Blake Up Your Mind

Longhorn preview for NBA Draft

2010-06-23T13:02:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, June 24^th, lackluster NBA teams will once again begin the process of moving towards contention, contenders will attempt to vault themselves to championship level, and championship-level teams will try to stay in the upper echelon of the league.

While the insanity of the impending free agent market, spurred by megastars like LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh, has dominated the NBA landscape for months now, the impact of the draft certainly cannot be overlooked. One need only think back to Oklahoma City’s meteoric rise from the dregs of the league to a team that gave the Lakers all they could handle in the NBA playoffs. The Thunder did it almost exclusively through the draft by acquiring one of the top five players in the league in Kevin Durant (No. 2 pick in 2007), a star point guard in Russell Westbrook (No. 4 pick in 2008), solid complimentary forward Jeff Green (No. 5 pick in 2007), and the insanely-talented combo of off guard James Harden (No. 3 pick in 2009) and power forward Serge Ibaka (No. 24 pick in 2008).

UT basketball coach Rick Barnes has churned out four first-round picks in T.J. Ford, LaMarcus Aldridge, D.J. Augustin, and the aforementioned Durant and expects to add two more to his tally this year in small forward Damion James and shooting guard Avery Bradley. Center Dexter Pittman has a chance to be drafted, as well. Let’s take a look at each prospect and where they could potentially end up hearing their names called on Thursday night.

Avery Bradley

Position: Shooting guard

Height w/o shoes: 6’ 2”

Height w/ shoes: 6’ 3.25”

Weight: 180 lbs

Year: Fr.

Strengths: Easily the top perimeter defender in this draft and possibly for a long time. Picture-perfect form and incredible elevation on his jump shot complement a strong midrange game. Freakish athleticism and speed. Hard worker on and off the court and a humble personality to boot.

Weaknesses: What is his position? He’s extremely short for an NBA shooting guard, his natural position. Comparisons to Russell Westbrook are premature, as Bradley possesses both subpar ball handling and passing skills. Didn’t display the primacy in college desired in a first-round NBA guard, especially at his size.

Where will he go: Projections for Bradley have been anything from late lottery to later first round. He seems to be a polarizing force among scouts, but expect him to go somewhere in the middle of the first round. The Timberwolves currently hold the number 16 pick, though there is speculation that they have been considering dealing it to Memphis. If they keep it, Minnesota would love to pick up a much-needed shooting guard to complement likely number-four-overall pick Wesley Johnson. Bradley would slide in seamlessly next to Johnny Flynn in the backcourt and his deferential style would fit in nicely with established post players Al Jefferson and Kevin Love.

Did you know: Despite the incredible hype surrounding number-one-pick lock John Wall, ESPN chose Bradley as the number one player in their 2009 high school basketball rankings.

Damion James

Position: Small forward/power forward

Height w/o shoes: 6’ 6.25”

Height w/ shoes: 6’ 7.75”
Weight: 227 lbs

Year: Sr.

Strengths: Nobody plays harder than the Big 12’s all-time leading rebounder. Relentless on the offensive and defensive ends. Very good strength and athleticism. Multifaceted forward who is too fast for big men and too big for perimeter players, making him a nightmare matchup on offense. Has added new skills ever since arriving in college as a raw freshman.

Weaknesses: Like Bradley, doesn’t have a defined position in the NBA. Probably too small to guard NBA power forwards and not quick enough to defend NBA small forwards. Shot is decent, but will have to improve to NBA 3-point range. Handle leaves much to be desired; he frequently loses control of the ball on fast breaks. Though he has improved his catching, still sometimes displays “stone hands.” Has he reached his potential already?

Where will he go: Most mock drafts have James going somewhere in the middle of the first round. What better team to draft him than the home-state San Antonio Spurs? The Spurs love high-character guys who play hard (see DeJuan Blair), and nobody epitomizes that more than James. Also, after the failed Richard Jefferson experiment, San Antonio will be looking for a more hard-nosed player to fill the SF position. James can be brought along slowly and play around established stars Tony Parker, George Hill, Manu Ginóbili, and Tim Duncan.

Did you know: If James is drafted in the first round as expected, he would be the third first-round pick taken in UT’s 2006 recruiting class, joining Kevin Durant and D.J. Augustin.

Dexter Pittman

Position: Center

Height w/o shoes: 6’ 9.5”

Height w/ shoes: 6’ 11.5”

Weight: 303 lbs

Year: Sr.

Strengths: A huge and imposing interior presence, Pittman is nimbler than one would expect for his size. He was absolutely dominant at times in college, especially when he locks into the game. Almost unstoppable once he gets into the deep paint. Not many will push him around inside. Shot-blocking machine Has he even begun to tap into his potential?

Weaknesses: Pittman has had weight problems for as long as anybody has heard about him. Does he have the drive to keep his weight down? Even towards the end of his college, he was starting to put on noticeable “bad weight,” and that was WITH the best strength and conditioning coach in the country. Many question his resolve to be a star player, as he frequently coasted during long stretches of games. Horrific free throw shooter. Doesn’t possess the passing abilities you want to see in a pivot man who’s going to incur repeated double teams. Prone to excessive foul trouble.

Where will he go: Pittman started the year as a potential lottery pick, but has since seen his stock slip continuously over the course of the season. He could go as high as the end of the first round if some team falls in love with his enormous size and potential as a sleeper, but more than likely he goes middle to late second round with a possibility of being undrafted. A team in need of a backup center could take a flier on him. The Atlanta Hawks are extremely undersized and could use some depth and beef off the bench behind Al Horford. They could take Pittman with the 53^rd pick in the draft and hope he can become a solid backup to throw at Dwight Howard for 10 minutes a game.

Did you know: At 10.5’, Pittman has the longest hands in the entire draft!

Link to the story at Austin Examiner: http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-54233-Texas-Longhorns-Examiner~y2010m6d23-Longhorn-preview-for-NBA-Draft

--Blake Borron

Texas basketball recruits dominate summer camp scene

2010-06-18T10:40:00.000-07:00

A brilliant 17-0 start last season en route to a number one national ranking culminated in disbelief for the Texas Longhorns hoops team as they finished 7-10. This included a three-game season sweep by Baylor and an all-too-fitting last second buzzer-beater by Wake Forest in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

After such a yo-yo of a year, Texas fans’ spirits can only be lifted when they hear about the early-summer success of 2011 recruits Myck Kabongo and DeAndre Daniels.

The summer Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) and camp scene is the most important time for the stars of tomorrow to prove themselves to recruiting services, colleges, and, yes, even the NBA.

Kabongo, a 6’2” point guard from Canada who is close friends with 2010 UT commits Tristan Thompson and Cory Joseph, recently took home Most Outstanding Player honors from the prestigious Pangos All-American Camp in Long Beach, CA. Rivals.com rates Kabongo as the second best point guard in the class of 2011 and the 14th best player overall.

Kabongo handles the ball like a puppeteer and his flashy passing ability evokes memories of former Longhorn great T.J. Ford. Also like Ford, Kabongo needs to improve the consistency on his jumper as Rick Barnes’ ball-screen offense relies heavily on a point guard that can shoot over the top of the pick and roll to keep defenses honest.

As Rivals puts it, “He's so quick with the ball that defenders play way off him making it hard for him and teammates to execute a proper pick and roll.”

Nevertheless, many expect Kabongo to be the best point guard at UT since D.J. Augustin in 2008.

Daniels, a 6’8” small forward who hails from California, is an ideal combination of height, athleticism, and a high skill set, though he does need to add weight and strength to a lanky frame.

Currently rated as the number 35 overall player in 2011, Daniels is “on the quick track to five-star status” according to Rivals, who describes him as a skilled ball handler and passer, active rebounder, and versatile defender.

Texas fans are bound to think of the legendary Kevin Durant when they look at Daniels’ body type and skill set. But while KD was more of a combo forward at UT, Daniels is a perimeter player through and through.

With 2010 Findlay Prep stars Joseph and Thompson coming in for next season, as well as the arrival of Kabongo, Daniels, and fellow 2011 commits Sheldon McClellan and Julien Lewis the following year, don’t expect a dropoff in talent for UT hoops any time soon.

--Blake Borron

Link to the story at Austin Examiner: http://www.examiner.com/x-54233-Texas-Longhorns-Examiner~y2010m6d17-Texas-basketball-recruits-dominate-summer-camp-scene

Way Too Early Top 5 For 2010

2010-01-10T10:38:00.001-08:00

I was expecting my first post in far too long to be a victory rant about the Texas Longhorns. In lieu of certain...occurrences, I have instead decided to give a taste of things to come for next season. As much as my heart wants me to crown UT as the preseason #1 team for 2010, my brain and last week's game only allow one team to surface as the king of the first season of the new decade. Roll Tide!

1. Alabama Crimson Tide: Last year's national champs are only getting stronger with monster recruiting class after monster recruiting class. Nick Saban is an arrogant tool who wouldn't smile on his wedding day, but he's one of the best recruiters and X's and O's guys in history.

Strengths: The stars on offense twinkle so brightly you need Oakleys to block out the glare. The running back tandem of Heisman winner Mark Ingram and the possibly even-more-talented Trent Richardson is the best college football has seen since Reggie Bush and LenDale White. Julio Jones will be possibly the nation's most talented wide receiver, but Marquis Maze is the silent assassin that gives the passing game legitimacy.

Weaknesses: The defense loses massive defensive tackle Terrence Cody and playmaking cornerback Javier Arenas to graduation. Expect linebacker Rolando McClain, the leader of the defense, to follow them to the NFL a year early. The greatest deficiency may be the play of quarterback Greg McElroy. After a dismantling of Florida in the SEC Championship game, Texas returned the favor and embarrassed the first year starter in the National Championship. His play, as well as that of an offensive line that needs to give him better pass protection, will be counted on far more next year.

