A self-serving arrogant jerk

Jerk

Since I didn't get the chance to put anything up on the BCS championship which Florida won, I will now write a little piece on a coach who is making a rapid ascent up my hatred charts. Urban Meyer or as I like to refer to him as Urban Crier. Now being a Seminole fan you have to realize this is inherently biased but the man is an arrogant jerk. He sprays and spouts more arrogance than this man:

Rick "The Model" Martel

Where to start on this one. Let's start with the claim that Crier made that Florida only takes the "top one percent of the top one percent." Hmmm...great call Urban and even better when your athletes don't really perform too admirably in the classroom.

An investigation by the Atlanta-Journal Constitution, discovered that UF's football and basketball players score 346 pts lower on SAT than the average UF student. Here's the piece. I'm pretty sure that the University of Florida's students aren't necessarily dumb but they sure as shit aren't Ivy League quality. So are they really the top one percent of the top one percent as Crier so arrogantly boasted?

Now this looks even worse considering their rival school, who isn't really known for its academic prowess, produces a Rhodes scholar.

Spot the hypocrisy

Another issue with Crier is how he always mentions that Notre Dame is his dream job. Christ, for all the University of Florida has done for him (nothing short of offering him 40 virgins) can't he just keep his mouth shut? Go ahead Urban, go up to Notre Dame. Try recruiting your "top one percent" of athletes who don't do so well academically to Notre Dame. Oh wait they probably wouldn't get in there. Show some respect towards the college that has given you everything you arrogant jack-ass. Okay so Notre Dame is your dream job that's fine. Just don't go spewing it out everywhere, it's a slap in the face to Florida.

Another example of Crier class was when they kicked a meaningless field goal against Miami when they were blowing them out. Don't get me wrong, I always enjoy a good Hurricane ass kicking but you already made your point. This led to Warren Sapp calling Crier a "classless jerk."

What pisses me off even more is that Florida (barring Tebow going pro) starts zero seniors on defense. They will probably be odds-on favorites again next year.

I wasn't able to catch any of the national title game because work was quite busy. I'm sure the commentating was a Tebow fellatio fun fest. Verne Lundquist, on CBS, probably prays to Lord Tebow before he goes to sleep every night.

Okay that's enough talking about Florida before I barf all over my screen. Now I get to buckle down and get ready for the 6-10 inches of snow they are calling for this area.

GO STEELERS!!!

My How The Tables Have Turned!

In case you haven't noticed, the Pittsburgh Penguins are on the verge of falling of the face of the earth. It hasn't been a very good couple of months for the boys of winter, but I have a feeling that a major change is coming. I don't know if Therrien will be fired or if Ray Shero will bring in a winger to play with Crosby, but somthing will happen.

With that being said, a possibility is that Miroslav Satan could be traded. I haven't heard or read anything, but statistics show that Satan is on pace for his lowest goal output (24 goals) in more than a decade....and he is playing with Sidney Crosby. Ouch! I guess if it's not meant to be, it's time for a change.

The penguins are in a horrible slump. It's so bad that they have officially fallen out of the playoffs. They currently have 44 points, leaving them in a tie for 9th place in the Eastern Conference with Florida. Boston leads the East with 64 points. The good news is if the Pens get their shit together, they aren't too far out to get back into the playoffs. Montreal is 4th in the East and has 54 points, which is the last spot in the East that has home ice in the playoffs. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. The Pens are only 20-18-4 as of today and before their slump, they were 14-6-4 at the end of November, so at least they are still above .500. The Pens are typically a second half team, so they may turn it on at any moment. Keep the faith.

3 Stars In a Row
This has to be a dream come true for the NHL. Guess who the top three scorers are in the NHL? Malkin (63), Ovechkin (53) and Crosby (53). Ovechkin has the edge over Crosby because of his goal total, which is leading the league (27 overall). Ovechkin appears to be on pace to lead the league in goals with some total in the 50 to 60 range. Malkin at one point was on pace to score 160 points, which would have made him the last player since Mario Lemieux (161) in 1995-96 to do so. Malkin is capable of doing it, maybe more so than Crosby or Ovechkin, so just remember you heard it here first. Malkin is currently on pace to score around 120 points.

Anniversary's Galore
This is somthing that went unnoticed, but I think it always goes relatively unnoticed anyway, but an interesting anniversary (20th Anniversary) passed on New Year's Eve. It was in 1988 that Mario Lemieux became the only player in the history of the NHL to score 5 goals 5 different ways (even strength, power play, shorthanded, penalty shot, and empty net). I doubt that anyone will ever do that again. But I'll bet that nobody thought it would be done before Super Mario did it anyway, so who knows.

