An Artificial Object Which has been Intentionally Place in Orbit

August 4, 2016 v3 p42

I started blogging regularly about college football, U of M mostly, back in the fall of 2014.  I still plan to write posts about my faith and fitness journeys but now it’s time to dedicate a weekly post to the reason I started this whole thing anyway.

spacetodaydotorg

This offseason for college football has been nothing short of hectic.  Jim Harbaugh has caused a whirlwind in the sport that no one has ever seen the likes of before.  There are some coaches around the country who think what he is doing is great for the sport.  Conversely there are a lot of coaches around the country who don’t like that he has returned to the college coaching ranks and gotten all of the attention without having proven much of anything.  I believe there is an underlying issue with those coaches that they need to deal with.

The majority of those coaches come from the SEC conference.  That conference has dominated NCAA football for the better part of the past 25 years.  They are the whole reason the BCS existed in the first place.  Through the late 90s it was the Big Ten that dominated the sport.  As those schools started to struggle on the field against the schools from the south it became obvious that the balance of power was shifting.  The Big Ten tried its hardest to hold on to its power by not joining the rest of the conferences to form what would eventually become the BCS.  They somehow got the PAC 10 conference to agree to help them hold the “Granddaddy of them All” bowl game, The Rose Bowl, hostage and not allow it to become one of the games to rotate through the championship game.  It took the 1997 National Championship being split between Michigan and Nebraska, and pressure from the NCAA due to the SEC threatening to break away and form its own league for the conference to change its mind.

This was the beginning of a long stretch were the SEC really did dominate the sport.  It really showed how much power they had on and off the field.  It was well deserved.  The best players out of high school were going to the member schools in the conference.  The weather in that region of the country allowed for them to best utilize all four seasons to prepare for the season.  It’s hard to argue that they didn’t have it going on.  Things seemed to be continuing to head in that direction and it didn’t look like much was going to change, until one of their own more or less defected to the north.  When Urban Meyer came out of retirement and took the head coaching position at The Ohio State University it really made things turn in a new direction.  I don’t think the SEC thought there was going to be any threat to their dominance.

The one single move of that head coaching hire really wasn’t a threat.  But what it did do was take some of the focus off the SEC.  Then in early December of 2014 Brady Hoke was fired as head coach of the Michigan football team.  It took a little over three weeks to hire his replacement, Jim Harbaugh.  I have never seen a coach come to a program with so much fanfare as Harbaugh did.  Most of the fan base was anointing him as the savior of the football program, and ultimately the whole athletic department.  The coverage this process received from ESPN was amazing.  It was like how they cover the major market teams in professional sports, or wherever LeBron James is playing, because Cleveland isn’t a major market.  You would have thought Harbaugh had won the National Championship that year and Michigan didn’t even have winning record that year.  They lost to Maryland of all teams.

That still wasn’t what put the SEC in their place though.  Urban Meyer took his Buckeye team to the very first college football playoff and thoroughly dominated both games they played in.  With a third string quarterback.  Against the powerhouse team of Alabama.  It really put the whole nation on notice.  Add in Michigan State’s last second comeback against Baylor in the Cotton Bowl with the home run coaching hire in Ann Arbor and it became pretty obvious that the power was shifting.

Coach Harbaugh certainly had an uphill battle in front of him to rebuild the program at Michigan.  He really didn’t know what he had on his roster.  He really didn’t know what type of recruits he had already committed to the school under Brady Hoke, and he had a team of players that knew nothing but losing on a regular basis.  In the first summer Harbaugh set up numerous satellite camps around the country.  This was a way for his program to get better exposure to kids who may not have the ability financially to get to Ann Arbor for a football camp.  In turn, Michigan could get a better look at some players they may not have thought about before.  I don’t think it was a coincidence that most of those camps were set up within the footprint of the SEC.  Not because Harbaugh wanted to “stick it to” the conference, but because that really is where the most talent in the country is.  Needless to say, the SEC didn’t think the same.

This past winter the SEC and the ACC conferences forced the issue with the NCAA.  Initially they ruled in favor of those conferences and banned coaches from participating in campuses that aren’t held at facilities where the program normally holds practice.  This essentially put a ban on satellite camps.  Worst of all it hampered coaches from the smaller schools from collaborating with the coaches from major programs and learning how to be better coaches.  It also put a handcuff on how high school students could be recruited.  In all of the stories I read about that decision, the majority of them were on the side that the NCAA had made a mistake.  The biggest glaring problem I heard was that some schools representatives were not voting at the conference level in the same manner their football programs wanted them to.

