SC favorite to beat all teams

Gang, Yesterday, sports talk radio ESPN interviewed the sports book manager of the Mirage in Las Vegas and he said SC would be favored to beat any of the teams in the present top 10, except maybe Oklahoma. Clearly, a playoff would determine the champion better than this BS system. The guy went on to say that the eventual Ohio State/LSU game would not create a definitive champion. Depending on the results of that game and others, there may be room for another team to break into the top spot. Although I think this is highly unlikely, imagine if: LSU barely beats OSU and either Oklahoma or SC trounces their opponent in their respective bowl game. What would be the national title outcome? Would it be clouded? SC has opened as a 14 point favorite over Illinois. Any takers on this bet? I didn't think so. There was, also, plenty of analysis on the radio yesterday (I was heading to a court appearance in Los Angeles, so I had plenty of listening time) in regards to the polls giving too much importance to losses rather than quality wins. The bottom line was that Kansas is an impostor as they have no quality wins. Who cares about their record. In a season where they did not have to play either Texas or Oklahoma, they did not beat anybody. Hence, they should not be rewarded for scheduling "cream puffs" and having a "good" record, while our beloved Gators have 3 losses against a brutal schedule. If you need any proof of this, if KU and Florida were to play a bowl game at a neutral site, who do you think would be favored? Florida, big time! Florida, with 3 losses, is a way better team than Kansas with 1 loss. So, why reward KU with a BCS game? Somebody has to answer this question properly as I am getting ticked off. We need to generate as much controversy as possible to overthrow the BS system. Give me your thoughts. Victor

Construction

It occurred to me that from time to time, our bloggers may wish to add pictures or other content to the site to further customize our little place on the web. Please send any such content/captions to me as attachments via email, at rfraxedas@gmail.com and I will promptly publish them. The content doesn't have to be strictly sports related; feel free to send family christmas pics, links of interest, or other such things. Its all in an effort to make the blog a more fun place to log onto for everyboy!

Tiger in the Room!

Hey, everybody, there's a tiger in the room! Luisleon just posted a comment to Rob's earlier posting on his frusturation with Ohio State playing in the championship again. Rest assured that Rob and Jason and I and all the other SECrs in this blog hold your tigers in the highest regard. We know what you guys can do. We've played you and have the scars to show for it. Now go forth and swallow those buckeyes in one bite! We can't wait. PS, click on "New Post" in the upper right hand corner of this page, after you've "signed in", to publish a new posting which will appear where this piece is appearing now! Welcome aboard!

Congratulations

A great day for Tebow and the Gators. High fives for all you in the Gator Swamp Nation!

ESPN - Florida QB Tebow is first underclassman to win Heisman - College Football

ESPN - Florida QB Tebow is first underclassman to win Heisman - College Football

TEBOW WINS

Congrats to Tim Tebow, first sophomore ever to win the Heisman!!!