Another anniversary that I think goes unnoticed all the time is a sad one. Roberto Clemente died on New Year's Eve in 1972. This was the 36th anniversary of his death in a plane crash. He died doing somthing that no athlete would ever think of doing, except maybe Tim Tebow. Clemente was taking relief supplies to Nicaragua, which had just suffered from an earthquake. Clemente has exactly 3,000 hits on MLB's hits list.

December 23, 1972 was also a special time. It happened to be day of arguably the greatest play in football history. Pittsburgh Steelers hosting the Oakland Raiders in a playoff game and when all hope was lost, the football gods smiled down on Steeler Nation and rookie Franco Harris galloped into the end zone on a freak play and scored to win. The play is known as the "Immaculate Reception" and it still has controversy to this day.

One Last Thing...
The Penguins rewarded Jordan Stall with a new contract. It's a 4-year deal worth $16 Million. I like the signing because Stall is young, although I know I bashed him last year for slumping. Stall obviously had a great start to his career, but I hope that his best years are ahead of him. He has the potential. But remember that his trade value is up too. If people in the organization lose faith in him they won't hesitate to trade him and I doubt that any team would not hesitate to grab him. Hopefully he is in Pens black and gold for years to come.

Playoff Predictions
Here are my playoff predictions for the NFL Divisional Round...

Baltimore @ Tennessee (Sat. 4:30pm)
I know I will take some heat for this, but I'm gonna do it anyway. The Ravens will win this game. I just like them over the Titans. They have a better defense and I just think that regardless of what Flacco does, the Ravens D will come up with big plays and score points. It wasn't an impressive with over Miami, but the Titans are just a bit overrated to me.
Baltimore 20-14

Arizona @ Carolina (Sat. 8:15pm)
I like Arizona becuase they have Larry Fitzgerald and a Clarion guy in Reggie Wells, but Carolina is a better team and has a much better running game. Oh, and solid defense. Steve Smith will have a big day as well as Jake Delhomme.
Carolina 31-14

Philadelphia @ New York Giants (Sun. 1:00pm)
This is a tough one. Maybe the toughest to call all weekend. It's hard to go against the defending world champs, but the Eagles are tough and HOT. It will be a close game no matter what. Plaxico not in the lineup may hurt the Giants, but they seem to be going fine without him too. Defense will decide the outcome.
New York 23-21

San Diego @ Pittsburgh (Sun. 4:45pm)
This should be a good game, but I also think that it has the potential to get ugly. The Chargers are a good team, but without LT, I don't know if they can win. Sproles scares me, but not enough. The only reason the Chargers won last week was because the Colts shot themselves in the foot 3 times in OT. And they don't have as good a defense as us. Ben scares me too, because it depends on which Ben shows up. Still defense wins championships and the Steelers were number 1 across the board. Yinz guys get the towels ready!
Pittsburgh 24-10

Have a great weekend Everyone...Here We Go!

Playoff Predictions

Well...I was too busy to get my predictions in for Wild Card weekend so I'm taking some time on my day off on this wonderful Pennsylvania January of freezing rain and boredom to get some in for the Divisional Round.

Of course, I'm going to start with our beloved Steelers.

I think the Steelers needed the bye week more than any of the other teams. Big Ben banged up and I think the team was in general after playing such a difficult schedule.

Now a few things to note about the contest. The Steelers were able to get the ground game going against the Browns but that means exactly dick. The Browns mailed it in about a month prior to the regular season finale.

The harsh reality is this: The offensive line isn't going to get any better folks. Out of all the playoff teams, Pittsburgh's is probably the worst. If they are able to run against the Chargers, I'll be shocked. So this will leave the game in the defense/Big Ben's hands.

As long as Arians doesn't call a lot of five step drop passing plays against a defense that can pressure and a line that can't protect the offense should do enough to win. I'm honestly surprised that Arians hasn't taken any shit over this. His playcalling sometimes makes me scratch my head (see the game vs. the Colts for prime examples). Not being able to convert third and shorts on the ground is a little disconcerting as well.

I expect the defense to come out and play well in this one. Big whoop if Tomlinson doesn't play, Sproles is more dangerous than him at this point. We'll be bombarded with a bunch of camera shots of LT pouting on the sidelines. I understand why the media gives him a free pass (good guy, had some amazing years, etc.) but still they have crucified guys for doing the exact same thing. LT pouts when things don't go his way. And the bastard cost me big in fantasy football this year.

