Making A Case: NL Cy Young Race

R.A. Dickey might play for the lowly Mets, but he didn't let to get to him.

It's one of those awards you know? One of those highly debated awards that no one really understands the actual meaning of though all of the sports world has some opinion on it. Like the NBA Defensive Player of the Year and the Norris Award in hockey, the Cy Young is a highly debated award more for what the meaning of the award is than the actual winner. 2012 hasn't been stranger to the award debate as two candidates have clearly emerged in the last few weeks as the only two deserving of the award.

On one hand we have R.A. Dickey, a sensationaly knuckleballer with the sort of control that makes his specialty pitch an unhittable phenomena. He just won his 20th game, despite Jon Rauch doing his best to try and blow it for him. Anyways, knucklers usually have a hard time finding consistentcy in their pitch, often throwing up 7-walk duds. Dickey has only walked four or more batters twice. Overall he's 20-6 with a 2.69 ERA and 222 Ks, both of which lead the NL. He's also tossed three shutouts including a scintillating one-hit/no walks performance as well. Statistically, Dickey is superior to Gonzalez, but Dickey plays for the Mets, a team that has been crawling around the NL cellar for more than a month. 

Gio Gonzalez comes in as the other competitor with a 21-8 record and 2.89 ERA. He's the MLB wins leader and NL leader in batting average against. Gonzalez relies on a vicious curveball that he somehow masquerades as a fastball (still flabergasted about that observation). Gonzalez, unlike Dickey, has been playing meaningful baseball all season and has been the best pitcher on arguably the best team in baseball. He also doesn't have to buck the historical trend that has left the knuckleball fraternity without a Cy Young.

So we've once again met a crossroads in the Cy Young Race. While I think everyone can (and probably must) agree that Dickey has the better stats, is it fair to give the Cy Young to a pitcher that's team will probably win less than 75 games? Gonzalez's team still has an opportunity to win 100 games and he is their ace, especially without Strasburg. The last Cy Young winner to play on a team that won less than 75 games was Tim Lincecum in 2008. But in 2008 there wasn't as strong of a competition from the second and third place guys, Brandon Webb and Johan Santana (Webb's ERA was 3.30 and Santana was part of another horrible Mets collapse). Here in 2012, Gio is giving the stat-driven Dickey a real run for his money. Right?

Gonzalez has only registered three no-decisions which could be looked at a positive or negative. In most cases that means a lot of innings, but Dickey has thrown 28 1/3 more innings. Consider the team Dickey plays for as well and you get six starts in which Dickey either lost a quality start or was given a no-decision. Gonzalez only registered four in that category. Because of the Mets ineptitude, you could say that Dickey's games were meaningless and therefore there was little pressure on him to put forth his best effort. Pressure busts pipes, especially on the mound. The Nationals on the other hand have played meaningful games all season and there was pressure on him to carry the load as the ace once the news about Strasburg's innings limit became relevant. But then again, the Mets haven't had a 20-game winner since Frank Viola did it 1990, so there's that pressure as well. Also, you've got to realize that by August Mets' fans were really only interested in every fifth day when Dickey toed the slab.

According to Wikipedia (yes, I know it's the most verified source) the Cy Young Award is given to "The Cy Young Award is an honor given annually in baseball to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball, one each for the American and National Leagues." While it may not completely end the argument, it does give a lot of validity to Dickey's case. But I think the most important aspect to Dickey's sensational season is his control. No knuckerballer has ever been able to consistently master their craft like he has. Plus, Dickey introduced us to the rising knuckler which is mind-blowingly enjoyable to watch and even more devastating for batters attempting to hit it.

So while I like Gonzalez and think he would be deserving of the award in any other year, Dickey took us on a wild ride (literally) and brought us the most spectacular knuckleball we've ever seen. It'll be a hard pill to swallow for R.A. if he doesn't win the award because he was by far the best player on one of the league's worst teams and he didn't let the team's lack of talent bother him.

Perseverance, stats and a knuckleball dripping in filth will be the reason that R.A. Dickey becomes the first knuckballer ever to put his name on the Cy Young trophy.

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Thank God for Mike Trout

It's been nothing but good times for Mike Trout this season.

This was supposed to be Bryce Harper's year. It was supposed to be the beginning of a future hall-of-famer's career. The 16-year-old phenom was supposed to be transformed into a 19-year-old sensation. The Real Deal was supposed to get real. And then we met Mike Trout.

Trout played his high school ball in New Jersey, a state known more for its football and wrestling than for its baseball (more because of geographical location than anything else). Therefore the 18-year-old at the time fell all the way to 25th overall in the '09 draft, probably because the northeast winter months denied him that extra exposure a guy like Bryce Harper had in Nevada. Trout then made the wise decision of turning down his scholarship to East Carolina in favor of the Angels rookie league squad. The 6-foot-1, 200 pound outfielder immediately soared through the Angels organization, ranking third in Baseball America's prospects list after only one year. After his 2011 minor league campaign Trout was awarded the Minor League Player of the Year award. But even as he continued to tear up the minor leagues, he remained on and off the farm, beginning the 2012 season with the Angels Triple-A affiliate and most notably hiding in the shadows of the overwhelming hype surrounding Bryce Harper.