After about a month the NCAA reversed its decision to ban satellite camps.  This was the first time I have ever seen someone stand up against the “mighty” SEC.  I believe it shows that the NCAA realizes that it is on pretty thin ice as an organization.  It is full of controversy and scandal throughout its history.  I believe they have finally realized that college athletics would continue on if they didn’t start to make things right with the majority of their members.  Unfortunately I feel that it’s because they don’t want to lose the TV revenue they generate from football and basketball.  It has been a long time since the NCAA was all about supporting the “Student Athlete” and not the pocket books of some executive.

raymundjamesstadiumdotcom

While the NCAA is full of problems, college football it still my favorite sport.  Be sure to check back here every Thursday as I begin to prognosticate on the season and lead into my weekly review of what I saw.

Three for Thursday Week 8

October 30, 2015 v2 p70

In the past if Michigan wasn’t playing I probably wouldn’t have watched much college football.  Who am I kidding, I would have, just probably not Sparty or the Buckeyes.  Here’s what I took away from the games I did watch.

mvictorsdotcom

Michigan – The bye week couldn’t have come at a worse time in my opinion.  The extended break between games following the heart breaking loss to the Spartans seemed extra tough because of the added time until they could get back on the field.  I said I was sorry for whoever had to face the Wolverines after that loss, now especially since what transpired yesterday with their opponents coach.

Michigan State – Once again, which team is going to show up each week?  I find it hard to believe that the same defense that showed up in Ann Arbor the week before would have allowed 26 points to Indiana.  The final score did not accurately indicate what kind of game this was, and these inconsistencies are why the Spartans aren’t being “respected” in the polls (that don’t matter anyway).

Ohio State – I think they’ve found their identity on offense.  J.T. Barret seems to have taken a firm grasp on the reins of the this team.  The defense is still giving up too much on the ground.

Penn State – Barely pulled out a win in what should have been a “get healthy” game.  I still don’t see where everyone is getting so much hype about this team.  They are heading in a good direction, I just don’t think they’re as far along as everyone says they are.

Notre Dame – Another team on a bye.  Would have been good to get some injured players rested, except the ones who are won’t be back at all until next year.  They should continue to roll until the much-anticipated match up with Stanford.

Alabama – Struggled a little but managed to hold on to a tough victory over Tennessee.  It’s hard to pick against a team that has a stud running back like Alabama does in No. 2 Derrick Henry.  The game against LSU should be showcasing the top two running backs in the country in my eyes.

Western Michigan – Miami (OH) came to town and found out what the Broncos are all about.  Coach Fleck has his team rolling as they head into the heart of the MAC schedule.  Look for Eastern Michigan to not be too much of a challenge when they face off tonight.

Iowa – Seems to have snuck out of nowhere to take a stranglehold on B1G Western Division.  I’ll be honest, I didn’t even take a look at this team prior to the season starting.  I don’t think I’m the only one….

Utah – This week’s big mover in the polls (that don’t matter) dropped a whopping 10 spots.  I wasn’t really impressed with this team when they beat Michigan way back in week 1.  Here is another team that is proof that polls don’t matter.

Minnesota – I know I said they wouldn’t be appearing here anymore, but they just happen to be Michigan’s next opponent, so they’re still showing up this week.  I was not really surprised when the betting line opened up at Michigan -16 on Monday.  I wouldn’t want to be the first team to face the Wolverines after that loss to the Spartans, plus they still have the Brown Jug they’re playing for.

On top of being the first team to face Michigan after the loss to the Spartans, Minnesota goes into this week’s game without their head coach.  I was extremely saddened as a college football fan to hear on Wednesday that Jerry Kill was going to be retiring effective immediately.  It’s really is tragic when someone has to go before their time.  Coach Kill had begun to bring the Gophers football program out of the basement of the B1G.  This was a perennial doormat program that would greatly celebrate an eight or nine win season.  If you only win that many games multiple years in a row then people quickly start to call for your job.  Most major football programs have a “Grandfather” of their program.  Alabama has Bear Bryant, Georgia had Vince Dooley, and Michigan had Fielding Yost.  Jerry Kill was trending towards being that for Minnesota.  Unfortunately I don’t think the Golden Gophers are strong enough this year to make this event a rallying point for the battle for the Little Brown Jug.

cbssportsdotcom

So that’s my take on what happened last weekend.  I’m glad the Michigan game is late this week so I can get my son all done with his trick-or-treating before kickoff.  GO BLUE!

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It’s All Backed by Facts

July 29, 2015 v2 p55

I hear a lot of trash talk directed at me for my allegiances.  I talk a lot of trash about other teams.  What I don’t do is make boisterous claims that can’t be backed up by fact.

