Earlier this week, I brought you this story about Mark Gottfried's wife confronting Paul Finebaum. In the story, I listed the signs that a coach is on the hot seat. As a refresher here they are:

• Coach referring to the current season as a rebuilding season
• FireCoachX.com website
• Vote of confidence from AD or President
• Constant threads on the message boards about potential new coaches
• Bad loss against an extremely inferior team
• Common knowledge of the amount of the coach's buyout.

Unfortunately, I forgot to include:

• Coach or someone inside the sports information department issues press release to the media with all of his favorable stats.

"The Play is Under Review" was able to obtain a copy of the favorable stats sent to the media about Mark Gottfried today. Here they are:

(Note: Some of the formatting is awkward. I'll try to get it cleaned up later)

Facts Entering the 2007-08 Season…

Nationally
Most Division I Victories (12 years or less)
Rank Coach (Current School) Div. 1 Years Wins
1. Tom Izzo (Michigan State) 12 278
2. Mark Gottfried (Alabama) 12 250
3. Mike Brey (Notre Dame) 12 241
4. Phil Martelli (St. Joseph’s) 12 240
5. Tim Welsch (Providence) 12 215
Willis Wilson (Rice) 12 215

SEC Coaches
Average Wins Per Year (minimum 5 years)
Rank Coach (Current School) Div. 1 Years Wins Wins Per Year
1. Billy Donovan (Florida) 13 296 22.7
2. Bruce Pearl (Tennessee) 6 132 22.0
3. Mark Gottfried (Alabama) 12 250 20.8
4. Rick Stansbury (Miss. State) 9 185 20.5
5. Billy Gillispie (Kentucky) 5 100 20.0

Most Post-Season Appearances
Rank Coach (Current School) Div. 1 Years Appearances Breakdown
1. Dave Odom (South Carolina) 21 15 (9 NCAA, 6 NIT)
2. Mark Gottfried (Alabama) 12 11 (7 NCAA, 4 NIT)
3. Billy Donovan (Florida) 13 10 (9 NCAA, 1 NIT)
4. Kevin Stallings (Vanderbilt) 13 9 (3 NCAA, 6 NIT)
5. Rick Stansbury (Miss. State) 9 7 (4 NCAA, 3 NIT)

NCAA Tournament Appearances
Rank Coach (Current School) Appearances Years as Head Coach
1. Dave Odom (South Carolina) 9 21
2. Billy Donovan (Florida) 9 13
3. Mark Gottfried (Alabama) 12 7
4. John Brady (LSU) 4 16
Rick Stansbury (Miss. State) 4 9
Bruce Pearl (Tennessee) 4 6

Most Victories in a Season in Alabama History
Three of Mark Gottfried’s teams rank among the top 5 in Alabama history for wins a season:
Season Wins
2001-02 27
2000-01 25
2005-05 24

Most Regular Season Victories in Alabama History
*Four of Mark Gottfried’s teams in the last 7 years rank among the 11 all-time for regular season wins in the 95 years of Alabama basketball:

Rank – Season Wins Final Season Record
1st – 2001-02 24 27-8
2nd – 2004-05 23 24-8
11th – 2000-01 20 25-11
2003-04 20 20-13
2006-07 20 20-12

SEC Records Since 2000-01 (entering this season)
Florida 183-54
Kentucky 177-60
Alabama 151-77
Mississippi State 151-80
LSU 135-87
Tennessee 129-89
South Carolina 129-101
Vanderbilt 125-97
Mississippi 123-96
Arkansas 116-97
Georgia 115-96
Auburn 109-104

In The Rankings
Entering the 2007-08 season, Alabama had been ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 a total of 85 of a possible 127 weeks.

I realize that Sports Information Departments release favorable statistics to the media all the time. The timing of these statistics are curious though.

I'll let the message boards and talk shows debate the merits of these stats. If you have read some of my other basketball related posts, you'll get an idea about how I feel about these.

Whether you're at a game or watching it with some friends on t.v., there is always "that guy" who has decided that the outcome of the game will be decided by a specific phase of the game. In basketball, it might be turnovers, free throws, an effective zone defense, or making an extra pass on offense. If it is turnovers for example, he will call out every turnover by his team and keep "score" the whole night. Every time his team turns the ball over, he'll say "that's 14!". In the end, his team could still win, but if they lose the turnover battle, you'll get the sense that he still thinks they lost the game.

During last night's ESPN broadcast of the Alabama-Tennessee game, the announcers displayed an interesting statistic. Only one team has won the NCAA tournament with free throw percentage of less than 65% (2003-2004 Conneticut Huskies). I have been to and watched several basketball games where someone will count every missed free throw. If we lose, "that guy" will say, "do you realize we lost by 8, but we missed 13 free throws?".

So in honor of "that guy", I decided to see what teams will drive him crazy come tournament time. Since it has been established in previous posts that the AP Top 25 Poll is meaningless, I decided to take a look at the top RPI teams. I was actually shocked to find 4 teams fall below the "free throw poverty" line. Those four teams are:

• Tennessee - 64.6%
• Memphis - 58.6%
• Kansas - 65.5%
• Georgetown - 64.8%

On the flip side, there are a couple of top RPI teams whose free throw percentage stands out. They include:

• North Carolina - 76%
• Duke - 70%
• Washington St - 74.9%
• UCLA - 74.7%

Let's say a team averages 20 free throws a game. If North Carolina played Memphis and they both shot 20 free throws at their season average, Memphis would be giving up 4 points. Don't you think that would be important?

So, are Memphis and the others listed definitely out of championship contention? Absolutely not. The 2003-2004 Huskies are living proof. However, they did improve their free throw percentage in the tournament by 5%. So, these other teams could improve as well.

If you're "that guy", you'll definitely have Memphis getting upset in the Sweet Sixteen. Someone will ask you why and you'll say "They don't shoot free throws well". And you'll feel good about it.

The Seattle Times is running a fascinating series on the 2000 Washington Huskies football team. Pay particular attention to the piece on Jerramy Stevens. It's long, but well worth the read. To summarize, the article details an alleged rape, a hit and run, and a couple of other driving incidents, some involving alcohol. Despite everything that Stevens has been involved in, he is now the starting TE for the Seattle Seahawks making millions a year. When asked about his past, Steve Allen (GM for the Seahawks) said, "Sometimes, you have to give people a chance."

We all need second chances, but it's funny how we decide when we'll give second chances in sports. We like to think we're a forgiving bunch, but really they only reason we'll give someone a second chance is if they can help our team get a win. There really is no other factor involved.

Isn't it ironic how fans will never forget one blown call by a ref, an error or a blown coverage which cost their team the championship? Yet, everyone is willing to overlook a few "minor" discretions off the field. Take the Bill Buckner error for example. I'm not sure that all Boston fans have forgiven him for that error yet, but the ones that have were willing to once Boston won a World Series.

Look, forgiveness is necessary in life, as well as sports. Let's just not grant it only if it leads to more wins for your team.

At this point, the Elizabeth Gottfried - Paul Finebaum battle has been played out. To summarize, Mrs Gottfried jumped all over Finebaum at halftime of Saturday's Alabama basketball game. Finebaum then comes on his radio show for four hours and he and his callers bash Gottfried for 4 hours. This after Gottfried had just had one of his biggest wins of the season.