Trout showed right away that he didn't belong stuck in the Los Angeles farm system, batting .403 in 20 games with the Salt Lake Bees. Replacing the aging Bobby Abreu, Trout made immediate noise in the majors with a .324 average in May, exploding in June by batting .372 with 27 runs in 26 games helping him earn his first All-Star appearance. With these eye-popping numbers and overly apparent five-tool set, Trout was slowly overtaking Harper in the eyes of analysts and in many respects, most baseball fans in general.

Here we are approaching October baseball and it is clearly Trout, not Harper, that is the league's finest first-year player. Trout's numbers are superior and his play has been far more spectacular. Despite the fact that the Angels are on the outside looking in and Harper's Nationals have already clinched, Trout is the better and more deserving player. The 21-year-old is a complete five-tool player while Harper has made his fare share of mistakes roaming center field in Nationals Park. Rookie of the Year is a very distinct possibility for Harper but Trout's season has been so good that he could add the AL MVP to his already pretty much guaranteed Rookie of the Year. That's even more of a lock if his Angels can somehow find a way out of their two-game Wild Card hole over the next seven contests.

But it really doesn't come down to the stats, skills or anything related to how people judge talent it  comes down to what type of player Trout is. Both him and Harper undoubtedly play hard and both are extremely enjoyable to watch, but Trout plays the game with a little bit more zest and a whole hell of a lot more positive attitude. Harper complains, snaps at umps. It's even like he doesn't consider a game to be completed unless he makes a scene. And then there was the "clown question, bro" incident that made Harper just that much more unlikeable. Yet when you watch Trout, you see how much he enjoys the game and thrives because of it. Honestly he just seems like a little leaguer out there enjoying every single moment he gets to step on the diamond.

All in all, it's nice to see that a more positive phenom like Trout was able to grab our attention over the more arrogant, maybe even overhyped Harper and it'd be an absolute travesty not to see the Angels stud in the playoffs.

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Let's Embrace College Football While the NFL Continues its Incompetence

Maybe we should turn our attention towards a team like Florida State who is back in the running for a National Championship.

Last night was explosive. That's really my favorite way to describe it. It was explosive for the fans, players, coaches, announcers, Sportscenter anchors and anyone else who cares, even in the slightest, about sports. No one knew what to do with their hands, no one knew how to appropriatly assess one of the most mind-boggling, embarrassing and maybe even disgusting plays in the history of the NFL. I don't really need to trudge on any further with this issue because it'll probably make me puke, but more because every analyst from ESPN has already thrown their two 50 cents in on the issue. How about let's take a different approach instead of complaining, and loathing Roger Gooddell, let's (meaning people in the North) start embracing the next best game on earth, college football.

While the NFL is wading in the swamps of shame and embarrassment, the 2012 college football season is slowly morphing into a very interesting and compelling one. This past Saturday, we were fortunately witness to three spectacular football games. For one we saw the return of two the old school powerhouses in Notre Dame and Florida State impressing us in their first real tests of the season. The Irish outlasted the Wolverines in a defensive bloodbath that must have had the Notre Dame alumni reminiscing on the days of Mike McCoy and Alan Page. Florida State was conjuring up memories of the explosive offenses led by Chris Weinke and Peter Warrick. On top of that we had hard-nosed, Frank-Tarkenton-esque-Collin-Klein-led Kansas State pull off a monster upset of the Sooners in Norman.

The SEC still might be the mecca conference of college football, but there's some positive signs out there that a challenger might finally have the appropriate tools to unseat the Alabamas, Georgias and LSU's of the world. On top of Notre Dame and FSU, Oregon looked unbelievable on both sides of the ball taking the formely 22nd ranked Arizona Wildcats behind the woodshed and giving them a beat down they'll never forget. It's going to take a serious run to knock off the SEC, but as unbelievable as we've seen Alabama play this year, remember back to 2010 when a monster 5-0 start by the Tide turned in to a disappointing 10-3 Capital Bowl-winning season. I still have a lot of faith in the SEC dominance, but I have a good feeling about the way some of our other top-tier teams are playing this season.

Even if you agree with me that an SEC team will probably capture the title at the end of the year at least this product doesn't end in pure shenanigans almost every night, and I'm not talking about the shenanigans that means an insanely enjoyable 48-45 shootout, I'm talking about the type of pandemonium that gets Sportscenter all hot and bothered. I have a feeling college football is going to be our saving grace unless the NFL bigwigs can get their craniums out of their backsides.

I mean what else can we turn to if we don't turn to college football? It's looking increasingly bad for those fond of the NHL, and the NBA doesn't start until late October. Soccer is still played at the most random times, and with the exception of a couple ESPN games, on the most random channels. Golf is over. I guess we've got October baseball, but that can't truly quench our thirst for action-packed sports. Maybe we should just focus our attention a little bit more towards Saturdays than Sundays.