The Greatest Game Ever Played

As requested... It was the fall of 1974. My brother, Jose, was a Sophomore at USC. He had spent his Freshman year at UC San Diego in La Jolla, one of the most beautiful places on the planet. At any rate, after his 1st year in college, he had a change of heart and, most important, he had his big buddy, Andy Katnik (who later would become our brother-in-law after his marriage to our sister, Annie) tugging him towards "The University" as he called it. Jos would visit Andy there and he had the urge to join him in L.A. The inevitable happened and Jos joined Andy at SC. I was just a Junior in high school and, once Jos stepped onto the SC campus, everything changed. We were Notre Dame fans since childhood due to the Catholic upbringing and, since we were raised in the Mid-West, we were inside the "sphere of influence" that a place like ND has/had. We rooted for them, even after we moved to California. We had many friends who were associated with either SC or UCLA; but, we were from Michigan, so we either rooted for the Wolverines (which at that time and place was like rooting for Australia in rugby) or for Notre Dame (which was the dreaded enemy of the Trojans). At any rate, Jos kept telling me about the Trojans and what a great team they had and how he was going to invite me up to a game...but, it had to be the right game. I waited all season long when the call came. Jos said, "I am saving you a ticket for the SC/ND game." He said it was the biggest game of the year and he wanted to invite me up for the game. Well, the occasion came. It was Thanksgiving Weekend. On the even # years, SC hosted the Irish. It was the last game of the year, even scheduled after the cross-town rivalry game against UCLA. I always thought that was amazing that they had to play such difficult games back-to-back every other year. But, what the heck. I went up to the game. Jos, Andy and all their buddies had the routine down pat. They knew exactly where to go and what to do. Regardless of the sea of humanity on the Sc campus, in Exposition Park, or around the Coliseum, they knew where to go and, believe me, for the first time in such a circumstance, it was comforting because at 16 years old, that can be very intimidating. Well, we made our way into the grand Coliseum, where the Olympics were held in 1932 (they were held there again in 1984). SC had been playing there home games there since 1923. The ivy hanging from the walls let everyone know the place had been there for a long, long time. The pageantry was cool, although unknown to me at the time. Jos would give me tidbits every now and they but he pretty much let me soak it in. I still had a liking for ND due to my childhood, but, once I saw Jos and Andy and how intense they were, I realized that the ND collar that I had in my youth was being stripped away. Cardinal and Gold all the way. The student section, which is where we were seated, started to do a chant, which I later came to know as a "So Cal Spellout". The cheer spells out Southern California, letter by letter, then it stops abruptly, and the students yell out the word "Southern" and they delay and crescendo into the "California". It is hard to describe, but, if you are in attendance (or if you know anybody who has attended "The University") no description is necessary. Suffice to say, it is way cool. Much has been written about the game. The Irish racing to a 24-0 lead just before the half. The amazing comeback (final score: 55-24). The magnitude of the inter-sectional rivalry). What I remember most are the following: The SC yell leader (some goofball) kept reminding the students over the loudspeaker that SC had come back before. Not to worry. We can come back. I was worried. But, Jos and Andy stood firm. "Don't worry"..."we can come back". I was worried. I could not believe that SC could come back against such a strong ND team which was loaded with talent and came into the game with only 1 or 2 losses (this was no slouch team). Ara Parsegian, the legendary Irish coach, was roaming the sidelines for goodness sakes!!! He would not allow a comeback from such a lead. Lo and behold, SC scored a touchdown (which seemed meaningless at the time) right before halftime. They went for 2 and missed. Halftime score: Irish 24, SC 6. It was a wipeout in the making. Anthony Davis returned the second half kickoff for a touchdown. We stood and went crazy. I still remember Jos and Andy jumping half-way to the sky. Once he broke containment, we could see he was going to go all the way. We stood and went bananas!!!!! Could it be. Can we come back. History recalls that we went on to stage a miraculous comeback...probably the best in history. But, at the time, SC was still a little bit out of sync. We missed the 2 point try (again), so we were still behind: ND 24, SC 12. Still a large deficit against the powerful ND. On the ensuing kickoff, a reserve linebacker playing on special teams, David Lewis, hurled his body at the ND return man and leveled him with a ferocious hit!! Down he went at the 12 yard-line. Since we were still standing from the excitement of Davis' kick return. We never sat down again! Play after play. Score after score. ND could do nothing right and SC could do nothing wrong. Fumbles and interceptions by ND were converted by scores by SC. The scoreboard could not keep up and broke!! If you count the score just before halftime, the 35 points in the 3rd quarter, and the 14 we tacked on in the first part of the 4th quarter, SC scored an amazing 55 points in 17 and 1/2 minutes!!!!!!! Not against Oregon State. Not against Stanford. This was Notre Dame, the most storied program in history. Sports Illustrated called it the "California Earthquake". Never had a team scored 24 unanswered points to be immediately followed by 55 unanswered points by the opposition. Even Traveler, the SC mascot which is a beautiful white horse with a "Trojan" riding atop the stallion (which appears out of the Coliseum tunnel after every score) could not muster the strength to come out after so many scores in such rapid succession. The aftermath was draining. We were so excited, but, yet drained. It was exhausting. Almost as if we had played in the actual game. We were tired. Horse. Almost unable to walk.... But, we were high as a kite! We had just witnessed a spectacular game. Jos commented to me..."not bad for you first college game". There is so much more; but, time is short. The rest will be served with a cold beer. Jos and Andy in their glory. That is what I love most... Love to all!!!!!! Victor

OK, Victor, You Promised Us a Post on Your 1st College Game --Let's Have It!