I've never seen a wife defend her (athlete/coach) husband's job performance in public and have positive results. Whether it is true or not, it makes it appear that the criticism is getting to the husband and thus the wife can't take it anymore. Those of us that live in the south know that Finebaum lives off of this sort of stuff, so she played right into his hands. The ironic thing is, she probably felt better when she walked away. On to some additional thoughts...

Hopefully you've noticed by now that the following teams lost in the past week:

• Illinois
• Washington St.
• Texas A&M
• Arizona St

Sound familiar? All 4 were in the "over rated" column earlier this week. Some of these teams are still over rated (Indiana & Texas A&M) in the new poll.

Keep an eye out for some of the new "over rated" teams - Florida and Stanford.

Can we please stop with the "Giants will win the Super Bowl" predictions? The Patriots have proven over and over again that they can find multiple ways to win and will do it again on Sunday. The only folks claiming the Giants will win are either Giants fans or someone who's trying to be that "controversial" guy who has to go the other way on everything . Remember, the Giants gave them their best shot on their home field and it wasn't enough.

Speaking of the Super Bowl, this article raises the question, is Belichick really a genius or did he just get lucky on a 6th round pick? I'd say he and his front office have been too good in the draft and with free agents to base all of his success on Brady.

Did anyone see the end of the first half of the Conneticut/Indiana game? A Husky player fell for the early clock countdown trick by the Indiana student section. It's the first time I've seen that happen. Hopefully we will see that on You Tube at some point.

I'm beginning to think that Pete Carrol is getting worried about the Reggie Bush saga and possible probation sanctions down the line. What other motivation would he have for meeting with NFL teams about a head coaching job?

Finally, here's an article that will have you pulling for Eastern Arizona basketball. Tragic!

Update, I guess I won't be pulling for him after all.

I had planned a weekend wrap-up post tonight, but instead I have to cover this topic. If you are not from Alabama, you may not know the players in this saga. Mark Gottfried, the University of Alabama men's basketball coach, has been under fire for his sub par performance this year. He has received the most criticism on the Paul Finebaum show, a syndicated talk radio show in the Southeast. Finebaum has made a living criticizing coaches on his wildly successful talk show.

I received an e-mail from a fan at the game who witnessed it first hand and then saw this post on Tider Insider, an Alabama sports message board. Apparently, Gottfried's wife confronted Paul Finebaum at halftime of Alabama's 20 point win over Auburn. So far, I haven't seen this discussed anywhere else. I have no confirmation as to what was said, although I highly doubt she was inviting him over for dinner. If it is true, we should hear much more about it tomorrow when Finebaum airs his radio show at 2:00 Central Time.

This won't be good for Gottfried. First, it adds to the speculation that he is on the hot seat. After all, if your wife is confronting a talk show host, she apparently has something to worry about. Second, this will only fuel Finebaum's fire to talk negatively about Gottfried, as Finebaum has shown in the past that he doesn't care what people, especially coaches, think about him. Third, I've never seen a situation where a wife of a player or coach confronted the media and came out looking good.

Also, isn't this one of the signs of a coach that is about to be fired? Other signs would include:

• Coach referring to the current season as a rebuilding season
• FireCoachX.com website
• Vote of confidence from AD or President
• Constant threads on the message boards about potential new coaches
• Bad loss against an extremely inferior team
• Common knowledge of the amount of the coach's buyout.

Keep an eye out on this one and we'll see what Finebaum has to say on tomorrow's show.

I'm not sure what the best part of the Hillman dunk is:

1. The fact that the Auburn defender raced down court to get dunked on.

2. The fact that Ronald Steele's knee seems to be pretty healthy. That's him on the bench with the tie on.

3. When they replayed the dunk going to commercial, the live broadcast announcer, Joe Dean Jr., was so excited all he could say was, Dunkarino!.

Have you ever been in a public setting and you start to pick up on a trend? Maybe you see a couple of people wearing the same type of jeans. Or you notice that a couple of people are wearing the same hats. You then think to yourself, I guess that's the new "in" thing. And a couple of months later everyone has those jeans or that hat.

Tonight I caught some of the Duke - Virginia Tech game. Leon Washington, the athletic forward for Virginia Tech, flopped around the court all night. Unfortunately, this is common place in basketball today. A decade or so ago, Vlade Divac came into the NBA and started flopping to draw fouls. It was annoying then, but now it has gotten out of control. Want proof, I present to you:

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

Exhibit C

Exhibit D

Exhibit E

Exhibit F

Your honor, the prosecution rests!

Sure, some of this has gone on forever, but Vlade brought it to the mainstream. It seems that the "fundamentally sound" international players have copied the "Vlade model" and have had success with it. And it's no shock to discover where Vlade and his international brethren got this from. This type of thing is common place in soccer which most international players grew up playing.

So the question has to be asked, is basketball turning into soccer? Well, if players start celebrating as if they just cured cancer after every basket then we'll know we are there. Oh wait......

Using the same argument as the previous post, I thought I would try to find some "sleeper" teams. Unfortunately, there aren't any. The few teams that might qualify as "under rated" have been given too much credit for their SOS schedule, even though they didn't win the games. A couple of examples:

Arizona (AP Rank N/A, RPI Rank 8) looks to be the prime example of this. While they have the #1 SOS, they are 1-4 against teams in the RPI top 50. Their only Top 50 win came against Texas A&M, who we have established as "over rated"

St. Mary's (AP Rank N/A, RPI Rank 10) has a huge win against Drake (RPI rank of 8). However, they also have a 19 point loss to Texas. A win against Oregan helps them as well. Once you take a look at their complete schedule, you quickly realize they aren't a Top 10 team.

So what does this mean? It appears we have a few dominant teams and a bunch of mediocre teams. Memphis, Kansas and North Carolina seem to be the cream of the crop. Followed by Tennessee, UCLA, Duke and Georgetown in the next group. Toss in some decent big conference schools and a few mid majors and you have your Top 25.

Look at me, it sure seems like I'm acting like an AP voter now.

I've always hated the "Over Rated" cheer in any sport. When a crowd starts the "Over Rated" cheer, aren't they essentially saying, "Hey, you're obviously not good, because we beat you and we stink!". Shouldn't the crowd start chant "Under Rated" in reference to their own team?

I thought it would be good to take a look at the useless AP Top 25 College Basketball Poll. I'm really not sure why this poll even matters, but everyone refers to it during the regular season. Voters seem to just look for the best records from the "Big Name" schools and then throw us a bone and include a team like Drake to make it seem like they are "enlightened" voters. Based on the fact that the RPI does a much better job of factoring in strength of schedule and the NCAA Tournament committee uses this index to help determine who gets in, here are a few teams that appear to be "Over Rated" right now.

• Washington State - AP Ranking 6/RPI Ranking 18/SOS 127



• Indiana - AP Ranking 6/RPI Ranking 25/SOS 163



• Texas A&M - AP Ranking 18/RPI Ranking 42/ SOS 139



• Arizona State - AP Ranking 23 /RPI Ranking 71/ SOS 213
  

For the most part, these teams played a WEAK non-conference schedule (as noted by their SOS), which most voters don't take into account. These teams might actually end up being quality teams, but don't be surprised if they encounter a couple of "upsets" along the way. Also, look for the "talking heads" to complain about these team's seeds when tournament time comes around.

