college football

The blog for inquisitive Gators, Saurian Sagacity, has done an interesting analysis of the effect of the 2006 NCAA football game clock rule changes. I was annoyed all year by the new changes because I felt that it was making the games shorter. I like college football. I don’t want shorter games. I want longer games! It seemed all year that the games were shorter, but the time I spent sitting in front of the TV didn’t change. And now I realize why.

Yes, the games were shorter by about eight minutes. But it’s not like the networks gave me that time. They took away six or eight plays per game, but we got to see around seventeen more commercials. That sucks. There are already plenty of commercials. It’s not like that cash is going to the schools to pay player salaries. Broadcasting college football is a license to print money. That’s why games are being carried by TBS and TNT now. It’s so lucrative as it is there’s no need to screw me out of those six plays.

The only real issue I have with this analysis is that I think it misses the point. What I’d really like to know is the difference between the number of plays run by quarter. The big change this year, I felt, was that the 4th quarter always seemed to be where the time disappeared. There were definitely some thrilling come-from-behind victories this season, but was it just me that thought there were more of them before the clock rule changes?

How cool is the World Wide Web™? Within 24 hours of the game I was able to use μtorrent to download the entire 2006 BCS Championship Game and watch it using the latest DivX player. The 2.2GB file took about 20 hours to download, but it’s worth it. I’m considering using the office projector to play the game on the wall behind me on a constant loop.

(While you’re waiting for the massive download, take a look at this awesome video of suffering OSU fans at the game, set to the tune of Beck’s “Loser“. It’s very evil and completely bad karma, but still great.)

At some point about fifteen years ago I subscribed to Sports Illustrated. With the exception of a tragic few months during which most of my mail was trapped shuffling between coasts, I haven’t missed an issue. Generally I ignore all the commemorative editions and t-shirt and sweatshirt offers; I have enough t-shirts and sweatshirts to clothe most of the Sudan, and Lord knows I have far, far too many back issues that I refuse to trash. But when I saw this morning the inevitable Gators Championship Package I knew I was going to have to make a phone call.

My annual subscription automatically renewed at the end of December and the Championship DVD, hard-bound edition, and t-shirt is only available to new subscribers, so I was ready for a fight. To my surprise the helpful customer service rep at SI graciously helped me credit my existing subscription towards a “new” one so I could get the deal. I am going to go out on a limb and credit that to the fact that the call center I reached is located in Ocala, Florida.

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Rick Scuteri/US PRESSWIRE

Chris Leak had all the right moves in dismantling BCS favorite Ohio State Monday night.

“The Florida game plan was art, suitable for framing. The execution of the game plan was similarly gorgeous.” — Pat Forde

“The Rambo-like Tebow threw for one TD and powered into the end zone for another.” — MSNBC

“… the Gators triumphed with a superior offensive system and a defense that ate a rather mundane scheme alive.” — the Heisman Pundit

“Call Gainesville, Florida what it is: The capital of college sports in America.” — Richard Deitsch

“Florida’s offense did donuts around the confused, slowish Buckeyes defenders. Meyer used so many formations that Ohio State developed a nervous tic. And about the only Gator who didn’t line up at quarterback was Meyer’s wife, Shelley.” — Gene Wojciechowski

“Ohio State, a team that had won nine games by at least three touchdowns, finished with 82 total yards and eight first downs, totals that Florida surpassed in the first quarter.” — Ivan Maisel

“He was Cool Hand Leak, steady as a rock, unflappable and never afraid of the Big Bad Buckeyes.” — Franz Beard

“At least it was close… oh wait, I forgot, we got CRUSHED.” — Steve Lazuka

“Ohio State and Michigan were the two best teams in a really bad league. Florida was the best team in a really good league.” — Jim Walden

“Florida kicked ass until their toes fell off. It was like watching a small animal get crushed between two glaciers.” — Every Day Should Be Saturday

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Apparently the people in charge in Columbus, Ohio are preparing for the worst. There’s a story on ESPN’s site about how they are planning how to handle rioting in the (unlikely) event that Ohio State beats Florida in Monday night’s BCS Championship game. What does it say about your school and your community when everyone running things plans for a riot in case something great happens? When Florida won the national championship in ‘96, there was plenty of celebrating, but certainly no rioting.

Florida fans never storm the field, never tear down goalposts. Whether you love him or hate him, you have to give credit to Spurrier for that. We expect to win. Win or lose, we are still champions. Go Gators!

I was in football nirvana this weekend. I watched no less than a dozen games — college and pro — since I left the office Friday night. The best by far was last night’s Boise State / Oklahoma Fiesta Bowl, one of the top ten football games I’ve ever seen. While watching Saturday night’s Giants / Redskins contest on the NFLN I kept wondering about all the commercials they kept airing for themselves. “Why in the world,” I asked, “do they keep showing me commercials for something they know I already have?”