Victor, a couple of weeks ago, in response to my posting on the historic '97 UF v FSU game you promised to do an extended posting on the first college game you saw in person. You asked me to guess and gave me a hint: It was in 1974. O.K. Here's my answer. The first college football game you attended had to be the 1974 USC v Notre Dame game. Things looked awfully grim for the mighty Trojans through the first half. They were scoreless for almost 30 minutes until they scored a last minute touchdown to go into the half trailing the Irish 24-7. But then the Trojans came out of the tunnel literally on fire and exploded for 48 second-half points to destroy the haughty little leprechauns 55-24 in one of the greatest offensive performances in college football history. That had to be the game which made you the college football maniac you are today. So, please, take your time writing it. But favor us with a first hand, full length, eyewitness account. Give us the story of a young man, in his teens, hormones flowing, walking into the legendary Coliseum for the first time. Tell us about the sensory overload. The sights, the sounds. The impossibly beautiful women on the field and in the stands. The heart-pumping excitement of seeing a world-class college band take the field for the first time. The Coliseum awash in cardinal and gold. The Trojans bursting out of the tunnel. Fighter jets flying overhead (was there a fly-over?). And you, a wide-eyed freshman, barely out of high school, taking all this in. Thinking, "This is my Alma Mater! This is big! This is really, really big!" And, then, the disappointment of the first half. The, "Oh, no! We might lose! (But those girls still look awfully hot)." Until the second half starts and you experience the exhilaration of a first-class college super-power hitting the warp-drive button and taking the entire Trojan Nation with them into hyper-space. Please tell us! It would be great to go around the blog and hear first time college game experiences!

Article for Nora -- And Everyone Else!

Nora (and everyone else), thought you might enjoy this article. Just click on "Article for Nora" above. I've also posted another picture for you -- to the right and below the picture I posted for Luisleon! There's also a nifty video on Tebow's season which somehow came up when I posted the article. I did not see it when I originally posted it so it must have been "embedded" in the Gainesville Sun story. Hope you're having a great day.

BCS Chaos Doesn't Legitimize Ignorance or Stupidity

Just Read Another Terrific Article on BCS Stupidity... If you click on the title to this blog right above "BCS Chaos Doesn't..." you will pull up the article. I know we've beat this horse to death, but it's still alive, so I'll keep beating it. I'm also going to try to post a really hilarious video of James Carville, the Clinton political guru, on the BCS stupidity. I don't agree much with Carville on political issues (although, Norita, I'm really coming around). But he is smart as all get out and really funny in a strange sort of way... Someone I would really enjoy having a beer or two with while we eat a plate of New Orleans red beans and rice or shrimp gumbo. Anyway, he was being interviewed yesterday and generally asked something along the line of: we know you hate the BCS system but your Tigers are going to play in the national championship, so does that change your mind since the "system" favored the tigers. He really let it rip with both barrels. It's worth watching. I'll see if I can post a link to it! Here it is! Check it out!!! Hey, Rob, I'm getting good at this stuff!! I'm going to fire my IT guy!!! http://www.findinternettv.com/Video,item,4160799441.aspx Carville also went on to criticize the officiating in the West Virginia/Pitt game this weekend. I don't know how many of you watched this game but I saw the whole thing and it was outright criminal. There were two absolutely phantom holding calls against Pitt at crucial moments. One took away a touchdown and another a critical first down. I saw close ups of both plays and the supposedly offending Pitt player from every angle and there is no possible way it was holding. What makes it even worst is that there was a blatant outrageous holding (grabbing the jersey and pulling like crazy for an extended period) by West Virginia right in front of the same official which he did not call. He was looking straight at it, less than five feet away and he did not throw a flag!!! After throwing two flags on blatant phantoms!!! I'm no Pitt fan but I went absolutely ballistic. The official was obviously trying to do everything in his power to give the game to WVA. It was outrageous. Criminal. We've all had some bad calls against our teams over the years but this was way beyond the pale and into the area of open and obvious corruption. That's what Carville was talking about and saying he was surprised ESPN didn't do an investigation into it and show the whole country what happened. But ESPN is part of the whole system. I don't know about the rest of you, but I've got a pitchfork in one hand and a torch in the other!!!