The Cardinal Rule (over USC)

On a day in which, mostly anyway, the teams that were supposed to win won, the Stanford Cardinal pulled off the biggest upset, over #2 ranked USC. The game was by no means a fun game to watch. Neither offense was very productive and it was a defensive slugfest throughout. Stanford QB Josh Nunes struggled mightily at times, bu the defense kept the Cardinal in the game and gave Nunes a chance to deliver when it mattered. And the result was absolutely spectacular.

The star of the game was undoubtedly Stepfan Taylor. His magnificent 1st half touchdown run in which he juked several would-be tacklers and took it to the house was a thing of beauty. His nimbleness and vision were on display for the entire game. And when Nunes struggled to make throws, Taylor was the one who kept the offense chugging along.

The defense played great as well. In fact, they were the star of the show until Nunes's heroics toward the end of the game. DE Ben Gardner was a terror in the pass rush, sacking Trojan quarterback and Heisman hopeful Matt Barkley on several occasions. DB Terrence Brown kept his composure despite several pass interference calls that went against him and kept the USC receivers, including starts Marqise Lee and Robert Woods, in check for much of the game. Overall, the linebackers wreaked havoc in the pass rush and in short yardage coverage, which helped the Cardinal force Barkley to throw the long ball on many occasions. Although the defense inexplicably gave up a first down conversion on a 4th and 19 that might have crushed the Cardinal's chance of winning, they held tight for the rest of the game to keep alive the upset-in-the-making.

Looking Back on 2011

As we wrap up the year, we truly understand what a monumental year 2011 was in sports. We saw Auburn, led by future #1 overall pick Cam Newton, win their second NCAA National Championship. Then we watched as one of the most historic teams in NFL history brought the Lombardi trophy right back to its hometown, Green Bay. The Bruins won the Stanley Cups finals, defeating the Vancouver Canucks and sparking riots in the streets of Vancouver. The Mavericks beat the "Dream Team" Miami Heat to claim their NBA championship, and the world was introduced to the backyard-style play of PG JJ Barea. Then, we endured a summer of NFL and NBA labor disputes, both of which were eventually resolved: the NFL's before the season and the NBA's just in time for Christmas. Among these labor messes, the St.Louis Cardinals won the 2011 World Series over the repeat AL-Champion Texas Rangers behind the heroics of breakout star David Freese, just before Tony La Russa retired and Albert Pujols took his talents to the City of Angels. The NFL season took an interesting turn, highlighted by the success of the most famous man in sports, Tim Tebow. The playoff picture is wrapping up in time for 2012. College football had its Game of the Century - #1 LSU vs #2 Alabama - and they will meet again for the national championship. Finally, the NBA season goes underway on Christmas and everyone's eyes are in LA, ....on the Clippers.

Now it's time for some annual awards - across all four major North American sports and college football:

Rookie of the Year: Craig Kimbrel, Atlanta Braves
This man was a phenomenal closer, breaking Neftali Feliz's save record and anchoring a strong Braves' bullpen.

NCAA Bowl Season

As you probably know if you read any of my previous blogs, I love college football. There are so many historic teams and intense rivals and unpredictable plays that happen throughout the entire regular seasons. Little unknown teams upset major programs each week. Conference rivals clash weekly for conference supremacy and the chance to play for the national championship at the end of the season. One game can ruin a season, one small mistake can blemish an entire resume.

The entire season culminates in a long, 3 week postseason, consisting of 35 bowl games across the country, some with lots of history and national prestige, others with relatively unknown sponsors pitting relatively unknown teams against one another.

I'm not one to rant against the BCS. For the most part, it is a system that places a heavy emphasis on the regular season, which I don't really mind. I like the bowl season. It is an enjoyable 3 weeks of college football that I get to immerse myself into for the holidays. I would never half watched a San Diego State-Louisiana Lafayette game had it not been for the R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl yesterday night. Bowls give the small mid-major teams national exposure and many times these games are actually fun to watch. I never knew ULL could air it out until they showed me yesterday that they had that in their offense.

The Heisman as I see it

Tomorrow is the Heisman trophy presentation and I have never been as excited. I actually do not know who will win, unlike previous years where the winner has been as obvious as the fact that the sky is blue. The award is totally up for grabs, with Robert Griffin III, QB of the Baylor Bears, and Stanford's Andrew Luck, the two favorites. However, to me at least, it is clear who the award should go to tomorrow.

As much as I want Andrew Luck to come away with the trophy, the award should undisputed belong to Robert Griffin III. The award is to be awarded to "the outstanding college football player whose performance best exhibits the pursuit of excellence with integrity," as defined by the Heisman Trust. Not necessarily the best player. Not necessarily the one with the gaudiest stats. Not the one with the big plays on his resume. Not the one who plays on the best team or in the strongest conference. The award goes to the most outstanding player. And to be outstanding, the player must stand out and mean something to his team.

Montee Ball, though a scoring machine, plays on a team that has great blockers and a run-oriented offense. It's awesome that he has come so close to Barry Sanders' record but in Wisconsin, where they value a huge offensive line, it is not nearly as impressive. Put in another back in that system, and I say they would be able to produce about as much as Ball, minus the touchdowns of course. He is an impressive talent, but unfortunately, to me at least, he doesn't stand out more than the other finalists.

This is getting ridiculous

Earlier this week, the Big East Conference, which had lost key members Pittsburgh and Syracuse to the ACC, announced that they were adding five new members in time for the 2013 season. The new members include football-only schools Boise St and San Diego St, as well as full time members SMU, UCF, and Houston. My first reaction was, Wait, isn't San Diego on the West Coast?? This move, though understandable, makes absolutely no sense from a geographic or practical standpoint.