Back to the Charger offense....Rivers will probably have to win the game himself. Sproles won't be that big of a factor, as he took a beating in the Colts contest and I don't think he can take a whole lot of beating with his diminutive frame. Gates is hobbling and Vinnie Jackson got arrested for a DUI while on probation for DUI this week. Way to put the team first Vinnie, keep it real.

The other area in which I'm concerned is special teams. I have the terrible feeling that the special teams are due to take a giant shit at the most inopportune time, as they have in the past. Overlooked in the Chargers' win vs. Indy was punter, Mike Scifres. He netted 52 yards a punt and the best field position the Arrogant Hick and his merry men had was at their own 33 yard line all night long.

Prediction: Expect the game to be ugly with some nasty weather, temps in the 10s and a chance of snow. The defense will make a pivotal play to carry the Steelers into the next round.
PITTSBURGH 17, SAN DIEGO 13.

Baltimore @ Tennessee
Hmmm...this game is loaded with enough despicable assholes that if the field caught on fire I wouldn't really care. This will be another ugly hard-hitting game but I'm going with the Titans because I think Collins will fuck up less than Flacco.
TENNESSEE 13, BALTIMORE 10.

Arizona @ Carolina
Since the Cardinals have been terrible on the road, Boldin isn't healthy, they can't stop the run (last week not withstanding, I believe that was a fluke), I don't like their chances. They surprised last week with Edgerrin James looking five years younger and their defense playing well. Snap back to reality, Williams and Stewart will have big games, Steve Smith will make a big play or two and Carolina will advance.
CAROLINA 28, ARIZONA 17.

Philadelphia @ NY Giants
Earn the number one seed in the conference and you're reward is possibly the hottest team in the NFC. An upset could happen but the Giants ground game/offensive line will keep that from happening. The Giants line is possibly the best in the league right now, however they looked like shit against Dallas. Philadelphia blitzes first and asks questions...well never. Once again, don't be shocked if Philly pulls this one out but I don't have the balls to pick it.
NY GIANTS 21, PHILADELPHIA 20.

P.S. Yeah my picks on UFC 92 didn't work out too well. Watching two of my favorite fighters getting their shit ruined was a little troubling.

What Do You Reccomend?

As everyone knows, I work at pizza shop in the Back Bay. It's definitely not my ideal job but it pays the bills I suppose. I'd say about 78% of the people who come in piss me off. Most of these being douche bag guys.

Point in Case: A Donny Douchebag walks into the shop and stairs at the menu while talking on his phone and looking at himself in his hand mirror. He probably stares at it for 5 minutes, forcing me to stand at the counter and wait for this asshole to make up his mind. Then finally in between his phone conversation, he turns and looks at me and says.

"What's your favorite sub?"

Nothing pisses me off more than this. First of all Asshole, what makes you think that we'd like the same things? Am I wearing a purple hoodie jacket and skinny jeans? Do I have my hair straightened and possibly dyed in the front? Do I say things like "Cheers" and "No Worries"? Fuck No. I'm not at a wedding and I'm certainly not in the Lion King.

God, I hate douchebags.

Long Time No Post (Work, Penguins and Steelers Oh My!)

Well damn, it's been a while since I have posted anything I don't even know where to start. I am a manager of a Hollister and let me tell you something, the holiday season blows. People will literally fuck you up if you screw with them shopping. I have spoken to more ignorant rude obnoxious people in the span of a month and a half than over the course of my first 23 years of life. The vast majority of people who shop at my store are actually very nice. It's just with there being 10 times as much foot traffic in a day that means ten times the douchebags who ruin lives also decide to make the trek into Hollister and cause a ruckus in any way possible, making my life a nightmare. So, you may now realize why I have not written anything in a while as I have been quite busy and stressed out. Out of this I do have some pretty good stories which I may choose to share at a later date.



So, The Penguins are shitting themselves as of late. Here is my proposition.

1. Quit switching up the lines, in a team where chemistry has been a weak spot (minus the Staal, Cooke, Kennedy combo before he got hurt) switching them up just as things get rolling will not help.

2. Shoot the fucking puck.

3. Get rid of Satan and Ryan Shitney and pick up a winger to ink long term to play beside Crosby. Satan, is not playing bad but lets face it he doesn't have the connection with Sid that there needs to be to have a great first line. Both Goligoski and Letang have been playing well, since Shitney has come back into the lineup our powerplay has seem to have gotten worse. He's a bum, he needs traded.