Actually what am I saying, our attention is going nowhere and it's just a sad, sad day because of it.

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The Legacy of Baltimore's Defense

Ray Lewis and Ed Reed have been the foundation for the great Ravens defenses over the years.

I want you to try a mental exercise with me right now. Attempt to remember a time when the Baltimore Ravens defense wasn't a menacing, intimidating, dominating defense? You're searching and searching and searching your memory bank and it's probably coming up blank That's because the Ravens have been at the forefront of defensive ingenuity since '99, right about the time the franchise became re-acclimated to the NFL.

Since '99 the Ravens defense has averaged a fifth place finish (in yards against) and has only finished outside the top-10 once. Remove that 22nd finish in 2002 and they average a 3rd place finish in that same category. Included in that time-frame is arguably one of the greatest defenses of all-time: the 2000 version. That defense allowed an NFL-record 165 points against which equates to an absurdly low 10.3 points per game. What might make that season's defense even more impressive is that they led the team to a Super Bowl victory despite having the less-than-equipped Trent Dilfer at the helm on offense. Numbers can paint one hell of a picture for the Ravens, but it can't complete it fully. That'll require some qualitative observation.

The first thing anyone has to look at when peering into the extensive database that is the Ravens defense is longevity. This team has underwent numerous makeovers, changed rosters several times and have seen a few different coordinators over the years, but one thing remains the same: they're just always so damn good. There were the Tony Siragusa, Rod Woodson, Peter Boulware years. Out of their ashes rose the Adalius Thomas, Chris McAlister, Bart Scott years which finally gave way to Terrell Suggs, Haloti Ngata, Lardarius Webb squad of today. Over that same period they watched defensive coordinators Marvin Lewis (fled to Cincinnati, somehow still there), Mike Nolan (failed in San Francisco), Rex Ryan (we all know about this clown) and Greg Mattison (Don't know why he's now coaching Michigan's defense) move on to greener pastures. Include the changing of head coaches from Brian Billick to John Harbaugh and you've got quite the movement and shifting at the top. But how does a team, organization, business, etc. prosper for such a long period of time? They need a foundation that puts forth stability and balance. Enter Ray Lewis and Ed Reed.

Reed and Lewis represent plenty of both. Lewis was Baltimore's second ever draft pick (behind the great Jonathon Ogden), while Reed came in the 2002 draft. These two have been the anchors of the defense since they arrived. Both are equipped with the speed, leadership, hard-hitting nature and a menacing on-field attitude that makes opposing team's shutter in fear while inspiring teammates to match their intensity. Baltimore has seen its fair share of playmaking defensive players (Chris McAlister, Terrell Suggs and Peter Boulware) and hit-stick crazed ones too (Adalius Thomas, Bart Scott and Bernard Pollard), but Lewis and Reed have brought a balance of the two that perfectly sums up their meaning to this team and this franchise. Both are undoubtedly hall-of-famers not only for what they have done on the field for the organization, but for the attitude, swagger and intensity they've been able to spread to their teammates, fan base and city as a whole. I honestly could sit here and write a full post about the two of them, but I'd rather give the credit to the organization for drafting them, molding them and keeping them satisfied by bringing in talent that fit perfectly with their near-perfect defensive system.

Baltimore is a dangerous city, everyone knows that, but the Ravens represent a hardworking, hard nosed, at times, downright nasty team that could be seen as a little bit of a metaphor for the city. Whether or not you look at that as a positive thing is your own opinion, but walking into M&T Bank Stadium is intimidating no matter who you are. It's especially more terrorizing when you're a quarterback, running back or wide receiver standing across the line staring into Ray Lewis and Ed Reed's eyes before they most likely pummel you into the ground, lights out style.

There's a motto in fantasy football and it goes like this: when in doubt, pick the Ravens defense.

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So What is the Ceiling for Killa Cam?

Newton's only played 18 NFL games, but the "ceiling" question is already relevant.

We all knew there was something special brewing when Cam Newton put together one of the most dominating, scintillating and awe-inspiring Heisman (and National Championship) runs in recent memory. But no one really knew what kind of NFL career that would translate into. Like always there were the skeptics, knocking on his throwing mechanics, saying that he relies on too heavily on his innate athleticism. There were some people just saying he'll fall victim to the same problems Vince Young, Troy Smith and Pat White did; their styles weren't tailored for the NFL game.

Yet two games into Newton's sophomore campaign, we've seen him show the balance of athleticism, pocket presence and just sheer ability that makes up the package of a superstar quarterback. While he hasn't entered the house of elite quarterbacks (Brady, Rodgers and Brees), he's right on their doorstep and with one more captivating season, he'll start knocking on that door. Those three have a presence out there that is, at times, is so unstoppable and so contagious that it spreads to their teammates like a wildfire. Newton is starting to harness the vital ability of making his teammates better. That's because he is a student of the game, a guy far smarter than the young man they originally nicknamed "Scam" Newton.