I realize last second shot videos for high school basketball are a dime a dozen. Still the question has to be asked. By looking at the number of views on You Tube for this one, how has this one not been sent around 100 times on e-mail? Or posted on every sports blog out there. Incredible finish to a high school game.

I only wish they had a shot of the opposing coach, who was walking around at half court setting up the defense for the "final shot". What defense would you run in that situation? Did it really matter? And by the way, props to the person in the crowd who "had faith."

While we're on buzzer beaters, I still believe this is one of the greatest finishes I have ever seen. Considering it was a championship game and the team that lost had a 50+ game winning streak. It's worth the time to view it.

I understand that Favre gets a free pass from the Packers fans. He's all they know. Even the Green Bay newspaper has taken it easier on him by blaming the whole team for the loss. And I get the argument that you win as a team and lose as a team.

The Green Bay offense did nothing the entire 2nd half. He really seemed to be effected by the cold. And that would be fine, except Eli Manning looked like he was playing in 60 degree weather.

There's no telling what he has left, but it sure would be hard to top this season. The Packers will not sneak up on anyone next season, especially with a tougher schedule. Also, history shows that the surprise teams have a much tougher time the next season (See this year's New Orleans Saints).

Look, it won't matter if the Packers go 3-13 next year. Green Bay fans will always look favorably on Favre. But who wants to see Favre finish his career like that? As an outsider, it sure would be nice to see Favre go on top. Even if he did stink it up on Sunday.

Nick Hardwick, the Chargers center, thinks so. According to Hardwick, “They've got 10 good football players on that team. Richard Seymour is a dirty, cheap little pompous (expletive).” He goes on further and makes some pretty strong statements, which you can see here.

Many people will point to the bump into Rivers as proof. (ESPN already has). Here's my question, if Seymour is such a dirty player, why haven't we heard about this in the past? With all of the coverage of the Patriots this year, this has just been overlooked all along?

While Seymour may be guilty of everything he is accused of, Hardwick doesn't get much credibility here. Unfortunatly, his timing just smells of sour grapes. It's very similiar to Wade Phillips claiming they were the better team last week.

If we had heard this from others in the past, or if Harwick had said this after they faced each other in week 2, I might be more inclined to believe him. Unfortunately, Harwick reminds me of that kid in your 2nd grade class who thinks everyone cheated to win the kickball game in PE.

So the Super Bowl is now set. Don't forget, the Giants and the Patriots just met a few weeks ago, in a game I wrote about here. Beyond anything else, I'm most excited that we get to see Eli Manning give his best Troy from High School Musical impersonation during Super Bowl Week. Just watch Manning during Super Bowl week and tell me he doesn't look like he's totally uncomfortable with the media. It looks like he wants to say, "Look, I'm not my brother. Just leave me alone!" By the way, this analogy does not make me gay. It just makes me a Dad of a 6-year old girl.




Other thoughts:

• I hate it when one studio analyst picks the underdog, just so someone will do it. Really Bill Cowher? You feel good about the Chargers, on the road, with their three best offensive players hurt?


• Rivers limping around on that big knee brace reminded me of Dan Marino late in the year. I can't believe the Patriots didn't pressure him more. Every time they did, he went down or made a bad pass.


• How do you think Peyton Manning felt when he turned on the TV and saw his "end of the year" commercial. That one had to hurt.


• No sweatshirt for Belichick? His coat reminded me of the one George had on Seinfeld.


• Memo to the Chargers. When the Pats send Kevin Faulk out to wide receiver, you might want to cover him.


• Apparently Phil Simms starts every game with a potential theme and then sticks with it. Last week, he mentioned "youth is overrated" several times. This week his theme was "the Chargers told us they were going to force some turnovers".


• What genius decided to design the Patriots' stadium with one section of the End Zone open? They just effectively killed any home field advantage. It seemed so quiet on the field, but if you looked in the stands the fans were going crazy.


• Obviously, the Patriots still look like a team that can do what they need to win, no matter what the situation is. Watching the game, you just knew they would eventually win.


• Why do the announcers have to announce in game conditions? Would it really matter if Joe Buck and Troy Aikman were in a sealed off booth? Couldn't they pipe in some crowd noise from one of the on field guys?


• Fox seemed to be missing the important replays all night. The personal foul call on Madison. The "pass interference" on Driver that was not called.


• On the fumble late in the game by McWaters on the punt return, if you looked closely the punter was buried deep in the pile fighting for the ball. Impressive.


• Manning seemed to be much more comfortable in the cold than Favre did. The shot of Favre using some sort of rag to keep his face warm in between plays said it all.


• As I have talked about after each round of playoff games, line play has been the key to each game. The Giants defensive line is on a roll right now. It should be fun to watch them go up against the Patriots offensive line.


• The Patriots don't look unbeatable at this point, however, they just have an air of confidence about them. In the first half of the games, Tom Brady almost looks like he's bored and he's ready for the real competition to begin

I've updated the links on the left hand side. A couple of interesting thoughts coming from the articles:


1. The Rick Reilly story is interesting. I really hope keeps working on the special interest stories and helps develop the sappy Sportscenter pieces with them. He'd be wasting his talent if he just becomes another sportswriter arguing some meaningless point. Memo to Bristol, the PTI guys can do it, everyone else is just fighting for 2nd place.

2. Interesting story about Quin Snyder. He's still so young, he should get a second chance somewhere.

3. Josh McRoberts, who is mentioned in the Snyder story, is a classic example of the All-County Rec Player.

4. Gus Johnson will be calling the Ohio State v Tennessee game. It will now become appointment television for me. Please, please, please let this game be close in the 2nd half.

Sunday night, I linked an article from the Indy Times by Bob Kravitz which made this statement:

It must be said: The Colts have become the Atlanta Braves of the NFL. Five straight seasons of 12-or-more victories is absolutely remarkable. But it's also relatively meaningless when you've got just one Super Bowl ring to show for it. That this version of the Colts are similar to the 90's Braves.

Before I go any further, I feel the need to give full disclosure. I am a Braves fan. I'm not one of the TBS manufactured fans that enjoyed them once they became good in the 90's. No I grew up watching Bob Horner and Chris Chambless. I did everything to imitate Dale Murphy, including slinging my bat like him after every hit. When Sid Bream slid into home, it was probably one of the five greatest sports moments of my life. So when Mr. Kravitz compared the Colts to the Braves, I had to take a closer look.

It appears that the analogy made by Mr Kravitz used the Dwight Schrute style. It goes something like this:

• Fact - The Colts have had 5 winning seasons and 1 title.
• Fact - The Braves had a lot of winning seasons and 1 title.
• Fact - The Colts are the NFL's version of the Braves.

Yes, there are many similarities to the Braves and Colts. However, there is one distinct differences as well. As someone who has "suffered" through all of the winning seasons, I thought it would be fun to take a closer look at them. We'll look at a few categories and break it down using the Sports Guy style.

Coaches

You couldn't get two polar opposites, as far as the head coaches go. Tony Dungy is known for keeping a calm demeanor, while Bobby Cox holds the record for most games getting tossed. However, there is one striking similarity that you might not think about. Both teams have a high profile assistant coach that some would argue are largely responsible for the teams success. Leo Mazzoni was the pitching coach for the Braves pitching staff, which was always the strength of the team. Meanwhile, the offensive coordinator for the Colts is Jim Caldwell, which is also the strength of the team. So I guess you can make the argument that they do have some similarities there.

