the end of last season, LeSean McCoy is the man and I think the extra time together will benefit all the free agents they brought in last year and have the Eagles playing like a team again.

Wildcard: Arizona Cardinals - I should've picked the Chicago Bears here. They were 7-3 before Cutler went down last year, but while their defense has done a great job of taking on the attitude of leader Brian Urlacher, they're getting old and have holes. The young and nasty Cardinals defense really seemed to hit it's stride mid-season last year under a new coordinator. The offensive line needs work (as always) but Larry Fitzgerald alone makes that side of the ball viable. If we see a little improvement from Kevin Kolb and/or John Skelton this team could win 9 or 10 games. If Peyton Manning and possibly Reggie Wayne come to town? It could be Kurt Warner-esque! Am I being a homer? Absolutely. This spot could just as easily go to Detroit, Seattle, Dallas, New Orleans, or any junk team from last year that becomes "this year's 49ers" and goes from terrible to great in one season, just probably not the Redskins. . . . or the Vikings.

NFC Champion: San Francisco 49ers - Yep, I'm picking a Harbaugh bowl rematch. I'm a little embarrassed to do so, but I feel good about both of these teams, especially after I saw Alex Smith and Vernon Davis come up so big in their first playoff starts ever. That being said I am an oldest son, and in the words of George Orwell's classic novel 1984, "Big Brother is Winning."

SUPER BOWL CHAMPION: BALTIMORE RAVENS

There you have it. My playoff picks for the upcoming season. I reserve the rights to change every one of these picks after the draft, and again after pre-season, and again once the playoffs start, and again on Super Bowl Sunday.

And Your Winner Is...

2012-02-09T01:22:00.002-07:00

We love the NFL because at the beginning of every season we feel like our team might have a shot. There is more parity than in any other professional sport . . . except in the AFC. Here are the Super Bowl representatives over the last decade from both conferences:

AFC                                                         NFC
New England Patriots                              New York Giants
Pittsburgh Steelers                                   Green Bay Packers
Indianapolis Colts                                    New Orleans Saints
Pittsburgh Steelers                                 Arizona Cardinals
New England Patriots                              New York Giants
Indianapolis Colts                                  Chicago Bears
Pittsburgh Steelers                                 Seattle Seahawks
New England Patriots                            Philadelphia Eagles
New England Patriots                            Carolina Panthers

The AFC has sent THREE TEAMS to the Super Bowl since 2003. Three. For how many more years are the Patriots, Steelers and Colts going to have the monopoly on AFC championships? Zero. That's right, I'm calling it right now. Here are my wayyyyyy to early playoff predictions for 2012.

AFC East: New England Patriots - The Jets may rebound from last season, the Bills should improve. The Dolphins are interesting with a new coach and Matt Flynn possibly following from Green Bay. Over the years the hot backups like Matt Schaub, Matt Cassel and Kevin Kolb have produced mixed results. Like Cassel and Kolb, Flynn had the benefit of studying behind a pro bowl QB before stepping in and producing in a passer friendly offense when the starter went down for a game or two. Will his success translate better to a new team? I hope it does, but it's all speculation right now anyway. Pats still take the division regardless.

AFC North: Baltimore Ravens - Joe Flacco has proven to be an adequate quarterback, much like Philip Rivers was early in his career. Would a new offensive scheme benefit him? Maybe, but even if he doesn't improve much, this is a tough team that has already won one Super Bowl without an elite QB. The Bengals seem likely to improve with another year of experience, and I don't think you can count out the Steelers yet. This division could send three teams to the playoffs again. Cleveland still lacks elite talent at EVERY offensive skill position, they're a few years away from any sort of contention.

AFC South: Houston Texans - The Colts have basically owned this division since Peyton came to town. No more. Houston ran away with their first ever playoff birth without the services of their best offensive (Andre Johnson) and defensive (Mario Williams) players. They rolled with a 3rd string QB after Matt Schaub went down and Matt Leinart promptly got injured as soon as possible, because hey, being a back-up playboy quarterback who gets sideline tickets and never has to get hit is a pretty good gig. I think Tennessee will be in the mix longer than people expect, but Indy is in full-on rebuild mode and Jacksonville is one Maurice Jones-Drew away from challenging Cleveland as the team with the least amount of elite play makers. The should have the chance to snag a few more early in the draft over the next few years.

AFC West: Oakland Raiders - This is my least confident pick, any team in this division could finish with 10 wins or 4. That being said I'd like to see what Oakland's young receivers can do after having an off-season. They need to cut down on penalties, but IF Darren McFadden doesn't miss more than a game or two, I think the Silver and Black get back in the playoffs.

Wildcard: Pittsburgh Steelers - The Defense is aging. They still have a good coach, a clutch quarterback, speedy receivers and solid running backs. They'll win 10 games, and it will be enough to get in.

Wildcard: Tennessee Titans - I wanted to pick the Bengals here, but it seems every year there are at least two teams in the playoffs for each conference who weren't there the year before. Titans get the nod over the Chargers after nearly making it last year with a new coach and new quarterback and a terrible season from Chris Johnson.

AFC Champion: Baltimore Ravens - The Houston Texans are going to be the sexy pick for Sports Illustrated, ESPN and mostly everyone who gets paid to do this. . . . which is the only reason I can come up with to pick against them. I can see the Ravens drafting Arizona State linebacker Vontaze Burfict, who under the tutelage of Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs hits his stride in the playoffs and comes up with some big plays to keep Houston out of the Super Bowl if these two teams meet.