2. Texas Longhorns: All the momentum the Horns had at the beginning of the National Title Game went out the door when Colt McCoy went out of the game after only five offensive plays. Backup Garrett Gilbert, wide receiver Jordan Shipley, and the defense did their best to pull UT out of a big first-half deficit, but fell just short when Gilbert fumbled the ball inside his own ten.

Strengths: After a sluggish start, Gilbert showed flashes of brilliance against a fierce Bama defense in spite of numerous miscues by his wide receivers and no semblance of a rushing attack. He will only get better after an off-season knowing he's THE guy for next year. The team speed on offense, while raw, is matched only by Florida. The UT defense will be one of the best in the country as long as Will Muschamp is in town. The Horns return as much defensive talent as anybody in the country, including freakish lockdown cornerback Aaron Williams and defensive end Sam Acho, who led the team in sacks.

Weaknesses: There are a bunch on offense, most notably the need to improve an offensive line that can only be qualified as one of the worst in UT history. Consequently, that has led to the chronic degeneration of the running game since UT's title in 2005. The graduation of Shipley, arguably the best wide receiver in UT history, leaves a group of young and/or inconsistent receivers that will now be counted on to make plays with regularity instead of deferring to Shipley. If they don't step up, there are even younger guys behind them in what many are calling UT's best receiver recruiting class ever. Injuries have decimated the tight end position the last two years, which has limited Texas's ability to run. Star departing seniors Sergio Kindle, LaMarr Houston, and Rod Muckelroy, as well as early entry Earl Thomas, must be replaced on defense.

3. Ohio State Buckeyes: Few teams have been doubted more the past few seasons than the Buckeyes, but that seems to be a vanishing state of mind. After a dominant performance in the Rose Bowl over a talented Oregon team, tOSU returns all their skill position players and the majority of their offensive line. A home date with the talented and speedy Miami Hurricanes will go a long way to validating or erasing the perception that Ohio State can't handle teams with superior fast-twitch muscles!

Strengths: Terrelle Pryor finally seems to be grasping the offense and coming into his own as a playmaker at quarterback. His performance, though far less awe-inspiring, mirrors Vince Young's 2005 Rose Bowl victory. That led to a national title in the subsequent season, and Pryor hopes to mimic Young's success. All his weapons return, including favorite target DeVier Posey. The offensive line mauled Oregon's less talented defensive front and four out of the five starters return. Jim Tressell is still one of the best defensive coaches in college football, so expect to see the usual toughness and strength out of the Buckeye defense.

Weaknesses: Tressell's seeming lack of ingenuity on offense will plague the team until he unleashes Pryor like he did with Troy Smith in 2006. That will come with increased confidence in Pryor's decision making, which was impressive in the Rose Bowl. At times the running backs were underwhelming, they need to be more explosive with such a strong offensive line and dual-threat QB like Pryor to take the pressure off of them. On defense, the line must be rebuilt and both standout safeties graduate. DE Cameron Heyward and CB Chimdi Chekwa are a good place to start, but they will need younger faces to step up and make plays if they are going to maintain the standard of play they've been at the past few years.

4. Florida: Florida looked fantastic in the Sugar Bowl. Funny how much easier it is against a lackluster team like Cincinnati than, say, Alabama. Timothy Christ...err, I mean Tebow has finally graduated, meaning Urban Meyer (assuming he decides to return) will have to find a new boy toy to fawn over. Perhaps that will be likely starter John Brantley, a highly-touted recruit three years ago.

Strengths: As long as Meyer is at Florida, the recruiting juggernaut will be full steam ahead. That means the Gators will consistently have more talent than basically any other team in the nation, which is why I have them rated so highly despite such heavy losses. The offense is led by speedsters Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey at running back. Lightning-fast Deonte Thompson is the only returning receiver with any kind of experience. He will be joined by the also freakishly-fast Andre Debose, who missed last season with an injury. The offensive line is the best in the nation if Maurkice and Mike Pouncey return at guard and center respectively, but the Gators have some work to do if they both choose to enter the draft.

Weaknesses: It obviously starts at QB, where Tebow leaves to the imminent obscurity of his NFL career and whatever other potential football institutions spring up during his tenure as a professional football player. The man nigh unanimously deemed the greatest player in the history of competition by ESPN, CBS, and, of course, Urban Meyer leaves a gaping hole in the Florida backfield with consequent expectations that Peyton Manning, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Jesus Christ, and, certainly John Brantley would not live up to. The defense loses stud linebackers Brandon Spikes and Ryan Stamper to graduation, and shutdown CB Joe Haden to the draft. Freakishly talented defensive end Carlos Dunlap may accompany him. It's not an issue of talent with the Gators, it's an issue of getting that talent ready to play week in and week out in the grueling SEC.

5. Oregon Ducks: The other half of the Rose Bowl game returns all but three starters, including proven stars QB Jeremiah Masoli and RB LaMichael James. Oregon has a rare opportunity--the chance to take over the Pac 10 conference. Pete Carroll is Seattle bound and USC is not the team or program it was over the past decade. West coast primacy is shifting north to Eugene in a hurry!

Strengths: It all starts with the multifaceted attack of Masoli and James. Masoli runs the zone read to perfection, and he has good speed in the open field. James, on the other hand, has elite speed and will be one of the top tailbacks in the country after only his freshman year. Backup Kenjon Barner is another speedster in the same mold as James. Oregon loves to get him on the edge and he is a special teams demon. The defense returns all but two starters from a solid unit. Perhaps Oregon's greatest asset is head coach Chip Kelly, one of the brightest minds in college football.

Weaknesses: Just take a look at the Rose Bowl and you'll see why I was hesitant to put the Ducks this high on my list. Ohio State out-toughed, out-physicaled, and out-hustled Oregon all afternoon. Oregon just didn't have the attitude to play in that game, and it resulted in them getting their butts kicked up and down the field for much of the game. Too much finesse, or, to put it simply, they were "soft." They also don't have the defensive talent that the top three teams possess. Their defensive line loses both the starters on the defensive side of the ball, which may be a positive because they got absolutely worked by the Buckeyes.

--Blake Borron

College Football Top 25, Week of Sept. 27

2009-10-01T10:58:00.000-07:00

The upsets continued en masse last week as #4 Ole Miss lost in a flat-out ugly game in South Carolina, #5 Penn State played a nightmarishly bad fourth quarter at home against Iowa and choked for the second year in a row, #6 Cal got crushed by a rejuvenated Oregon (replete with hideous uniforms), and #9 Miami got dismantled by Va Tech (despite "Hurricane" type weather).

Three teams are still shining bright as the poster children of college football's elite, but one took a potentially heavy blow last week.

1) Florida Gators: Florida's game against Kentucky was over by the end of the first quarter, but Urban Meyer might have left Tim Tebow in just a little too long--Jesus got knocked out in the third quarter and sustained a concussion. That may force him to miss the Gators' toughest test of the season, a showdown against a potentially undefeated #4 LSU team in Baton Rouge.

2) Texas Longhorns: Wow. Texas played its most dominating defensive game since the 2005 national championship team whacked Colorado in the Big 12 conference championship. They also garnered the largest yardage differential in school history (639-53).

3) Alabama Crimson Tide: Bama held a very good Arkansas offense to a single touchdown, but this Tide team can score too. The offense, led by quarterback Greg McElroy, racked up 425 yards and 35 points. Things should only be easier against Kentucky this weekend.

4) Boise State Broncos: This is where the rankings get screwy, as my #4-7 teams all fell in a pitiful manner this weekend. The Broncs move up in a war of attrition and look like a lock for the BCS right now.

5) LSU Tigers: Raise your hand if you think LSU deserves to be ranked this highly. Nobody? Yeah, me neither. But winning is more important than looking good (unless you're Oklahoma), and the Tigers have done that so far. That could come to an end this week in Athens against a sporadic Georgia team.

6) Oklahoma Sooners: OU's probably the fourth best team in the country right now, but the horrendous loss to a mediocre BYU team still sits in the back of everybody's mind. Both the Sooners and the U have marred what could have been a top five showdown in Coral Gables this weekend. Landry Jones will start for the Sooners.

7) Houston Cougars: The Cougs proved me wrong against Texas Tech in the best game of last week. If he wasn't before, Case Keenum is certainly on everybody's Heisman watch list now.

8) Cincinnati Bearcats: After a red-hot start, the Bearcats' games keep getting closer and closer. Give these guys some credit, though, they already have three quality wins in Rutgers (road), Oregon State (road), and Fresno State.

9) Virginia Tech Hokies: Now that's the kind of game I've been expecting to see from Virginia Tech for, oh, about four years. The Hokies quickly extinguished whatever talk of a Miami resurgence has been going around the last few weeks. They aren't nearly as good as they played Saturday, but two big wins over Nebraska and Miami cements their spot here.

10) TCU Horned Frogs: Meh, TCU escapes South Carolina with an extremely lackluster 14-10 win over a Clemson team that just isn't very good. Some people have TCU as the best of the three BCS busters (Boise State and Houston being the others), but I just don't see it.

11) USC Trojans: USC's playing a decent opponent in Cal this weekend, so don't expect another Washington-like performance. If Oregon's defense can limit Jahvid Best to less than 60 rushing yards and Cal to three points, USC may shut both of them out.

12) Ohio State Buckeyes: If defense wins championships, then the Buckeyes are back on the right track. Ohio State posted its second straight shutout, this time over supposedly talented Illinois. Jim Tressell still understands less about the offensive side of football than the Midwest does about Mexican food.

13) Oklahoma State Cowboys: OSU has had a bunch of injury problems at key positions, including WR Dez Bryant and RB Kendall Hunter. An easy-going throttling of Grambling State and a week off before Texas A&M is just what the Pokes need.

14) Kansas Jayhawks: As suspected, Southern Miss gave KU a tough game. The Jayhawks should stomp Iowa State and Colorado to start the Big 12 season and head into a huge game against OU at 2-0 in the conference.

