Nuff Said

We might need the other hand next year!

The Drive For Five Hits Frisco TX

A True Symbol of Excellence At The Current Time

Well, here we go again. Friday Night, the Richmond Spiders visited the Fargodome to take on the North Dakota State Bison in the FCS Semifinals. The Fargodome has been a house of horrors for teams visiting in the playoffs. The last loss for the Bison at home during the playoffs was back in 1999 when they were a Division II team. Well, the Spiders didn't bring their bite this game. It was over in the 1st half when the Bison were ahead by 26 points. Add the 2 missed FG that the freshman kicker had and the Spiders could have been trampled more than they were.  The final score was 33-7. But the best drive of the game was the end of the 3rd Quarter into the 4th. The Bison held the ball for 10 minutes for 1 drive. That is controlling the pace of the game.

The Bison have now won 19 straight playoff games. In the past 5 years, their record is 70-5. We have graduated an entire class of players and changed head coaches, and it seems like we haven't missed a beat. There are kids that want to come into this program from around the country. The Bison recruit overlooked kids from the area of the Big 10 conference. NSDU rarely has a JUCO player or a player transfer from a FBS team either. The redshirt QB playing right now wanted to join the program from Florida. The Bison Nation footprint is being felt in the MAC recruiting circles because of the success that NDSU has had. They are the Alabama of the smaller Universities out there.

Early in January, The Bison will play for their 5th consecutive FCS title. And even if they fall short of that goal, they have proven once again that the program can absorb losing pro prospects and filling their shoes with players that have the drive to be a good as they can be and be a championship contender. That is the standard for the little football team from Fargo ND. #Bison Pride

PROFESSIONAL SPORTS: Gamesmanship, Ethics, and Cheaters

Remember that classic scene in the movie "Casablanca" where the police are about to raid "Rick's" casino:

    - RICK (Humphrey Bogart): "How can you close me up? On what grounds?"

    - CAPTAIN RENAULT (Claude Rains): "I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!"

(a casino employee hands Renault a pile of money)

    - CROUPIER: "Your winnings, sir."

    - RENAULT: (softly) "Oh, thank you very much."

    - RENAULT: (loudly) "Everybody out at once!"

 

Here's what I think about the New England Patriots and "DeflateGate":  Since it's so commonly known among NFL officials that under-inflated footballs are easier to throw and catch in wet/cold weather, it seems to me that under-inflated balls are also just as easy to throw and catch in the heat of summer.  And if NFL officials know this, and the Patriots know it, then it's not unlikely that every other team in the league knows it, too, including the Indianapolis Colts who, coming to play in the outdoor cold of Foxboro, MA, in January, would have benefited the most from that knowledge. And if the NFL knows the benefits of using cheating footballs, then their farm teams (the NCAA) know it, too.

 

So, here it is:  I seriously doubt that the Colts were all that surprised by this scandal. If they were surprised, it was probably because "civilians" (those of us outside of the NFL's fraternity circle) found out about their close-hold secret so publicly--everyone's been outed! 

 

Everyone's now got the stink eye peeled on the Patriots, but only because they won--and won big, so check those balls (uh, footballs, I mean).  But did the umps check the Colts' balls (errr, footballs) during that game?  How about the Seahawks?  And seriously, other than Off Track Betting (OTB), Vegas, and the millions in fantasy, who really gives a damn about the losers, or their balls?  But how much do you wanna bet the Redskins, or the Jets, or the Raiders also deflated their balls (verdammt! I meant "footballs!!")?

 

My point: Why is anyone suddenly shocked that there's cheating, immorality, unethical conduct, graft, dishonesty, and corruption (and murder, and sex assault, and bigotry, and perjury) in an industry that involves hundreds and hundreds of BILLIONS of dollars, which incentivizes its players who haul in hundreds and hundreds of millions of those dollars?  Wait, I forgot, these are our kids' role models...that's a scary thought! 

 

So, did the Patriots cheat? Probably.  Steroids, point shaving, bounty hunting, game fixing, deflated footballs, corked bats, betting on your own team, taking dives, sandpaper, tar, bribery...this is all the nature of professional sports.  As fans, we're now feigning surprise and false indignity.  Just wait until next year!

Bring on the Habs

The Bruins dispatched the Detroit Red Wings this afternoon 4-2 in game 5, obviously winning the series 4 games to 1.  So as per our blog rules -- when your team wins a playoff series, you have to blog about it -- I'm writing a little piece about how solid this team looks right now.
Give credit to the Red Wings, who in my opinion played hard and for the most part up to their potential.  But give more credit to the Bruins, who played the way the better team should play.  They played like a well-oiled machine, despite the fact they're missing Paille, Seidenberg and McQuaid.  Other than losing game one 1-0, the Bruins overmatched the Red Wings, who in particular couldn't solve Tuuka Rask, nor did they have an answer for Milan Lucic or Tory Krug.  They were the immovable object on the penalty kill and, unbelievable if you saw the Bruins a couple of years ago, the unstoppable force on the power play, scoring nearly 50% of the time.
I'll be honest, the Red Wings were the last time I wanted to play in the first round -- a seasoned team with speed and skating ability, great goaltending and being on a roll...they played as well as anyone down the stretch.  Watching the Bruins dispatch them with relative ease makes me more confident than when this thing started, especially since we're going up against arguably the other team that gives us fits.
So bring on the f'ing Habs and the greatest rivalry in the NHL.