Coming Up Next: NFC Playoff Predictions

Six (un)disputed in a row

2012-01-13T16:18:00.000-07:00

First and foremost let me admit this openly. The SEC is good. Real Good. I get it. Six national championships in a row speak for themselves. If the WAC or Mountain West or any conference containing a school I attended or had family attend or even lived within 5 hours of at some point in my life had won that many consecutive BCS titles, well I would be tooting my conference's horn as well.
The problem with these titles is that they're not really indisputable. College football is the only sport where teams get into the championship off perceived greatness. Imagine if the Packers were placed in this year's Super Bowl based of their record alone. Who would they play? New England, San Francisco and New Orleans all finished 13-3. I guess we could just have about half the league's coaches vote along with some media people and former players and mix in a computer formula to figure out who is 2nd best. The two teams that get left out might get to play each other in a consolation bowl, but one of them might end up playing the Jets instead, because hey, they didn't have a losing record, and they're a big market team that will bring in lots of revenue.
Now granted, it's absurd to compare the NFL directly with College Football because of the sheer amount of teams. But while the NFL lacks some of the traditions and rivalries that make College Football so great, the pros trump the amateurs by giving us a champion that has to prove it when it matters most. A champion that shows guts and moxie by beating at least three elite teams consecutively. A champion that regardless of how well they did in their own division during the season, had to beat out the top teams from other conferences to get there.
Interestingly enough, when the SEC began their run there was another top dog in town, the Big 10. Tressel's boys at Ohio State had pranced through an undefeated season and no one was good enough to beat them. Except maybe Michigan, that Wolverines team that had lost just one game, on the road, to the number one team in the nation, the Ohio State Buckeyes.
A rematch made too much sense, the first game was high scoring and exciting, and home field in the loud arenas of the Big 10 is worth at least 3 points. What would happen if these two were pitted on a neutral field? But in a controversial move the voters decided that the Wolverines had their chance, if a one-loss team who couldn't win their conference lost to the Buckeyes, why not give a shot to another one-loss team who did win their conference? So while Michigan sat idle, the Florida Gators won the SEC Championship game against one-loss Arkansas and jumped to #2 in the standings.
They proceeded to blow out Ohio State and a new era began for the SEC. Meanwhile Michigan, still regarded by many as 2nd best in the nation went to the Rose Bowl where they were ABSOLUTELY DESTROYED by the USC Trojans, a team who blew their shot at the National Championship when they lost their rivalry game to UCLA weeks earlier. But what if the Big 10 was left out of the equation? What if USC got to play Florida in the championship? What would've happened? We don't know, we'll never know.
The next year LSU was selected as the best two-loss team that got to go blow out one-loss Ohio State and the SEC suddenly had two BCS titles in a row. And maybe LSU was the best two-loss team that year, although West Virginia put up a very strong performance against a solid Oklahoma team in the Fiesta Bowl that year. I wouldn't have minded seeing what they could've done against the Tigers.
In 2009 we saw Florida score beat Sam Bradford's record-setting Oklahoma Sooners by a touchdown for the National Title. They got there after squeaking by the Alabama Crimson Tide in the SEC Championship. It should be noted that Alabama was undefeated going into that game and had been number one in the polls for most of the season. A case could be made that they were 2nd best in the land and a rematch was in order, but OU was simply too good to be denied that year, and Alabama then got their jocks handed to them by the only undefeated team in the nation, the Utah Utes. Florida had some impressive wins that year, but Utah had actually beat four or five top-25 ranked teams over the course of the season. Were they good enough to beat Florida? Probably not, but then again, they weren't good enough to beat 'Bama either, and they put the hurt on them in a way that the Gators weren't able to.
In 2010 Alabama laid claim to their own BCS title getting past a Texas team that had the winningest quarterback in college history leave with an injury in the first half. Colt McCoy had started every game for the Longhorns in the four years since Vince Young left town, the man who backed him up was never good enough to secure the starting gig for himself after McCoy went pro, and the team still hung with the Crimson Tide until the very end. Different game if Colt doesn't go down? Probably? But we can't say who would win because what happened is what happened.

Last year Auburn War Eagled Oregon by three points to make it five straight for the SEC. Meanwhile the undefeated TCU Horned Frogs beat a Wisconsin team that rolled through their Big 10 "gauntlet" of a schedule conference teams by 60 points. Some say TCU's four year starter Andy Dalton wouldn't have played as well against Nick Fairley and an SEC defense. I say he seemed to do ok this year against the Steelers and the Ravens defenses despite being a rookie who had no off-season to learn a new offense and adjust to a completely different cast of teammates. Would the Horned Frogs have been able to stop Cam Newton's magic just enough? Again, we'll never know.
This year we had the same old controversy. We think Alabama is probably the best team in the country, they sure looked like it. But why didn't Oklahoma State at least get a shot? Because it's the system that we have.
Imagine if there were a plus-one system. All other bowls could be the same, but every other year you would have the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl be semi-final games, and the next year it would be true of the Orange and Fiesta Bowls. The national championship would still rotate between the four sites each year.
The three highest ranked conference champions get in as well as one wild card. If the four highest ranked teams are conference champions then they all get in, but if a team doesn't win it's conference but still manages to finish 2nd or 3rd in the nation they get a shot as well. That way the polls still matter, but so does winning your conference.
For example this year we would've seen LSU (SEC champ), Oklahoma State (Big 12 champ), Oregon (Pac 12 champ) and Alabama (wild card) in the playoff. Stanford would feel slighted and so would Wisconsin, but hey, you should've won your conference Stanford, you lost to one of the two ranked teams you played and it wasn't even close. And Wisconsin you lost to two teams not even ranked in the top 10, the margin for error isn't that great, EVERY GAME MATTERS.
Now we'd lose a lot with this formula as well. The Fiesta Bowl between OSU and Stanford this year was probably the best game of the bowl season. The Rose Bowl between Oregon and Wisconsin was epic in it's own right. Had this been in place in the past we may not have seen Boise State's thrilling upset of Oklahoma years ago and Utah may not have had the chance to prove themselves against Alabama.
For the little guys it would be clear, one excellent year playing a weaker schedule in a weaker conference wouldn't be enough to get you in the playoff, but two or three great years if you established yourself could be. If Boise State's kicker could make an extra point or a chip shot field goal, we would've seen four undefeated conference champs at the top of the standings and Auburn, Oregon, Boise State and TCU all would've made the playoff. In years previous winning the WAC or Mountain West wouldn't had been enough, but after years of strong BCS performances it could have happened last year.
Woulda. Coulda. Shoulda. Instead we have schools and conferences doing everything they can to make more money and assure themselves automatic BCS bids. The Texas rivalry between the Longhorns and Aggies is dead. The epic battles between BYU and Utah to end their respective seasons are over. The backyard brawl between West Virgina and Pitt will cease to exist and we will have Boise State and San Diego State playing in the Big East instead of the Mountain West continuing to make a case as it's top teams stood head and shoulders above the champions of the ACC, Big East, and sometimes even the Big 10.
The problem is, if all the rivalries lose their importance, if tradition is thrown out the window and super conferences consume what's left, will the consumers still pay big for this watered down product? Are we the fans still going to get excited every Fall? Yes we are. Which means the BCS and the NCAA can do pretty much whatever they want.