Since day one of his NFL career, back in the oh-so-forgettable lockout days of last summer and maybe even dating as far back as his first NFL interview, Cam said and did all the right things. He seemed intelligent, composed and for better or for worse, he looked like a confident man. There wasn't a boyish or punk attitude that could be attributed to most first-year players, it was a man on a mission, dare I say he was an instantaneous professional. Funny to think Newton would come in so publicly and mentally polished with his father who had committed multiple poor decisions. But the most important trait we've learned from Newton then and continually through the last year and a half is that he is a quick learner and that is where the question arises; just how high is this guy's ceiling?

We know that the reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year is a mammoth on the field at 6-foot-5, 250 pounds with a pair of legs that turns him into a freight train in the open field. His lateral ability is absolutely freakish for his size and believe it or not, Newton actually carries the ball like a running back, lowering his shoulder to any oncoming linebacker or d-back. So the athlete side of his game has been clearly displayed. But, as good quarterbacks do and as Michael Vick has learned the hard way, pocket presence is far more key than any other ability you have. Tucking it and running is the final resort and Newton realized that immediately when he got to the NFL. He picks and chooses his spots to take it himself, but remains far from trigger shy. But what makes his game even more pretty is his ability to stand in and take a hit instead of crumbling in the eyes of pressure. Even though he has a monster arm and can fit the ball through tight windows, he still knows how to finesse the ball over defenders shoulders. Newton's all around game is already dangerous and it's only expanding.

Killa Cam has become a top ten quarterback in only a year and a half, but where does it end? What type of final judgment be placed on this guy. If he continues on this upward trend then he's a surefire hall-of-famer, but that's one gaudy statement to make about a guy who's only played 18 NFL games. But the skill set is abundant, the mental attributes are certainly there. However, it'll all come down to whether or not he'll let the spotlight get to him. His Panthers squad isn't exactly laden with superstars, so for now he shoulders all the fame. Yet, his team is improving and somewhere in the next year or so we could see Cam Newton in a playoff game (enticing). That's when we'll start to really gauge his official Madden rating.

For now Newton's ceiling is Montana, Marino and Elway, but hidden somewhere inside Newton's DNA is the ability to surpass those guys. Will he do it? Time can only tell. For now let's enjoy his supreme talent and let Cam do as Cam only can, make some damn plays.

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Is it Bettman or Is it the Sport?

Although it's easy to pin Bettman as the bad guy, it might not be his fault.

Listen to this statement carefully, then take a second to think about it: There have been three lockouts under Gary Bettman's reign as commissioner.

Yeah, it elicited the same response out of me. Wow. Three lockouts? Three work stoppages? Three failed negotiations? That's just pure insanity. Want me to make it even more ridiculous? It has all happened in an 18 year period. One more tidbit to make your stomach turn over? He's the only commissioner to oversee a lockout that killed an entire season in any North American professional sport. An entire season. The 2004-05 NHL season never happened, and despite rises in revenue since then, I'm not sure the league has truly prospered in its last eight years.

Bettman has seen his league go from an ESPN mainstay, to the Outdoor Living Network, to Versus Sports to a comfortable position on the newly crafted NBC Sports Network just last year. There was a fall, a rise, and now we've seen a fall once again. I see nothing wrong with that, sometimes a league needs to take a step back to take two steps forward. It certainly improved its on-ice product by eliminating the antagonizing two-line pass rule and promoting offense, offense and offense. The game is faster and much more enjoyable to watch, though that hasn't correlated with the sort of ratings boost the NHL was looking for. But that was the second lockout of his tenure, and it already was pushing forth plenty of questions about the league, owners, sport and commissioner. However, this latest episode of failure at the negotiating table brings about a new, more simplistic question, "Is it Bettman's fault or is it simply the nature of the sport?"

It's easy to just tag this as the commissioner's ineptitude and simply expel him from the league. But there's another aspect that might be somewhat overlooked. I hate to say it but the NHL might fall under cult league status, the same way people look at American EPL fans and lacrosse. There is a small, (relatively in this case) diehard following that sometimes grows to a major following in the latter rounds of the playoffs. People do care about the NHL, but is it enough to label it as a "major" sport. While it is considered a "major" sport, its airtime on ESPN (the absolute arbiter of all things sports) should make us at least reconsider our stance on it as a "Big Four" sport. Would the NBA, MLB or NFL ever appear on the "Outdoor Living Network?" Not a chance in the world. ESPN and other stations go to absurd lengths to retain the rights to at least some of those leagues' games. The NHL, on the other hand, only received a risk-reward type offer by NBC that the station felt was the right move. If it wasn't for NBC, I'm not sure where the league would be right about now.

