Sports Desk Nation

TU-2: A lot riding on SEC Championship game

David Johnson — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:14:05 -0500

2 Cents

The SEC championship matchup is set.

Florida vs. Alabama will decide one national finalist, the Heisman Trophy, the universe and everything.

With Congress in a stalemate, the game might also decide the health-care debate.

It seems too good to be true, and it probably is.

In a season in which no team in the country looks worthy of a national championship, these powers have avoided stumbling.

I’m betting a team steps in as spoiler to undercut the hype.

T-U 2: Soccer not the tame sport it appears to be

Scott Kendrick — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:07:36 -0500

2 cents

Soccer is touted as a great sport for the very young, and it is. It gets kids running around, learning teamwork, with no expensive equipment.

It has a dirty little secret, however. At the advanced levels, the gentle game where kids get their orange slices after the game can turn vicious in a hurry.

T-U 2: What are college football powers afraid of?

David Johnson — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:33:20 -0500

2 cents

We’ve heard a lot of good arguments for a college football playoff.

But one of the best reasons to adopt an eight-team or 16-team playoff is because the big boys must be tired of hearing Boise State and TCU claim that they belong.

But we all know they’re not worthy. We’ve seen Boise State struggle against teams that Vanderbilt would rout. We heard Boise beat Oregon handily, but that’s just a Pac-10 school, anyway.

Adding a playoff would shut up the pipsqueaks.

T-U2: Bobby Bowden, here's how you should have handled the defensive coordinator question

Garry Smits — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:31:52 -0500

2 cents

Maybe Bobby Bowden was just trying to show he’s still in charge of the Florida State football program when he said this week he’d make the final call on the new defensive coordinator to replace Mickey Andrews - with “strong” input from coach-in-waiting Jimbo Fisher.

T-U 2: Touchdown Jacksonville has tall task, and right people to do it

Chet Fussman — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:15:39 -0500

2 Cents

Reviving Touchdown Jacksonville, the organization that helped bring the NFL to the city, makes a lot of sense.

The group is comprised of a lot of smart people, mostly business leaders, who have tasked themselves with helping the Jaguars sell more tickets and making sure Jacksonville remains a viable NFL market.

Here’s hoping they’re prepared to roll up their sleeves and go to work. To succeed will require more than news conferences, speeches and glad-handling.

T-U2: Spikes, UF did the right thing sitting out vs. Vandy

Jeff Elliott — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:18:33 -0500

2 cents

Good for you, Urban Meyer. Ditto for you, Brandon Spikes.

Their joint announcement Wednesday that Spikes would sit out Saturday’s game against Vanderbilt appeared to be genuine and made for the right reasons.

T-U 2: Florida doesn't seem to be enjoying perfect season

Hays Carlyon — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:57:17 -0500

2 cents

One has to wonder if Florida’s football team is mentally ready to get this season over with already.

Has an 8-0 team ranked No. 1 in the country ever had so little to cheer about?

Anytime the Gators think they can feel good, something negates it.

This time it was Florida’s own doing as linebacker Brandon Spikes’ eye-gouge totally shifted the postgame focus away from the impressive victory over Georgia.

T-U 2: Big 12 commissioner promotes mediocrity

Paris Moulden — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:28:51 -0500

2 Cents

As if there weren’t enough issues with the abundance of bowl games in college football, the Big 12 now wants the NCAA to remove exceptions on teams with a 6-6 record so they will be bowl-eligible immediately.

As it stands now, teams that are .500 at the end of the regular season can only go to a bowl game if the school’s conference has a deal with a bowl and all other teams with winning records have already received bowl bids.

T-U 2: Knight Commission out of touch with current college athletics

Chet Fussman — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:17:20 -0400

2 cents

The Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics last week cited the escalating cost of coaches’ salaries as a serious problem.

A lot of smart people are on the Knight Commission, but frankly, Snuffy Smith could have drawn the same conclusion.

T-U 2: The nation is watching Jacksonville so be on your best behavior

Jeff Elliott — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:09:45 -0400

2 cents

Florida-Georgia week, Georgia-Florida week, whichever way you call it, it’s here, and the city of Jacksonville is under the microscope.

A national audience will be tuned in to CBS’ coverage of the game Saturday, and there will be plenty of chamber of commerce shots of the city and the picturesque sites in and around the First Coast. It’s free publicity, free accolades for a city that in recent months has been taking a beating from the national media regarding the lack of support for the Jaguars.

T-U 2: Ducking the media was a rare misstep for Tebow

Hays Carlyon — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:18:17 -0400

2 Cents

Tim Tebow didn’t talk to the media after the Mississippi State game. At first, I didn’t think much of it. Mainly, because UF’s sports information department fortifies its wall between the team and the media with each passing season.

T-U 2: Hard to figure the NFL's fascination with games in London

Robert McGinty — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:33:42 -0400

2 cents

Why on earth is the NFL so interested in London? Commissioner Roger Goodell said the league hopes to start playing multiple games there each year and perhaps eventually place a franchise. On Sunday, the Patriots play the Bucs at Wembley Stadium, the third year in a row the NFL has played a regular-season game there.

OK, let’s look at the balance sheet.

Pros: The NFL has a team in London. Great.

Cons: Huge travel time. Can you imagine when a team has to travel to San Diego?

T-U2: Local radio station helps Jay Fund in fundraising

Jeff Elliott — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:14:54 -0400

2 cents

Sports talk radio station WJXL 1010 AM pushed aside a majority of its sports talk Wednesday and paid tribute to Tom Coughlin’s Jay Fund and the children who have been helped and continue to benefit from the charity. Coughlin started the fund in tribute to one of his players, Jay McGillis, who died from leukemia while a member of the Boston College football team.

TU2: SEC haters should be thankful a league championship game exists

Hays Carlyon — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:11:17 -0400

2 cents

Seemingly, the nation of non-Southeastern Conference college football fans always bemoans the annual East vs. West championship game.

T-U 2: USC coach Carroll needs to quit whining

Francine King — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:22:12 -0400

2 Cents

Surprise, surprise. USC coach Pete Carroll isn’t happy with where his team ended up in the first BCS standings.

After beating Notre Dame 34-27 on Saturday, the Trojans moved up to No. 4 in the Harris and USA Today polls, but USC’s average ranking among the computer polls was 11th. One computer poll had the Trojans as low as 18th.

The average of the human and computer polls placed USC at No. 7 in the initial BCS standings.

TU2: Baseball, don't let TV corrupt playoffs

Scott Kendrick — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:09:18 -0400

2 cents

Baseball plays 162 regular-season games in order to determine the playoffs, the most important series of games all season.

And then they follow the almighty TV ratings in the playoffs, compromising the game’s integrity.