4. Give every single player, minus Malkin, Sid, Staal, Cooke, Dupuis and Wallace a swift and steady kick in the genitalia. They are all playing like they don't give a shit.

5. Someone get into a fucking fight will ya? I feel like no one fights anymore. Granted I miss a game here and there for work, but it just seems in a close game like the one against Montreal someone should have dropped the gloves gained a little momentum and we could feed off of it. I really miss big Georges and Ruutu right about now.

6. Lastly, send Fluery somewhere to learn basic goaltending. The man makes some of the most insane saves of all time but he lets and average shot from the blueline in the back of the net to lose a game. He does that 5 times a year and that could be the difference between a division title and being out of the playoffs all together in a close Eastern Conference.



Now on to the Steelers. It's playoff time baby. I think that we are going to see a great year in the NFL playoffs this year. There are no teams that are so dominant that they will just storm through the playoffs uncontested. Steelers have as good of a shot as anyone to take home another super bowl trophy.

Trick's Keys to A Steeler Super Bowl win:

1. Big Ben needs to be smart with the football. He is trying to force the issue waaaaay too much. If he eats the ball and runs for 2 or 3 yards a couple times a game instead of taking a sack or throwing a pick we would see a different team.

2. Run the fucking football. Lets face it, as a manager of the game Ben is great, he controls a drive and seeing all of the 4th quarter heroics I like it when the ball is in his hands. He is just not a fantastic passer. Short passes to ward and miller are the way to go but throwing it as much as we do is just not steeler football. Parker and moore can run, give it to them a little more, balance the attack. Oh yeah and put a fucking full back in the backfield, this 3 tight end shit is silly.

3. Rest up during the bye, get harrison, ben and any other banged up player especially on the defence ready to go. By the way things are going it looks like the Colts and Baltimore will make it through to the next round, which puts the steelers against the colts. We need everyone on defence to be 100%.

4. Get ahead early. When teams have to play from behind in the playoffs it gets rough. If we get an early lead, the opposing team takes more risks and risking anything against the leagues number one D is not a good call.

5. Lastly, rattle the opposing teams QB. Remember in the super bowl run when we beat indy? It was because Peyton Manning was rattled and made poor decisions. Harrison and Woodley need to do just that.


Threre you have it. I will be going the the Steelers first playoff game. I have yet to go to a playoff football game in my life so this gives me an erection. Hopefully I can get some more posts for you guys soon. Hope everyone had a good holiday season. Peace.

Xbox/Microsoft can suck it and UFC 92

Now by most accounts I'm a pretty laid back guy. I know I can be quite bitter at times but generally I don't get angry, unless the Steelers/Florida State lose and so on....

However, that all changed when my Xbox 360 recently decided to take a shit on me.

Here's what happened. Something with my AV connection is no longer working, I'm getting audio but no video. Thinking it was the cables a friend of mine (yes bice I do have friends) let me borrow his. Low and behold that wasn't the problem.

So I placed a call to xbox and they told me that I needed to send it in for repairs. Oh okay no big deal till those fagglers told me I had to pay $100 bucks to send it in. Immediately, my built in bullshit detector went off and mine has a pretty accute sense.

I say to the customer service rep, "Why should I pay $100 for something that isn't my fault?" This is because my warranty ran out in September and it's not that red ring of whatever problem (that's why they extended the warranty). The "technician" then goes to ask her supervisor to waive the $100.

I wait about five minutes and the "technician" says the supervisor says they can't waive the $100 because the warranty ran out.

By this time, I'm livid. Xbox has a track record of shoddy equipment (red ring of death, the dvd player going to hell). I didn't have time to argue with the supervisor because I had some stuff to do but I plan on contacting them soon and I will update you all on what happens.

I'm about this close (bice pulling down his pants close) to selling off all my xbox shit and getting a playstation 3. Hell, my PS2 is eight years old and works just fine. Cheap ass xbox dicks can't stand by their own shitty product.

In other musings, UFC 92 is tomorrow and you all better watch. On paper, this is the best fight card the UFC has produced this year. Two title fights, Forrest Griffin vs. Rashad Evans for the light heavyweight title, Minotauro Nogueira (my favorite fighter) vs. Frank Mir for the "interim" heavyweight title and a good old-fashioned grudge match between Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Wanderlei Silva III.

The winner of the Nog/Mir fight is expected to fight Brock Lesnar (a.k.a. Cock Chestnar).

Notice how his tatoo looks like a penis. Aren't I clever?

In the past two fights, Mr. Silva has put old Rampage to sleep....violently and both fighters have an immense dislike for one another.

Yeah....that's what happened the last time they fought.