Why is the NHL a cult sport you ask? I have no idea. It's the fastest sport out there, it has unbelievably exciting plays, monster hits and of course, everyone's favorite, legal fighting. I don't understand how a society that salivates over violent action movies doesn't bring that same lust for hockey. It's a man sport, there is no doubt about it. Yet, for some people it just rubs them the wrong way. Maybe it's the fact the strategy isn't easily deciphered or maybe it's because the consistency of high scoring games is a turn off. It baffles me to why it can't stay in the boxing ring of interest with the other big boys. My best guess? It's a northern, winter game, and there is plenty of the country that never experiences natural pond hockey. So really only the northern contingent of America (and the world) has a direct relation to the sport.

Take my stance as you will, but don't think this is a defense of Gary Bettman. I'm not really confident in his abilities as a commissioner, but then again maybe it's because I don't like how he handles himself. Either way the reality for NHL fans is the sport just doesn't have the same traction in America than its three counterparts. I know this blog has a majority of people that truly enjoy the NHL (including myself) but coming to grips with the idea that America isn't that jazzed up about puck is slowly becoming a necessity.

A lockout in any league is a travesty, but we as NHL fans have to become numb to it because as long as hockey doesn't hold the importance the other three leagues do, the National Hockey League will always lack stability.

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Thierry Henry Scores One of "Those Goals"

We all know how good Thierry Henry has been over his career, scoring a freight load of goals for AS Monaco, Arsenal and most recently Barcelona. He'll surely going down as one of the greatest strikers the world has ever known. Thing is, even at his advanced soccer age of 35, he still is a dominate player. I won't deny he's lost a step and tearing up the MLS isn't in the stratosphere of tearing up the German Bundesliga let alone the Premiership, but he has once again proved to be a on-the-field leader since the day he arrived in New York.

Now onto two days ago when Henry dropped in one of the most jaw-droppingly perfect corner kicks you'll ever see. Now we see guys score goals off corner kicks every once and a while, but rarely when they do it on purpose. If you watch closely, Henry certainly was looking back post with the purpose of scoring, not assisting. There is no one even close to back post and he didn't even flinch when it went in. There was no "Oh my God" celebration, no surprise on his face. Just a nice friendly jaunt, a pointing finger toward the fans and a pointing finger right back at himself.

Enjoy.

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When Will the Madness End?

Doesn't look like this bush-league zebras are going anywhere.

 We've been hearing it since Adam Schefter first reported it back in early August. We've been hearing it since Week 1 on of the preseason. We've been hearing it, every minute of the last two Sundays, Mondays and Thursdays. The replacement refs are an absolute joke, a travesty to America's finest league. It's one of the worst things that ever could happen to a violent, dangerous and damn exciting game, except of course if there was a lockout. But we know this, we understand this. We see it in every game. It's painstakingly obvious, but complaining about it probably won't solve anything.

The NFL runs the American sports world and there is no doubt about it. No one can stand up to the National Football League, not when the league's worst franchise (Jacksonsville) still rakes in $238 million annually. Compare that to other franchises in other sports? I'm not even sure if the bottom 20 teams in the NHL make any money. Half of the NBA teams are most likely bleeding cash and the MLB is on another weird, salary cap-less planet that doesn't make any sense. The NFL is about a $9 billion dollar-a-year venture and it's going absolutely nowhere.

And boom, we have our primary problem. There is no reason for the NFL to crack a deal with the real refs, that is until the league starts hemorrhaging money. Realistically as much as we're going to complain about these refs, it's still the most exciting sport in the country and after Week 2's shipment of epic surprises, I'm not sure any fan is going anywhere. The NFL is still going to rack in the dough no matter how hysterically bad these refs are or how embarrassing of a reflection this is on the league. People are still going to watch, still going to buy tickets, still going to buy merchandise, still going to have fantasy teams, still going to pour every ounce of care that they have in their Sundays. I'd go as far as to say that it's America's best entertainment product (with that consistent revenue it'd be hard to argue otherwise).

Really the only way the league will cave this season is we all just start boycotting Sundays (as if that'll ever happen). Does anyone realistically think the ratings are going to drop or the merchandise is going to slow down because of a bunch of refs ruining the game? As much as that sounds like a travesty, Roger Goodell and the owners are blinded by the green. Sadly enough, in this economy, I understand their actions. There is, at this point, absolutely no reason for them to budge. Unless they start feeling as embarrassed about their product as we fans, analysts, players and coaches are starting to feel. But, you can't complain when you're bottom feeders are making more than $200 million dollars a year in these fledgling fiscal times.

The problem here comes down to the NFL owners and Roger Goodell's own sentiment. If they actually care about the product they're displaying then they'll crack a deal with the real refs before these bush-league refs destroy the entire season. I might be pessimistic but I see no silver lining in this issue, no light at the end of the tunnel. Guess we're all just going to have to either man-up and stop complaining or avoid our 60" HD TVs on Sundays.

It's just hard for me to believe the latter is realistic.

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Notre Dame Needs to Cut the B.S. and Sign with the ACC

It's the truth.