Players

It's really hard to compare these, because they come from different sports. But, there are some distinct similarities between the Braves pitching staff and the Colts quarterback. Smoltz, Glavine and Maddux (Braves pitchers) were genuinely likable guys. They even had their own commercials. Do you remember "Chicks dig the Long Ball"? They were also known for having dominant regular seasons and just not coming through in the postseason. Oh sure, they may have had good games, but they never just took over games, as a staff, and won the series outright in the postseason. Does that sound like anyone you know on the Colts? It seems like some flaw is always exposed in the postseason

Fan Base

Neither team is known to have an obnoxious, obsessive fan base. I'm talking on the lines of the Boston Red Sox or the Green Bay Packers. Sure, you could easily make the argument that the Colts fans are more passionate than Braves fans are. In fact, there have been many playoff games that didn't sell out in Atlanta. However, when you ask someone to give you a list of the top 10 most passionate pro sports fan bases, the Colts fans will not make that list. (Side note, Colts fans will rock the jersey. I've never seen a fan base wear more jerseys than they do. Or maybe the blue just stands out on TV)

New Stadium

A surprising similarity, but the Braves moved into Turner Field after the Olympics. Guess what, the Colts are moving out of the RCA dome this year. The time frame doesn't match up exactly, but it's pretty close. And it's kind of creepy too. Speaking of time frame...

Time Frame

The Braves playoff streak started in the early 90's and lasted until 2005. This is probably the reason that Braves fans stopped selling out playoff games in the late 90's. Their only championship occurred in 1995 against the Cleveland Indians. Meanwhile the Colts started in 2002 and won their first championship in 2007. And this, my friends, brings us to the major difference between the Braves and the Colts. The Braves streak lasted from 1991 - 2005. The Colts have only been going at this since 2002.

So Colts fans, I feel your pain, I really do. But as a Braves fan, I can't honestly say you haven't reached Braves comparison yet. You need about 10 more years of having a dominant regular season and coming up short in the playoffs before I'll feel a bond with you. If you can make it that far, let's see if you "rock the jerseys" then.

Heard this statement last night on American Idol and laughed out loud. After doing a quick search, I found out this really doesn't mean anything, it's just another way of saying goodbye.

Tonight I thought we could have some lighthearted fun. Here are some old ESPN commercials from You Tube. .

The Big Brother Program

AROD

American Cheese

Dan Patrick Parking Spot

Don't walk

Steiner and Melrose Place

The Closer

Is it wierd?

I was recently in a discussion with a friend about the rules of etiquette for being a fan. I asked him, "At what point in your frustration with the play of your team, can you give up on them and not watch them?" His response was that, as a fan (i.e. fanatic), you have to stick with your team in the good times and the bad. Part of being a fan is suffering with your team through the bad times and experiencing the joy of them getting better. And I agree with the logic. And because of that logic, it will be a long time before we have a playoff system in college football.

What does being a fan have to do with a college football playoff system? Last week, the University of Georgia President, Michael Adams, made headlines by saying he had a plan for a college football playoff system. This got everyone excited because it came from a university president. If a president could get behind it, the talking heads would say, then it might happen. But as usual, this article came out today. Basically, the presidents state they will "look into it" but there will be no playoff system next year.

I love a good sports conspiracy theory more than anyone. And I have been fascinated by talk radio and newspapers and how they cover this topic. Virtually everyone just argues with the BCS "logic" for why there will be no playoff system. The main arguments made by the BCS revolve around academics, the regular season, and the bowl system. In fact , Mike Slive (commissioner of the SEC) makes these points in a statement on the BCS website (http://www.bcsfootball.org/):

"There really is no interest exhibited presently by our presidents or chancellors or many others in having a playoff. I try to think about it in terms of, 'what is in the best interest of college football?' I think three principles need to be applied. One is that college football is part of higher education, part of the academic mission of our institutions and that's an important piece of the puzzle that's always going to be there. Two, football has a wonderful regular season, an exciting regular season that's maybe the best regular season of all sports. Three, we've had a wonderful 100-year relationship with the bowl system.
"So the postseason has to meld those three systems into something that is good for college football."

This leads college football fans and the talk show circuit to argue the merits of these points. It makes for fascinating talk and good ratings, especially when someone argues that the BCS works. Almost everyone "disagrees" with the system, yet everyone tunes in to the national title game and hopes something will change in the future. The rest of this post could be spent arguing against every point made by the BCS. Yet it is pointless, because those factors have nothing to do with whether we have a playoff system in college football.

The problem is, everyone has ignored the elephant in the room. Here's the real reason we don't have a playoff system. Under the current system, the presidents (BCS) control the flow of money generated from the BCS. If we were to go to a playoff system, the NCAA would control the flow of money earned from the playoffs. A playoff system would most likely generate more upfront money, but that doesn't mean that the presidents will get more money in the end. And since the main job of university presidents (and AD's for that matter) is to raise money, what incentive do they have to change the system?

So, why don't the presidents just come out and say that? Because if they do, they look greedy. Instead, they hide behind the arguments of academics and the relationship with the bowls and that makes them "look" better.

So what can a fan do? The only way for us to change the system is for fans to quit caring about the games. The TV money and donations would fall off and then the presidents would be forced to make changes. But guess what, it's not going to happen. If my team makes it to the championship game, I'm going to be with them to the end. I'll check the BCS standings every week and argue about a playoff system in which they would be included. I'll root for the teams ahead of them in the standings to lose. I'll be fanatical about how my team's conference is much tougher than another.

Meanwhile, the presidents will sit back and laugh. Sure, they will issue a statement saying they'll look into an "And-1" game or something like that. We as fans will get all excited. And because I'm a true fan of my team and can't give up on them regardless of the circumstances, it will be a long time before we see a playoff in college football.

So, let the presidents build up the "student-athlete". Let a member of the media, like this guy, tell you the BCS works. Meanwhile, just remember, your donations for your football tickets are due in a couple of months.

Just a quick look back to the 1999-2000 playoff season. In what many consider to be one of the top Super Bowls ever played, the Rams stopped the Titans on the 1 yard line to win the game. However, both teams almost weren't in the game. Both teams had a major "if only" moment to get there.

Remember, an "if only" moment occurs when one play changes the course of the game, at least in the fans mind. In fact, most fans never forget the play and, from time to time, will remember that season by saying "If Only X player had caught the ball......"

The Titan's "if only" moment is pretty hard to forget. The Music City Miracle will go down as one of the most amazing plays of all time. "If only" the referee had ruled it a forward pass. "If Only" the Bills had still tackled Wycheck. "If Only" the Titans had been knocked in the first round. Would the Colts have beaten the Bills that year?

The Rams's "If only" moment was a little more obscure. They benefited from an overturned catch by Tampa's Bert Emanuel. I have searched all over for a you tube clip of this play, but alas, there is no clip to be found. You can, however, read more about it here. The call was so bad, the NFL has since changed the rules. "If Only" Tampa would have been awarded a 1st down. Would they have scored? "If Only" the Bucs would have won, would Tony Dungy still be in Tampa?