I make no doubt about it who my favorite sports teams are.  Most of them are because of the state I live in, Michigan.  I have those teams in common with a lot of my friends.  The one that I love the most though, is without a doubt Michigan.  Not just the football team, but any contest that the University of Michigan is competing in, that’s who I’m rooting for.  As of late, this has made me a target of people who have fanhood that differs from mine.  I don’t let it worry me though.  I know why my allegiances lie where they do (family legacy, excellent track record).  It seems though that others feel it necessary to belittle my choice of team to cheer for.  This is where I begin to see the boisterous claims that are really unfounded.

One of those biggest claims is that “Michigan fan’s are always brining up the past.”

Yeah, and….

Since no one has figured out how to see into the future and know how games are going to turn out, they still have to be played on the field.  The only thing we can really talk about is what we think might happen.  Since I’m not a NCAA D1 football coach, I don’t try to prognosticate outcomes.  I will put a small wager on a football game, but on a larger scale (Bowl Pick’em), or a random chance (Superbowl Squares).  What I don’t do is try to tell you what’s going to happen in any given particular game, other than who might win or lose.  I see a lot of fans, on both sides of the fences from me, trying to predict exactly what’s going to happen.  “So-and-so is going to tear up that D-Line and run for 200+ yards.”  “So-and-so is going to hunt your quarterback down and sack him 11 times!”  Why?  Because I really hate eating crow and looking dumb.  So really we can only live in the past, and what better past to live in than Michigan’s?  Don’t try to tell me that if your team had the heritage that the University of Michigan does, you would praise it as well.  Especially when your team is going through their first down swing in 40 years.

Everyone is aware of the obvious stats about U of M football.  Winningest program of all time.  And all you Notre Dame fans can stop right there.  The record in the NCAA books is that Michigan is the winningest program of all time, you don’t have to add the clause, “well if you’re going by winning percentage” to it.  Please stop making that argument.  The official record, kept by the governing body of the sport states that the University of Michigan Football team is the winningest collegiate football team of all time.  And being the only one with over 900 all-time victory, I don’t see them losing it in my lifetime.  Speaking of Notre Dame, you’re welcome.  Had it not been for a cancelled Michigan game that found the team in South Bend for an unexpected overnight, they wouldn’t have taught the game of football to a bunch of Irish Catholics, and your program would be even further behind the Wolverines than it already is, if it even existed.  Overall record, Michigan 24, ND 17 with 1 tie, and it seems it will stay that way until that HUGE rivalry with Purdue is discontinued.

I hear a lot of Spartan fans boasting about their recent success of winning six of the past seven meetings.  That’s nice and all, but let’s talk again when your dominance reaches a 31-9 advantage over 40 seasons.  Yeah, you read that right.  Beginning with Bo Schembechler and through Lloyd Carr the series was pretty lopsided.  The Spartans should try winning a conference championship every once in a while too.  As a program they have less Big Ten Conference Championships than the University of Chicago.  A school, by the way, that left the conference and disbanded their football program in 1939.  With Michigan holding a head-to-head record of 68-33-5, it’s easy to understand where the “Little Brother” analogy comes from.

Ohio State, that’s another beast.  They will do whatever they can to insult a Michigan Fan.  I’ve yet to personally witness it, but I’ve come to understand that if you go to see a game in Columbus, don’t let them know you come from Michigan, let alone root for the Wolverines.  I’ve heard horror stories of cops writing speeding tickets for U of M fans for one mile per hour over, fans getting spit on, assaulted, and having their personal property destroyed.  Way to support your team in the classy way.  These are all things that won’t happen when you go to Ann Arbor to see a game.  Even if you are from Columbus and haven’t fallen far from the nut-tree, you will be treated with class and respect.  Here’s another rivalry where Michigan holds a decided advantage, 58-46-6.

A good friend once said, “We could have been great friends before I moved to Texas, except for the whole Michigan thing.”  I replied, “Most of my friends are not Michigan fans, so I’m kind of in a minority.  It makes for interesting conversations.”  I love having those conversations, and I love having the facts to back them up.

Why I Hate Sports

This may come to a shock to some of you, but there’s a part of sports that I hate.  The part that shouldn’t come to a you as a shock is that it has nothing to do with the actual contests.

