Colt Brennan: The Case for Heisman

I don't understand why Colt Brennan doesn't get more love. Hawaii is 2nd in the nation in passing yards per game, with 450.9 (They did lead the nation, but Brennan sat out all but two snaps against Fresno State, dropping his average.) This guy holds 25 NCAA records! He recently broke the record for all-time touchdown passes, beating Ty Detmer's (BYU) 121 career mark. And still, no love. I guess it all starts with his team.

The Hawaii Warriors are the only undefeated team in the nation, and still aren't in the top 10. Florida, a 3-loss team, ranks higher. All the talk about their schedule is what's keeping them down. Out of 119 BCS teams, Hawaii's schedule strength is ranked 119th. So what? No victory is given. Everyone has to be earned. Hawaii has earned all of their victories. Don't give me this schedule strength bullshit. Give them some love.

As for Colt, he should already have a Heisman in his hands. Let's look at his numbers from last year:

• 58 Touchdown passes, an NCAA single-season record
• 186.0 pass efficiency rating, and NCAA record
• Was the team's second leading rusher with 366 yards and 5 TD's
• Responsible for 384 points, an NCAA record
• 14 games gaining 400+ yards, an NCAA record

That's just some of his numbers. Despite all that, he still came in 6th in the Heisman voting, behind guys like Troy Smith. Troy Smith did nothing to deserve that award. Brennan's most prestigious award? WAC Offensive Player of the Year. Now let's look at this year.

Brennan has thrown for 3,732 yards, with a passer efficiency of 169.1. He's responsibly for 246 points, throwing 33 TD passes. His completion rate is an astounding 70%! Earlier this year, it was at 72%, which led the nation. He's been the WAC Player of the Week three times, and is a nominee for the Manning Award, for the nation's best QB. All in all, he's led the nation in 7 statistical passing categories this year. He's also accomplished two major feats:

• Broke the NCAA record for most touchdown passes in a career (121). He now has 126, with one more game to go, followed by a bowl game.
• Broke the NCAA record for most career touchdowns. He is at 141, with two games left in his college career.
• He has also tied the NCAA record for most touchdown passes by a quarterback-wide receiver combination, getting number 39 to Davone Bess. With two games left, that is almost another record he is sure to break.

Along with all the NCAA records, he has broken or set 17 WAC records, and 41 school records.

And still, no love.

The Heisman voters should wise up. Don't look at schedule's or opponents, or whatever. The best player in college football should win the Heisman. Quite simply, that's Colt. It shouldn't be any other way.

Thank you Joe #6

Now that it is official, and Joe Torre is not coming back to the Yankees, I have decided to write this, because I will sincerely miss that man behind the helm.

For as long as I can remember, Joe Torre has always been the manager of the New York Yankees. And that's the way I liked it. It's going to be hard to see the Yankees play without their dedicated skipper on the bench. In many cases, I don't think of him just as the Yankees manager, rather, I think of him as my manager. I love Torre so much, that it is so hard to say goodbye. I about had tears running down my face at the announcement that he turned down his offer. Since becoming a manager in 1977, he has recorded 2,067 wins. He is 9th on the all time managerial wins list.

Joe Torre's managing career didn't start so hot. From 1977 until 1995, he had lost 1,003 career games, as opposed to only 894 wins. When he joined the Yankees in 1996, the New York media shunned him, saying his hiring was a mistake, even calling him "Clueless Joe." Boy were they wrong. In 12 years with the Yankees, Torre compiled these stats:

• Led team to playoffs in each of his 12 years there.
• Compiled 1,173 wins, passing Casey Stengel for number one on the Yankees all-time win list.
• AL Manager of the year in 1996 and 1998.
• Won 10 division titles, including 9 in a row.
• Won 6 pennants.
• Won 4 World Series titles.

In his first five seasons, the Yankees won the World Series 4 times, making them a dynasty. Torre's name will forever be linked to that dynasty, and will always be considered one of the greatest Yankee managers of all time.

Joe Torre was more than just the coach of the Yankees; he was the coach of the Yankee fans. We all knew and felt his heartbreak when his brother Rocco passed away unexpectedaly in the 1996 season. We were all scared and worried when Torre was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer in 1999. When told of that news, many of his players wept. Many fans wept as well. We all prayed for his brother Frank to receive a successful heart transplant, in which he did.