So when you're watching the games this weekend. Don't give up on them too early. You'll never know when an"if only" moment might happen.

So the Division finals have been now been set and I believe this line from Tom Brady says it all, "It's easy to play quarterback when you got receivers open and the offensive line doesn't let them touch you". Both Tom Brady and Brett Favre could have taken snaps, sat in a rocking chair, had a sip of tea and then made a pass to complete a first down. Meanwhile, Peyton Manning and Tony Romo seemed to be scrambling for their lives most of the day. Manning was ultimately doomed by his turnovers, but he didn't have time to pick apart the Charger secondary because of the pass rush. Meanwhile, Brady and Favre had all day. That's the crazy thing about the NFL. After all the games, you'll hear about what a great game Brady and Favre had, yet you'll never hear anything about the offensive line. The same goes for Romo and Manning. You'll hear about the vacation to Mexico and the interceptions in Indy, but no one will blame the offensive line. If Favre and Brady get that kind of protection next week, there is no doubt we'll see them in the Super Bowl.

Packers 42 - Seahawks 20

Classic Green Bay game in the snow. In fact, didn't the snow almost look fake on TV? Seattle took a 14-0 lead off of two Ryan Grant turnovers and then Green Bay never looked back. How often do we see a team go down real early and then they come back to win in a route? LSU in the BCS game, Florida last year in the BCS game, and Indy in the Superbowl last year comes to mind. When you're in the playoffs, both teams are good and it's as if the early deficit gets them focused. They play like a team on a mission, while the other team let's their guard down. By the time they realize they have a game on their hands it's over.

Also, who knew that Atari Bigby was the current day version of Steve Atwater. And you can mark it down, in 2025 we'll have some players named XBOX, Playstaion and Wii.

In case your wondering, here's some background on those neon green gloves the Seahawks were wearing. While we're mentioning neon green, kudos to the guys in the stands who wore the neon green ponchos to the game. In an HDTV world, you're going to get on TV often wearing those.

What they are saying locally:

In Seattle, their weakness was exposed. The defense finally didn't show up for the game.

In Green Bay, they are still bowing down to Brett Favre. What are those guys going to do once he retires?

Patriots 31- Jags 20

Who is doing Phil Simms hair? Whoever you are, please keep it up. I haven't seen hair teased like that since 1988.

New England took the Jags best shot and still won. When the Patriots play, you just get the feeling that they will take over at some point. As long as Brady can sit back in the pocket like he did in this game, it doesn't matter if their defense is looking a little bit old.

Speaking of age, did you know the Patriots believe that "youth is overrated"? (Think we heard that enough during game?) As for youth, I wonder who is older? The guy who invented Facebook or the Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. Are you kidding me? The man who designs the plays for the best offense in football is 31? When they featured him on TV Saturday night, my thought was, "Wow even the water boy has a headset for the Patriots!". Incredible.

What they are saying locally

In Jacksonville, they know the better team won. They gave the almighty Patriots their best shot and it wasn't enough. See you next year.

In Boston, it was just another win for the Patriots. Yes, they still have a running game. Although, I'm sure there are several fantasy owners pulling their hair out wishing Maroney would have given them that much production all year.

Chargers 28 - Colts 24

The Chargers overcame injuries to LT and Phillip Rivers to win the game. The two interceptions by Manning likely cost them the game. Probably the most exciting game of all 4 this weekend.

Question. Since when did Phillip Rivers become this "trash talking, I can't be intimidated" QB? Personally, it's hard to take someone seriously when they hurt their knee by jumping up and down like a ballerina on a pass play. Also, this game is a classic example of why sideline reporters are needed. I realize that CBS has gone away from them, but wouldn't you have liked an updated on LT or River's condition? Speaking of announcing. Hey CBS, Gus Johnson would have been perfect for this game.

Also, all the complaining about officiating by the Chargers just made them so unlikeable. It's the NFL, the home team is going to get some more calls.

What they are saying locally

In San Diego, yes they won, but how will they fare against the Patriots with Rivers, LT and Gates hurt?

In Indy, this writer was pretty harsh. Although he asks a fair question. Are the Colts this decade's version of the 90's Braves?

Giants 21 - Cowboys 17

You could just feel this one coming couldn't you? Start with the way the Cowboys played against the Redskins in Week 17, throw in the whole "it's hard to beat a team 3 times" theory, and add a dash of the Romo-Simpson Mexico trip and you have a recipe for disaster.

The Giants defensive front gave the Cowboys fits in the second half. Are the Giants really a "hot team right now, or have they just beaten two mediocre teams in the last two weeks? The Cowboys really did not look good coming down the stretch.

What they are saying locally

In Dallas, TO cried and said don't blame Romo for the loss. I don't think he would have ever cried for McNabb. Romo is slowly getting the Peyton Manning reputation for his play in the playoffs. Although, as I said earlier, the O-line lost this game for them.

In New York, they are playing the underdog card up. I'm sure they can keep on doing it this week when they face the Packers.

As Kramer on Seinfeld once famously said, "Anytime you meet a proctologist at a party, plant yourself next to him for the night". The same holds true for any close sporting event in which Gus Johnson is the announcer. Fortunately, that happened today when Vandy faced Kentucky at Rupp Arena. However, they severely disappointed me as they left me and many more fans wanting more Gus.

Kentucky and Vandy went to double OT in a snooze fest. Kentucky won by default as both teams played horrible. The game had all the makings of an instant classic. (Double OT, packed house, huge comeback) I guess it was too good to be true.

Come on guys, you've got Gus Johnson in the house and no one hits a shot to send him into a frenzy. About the only thing he could get excited about was a shot by Vandy with time left on the clock that sent the game into overtime.

I was amazed to find out some of my friends haven't heard of Gus. Just for you guys, here are some of his gems.

HA HA!

UCLA v Gonzaga. (Fastforward to 1:45)

By the way, the SEC is WAY down this year in basketball. Don't buy into any "Kentucky is back!" articles you will read tomorrow. When your best offense is to hold the ball with a 2 point lead and 2 minutes left on the clock, you're not very good.

And next time, if you're gonna bring Gus in the house. Man up and play some ball.

Whenever you play pickup basketball, you inevitably run up against a guy that has tons of skills but never looks the part. In fact, he's really good in the half court game, but he's so out of shape that he won't cross half court once the action picks up. When you ask around about the guy, you usually find out he was an All-County player in high school or maybe he played a little "college" ball, but that was years ago and he's put on the poundage since then. And while he may be a factor in the game early on, in the later stages of the game he's tugging at his gym shorts and snowbirding. He just has that "look" about him.

That "look" can translate to the college game as well. Before I got a look at him, I'd heard that Kevin Love was an all-world passer and was going to be the perfect addition to lead UCLA to the title game this year. But then I saw the picture of Love and OJ Mayo in the Sports Illustrated college basketball preview issue and my first thought was, "that's him?".

And it's true. Love does have great ball handling skills and he's a good overall college low post player. Don't get me wrong, I would love to have him on my college basketball team. But something didn't feel right about him. And then this week, two seperate sites made mention of him. Both Seth Davis and Draft Express talked about his conditioning, or lack thereof. It got me to thinking about the "look" and how sometimes you can just tell that someone will not be an All-Star in the NBA.

