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With the who cares of bowls going on, we've reached a lull in the college football season. Thus, I've been forced to broaden my horizons a bit. So for this edition of bandit ramblings, I make the gigantic leap to the NFL.
Dolphins in the Playoffs? Really?
In the wacky AFC this year, it's official that nobody has any idea who is actually good. From week to week, the team at the top in the analysts' minds changes. It's been the Steelers, Titans, Colts, and Patriots at different points, and despite the Titans' win over the Steelers yesterday, the AFC is as confusing as it's been all year. There are so many good teams in the AFC, but one is about to join Colt McCoy and his Longhorn teammates in the Screwjob Lounge.What the New England Patriots have done this year is remarkable. They lose last year's MVP seven minutes into the season and throw in a guy who hasn't started a game since high school. They have a stable of average journeymen at running back. Their linebackers are old, their secondary was thought to be one of the weakest in the league, yet here they sit at 10-5. The only problem? The freakin' Miami Dolphins, AKA this year's Browns, are also 10-5 and need only to beat the superfail Jets to make the playoffs and ruin the most compelling storyline of this year's NFL.
Do us all a favor Dolphins. Lie down. You don't stand a chance in the playoffs anyways, so why not do what the Browns did last year, go 10-6, just miss out on the playoffs, and bask in the glow of being next year's hot team before your inevitable collapse. Then everybody's happy. You don't have to take a first round beating, rendering your season meaningless. You can pack up your ball and go home with a record nine games better than last year, and everybody else gets to see another actual threat in the playoffs. If the Dolphins beat the Jets, I will have no reason to pay attention to the playoffs in a more than casual way. The NFL stinks as it is because the regular season doesn't mean anything and every team is exactly the same. To have the year's best storyline ruined by Chad Pennington is unforgivable.
I Can Actually Say It Out Loud...The Cavs are the Best Team in the NBA
Since LeBron James' arrival in Cleveland, I have been a basketball fan. He is the sole reason I started to care about basketball. The second he leaves Cleveland, I will give up on the team because he's the only reason they still exist. For the last three years, the Cavs have looked so promising but never got over the hump to win an NBA Title coming out of a once weak Eastern Conference. Mercifully, the Larry Hughes Era ended last season and Cavs fans could breathe a little more freely. As Larry and his high school girl shooting percentage rot on the bench in Chicago, the Cavs have taken off with a much better #2 man, Mo Williams. I've never had as much confidence that a player will make every shot he takes as I do in Mo Williams. He is a pure shooter and a good creator. Thanks to his presence as Robin to LeBron's Batman, everybody else got knocked down a notch on the expectation to perform level, and they appear to have found their groove. Delonte West is the best player they got from their blockbuster trade last year, and I can't get enough of his red 'fro. Z and Anderson Varejao have been hug on the boards, and Z is now making threes, adding a whole new dimension to the Cavs drinking game. Even Wally Szczerbiak appears to have found his role and is actually making open jumpers consistently. It's a glorious time to be a Cavs fan.
The only team in the East that can stand in their way is the Boston Celtics. The Celtics have won 18 straight games and are the first team in the history of sports to back up their talk about not having a championship hangover. But remember, the Celtics nearly ran out of steam last year. The Hawks took them to seven games, and a less formidable Cavs team also took them to seven where Paul Pierce and LeBron James took part in an epic duel that ended with the Celtics advancing because Pierce actually had some backup. This is the year for the Cavs. The life of their franchise is on the line. If they don't get a ring this year or next, you can likely say goodbye to the man who will eventually take his spot on the basketball Mount Rushmore. The moment that happens, basketball is dead in Cleveland. Cavs players know this and that is why they will get over the hump this year. Mo Williams and desperation will combine to create the perfect storm. LeBron will lead this team to the promised land, ending any debate about the best player in basketball for the next decade. Either that, or he'll be a Knick in two years.
Boise State/Oklahoma Stunk and Other Overrated Games
I saw a countdown of the greatest games of all time a while back and I was shocked and appalled to see the Boise State/Oklahoma Fiesta Bowl in the top five. Maybe I don't understand what a great game is, but I'm pretty sure it's not defined as a four hour suckfest capped off by some cool trick plays. I almost fell asleep during the game and I was in a room with friends whose sole purpose was to watch the damn game. The first 55 minutes of this game bored me nearly to the point of tears. Did it finish in exciting and unpredictable fashion? Yep, but that doesn't mean it's a great game. And a top five game of all time? What a joke. Last week I hit on why the 1958 NFL Championship Game was the opposite of the greatest game ever played, but there's one more game that is a part of the overrated three-headed monster.
I was pumped to watch last year's Super Bowl. I was among the few who had no personal stake in the game and was rooting for the Patriots. It makes more sense to me to root for seeing the first 19-0 season and thus the greatest football team ever assembled rather than hoping for the upset, creating another forgettable NFL season. Still, I knew the Patriots wouldn't run away with the game. The Giants were playing out of their minds and had almost beaten the Pats weeks earlier. I expected an epic battle between the league's two best teams. What I got was a snore fest until the final minutes. Since then, all I hear about the game is how incredible it was. Again, five or ten minutes of exciting, well-played football in a big game doesn't make the game an all-time great. I would never watch that game over again. A truly great game is one that you would watch again even though you already know the outcome.
Which brings me to the two truly great games this decade. First, the National Championship betwen Miami and Ohio State. A David vs Goliath matchup that was hotly contested throughout and had a heart-stopping, multiple overtime ending facilitated by a very questionable fourth down flag. I've seen this game four times. The amount of NFL talent on that field is ridiculous, and the game was better than anybody expected. The second truly great game, and probably the best game I've ever seen is the National Championship featuring USC and Texas. This game featured some of the greatest college football players in history and was back and forth throughout. Vince Young worked his magic and kept Texas in the game, bringing them from two scores down in the final seven minutes, capping the victory with a fourth down touchdown run, ending his career as the greatest single season quarterback in the history of college football. That iconic God-shot of him from the back with the confetti falling and him raising his arm into the air is one of the great moments in sports photography. You want great games, go back and watch these two. Only got 10 minutes? Watch the end of the Fiesta Bowl or last year's Super Bowl. You won't miss much.
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