Mayweather & Pacquiao have been training for a VERY long time for this fight, in just moments they’ll enter the ring. http://t.co/JfJbkiE2G6

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 3, 2015

Unless you were hiding under a rock for the last week you’re aware that there was a pretty big boxing match last night.  This was one of the most anticipated fights in recent history that I can remember.  The sport of boxing has fallen from its once great image back in the 20th century.  There hasn’t been a big name to transcend the sport since Mike Tyson.  A lot of people know the two combatants in last nights fight, but for the most part they aren’t as well-known to the general public as past boxers have been.  Part of the problem these athletes have has been brought on by themselves.  Most of them have made poor decisions outside of the right that have landed them in jail and tarnished their image.  The American public doesn’t tolerate domestic violence by its celebrities as much as it once used to.  Boxing is an inherently violent sport, and I for one don’t condone what those athletes have done, but I am also not shocked by anything they have done in their private lives.

The fact that those things happened aren’t the thing I hate about sports.  Ray Rice beating his fiance in an elevator isn’t the thing I hate about sports.  Greg Olsen paying his ex-girlfriend what appeared to be hush money isn’t the thing I hate about sports.  Adrian Peterson beating his child with a switch isn’t the thing I hate about sports.  These are just a few examples of the bad side of sports.  For the most part professional athletes are the exact opposite of what these three examples show.  Note that those are all football players, which is another extremely violent sport.  Again, there should be no surprise that these types of actions come from people who participate in violent sports.  It happens less often, but the domestic violence by professional athletes isn’t limited to the sports that are violent in nature.  An internet search of professional athletes and domestic violence returns over 230,000 results in .38 seconds.  This shows that public is aware of what is being done.  This is still not the part of sports that I hate.

One of the greatest things about sports is that you can choose who you support. There are a multitude of reasons for why you to like the teams you do.  You shouldn’t have to qualify your own fanhood to anyone.  When I look through my timelines on social media there is a wide variety of different fan bases represented and they are all there because I can respect that others have a different point of view than I might.  How boring would it be if I only had friends who saw things exactly as I did?  Some of my best conversations regarding sports have been sparked by the differences in opinion about teams that I have with my contacts.  It happens at all levels of sports too, from high school, to college teams, and into the pros.  I may have similar interests in teams with some on none of these levels, some of these levels, or all of these levels, and across multiple sports like basketball, baseball and football.  One of my favorite things is to see how the colors change along my timeline depending on who’s playing on any particular day.  But this still isn’t the part of sports I hate.

While I like how social media has become a venue for people to debate sports, it is also what I hate about sports.  I respect that everyone is allowed to have their own opinions.  What it doesn’t allow is for people to be rude, crude, and down right mean to others because of their differing opinions.  Those opinions could be about how a game was played, how personnel was used, how the officiating had an effect on the outcome, or the most common “Your team sucks because…..”  It has become all to common for people to post things that are outlandish and ridiculous.  Some of the things I read on social media really make me shake my head in disbelief.  I really hope people are posting these things only to get a rise out of the people they are attacking.  I used to reply to comments made by people who make these crazy comments.  I quickly found that I was just fueling their idiocy by giving them an avenue to spew forth more idiocy, but it was causing me to get caught up in their whirlwind of stupidity.  I would waste a lot time replying to people and proving them wrong with factual information, only to have them continue to reply with more of their opinion.

The first thing I always see when a major sporting event doesn’t go the way someone wants is the conspiracy theory.  Things like the refs were paid off, the league won’t allow team “x” to lose, they always cater to this player and always judge that player harder really get on my nerves.  Yes I understand that you’re upset when your team loses. One of the downsides to the internet is that if you search long enough you can probably find info to support any argument.  The problem is most of that evidence is probably not true.  I hope no one believes professional sports leagues are setting staging their games with a predetermined outcome.  If any of the major sports; football, basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer, auto-racing, golf, boxing, or even tennis, it would destroy them.  Without the credibility of a fair playing field, sports can’t exist.  So until there becomes evidence of cheating happening, please don’t try to convince me that it did.

The other part of social media I dislike in sports is what has become to be knows as trolling.  I do very little to hide my allegiance to my teams.  I follow pages on social media that cover those teams.  I like to read the articles they post, it gives me multiple perspectives on stories are games that my favorite teams participate in.  What I don’t understand is why people who have allegiances to other sports teams feel that is necessary to comment on those articles in a way that have absolutely nothing to do with what the article is about.  Does it really make you feel better about yourself or that your team is more superior because you can alter a photo that countless others have altered to support their  team?  Do you think you’re the first one to come up with that joke?  Do you enjoy it when others do the same to your team?  I for one get frustrated when I go to comment on an article, I mean something actually relevant to what was written, and I get nothing but a bunch of people trying to argue with me by spewing trash at me.  I guess it goes along with the tabloid mentality that seems to be taking over our country.

While I love my sports teams, and I love watching sports in general, I hate what social media has done to the way it is reported.  It has become another place for people to climb their own entitlement ladder.