My main card predictions: Evans unaminous decison over Griffin, Nogueira third round tko over Mir and Silva third round ko over Rampage, Chieck Kongo second round ko over Mustapha Al-Turk and Mike Massenzio second round submission over C.B. Dollaway.

This is it for now....I'll be back with some BCS/NFL playoff predictions. Hope everyone had a good Christmas.

WAR NOGUEIRA!!!!

Darkwing Duck: A Live Action Movie

The other day at Supremes my friend, Zack, made the statement that Darkwing Duck was more well known than Batman. My other friend, Paul, made the argument that Batman has been around for over 50 years and has been the focal point of many comic books and movies. Zack said he didn't care and that Darkwing Duck was more recognizable.

I then said that they should make a live-action Darkwing Duck movie to which Zack replied "Yeah if you can find a real duck that can play him." He was dead serious.

Sloppy Seconds Anyone?

This is our second installment about the current ongoing drama with Sean Avery.

The NHL announced today that it has suspended Dallas Stars forward Sean Avery for 6 games because of comments that he made this week about his former girlfriends, specifically Elisha Cuthbert.

I've only got one thing to say about this.....ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

I have an hour long drive to work everyday and on the way to work today I was thinking about worse things that Avery could have done to get a suspension. Things that would have caused a much bigger problem for the NHL.

Here is a not so short list:

1) He could have made a racial, religious or sexist slur. Think about this. Imagine if he called someone a racial name to the cameras. Or a religious slur. He could have made a comment about homosexuals or lesbians. Or he could have just flat out said that his former girlfriends were either sluts, whores or skanks, which in my opinion is alot worse than making a comment about "sloppy seconds."

2) Avery could have pulled a Marty Mcsorely or Todd Bertuzzi. Is a guy making comments about "sloppy seconds" really as bad as what the two previous goons have done. I shouldn't even have to explain this. What Mcsorely and Bertuzzi did was just god awful and although many hate Avery, he still plays within in the rules to an extent. He is by no means an angel, but he certainly hasn't done somthing like the two above mentioned players. If I was Gary Bettman I would much rather have guys make comments that you could fine than what these two nuts did. Whats worse, explaining to your kids what sloppy seconds are or having to explain why some guy just whacked the head of another player with his stick with an intent to injure?

3) What if he had started a brawl that rolled into the stands (yes I am refering to Ron Artest and the NBA!) This is hard to do in hockey because of the boards that seperate the players and ice from the fans. But in all seriousness this if he had started a brawl with some fans in the stands, that would have been far worse than anything that I have mentioned yet. How do you explain that to your kids? Thankfully I don't have any (that I know of). But imagine the NHL responding to that. I know that Avery has had fueds with fans, especially in Philadelphia, but he hasn't ever thrown a punch at one at the rink. He hasn't attempted to assault a fan at the rink. But other players or coaches have. Just a few nights ago a coach was in an argument with a fan, and I bet that it wouldn't have been to pretty if the NHL had to explain why one of it's coaches assaulted a fan that is in a sense paying the guy's salary.

4)He could have been betting on the game of hockey. This is the worse thing that any player in any sport could do. Imagine if he came out and said "I gamble" or "I bet"? I know that is a poor example because no player would ever come out and say that, but just think about it. Baseball has banned Pete Rose for life. And don't forget that Rose is MLB's alltime hits leader. The NBA just went through a nasty betting scandal with one of it's referees, which may not be over yet if others come forward. This is like the mother of all bad things an athlete could do. If Avery had done any of these things, I could see him getting suspended or worse, kicked out forever.

The bottom line is this. The only reason Avery is suspended for his comments is because he is a guy that speaks his mind and sometimes does things that he probably shouldn't do. I honestly can't confirm what this guy has and hasn't done in his career that would be detrimental to the league or game of hockey. But it's very clear that his history of comments and actions was what got him fined whether he deserved it or not. I used to hate Sean Avery with a passion, but now that he doesn't play for the New York Rangers, I don't mind him as much. Yeah he can be a jerk and yes some of the things that he does aren't good. But last night when I was watching "Inside Edition" they had a piece on the Avery situation and I laughed my ass off. First they blurred (I doubt thats the right term, but I think you all know what I mean) Avery's mouth when he said the SS word. Then they had some reporter with huge jugs go and cover the thing. She wasn't dressed professional and she had no clue what the hell was going on. That is the sign that this was blown out of proportion and is a circus. Don't forget this either. The media is the gatekeeper of what we see and hear and if this was as bad as it is supposed to be, then they should have never let us see it in the first place.