My Name is Wayne Bass, and I'll Tell You What

2011-12-30T11:36:00.000-07:00

So, a couple of the active voices in the league have thought it a good idea for me to be on the one year suspension because I had finished last in the league. I don't take it as an insult that they don't want me in the league, I think they simply want to teach me a lesson or something... mainly it's because it was my idea to have the suspension. Keep in mind that I came up with that idea only after I had suggested having a loser trophy which was also shot down, and a proposal for any other ideas for the last place team to do something which was ignored. (Brent Cook did come up with a cool idea just a couple of weeks ago... The champion gets to name the last place team next year). In short, we have discussed this on a couple of occasions and every time it comes back the same. No suspension! Just before the playoffs Zach Gibson brought up that the league should kick me out if I finish last. I said that if I do finish last and we decide to do a suspension I would honor it, but we need to vote NOW and not when the season is over and voters know if they are safe or not. It wasn't brought up again. Well, it wasn't brought up until after the season was over... I really like the idea of having something negative for the last place team, this would act as a motivator to keep going when the playoffs kick off and they know that they are not going to be in the championship bracket. Having finally experience that, let me tell you men it sux... Joe Cook has followed the proper channels and submitted a petition to enter the league, if I am suspended then that would open up a spot for him, but if we decide to suspend me we HAVE to keep this one year suspension thing going and not for just this year... So, if the powers that be vote to have me suspended I would also like to recommend that we have the champion name the 6th place team as well. Also, one other request I'd like to place on the table... Thome Widdison will have his third year as our commissioner, so I propose that we as a brotherhood name him as our FULL TIME COMMISSIONER

Fantasy Football....

2011-10-12T14:06:00.008-06:00

"I REALLY DON'T THINK THOME CAN KEEP THIS UP MUCH LONGER!!!

Rank....Team Name........Record..Streak
1....Trogdor Burninators..5-0-0....W-5

THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID!!!

Week 4 predictions.......PAIN!

2011-10-01T11:09:00.004-06:00

Well you've all been asking for it(no one has) so now here it is(deal with it). The Wild World of I Phelta Thi Sports predictions presented by Thome! Every week I'll break down the each match up and then give the prediction of who will win. Originally I wanted to put on the head of the teams mascot like Lee Corso does but then I was informed that none of us actually have any mascot uniforms so I will just say who I think will win followed by a hopefully funny pun about them. Here we go:

MOOSEN (1-2) vs. THE PAHORAN STARS (0-3)

I feel like The Pahoran Stars record is a bit deceiving. While they are 0-3 they rank 5Th in total offense. Last week they scored a lot of points but they came up against the fantasy point machine that is the Trogdor Burninators so you have to chalk that up to bad timing. But if he is to climb out of this early season hole he is going to need to get more production out of Rashard Mendenhall. He just isn't living up the high draft pick status this year. But he is getting great production out of undrafted free agent Ryan Fitzpatrick, that was a very good pick up for coach Wayne Bass. On the other side of the field is Moosen, who seems to have recovered from that week one debacle of only scoring 71 points and has put up 135 and 128 respectively in the last two games. That said I think the Pahoran stars breaks though and gets their first win this year.

RIGHTWING CONSPIRACY (2-1) vs. KICKINBASS (1-2)

I feel like this one could get ugly early. With Rightwing average 142 points a game and with some favorable match ups the sluggish 9Th ranked offense of Kickinbass will be hard pressed to keep up. Their only hope is the running back combo of Rice and Jones-Drew have bad days and are held to single digit outings. My pick: Rightwing Conspiracy in a (FIXED?)blowout.

MUDDVILLE MONSTERS (2-1) vs. LOS TIGRES (1-2)

Its a huge surprise to me that the Tigres are 1-2 so far. With Tom Brady putting up crazy numbers and being the highest scorer in the league so far and having AP at running back they should be lighting up the score board yet only rank 6Th in offensive output. Inconsistent play from the rest of the players is really killing them. Mean while the Monsters have been getting a solid effort every week and are ranked 4Th in the standings this week. And while my gut says they will find a way to pull it off again this week I just cant pick against a team led by Brady and Peterson: Los Tigres by a whisker.

BELAIR WILL SMITHS (1-2) vs. MUKDUKES (1-2)

The injury to Kenny Britt is a huge one for the Mukdukes. They were so close to having the best Receiving core in the league with Andre Johnson, Britt and Steve Smith. 3 top 5 wide outs. Mean while the Will Smiths have put together the 3rd ranked offense without the services of second overall draft choice Arian "the nation" Foster. When he comes back and is healthy watch out for this team: BelAir Will Smiths by 15

TROGDOR BURNINATORS (3-0) vs. CRIS BERMANATORS (3-0)

In what has been affectionately dubbed "The 'ators bowl" by some(me) the only undefeated teams square off this week. These two rank 1st and 2ND in offense so this should be a high scoring shootout! These two teams are stacked. They have the #2 and #3 ranked QBs (Brees and Rodgers). The #2 ranked running back(McCoy). The #1 ranked wide receiver(Welker). And the #1 and #2 ranked tight ends in Gronkowski and Keller! I'm thinking to win this one it is a must you score over 180(which both teams have done this year already) and with only the Tampa Bay Defense going on Monday night we should have a good idea by tomorrow night who will be in sole possession of the #1 spot of the league. Winner: Trogdor. Come on, did you really think I was going to pick against myself?

And there you have it, will it play out this way? Probably not. I mean that is why we play the game......

It's Called the STANDS People Not the SIT'S!!!

2011-09-29T16:44:00.011-06:00

So, a couple of years ago a single Tyler Matlock and myself were in attendance at a local Demolition Derby event. Anyways, when the action was on the other side of the arena, or something awesome happened, we had the audacity to irreverently stand up and in the most inconsiderate manner possible begin to cheer.

The sunburnt middle aged man pictured just above Tyler's head had the nerve to tell Tyler and myself to sit down, then commenced to refer to us as an Ass. (That's right there are two of us but he used it in the singular form.) This was mind blowing for me! I asked the guy if he or someone he was with was handicapped in some way where we would be blocking them? He said no, and then blah bla bla was all I heard then I saw a truck and I thought has Peterbilt come out with a new series? Then I realized it was a Kenworth and I felt like an idiot... Then I remember that he was saying something about sitting quietly. I then reminded him that we're at the freakin' fair grounds, man... We are here to watch cars crash violently into other cars. I mean it's not like we're at the Opera, or the Library where they have signs and people who work there help keep quiet dignity! This was one of the most mind boggling things that has ever happened to me!