15) Iowa Hawkeyes: A huge, albeit ugly, win on the road at Penn State means the Hawkeyes are legitimate players in the Big 10 title race. The Hawkeyes have a terrible offense, but that defense is tough, tough, tough.

16) Miami Hurricanes: So maybe the hype about Miami's return to greatness was a little premature. The U laid a big egg in Blacksburg and the Hokies ran the ball at will. It doesn't get any easier against OU and their two-headed monster of Chris Brown and DeMarco Murray.

17) Nebraska Cornhuskers: The Huskers have a bye to rest up before a huge rivalry game in Missouri one week from today. Roy Helu, Jr. could be the best running back in the conference, but quarterback Zac Lee isn't too shabby either.

18) Penn State Nittany Lions: Kirk Ferentz and the Hawkeyes really have JoePa's number. Iowa has now won seven out of eight over the Nittany Lions, and, for the second straight year, done college football fans a big favor by putting an end to Penn State's shot at the national championship game.

19) Michigan Wolverines: Big Blue nation is still undefeated, but a close win at home to a poor Indiana team doesn't bode well for the Wolverines. Freshman QB Tate Forcier is playing at an extremely high level. The same can't be said for the UM defense...

20) Oregon Ducks: A highly criticized Jeremiah Masoli threw his first touchdown pass of the season against Cal last weekend. He tossed in numbers two and three for good measure in leading the fighting Phil Knights in a romp over the Golden Bears.

21) Georgia Bulldogs: UGA has been living on the edge every game this season, and generally seems to be a team without much direction or leadership. They certainly aren't consistent. The Dawgs need to put it together this week with LSU coming Between the Hedges.

22) California Golden Bears: Cal lost a whole lot in not a lot of time after their blowout to Oregon. A good shot at the Pac 10 title, Jahvid Best's chance at a Heisman trophy, and, of course, a shot at the national championship game. Any remaining chance at the Pac 10 title evaporates if the Bears lose to USC this weekend.

23) BYU Cougars: The Cougs are still trying to get back on track after the devastating defeat at the hands of Florida State (who's not looking so good right now) a couple weeks back. Brigham Young can hang around this area in the rankings for a while until they face off against TCU in a few weeks.

24) Ole Miss Rebels: So...the Rebs were an utter sham. Jevan Snead has looked terrible so far this season and Mississippi's offense can't get off the ground. All the hype from last season's impressive wins over Florida and Texas Tech is a distant memory.

25) Missouri Tigers: Blaine Gabbert has been sensational for the Tigers--he's yet to throw an interception in four games. Like Nebraska, Mizzou has an extra week to prepare for their big game next week.

--Blake Borron

College Football Top 25, Week of Sept. 20

2009-09-23T13:43:00.000-07:00

The rankings are back again this week! Revenge week definitely had a few interesting games, but not the ones anybody expected from its title. Florida and Texas both played poorly and beat their number 3 rivals by only 10 points at home--two inspired performances by Tennessee and Texas Tech for sure. The shocker of the week was USC losing to a Washington team that went defeated all last season. Va Tech was outplayed the entire game against Nebraska, but got lucky at the end of the game to win on a last second touchdown.

1) Florida Gators: Props to Lane Kiffin for only giving up 23 points when most of the nation expected them to lose by however many Urban Meyer wanted. Tim Tebow yet again shows he just can't play well against solid defenses.

2) Texas Longhorns: Colt McCoy looked even shakier against Texas Tech than he has the rest of the season. Sure he had the flu, but overthrowing receivers by more than a foot means a QB isn't confident with the team around him.

3) Alabama Crimson Tide: Bama's played as well as anybody in the country so far and the running game looks like the best in the country. Another mediocre game from Texas against UTEP and the Tide are moving up to number two.

4) Penn State Nittany Lions: It's hard to fault the Nittany Lions for being a defense-based team; three single-digit performances to open the season is certainly impressive. But PSU has yet to break 31 points on the scoreboard against a trio of teams that have a combined two wins.

5) California Golden Bears: Cal proved who was the better golden mammal on the road against the Golden Gophers of Minnesota. Jahvid Best is the undisputed Heisman leader right now with 412 yards rushing and nine total touchdowns already.

6) Ole Miss Rebels: If the Rebels want to survive and thrive in a brutal SEC West and get to the BCS, they have to get by defensive-minded South Carolina. Jevan Snead and Ole Miss have the nation's attention all to themselves Thursday night, like Miami did last week. The Rebs are looking for a similar result as the Canes had.

7) Miami Hurricanes: If it seems like I've fallen in love with Miami rather quickly, you're right. FSU's brutalization of BYU only makes Miami look better, but the Canes still have plenty of haters out there. They'll have their chance to prove themselves to the doubters in the next two weeks at Va Tech and home against OU.

8) Boise State Broncos: Boise State gave up a whopping 507 yards to Fresno State, but still somehow won by 17. Whatever. Even with their joke of a schedule, as long as the Broncs take care of business the rest of the way they're a lock for the BCS.

9) LSU Tigers: It would be great if the Tigers would put together a single impressive game on the season, considering they're on everybody's top 10 list. They won't be able to sleepwalk through the season like Boise State, though. Check this out. The Tigers three highest ranked opponents in the AP top 25 poll? Home against #1 Florida and on the road against #3 Alabama and #4 Mississippi...ouch.

10) Oklahoma Sooners: All Landry Jones did against Tulsa was set an OU record for passing touchdowns in a single game with six. The defense wasn't bad either, shutting out a Tulsa team that led the nation in offense the past two years. Whoa.

11) TCU Horned Frogs: What's that smell? Kinda smells like opportunity. BYU and Utah both got knocked off this weekend, ending their BCS hopes. All that talk about the Mountain West replacing the Big East as a Big Six conference sure has died down over the last week...

12) Houston Cougars: Inexplicably, in both polls the Cougs are ranked below a team they beat on the road by 10 points (jeez that sounds familiar, huh UT fans?). Houston can prove their mettle against a tougher-than-nails Texas Tech club this week. If the Cougars win by more than 10 points (Texas' margin of victory this year), they are for real.

13) Cincinnati Bearcats: It wasn't as flashy as the Bearcats' opening two wins, but they still looked damn good on the road against a solid Oregon State team. The defense held Jacquizz Rodgers in check and OSU to only 18 total points.

14) USC Trojans: We all knew USC was bound to implode against some terrible Pac 10 team at some time this season, but I didn't think it would come this early. The Trojans managed to lose to a team that couldn't win a game last season. Are former USC coordinators Steve Sarkisian and Nick Holt that good, or is USC just that bad?

15) Ohio State Buckeyes: The Buckeyes get the nod over the other OSU because Jim Tressell finally seems to have gotten the memo that Terrelle Pryor is the most talented athlete in college sports not named John Wall. Pryor went nuts against Toledo, but he still threw two picks. He'll get better as long as Sweatervest keeps the reins loose.

16) Oklahoma State Cowboys: I thought the Cowboys would throttle a hapless Rice team, but they just don't appear to be in sync. Kendall Hunter's absence may have hurt. He should be back against Grambling State this week. If OSU can't dominate this one, they're in for a long season.

17) Virginia Tech Hokies: It's hard to envision a team being more unimpressive than Va Tech this season. They accumulated a whopping 433 yards against Alabama and Nebraska and have one of the worst offenses in the country. Pollsters still have them near the top ten--do these guys even watch the games? The scoreboard this weekend against Miami will be enough to show these guys are pretenders.

18) Kansas Jayhawks: Another seemingly easy game versus Southern Miss at home may actually be the Jayhawks' first real test. The Golden Eagles have talent at RB and WR with Damion Fletcher and DeAndre Brown, respectively.

19) Michigan Wolverines: Michigan technically opens up the Big 10 season in the Big House against Indiana. The Hoosiers haven't won there in 42 years, a streak that doesn't look likely to end any time this millennium.

20) Nebraska Cornhuskers: No reason to move the Huskers down too much, they outplayed Va Tech the entire game in Blacksburg. But finishing is part of the game in more ways than just not giving up 80-yard bombs from one of the worst passing QBs in the nation. Nebraska had five field goals and never made it into the end zone.

21) Florida State Seminoles: The Seminoles get back in the rankings with a walk-in-the-park 54-28 blowout in Provo over a slow, slow, slow BYU team that somehow beat Oklahoma. I'm still a believer that FSU will meet Miami in a rematch for the ACC championship.

22) North Carolina Tar Heels: The Heels are just a weird team. They play differently every week of the year, and their offense is about as consistent as Shaq's freethrow shooting. They better play well this weekend on the road against Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets should be plenty mad after an embarrassing loss to Miami on national TV.

23) Georgia Bulldogs: What is going on with Georgia? After scoring a measly 10 points against Oklahoma State, the Dawgs have responded with consecutive 41 and 52-point performances. A.J. Green is on fire at WR for the Bulldogs, who will get a test on offense against an Arizona State team that boasts the top defense in the nation.

24) BYU Cougars: Ahah! We finally get to see the real BYU. The Cougars were exposed for what they are--slow, unathletic, and, well, white. FSU is not the team you want to go up against with those weaknesses on your team.

25) Texas Tech Red Raiders: Mike Leach just keeps on churning out QB after QB for his system, but this guy could be legit. Taylor Potts has a huge arm, sick pre-snap reads, and poise for days. The guy is just nails on the football field, and he doesn't have the douchey qualities that Tech quarterbacks often display *cough* Graham Harrell *cough*. Expect one of the most exciting games of the year this weekend against Houston.

--Blake Borron

College Football Top 25, Week of Sept. 13

2009-09-16T11:02:00.000-07:00

Well, my rankings were essentially crap last week. A thrilling, upset-filled weekend made up for a mediocre slate of games, basically the opposite of week 1. But let's keep it rolling this week!

Note: I was lazy this week and didn't manage to get these ranking up until Friday, so the Miami and GT game will be reflected in them...