The most glaring example of this theory is Bryant "Big Country" Reeves. I distinctly remember him dominating the college game, but I always felt that his skills wouldn't translate into the pros. People will now make fun of him and say he wasn't a good player...but he was, in college. He even outplayed Antonio McDyess in the 2nd round of the NBA tournament. He had all the tools a post player would need, but he just didn't seem "in shape". I'm not talking about being able to leap out of the building or run the fastest down the court. He just looked like a good old country farm boy.

On the flip side, sometimes you can look at a player and just tell they will make it. I don't think anyone doubted that Lebron would dominate once he matured on the pro level. You could see the athleticism from the beginning. The skills can come later. And yes, there are guys that have disproved this theory, namely Charles Barkley.

And here's a prediction as to what will happen with Love. After he doesn't go to the NBA this year (because pro scouts are worried about his athleticism), he'll undergo some serious off season conditioning at UCLA. Next fall, you'll read about how he worked out twice a day, gave up fried foods and only ate fish and vegetables. He will have dropped 15 pounds, but the funny thing is, you'll still see the "unathletic" Love. Sure, he'll be an All-American and Dick Vitale will drool all over him like he does in this video, but you'll just be able to tell.

The "look" doesn't just apply to basketball. A couple of years ago, the NFL Network ran a reality series in which they followed the Jacksonville Jaguars around during training camp. I wish I could find some video of this. Every time they flashed to Byron Leftwich in the locker room or film room, he always had a bag of potato chips in his hand. Aren't NFL quarterbacks supposed to eat better than that? From that point on, I just knew to stear clear of him in my fantasy football league and I had the gut feeling that someday he would get cut. All I could imagine was Leftwich sitting in his hotel room the night before the game, chowing down on his chips.

Back to the pickup game analogy. Over time, the "All-County" guy gets better, but he never truly dominates because he's out of shape. Once the other team starts to run, it's over for the big guy with good hands. Just keep that in mind if UCLA happens to face teams like Memphis or Tennessee in the tournament. And remember, 15 years from now when a big guy named Kevin walks into the gym, you better run the fast break that night.

I've added a section on the left hand side that will link you to some interesting articles that are currently on the net. I'll be changing that area frequently, so check it often if you are looking for a good read.

Every Wednesday, unless something else comes up, I'll give you some quick thoughts about what is going on in the world of sports.

So Donovan McNabb wants to add some playmakers, citing the Patriots as an example. Who doesn't? Second, I know Tom Brady, and with all due respect Mr. McNabb, you are no Tom Brady.

Wow, they are really going to make the AD the scapegoat for June Jones leaving Hawaii. When you make it to the BCS, and you're in Hawaii and you still leave, things must be pretty bad.

How does the saying go? "Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it." Please tell me that the Falcons aren't seriously interested in another college coach. Haven't we seen this game before from Carroll? It's an old school agent move to get his name out there and scare the alumni.

Here's the kiss of death for the Georgia Bulldogs. We're going to have to spend the entire off season hearing how good they are going to be next year. It's hard enough to win the SEC without having a bulls eye on your chest.

Speaking of the steroids saga. Does it bother you that this overzealous IRS agent keeps coming up whenever someone is investigated?

It's easy to take the blame in the first year, but if things keep going this way, I wouldn't want to be Billy Gillispie. He's still doing a much better job than Mark Gottfried is right now.

We keep hearing about Reggie Bush getting paid while he was at USC. If the contents in this book are true, why has the NCAA not done anything yet? Conspiracy theorists from the SEC have a few thoughts on that.

Peter King says he doesn't get the "dude" commercials in this article. What? I guess I know why the public thinks the media is out of touch.

Roger Shultz, former offensive lineman for Alabama, is currently on the Biggest Loser. Roger is famous for coining the phrase "We need to pay property taxes in Knoxville, because we own Tennessee." I think the SEC needs to pay property taxes in Columbus because they own Ohio State.

After watching LSU defeat Ohio State last night, I thought back to a conversation I had with a friend during a mutual friend's birthday party in December. It occurred right after this clip was shown on ESPN...



My friend turned to me and said, "You know, he kind of reminds you of that crazy uncle you have in the family. The one who's fun to be around, but you're not sure you want to leave him alone with the kids." What a perfect analogy. Just look at the crazy things he does in this one clip:

• Cussing for no apparent reason



• The way he pulls at his suit jacket to make sure his point gets across



• And of course, the "Have a Great Day" quote

Here's the thing about the crazy uncle. Despite the fact he seems crazy, he tends to succeed in life although you don't know how. Most observers, especially fans in the SEC, have the same view of Miles. In fact, even though he has just won a championship, most fans will come up with several reasons for why Miles is not a good coach. Some feel like he won with Nick Saban's players, others think he got lucky with his fourth down calls against Auburn and Florida, and others will say that he got lucky by having to play Ohio State (a team that "looked" weaker than Georgia, USC and West Virginia in the bowls). Many LSU fans even wanted him to go to Michigan because they felt LSU had "underachieved" the last couple of years. And yes, there is some merit to all of those arguments.

One of the more interesting highlights of the coverage of the game (besides Fox's need to set the Guinness record for showing each team's band) was the fact that they almost ignored Miles the whole night. All you heard was about how aggressive Bo Pelini's defense was the entire night. Even Fox couldn't believe that Miles was leading to a championship. Just like when the entire family gets together, Miles was left alone in the corner having a good time by himself.

Another great characteristic of the crazy uncle is he doesn't care what people think about him. Miles seems to be the same way. From the hat perched high on his head to the "I'm the coolest guy in the room" strut, he just looks like the crazy uncle.

But here's the thing. He has a championship under his belt, which many coaches would love to have. Tommy Tuberville, Mike Belotti, Rich Rodriguez and Mark Richt all come to mind.

So congratulations to Crazy Uncle Les. We don't know how you did it man.

In honor of Les, here are a few other "crazy uncle" You tube clips of Les...

"Let her rip" "I'm the head coach!" "Ar-Kansas!" "?"

Taking a break tonight to watch the Championship game. In what will be a weekly segment, I'll give you some links of other interesting and relevant articles out there on the net.

Before I do that, I have one quick comment about the game, which LSU currently leads 24-10 at the half. Hey Fox, we get it already. LSU and Ohio State both have a band. There is no need to show their reaction after every play.

Without further ado, here's a couple of good articles/links out there on the net.

Peter King always has a great rundown of the week in football. Even if you miss all of the games each weekend, you can catch up here. You can skip his political references and his rants about coffee.

You can find out all you wanted to know and more about coaching basketball. This will change the way you watch the game, unless you are one of the 2% of the guys out there that were All-County point guards in high school.

If you love PTI, you'll love Michael Wilbon's chat each Monday. Here is his chat from this week. His prediction as to who will win tonight's big game is pretty good. You'll always get something candid every week here.

Every wonder how the Skycam camera works. If you've ever been at a game that's had one, you've seen this thing in action. Here's a little background on it.

Want to know how your college basketball team is shaping up before conference play starts? Check here. We'll talk about some of the surprise teams later in the week.