My favorite part was at the end when everyone was on their feet cheering and thanking the drivers and those responsible for putting on a great show. Tyler was sitting down waist high of everyone else yelling "DOWN IN FRONT...I CAN'T SEE"

This Summer an I Phelta Thi Sports Writer/Fantasy Sports enthusiast our very own Thome Widdison was recently called out at an Idaho Falls Chuckers Baseball Game for being a fan! I mean HEAVEN FORBID people cheer!

Did Thome back down without a fight? Nope! Did Thome go quietly into the night? Nope! And, why is that? It's because Thome Widdison has a pair, and he's at a freakin' ball game, man!

I was recently informed that a Cleveland Browns 25 year veteran season ticket holder was kicked out of the stadium for the same rambunctiousness that Thome, Tyler, and I have been guilty of in the past. Yep, standing up at a game!

Not only am I upset about for what he got kicked out for but for the last 25 years he's been loyally supporting Randy Lerner's crappy Browns. I mean it's the Browns and for the past 25 year in and out this fan has been there! And this is his thanks. You would think that being a Browns fan would be punishment enough?

I recently asked our lead tech here at my work, who happens to be a former Division one Tightend out of the University of Utah Spencer Mangelson his thoughts. Spencer simply replied "That's ridiculousness" And, I couldn't agree with you more Spencer

THAT IS RIDICULOUSNESS!!!

Are You Ready?

2011-08-23T11:05:00.010-06:00

As we kick-off to another kick-ass season of blog post from the Brotherhood of I Phelta Thi Fantasy Football League, we would like to welcome our newest members a Mr. Robert Leland Warnick and Jeffery Scott Poole. I've known these men for a good while and I know that their hearts are good. For those of you who are unfamiliar with these great men, allow me to make your introduction.

Robert Freakin' Warnick pictured just after rush week when he had to walk like this to Salt Lake to be in the Brotherhood... (He's the only one who was willing to do an initiation) This is a cool guy, trust me :)

Jeff Poole is a man among boys, although you probably wouldn't think that as you see him playing with Poo in this picture. But, believe me when I tell you he's a cool guy too.

One of the problems of having a superawesome Fantasy Football League is our friends who get left out. I know that Rob has been on the waiting list for like 2 years... AT LEAST! And Jeff, who knows how long that kids been whining about it. But sadly, we are not able to accommodate all of our superrad friends, and we as a whole we have decided for obvious reasons not to expand from a 10 man to a 12 man league.

But, I just wanted to take a quick moment to recognize the little guy who got left out this year. Joseph Warner Cook! Many of you will remember Joe as Brent Cooks little brother, but his College Bowl Pick'em record would make you think that Brent is the younger of the two.

When Brent first came to me stating that Joe feels ready to run with the big dawgs I recommend he blog about it. And, what happened? NOTHING! Brent dropped the ball... Sorry Joe :) So, right now I'm trying to reserve a spot for you when the next opening occurs. But, I'm not sure if there is someone ahead of you, or if that day would ever come. But, should any of our comrades decide to wuss out in the future. I would like to make an official request to have you Mighty Joe Cook on deck for the next opening in the I Phelta Thi Fantasy Football League.

2011-08-02T13:11:00.003-06:00

Men, I think we all know why I'm here today, I am here to inform you that I feel that we need ONE solid Commissioner! One leader among this group of extraordinary Fantasy Football Leaguers. I don't know of any tribe, kingdom, or even with our Democratic system where power changes hands so quickly. But, power does change hands within tribes, kingdoms and with our Presidents but not like the way we throw it around like a hot potato.

I propose that we develop a system that would allow us to not have to worry about training a new Commish every year, and once they learn the system and get everything under control we get a new commissioner. Right now we all voice our opinion the Alpha Male will stand up and declare when the draft is and then the new Commissioner will state when the draft is and will send out the invites after getting trained on it. I like how we are able to voice our thoughts and then the commissioner decides what's best for the whole... Let's keep that up, because let's be honest... If we keep going the way were going as far as getting a new commissioner then someday we'll have Joe Strickland as the Commish! And just think of that Crazy Dictatorship!!!

Keep in mind that this was a good system we had when everyone thought that being the Comish was something to be desired. But, now we know what a mess it is and how needy Fantasy Owners like myself can be. Zach was our fist one and the little guy did a good job, The tyrannical reign Quinn, was actually pretty good also, I think we were all surprised with Thome not sluffing off commish responsibilities and hosting a successful draft and a pleasant season. I don't know is there anyone else that I'm missing? We've been playing for a while. Has Brent ever been a Commissioner? I don't know he excels at everything else in life why not as Commissioner as well?

I bring this list up of proven Commissioners to propose that we nominate one man to be our fearless commissioner. But, to avoid getting burnt out I propose that the man who we elect they will be commish for the next Presidential Term. I mean if a feller can successfully lead a country and hand over a country after four years we could do the same with our League.

So, let's put a vote to it and make a Commissioner who will be incharge for the next four years of Mitt Romney's first term :) What do you say MEN? Let's do

A How To Guide by Thome Widdison

2011-06-30T10:59:00.015-06:00

So, a couple Halloween's ago Wayne Bass dressed up as a Roman Solider, it was pretty PIMP you should check it out on his facebook. His good friend Jack Riley made the breast plate, sword, and shield. Why did he go through the trouble to pound and mold that heavy metal? It was because he had to do a presentation on Caesar and the Professor said to dress up. So, Jack being the Smart Ace he is "dressed up" :)

Anyways, homeboy let Wayne use this awesome getup Jack had made and when Wayne got to the Stake Center the LDS gurlz mistook him for Captain Moroni. It's cool CM is a Stud, so Wayne just went with it. During the course of the evening Mr. Bass ran into this girl who some might say was ascetically pleasing. And, as they began to talk she mentioned that she was from Texas, and Wayne's response was oh! l'm from Oklahoma... What part of Texas do you come from? She said Austin but we don't really like Oklahoma. So, with all the intelligence he could muster Wayne told her, that's cool because we don't like your kind either! Then he gave her the dead Longhorns sign and walked away...