1) Florida Gators: Check this stat out: Jeffery Demps and Chris Rainey are averaging 14.7 and 12.4 yards per carry respectively. Jesus Tebow Christ! Lane Kiffin and the Vols better pray to, well, Tim Tebow himself if they hope to stay in this game.

2) Texas Longhorns: The Longhorns played their worst half of football since the first two quarters of that Texas Tech game you might remember from last year. Then they remembered they're Texas and they're playing Wyoming and went 28 points to zero after the break.

3) USC Trojans: Yeah, yeah, they beat Ohio State...in The Shoe...AT NIGHT! But let's not go anointing this team or ESPN lovechild Matt Barkley just yet. Their vaunted offensive line got manhandled by the Buckeye front four and Barkley hardly looked impressive dumping the ball off to wunderkind tailback Joe McKnight.

4) Alabama Crimson Tide: Bama found yet another great tailback in blue chip recruit Trent Richardson. Interesting game this week as the Tide host North Texas and Head Coach Todd Dodge, who also coached Alabama signal caller Greg McElroy and Mean Green QB Riley Dodge (who's out with a separated shoulder) at Texas high school juggernaut Southlake Carroll.

5) Penn State Nittany Lions: 28 points was all the Nittany Lions needed to get by still-struggling Syracuse. Daryll Clark keeps his under-the-radar Heisman campaign on track with 240 passing yards and three TDs.

6) California Golden Bears: Jahvid Best is averaging 10.4 yards per carry and so far looks damn near unstoppable. Cal is looking more and more like a team that could end USC's seven year run as Pac 10 champions.

7) Ole Miss Rebels: The Rebs were one of the few top-ranked teams with a bye last week. Mississippi has one more chance to tighten up their spotty opening-game play when they take on Southeastern Louisiana this weekend. The season begins in earnest the following week at South Carolina.

8) Boise State Broncos: The Smurfs will quietly keep moving up the rankings as long as they continue taking care of business throughout the season. On the road against Pat Hill's Fresno State giant killers looks intimidating, but this isn't the team that nearly knocked off USC four years ago.

9) BYU Cougars: The Fighting Mormons' brutal non-conference schedule continues with a home game against Florida State. BYU looked SHARP in their 54-3 blowout of Tulane.

10) LSU Tigers: Another ho hum win for the Bayou Bengals shows once again that nobody does less with more than LSU coach Les Miles. The mediocre performances the Tigers have put on the past two weeks won't cut it against SEC powers Florida, Georgia, Bama, and Ole Miss, nor resurgent Arkansas and Auburn.

11) Miami Hurricanes: The Canes' 33-17 shellacking of Georgia Tech wasn't as close as the score indicated. Jacory Harris has star written all over him after completing 80% of his passes for 270 yards and 3 TDs, most of which came in the first half.

12) Oklahoma Sooners: OU blew out a terrible Idaho State team last week. Tulsa and their high-powered offense will provide a stiffer test for the Sooners before they travel to Coral Gables to take on a scorching-hot Miami team.

13) TCU Horned Frogs: Yeah, yeah, they only beat possibly the worst ACC team of all time (Virginia) by 16 points. But the Frogs are a defensive team and they let up in the second half--not good for the BCS aspirations though...

14) Houston Cougars: It remains to be seen whether Houston is ready for the big time, but beating the number five ranked team in the nation on the road is a good start. QB Case Keenum is one to watch for week in and week out.

15) Oklahoma State Cowboys: Don't say I didn't warn you. The Pokes looked lackluster on both sides of the ball against a mediocre Georgia team. No surprise they got manhandled on offense by Houston, but the offense isn't clicking like usual either.

16) Cincinnati Bearcats: Tony Pike and Cincy just went bananas on Southeast Missouri State. I know it's Southeast Missouri State, but 70-3? These guys are clicking.

17) Ohio State Buckeyes: The front seven dominated a USC O Line that gored them last year, but dinosaur Jim Tressel's miserably simple offensive scheme left the Buckeyes high and dry.

18) Virginia Tech Hokies: The Hokies might have rediscovered themselves against Marshall last weekend as both Ryan Williams and David Wilson ran for 160+ yards. We'll see if they can run on a tough Nebraska defensive front led by All-American tackle Ndamukong Suh.

19) Nebraska Cornhuskers: The Huskers get their first real test of the year in Blacksburg this Saturday in what's probably the game of the week. Nebraska's offense has looked sprightly so far, but the Hokies defense is just a tad better than the ones NU has seen from the Sun Belt.

20) Kansas Jayhawks: Kansas and Duke historically makes for an excellent basketball matchup, but in football not so much. Whatever the prognosticators set the line at for KU to win, I'll take the over.

21) Michigan Wolverines: Don't look now, but after a thrilling victory over arch rival Notre Dame, Rich Rod and the Wolverines are on a roll. Sports writers are already starting to pimp true freshman quarterback Tate Forcier for the Heisman. It may be a little early for that, but make no mistake, Big Blue is back, baby!

22) Texas Tech Red Raiders: I don't expect Tech to last in the rankings too long with a revenge game in Austin coming up, but the Raiders are better than all the teams that are about to be listed below them.

23) North Carolina Tar Heels: After an embarrassing 12-10 win over Connecticut (another game that should have been played on the hardwood), UNC doesn't really deserve to be ranked. But this part of the top 25 is just SOOO weak. Defense wins championships...I guess?

24) Georgia Bulldogs: Will the real Georgia Bulldogs team please stand up? They limit offensive juggernaut Oklahoma State to 24 points, but only score 10. Then they give up 37 to anemic South Carolina, but drop 41. The Dawgs better find a happy medium soon--they travel to Fayettville to face an Arkansas team led by talented QB Ryan Mallett.

25) Notre Dame Fighting Irish: The Domers suffered a heart-breaking loss to Michigan, but quarterback Jimmy Clausen is for real. Notre Dame lost its chance to woo the nation for a BCS game, though.

--Blake Borron

Implications of Oklahoma State's Victory

2009-09-10T10:00:00.000-07:00

Everybody seems to be all a-fuss over Okie Lite's 24-10 victory over Georgia on Saturday. But let's delve deeper into both how the game looked to me personally and what it means for college football as a whole.

First, let me be honest with you and vehemently state that I was NOT at all impressed with OSU's win over Georgia. I expected a good deal out of the Pokes' most talented team since the late '80s, when Thurman Thomas, Barry Sanders, Hart Lee Dykes, and, yes, even a non-40-year-old Mike Gundy were terrorizing Big Eight defenses.

They have Dez Bryant, likely the best and most talented wide receiver in all of college football, a solid, if not spectacular quarterback in Zac Robinson, two top tier running backs in Kendall Hunter and Keith Toston, and maybe the best offensive lineman in the country in Russell Okung.

Georgia is a mid-level SEC team at best this year, but supposedly they had the speed on defense that could shut down OSU's high powered offense. Well, turns out they basically did just that. Georgia limited the Cowboys to just 24 points on 307 total yards, 16 points and 180 yards below their season averages from last year--approximately 3/5 of Georgia's average production from the year before. This includes a 46 yard bomb to Dez Bryant that accounted for about a third of Robinson's paltry 135 passing yards.

Defensively, the Pokes have been lauded all week for finally turning the corner under new defensive coordinator Bill Young, who left Miami to return to his alma mater after more than four decades. Anybody who watched the game saw Oklahoma State getting scorched up the middle by basic Georgia running plays on the first few drives. Then something miraculous happened. Mark Richt completely forgot how to coach. He started throwing the ball with career backup Joe Cox like he was the new Mike Leach, except without a modicum of success. A.J. Green is a nice receiver and all, but they were throwing to him like they were trying to win him the Heisman in a video game.

Yes, technically the Cowboys defense did surrender a stingy 257 total yards, but what do you expect when the offense they're facing is:

Not calling plays to their strength
Less complex than many A-team middle school offenses

I guarantee you, if Georgia continues with their original gameplan of running the football down Okie Lite's throat, you see a completely different score--something along the lines of 31-17 in Georgia's favor. Not only does the rushing attack bruise and beat up Oklahoma State's smallish front seven, but it keeps their offense off the field and disallows them from wearing down the Bulldog defense like you saw at the end of the game.

Time and time again I used to see the same completely lost playcalling scheme from Greg Davis at UT, so it's refreshing to see it happen to somebody else. My oh my, how Mark Richt has fallen since his days as the hotshot, air-it-out, wizard at Florida State.

The second part of this article, and what you really should take away from Oklahoma State's victory, is the immediate implications for the Cowpokes themselves and the rest of the Big 12.

First, Oklahoma State is firmly thrust into the limelight as a legitimate national title contender. OU has, astonishingly, already fallen off the map after the first week of the season. OSU is on the road for the Bedlam series this year, so that's never a gimme, but certainly easier now that Oklahoma is missing multiple key components to their team. More importantly, they get Texas in Stillwater, a game that should ultimately decide the Big 12 champion.

For the Big 12, simply a huge win. The conference (especially OU in BCS championship games) has struggled chronically with SEC teams and their speedy, hard-hitting defenses. Tech got embarrassed against Ole Miss last season, leaving a sour taste in the mouths of prognosticators for the opening weekend game between the Cowboys and the Bulldogs. The Big 12 gets a lot of flack for having mediocre to terrible defenses; OSU's defense's holding Georgia to only 10 points goes a long way to restoring the tougher image the Big 12 had when physical teams like Nebraska and A&M were shutting down opponents in the late '90s and early 2000s.

It will be interesting to see whether Oklahoma State can sustain the momentum from a big early win this year, unlike last season when they beat a higher-rated Missouri team in Columbia early in the Big 12 season and ended up losing four games over the course of the season. My guess is that they lose two games this year, one being Texas and the other being some shocker that they shouldn't lose where it's just not their day and they aren't used to being in that situation. Texas Tech at home fits the bill. The Pokes don't rate to shut down Tech's offense, and if Robinson and the rest of the O struggle, look for a potential upset there.