I've Got Avery On My Mind

Sean Avery is at it again. The Dallas Stars forward was suspended before last nights game against Calgary for comments he made to the press.

Here is a quick rundown for those that don't know what is going on. Avery used to date hottie Elisha Cuthbert and now she has broken up with him and has since dated two NHL players the most recent being Calgary Flames defenceman Dion Phaneuf.

His comment was somthing along the lines of "It's become a common thing in the league for guys to fall in love with my sloppy seconds."

This was obviously a well executed stunt by Avery. But I don't think that it was all that bad for the league. He did make a comment that presents the league in a bad light, but I bet that some people may pay a little more attention to hockey now. Probably not much but maybe a few. It definately won't drive anyone away. It only makes some people hate Avery even more.

I'll admit that it was a crappy comment. Elisha Cuthbert is probably a nice girl and had her feelings hurt. But this is what celebrities do and I am sure she will have a comeback for him.

For the record I never cared much for Avery but he isn't a bad player. If he would just get on the straight and narrow he would be a little better off. And yes, I would take Avery's sloppy seconds any day of the week.

3 Things To Make Hockey Better...

I love hockey. I mean, I really love hockey. Probably more than Bice likes little kids. But anyway the NHL has a real problem.

The problem is that it just isn't as exciting as it could be. Think back to the days (if you are old enough) to when Gretzky and Lemieux were lighting the lamp every night probably two or three times easily. That may be a bit of an exageration, but think about the point totals that we saw in the 1980's and 1990's. While Wayne Gretzky was scoring well over 100 points season after season, the other players were doing the same. Take the 1985-86 season. Gretzky lead the league in scoring with 215 points. We may never see that kind of total ever again, but look at the next four. Lemieux with 141, Coffey with 138, Kurri with 131 and Bossy with 123. Scoring leaders today are lucky to get those totals. Last season Alexander Ovechkin led the league with 112 points.

1) The NHL needs to do somthing to increase scoring. Nobody likes to see games that end 1-0 or 2-1 for that matter. Things need to be like they were back in 1980's and early 1990's, with games ending 6-4 or 8-6 or even 10-9. That would increase intrest and popularity and it would be exciting. Somthing must be done to let the stars of the league score. The goalies are way better these days and their equipment doesn't need to be so big. The NHL could start with that.

2) Each conference should only have 2 divisions. It is rediculous that sometimes the third team that wins a division has the least amount of points than the other 7 teams in the playoffs and another decent team gets left out. This way two division winners would be the top two in the conference and after that the best teams would make out the playoff teams. This is the way it was through the 1980's and most of the 1990's and it worked out well.

3)Some teams need to relocate. This may happen regardless, but it is obvious that the NHL isn't doing well in places like Miami and Nashville. I don't doubt that hockey fans exist in those markets, but unless those teams start selling out arenas, it won't work. Canada needs another team or two. Quebec or Winnipeg would be good places to start and I am willing to bet that Kansas City or Seattle would be lucky to get teams too, but NO EXPANSION. It already hurt the league once, and it cannot happen again. But Canada needs another team or two so I would bet that the teams that could relocate would be the Florida Panthers, Phoenix Coyotes, Nashville Predators and Atlanta Thrashers. They probably all should because nobody goes to games in those cities anyway. If you watched the last Penguins game when they played in Atlanta, you know what I mean...the place was empty.

College Football's Perfect Solution

We all know that college football needs to have a playoff system. But exactly how should that playoff system work? How many teams would be involved? Well here is my take on what should happen. I think it really would work too.

The first thing that would need to be done, would be for the season to be shortened to 10 games. I think people may think that this is too short, but when you think about it, most college football programs only play about 8 games against teams that are any good. This would eliminate the games against teams from Division I-A that play up. So you would be forced to actually play a decent opponent through the season. You would probably play 8 games against your conference and then play 2 games against non-conference opponents.

So now that we have our 10 game regular season, how do you figure out the playoffs? It's really simple. Take the top 16 teams in the country and be sure to include teams that are unbeaten in this too. It is possible that if you are a team like Utah State or somthing like that you may get left out, but these teams know if they have a legitimate shot at a national championship anyway, so they should schedule against tougher teams so they don't get left outside the top 16. Now for the playoff format.