About one year later Wayne and I became roommates and Home Teaching Companions... It was a great time I learned a lot from him! Anyways, guess who was on our Home Teaching list! Yep, that Sexy Texan! As we walked away from our first visit with her I remember him saying that the blond was the same Texan from the Halloween Party. My response went something like "Wayne, I love you like a distant cousin I see only about once a year, but you are an IDIOT!!! If a girl who looks like that told me she thought the Pats were a bunch of Douches I'd say yep I sure do hate that Bill Belichick guy and whats up with that Tom Brady? I think he's a flamer"

Anyways, the title of this post is How To Be A Total Pharisee, by me! (THOME WIDDISON) A quick history lesson, the Pharisee's believed in do as I say not as I do. The same is true with me! There is a girl who lives in the same complex as me (I posted a photo below) who on occasions will wear a NY Jets gear (For those of you who don't know the New York Jets and the New England Patriots are like the Jedi Knights and the Storm Troopers, Cops and Robbers, Autobots and Decepticons. In short we don't like eachother. And, the other day when we finally spoke she told me, so I hear that you like the Pats, my response was "yeah I've seen your Jets jacket... We probably won't be friends! Then I went into my house! Boom take that Jet's!!! Blaha ha ha

Then I realized all the times I've given Wayne Bass crap for what had transpired that Halloween night, and all that I can say is that I'm sorry Wayne Bass! I see now that I am a Pharisee for calling you out for doing the exact same thing I'm currently doing. I'm sorry to my mom, my family and friends, to my fans, and most importantly to Wayne Bass. Wayne you have taught me many great and marvelous things but most importantly you have taught me that the team should come before random hot chicks. Hot Chicks who will probably just let me buy them diner and some ice cream cones a couple of times and then ditch me when they are through burning a hole in my wallet. A mans Football team is like a family, the players are like your brothers who never let you down. Except when they lose... That's really disappointing

To sum up that last paragraph we'll take a look at the words of Michael Scott: "Bros before hoes. Why? Because your bros are always there for you. They got your back after your ho rips your heart out for no good reason. And you were nothing but great to your ho, and you told her that she was the only ho for you. And that she was better than all the other hoes in the world. And then suddenly... she's not yo' ho no mo'

Help Me Please...I Can't Do This Alone

2011-04-14T20:27:00.001-06:00

Brethren, I call upon all of you for help! I know that normally we debate certain topics quite furiously, and at times when we don't see eye to eye. Some of us on occasion has even threatened to leave the blog. Honestly, that's great! Really that's what I LOVE keep it up boys! It's that diversity among us middle class white males age 25-32 that has made this blog what it is today! If two partners agree on everything then the other partner isn't needed

Anyways, I'm asking for us to be able to set aside our differences on sport topics and focus on my current issue. I'm calling for blog wide help men! For this quick moment I need all Bloggers and Followers to focus our efforts from Blog Post vs. You to Us vs. Them. We are stronger together, and together we will achieve!

Most of you know my true feelings about women sports/ soccer and to be honest I feel that I have a pretty good arsenal to combat this communist sport when someone dares to challenge me. But, I have a new adversary men, it's called Rugby.

Earlier today I was called out by some foreigners who kept making fun of the fact that in America we have to wear protection so as not to get hurt. I explained that the style in which we tackle in America requires extra protection as opposed to the simple wrap up and pull down style of tackling they prefer across the big pond.

I've seen Thank You For Smoking and I am fully aware of the Nick Naylor approach to changing the topic to whatever I want to talk about. Luckily once we started talking about soccer I was able to reach back like a PIMP and verbally B-Slap those Brits!

That was a one time deal men, the next time I may not be so lucky. I won't be on campus at all tomorrow, and chances are good that those British kids aren't LDS so I probably won't see them at church on Sunday!!! But Monday I know I will see them again, because as they walked away with their tails between their legs they had the look in their eyes that spoke to me as if to say...”I'm calling my cousins and on Monday we'll have an amazing argument.” You didn't see their eyes, I did and that's what they said to me!

So, as you're reading this if the thought “Piss on Wayne” comes to your mind, just remember you're not doing this for me but you're doing this for America! If you won't do it for America, then please for the love of William H. Macy do it for FOOTBALL!!!!

football Football Football FOOtball FOOTball FOOTBall FOOTBAll FOOTBALl FOOTBALL!!!

I Love March/April Insanity!

2011-03-17T22:19:00.003-06:00

My bracket is officially messed up and day one of the tournament just wrapped up. In the Southwest there was a 12 knocking of a 5 and 13 knocking off a 4. What's so awesome about that is that they then will play each other! That means there will for sure be a 12 or 13 seed in the Sweet 16. One of them will win and have a week to get ready for whatever matchup comes their way. Most likely it will be KU and they will poop on Richmond or Morehead's party. But oh imagine if they pull of that upset like Northern Iowa upset the over all #1 last year (was that last year or before). Either way, it makes for damn good sports watching. Also Gonzaga pulled off the upset by beating the Big East program St. John's which will lead to (hopefully) a preview of next year's WCC championship game with BYU v Gonzaga. You gotta think BYU has advantage but Gonzaga has an amazing program with rich history of playoff runs plus they have John Stockton's kid.

P.S. While it has nothing to do with March/April Lunacy, Space Jam starring Bugs Bunny and Michael Jordan is one of the greatest movies of all time and I'm still a little ticked about the Oscar snubb.

BYU Honor Code/Facebook Friends

2011-03-09T21:18:00.005-07:00

Every sports writer in America has put their two cents in about last week's news out of Provo, UT and the suspension of BYU player Brandon Davies. I haven't been surprised to see all the attention that the entire situation has garnered. However, I am surprised that the sports world hasn't caught on to the fact that I am Facebook friends with the guy who moved from the 4 spot to the 5 spot to replace Davies; Noah Hartsock!! Yeah, that's right! I'm FBF with the guy who touches the same ball as Player of the Year candidate Jimmer Fredette. I'm FBF with the guy from OKLAHOMA who is part of the best BYU basketball ever. For further proof see the following image. Who are you FBF with!?!

The Conference That Could Have Been

2011-02-26T18:26:00.001-07:00

Like any good, single, male college sports fan, I was watching the BYU-San Diego State game when they flashed a chart that showed RPI by college conferences and Mountain West had the 4th highest behind the Big East, Big Ten and Big 12.