 If there's one thing in my life that has had a drastic change over the years it has to be the Notre Dame football program. When I was younger I wanted nothing more be a part of the Fighting Irish with all their football pageantry, tradition and prestige. But over the years as I watched Notre Dame self-destruct season after season, going through overrated quarterbacks like it was a requirement of their program, I began to feel turned off by the Irish and what now is seen as their arrogance, pompousness and downright stupidity. The big wigs in South Bend continue to act like Notre Dame is the holy mecca of college football, but they actually need to realize it's about time for change.

Let's get one thing straight before we continue, Notre Dame will never win another National Championship until they lower their academic standards. It's a negative realization, however it's true. If they want to keep their prestige and championship prowess they must lessen their rigorous academic requirements or simply accept the fact that they'll be no better than a Top 15-20 team for the rest of their existence. Duke suffers from it. Boston College suffers from it. Stanford has found a way around it and so has Michigan. But really what pisses me off is that they continue to stomp their feet at the BCS round table like their wearing a nice pair of sweet Nikes. Though, they're actually rocking a pair of sketchers and getting laughed at by the SEC and Pac-12. I thought they were going to let their guard down and move into the ACC, but once again ND scoffed at the idea of playing in a conference.

Cool that you're moving every other sport that you have into the ACC. But no one really gives a crap about Notre Dame basketball, baseball, lacrosse or freaking soccer. This school is run by football in the most absolute sense, but they still believe they're running the college game. I just don't get it, why the hell do you say you're "joining a conference," schedule five games against that conference annually and then turn around and say "but in every sport but football." I'm sorry what? Last time I checked conference teams schedule games annually. But in classic Notre Dame fashion, they simply turned a good move into their own self-promoting show. It's like "Hey, Atlantic Coast Conference! We really like your style, but unfortunately we have commitment issues because we're too badass to date you." You know what we call this in America? An absolute joke.

So what do I want them to do? Just please swallow your pride and join the ACC. Please just realize that you're no longer the leader of college football so just join the pack. I know you and NBC are attached at the hip, but please just make it the ACC's national network. Your "independent" status has become more of a burden than a sign of their prestige. If they want to even sniff BCS glory then need to surrender their individual seat at the BCS round table and accept sharing the ACC's seat. The Atlantic Coast Conference really only has one dominate team at this point, FSU, with Clemson as a close second. With that being said, it's a conference they could easily win. I understand they've got all these ridiculous rivalries with every team in the midwest and USC, but they need to bypass some tradition and give up some of those games to make themselves a relevant entity once again. Plus, how do you have like seven rivalries? Isn't a rivalry game supposed to be a "big" game? You can't have seven big games in one season, unless your the SEC of course.

Funny thing about this whole situation is that it really doesn't matter. No matter what Notre Dame does, the SEC (and even the Pac-12) will always be ahead of them, of course unless they enact an academic ineptitude standard like every other good program has done. Simply put, if the culture of Notre Dame football becomes a little bit less arrogant, and a little more "with the times" than maybe, just maybe they can return to the promise land. But for now, we can just laugh and scoff right back at them when their team flames out in three weeks.

On a more positive note, enjoy my favorite Fighting Irish player, Tim Brown.

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What We Know About U.S. Soccer's Young Guns

Who's next for the U.S? Graham Zusi and Terrence Boyd are names you should get used to.

 The United States took care of business last night vs. Jamaica and really that's about it. As for most of these early World Cup qualifying games, the U.S. men should annihilate their competition, but as we've seen over the years that's not always the case. Either way these matches are a legitimate test run for some of America's young talent before they are plugged into the real (real) qualifying which comes commences next summer. Let's take a look at some of the young names that keep popping up:

Brek Shea, attacking midfielder

I've got this feeling that Shea could be the future for the U.S. up front. The 22-year-old posses the sort of skills, length and speed that could enable him to be the next Donovan (creativity-wise). While that sort of title is a ways away, he has shown flashes of absolute brilliance with creativity and speed. There also is this swagger about him that screams a Dempsey in the making. But, Shea has not shown the consistency needed to replace Donovan or Dempsey and he also needs to leave his digs at F.C. Dallas for European pastures. Growing up is the main thing for Shea and maybe some toughness is needed as well, but I've had a good feeling about him since he first toed the pitch against Colombia two years ago. Watch out for Shea, not only cause he's 6'3" and has this crazy blonde hair but because there is some serious skill hidden behind all of that immaturity.

Geoff Cameron, center back

Cameron might be 27-years-old but he's shown he could be the answer to the United States back-four woes. He manned the back for the assault against Mexico and weathered the storm nicely, while also providing some move-the-ball action. When he was paired with Maurice Edu, the two developed some nice chemistry and Klinsmann obviously liked the way Cameron played. He recently moved from the Houston Dynamo to Stoke City in a transition that should certainly improve his game. Cameron will be a massive addition to the 2014 World Cup if he can continue to show the sort of consistency he has in his last three caps.

Graham Zusi, midfielder
This guy is fresh off the block in terms of international starts. He made his U.S. debut against Venezuela and really showed some balls. Dude can bomb it from anywhere and is pretty accurate. There is definitely some potential there for him to be the free kick taker in the future. What I really like about him is that he wasn't afraid to come in and let it rain from anywhere, unfortunately all he met was woodwork last night. He's 26 and playing for Kansas City in the MLS, but if he can tear it up in the two more World Cup qualifying matches you bet he'll get some serious looks from European clubs.