What would be the best way to do a playoff and still include the major bowl games? It's simple. In the first round you would have the No. 1 team in the country play the No. 16 team in the country and so on. The first round of these games would be in neutral locations. So if you had Pitt playing WVU then maybe the game would be in State College or Baltimore or somthing like that. Remeber it has too be fair. In the next round the final 8 teams would play their 4 games at sites of major bowls. These games would take place at the locations for the Rose, Fiesta, Orange and Sugar Bowls. This would be the best way to keep the major bowls around and still have a playoff. Then of course you would have the National Championship game at a neutral location as well. I don't know if a special stadium would be built for it or if it would be a thing like they do with the Super Bowl and pick a location at the beginning of the season to play it. Either way it would be exciting.

The remaining teams that missed the playoffs would take part in bowl games that would happen around the playoffs. More than likely that wouldn't happen, but it would still mean money for the other schools and bowls that missed the playoff.

Overall it is a good idea. I think it may be the best idea I have heard yet. The bottom line is that a playoff in college football is somthing that we are all hoping for, but won't happen because of the money involved in it for the NCAA. But you can always hope for a better solution...right?

A World Series Debacle

Poor Bud Selig. He just can't escape the bad luck ghost. As much as I dislike the man, he handled the rain situation during game 5 of the World Series as best he could. But this points to the major problem with MLB, and all sports for that matter, and it's decisions leading up to this situation. Baseball game's shouldn't be starting at 8:30pm and we shouldn't have to worry about a World Series ending in November. MLB is doing the right thing in allowing the game to go all 9 innings, but what if it continues to rain in Philadelphia for another two days? What if Tampa Bay all of a sudden comes back and forces a game 7? The series wouldn't end until November and the weather doesn't suit baseball well at all. The bottom line here is very simliar to my post earlier this week when I said baseball needs to shorten the season. Even if it was by only 10 games, it needs to be shortened. Say the MLB season was only 152 games, 10 shorter than the current schedule. That would allow the playoffs to begin sooner and allow everything to move along better and certainly allow the season to be completed before November. But the starting times of games is an even bigger issue. Let's explain this using an example. If you are planning on having a picnic at your home, you obviously aren't going to wait until 8pm to have it, becuase it is way too late to start it. Common sense tells you that your guests wouldn't appreciate it since they have lives to live. Weather also factors in. If you are planning on having it at say, 6pm and the threat of rain may wash it out, you may plan on having it a little earlier, like at 4:30pm or 5pm. What does this have to do with the World Series? Simple. Baseball should move the start of games back to at least 7pm, like during the regualr season. This would help with many things. First of all people would actually be able to watch the entire game, as long as it didnt go to extra innings, without falling asleep or just giving up all together. One thing I hate is having to go to bed knowing I cannot watch the entire game because I have to work in the morning. Plus many kids can't even watch the entire game because of school. I know when I was in junior high and high school I had to be up at 5:45 every morning to catch the bus by 7pm. I was always in bed by 10pm at the latest. Baseball is screwing up bigtime with poor decisions like this. TV doesn't help either. The game is slowly being destroyed by stupid start times and a season that goes too long. Hopefully MLB will realize their mistake and fix it for the future.

Spooky Halloween Killer Clown Special

Since its almost Halloween, I went through my old vault of awesome videos and found a holiday special starring 3 of the Classic Gang's bloggers. This was many years before I knew Stein but Bones dies in it so its worth a watch.

The Problem With The Post-season

Hi friends. Remember me, you're old pal Stein? I want to talk about postseason baseball. Actually all postseason sports in general, but we'll get to that. I would like to vent about it. Here is the problem that I see. The season is just too darn long. I mean, if you love baseball this is the best time of year. The playoffs of any sport are the best time of the year because you get to see the best teams compete for the opportunity to play for a championship. I enjoy watching baseball, but if the World Series goes to a game 7 this year, it is going to be in November (I think). The bottom line is that we should have had the World Series decided this week, maybe this weekend at the latest. There is aboslutely no reason that that could happen. All sports are this way. Football, hockey, baseball, basketball, nascar, golf, cricket and even chess all have seasons that go on too long. OK, maybe not cricket and chess, but all the others do.

First of all the NFL season is too long. I like the current 17 week format, but the season should start a little earlier and then eliminate the week off before the Super Bowl. I know what you are all thinking. "Stein you dumb-fuck. Those teams could use a break before the Super Bowl. It's only fair if they have an injury that the player hurt can heal up." Well I guess that is true, but I don't like waiting for two weeks to watchin the fucking game. I wan't to see it right away, and it won't be unfair at all. These teams play every week and get paid millions to do it, so I don't want to hear that bullshit. I would love for the playoffs to be played around Christmas and New Years. Wouldn't it be great to be able to indulge yourself in a football frenzy? College Football bowls and the Wild Card Playoffs all around Christmas time. What a great idea! I know. You can thank me later, but anyway that would be awesome to me and it should be to you too.