During the Redskins-Seahawks game, a local commercial ran that I hadn't seen in years. Apparently, they were going to have a "Starving Artist" sale where you can get great paintings from "struggling" artists for $19.99. These sales may run frequently in your area, but they used to run almost monthly in our area about 15 years ago. Armed with a $20 bill and with visions of a masterpiece to hang over our mantle, our family went down to the local hotel where the sale was being held to get a bargain. Once inside, we found one painting for $20 and the remaining paintings were priced as if the artists weren't "struggling" at all. The one "low-priced" painting was nice, but it didn't knock your socks off either.

Kind of reminds me of this weekend's playoff games. Most of the games were pretty boring, with the exception of the Steelers-Jaguars game. When the big boys come out to play next week, maybe we won't have to watch anymore "starving artist" games.

Here's a recap of the weekend's games, in case you missed them. If you did, consider yourself lucky.

Seattle defeats Washington 35-14
Seattle's defense completely dominated this game, with the exception of the last 5 minutes of the 3rd Quarter and the start of the 4th quarter. The highlight of the game was when NBC announcer started the 4th quarter stating that Washington QB Todd Collins was "as good as it gets in the 4th Qtr". He then proceeded to have the worst 4th quarter of his life.


What they are saying locally:
In Washington, they believe the missed FG early in the 4th Quarter cost them momentum and the game. But the best part of Michal Wilbon's article is the juicy tidbit that Tony Romo of the Cowboys spent the weekend in Cancun with Jessica Simpson. Imagine if the Cowboys lose next week to the Giants, we'll never hear the end of it.

In Seattle they finally have a playoff defense. It was needed in the 4th Quarter as Washington started to make their run. If they really have a "playoff defense", we'll need to see it at Green Bay on the road this week. Also, the over/under on the number of times you'll see the "Matt Hasselback coin flip" quote this week is 100.

Jacksonville defeats Pittsburgh 31-29

Pittsburgh left the field at halftime, down 21-7, to a chorus of boos from the hometown crowd. The Steelers made a great run in the second half and actually took the lead 29-28, until David Garrad gave his best Tommy Frazier impression on a crucial 4th and 2 late in the fourth quarter. This game was by far the most entertaining of the weekend.

What they are saying locally
In Pittsburgh it was all "Big Ben's" fault. Not sure I agree totally, but he did have a pretty bad game.

In Jacksonville, they're loving the 4th and 2 call. Could it be a defining moment for the Jags, or will everyone forget about it after they face the Patriots this weekend?

NY Giants defeat Tampa Bay 24-14

This game didn't even feel this close. The Giants seemed to have control of the game the entire game. OK, here's the problem with my "Hangover Game Theory" I posted on Friday. When the following week's game has some importance, such as being a playoff game or a game against your rival, it's easier to shed the emotional baggage of the previous week's game. I still believe the Hangover Game Theory works. I just don't think this game qualified as one. Maybe next time I should do a little more research. Oh yea, and Tampa's injuries didn't help either.

What they are saying locally
In New York, this columnist believes the conservative offensive game plan helped Manning to lead the Giants to victory. Maybe so, but it sure seemed the defensive pressure on Jeff Garcia had a much bigger impact on the outcome of the game.

Tampa's already looking to the future. They feel they need to add some playmakers on offense and this team is a little soft. Looks like they are getting a little old too, if you ask me.

San Diego defeats Tennessee 17-6
Yawn! I think everyone could have predicted this game going this way. LT finally made a couple of plays in the second half and the Chargers walked away with it. The Chargers have been winning games like this for weeks now, but they'll have to step it up against the Colts next week. Remember, San Diego has beaten Indy once this year, so they are not going to sneak up on Manning and Co.

What they are saying locally
In San Diego, I guess they now feel justified in bringing Norv Turner. I would say "Hey Norv, act like you've been there before", but he really hasn't.

In Nashville, they feel LT was just too much for them. Did they really feel like a playoff team to you?

Overall, the teams that got the most pressure on the QB's seemed to win the games. Sounds simple, I know. But that is why the four top seeds are so good. All four teams (New England, Indy, Dallas and Green Bay) seem to do a good job of protecting their quarterback. We'll see what happens next week.

Mark it down, the Giants will lose this weekend. Yeah, I know it's a big leap of faith to say that the Giants will get beat by the Bucs this weekend. When you take into account that this is a road game, the Giants are a lower seed, and that Eli Manning hasn't faired too well in the playoffs, I'm not exactly stepping out on a limb. But I'm not basing my prediction on any of those factors. I'm basing it on the fact that they played the Patriots last week, and thus, the Tampa game is a "Hangover" game.

We see it happen all the time in sports. A team plays an "elite" team close, or they might even win. Then the next week, they look like a totally different team. They usually look flat and are never in the game. The game against the "elite" team gets special coverage in the media, meanwhile the next opponent is just waiting to pounce on their next victim.

Did you know that the last 8 teams to play New England have lost the following week? Many of those teams played the Patriots close, but were not able to put them away. Now understandably, some of those teams were not very good (Miami, Buffalo and New York Jets). However, the list of teams also includes two playoff teams, the Colts and the Steelers.

With the relentless coverage of the Patriots undefeated season, most teams had to hear about how good the Patriots were for the entire week leading up to the game. Every team wanted to be "that team", the team that was able to take down the Patriots. Instead they ended up with a loss and were left with a hangover for the next week. It's hard to take your next opponent serious after you've just played the mighty Patriots. I mean, really, how do you get excited about playing Tampa Bay after you just faced the Patriots on national TV on Saturday night?

Hangover games can also happen to teams that were supposed to win. The Bartman game for the Cubs comes to mind. They were emotionally spent and you just knew there was no way they would win the next week.

As a side note, guess who Pittsburgh played the week after they lost to the Patriots? That's right, the same opponent this week in the playoffs, the Jacksonville Jaguars. So if you're looking back to the week 15 game, just keep in mind that they were coming off a Patriot Hangover game.

Sure, it's a little extreme, but it's fun to speculate. This will be the first installment of what will be a regular feature on this site. Today we will put the 1995 UCLA Bruins under the "If Only" spotlight. To see the background of "If Only", check out my post about it on this site.

Many people will remember UCLA's run to a championship in 1995. The Bruins finished with one loss, a 10 point defeat at the hands of Oregon during the regular season. UCLA defeated Arkansas in the finals of the NCAA tournament and gave Jim Harrick his only national championship. It would not have happened had it not been for this play in their 2nd round game against Missouri.




Championships, no matter what level you play on, are extremely difficult to come by. From Little League, all the way up to Professional Sports, you're going to have some luck along the way. This play was UCLA's "lucky" play. But what would have happened, had Edny missed this shot? How would things have changed? Let's have fun and take a look.

The Champions
Obviously, UCLA would have been out. So for argument's sake, let's assume that Arkansas wins the title, something they would go on to do the next year. Would Nolan Richardson have back-to-back titles? It's pretty safe to say they would have, seeing as they had been pretty dominant that year. Would Richardson's top assistant, Mike Anderson, have to wait so long for a head coaching job had they won two championships? As we'll see later, when you win a championship, it really makes your resume' as an assistant coach. Regardless, Arkansas did have their chance and they were unsuccessful in the title game against UCLA.

The Bruins
UCLA was knocked out of the tournament in the first round in 1994 and 1996. Without Edny's drive to the hoop, UCLA would not have made it out of the 2nd round from 1994 - 1996 and would have likely been considered a team that choked when it came to the tournament. By the time they were knocked out of the 1996 tournament, UCLA fans would probably have been calling for a new coach and they definitely wouldn't have hired someone from their own staff. Would they have gone out and hired someone like Jim O'Brien, who was a hot commodity at the time? No one knows for sure, but we do know that Steve Lavin would not have been hired had this happened.

The Coaches
Jim Harrick was fired before the beginning of the 1996-1997 season for lying to investigators who were looking into allegations that he falsified reciepts related to recruiting. He was hired one year later by Rhode Island and after a run to the Elite Eight, he was hired by Georgia. Most people are familiar with what happened to him there. The question is, would Rhode Island have taken a chance on Harrick had he not won a championship in 1995? It's a lot easier to convince the academic brass to give you a second chance, when you have a national championship under your belt. He probably would have been given a second chance somewhere, but likely it would have been a divison II school and he would have never seen the spotlight again, which might have been a good thing.

Mark Gottfried was hired after the 1995 season by Murray State. Mid-majors love to grab assistants from championship teams. Would they have taken him had UCLA been knocked out in the second round? Who knows, but it is highly unlikely he would have been hired. Maybe Mike Anderson could have gone there. Gottfried was then hired by his alma mater, Alabama, in 1998 where he remains the head coach today. Alabama fans are well aware of the Edny play, as Gottfried references it often. Maybe looking back, he realizes the impact of that play.

Lorenzo Romar was hired by Pepperdine University after the 1996 season. Again, would he have been hired there had UCLA failed to get out of the 2nd round in the three previous seasons? No one knows for sure, but he has since gone on to coach at St Louis and Washington. Romar has proven to be a pretty good college coach, but would he have had to wait longer had the championship not have happened?

Steve Lavin became the head coach at UCLA after Harrick was fired. It's pretty safe to assume that UCLA would have tried to go outside the program, had they not won a national championship. Lavin coached UCLA until 2003 and is now an announcer.

All three coaches have displayed a history of getting knocked out of the tournament early. Hmmm, I wonder where they got that from?

Missouri
Let's speculate that Missouri, bouyed by their upset win over the #1 seed, makes a run to the Final Four. Would this have revitalized the program? You never know. Just as that one play helped so many of the UCLA folks, it hurt the Missouri guys.

Ed O'Bannon
The MVP of the tournament, O'Bannon played out of his mind in the championship game. He would go on to be drafted 9th overall by the NJ Nets. O'Bannon never really amounted to anything in the pros. As you know, sometimes it's all about landing in the right spot. What if O'Bannon goes later where he is just expected to be a role player? Could he have lasted longer? Probably not, but it is fun to speculate anyway.

Again, I realize that all of this is speculation, but it's fun to do. When we think about a championship team, most people think about the championship game. But most times, they had to get a little lucky along the way. That's what champions do. I guess that's why Mark Gottfried talks about that play all of the time.

If Only....

After watching USC put a beat down on Illinois in the Rose Bowl and Georgia manhandle Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl yesterday, you could make the argument that those two teams deserve to be in the title game. (This will not be a rant about a playoff system in college football, that will be saved for another day).

The argument can be made that Georgia and USC are playing some of the best football in the country right now. It's easy to forget that LSU and Ohio State backed their way into the championship game. The argument can also be made that they had their chance and didn't take advantage of it. But, how close were they to being in the championship game? If you look back at the season, both teams were one play away from playing on Monday night.

USC's play is fairly obvious. If they stop Stanford on this fourth down play, it's another win and a close game that most of the nation forgets about in two weeks. And with the national media's love for all things SC, there is no doubt they would have gotten the votes to get in the game.

Georgia's play is a little bit of a stretch, yet still it is one play. First you need some background. Georgia lost a tiebreaker with Tennessee to get into the SEC Championship game against LSU. Georgia had two losses in the SEC, Tennessee and South Carolina. Both were early in the season before the team began to click. Tennessee also had two losses, Alabama and South Carolina. Due to their loss to Tennessee, Georgia lost out on the tiebreaker. Late in the season, Georgia started playing great football, witnessed by their wins over Florida and Auburn. Meanwhile, Tennessee squeaked by with wins over Vanderbilt and Kentucky (3 OT's). How close did Georgia come to meeting LSU in the SEC championship game? Fastforward to 5:10 in this clip and you'll see that if the FG is made by Vandy, Tennessee has 3 losses and Georgia is facing a beat up LSU team in their own backyard for the SEC Championship. If Georgia wins that game, they would definitely be in the BCS Championship game.

Look, you could make the same arguments for West Virginia and Oklahoma. I also realize that as Herm Edward's so famously has said "you play to win the game!". In the system we currently have (which is awful), LSU and Ohio State did what they needed to do to get there.

But isn't it easy to forget how close some teams come to championship? I'm not just talking about college football, I'm talking all sports. Some classic, easy to remember examples are the Bill Buckner error, Scott Norwood's FG miss and Kirk Gibson's home run. One play changed the series or game and changed history. What if that play didn't happen? What if Norwood makes the FG? Do people view the 90's Bills a little differently? I think so.

In what will become a running segment on this site, we'll take a look at some of the overlooked "If Only's" in sports. We'll have fun speculating on what might have happened and often find we easily forget everything that leads up to the championship game. If you have some examples you'd like for us to cover, you can post it in the comments section or drop us an e-mail.

Our first, "If Only" will be a look back at UCLA's championship run in the 1995 NCAA tournament. We'll cover that tomorrow.

Remember when you were playing backyard football as a child? There was always that kid in your neighborhood that was better than everyone else. Regardless of how hard you tried, you could never get the teams even. You could give him all the terrible players and whenever he needed to, he’d go ahead and score himself. Sure, you could keep it close, but if the team with the MVP ever wanted to take over the game, they always called the same play. Go long! It could never be stopped. You knew it was coming, you ran as hard as you could, but in the end it was futile.

Based on the endless coverage, you have to be well aware that the Patriots are 16-0. And yes, it doesn’t mean anything if they don’t win the championship. (See the 2005 Steelers) . And yes, there are several teams out there that could give them a run for their money in the playoffs (Colts, Chargers, Jags, Cowboys). However, you just get the feeling that somewhere around the end of the 3rd Quarter or beginning of the 4th, they will just pull one of those “I’m tired of playing games with you” plays out of their hat and the game will be over.

If you haven’t seen the play from the game , you can see them here. (Go to 3:00)

The Patriots down 28-23 at the time decided they were tired of having the runts of the neighborhood hang around. So they went long once and Brady underthrew Moss. While Moss should have caught the ball, it still was Brady’s fault for underthrowing him. He even said so in the postgame interviews. On the very next play, Brady hit Moss in stride and it was effectively “Game Over!”. At that point, the Giants realized that whenever the Patriots really wanted to score, they could. And they knew, that no matter how hard they tried, the Patriots would eventually come back and beat them. Just like when you’re playing backyard football and the neighborhood MVP decides he wants to score. Here’s the thing about the Patriots, on offense they might have two neighborhood MVP’s on the team. The only QB comparable to Brady is Manning (Peyton) and if Terrell Owens didn’t drop the ball so much, you could put him in the same league as Moss. But when you have two neighborhood MVP’s on your team, you can only hope they don’t call one play. Go long!