Terrence Boyd, striker
Boyd is one of the United States most promising prospects, especially in U.S. Soccer's eyes. He's only 21, but he's already shredding it for SK Rapid Wien (an Austrian club) with four goals in only six games. That was after a stint in the German second league for three years. Boyd's move straight to Europe out of high school should seriously help his development with the national squad. He's yet to score in six games with America's big boys, but that doesn't mean he hasn't shown us a little bit of his strength and touch on the ball. The guys not going to be lining up 25-foot bombs, but he's going to work hard and will be extremely useful against bigger defenders (6'2"). Boyd had the back heel pass that allowed Orozco Fiscal to score the historic goal against Mexico in August. Smooth.

Danny Williams, midfielder

In what could be called a microcosm of Klinsmann's reign we have Danny Williams. The 23-year-old was the first player to make his USA debut under Klinsmann and he has been somewhat successful. He's a holding midfielder, so he's not going to wow you very often. Yet, with that being said, he can rip it when he wants to. He let off an absolute missile vs. Jamaica that may have shattered the woodwork had it had any more room to pick up speed. With Jermaine Jones treading mud as a defensive middie, it looks like Williams could be next up if that downward trend continues. Ironically, Williams and Jones are both German-born Americans and hold dual citizenship, but if Jones doesn't get his act together it'll be Williams manning the middle for the U.S.

Fabian Johnson, defender

I'm not so sure how I feel about Johnson but I can tell you this, he runs wild out there. As a move-the-ball defenseman, he can sometimes energize an offense. However, in the same breadth he can be out of control making massive turnovers from time-to-time. Johnson plays in the German Bundesliga, which should give him serious experience moving forward. But at 24 years old, Johnson needs to find the perfect balance between pushing the docket and staying at home or he won't have a home with the United States team. We'll see about Johnson in the coming months because I'm pretty sure Klinsmann loves his versatility and when Jurgen loves someone's skill set he loves it.

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In Running Backs We No Longer Trust

Ray Rice might be the league's best back, but his individual importance has diminished over the years.

The NFL, more than other leagues, is a untamed, forever changing animal that legitimately never sleeps. It seems like the game evolves every three or four years, sometimes for the better and other times for the worst. For the most part pro football has gotten softer, with more information coming out about the devastating effects of hitting 200 to 350 pound men for sixty some odd minutes (obviously). But we're not talking about this, we're talking about the players and coaches on field adaptations to the new game. Take Ray Lewis for example. The guy is at the forefront of offseason training with a new regiment every year. This year he slimmed down some 30 pounds because he believes that the game is getting faster with the quick dismissal of the fullback. And you know what? He's absolutely right. Yet the most dramatic and, in some cases, saddest league adaptation is the lack of sustainability at the running back position.

Running back may still be the most valuable offensive position in the sport, but no longer is it necessary or even a good thing to have one superstar back. Long gone are the days of one back having 400+ carries in a season, of backs just getting assaulted for entire seasons and taking entire months off just to be able to fully walk again. Born out of the ashes of the Jamal Anderson's, Shaun Alexander's and Larry Johnson's comes the two-headed monster system. College football started to adapt this system years ago, most notably with Auburn's two-back set with Callidac Williams and Ronnie Brown, and more recently with LaMichael James and Kenjon Barner. It has slowly become a staple in the NFL game and it has change the way we view running backs today.

Actually one of the most affected facets of the NFL doesn't even come on the field. Fantasy football is no longer a running-back driven game (even though Matthew Berry will still tell you so). You're probably like is fantasy that important to the league? What? Yeah, it definitely is. The emergence of fantasy football has a direct correlation to the NFL's meteoric rise in this decade. It generates interest in every game for every fan, because once your team's game is over you still have fantasy players all over the board. Sunday's are no longer just for your favorite team, it's for the league in general and that is why the alteration of the running back position has become a big issue.

The trust in superstar backs has taken a serious hit. While a guy like Ray Rice or Arian Foster is going to give you a lot of points, taking them with your first picks is way more of a risk then it used to be. This is so for two reasons. One, running backs get the most carries (now more or so split 60/40 with another back) and for that reason they're most likely to get hurt. Second, the wear and tear of running backs could transform a MVP-candidate one year to a perennial fantasy bust the next year. You can't gauge where the running back is in his high-performance lifespan. It's a lot safer now to draft your QBs first and, even as crazy as this sounds, your wide receivers. Personally I have a lot more trust in a guy like Andre Johnson or Calvin Johnson (both with sound QBs) than I do with Rice or Foster because the pounding they take is so intense that there week-to-week status is always questionable. Also, as team's offenses start to really develop and fully engage the two-back system there will most likely become a point when carries are completely split down the middle.

