Heisman History and More

Well, it was nice to see the heisman voters break out of their "upper classmen only" routine on Saturday night. I think just about anyone could make an argument for Darren McFadden, he was most definitely one of the most talented players this year. But, you'd be hard-pressed to make an argument against Tim Tebow and what he's done. From an offensive perspective, Tebow carried that team...literally. McFadden had some help in the backfield from Felix Jones - a name who we will most likely hear A LOT of next year in Fayettville (if they ever find a coach). This by no means diminishes the player that McFadden had and take note of this: I guarantee that McFadden will have a far more lucrative and successful NFL career than will Tim Tebow - guarantee.

One thought though on this year's voting. This is the second straight year that McFadden came in second place. I don't think this is the first time this has happened, but it's odd nonetheless...and certainly telling - this award is more about flash than about talent and accomplishment and Tebow was a flashier player. And what about next year? Will Tebow be held to a higher standard than he was this year? Interesting question heading into next year.

And why was Chase Daniel there? He had a great year and the Tigers had a great year, but is he one of the top 4 players in the country? No way, not a chance. Crabtree had a MUCH better year than he did (freshman). Kevin Smith from UCF (who shredded Texas by the way) had a tremendous year and he, like Tebow, carried his team all year long. We have ESPN to thank for this - when it's all said and done, they are the ones who really set the tone for the hyping and ultimately, the voting.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record....The Heisman is the most overblown, overrated, ridiculous award in all of sports at any level.

Reader Response:
OK, so I got a comment from the last post asking about how the plus 1 system works. There's the current "Plus 1" (which is actually just an extra BCS game) and then there's the often-discussed "Plus 1" playoff system that is being discussed quite a bit these days.

The initial added game was added for one reason and one reason only. To give the non-BCS conferences a better shot at competing for a major bowl title. If a non-BCS school finishes in the top 13 (I think), then they HAVE to be selected by one of the BCS schools. You'll recall Boise State in last year's Fiesta Bowl and this year we've got Hawaii in the Sugar bowl. They were undefeated and finished 10th in the final polls. This system is a waste of time and serves only one purposes - to shut the non-BCS conferences up. Simply put, we've got an undefeated Hawaii team playing in a BCS bowl after playing against the third-worst schedule in the country. Hey, I'll give them credit for being undefeated, but to create a whole other game, and more importantly, a rule, that sends them to a BCS game simply because of their conference affiliation is bunk. Clearly it's about money and nothing else...but we knew that.

The "Plus One" system that's being debated today would be a first (and probably only) step in the direction of a playoff. Essentially it would be a "final four" of college football. Using this year's bowl schedule as an example: You would have OSU and LSU (#1 and #2) play in one of the bowls and then Oklahoma and Georgia (#3 and #4) play in another bowl game. The winner of those two games would then square off in the "real" national title game. Simply put, they would be adding a "plus one" game.

Would I like to see this? Absolutely. And not just because it would move closer to a playoff, but more importantly, it would make for MUCH better games in that first round of games. We've got our LSU/OSU match up set, but Georgia vs. Oklahoma? Not even close. Georgia gets Hawaii and Oklahoma gets a West Virginia team who's coming off what has to be their worst loss in years. THAT is why I want to see the plus one system added. Not sure a semi-playoff, but a real effort made to improve the match ups. I predict that this year's games will be some of the lowest rated BCS games we've seen in years.

I give this Plus One system about a 40% chance of being implemented next year...and a 60% chance of being implemented the following year.

NFL Notebook:

• Alright, I give up. Patriots are going 16-0. But now I'm praying for a loss in their first playoff game...that would be so "Dallas Mavericks" of them.
  
• Tell me a team in the NFC who actually wants to face Minnesota right now. Here's a stat for you: Peterson ran for 3 yards on 14 carries (yes, 3 yards only)....and they won by 20. Jackson is playing excellent at QB right now. Look out Dallas and Green Bay..I'm just saying.
  
• I've recently read a few articles about how a small faction of Saints fans are starting to get fed up with Reggie Bush and his lack of production. A few things here: 1) You read it here going into last year - Reggie Bush will not come close to meeting expectations nor will he ever have a career as an every-down back. 2) He's still extremely talented. 3) These last few weeks are proving what many of us expected - he needs an every-down back to be effective. When McCallister went down, Bush was on an island. He's a sideline-to-sideline runner and you simply can't do that in the NFL.
  
• It pains me to no end to say this, but if Saints fans are frustrated with Bush, Titans fans have to be REALLY frustrated with Young. Sophomore slump, Madden curse, whatever, he's having an awful year. He's throwing INTs all over the place. In his defense, he has TERRIBLE talent around him at the receiver position. They have to be near the top of the league in dropped passes.
  
• The Titans are in a good position: They will have the most salary cap space going into the offseason. They need to make a commitment to building more talent around Young....and Young needs to continue to work hard and cut down on his mistakes. I think the Titans play conservative (like they did yesterday late) because they don't have the players to be more aggressive....and the QB is not playing with enough consistency. A couple of guys on the free agent market at year's end: Dallas Clark and Bob Sanders. And don't forget to lock in Haynesworth before he can test the waters.
  