Joe Torre is more than just a manager. He is the favorite man on the bench for Yankee fans. He is the leader of our favorite team, who is doing all he can to get them to victory. It will hurt seeing him in Dodgers blue this year, but as long as he is happy, I will be happy. I will never forget everything he did for the Yankees, and will never condem him for the things he didn't do. He will always be the number 1 Yankees manager in my heart, and will always be the best.

Thank you Joe. For everyting.

Second to None

ESPN and USA Today came out with their top 25 poll in college basketball. Check out where we rank:

It won't be long before they're number 1! Also, props to Southern Illinois for making it to number 23. They are a good team. Returning starters:

Darren Collison, G

Josh Shipp, G/F

Lorenzo Mata, C

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, F

Looking Good!

Jonathan Papelbon is Not Intimidating

As he walks out to the music of "Wild Thing," Jonathan Papelbon looks to stare down hitters with his "evil eyes."

Jonathan Papelbon, you are not intimidating.

Hitters are not intimidated by his wicked stare, or the puff of breath he blows out through that hole in his face. He is not scary. Big deal, he can throw a 98 mph fastball. So can many other big league pitchers. He would never make it as a starter, despite popular belief. He is not a "wild thing," nor is he even worth the money he gets paid to look like an ass.

Jonathan Papelbon, you are not intimidating. You are just a bitch.

Buc Luck

Buc Luck(n): The type of luck distributed among the Buccaneers team, players and fans. Generally bad in nature, there have been a few rare examples of "good" Buc Luck (see: 2003 Super Bowl Champions)

I have become convinced that there is something out there that wants to cause as much pain to the Buccaneers faithful as possible. I can't say it's a curse, rather, unexplainable bad luck. Thus,
I've coined the term "Buc Luck," because it seems that the Bucs always have a run in with this "Buc Luck," but it always seems to be on the bad side of things. Things have only taken a turn for the worse this season, where the "Buc Luck" is overwhelming, making it seem as if the Bucs had no bad luck, they would have no luck at all.

It all started before the season ever started, when it was announced that Mike Alstott, Buc extraordinaire, team leader, etc., would miss the entire season due to a neck injury. To make matters worse, he might not ever play in the NFL again.

Things didn't get much better for the Bucs, following the news that their leading rusher, Carnell "Cadillac" Williams would miss the rest of the season with a knee injury, coming off the heels of a Week 4 victory against Carolina. His injury is so severe, there is speculation that he may never walk again. He wasn't the only injury of the game. Luke Petitgout, the New York Giants import, also suffered a season ending knee injury.

The very next week, with the running game already hurting, the Bucs lost backup running back Michael Pittman for six long weeks, because of torn ligaments in his ankle. He is expected to return this season, but nothing is concrete.

As if things couldn't get worse, in Week 7 the Bucs lost Mark Jones, their very productive kick returner, for the season with a knee injury. Going into Week 7, Jones was ranked 5th in the NFL in punt return average (11.9 yards per return), and 7th in the NFL in kickoff return average(30.3). He was the only player in the NFL through the first six weeks to rank in the top 10 in both categories. He is the man I was sure would score the first ever touchdown on a kickoff return in Bucs history.

In Week 7, 7 players were inactive for the Bucs, and now troubling is how Michael Clayton's MRI will turn out. In Week 7, he went down awkwardly, having to leave the game in the first quarter. Getting out of this season, let's focus on some other examples of "Buc Luck."

It all started with the Bucs inaugural season in 1976. That year, the Bucs were perfect. A perfect 0-14 that is. Ultimately the laughing stock of the league, the Buccaneers were basically invisible at the beginning of the season. When they arrived at the Astrodome for the opening game against the Houston Oilers, they were refused entry by the security services. "The Buccaneers?" the guard asked. "Are they a college team or something?" They weren't invisible by the end of the season, ending with a big goose-egg in the win column. It's not as if they were horrible. Three times they came within a touchdown of winning. That's just the "Buc Luck" for you. This team's place in history is complete. They are the last team to go winless for an entire season. Despite their success in SuperBowl XXXVII, the losing team will probably always be more famous, as the Bucs are looked at as a failing team.

In 1983, the Bucs dark years began. It was the first of 14 straight losing seasons, 13 in which they would lose 10 games or more. The Bucs of course were the laughing stock in the league, as every team that faced them knew that victory was eventual.

The SuperBowl curse came around in 2003, as we all saw the defending Super Bowl champs fall to a 7-9 record. 2004 didn't provide much healing, as the Bucs went even deeper into the cellar, falling to 5-11. A brief glimpse of hope came through in 2005, before the Bucs stumbled to a 4-12 record in 2006.

Among the miscues of the 2006 season, things became really hard following Week 3. In a game against Carolina, quarterback Chris Simms took a brutal shot from a Carolina defender, rupturing his spleen. He played the rest of the game, but following the game was immediately rushed to the emergency room where his spleen was removed. The poor guy lost his season, and possibly his job as QB for the Bucs. Because of losing Simms, the Bucs were stuck with 3rd String quarterback, rookie Bruce Gradkowski. In short, he sucked.

My only hope is that this tainted "Buc Luck" will disappear, or at least deliver us some good luck. This season was going well, but the injuries are piling up. I can only hope for the best, staying away from a losing season, and avoiding losing coach Jon Gruden. I can only leave you with this, a sign of the good "Buc Luck" that has embraced the Buccaneers over the years. Hopefully we'll get some this year too.

The Night I Cried Myself to Sleep

It wasn't supposed to end this way.

The Yankees season wasn't supposed to end with such heartbreak. It was supposed to be 27 in 07. Not an early exit to the season.

It wasn't supposed to end this way.

This was a season that started off so badly, where the Yankees posted a 21-29 record at the All Star break. They were 14 1/2 games out of first place. Everyone aside from the Yankees and their fans counted them out.

It wasn't supposed to end this way.

This was a season where the Yankees came storming back, posting a 73-39 record in the second half, the best in the majors. This was a season that saw the emergence of young stars, where the "Big 3" of Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, and Ian Kennedy made their debuts. This was a season where 9 Yankee pitchers made their starts for the first time. This was a season that saw the return of Yankee product Andy Pettite, and Yankee favorite Roger Clemens out of retirement. This was a season that boasted milestones for many players. Roger Clemens won his 350th career game. Mike Mussina won his 250th career game. Andy Pettite won his 200th career game. Chase Wright, Matt DeSalvo, Tyler Clippard, Kei Igawa, Edwar Ramirez, Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, and Joba Chamberlain all recorded their first major league victories. Hideki Matsui hit his 100th career homerun. Alex Rodriguez hit his 500th career homerun. Shelley Duncan hit his 1st career homerun. Johnny Damon hit his 2000th career hit.

It wasn't supposed to end this way.

This was a season that boasted career best numbers for Alex Rodriguez, who obliterated opposing pitching with his MVP caliber numbers. He batted .314 with 54 homeruns, 156 RBI's, scored 143 runs, and had a slugging percentage of .645, the previous four stats all leading the major leagues. Jorge Posada, a career .277 hitter, exploded by hitting .338, a career best at the age of 36. In fact, he boasted the best numbers by a Yankee catcher since Yogi Berra.

It wasn't supposed to end this way.

This was a season full of turn-arounds, comebacks, and the never-give-up attitude. After such a poor start and an incredible turn around, they were supposed to win it all. Is the Cy Young Award type season from Chien-Ming Wang a waste? Is a career best season by Jorge Posada a waste? Is the MVP season of A-Rod a waste? Is this the last time that we will ever see Joe Torre, Alex Rodriguez, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, Bobby Abreu, Roger Clemens, and Andy Pettite in pinstripes? I hope not.

That's why you can see it was so easy for me to cry last night. This season, this team, so full of potential, and yet they don't make it very far in October, where it matters the most. Everything seemed so sure coming into the playoffs, but nothing is certain, especially in October. I'm not ready for this season to be over. I'm not ready to see a Yankees uniform without a black armband around the left arm (for the death of Cory Lidle), and I'm not ready to see a Yankees uniform without that armband and the number 10 sitting on top of it (for the death of Phil Rizzuto). I get emotional, and the thought of the season being over, so many people possibly never wearing pinstripes again, it just sobers me up. Everything is just to hard to digest still, after about 12 hours of this pain. My heart and my mind stay with the Yankees, but the wounds are still too raw. I can only hope for the best in 2008, with all the young talent and seasoned veterans the Yankees roster will produce.

Here's to a great season! Go Yankees!