-Blake Borron

College Football Top 25, Week of Sept. 6

2009-09-09T15:16:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, I haven't posted in a while, but I promise to be more involved now that college football season has kicked off. Here is my post-Week 1 top 25. As always, questions, comments, concerns are appreciated. Argue with me if you have a disagreement, but I'll warn you ahead of time, you better have the facts or insight to back it up.

1) Florida Gators: Is there really any debate here? Florida was the near-unanimous selection going into the season and a 62-3 sacrificing of Charleston Southern in the opener left no reason yet to doubt Jeebus Tebow and the disciples. The youth, inexperience, and injuries at WR might. Anybody else think Florida loses in the regular season this year, after the embarrassing Ole Miss home loss last year, with a schedule that doesn't include SEC favorites Alabama and the aforementioned Rebels? Yeah, I don't either.

2) Texas Longhorns: In case you don't know, I am a HUGE UT fan. To put them behind Florida flat out pisses me off, but for now it's where they belong. Injuries and academic clearinghouse BS have stung UT this off-season and opener more than almost every team in the country, and it showed with a lackluster 59-20 drubbing of Louisiana-Monroe. With OU seemingly falling apart like local business when Wal-Mart moves in, the Big 12 is UT's for the taking, as is the shot at the Gators (uhhh, well, pending potential BCS shenanigans) that UT should have gotten last season.

3) USC Trojans: USC was down 3-0 to San Jose State in the Coliseum after the first quarter of the season. Then they scored 56 points in three quarters. Like, in a row. With a true freshman quarterback. Want to know how insanely talented SC is? They got 28 points better...IN ONE QUARTER. This may not be the Trojans' year (true freshman QB, only two defensive starters returning, Florida and Texas are loaded, Cal should be a tough game), but ask any of the top teams who they definitely DON'T want to play at the end of the season in a BCS bowl and they'd be lying if they didn't offer up USC right away.

4) Alabama Crimson Tide: You know, that Nick Saban guy's a decent coach. He loses his best two offensive lineman in All-Everything tackle Andre Smith and steady center Antoine Caldwell, he throws together a whole new line for the season opener against a vaunted Virginia Tech front and proceeds to run the ball down their throats. Oh, and that defense is pretty good. Like starting running back Mark Ingram had five less yards than the entire Hokie offense good. Expect the Tide to, errr, Roll into the SEC title game and give Florida a hell of a fight just like they did last year.

5) Penn State Nittany Lions: I feel there's a huge divide between the current top four and the rest of the top teams, so, to me, these next few teams are pretty much jumbled together. Count me among the group that thinks PSU was impressive in their first half, 31-0 dismantling of poor Akron. Joe Pa called off the dogs in the second half and quarterback Daryll Clark still managed 353 yards and three touchdowns. Plus, after Ohio State's pathetic display on Saturday, Penn State should be a huge favorite to go undefeated and win the Big 11. Their prize for that? USC again in the Rose Bowl...

6) Oklahoma State Cowboys: I plan to address the Pokes in a separate thread, so I'll keep it simple here. Great win for the Pokes--one of the more important non-conference wins they've ever had. As a fan of the Big 12, I was proud to see OSU only give up a dime, chant "Big 12" at the end of the game to rep the conference, and, obviously, win the game and get the monkey off the back that we couldn't beat the vaunted SEC. Somewhat improved defense + offense was...enough = win vs. Georgia team that is as vanilla as that yummy smelling extract you're not supposed to taste.

7) California Golden Bears: Yeah, I know, it's Cal. But how impressive was Cal this past weekend? They took a Maryland team that many people thought could be under the radar and essentially made them look like a high school team. A bad high school team. Tailback Jahvid Best lived up to his namesake (13.7 yards per carry is almost obscene) and quarterback Kevin Riley shredded the Terps' secondary like he was trying to get rid of illegal tax forms. October 3rd against USC in Berkeley is setting up as one of the biggest and best games of the season.

8) Ole Miss Rebels: Here I go, chance to finally figure out what I myself think about the Rebs. The Memphis game last Sunday was an adventure to say the least. Jevan Snead was absolutely atrocious in the first half--two terrible picks and not a whole lot of production yards-wise either. In fact, the entire team looked like they had been reading their press clippings over the summer. The third quarter was more of the same, but in the fourth period Mississippi finally came alive and put the game out of the grasp of the talented and game Tigers. The 45-14 score looks great on paper, but the Rebels need a ton of work if they truly want to compete in the vicious SEC West.

9) Boise State Broncos: The Broncs are mainly here as a requisite. They held serve at home against a farcically bad Oregon team, and that's basically all you can ask of them so far. Kellen Moore looked great and played with confidence, as did the defense, but the rest of the offense was downright ugly. None of this really matters, though, as Boise State will waltz to the BCS behind the strength of a pathetic conference schedule and an overrated win against Blount's Boppers.

10) Ohio State Buckeyes: THE Ohio State University. More like THE disappointment of the college football opening weekend. The Buckeyes almost lost to freakin' Navy on Saturday. Yeah, Terrelle Pryor is that darn good. But is the rest of the team really that darn bad? Is the coaching really that horrific? Tress has never been nor will be known as an offensive guru, but it's amazing to me how much they (the coaches) were able to limit Pryor's freak talent against such a mediocre opponent at home. Oh yeah, and that USC team I mentioned earlier comes calling next weekend. tOSU gave up an ugly 186 rushing yards to the Midshipmen last Saturday; USC rolled up 342 rushing yards in their opener. Does anybody put Navy's athletes' talent in the same dimension as USC's?

11) BYU Cougars: A tough, yet slower-than-molasses defense combined with too many penalties and too little execution on offense was helped by a timely Sam Bradford shoulder injury and OU's own hapless mental frame of mind. But BYU won and that's all that matters when you're playing the number 3 team in the country.

12) LSU Tigers: Jordan Jefferson and one of the most uber-talented offenses LSU has ever had looked solid. But man, that defense gave up 23 points to a Washington team that scored 20 points only twice last year, never broke 30, and, oh yeah, didn't win a single game...

13) Miami Hurricanes: Yeah, I was THAT impressed with The U. Jacory Harris looked like a future superstar at QB and the Canes have no dearth of talent at the skill positions on offense. That defense looks like they're getting back to the speed and talent that Miami has grown accustomed to for the past two decades.

14) Oklahoma Sooners: OU might be the hardest team on this list to find a spot for. Jermaine Gresham is having season ending surgery and God knows how long Sam Bradford will be out for. That game in Coral Gables is looking more and more like a loss, and the Sooners don't even want to dream about October 17th against UT. The Sooners have the feel of the house in the beginning of The Wizard of Oz.

15) Notre Dame Fighting Irish: *sigh* I've been trying to hold off on them for as long as I can, because honestly I hate Our Lady even more than Oklahoma and Texas A&M, which is saying a lot. I don't know what to say, after doubting them every year maybe this is actually it--Jimmy Clausen was literally almost perfect and Golden Tate could be the best receiver in the nation. And an Irish defense delivers a shut out? What's going on here?

16) TCU Horned Frogs: TCU gets the week off but garners a win from attrition as a bunch of the teams in this part of the rankings looked very unimpressive. The defense will do its thing year in and year out, but can the offense ever catch up enough to convince voters to put the Frogs in the BCS?

17) Cincinnati Bearcats: Cincy was one of my overrated teams before the year started, but they certainly proved me wrong with a 47-15 whooping of fellow Big East favorite Rutgers in which the Cats called off the dogs early in the fourth quarter and still dropped half a Benjamin on the Scarlet Knights.

18) North Carolina Tar Heels: All Butch Davis does is lose three star senior receivers and change his offensive style to a power rushing attack to the tune of 261 rushing yards. Just goes to show why all those Miami teams of the early decade were so damn good and talented--Davis is one heck of a coach and recruiter.

19) Nebraska Cornhuskers: Roy Helu, Jr. was unstoppable for the Huskers, rushing for 152 yards on only 16 carries. The defense, which only gave up three points, seems to be getting back to their Blackshirt ways under coach Bo Pelini.

20) Kansas Jayhawks: Todd Reesing is back for his 18th and final year with the program--he would be the best QB in almost any other conference. Dez Briscoe and Kerry Meier make a potent receiving duo, but can the Jayhawks replace three starting LBs that were the heart and the soul of only a decent defense last year?

21) Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets: The Jackets fall hard in my rankings after a lackluster 37-17 win over mighty Jacksonville State. The Paul Johnson triple option spread offense befuddled opponents last year, but a porous LSU defense figured it out with ease in the Peach Bowl last year. You think the rest of the ACC has looked at those tapes at all?

22) Missouri Tigers: What can I say about my very own Mizzou Tigers--they were phenomenal on offense and solid defensively against a talented Illinois team that, admittedly, looks like a M.A.S.H. unit. Is Blaine Gabbert really as good as he played last Saturday? If so, Mizzou immediately vaults to the top of the division race along with Nebraska and Kansas.

23) Florida State Seminoles: They were barely ranked before a tough loss to Miami on Monday, but what else do you want to see from them? The offense was clicking behind talented Christian Ponder and a very good offensive line. The defense, led by true freshman Greg Reid, was old school Seminole talented. Expect this team to be in a rematch with the Hurricanes in the ACC championship.

24) Virginia Tech Hokies: Beamer ball kept the Hokies in the game against Bama, but eventually the better team took over in the fourth quarter and dominated down the stretch. With no Darren Evans to hand off to, it feels like the offense is entirely on dual-threat (or single-threat, since his passing is abysmal) Tyrod Taylor's shoulders, cause, well, it is. Taylor is not ready for that kind of responsibility yet.