I'm sure schools like Rutgers and UConn are not thrilled with the prospect of traveling across the country to Boise or San Diego to play a football game. No other college football conference is so spread out. The other recent conference expansions have been reasonable geographically: Missouri and Texas A&M to the SEC, Nebraska to the Big 10, Colorado and Utah to the Pac-12, TCU to the Big 12. Even Pitt and Syracuse lie in proximity to the Atlantic Coast. On the other hand, no matter how Big the East may be, San Diego and Boise are definitely not in it. Even Houston and SMU are not really in the East; geographically they fit better in the Big 12.

Finally, being a Bay Area sports fan is something to be proud of...

I would like to say I started following sports sometime around 2002. I still have vague memories of Barry Bonds and the San Francisco Giants losing to the LA Angels in a 7-game World Series that year. And since I remember as far back as 2002, that means I have been a sports fan for 9 years. In my 9 years of following sports in the Bay Area, it has largely been disappointing. Yes, the Giants made the World Series in 2002, but I only barely remember that. Yes, the Raiders made the Super Bowl in 2003, but they lost to the Buccaneers in the famous "Gruden Bowl." The A's used to be good with their Moneyball strategy, but now they struggle with their tiny budget. During the past decade, sports just hasn't been the Bay Area's thing.

The last few years have changed that.

Let's start with the 49ers. They have had quite the tumultuous decade, going through 6 head coaches (1 interim), 8 losing seasons, and a 1st overall pick that had underperformed until this year. Ever since I started following sports, the Niners have been less than mediocre; that is, until Jim Harbaugh took over this year. This season has been a treat. The 49ers are playing awesome football. And I am loving it.

Crazy NCAA Weekend

The Oklahoma St-Kansas St game just finished, and this basically wraps up the college football weekend. It was the most exciting weekend of college football that I've seen in a long while. First, in the afternoon, my Stanford Cardinal defeated the Beavers of Oregon St, ensuring that Stanford remains undefeated going into their high-profile matchup against Oregon next Saturday. The Oregon game will truly tell us if Stanford is a BCS contender or pretender this year and I can't wait for Saturday to come.

Second, that was a hell of a game between LSU and Alabama. Not a lot of offense, but it really gave me a feeling about what SEC football is like. Even my dad was glued to the game. The hits were vicious, the play was aggressive, the game was close. Everything about that game was amazing. The Alabama kicker is probably kicking himself right now (no pun intended) for missing the 4 field goals. That really sucks for him and Alabama, but if you can't make a field goal, you don';t deserve to go undefeated. That's the harsh reality.

NCAA Conference Realignment

There's a whole lot of buzz currently surrounding conference realignment in college football. Just yesterday, Syracuse and Pittsburgh were both accepted into the ACC, signaling the disintegration of the Big East and indicating further progress toward the creation of the so-called superconferences. There's no question that the superconferences will completely change the landscape of college sports. The question is whether or not that change would be good or bad.

I'm not entirely opposed to the idea, but I'm not exactly sure why the superconferences would be necessary. The system that is currently in place works fine. See my September 1st blog post exploring the BCS system here. I don't see anything wrong with the BCS right now, apart from the fact that it ignores the second-tier non Big Six teams. But even that inattention is not unfounded: only a few teams from non-AQ conferences have gone undefeated in the past 10 years (TCU, Boise State twice, and Utah twice). 

So, if the current system works pretty well, then why are these superconferences necessary? The answer is not animosity toward the system; it all has to do with greed. In most conferences, including the ACC, Pac 12, and SEC, all schools receive an about-equal share of revenue. However, in a conference like the Big 12, revenue is split based on television deals and media exposure. That's why Texas earns $93.9 million from football while Baylor earns $14.3 million. It's no wonder Texas A&M wants to leave the Big 12 to a conference where it can poach the earnings of programs like Florida, Alabama, and Auburn and it's no wonder that Baylor is trying to stop them at all costs. Every school wants to be in the best financial situation possible for their football program.

Great Weekend for Bay Area Football...

This weekend was truly a great weekend for Bay Area football. The 49ers won their game against the Seahawks, largely due to Ted Ginn's kickoff and punt returns for touchdowns. Stanford dominated Duke, and although the score was closer than expected, the game emitted good vibes. And finally, Cal emerged victorious out of their first conference test of the season.

The 49ers game was not pretty, but I enjoyed it. I felt like Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Greg Roman ran far too much on third down (c'mon, show a little faith in your quarterback, why don't you?), but with Alex Smith at the helm it was understandable. I actually think Smith has a chance to shine this year. He has a pretty good receiving core with Edwards, Crabtree, and Morgan, as well as two solid tight ends in Vernon Davis and Delanie Walker. He also has an above average run game to depend on. Not all of the pressure is on him this year, and his coaching staff is much more offensive-oriented, so Smith has a great opportunity to live up to the expectations that come with being the #1 overall pick.

The BCS Debate

Today, Thursday, September 1st, marks the start of the 2011 college football season and I have never been more excited. I love college football, even more than the NFL, because the players are not playing for money and many likely will not turn into star football players. The biggest stars are often the littlest stars, the underdogs with no 5-star recruits and no star players who end a powerhouse program's BCS Championship hopes with one game. As the season progresses, all but a few schools fall like bowling pins, week by week, until two, maybe three, remain undefeated at the end of the season. And it is these teams, the ones who were able to withstand blow after blow for an entire season, that earn the right to play for the BCS Championship. There is nothing else like a college football season.

But the debate keeps growing: is this the right way to crown a national champion? Is it fair to not allow each team to have a shot at the championship despite one mishap in one game during the season? I think it is. One thing is for certain, the current system certainly makes the regular season relevant. Take a look at college basketball. Does anyone pay attention to it until March? Not really. The only thing that people care about in college basketball is the postseason tournament. It essentially renders the regular season worthless.