Sports Agenda For Wednesday (9/18/13)
Top Stories:
The NFL makes an idiotic decision regarding the Super Bowl. The Dolphins offense may be able to take advantage of the Falcons' defense. The Marlins are on pace to reach near record stink. My Heisman list after the first three weeks. Plus what I would do at the University of Texas, all in the agenda.
Quote of the Day:
"The mind is its own place and in itself, can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven." – John Milton
NFL/Super Bowl:
USA Today had an interesting report that said the NFL is increasing ticket prices for the Super Bowl.
Some tickets will be as much as twice as expensive as they were last year for this year's New York Super Bowl.
What's the reasoning behind this?
You're going to need a minute on this one to follow this lack of logic…
The NFL is upset that secondary markets are making a large chunk of money on reselling Super Bowl tickets.
So, the NFL wants to match the face value to the price on the secondary market.
Last year's ticket that was $1250, but sold on the secondary market for $2500 will now have a face value of $2500 so the NFL keeps more money from the jacked up prices.
Seriously.
A $10 billion a year business is upset that it's losing out on some extra money from ticket scalping.
So the plan is to make the ticket prices higher…
Because no one will ever say, well if they are selling at face value at $2500, we can't sell them for $3500 or $4000.
Talk about fail, that's a fail all of its own.
Look, I understand wanting to keep the money and hurt ticket scalpers…but there's got to be a better way than this.
I guess they really don't want the average fan to go to the big game.
Frankly, why bother? It's free on broadcast TV in surround sound, in stunning HD, from the comfort of your living room chair.
Another dumb decision from the No Fun League.
Miami Dolphins: (next game vs. Atlanta on Sunday)
The Dolphins offense may get a bit of a break this weekend.
Why you ask?
Because Atlanta's team is falling apart at the seams due to injury.
The Falcons lost top pass rusher Kroy Biermann (BEER MAN!) for the season to a torn Achilles. The Falcons also lost top linebacker Sean Weatherspoon to a foot injury.
Plus, the Falcons may be without Asante Samuel who has been dealing with a nagging injury this week.
Oh, and the Falcons will be without top running back Steven Jackson due to an injury.
So Atlanta could be without a top player in all three levels of the defense and the team's best running back.
In other words, the Dolphins had damn sure better win on Sunday because they might not get a better opportunity.
FYI, the last time the Dolphins started out 3-0…was in 2002 when the team finished 9-7 in the regular season.
That's the only other time the Fins have started out 3-0 since 2000.
Miami Marlins:
Stop me if you've heard this before…the Marlins lost.
It's not the punchline of a joke, but we've been able to say nearly 100 times this season.
Currently the Marlins have a record of 55-94 and they are just 34 games out of first place in the National League East.
Ouch.
Miami has scored 485 runs this season, but allowed 618.
Double Ouch.
But there's two bits of good news for Marlins fans, both of them.
One, the Marlins won't finish with the worst record in the history of the franchise, thanks to the first fire sale under then owner Wayne Huizenga.
You remember 1997 when the Marlins won the World Series and then Huizenga sold or traded every player…the Marlins finished with a record of 54-108 that season.
If the Marlins finished without another win, they would finish with a record of 55-107, just one game off the record pace.
Um, the second bit of good news for Marlins fans…the season ends on September 29?
I'm fishing for anything good that I could come up with and that's about all I've got for the Marlins.
I'll detail how bad they are on CBSMiami.com/sports today.
Heisman List:
1. Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon
2. A.J. McCarron, QB, Alabama
3. Johnny Manziel, QB, Texas A&M
4. Brett Hundley, QB, UCLA
5. Tajh Boyd, QB, Clemson
6. Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Louisville
7. Jameis Winston, QB, Florida State
What To Do At Texas:
Since we have at least on Texas fan who reads this every day, and Texas is in big trouble, here's what I'd do to right the ship.
First, fire Mack Brown as head football coach and fire Barnes as men's basketball coach.
You'll need a big name to replace Bornw, so here's a quick list of who they should consider:
Nick Saban, Alabama (he'd cost a ton, but results matter at UT)
Chris Petersen, Boise State (hey, he turned Boise into a perennial power, imagine him recruiting at Texas)
Will Muschamp, Florida (he's got Texas ties, good defensive coordinator, but could he hire a good offensive coach?)
Steve Sarkisian, Washington (he turned the Huskies into a contender after they were left for dead after a winless season)
Gary Patterson, TCU (he's already in Texas, but he's got questions with regards to discipline, but he just wins)
That's a quickie list.
As for basketball…that will be tougher.
But something has to change because since Kevin Durant left, Texas' basketball program has been in free fall.