I have no idea what RPI means, but as a homer with roots near the Rocky Mountains, I need to spew some love for the Mountain West before it gets blown up. The Cougars and Aztecs look like they could easily hang with the top teams from the SEC, ACC and Pac-10. The rankings indicate that they should be able to, I know there is some subjectivity to rankings as well, but that's what we've got to work with.

That being said it makes me sad that this budding rivalry is about to get nipped. Obviously the MWC has a few disadvantages to some of the good ol boy conferences (The Mountain TV network is a big one), but they seem to be making a name for themselves in basketball.

The NCAA tournament will obviously tell us more. Mountain West teams haven't made it real far in recent years, but historically have had some great teams (UNLV in the early 90's, Utah in the mid-late 90's).

That's all about I can say about college basketball, my knowledge of the sport isn't extensive, so let's talk football for a while.

The top football teams in the MWC are better than the best of the Big East. No contest. Does anyone really think UConn or anyone else in that league would've had a chance against TCU last year?

The Horned Frogs aren't the only dominant team to play in the conference the last few years. What if we matched up the 09 Cincinatti Bearcats vs. last year's Utes team? Please. How about Utah obliterating Big East Champ Pitt in the Fiesta Bowl a few years back? Case closed.

Ok, so they've got the Big East. How does the Mountain West stack up against other conferences? I definitely think they could hold their own against the Big 10 and ACC, but they don't play each other enough to make a legitimate argument. However, the Conference's Bowl record the last two years has been excellent. What about the regular season?

Air Force lost to Oklahoma 24-27 in Norman where OU is like 59-2 or something over the last few years

San Diego State lost to Missouri 24-27 in Columbia, Missouri

TCU had a 45-10 victory over Baylor and beat Oregon State 30-21 in Texas

Utah won against Pitt 27-24 at home and took it to Iowa State on the road 68-27.

Sure there were some MWC teams that laid some eggs and lost a few contests as well. My point is that the conference isn't just feasting upon "little sisters of the poor." (May I point out that TCU beat a Wisconsin team in the Rose Bowl that was hanging 70 points on their Big 10 opponents)

I'm not here to say the MWC is superior to all top conferences, but you have to think that by adding Boise State, Fresno State, Nevada and Hawaii, they might have had a chance at some day getting there for a few years ESPECIALLY if their programs could get the same kind of money the BCS generously pays out to the 6 major conferences. If they could have held on to BYU, Utah and TCU and thrown out Wyoming (keep UNLV and New Mexico for basketball), it could have been magical. Could the Mountain West have stayed on top for long? No, nobody really can, and that's a good thing, but it would've been nice to possibly hit the summit for a year or two.

Alas, it's not so. Life goes on. We still love college sports.

D-will is D-gone to De-Nets

2011-02-23T10:13:00.002-07:00

To quote Bill Simmons "Hey Deron Williams, you just destroyed pro basketball in Utah what are you going to do next? I'm going to Disney World!"
What is with this mass exodus of good players from the western conference? Do they not realize what they are doing? Instead of sticking around and putting the final nails in the coffins of the Lakers and the Spurs they just made it so much easier for one of those two teams to make it to the finals. Now I'm still pissed at the person who let the Spurs get good again but so help me if its the same person that is letting this happen.
What ever happened to loyalty? You know sticking around and building a team and taking that team to the promised land. Ala Jordon, Bird, Stockton and dare I say Kobe. It just doesn't make sense to me. Oh well, I guess this gives the Suns a better chance of making the playoffs.

Carmelo Sounds Like an Ice Cream Topping

2011-02-22T02:01:00.001-07:00

Seriously, "Melo" may have the most delicious sounding name in sports.

And now he's a knickerbocker, which also sounds like it could be some type of sugary treat.

You may be asking yourself what a picture of Grant Hill has to do with Carmelo Anthony moving across the country. You may also be asking yourself why he looks so short and unathletic. Don't worry the man in the picture isn't actually Grant Hill.

I threw on my "basketball fan" gear so I could pose as an expert for this post. The truth is I don't care much about basketball in general until March Madness, and any single NBA game doesn't really hold much significance until a week or two after the NCAA champ is crowned. The most important basketball games right now are probably happening at the high school level. Too bad Coach Tyler Matlock and the fightin Oakley Hornets can't get more national media exposure.

However, let's lay the 3A Idaho State Playoff picture to the side for a moment so we can talk about the biggest national sports story of the day. Carmelo Anthony is going to the Knicks, along with Chauncey Billups. I'm sure David Stern is stoked to have relevant teams in Boston, Los Angeles, and now New York again and the NBA will be more lucrative because of the deal.

I'm not sure what else happened with the trade but I hear that Denver got some young talent and draft picks and that a third team was involved. I don't know exactly what the Nuggets current ranking in the Western Conference is, but I think this drops them out of the playoffs by season's end.  Denver may be better off in the future, (possibly?) but this year I think the Suns and Blazers win more games than the Nuggets when all is said and done.

Thankfully, Carmelo didn't announce that he had a goal to bring a championship to Denver and that he wouldn't give up until it happened.  Thankfully he didn't hold an hour long special on ESPN announcing his talents had been traded to New York, but its still obvious that the Nuggets would have wanted to keep Anthony around if they weren't pretty darn sure he was going to bolt the first opportunity he got to play under the bright lights on the biggest stage.

I'm not going to rip Carmelo Anthony for his desires to increase his brand name, whatever, go make your money.

I am simply going to point out that the NBA is turning into Major League Baseball, where smaller market teams draft and groom the most talented players so they can sell them to the Yankees or Red Sox when the player gets to good for them to afford him. (Yes I'm calling you out Boston, I know New York is the "evil empire," but get real, you had the 2nd highest payroll in the league both years that you won the World Series, if you can't beat em, join em, right?)

ESPN is already speculating that Chris Paul or Deron Williams could be running the point for the Knicks beginning next year. At this point, no big-time player wants to stay home.

Apparently there is no appeal in trying to make a subpar team great any more. Its all about teaming up with other stars to form a super team now. Basketball players today have more in common with Kanye West than they do with Coach Gordon Bombay, or any other sports icon whose story was told through a heart-felt, inspiring movie.

My high school (the fightin bobcats of Madison High) won multiple state basketball championships before, during, and after my time there. We didn't have the biggest school, come from the largest city, or pay our players the most. We simply put the best team on the court for a few different years. There was a real brotherhood that existed between the players and the coaches. They didn't want to let each other down and knew they had to give 100%. The NBA isn't about that anymore.