• The Giants are a weird team. You wonder how they got that record....and how they've managed to win 6 straight on the road. Whereas Minnesota is a dangerous team right now, I can't conjure up the thought that the Giants are just as dangerous right now.
• What in the world ever happened to Jeremy Shockey?
  
• By my calculations, the Cowboys should be 10-3 right now. Either way, they're the best team in the NFC, but they should be 10-3.
  
• Say what you will about Romo, but Jason Witten carried that Dallas team yesterday. This is hard to imagine, but I'm betting he'll break 1,000 yards receiving this season....a first for a Dallas Cowboy tight end.
  
• In case you've forgotten, the Patriots still have a first-round pick coming this year from a trade with San Francisco last year - they could have the #2 pick in the draft.
  
• And here's betting they trade it.
  

College Football Notes:

• Still can't believe Michael Crabtree was neither mentioned in discussions nor invited to New York as a Heisman finalist. Someone smarter than me, please explain it.
  
• Illinois, who will be playing for the Rose Bowl, is ranked 13 in the final AP poll of the regular season. There are 3 teams ranked ahead of them not going to a BCS bowl. Hmmm...
• Does anyone want to be Michigan's next coach? How humbling for this school. First, Les Miles sucker punches you at the last minute and then Greg Schiano decides to stay...at Rutgers. And guess what, he didn't get a raise to stay, not one dime more. THAT has to sting Michigan fans. Here's the million dollar question for the AD: were you so audacious to think the first person you spoke to would jump at it? Did you have a list and a plan? Meanwhile, Ohio State is plucking up recruits I imagine.
• I keep looking at the bowl matchups - hoping that they might go ahead and change them. I don't think it's going to happen.
  
• I still can't figure out who's going to be more pumped up to play in the holiday bowl: Texas or ASU.
  
• Still hearing rumblings about Leach to UCLA - but not seeing any evidence of such rumblings....

NBA Notebook:

• If they keep this same team together for 4 more years, the Spurs could conceivably win 3 of the next 4 titles. They're playing that good.
  
• Is it me, or is the East starting to look like it's leveling the playing field a bit against the West teams? Want proof: Boston and Orlando are 2 of the best teams in the league right now; Cleveland is down with Lebron out, but he's back tonight and you just know this team will step up in the playoffs; Detroit is still Detroit; and Toronto is quietly and patiently chipping away at the top teams in the east.
  
• Bite your tongue Kobe Bryant - Andruw Bynum is playing very good ball right now. And looking at what Shaq is doing in South Beach, Laker fans have to be happy with where they are right now. Give it another year or two and we may all know why the Lakers were refusing to part with their journeyman Big Man.
  
• I swear Bill Simmons can talk NBA with the best of them (yes, I get nauseated at his Boston-this and Boston-that rhetoric at times as well). Check out his trade scenario analysis that would send Kidd to the Lakers - stellar read if you're a fan of the game: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/blog/071206
• And speaking of - Jason Kidd to the Lakers? Look out if that happens. This would propel the Lakers to (projected) one of the top 5 favorites in the West. Easily.
  
• I'm wondering when the Rockets organization is going to run out of patience with the McGrady/Yao experiment - it's time to pull the plug on one of them. I'm not sure who (that's the hard part), but they've got to do something - it ain't going to work.
  
• Lamarcus Aldridge is playing superbly so far this year - certainly exceeding any expectations I had for him as a pro. I still wonder if the Blazers have started to regret the Oden move in the draft. If not, they will if Aldridge can keep his level of play/improvement up. Meanwhile, Durant is dropping 20+ a game with zero effective talent around him. Ahhh what could have been for this team....

Mayweather/Hatton:
I had the opportunity to check this fight out on Saturday night. Great fight and very entertaining. This doesn't matter at all, but I felt that Hatton was getting a bit slighted by the judges and official. First, he got a point deducted for hitting in the back of the head when the slow-motion replay showed he A) didn't really touch his head, and B) Floyd duked him into it. I think the official got sucked into the fight too early by trying to make his authority felt - he ultimately detracted from the competition.

And the judges scorecards after the decision - holy cow! They had Mayweather ahead in the points by a mile. I do agree that when the knockout occurred, Mayweather was winning, but not by the margin they had - not even close. Either way, it doesn't matter because it was settled in the ring.

Take your Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Tomlinson, etc. - Floyd Mayweather may be the most dominant athlete in his game. I've never seen anything close to the quickness and speed that I saw on Saturday night. I would love to have seen that little British dude knock his ass out, but there was never a point when he wasn't in control. He waited for his opening and when he got it, he capitalized on it. Tremendous fighter and athlete.

Non-Sports Thoughts for the Week:

• Finally finished up the series Mad Men - AMC series - and it was great. One of the better shows I've seen in a while. Can't wait for the next season. Great story, great directing and really great characters. Something different, but very good.
  
• Finally saw Superbad this weekend as well - outstanding. Can't hear/think McLovin without laughing out loud.
  
• Don't you hate getting in line at Starbucks behind someone ordering 4 different blended drinks? It's a coffee shop folks, get a cup of coffee and move on.
  
• How is it that there are taxi cabs out there that don't accept credit cards? The technology is simple and cheap.