25) Tennessee Volunteers: Alright, I'm officially jumping on the Lane Kiffin bandwagon. The guy stirs up trouble like cake batter, but you have to admit he's put Rocky Top back on the map after a three or four year hiatus. Then he goes out with a team that's supposedly two or three years away and absolutely massacres poor Western Kentucky 63-7. This is a team that lost to Wyoming last year. Who else is looking forward to seeing what black magic he can pull to escape Urban's wrath on Sept. 19th?

-Blake Borron

Finding the Right Mindset in Life

2009-05-22T13:14:00.000-07:00

Earlier today, I came upon an epiphany. I know, shocking way to start an everyday blog.

I was sitting on the deck outside my house on a perfect, sunny day reading a poker magazine (any of you who know me well also know of my addiction). As I progressed through Bluff, as the magazine is titled, I chanced upon an article by Sam Chauhan called "What Phase are You In?" Sam was breaking down what he believed the three phases of life are--Survival, Rut, and Proactive.

The Survival phase is just trying to get by and looking for a way out of the metaphorical hole into a better life--this is a very negative place to be in during your existence.

The Rut phase is the middle of the road, we could also call this complacency. You don't want change and fear trying new things because you've never experienced true pain or true pleasure.

The Proactive phase is where we really strive to be. When we wake up each morning and think, "Damn, this is going to be a great day whether the world wants it to be or not because I say so." We make the things we need to happen, happen, and the things we want to happen, well, we make them happen too.

So, you may ask, "What happened to that epiphany you had earlier, B-Unit?" Well, my friends, I am admittedly guilty. My entire life, I have been "stuck in a rut." This is certainly by no fault of the people around me or any kind of exigent circumstances surrounding me.

I have assuredly cast myself onto the proverbial fence as a complacent shmuck who has taken far too little out of life when so much opportunity has been afforded to him. My parents, and in general everybody around me, have always pushed me to be better than what I currently am. Not like a coach who selfishly wants to live vicariously through his son's career as a collegiate quarterback, but for my own sake and the future benefits I could reap at having accomplished, well, whatever they wanted me to accomplish at the time.

I usually attempted to procrastinate, equivocate around, or somehow evade actually ever having to allocate time to the task or desired result. This, consequently, led to my never reaching the level of proficiency I yearned for in sports, feeling like I had essentially wasted my high school years, and ultimately being denied from the University of Texas, the school I've wanted to attend since I took my first breath.

Folks, if there's one thing you should remember, listen to your parents about life advice. They generally know a whole hell of a lot more than you do as they've already gone through it for two or three times longer than you have. They don't usually live just to piss you off or make your life miserable, there's pretty much always some annecdotal rhyme or reason to their viewpoints on your life.

Anyway, I digress. Back to being proactive. It's about being adamant about life and not living just for the sake of taking up space on the earth. We have plenty of people doing that already and look how overpopulated we are becoming! Heck, seemingly the only people with a negative birth rate are the Europeans, who also seem to get more out of life than anybody else in the world.

Another thing to remember, even the best of us can always learn more about ANYTHING. There are three ways to do this. The first is self-experience. LeBron James may be the best basketball player in the world, but that doesn't mean he doesn't need to improve his left-handed dribbling, one of his few weaknesses. The second is observation. This can be anything from Peyton Manning watching the way Brett Favre play-action fakes to a successful investor reading a book about Keynesian economics. The final way is imparted knowledge. This, essentially, is having stories or advice related to you by others that could allow you to better prosper in the world, much like I am relating to you today. The most important thing is to check your ego in life, or you can never improve at the same rate as if you are humble and willing to accept help or new information. Besides, nobody likes a condescending know-it-all, I know that more than anyone.

Lastly, the proactive people in life live based on faith. No, I'm not referring to a divine, theological, or spiritual faith (though that's absolutely fine if that's your cup of tea). I'm talking about a fundamental faith. An inherent belief in yourself and the world around you that A) You can do, realistically, what you set your mind to and B) That the world around you is a pretty damn grand place to be and the people in it are absolutely worth your time.

All I can ask from you is two things, and these two things will certainly change both your life and the world around you.

One, simply be a "good" person. Well, that sounds easy but what does it mean? "Good" can be defined as anything from reliable to ample to handsome to a quality of meat. But do you know what the first definition out of the 41 adjectival uses of "good" is? Morally excellent. Live for other people instead of yourself and make what you feel in your heart and your gut is the right decision in life and you'll get there, trust me.

The second thing I ask of you is to STRIVE to get better every day. This guarantees that you will never fall into the rut that I was in for so long, and can only benefit you throughout life. Just think about it, especially you math people out there (something I could stand to improve in). Assume the average reader is 18 years old and life expectancy in the U.S. is 77.7 years old. I'll be generous and let you guys live to 78 for simplicity's sake. If you get better EVERY day of your life, 365 days a year, multiplied by 60 years left in your life and (yes I needed a calculator for this part) you've got 21,900 days to improve yourself! Imagine all you could know and how good at stuff you could be by the time you die.

For those of you that managed your way through such a long and drawn out epiphany, I laud you for your patience and am grateful for your time. We can all make our lives what we want them to be, but it takes what I've listed above and probably a lot more to be better than what you are now. I dare you to be better.

Final Four Breakdown, Pt. 2

2009-04-02T19:00:00.000-07:00

A couple of days ago, I broke down the final game of the left half of the bracket between Michigan State and UConn. Today I will do the same for the right half of the bracket between Villanova and UNC. Who will survive and advance to the final game and get their at One Shining Moment? We'll have to wait until Saturday to know for sure, but, hopefully, after my analysis you'll have a pretty fair idea of what could happen come this weekend.
So, without further ado, here's my breakdown of the East champion (Villanova) vs. the South champion (North Carolina).

East Champion: Villanova Wildcats

How they got there: At times during the regular season, like when they beat Pittsburgh 67-57, the Wildcats looked like the best team in the Big East. And then there were the times when you wondered if they belonged, such as after a head-scratching home loss to an already-imploded Georgetown team. It's hard to doubt 'Nova now after the performance they've put on in the NCAA tournament. After struggling early in their opening round game against a veteran American squad, Villanova pulled away, won by thirteen, and didn't look back for the next two rounds as they smashed college basketball juggernauts UCLA and Duke, respectively. Just as it all looked like the dream was coming to an end for the Wildcats, they pulled out a gritty, hard-fought, two point win over fellow Big East member Pittsburgh in a wacky finish to a much-more-exciting-than-predicted Elite Eight matchup.

Strengths: Whenever you talk about Philadelphia, you have to think toughness, tenacity, and grit. These Wildcats possess all of these qualities, and talent to boot. They throw a seemingly limitless amount of guards at you, all of whom can make plays in different facets of the game. The leader, though, is junior point guard Scotty Reynolds. Reynolds is an experienced guy who can get into the lane and also make it rain from deep. He's not the quickest guy, especially when you talk about recent stars that 'Nova has had like Randy Foye, Allan Ray, and Kyle Lowry, but he definitely gets the job done. Guards like Corey Stokes, Corey Fisher, and Reynolds give Villanova a deadly outside shooting arsenal. Senior leader Dante Cunningham is another key player for the 'Cats. He's their leading scorer and the only semblance of a low post threat that they have. Jay Wright has shown himself over the last few years to be one of the true, young stars in the coaching profession and a real wizard when it comes to getting the most out of his players.

Weaknesses: Villanova's glaring weakness is their utter scarcity of interior depth. Cunningham is the only player who starts that could even be classified as a "big man," and he's only 6' 7". 'Nova had no problem handling their first three opponents, all of whom lacked any real bangers inside. Pitt was supposed to expose this weakness, but shockingly the Panthers bailed out the Wildcats and forgot about their hoss Dejaun Blair down the stretch of the game. Another problem for the 'Cats is a tendency to get out of control on offense and start jacking up shots without getting into the flow of the game. This can work to their benefit or detriment, depending on how much the team is "feeling it." Even a short dry spell could signal doom for Villanova, though, as it almost did against Pittsburgh.

South Champion: North Carolina Tar Heels

How they got there: UNC has been "the team" all year long. The team that everybody thought was the best in the nation by far--some people even thought they might go undefeated (nearly an impossible accomplishment in college basketball). After an undefeated non-conference season, they slowed down substantially in the conference section of their schedule, losing three games in the regular season and a shocking upset to Florida State in the ACC tournament. And then came the NCAA tournament...and all possible doubts about the 'Heels were quickly laid to rest. After ascertaining the number one seed in the South bracket, North Carolina proceeded to dismantle all comers like they were playing against high school freshmen. Nobody so far in the tournament, even mighty Oklahoma, has been able to come closer than twelve points to the Tar Heels.

Strengths: North Carolina has few weaknesses and likely starts the strongest starting five in the country. Ty Lawson is one of the premier floor generals in the college game right now--nobody manages the tempo and flow of a game better. With both his ability to break down the defense and control the pace of the game, he's by far the most important player on the team. Wayne Ellington is an outside sniper who can heat up at any time and take over a game with his refined scoring ability, and Danny Green is another perimeter player who is able to really stuff the statsheet and stretch the defense if he's shooting the rock well (which he hasn't, of late). Of course, you can't mention UNC without talking about Tyler Hansbrough. He's one of the most overrated players of all time, and often hurts his team with poor shot selection, but nobody gets to the line as readily as he does and he's a true warrior inside--you can't teach heart. The last starter, Deon Thompson, is a skilled post who doesn't get enough credit for his consistent play inside due to the established stars around him. Carolina plays the best up-and-down transition game in the country year in and year out, and this year's no exception.

Weaknesses: There surely aren't very many, but the much talked about one is the frequent defensive lapses that UNC undergoes, especially in regards to defending high-caliber guards. They've been torched by Jeff Teague, Tyrese Rice, Greivis Vasquez, and Toney Douglas for 34, 25, 35, and 27 respectively--Carolina's only losses, by the way. The 'Heels play tight man-to-man defense the entire game, but sometimes it seems like they lose interest in the game on the defensive end. The only other potential killer for UNC is their dearth of depth. Few teams have been hit with the injury bug more than Carolina. With Will Graves and Marcus Ginyard both lost for the season, UNC's backcourt is heavily depleted, forcing them to rely on minimally talented Bobby Frasor and freshman Larry Drew III. North Carolina's frontcourt also took a hit early in year when Tyler Zeller went down--he's since returned to the court but isn't yet the player he used to be.

Breakdown: 'Nova appears to be completely outclassed in this matchup. Most people, by now, are in accord that UNC is the best team in the country. They've demolished every opponent in their path, even with the hardest road to the Final Four of any one seed. Unfortunately for them, Villanova doesn't match up at all with the 'Heels. They are short, slight, and thin in the post, while UNC may have the strongest frontcourt in the country. Look for the 'Heels to dominate all game long in the paint with Hansbrough, Thompson, and Ed Davis. The Wildcats match up much better in the backcourt--they have the kind of guy in Scotty Reynolds that has given UNC fits this year. Villanova will have to be on fire to have any chance in the game, but it remains to be seen whether they would be able to keep up with North Carolina even when playing at their highest level.

Keys for Villanova:

1. Find somebody to contain Hansbrough and Thompson inside
2. Play under control
3. Keep pace of game in check

Keys for UNC:

1. Speed 'Nova up
2. Hold Scotty Reynolds
3. Maintain defensive enthusiasm

Final Analysis: I really don't expect the Wildcats to fair any better against UNC than the other teams Carolina's gone up against in the Big Dance. Frankly, I could easily see the 'Heels winning by fifteen or even twenty if they really want to run the 'Cats out of the gym. It's two teams who simply aren't at the same talent or maturity level. Villanova is extremely tough and they out-hustle most of their opponents, but the gap appears to be too large for their plethora of guards to overcome as long as North Carolina stays focused and defensively engaged in the game.

Final Score: UNC-82 Villanova-66

Final Four Breakdown, Pt. 1

2009-04-01T11:42:00.000-07:00

A whole month of madness has finally culminated in this upcoming weekend--the last weekend of college basketball, sadly. The Final Four is upon us at last, leaving us with three powerhouse usual suspects and a gritty contender from Philly. In anticipation of the big day coming up, I'm going to take the time to break down the strengths and weaknesses of each team, talk about how they match up with each other, and even give my predictions for the rest of the tournament.

For today, I'll check out the left side of the bracket, the Midwest Champion (Michigan State) vs. the West Champion (UConn).

Midwest Champion: Michigan State Spartans

How they got there: You can't really say enough about Tom Izzo in this tournament. After sometimes cruising, sometimes stumbling through the pathetic atrocity known as the Big Ten this year, the Spartans finished the regular season looking like they were in prime position to capture the final number one from either a sputtering, Blake Griffin-less Oklahoma or a UConn team that seemed to be running out of gas without Jerome Dyson. Then they got smacked in the face by rival Ohio State in the Big Ten Conference Tournament and the shot at that final one seed became an ephemeral dream. Many picked Sparty to falter quickly in a seemingly loaded Midwest bracket. But Michigan State systematically dismantled Robert Morris and out-toughed underrated and talented USC, before coming back from a double-digit deficit to stun Sherron Collins and Kansas in the final few minutes. Then came the much anticipated matchup with Louisville, possibly the most talented team in the country. The game was tied with a little more than ten minutes remaining when MSU decided to turn up the heat defensively and embarrassed the Cardinals 64-52 in a game that wasn't nearly that close.

Strengths: It all starts with Tom Izzo, who has cemented himself as one of the premier coaches in the game after making Rick Pitino look like a high school coach instead of the future hall of famer that he is. Izzo's been here before and knows what it takes to win. On the court, Michigan State's chances to win ultimately hinge upon the play of star sophomore point guard Kalin Lucas. Lucas only averages 14.6 points and 4.6 assists per game, but he is the heart and soul of his team. Goran Suton's ability to be a playmaker from the post area out to the three-point line is nearly as pivotal to the Spartans, and as a senior he doesn't want his career to end. MSU also has a plethora of options to score from deep, rampant depth in the backcourt, and a hardened mentality to the game that can't be overstated.

Weaknesses: Outside of Lucas, the Spartans don't have many consistent playmakers from the perimeter. Travis Walton is a lackluster shooter from range and Korie Lucious is still a greenhorn who turns the ball over too frequently. Chris Allen and Durrell Summers are phenomenal shooters, but they have problems handling the ball under pressure. While the defense has been solid for the majority of the season, the offense has often struggled mightily with its consistency. If Kalin Lucas is shut down or has an off night, Michigan State will have to rely on veterans like Walton, Suton, and Raymar Morgan, who has yet to live up to his potential since his arrival in East Lansing.

West Champion: Connecticut Huskies

How they got there: Losing Jerome Dyson has left far less of a sting upon the Huskies than most anticipated. Not only has senior A.J. Price stepped up like expected, but the emergence of freshman, future star Kemba Walker has eased the transition even more. A few weeks before the end of the regular season, UConn looked like a lock for the overall number one seed. A late loss to Pitt and a wild, six-overtime shootout against Syracuse in the Big East Tournament in which Connecticut came up short after a phenomenal performance by Johnny Flynn had the Huskies wondering if they may be on the outside looking in for a number one seed, but the committee correctly chose their embodiment of work over the Tiger's drubbing of the pitiful Conference USA and handed UConn the final number one seed. They proceeded to vindicate both themselves and the committee by demolishing Tennessee-Chattanooga, Texas A&M, and Purdue by a combined score of 267-173, then outlasting a scrappy, talented Missouri team by nailing 81% (26/32) of their freethrows to the Tigers pedestrian 50% (6/12).

Strengths: As has been chronicled endlessly this year, Connecticut has the one player that nobody else in the country can emulate--Hasheem Thabeet. The 7-3 mammoth center from Tanzania is one of the all-time great defensive players, both in his unlimited shot-blocking ability and the sheer intimidation that results from his mere foreboding presence in the lane. He's no Hakeem Olajuwon on offense, but his dominant size and length allow him to easily dunk and get shots up over even the best defenders in the country. A.J. Price provides not only the leadership, intelligence, and stability that you love from a senior point guard, but also a wealth of talent. He's joined in the backcourt by the electric Walker, a lightning-quick playmaker with the ball in his hands, and the always steady Craig Austrie. UConn has talent and size inside with senior Jeff Adrien and junior Stanley Robinson, a multi-faceted defender who can guard almost every position on the court and jump out of the gym.

Weaknesses: Although they field one of the premier starting lineups in the country, depth has been a frequent problem for the Huskies this year. Already thin before Jerome Dyson's season-ending injury, UConn now barely goes seven deep. If Thabeet gets in foul trouble like he did against Mizzou, the Huskies lose the one (literally) huge advantage they have over other teams. Connecticut is also a suspect shooting team from long range, especially with Austrie's recent shooting slump. A.J. Price is always a reliable option from deep, but without Dyson as his wingman UConn is forced into a more dribble and drive role. This is fine for Walker, but at times other Huskies become complacent and stagnant on offense. Also, although it gets played down by Jim Calhoun and the rest of the UConn program, one can only wonder how much of an impact the recent allogations of recruiting violations will have as the impending storm clouds gather around Storrs...

Breakdown: The first thing that has to go in Michigan State's favor is their near homecourt advantage. East Lansing is only about seventy-five miles from Detroit, and you can imagine the entire state will be cheering for the Spartans. Moving on to the actual matchup, you immediately (on paper at least) give a monstrous edge to UConn. Price and Lucas essentially cancel each other out at point guard, taking away the edge that Michigan State has over most teams in a quality leader. The rest of the backcourt is a wash as well, with Summers, Allen, Walton, and Lucious against Austrie and Walker. But the frontcourt is a gigantic check mark in the Husky's favor. Suton is a solid, if not spectacular, player in the post for the Spartans, but even against Louisville he's never seen anything athleticism-wise like the combination of Thabeet, Robinson, and Adrien. Delvon Roe and Draymond Green are talented big guys for the Green, but they should be neutralized against big timers like the inside giants of Connecticut. Raymar Morgan, the most athletic player by far for MSU, will need to step up after a hugely disappointing season and be aggressive all over the court. He will likely be guarded by Robinson of UConn.

Keys for UConn:

Dominate inside
Keep Thabeet out of foul trouble
Don't settle for jump shots, drive the lane

Keys for Michigan State:

Control Thabeet
Hard-nosed perimeter defense
Keep UConn off-balance offensively

Final Analysis: I just think Connecticut's drastic advantage inside, as well as their overall talent surplus, will prove to be Izzo and the Spartan's undoing and send them home a game before they hoped. MSU's advantage of depth should allow them to grind down UConn to an extent, but I don't imagine it will be enough to stop the Husky's relentless arsenal of scorers in a straight-up, forty-minute-long game. Should be a gritty game to the end, and not huge on scoring like some of the recent affairs in the tournament.

Final Score: UConn-75 Michigan State-69

May the Quotes Be With You

2009-03-28T16:34:00.000-07:00

Stop and think for a second, have you ever truly thought about how prominent movie quotes are in today's society? Chances are that you most likely have not, so allow me to elaborate. I should start by telling you that quotes are a total passion of mine--I just can't seem to get enough of them! Now, you're probably thinking, "How the Hell can this guy care so much about single phrases?" Understandable, to say the least, but bear with me while I explain.

Have you ever seen the movie, A Few Good Men? If you have, then you know how good of a movie it is. If you haven't, well, I'd assume there's about a 95% that you have heard the quote, "You can't handle the truth!" that Jack Nicholson yells at Tom Cruise after Cruise demands such from him. Ring a bell? Thought so. The phrase has become ingrained into the heads of seemingly everybody nowadays, and chances are, if you even mention the word "truth" in casual conversation, somebody will bust out that very line from the movie. One of the best aspects of that quote, of course, was the fervor with which Nicholson uttered it in conjunction with both the pervading tension of the movie's climax and the implications for the denouement. It literally made the movie, and still lives on almost 20 years later

Now, imagine the power of having four or five incredible quotes in one movie. Take, for instance, 300. One of my favorite movies of all time, and easily one with some of the best quotes around. Not only does it make for a fantastic movie, but it also encourages the marketability of the film through brilliantly made trailers that incorporate all of those quotes seamlessly. A coalition of testosterone replete quotes like "Madness? THIS IS SPARTA!", "Tonight...we dine...in Hell!", and "Give them nothing, but take from them...EVERYTHING!" already foreshadows a great movie, and 300 definitely delivered. I, though, probably wouldn't have even seen the movie if not for the epic quotes--my very favorite part of the movie, even above the fighting. In retrospect, the movie was a box office hit due to its clever, quote-intensive trailers (not to mention the magnificent cinematography and carnal violence).

The final aspect of quotes that I think enticing, besides intrinsic value to the movie and marketing, is simply how cool they are. I find myself frequently quoting The Dark Knight, particularly the parts when The Joker asks, "Do you know how I got these scars?" Of course I, at least in my opinion, replicate the creepy Heath Ledger intonation perfectly. It always gets a laugh from onlookers, or at least a sketched out stare. But hey, I'm just trying to have a little fun here, not win any Oscars. The best quotes can send chills down your spine and give you goosebumps. Will Patton, as Coach Bill Yoast in Remember the Titans, gives an inspiring speech to his defense that is so good it made me shiver.

Movie quotes are so under-appreciated in today's society in comparison to how much of a role they play. You are bound to hear at least one a day, but if a movie like Borat comes out, you're certain to hear "very nice" more than ten times a day. Some can incite laughter, such as the "high fiiiive!", from the aforementioned Borat, or instill fear, such as "Heeeeere's Johnny," from The Shining. It's high time quotes started getting the appreciation they deserve for having the ability to inspire emotions as readily as they do. Really, what else do you want from them? From "I am your father" to "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn" to "Toto, I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore," quotes over time have both been easily linked to their movies and repeated ad nauseum in common conversation. Now, you may be saying "Surely you can't be serious about loving quotes so much!" Well, I am serious...and don't call me Shirley!

East Coast Bias

2009-03-25T16:47:00.000-07:00

To those of us well versed in the sports industry, biased refereeing has become common practice. This has never been more prevalent than the East Coast bias commonly displayed in NCAA Men's Basketball. Teams like UNC, UConn, and Duke seem to inexplicably receive every potentially controversial call, and a few that are obviously utterly fabricated.

This was exemplified in a big way in Duke's second round matchup against the Texas Longhorns last Saturday night. With under a minute left and a tied up affair, Damion James was called for a phantom foul under the basket while attempting to procure a pivotal rebound. Not only did Damion in no way touch any of the Duke players, but the whistle emanated from the trail official standing at nearly halfcourt. Not only is this an affront to the other two officials who were actually in the correct position to make the possibly necessary call, but it is borderline illegal as an official to make this call--you simply DO NOT make a call under the basket from near half court, nor should you usually even be looking at the action under the hoop. Texas went on to lose the contest, essentially wasting the heart and effort that guys like James and Varez Ward spilt all over the court in an already biased Greensboro Coliseum, replete with Duke fans from nearby Durham.

Inarguably, Texas had their chances and made more than a few crucial mistakes in the closing minutes that helped to seal their fate. But that should never be an excuse for jaded and corrupt referees to cinch a victory for the higher-market-draw team merely because CBS and the NCAA want to keep matchups attractive and produce greater revenue. This is not what college sports are supposed to be about. What is is supposed to be about it purity, fairness, passion, and desire. Not economics and shady business dealings like we so often see in professional sports. The BCS has already begun tarnishing college football, and with the emergence of the lust for money in college basketball now, we can only expect these kind of officiating "oversights" to be propogated and perpetuated.

Duke is the most infamous of the East Coast bias teams in regards to less-than-even refereeing, and there are frequent jokes about how the officials "won't let Duke lose," but never did I imagine in my wildest dreams (or nightmares) that it would be blatant to the point of being farcical. Nor did I expect it to cost Texas an unlikely birth in the Sweet Sixteen. I will never admit that Duke defeated Texas that day, nor that Texas lost. College basketball shamed itself that day, and it's only going to get worse.

The Rescue

2009-03-25T15:08:00.000-07:00

It is difficult to imagine a more heartless and sick man than Joseph Kony. Before I attended the Invisible Children’s presentation of The Rescue of Joseph Kony’s Child Soldiers, I had no idea what was actually happening in the third world African nation of Uganda. I had heard of the invisible children, but I had no idea who they actually were or what happened to them. Now I know, though I’m not sure whether I’m particularly glad to have this painful knowledge on my conscience.

The cause of the problem emanated long ago, when the British came to Africa and gave jobs to the South Ugandans, but made the Acholi people of the North servants, thus facilitating a class dichotomy between the two factions. The North rebelled under now-president Yoweri Museveni in 1981. The Lord’s Resistance Army, or LRA, was formed in 1987 by Joseph Kony. Kony has been capturing children for years now and turning them into child soldiers against their will.

Three friends from California formed Invisible Children after taking a trip to Africa and meeting and befriending a former child soldier named Jacob. It has become a nationwide sensation, as millions of people now understand and support the message that these three kids have spread.

By now, Kony has abducted and enslaved over 30,000 children. He is a murderer, torturer, mutilator, and self-proclaimed messiah. Some of the maniacal disfigurements shown in the video are so utterly detestable and senseless that you are nearly forced to look away. They showed images of kids without noses, where the septum was openly exposed to view, eyes gouged out, whole mouths sliced off—atrocities. Just thinking about how somebody could possibly live with himself after having committed such crimes against humanity like these makes me want to vomit.

The movie showed that the kids are not the only ones trying to help, though. Betty Bigombe, a peace negotiator who survived a rare meeting with Kony, signed 25,000 hand-written letters promising to resettle children from the LRA. These children then immediately began defecting. Unfortunately, due to the rash of defections, Kony started a mass mutilation of children, forcing Bigombe to cease her admirable work.

Peace talks have been initiated between Kony and the Ugandan government many times, but he always backs out at the last moment. Recent talks seemed even more prominent than usual, and hundreds of soldiers, Bigombe, and the three creators of Invisible Children all headed out to the meeting site to finally end the war. After days of waiting, Kony was nowhere to be found—he remained in the bush less than a kilometer away.

Uganda is not a priority for international relief due to having no oil and nothing to “win.” That’s why it’s so impressive how much these three kids have gotten done by themselves—they are commanding the attention of senators and congressmen around the country. They keep only 10% of the total money they make to run Invisible Children and pay minimal salaries to be able to ensure their own livelihood while they travel around the nation—the other 90% goes directly to the aid in Uganda, which is primarily invested in economic stability and education. Brandon Palma, one of the representatives from Invisible Children, told us “We need your help to end this war as soon as possible.” But after seeing the video and the desperation of all those involved, will this war ever end?

The Essence of Sport

2009-03-25T14:29:00.000-07:00

I watch ecstatically as Roy Williams strides triumphantly into the North endzone of Darrell K. Royal Memorial Stadium, calmly and proudly hoisting a single hand to the raucous crowd in the “Hook ‘Em” manner. My next memory is far less pleasant, as I see an accursed yellow flag instantly mar the grassy, green field. Yes, he was penalized for taunting of the opposition—for holding his hand up in his team’s motto like hundreds have done numerous times before him. I was left utterly flabbergasted and downright enraged. True, the flag did not affect the outcome of the game, but even for an official to consider such an action seemed absolutely ludicrous and taboo to me. The fundamental security blanket of being able to bask in the sheer, unadulterated, primal swagger that is sport has been incrementally torn to shreds over the past few years. Sports are about allowing people to escape from their taxing, monotonous, and mundane lives into a completely different world—a world not governed by the same constricting rules that are always trying to refine and control us, to make us “politically correct.” This so-called “free world” is now being enchained like the everyday one, and because of this, the pure essence of sport is being degraded and ground into an immured shell of its former liberated self.

The “wussification” of professional sports has been prominently chronicled in the recent years, connivingly contrived behind the façade of “attempting to clean up the image of the sport.” The two most visible sports industries, the NFL and the NBA, have accepted the brunt of the cleaning implements’ abrasive scrubbings. A few years back, the NBA instituted a policy requiring all NBA players to wear suits or similarly refined attire to and from all 82 games—the penalty is a fine in the tens of thousands of dollars. If a basketball player wants to wear a shirt that displays his favorite rapper or the rough city that he’s from, then that is who he is, and that is what sport has become—what it embodies, if you will. When did America become a nation intent upon stripping the individualism and cultural upbringings from a citizen—who are we to usurp the core beliefs of only a certain sect of people? Wasn’t this country founded to uphold those very same sacred beliefs? They make the sport, yet we are taking away who they are and what they’ve done for the atmosphere and enthusiasm of it. Football players such as Chad Johnson and Terrell Owens give their hearts to the game and to the fans, so if they commemorate an amazing catch by using “an extraneous object to celebrate,” is that really enough to mark them as bad role models? That’s another fine in the tens of thousands of dollars. Gone are the days when a player could further entertain the fans with a wild act of jubilee after a big play—now he must be restrained by his teammates or risk a fine in the thousands of dollars and a possible suspension. I guess having fun is just setting too much of a bad example for the youth of the nation.

Sports are one of the final outlets to the tedium and uniformity of our lives nowadays—one of the very last places we can escape to, just for a while, to break our chains and bathe in the chilly spasm of undefiled euphoria that resonates throughout our blood vessels like an electrical spark, causing goose bumps to pop up across our arms and legs when a player like Roy Williams strides leisurely into the North end zone of DKR showing his love for the university by holding up his horns in respect for the essence of sport. Let’s not seal that delicate portal to the other world by enchaining it too.