There are exceptions. I do take encouragement in Kevin Durant quietly re-signing a less than league maximum deal with a team whose practice facility he admits is in the smelly part of smaller city.

I take even more encouragement in football, the biggest professional sport in the United States, where "team" still trumps individualism. For proof of this, look no further than the team that won it all with 15 players on injured reserve.

Don't get me wrong, I am incredibly biased and would have backed the Green Bay Packers even if they had the highest payroll in the league as a result of signing Peyton Manning, and picking up Larry Fitzgerald and Andre Johnson for him to throw to and Adrian Peterson for him to hand off to, but they didn't need to do that to win it all.

The smallest market team in professional sports has signed one big time free agent in the last decade, and Charles Woodson stuck with Green Bay through 4-12, 6-10, and 8-8 seasons where they didn't sniff the playoffs.

The Pack took B.J. Raji one pick before Michael Crabtree and Brian Buluga one pick before Dez Bryant in consecutive seasons. THANK YOU TED THOMPSON! Both players came up huge during the playoffs, as did the many receivers drafted by Green Bay in the second round over the years (Jordy Nelson, Greg Jennings, James Jones).

The amazing thing is that the team the Packers beat in the SuperBowl has been built the same way, by drafting players that buy into the system and develop as a team.  Even though we are on track to an ugly lockout where millionaire players fight with billionaire owners, I want to thank the NFL.  I learned this season that 11 is greater than 1, that the best player in the league doesn't hoist the Lombardi Trophy at the end of the season, but the best team does. And for that, I thank you football.

Football Football Football Football Football Football Football Football Football Football Football!!!!!!!!!

2011-02-10T16:03:00.006-07:00

So, we just had a GREAT Superbowl to finish off the 2010-2011 NFL season. And you know what the NCAA National Championship was a close game...Although, everyone and their dog was expecting a lot more offense. But, all and all it's the close games that are always the best ones to watch. We had some good controversy to talk about this season, which always makes it fun. And, despite some temporary hurt feelings and bruised egos we've moved on, and were still friends. You know why? It's because we look pass our petty team differences and we embrace the big picture and that is our love for the sport we know as FOOTBALL...Like I said it was a great year boys!

But, let me ask you this football fans. Is football ever really over? I mean Spring Football is in just a couple of weeks and then in about month or so we'll have the NFL Draft, don't forget signing day for tomorrows NCAA Studs who we get to critique and criticize in upcoming seasons. Then it's summer and between church softball, bridge jumping, and seeing Zach get married who really has time for football and then BOOM before you know it Fall Camp has arrived and the 2011-2012 season has started up again.

I LOVE THIS SPORT, DAG GUMMIT! But, you know what? I like Basketball and Baseball too, because I think they are excellent filler sports until we get back to the meet and potatoes which is FOOTBALL! And, don't forget ladies and gentlemen it is never an inappropriate time to remind the "ever so popular" soccer that it's gay!

Sam's Da Man! Even though He Won't Confirm My Friend Request!

2011-02-05T12:55:00.001-07:00

Congrats, to Sam Bradford on earning The NFL's Rookie of the Year award this season, now remember that I could go on all day about how The Rams went 7-9 this year under the leadership of the young QB. Keeping in mind that the Rams had gone 6-42 without him over the previous three seasons. I could talk all day about how Sam Bradford had played every offensive snap this year, and how he had over 3,500 passing yards with like 18 Touchdowns and I'm sad to report his 15 interceptions, but he still had a QB passer rating of 76.5 I could go on and on about how Slinging Sammy had 11 touchdowns passes and no interceptions over a six game stretch. But, I'm not gonna...Instead I'm just merely going to point out that this is the second NFL Rookie of the Year in the past four years that came from Oklahoma!

BOOMER SOONER!!!

So, Who Do I Like More...Thome or Quinn?

2011-01-27T01:11:00.002-07:00

The truth is neither really :) Ok, when I say Thome or Quinn I'm really talking about the upcoming Superbowl. Because, Quinn's favorite team is the Green Bay Packers and Thome sort of likes the Steelers if the Pats aren't around. Now, I am going to watch the game at Thomes house and Quinn will be almost 1,000 miles away. The Steelers Quarteback raped a girl, so I don't like him for that, but 3 years ago I had Big Ben on my fantasy league and he did me well, so I liked him for that...This year I had Mike Wallace who didn't have the year say Roddy White had but he was a top 10 receiver, and my number one wide out. But, I had Aaron Rogers as my QB and I really do wish that he would have thrown to Greg Jennings less... Especially when I was playing Zach. But, the bottom line was that A-Rodge a top 5 QB for me...But, he did let me down pretty big there in game one of the playoff's with his sissy concussion in the first quarter!

So, truth be told, I'm lost on who I'm going to cheer for...I would really like it if neither team would win, holy cow! Then we'd be playing soccer. That's right I learned earlier this last year that soccer doesn't always have a winner and a loser. Leave it to the communist to make a sport rule like that! Ok, I'm getting side tracked! The lesser of the two evils... Ummm, I still don't know! I am holding a pretty big grudge for A-Rodge's crucial concussion. I think I'll just sit back and join which ever team has drawn the biggest crowd at Thomes house and jump on that band wagon.

Comeon NCAA Have A Heart!

2011-01-23T09:05:00.004-07:00

So, during the reign of Peter Carol the Trojans won 7 straight Pac-10 Titles and back to back NCAA Championships...Reggie Bush had gotten like $300,000 to go to USC to play. Now, as we all know USC is limited to 10 less scholarships for the next three years, and no Bowling for the Trojans for at least one more season, oh and we have to pretend that that "Evil Monster" #5 Reggie Bush never had any associations with the University of Southern California. (If that isn't a prime example of the University scapegoating, or simply throwing someone under the bus...I don't know what is!)

So, why am I digging all of this old information up again? It's because USC has gone back to the NCAA stating that the rulings are just too unfair, and not just...Pete Carol is no longer coaching here and "we" the University have pissed all over Reggie Bush's name. It was the Alumni who paid for Reggie to come and play, and plus you let Ohio State slide a bit because they got free tattoos and whatnot....Also, the NCAA didn't do anything to because Auburn's Quarterback Cam Newton's dad tried to get monies "unsuccessfully" from Mississippi State. So, seeing how you had just let two Major Universities who had "just as serious" offense slide, so why not us at USC?

The answer according to Mr. Wayne Bass!!! Getting free Tattoos and selling Ohio State stuff isn't the same thing as not noticing that the Alumni has a fund to make life easier for player's and their families. Also, I know I Phelta Thi Sport Blog Fan's are tired of hearing my thoughts on Cecile Newton, but there was no money given he just asked for money! Is thinking out loud against the law?

Now USC is trying to convince the powers that be that Alumni providing $300,000 to one player is the same as the previous two offenses at Ohio St. and at Auburn and the NCAA let them slide when THE OFFENSE IS NOT THE SAME!

USC was cited for and keep this term in mind a lack of institutional control Now, do I think that these college athletes should be getting paid? YES! Do I think that USC should be given some leniency? NO! Because, that is the way the game is played today...If they want to change the way it's played then they need to go through proper channels and make change happen. Plus, this is really the only way to punish the Alumni, by taking away USC's chance for greatness, at least for the next little bit or so.

Here's to Hue, Jackson

2011-01-19T10:19:00.004-07:00

From the Title of this blog you are probably thinking I am going to talk about the new Raiders coach Hue Jackson. Well that's what everyone who attended the press conference to introduce him as the new coach thought too, well guess what? All of you are wrong. Because whenever you throw the ol wild card Al Davis in there anything is possible.

Now I'm not going to go into great detail of what went on during the news conference, basically Al Davis used it to show the reasons he fired Tom Cable. As the jingle for the Canyonero goes "unexplained firings are a matter for the courts" so whatever. What I do want to talk about is this:

WHOA! GET IT OFF ME!!!!!

Oh geez, I wasn't ready for that. Ok lets all pull ourselves together and get back to this post. What I believe Big Al is doing here is putting the curse of losing back on his team. Now we should all consider ourselves lucky cause we get to see the actually cursing happening right before our eyes! What a wonderful time to be alive. I feel that Tom Cable was close to finding a way to lift the previous curse. I mean they did have their first non-losing season in almost a decade. Things are looking up for the team and then boom, he gets fired. Then Al goes back to working his silver and black magic to make sure his team keeps losing. Why would he want his team to keep losing you ask? Money. Plain and simple. I have no idea how losing makes him more money but its all I got at the moment so I'm going with it.

So Hue Jackson, I hope you are ready for the road you about to go down. Because Davis is in the drivers seat and from the looks of that picture I don't think he's passing the vision part of the driving exam anytime soon and the road isn't exactly straight.

But if you do want to keep this job for an extended period of time I suggest you start brushing up on The Simpson's and do your best Waylan Smithers impression. Cause that's about the only way you'll make it more than two plus seasons with this nut job behind the wheel

THE PACK IS BACK!!! . . . again

2011-01-18T02:20:00.001-07:00

It took nearly 3 decades after Bart Starr and Vince Lombardi left Green Bay for Mike Holmgren, Reggie White and Brett Favre to make the Packers respectable again. Thank goodness the Green and Gold don't have to wait another 30 years to have a solid team this time around.

I have nothing but mad respect for the Atlanta Falcons. Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez helped me win my lone I Phelta Thi Fantasy Football Championship back in 08/09. Michael Turner and Matt Ryan are stellar and I think they are well-coached BUT I don't even think the most die hard Packer fans expected Green Bay to blow up the Falcons the way they did. Congrats to Mike McCarthy and the whole crew up in Wisconsin.

Aaron Rodgers looked unstoppable, kinda like we all expected Michael Vick and Tom Brady to be after the regular season. Those guys both had great years, but it seems A-Rod (not Alex Rodriguez, maybe I should say A-Rodge?) flew under the radar a little bit. His name was never in the league's Most Valuable Player Award discussion when names like Peyton Manning and Phillip Rivers were both tossed around at some point during the season. Then again, we didn't hear much MVP love for Mark Sanchez, Jay Cutler, or Ben Roethlisberger either and I don't think any of those guys care too much about individual honors if their team is the one hoisting the Lombardi Trophy come February.

Speaking of Mark Sanchez, the Jets win in New England was nearly as impressive as the Packers stomping on Atlanta. People had pretty much punched the Patriots' tickets to the Super Bowl before the playoffs even started. Everyone was declaring that this was Tom Brady's finest season. I'm going to have to disagree. It was a great season for him, but for a guy who has been to four Super Bowls and won three, I think it is going to take more than a remarkable touchdown to interception rate to determine his best season.

The Jets have the chance to be the first team besides the Colts, Steelers or Patriots to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl since . . . The Oakland Raiders! I know, crazy, right? Will Pittsburgh let that happen? Honestly, I have no idea. I think the overcoming the Bears in Chicago could be tough for the Packers as well. Conference Championships here we come! I'm going to have to put off getting a girlfriend for at least another week.

Supplies!

2011-01-10T00:43:00.000-07:00

Some things in the NFL are ridiculously predictable. Oh the Patriots/Steelers/Colts are representing the AFC in the Super Bowl again? Wow, awesome! yawn.
I would like to pay tribute to the teams that did something we didn't expect this year.

Kansas City Chiefs
THE CHIEFS MADE IT TO THE PLAYOFFS! Yes they played a schedule so weak you make a Big 10 team's out of conference schedule look tough, but they still took care of business against all those losers unfortunate enough to play them at Arrowhead this year.
Jamaal Charles was a revelation this year, so good that I almost regret trading him for Chris freakin Johnson. Matt Cassel showed us that maybe Josh McDaniels wasn't completely insane when he wanted him running the show in Denver instead of Jay Cutler.

Detroit Lions
While I tip my hat to Kansas City, the more glorious resurrection was that of the DETROIT LIONS. For most teams 6-10 isn't reason to celebrate, but Detroit? They just tripled their win total from the last two years! I see enough potential in Detroit to predict they make the playoffs before the world ends in December 2012.

Oakland Raiders
Thanks for the best season since 03 Tom Cable, good luck finding a new job! No one expected Darren McFadden to be so good this year, although we all expected him to be this good his rookie year. Better late than never, right? If he can stay healthy I think he'll challenge for the rushing title for the next few years.

St. Louis Rams
Sam Bradford was impressive this year. Stephen Jackson is a workhorse, it would be great to see him on a playoff team before the wheels fall off.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
They're extremely young and proving to be amazingly talented. What are the possibilities of a Raiders vs. Bucs rematch in next year's Super Bowl? Maybe the Bucs will trade head coach Raheem Morris to the Raiders this year to even out the score.