The only people who could have possibly seen all the ads for the NFLN were the people that currently have the NFLN. And it wasn’t just the 30-second commercials spots, either. During the game they were constantly bombarding me with teasers and float-overs talking about how wonderful they are. Aside from the fact that it was mildly annoying, it was also pointless!

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You have got to be kidding me. This is just about the coolest thing ever. A few weeks ago I lamented that there was no place where I could go to import the entire NCAA College Football Bowl schedule into my Outlook calendar. Today I received an email from Greg Titamer, the owner of Calendar Updates. Not only does Greg’s site provide a complete college football bowl schedule to download into Outlook, but he sent me a free coupon! I would have gladly paid the $1.99 for this. Sweet!

I was listening to Colin Cowherd’s “The Herd” on my local ESPNRadio affiliate while I drove to work this morning. Colin was talking about the fact that the vast majority of cable companies are not carrying the NFLNetwork. Apparently the Rutgers bowl game is going to be on the NFLN and that means that most of New York and New Jersey viewers will not get the game. He said that he thinks ESPN (the television network) should be worried about the NFLNetwork penetrating basic cable because it represents more competition for viewers. I completely disagree.

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year! This is when everyone starts asking me, “So what do you want for Christmas?” Every year my answer is the same. “I don’t really want anything. I need cash. If you have a burning desire to buy me a gift, check out my Amazon wishlist.” To make it easier on you, I’ve embedded the little Amazon widget right here.

Here’s something you probably can’t get me, but I’d really like. Someone somewhere should give me a link I can click to automatically add all the college bowl games to my Outlook calendar. That would be oh-so handy. Why hasn’t anyone done that yet? Is it even possible to have a single object that imports multiple calendar items? Why isn’t ESPN working on this?

A few weeks ago I was browsing the latest Gator news at Topix and I stumbled upon Orange and Blue Hue. What a great site! I am seriously impressed by the quality of the writing at this blog. There are several different contributors and each has a unique style. It seems like every day — often multiple times each day — there is a new editorial or post about the current state of GatorNation.

The design of the site is also quite superb and they’re doing some really cool stuff with the font titles. If you’re a Gator fan, you should check ‘em out.

The college football homepage at ESPN reads “Saturday Bloody Saturday”. Then it says, “Auburn beat Florida. The SEC body count is complete. On every given Saturday, someone loses in the Bloody South.” It goes on to state, “In the end, that merciless SEC claimed another victim as Florida became the fourth team ranked No. 2 in the AP Top 25 to lose this season, joining Texas, Notre Dame and Auburn.”

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Gainesville is abuzz these days as the 5-0 Florida Gators embark on a huge October. The fifth-ranked Gators will be tested with showdowns throughout the month. Now the slate has gotten even more challenging. Today coach Urban Meyer announced that Florida has added an October 21 matchup with the Chicago Bears to the schedule.

Akron beat the Wolfpack. Tennessee almost drops one to Air Force. FSU has to rally to beat Troy. Spurrier is held scoreless. Texas’ offense plays like a wounded quail. I don’t even know where to begin. One thing is certain: The best team in the country didn’t take the field this weekend. I know Ohio State. I’ve watched Ohio State. Ohio State is no USC. And FSU does not deserve to be in the top ten right now. Come on. Troy?

Here’s how I’d have ‘em ranked after just watching UT fold like a cheap suit. The Week 2 AP and USA/Today rankings are noted.

1. USC [AP 3, USA 3]
2. Auburn [4, 4]
3. Florida [7, 7]
4. Ohio State [1, 1]
5. LSU [8, 8]
6. Notre Dame [4, 5]
7. West Virginia [6, 5]
8. Georgia [12, 11]
9. Michigan [10, 13]
10. Texas [2, 2]

I haven’t written anything meaningful in a while, so why start now? Here’s some quick notes from me, because I know you care.

1. The poll question on ESPN’s college football page is, “Who will win Saturday’s showdown in South Bend?” As of quarter-past eleven Sunday night, 58% of the voters are picking Notre Dame. As much as I love Weis’ Wunderkids, as much as I love an underdog, as much as I loved Rudy, as much as I love a good upset, and as much as I would love someone to take down the Trojans … I live in LA. I get to watch USC every week. USC is ridiculously good. USC is better than Florida was in 95-96, and that’s a tough thing to admit. USC is going to beat the tar out of Notre Dame.
2. In Her Shoes is a terrific movie. It’s well-written, the acting is superb, the soundtrack is good, the plot is lovely, and you get to see a lot of Cameron Diaz skin.
3. If you are not winning by more than a touchdown with less than a minute on the clock, do not fool yourself into thinking you’ve beaten the Patriots.
4. A History of Violence is bad. It is pathetically bad. It is painfully bad. The plot is actually pretty darn good. The acting, writing, soundtrack, editing, and hell even the title fonts are wretched. I am seriously considering writing William Hurt and Viggo Whatsisname and asking for $21.50. Spend an hour and a half picking up dog crap around your neighborhood rather than seeing it.
5. Grey’s Anatomy is almost as good as West Wing.