How about you ask yourself this question? Can you give me a definitive number one back on the Redskins, Patriots or Packers? Yeah, someone might have the most carries or be #1 on the depth chart, but it doesn't mean there putting up fantasy team carrying stats. So as funny as it sounds, we as fantasy team owners need to actually start reevaluating how we draft, start not salivating over running backs and make more conscious decisions about whether or not a star wide receiver is going to have a more consistent year than his running back counterpart.

I can tell you this right now, the quarterback position has become the most valuable position in fantasy football and if you disagree get back to looking playing Halo 3 or wearing fitted hats.

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"Shea Stadium has something to smile about!"

Trying to contextualize sports from 11 years ago is quite an easy thing to do when sports aren't dominated by some major social, political or economical event. But 11 years ago when the Mets and Braves took the field for the first time since the September 11th attacks there was very little concern with the actual game and more for what sports in general could do for a country writhing in pain.

The MLB returned to action on September 21st in a debated decision that could have terminated the season on the spot. Specifically in New York, this game was a highly emotional one, loaded with one purpose: to relive the residents of New York City from their pain, even if it was only for three hours. But what happened in that game was so overly emotional, so overly dramatic that no one in the country could deny themselves a smile, even those Braves fans who watched Piazza's bomb sail over the wall. The Shea crowd erupted into a sea of tears, cheers, and everything in between in what remains one of the most inspiring moments of my life, despite its minor significance in the overall scheme of life.

Cue the chills.

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Roddick's Career Ends In Appropriate Fashion

Roddick could never return to form after his only major title in 2003.

When Andy Roddick announced in August that this U.S. Open would be his final tournament, it instantly became his tournament. He was going to dazzle the crowd with his overwhelming serve and he was going to will himself to a sunset title. The stage was all set for him to thrive off the raucous crowds, for him to find energy in standing ovations and snatch some sort of destiny that would empower him to victory. Yet, like most of Roddick's career he fell short, leaving us Americans a bitter taste on the tip of our tongues.

The fiesty American began his pro tennis career twelve years ago with the sort of talent, flash and dominate serving game that allowed Americans to feel comfortable with him rising out of the ashes of Sampras and Agassi's magical careers. With loads of junior titles to his name, it was looking more and more apparent that the United States had found its next superstar. He spent the first three years of his career chipping away at the world rankings, eventually exploding on the scene with a dominate 2003 in which he had career-best finishes in the Australian Open and the ATP Tour Finals. But 2003 was most memorable for him because it served as his first major victory at the '03 U.S. Open. In front of an explosive United States crowd Roddick undressed Juan Carlos Ferrero in straight sets and so fittingly aced him on the match point. It seemed as if Roddick was going to tear the tennis worlds to shreds with his almost unstoppable serve. That feeling was taken to even greater heights when he was given the #1 world ranking, a status he would only hold for one year.

Now its not to say the ship sank on him in the years after, but he certainly wasn't on a upward trend. He made the Wimbledon finals in both '04 and '05 only to be outdone by Roger Federer each time. In the Australian Open he reached a tournament-best semi-finals appearance in 2005 and again in '07 and '09, but he never could break through. The French Open wasn't even on his radar as he never cracked the fourth round. Roddick was competitive in those years, putting together solid tournaments here and there but he left us with an empty bag of hype and and a hollow trophy case that made us yearn for more.

So when this year's U.S. Open rolled around there was a fresh, new buzz around him that kind of said, "Hey, why not bring the magic back one more time?" He was wearing a fitting USA-themed outfit with a classy shirt and a pair of wildly cool shoes, what could go wrong? But instead, in classic Roddick fashion, we were let down. He coasted his way into the Round of 16 before meeting a stronger, more athletic, simply fresher Juan Martin del Potro. After winning a scintillating first set, Roddick dropped the second in equally dramatic fashion. It was all but obvious that del Potro was gaining steam as Roddick was withering. Old age (in tennis years) caught up to him in this tournament despite his serve being as electric as ever and a sense of necessary accomplishment hanging over his head. Tabbing his final U.S. Open as a microcosm of his career is pretty accurate with it being an underachieving, disappointing dare I say heartbreaking, event.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge Andy Roddick fan. He was my favorite player and not only because he was an American (though that played a huge role in my choice). Roddick played with this intensity and vigor that brought back memories of John McEnroe, even if Andy was a bit more tame. He was a likeable guy off the court, who brought a powerful and vicious game to the nets that at times was a bit too much to handle. His overpowering serve and ball-shredding forehand made him one of those players you'll never forget, even though most of his career was almost entirely forgettable. What makes it even more depressing is that he seems to be the last of the great American tennis players, with very few young guns in the making. There's a true element of sadness for the casual tennis fan like myself who rooted for Roddick because he repped the red, white and blue as best as he could.

In a tournament and career that was meant to be, Andy Roddick left us hanging, grasping for something was never there. Either way we thank you for taking us with you on your rollercoaster ride, even if we simply ended up puking at the end. Enjoy the tennis afterlife Andy.

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