Sports Agenda for Monday (11/19/12)
Big Story:
Wow, walk in on a Monday morning and UM drops a bomb about dumping out of the postseason, I'll explain the thinking there. Plus, the Dolphins are doing their best impression of the Marlins, college football and pro football thoughts.
Quote of the day:
"The probability that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just." – Abraham Lincoln
University of Miami Football:
So the University of Miami has pulled out of the postseason.
Here's what you need to know about UM's decision….
First, it was an easy decision to make because UM would probably end up in the BBVA Compass Bowl or something like that.
Second, it was easy to decide to avoid playing Florida State again in the ACC Championship game because the Seminoles would likely have mauled the Canes again.
Third, if I'm a Canes fan right now…I'm very, very worried.
The move to self-impose a 2-year bowl ban is almost unprecedented.
You can look at it two ways: one, the school was just trying to be proactive and give itself the worst punishment possible as a precaution; or two, the school knows this is going to be really, REALLY bad when the NCAA drops the hammer and hoped to avoid all of the punishment at once.
I lean towards the latter.
The Shapiro allegations were ugly and if just one or two UM players talked, the whole program could come crashing down.
And as most college football fans know, the NCAA doesn't work like a court of law, so the standards of evidence and such are different.
All that said, the NCAA could look at UM and go easy because the school cooperated and self-imposed the bowl ban.
Remember, USC fought the Reggie Bush stuff all the way and got nailed for it HARD.
UM took the different approach and cooperated all the way through.
That will help mitigate some of the punishment, but the school will still get something most likely.
Now all we need is the letter of inquiry/notice of allegations to find out exactly what the NCAA has on UM.
I'm guessing it's coming very, very soon. The rumor mill has been saying this month, so we'll see if that comes to fruition.
College Football quick hits:
Thank you Baylor for exposing Kansas State as being a fraud. I remember last year seeing Klein and thinking he was a B-level Tim Tebow. Against the worst defense in America, he was humiliated and lost the Heisman and a national championship berth.
Oregon was exposed too as not being ready for the national championship stage.
That left Notre Dame as the lone undefeated team standing at the top of the ratings.
Yeah, I still don't believe that either.
Remember, this is a Notre Dame team that struggled to beat Pitt and several other bad teams.
Now, they have to play the ultimate man in the black hat, Lane Kiffin and the USC Trojans.
USC has been abysmal the last two weeks, but a Trojans victory would equal BCS CHAOS!!!
In other words, let's hope for the Fighting Irish to lose so we can really have some fun.
Here's how crazy it would get if Notre Dame loses based on the current BCS rankings...
Alabama would be number 1 followed by Georgia, Florida, Oregon, Kansas State, LSU, Stanford, Texas A&M, Florida State
So Alabama would play Georgia in the SEC Championship game, so one of those two teams is out.
For argument sake, let's say Georgia goes down.
So we have Alabama, Florida, Oregon, Notre Dame, Kansas State, FSU, and Clemson all with one loss.
Who gets to play Bama for the title?
Most likely it would be Florida, so we'd have an all SEC BCS Championship game again.
That's why the happiest man in America last Saturday night was SEC Commissioner Mike Slive.
Thanks to Stanford and Baylor, the SEC just got a spot in the BCS Championship game again…and possibly both of them.
Course here's something to munch on …
What if FSU thumps Florida on Saturday then wins the ACC Championship game easily over Georgia Tech?
Could you make a case for FSU to play for the title?
You could, based on the human rankings…just don't ask the computers, which currently rank FSU 17th in the country. Sorry, those computer ratings are crap.
NFL Quick Hits:
Dolphins, nice knowing you, better start getting your scouts ready for the draft now.
New England…really? You've got Tom Brady in the game in the fourth quarter and you've already scored 40 plus points?
New England really took Andrew Luck to school yesterday, but he'll be better for it in the long run.
Denver…just keeps winning with some guy named Peyton Manning. They're going to run away with the AFC West.
Kansas City…I'm not sure they could beat the 0-16 Lions from a few years ago…I mean KC is just awful.
The Jets have a pulse…I think I'll wet my pants with excitement *sarcasm*
The Raiders…are still the Raiders and still stink.
Baltimore, nice gritty win over the Steelers last night.
Tampa Bay's Vincent Jackson…heckuva catch at the end of regulation...almost as good as the Bengals' A.J. Green's one handed catch which was just nasty.
Happy trails Blaine Gabbert, the Jaguars are going to move on without you after the season most likely.
Finally, just because I haven't said it lately, but the trade by the Redskins for RGIII will be one of the best value trades for the Redskins for a long time if he stays healthy.