Hockey is another sport that has a season that goes too long, but it would face a much harder battle trying to shorten it. It begins in October and doesn't end until June. What a season! I will admit that hockey is my favorite sport, and I love it very much, but I hate watching it when it's 75 degrees out. It also causes problems for the ice that time of year. mid to late May is when it should be decided at the latest. But with so many teams in the playoffs, it would be a tall order to shorten the season and with such a physical playoff to begin with, I think it can't be changed unless the NHL elminates two teams from each conference making it six teams each. That would be the smart thing to do.

Basketball I don't care enough about to analyze, so we'll move on to Baseball. I would like to think that baseball can change, but it never will. Acutally none of these sports ever will, but for the fun of it lets analyze away! Baseball was alot better when they had the season end and then played the LCS. I think that baseball should elminate the divisions they have and divide the teams in each league into two divisions. At seasons end give two days off and then have the best team in each division battle in the LCS, a best of seven. then on to the world series. With this theory the World Series would have been decided about a week or two ago. If baseball wants to stay the same at least play more games in one day than usual. I love the double and even triple headers that were on at the beginning of the playoffs. There is no shame in day games and it give the the games a bit of nostalgia anyway. I like that better. The fact it however that no change is on the way. TV dominates everything and it will only get worse. I'd say the Pirates have a better chance of winning the World Series this year, than any change occuring with these season and playoff formats.

Here is an ESPN.com article written by Jayson Stark that explains the lack of excitement in the World Series...its a good one!

A win or not???

Last night's game versus the hated Ravens wasn't for the faint of heart. You knew this after the first play of the game when Andre Frazier had to leave on a stretcher. We here at Classicgangonly wish the best for Andre and for a speedy recovery.

UPDATE: According to the Post-Gazette, Frazier is alright and could play this Sunday against Jacksonville.

Now onto the game. The first half wasn't too much to write home about. The offense shall we say was anemic. The team shall we say was anemic. Whatever was said in the locker room at the half finally seemed to work.

The offense, under a no-huddle approach, finally came alive. Holy hell it only took six quarters for Arians/Tomlin to finally make adjustments but they worked. Big Ben hit Santonio Holmes from 38 yards out to bring it to a 3 point game. On the ensuing possession LaMarr Woodley recovered a fumble to give the Steelers a 17-13 lead. A Jeff Reed field goal gave the Steelers a touchdown lead with nine minutes left in the fourth quarter.

Joe Flacco (more on him in a bit) led the Ravens down field and on a LeRon McClain (why he didn't carry the ball more is beyond me) two yard touchdown the game was all knotted up at 20-20.

Big Ben's amazing pass to Merwelde Moore set up a Jeff Reed field goal to win it.

Now for some game thoughts.

The reason I titled this a win or not is because Rashard Mendenhall (broken shoulder) and Kendall Simmons (ruptured achilles) are done for the year. Simmons might have been the steadiest player on a very very shaky offensive line. Mendenhall, this year's first round pick, was drafted as an insurance policy to Willie Parker and is very physically gifted player.

Where do they go from here?

According to the Post-Gazette, Najeh "Dump" Davenport is coming back after a thorough tire kicking and Gary Russell is being promoted from the practice squad. Obviously, we saw what happened last year when Davenport was the main man. Russell is a tough runner from what I've seen in the pre-season and Merwelde Moore held his own last night. Hopefully these guys can hold the fort till Willie gets healthy.

Now what worries me is the Steelers now have to travel to Jacksonville. After a very physical battle against the Ravens and on a short week, they have to face the equally as physical Jaguars. I just hope everyone makes it out in one piece (more on this game later in the week).

Joe Flacco actually looks like he can end Baltimore's quarterback black hole. Granted he looked like a rookie at times but after tonight's game he showed me he might actually be able to play. While he's starting for the Ravens, Tyler Palko is working out for the Broncos. Sort of strange how these things work out. I'm lead to believe that Palko was the "Chosen One" and Flacco probably wasn't given a fair shake at Pitt. Unless Flacco was a late-bloomer, I could be wrong on this but it's just a hunch.

In closing, it was real nice to see the team come together and finally make the offensive adjustments that were necessary. However, in the coming weeks it looks like Ben will have to carry the offense on his own.

So was it a win? Taking control of the division is a win. Aside from the injuries, I would say it is just to see that piece of shit Ray Lewis look like this: