Happy New Year!

Time's running short, so I'll make this short and sweet. Why was 2007 the best year in recent memory? Well, there was this:

And this:

Talking With Erin Andrews

And most important of all, this:

Happy New Year!

Reverse Survivor: Hey, It's A Kind of Magic

Lots of movement in the standings since the last Reverse Survivor update more than two weeks ago. Ball State and Furman both pulled off their first wins of the season this weekend, leaving N.J.I.T. and Grambling State as the only two winless programs in Division 1. An amazing 25 teams dropped off the list during the break, becoming ineligible with a third (or fourth) win.

Zero (2)
New Jersey Institute of Technology (Independent, 0-15)
Grambling State (Southwestern Athletic, 0-7)

One (8)
Ball State (Mid-American West, 1-11) – beat IPFW, 69-62, on December 31
Furman (Southern South, 1-11) – beat Howard, 67-62, on December 29

North Florida (Atlantic Sun, 1-11)
Presbyterian (Independent, 1-16)
North Carolina Central (Independent, 1-17)
Eastern Illinois (Ohio Valley, 1-11)
Alcorn State (Southwestern Athletic, 1-12)
Texas Southern (Southwestern Athletic, 1-12)

Two (12)
Canisius (Metro-Atlantic, 2-10) – beat Maine, 81-70, on December 31
Southern (Southwestern Athletic, 2-9) – beat Dillard, 86-67, on December 30

Kennesaw State (Atlantic Sun, 2-11)
South Carolina Upstate (Atlantic Sun, 2-11)
Sacramento State (Big Sky, 2-9)
Hofstra (Colonial Athletic, 2-8)
Princeton (Ivy League, 2-10)
Maryland Eastern Shore (Mid-Eastern, 2-11)
Jacksonville State (Ohio Valley, 2-10)
Jackson State (Southwestern Athletic, 2-11)
Mississippi Valley State (Southwestern Athletic, 2-9)
Prairie View A&M (Southwestern Athletic, 2-10)

Dropped Out (25)
Louisiana Lafayette (Sun Belt West, 3-7), Vermont (America East, 3-7), Stetson (Atlantic Sun, 3-8), Long Beach State (Big West, 3-6), UC Riverside (Big West, 3-6), Delaware (Colonial Athletic, 3-6), Winston-Salem (Independent, 4-5), Longwood (Independent, 3-11), Morehead State (Ohio Valley, 4-6), Florida Atlantic (Sun Belt East, 3-8), Idaho (Western Athletic, 3-7), CSU Bakersfield (Independent, 3-10), Texas A&M Corpus Christi (Southland West, 3-8), Louisiana Tech (Western Athletic, 3-9), Binghamton (America East, 4-8), DePaul (Big East, 4-7), Idaho State (Big Sky, 3-10), William & Mary (Colonial Athletic, 4-7), Rice (Conference USA, 3-8), Fairfield (Metro Atlantic Athletic, 3-9), Northern Illinois (Mid-American West, 3-9), Toledo (Mid-American West, 3-9), Norfolk State (Mid-Eastern, 3-8), Monmouth (Northeast, 3-10), Southern Utah (Summit, 3-10)

Why Don't We Get Drunk And Run For Mayor?

As anyone who reads this blog knows, I am a huge fan of Dave Lozo, the genius behind Why Don't We Get Drunk and Blog?. He is one of the most consistently funny writers I've read recently.

I'm sure I have also mentioned that I live in southern New Hampshire, specifically in Nashua, the state's second-largest city. Earlier this year, in the weeks leading up to the local election day, signs sprang up around town touting the various mayoral candidates, with one in particular catching my eye every day on my way home from work:

That picture comes from the official web site of Donnalee Lozeau, who won the election and will be inaugurated a week from tomorrow. No matter how many times I saw it, the thought of Lozo in a position of power made me chuckle. It's not hard to imagine him opening every alderman's meeting with a public reading of one of "Lozo's Best".

Congratulations, ESPN - You Win

I was watching ESPN with my son yesterday when my wife walked into the room and sat down in her chair. Not sure what she was doing, but all of a sudden she looked at the TV, then at me, and said, "That guy on the right - why do I know him?" Not ten seconds later, she figured it out for herself:

It was Jesse Palmer. She had seen him on "The Bachelor".

Unfortunately, it didn't benefit my viewing experience at all. Two minutes later, she sighed heavily, said, "Do we HAVE to watch this?" and held out her hand for the remote.

So Joey and I got to watch a Lifetime movie about a woman who has to break free from the ultra-religious community in which she lives in order to save the lives of her young daughters before they are married off to lecherous old men who are looking to bang underage chicks for the purpose of "procreation". Sadly, I think we had all seen it before.

I'll tell you what - Joey EARNED the right to watch college football and the Patriots later in the day.

Fatherhood Appears To Suit Tom Brady Just Fine

Say what you will about how often Tom Brady sees (or doesn't see) his four-month-old son, John. One simple fact should tell you everything you need to know about the impact that fatherhood has had on the Patriots quarterback:

When John was born on August 22, the Patriots were 0-2 in the preseason. Since then, they have gone eighteen straight games - two exhibitions and sixteen regular season contests - without a loss.

Unless someone stumbles a way to stop the sorcery that is clearly at play here, the Patriots may never lose again.

(For the record, I also feel obligated to mention that the team has not lost a meaningful game since my own son was born in July.)

Visual Crack: Tracy Phillips Is An Attractive Young Lady

Peter King mentioned Wade Phillips' daughter, Tracy, in last week's Monday Morning Quarterback column. Apparently she has a small role in Tom Hanks' new movie. Thanks to information helpfully supplied by Signal to Noise several months ago, I remembered that Tracy also appeared in the video for one of my favorite songs, My Chemical Romance's "Helena". I won't force you to watch the whole video if you don't want to; the version below is much shorter and contains only her scenes.



And then, of course, there's this. I think one of the YouTube commenters said it best: "Lucky hat."

Yay! More Useless Patriots Information!

Please don't ask me why I have suddenly felt compelled to post more about the Patriots in the past hour than I did all season. I don't know why this is happening. If I had to wager a guess, though, I'd probably chalk it up to a) guilt over my bandwagon fandom; b) the realization that I had only done three posts on the team since September; c) being pumped at the team's 16-0 regular season, but uncertain about how to uniquely express that excitement; or d) all of the above.

Anyway, after doing the previous post, I thought it would be interesting to look at old schedules and figure out how many times the Patriots have played on my birthday (October 30). The results:

2006 (Week 8): won @ Minnesota, 31-7, to improve to 6-1 (Monday Night Football)
2005 (Week 8): won vs. Buffalo, 21-16, to improve to 4-3
1994 (Week 9): lost vs. Miami, 23-3, to fall to 3-5
1988 (Week 9): won vs. Chicago, 30-7, to improve to 4-5
1983 (Week 9): lost @ Atlanta, 24-13, to fall to 4-5
1977 (Week 7): won vs. New York Jets, 24-13, to improve to 5-2
1966 (Week 7): won vs. Oakland, 24-21, to improve to 4-2-1

An overall record of 5-2, including a convincing win on Monday Night Football - not bad. It helps that I just missed the loss to Pittsburgh in 2004, the one that ended the then-record regular season winning streak at 18. That game took place on October 31.

The most interesting thing here was the loss to Miami in 1994. That was Bill Parcells' second year in New England. Coming off a 1993 season that featured a 1-11 start and 4-0 finish, expectations were high, but the Pats failed to deliver, stumbling to a 3-6 start in 1994. They then reeled off seven straight wins to take the division and reach the playoffs, where they lost to Bill Belichick's Cleveland Browns.

The second-most interesting thing? The Patriots played on my birthday in 1966, 1977, and 1988. In 1999, October 30 fell on a Saturday. They did not move the game against Arizona to accommodate me (just as well: they won, 27-3).

Proof That It's Been Quite Some Time Since An NFL Team Went Undefeated

File this under, "Things That Help Provide Perspective":

Two weeks ago, on December 16, my brother celebrated (I use that term loosely) his 36th birthday.

Before tonight, the last time an NFL team had finished the regular season undefeated was in 1972. The Dolphins beat the Colts, 16-0, to improve to 14-0 on December 16 - my brother's first birthday.

And if that's not weird enough: two weeks earlier, on December 3, the Dolphins had blown out the Patriots for the second time, improving to 12-0. That was also my father's 27th birthday, which means that the last time an NFL team went undefeated during the regular season, my father was a year younger than I am right now.

If anyone needs me, I'll be busy trying to wrap my mind around the fact that my father was once 27 years old.

The Patriots Like To Follow A Schedule

Near the end of the Patriots-Giants game tonight, my father-in-law's friend George asked me how many times this season New England had scored 40 points. Not sure of the answer - for the record, my educated guess of four was right on the money - I checked the schedule when I got home and inadvertently (that's the second time I've used that word today) stumbled onto a weird fact that probably belongs in a Peter King column as a "Factoid That May Only Interest Me".

In Week 9, the Patriots trailed by double-digits midway through the fourth quarter against the Indianapolis Colts, a team quarterbacked by Peyton Manning, before turning on the jets and winning by four points. The following week, they had a bye. The week after that, they played Buffalo for the second time this season, dismantling the Bills 56-10.

In Week 17, the Patriots trailed by double-digits midway through the third quarter against the New York Giants, a team quarterbacked by Eli Manning, before turning on the jets and winning by three points. Next week, they have a bye. The week after that, they could play a team for the second time this season (Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, San Diego, and Cleveland all appeared on New England's 2007 schedule; Jacksonville and Tennessee did not).

It will be interesting to see if the outcome is the same this time around.

Know When To Walk Away, Know When To Run

I realize the Hawaii Bowl took place almost a week ago, but I was reading through bowl game recaps last night and couldn't help laughing at the situation faced by East Carolina kicker Ben Hartman. Hartman kicked a 34-yard field goal as time expired, then got himself the hell out of there:

The Pirates stormed the field in celebration and chased after Hartman, who dashed toward the locker room.

Hartman said he took off because he was scared about get squashed underneath a pile of teammates.

My first thought was, "Oh, silly kicker, afraid of getting hit a little bit." Then I actually looked at the East Carolina roster. Hartman is 5-11, 195. The Pirates have nearly twenty players that weigh more than 300 pounds, all of whom were probably very excited by the dramatic nature of the win. There's no shame in running away from a situation that could easily end with you being inadvertently folded in half.

At Least I Know Joey Moynahan Is Clean

My last name (Moynahan) is not an uncommon one, with many variations, which makes it a bit surprising that it has been shared by relatively few ballplayers through the years. According to Baseball-Reference, the only major leaguer with the same spelling is Mike Moynahan, a shortstop who played for four teams in the National League and American Association in the 1880s; other variations include Rinty Monahan and minor leaguers Brendan Monaghan and Joey Monahan (!).

The one I always liked the best was Shane Monahan, a longtime minor league outfielder who saw action in the majors with Seattle in the late 1990s. The minor league version of Baseball-Reference doesn't include statistics from independent leagues, but I'm almost positive Monahan played in the Atlantic League when I worked for the Nashua Pride in 2003, possibly for the Atlantic City Surf. For that reason, and because he was a modern player who (almost) shared my last name and I'm a big kid when it comes to things like that, I thought Monahan was pretty cool.

Just when you think you really know somebody.

I don't like that Monahan roided up in an attempt to sustain his career, but I have to appreciate the fact that he came forward, unprovoked, and came clean about his past. It's easy to confess after you've been caught red-handed; to do so because you think it's the right thing to do is, from my point of view, admirable.

Bob Neighbors: Filling In The Blanks

My Memorial Day post on the six Major League Baseball veterans who were killed in action while serving the United States in time of war noted the following about Bob Neighbors, who is officially listed as "missing in action" since August 8, 1952 in North Korea:

Little is available online about Neighbors, a major in the Air Force, [save] for the fact that he was shot down over North Korea in 1952 and his body was never recovered. His major league service time (seven games with the 1939 St. Louis Browns) was minimal, but still second only to Eddie Grant among those who were killed in action.

New information is always a good thing: today, a gentleman named Ronnie emailed me to say that he had become friendly with Neighbors' brothers, Carl and Morris, and penned an excellent remembrance of the former Brown several years ago for the Philadelphia Athletics Historical Society's Official Website. It's not overly long, contains a lot of information and is definitely worth a few minutes of your time.

Bob Neighbors: A Hero Remembered (Philadelphia Athletics Historical Society)

Visual Crack: The Ford Escape Is A "Hybrid" Hybrid

Lozo posted a weird car commercial yesterday, which made me think of the post I've been meaning to do on the Ford Escape commercial below:



Just so we're clear, I think Fords are great. My first car was a 1984 Ford Escort L wagon that once stalled thirteen times in a five mile stretch on Route 1 in Portsmouth (it was raining; the wagon didn't like the rain) and I've since added another Escort, a Focus, and a Fusion to the legacy. Good cars, every one (except the Focus, which belonged to my sister before me and smelled of cigarettes; the key scratches on both sides were also very cool. It was a happy day when that car exited my life).

That commercial, however, pisses me off. I've compiled the following chart comparing the dialogue to what the "characters" actually meant:

Daughter:	Hey Dad, I want you to drop me off a block before we get to the theater.	Hey Dad, I'm embarassed by your presence, so don't let anyone know we're together. Also, I'm too rude to say please. Deal with it.
Dad:	Sure.	Why did I have kids again?
Daughter:	You know, it's just because people in that part of town are riding bikes and have hybrids and stuff.	Actually, it's not just you. I also hate that your car is killing the earth and don't want people to think I condone your actions.
Dad:	This is a hybrid.	I'm glad you're environmentally conscious - I just wish you had learned to be more observant, because this is clearly a hybrid.
Daughter:	Like a "hybrid" hybrid?	Like a "hybrid" hybrid?
Dad:	I don't know what a "hybrid" hybrid is, but yes.	What the - yes, it's a "hybrid" hybrid, whatever the hell that means. Whoever told you there's no such thing as a stupid question was a liar - THAT was a stupid question.
Daughter:	Why didn't you ever talk about that before?	Well, you could have mentioned this before. It would have saved me a lot of extra walking.
Dad:	Never thought I needed to talk about it.	Excuse me for thinking you could read, since it says "Hybrid" right there on the tailgate.

The Weirdest Thing I've Seen All Month

As previously mentioned in this space, I began my college career with two years as a General Business major at Western New England College in Springfield, MA. My freshman roommate was a wrestler named John, from Long Island, who hit the local bar scene nearly every night, bedded a variety of girls throughout the course of the year while keeping a steady girlfriend at home, and made it his mission in life to introduce me to the wonders of alcohol. Overall, not a bad guy, but we were polar opposites. It was an accomplishment to still be alive at the end of the year.

John transferred before our sophomore year and I roomed with my friend Matt, a fellow New Hampshire native who played baseball as a freshman and also followed a way of life that was far different from mine (he woke up at seven o'clock every morning; I often wished him a good morning on my way to bed around the same time). Despite our differences, however, we had one very important personality trait in common: we are both reasonably laid back individuals who don't allow a lot of stuff to bother us (at least not openly), which made getting along much easier. That, and Matt worked in the Health and Living Center, had access to the washing machines during his shift, and did my laundry for me all year. That was Awesome.

By the time we started rooming together, Matt had already decided to call an end to his baseball career and focus more on other things such as school and his girlfriend. His quietly competitive nature wouldn't let him drop sports completely, however, and that's how we found ourselves in the school's game room one Friday night, half drunk and looking for something to do. Matt had a pool table in his basement at home and I had messed around with the game as a freshman on Berkshire Hall's horribly beaten-up table; now, we played with new interest.

I got pretty good over the following nine months, even reaching the final four in one of the game room's sporadic tournaments (in the quarterfinals of that tournament, I had one of the most awesome sporting moments of my life: we were playing best-of-seven, with my opponent and I tied at three wins apiece. He broke in the deciding game and ran the first four balls before turning it over to me. My response? I ran him right off the table, eight straight balls. It might've been the last time I ever had that "ice water in the veins" feeling. I don't remember much about the other guy, except that his name was Paul, he did a great Chris Farley impression, and he was a terrifically nice guy.) Matt took to it even more - I don't think he ever won a game room tournament, but he absolutely fell in love with the game and devoted virtually every waking hour to it (our grade point averages that first semester were terrible).

After leaving WNEC, I stopped playing pool. There just wasn't enough time. Matt, on the other hand, further embraced the game. He played in a league at the local pool hall, met and married the owner's daughter, Michelle, and truly made pool his life. For the past three or four years, he has played artistic pool - more commonly known as "trick shots" - traveling all over the country to participate in competitions and shows and really turning what was once a mild obsession into a viable career.

I haven't seen Matt for a couple of years now, since he and Michelle got married in August 2005. He has two kids and works constantly, I have an infant son, and the two-plus hour drive between Nashua and Springfield just hasn't been possible. We still talk every once in awhile, but I hadn't heard from him in about two months before last Friday, when I was rolling around with my son on the floor in front of the TV, looked up, and saw my old roommate's face on the screen. On ESPN, no less.

All of Matt's hard work had paid off with an appearance on Trick Shot Magic, that show you see every so often with guys doing stuff you never thought possible, like hitting six rails before sinking the intended ball or launching the object ball into a boot. He didn't get much TV time for his actual play - he told me later that the only part of his match that was actually shown was a tiebreaker - but when I saw him, he was watching from the sidelines while the announcers spoke about this up-and-coming new talent. Matt hopes to be invited back next year; if I know him, ESPN's viewing audience will be seeing a lot more of him in the future.

Until then, check out Matt's web site (and no, I'm not just linking it because he refers to me as an "incredible writer" - that doesn't hurt, of course, but it's not the only reason).

Keeping Track Of Awards Season In College Football

Every year, I try to follow the winners of college football's major awards as they are announced, and every year I end up getting lost in the sheer amount of hardware that gets handed out. This time around, I decided to make use of a Wikipedia page that lists some of the higher profile awards and put them here for future reference. Most hyperlinks lead to the official web page, although a few didn't have one; in those cases, the link points to the Wikipedia page of a given award.

This is meant to be nothing more than a dry, dreary list, but I can't help but add one piece of commentary: LSU's Glenn Dorsey is a monster. After seeing his name so many times, I was a little surprised he didn't take home the Butkus, Thorpe and Hendricks awards as well.

Player of the Year Awards
Heisman Memorial Trophy (Best Player) – 2007 Winner: Tim Tebow, Florida
Maxwell Award (Best Player) – 2007 Winner: Tim Tebow, Florida
Walter Camp Award (Best Player) – 2007 Winner: Darren McFadden, Arkansas
Walter Payton Award (Best Division I FCS Offensive) – 2007 Winner: Jayson Foster, Georgia Southern
Buck Buchanan Award (Best Division I FCS Defensive) – 2007 Winner: Kroy Biermann, Montana
Harlon Hill Trophy (Division II) – 2007 Winner: Danny Woodhead, Chadron State
Gagliardi Trophy (Division III) – 2007 Winner: Justin Beaver, Wisconsin-Whitewater
Melberger Award (Division III) – 2007 Winner: Jason Boltus, Hartwick College

Coach of the Year Awards
Broyles Award (Assistant Coach of the Year) – 2007 Winner: Jim Heacock, Ohio State
Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award – 2006 Winner: Jim Grobe, Wake Forest
Home Depot Coach of the Year – 2007 Winner: Mark Mangino, Kansas
Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year – 2007 Finalists: Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech; Troy Calhoun, Air Force; Dennis Erickson, Arizona State; June Jones, Hawaii; Mark Mangino, Kansas; Gary Pinkel, Missouri; Jim Tressel, Ohio State; Ron Zook, Illinois
Walter Camp Coach of the Year – 2007 Winner: Mark Mangino, Kansas
Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year – 2007 Finalists: Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech; Sylvester Croom, Mississippi State; June Jones, Hawaii; Mark Mangino, Kansas; Les Miles, Louisiana State; Gary Pinkel, Missouri; Ron Zook, Illinois

Offensive Position Player of the Year Awards
Johnny Unitas Award (Best Senior Quarterback) – 2007: Matt Ryan, Boston College
Sammy Baugh Trophy (Best Quarterback) – 2007 Winner: Graham Harrell, Texas Tech
Davey O’Brien Award (Best Quarterback) – 2007 Winner: Tim Tebow, Florida
Manning Award (Best Quarterback) – 2006 Winner: JaMarcus Russell, Louisiana State
Doak Walker Award (Best Running Back) – 2007 Winner: Darren McFadden, Arkansas
Fred Biletnikoff Award (Best Wide Receiver) – 2007 Winner: Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech
John Mackey Award (Best Tight End) – 2007 Winner: Fred Davis, USC
Dave Rimington Award (Best Center) – 2007 Winner: Jonathan Luigs, Arkansas

Defensive Position Player of the Year Awards
Chuck Bednarik Award (Best Defenseman) – 2007 Winner: Dan Connor, Penn State
Bronko Nagurski Award (Best Defenseman) – 2007 Winner: Glenn Dorsey, Louisiana State
Dick Butkus Award (Best Linebacker) – 2007 Winner: James Laurinaitis, Ohio State
Lombardi Award (Best Lineman or Linebacker) – 2007 Winner: Glenn Dorsey, Louisiana State
Outland Award (Best Interior Lineman) – 2007 Winner: Glenn Dorsey, Louisiana State
Jim Thorpe Award (Best Defensive Back) – 2007 Winner: Antoine Cason, Arizona
Ted Hendricks Award (Best Defensive End) – 2007 Winner: Chris Long, Virginia
Lott Trophy (Defensive Impact) – 2007 Winner: Glenn Dorsey, Louisiana State

Special Teams Awards
Mosi Tatupu Award (Best Special Teams Player) – 2006 Winner: A.J. Trapasso, Ohio State
Lou Groza Award (Best Placekicker) – 2007 Winner: Thomas Weber, Arizona State
Ray Guy Award (Best Punter) – 2007 Winner: Durant Brooks, Georgia Tech
Randy Moss Award (Best KR/PR) – 2006 Winner: DeSean Jackson, California

Off-Field Awards
Wuerffel Trophy (Humanitarian-Athlete) – 2007 Winner: Paul Smith, Tulsa
Draddy Trophy (Academic Heisman) – 2007 Winner: Dallas Griffin, Texas

More On "I Am Legend"

Two quick things to piggyback on yesterday's post about "I Am Legend":

1) Finished the book today. It was shorter than I thought, only about 160 pages, because the copy I bought was lumped in with ten other Richard Matheson short stories. This was actually a good thing - I have a tendency to rush when I get near the end of a book and not read as carefully as I should, so it was nice to be surprised.

Anyway, reading through to the end only makes me more disappointed in the movie, because the story was excellent in its original form, a trait that didn't carry over to the big screen. For reasons I don't understand, the film makers seemed content to avoid the wider issues presented in the book in favor of a mostly mindless thriller designed to make us jump, but not to think.

2) Somehow, I remembered that one of the horror movie compilations I bought at Best Buy awhile back contained "The Last Man On Earth", the first film adaptation of Matheson's book, so I watched that tonight. It wasn't really a good movie and I'm not sure the final message was presented clearly or accurately, but it certainly followed the arc of the story much more closely and certain details were added, in particular Neville's (the name was changed to Morgan in the movie) back story as a family man and scientist (exactly the sort of thing "I Am Legend" was missing) that gave the audience a larger picture of who he was and what he was dealing with.

One of my favorite pastimes is taking a movie from the past and recasting it using modern actors. "The Last Man On Earth" might be a perfect vehicle for such a treatment - we'll see if I get around to it.

The Heisman Trophy May Be Irrelevant, But That Doesn't Mean I Can't Love It

Since Tim Tebow was announced as the winner of the 2007 Heisman Trophy in early December, I have wondered if it would be possible to produce an "ultimate" Heisman award, given to the player that has compiled the most career points in the award's history. Thanks to Rivals.com, I was able to further the idea and compile a spreadsheet containing the voting totals for every player who has ever received a Heisman vote in his favor. The top thirty results are listed in the table below:

Rank	Player	School	Year	Class	Points
1	O.J. Simpson*	USC	1967-68	Jr./Sr.	4575
2	Archie Griffin**	Ohio State	1973-75	So./Jr./Sr.	4046
3	Herschel Walker*	Georgia	1980-82	Fr./So./Jr.	3808
4	Reggie Bush*	USC	2004-05	So./Jr.	3138
5	Tony Dorsett*	Pittsburgh	1975-76	Jr./Sr.	2973
6	Billy Cannon*	LSU	1958-59	Jr./Sr.	2904
7	Darren McFadden	Arkansas	2006-07	So./Jr.	2581
8	Troy Smith*	Ohio State	2006	Sr.	2540
9	Doug Flutie*	Boston College	1983-84	Jr./Sr.	2493
10	LeRoy Keyes	Purdue	1967-68	Jr./Sr.	2469
11	Vinny Testaverde*	Miami (Fl)	1985-86	Jr./Sr.	2462
12	Jason White*	Oklahoma	2003-04	Jr./Sr.	2438
13	Charlie Ward*	Florida State	1992-93	Jr./Sr.	2436
14	Ricky Williams*	Texas	1997-98	Jr./Sr.	2420
15	Danny Wuerffel*	Florida	1995-96	Jr./Sr.	2350
16	Jim Plunkett*	Stanford	1969-70	Jr./Sr.	2349
17	Gary Beban*	UCLA	1966-67	Jr./Sr.	2286
18	Matt Leinart*	USC	2003-05	So./Jr./Sr.	2249
19	Howard Cassady*	Ohio State	1955	Sr.	2219
20	Paul Giel	Minnesota	1952-53	Jr./Sr.	2123
21	John Lattner*	Notre Dame	1952-53	Jr./Sr.	2103
22	Desmond Howard*	Michigan	1991	Jr.	2077
23	Ricky Bell	USC	1975-76	Jr./Sr.	2054
24	Charles White*	USC	1978-79	Jr./Sr.	2049
25	Ron Dayne*	Wisconsin	1999	Sr.	2042
26	Ty Detmer*	Brigham Young	1989-91	So./Jr./Sr.	1976
27	Tim Tebow*	Florida	2007	So.	1957
28	Barry Sanders*	Oklahoma State	1988	Jr.	1878
29	Roger Staubach*	Navy	1963	Jr.	1860
30	Mike Rozier*	Nebraska	1982-83	Jr./Sr.	1841

* Heisman winner

The lucky winner, as you can see, is O.J. Simpson, who followed up a close loss (1,968-1,722) to UCLA's Gary Beban in 1967 with a convincing win over Purdue's LeRoy Keyes (2,853-1,103, the largest margin of victory in history) the following year. With that voting record, it's not at all difficult to suggest that Simpson had the greatest career of any skill position player in major college history.

Placing second to Simpson was, ironically, Archie Griffin, the Ohio State running back who remains the only player with two Heismans on his resume (and both in dominant fashion, over 1,000 votes more than the runners-up).

Depending on who stays in school and who jumps to the pros, the top of the leaderboard could change significantly next season. Arkansas running back Darren McFadden currently sits at number seven (the highest ranking player never to have won the award) and is less than 2,000 points from Simpson's top spot, but he is almost a lock to forego his final season of college eligibility and enter the 2008 draft. If he stays at Arkansas, however (who knows - maybe he really likes Bobby Petrino), then O.J. better watch his back.

The real interesting character is Tebow, the 2007 winner who set a sophomore record for Heisman points. He'll probably be back for Florida next year, but another remarkable season should have him playing on Sundays in 2009. If he pulls a Leinart and stays for his senior year, however, there's no telling how high his career points total can go.

If McFadden and Tebow do stay in school for all four years, they will almost certainly join an exclusive group of thirteen players who received Heisman votes in three seasons. Eleven of those were "Sophomore-Junior-Senior" progressions, but two players - Herschel Walker and Marshall Faulk - hit the Freshman-Sophomore-Junior trifecta before leaving early for the pros (Walker for the USFL, Faulk for the NFL).

Player	School	Years	Class	Points
Archie Griffin**	Ohio State	1973-75	So./Jr./Sr.	4046
Herschel Walker*	Georgia	1980-82	Fr./So./Jr.	3808
Matt Leinart*	USC	2003-05	So./Jr./Sr.	2249
Ty Detmer*	Brigham Young	1989-91	So./Jr./Sr.	1976
Peyton Manning	Tennessee	1995-97	So./Jr./Sr.	1733
Glenn Davis*	Army	1944-46	So./Jr./Sr.	1717
Marshall Faulk	San Diego State	1991-93	Fr./So./Jr.	1382
Doak Walker*	SMU	1947-49	So./Jr./Sr.	1203
Felix "Doc" Blanchard*	Army	1944-46	So./Jr./Sr.	1164
Angelo Bertelli*	Notre Dame	1941-43	So./Jr./Sr.	1068
Art Schlichter	Ohio State	1979-81	So./Jr./Sr.	558
Terry Hanratty	Notre Dame	1966-68	So./Jr./Sr.	539
Anthony Carter	Michigan	1980-82	So./Jr./Sr.	218

The most recent addition to the list is Matt Leinart, who finished sixth-first-third in his three seasons, but the most noteworthy appearances are a couple of guys who never won a Heisman: Marshall Faulk and Peyton Manning. Faulk was handicapped in part by his school - San Diego State was in the Western Athletic Conference when he played there, and non-BCS, non-Notre Dame athletes traditionally have a difficult time gaining respect in the Heisman voting. Since Roger Staubach won for Navy in 1963, only two such players have taken home the award: Houston's Andre Ware in 1989 and Brigham Young's Ty Detmer in 1990.

Manning, on the other hand, is similar to Tebow in that he accomplished something that no one before him had ever done: he finished second to a defensive player, losing out to Michigan's Charles Woodson, a star defensive back on a national championship team. I'd argue that things have turned out alright for Manning, however, who could retire in ten years as the best quarterback in NFL history.

At The Movies: I Am Legend

I saw "I Am Legend" tonight at Chunky's with my wife, our son and a friend. It was the second time we've taken Joey to Chunky's (the first was for "Amercican Gangster") - the seating arrangement, with big seats that can be easily moved and a lot of open space, is pretty much ideal for anyone with an infant. The only real concern we've had is that he's actually stayed awake and watched both movies; I'm fairly certain he's going to either absorb all the negative energy from the violent nature of these early films and become a sociopath, or end up as a famous director who constantly tells the story about how his love of the movies began when his parents took him to the theater as a small child. Let's root for option B, okay?

Anyway - while my wife wasn't all that pumped about the choice of movie, I went into the experience with high hopes. Much like the folks over at The Big Lead, I am a big fan of any film that features a post-apocalyptic storyline, and you can't get much more post-apocalyptic than a story about the last man on Earth. Plus, I greatly enjoy Will Smith's work, so this had all the makings of a can't miss project.

One thing I didn't take into account, however, was the screenwriter, Akiva Goldsman, who also wrote "The Da Vinci Code", a dull film that in no way lived up to the promise of the novel from which it was adapted. I'm only about thirty pages into the book version (we picked it up after leaving the theater), but it seems that Goldsman's script suffers from the same problem this time around, in that he doesn't quite understand how to take the action from its current form and mold it into something original without draining all the fun out of it.

Don't get me wrong: I enjoyed the movie. Smith's character, Robert Neville, was likeable and well-acted (his emotion in one scene in particular appeared so genuine that it almost hurt to watch), and the special effects and premise were both very good, but a poorly conceived story turned it into one of those bothersome films where I walked out of the theater and found myself thinking, "That was okay, but it could have been so much more." Though some back story was mixed in throughout the movie, allowing us to understand a bit of what made Neville so driven to find a cure for the virus that had killed billions and turned the rest into bloodthirsty monsters, there wasn't nearly enough; we felt for him, we cared for him, and we were anxious to learn more about the origins of his current situation...and the film makers were more concerned about inserting another "shock shot" of a zombie/vampire/whatever-we're-supposed-to-believe-these-things-are shooting across the screen and making everyone jump. Lots of flash, not enough substance.

Overall, I'd probably give it three stars on a scale of one to five. Not the greatest movie ever, and probably not worth paying an arm and a leg to see in the theater, but it is definitely one of those that should be looked at when it comes out on DVD.

This Might Be An Old Argument, But I'm Making It Anyway

Since Mark McGwire's disastrous performance in front of Congress nearly three years ago all but convinced the sporting world that he had used performance enhancing substances during his playing career, Hall of Fame voters have struggled with the question of what to do about known steroid users when they appear on the ballot.

Do we ban them from consideration altogether, a la Pete Rose and Joe Jackson? Should only suspected non-steroid years be considered, a pre-1998 Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens? Should we just say "to hell with it" and place no official restrictions at all, leaving it to the 500+ BBWAA writers who vote every December to determine the fate of players like McGwire and Rafael Palmeiro?

After giving this subject a lot of thought, I have yet to come up with a personally satisfactory answer. Recently, however, I keep coming back to an argument that was originally made, I believe, with regards to Pete Rose's banishment from the game: by allowing known racists in the Hall, it becomes very difficult to point at another group and say, "Hey, you there - you can't come in."

Off the top of my head, I can name at least four members of the Baseball Hall of Fame whose racist actions arguably did more harm to the game than anything Clemens, Bonds, or anyone else put into their bodies: Ty Cobb (1936), Cap Anson (1939), Kenesaw Landis (1944), and Tom Yawkey (1980).

Cobb, in fairness, hated just about everyone; Anson refused to play against teams with black players in the 1880s; Landis presided over a segregated game for nearly a quarter century, with integration following his death by less than three years; and Yawkey was the last owner to field an integrated team, waiting an unconscionable twelve years after Jack Robinson's 1947 debut to sign a black player (and not a very good one, at that).

When the subject of steroid users in the Hall of Fame comes up, critics almost always note that the rules call for "character" to be taken into account. We would do well to consider the "character" of those men who are already enshrined, and the serious nature of their actions off the field, before so quickly relegating those like McGwire, Bonds and Clemens to outsider status.

Memo To ESPN: Please Stop This

In the past hour on ESPN, I have heard references to Tony "Romeo" (Skip Bayless: who the hell died and made you Chris Berman?) and "Romessica" (you're better than that, Trey Wingo...besides, "Romica" would have been a much snappier option).

That Bayless line brought back flashbacks of The Dave Smith Show on Sporting News Radio. Before Smith was moved to mornings and Tim Brando took over the afternoon slot, I had to listen to Smith every day on the way home. One afternoon, he decided it would be funny to refer to the Los Angeles Dodgers as "Brooklyn" (get it? The Dodgers used to play in Brooklyn. That's HILARIOUS!). Except he didn't do it once and move on - he did it about fifteen times in a three minute segment. I swear he kept the rant going just so he could revel in his joke some more. Absolutely terrible radio.

Bayless was also overly pleased with his joke. I half expected him to correct Mike Golic when Golic said "Romo". And ESPN wonders why people are turning to places like Yahoo! Sports for their news.

Chris Simon Will Have Lots Of Free Time This Winter

Eight suspensions in ten years, including two of the three longest in NHL history (25 games in March 2007 and 30 games in December 2007)?

I don't follow hockey closely, but that seems like a lot, even for a sport with an inherently violent culture. The release from Colin Campbell announcing the most recent ban, for "deliberately kicking" Pittsburgh's Jarkko Ruutu last weekend, drives that point home:

“In addition, while the act itself was extremely dangerous, the fact that this is the eighth incident requiring the imposition of supplementary discipline on Simon compelled me to impose a very severe penalty in this case. When a player repeatedly evidences the lack of ability to control his actions and conducts himself in total disregard of the rules, as well the health and safety of other players on the ice, each subsequent incident is deserving of enhanced scrutiny and more severe discipline.

After reading that, I can't help but wonder: what, exactly, does Chris Simon have to do before the NHL makes him take pack up his gear and go home for good?

Islanders Simon suspended for 30 games

When It Comes To Steroids, No One Is Safe From Suspicion

Sandy Koufax is one of my favorite baseball players ever, both for his dominance on the field and the way he approached his fame. Some great players give off an air of reclusiveness while carefully maintaining a public presence (I think Jane Leavy mentioned Joe DiMaggio as an example of this in her biography of Koufax) - they don't really want to be left alone, they just want to be viewed as mysterious. Koufax? He wants to be left alone, and lives his life to that end.

As such, we don't see much of Koufax in the news - unless he's visiting spring training or the dreaded "S" word is being brought up in connection with his name:

Not Sandy!

I'm glad it was Will Carroll who fielded this particular "allegation"; I'm not terribly familiar with Carroll's work, but I do know that he does his homework on a topic before addressing it. He is also well versed in steroids, having written a book on the subject (it's on my short list of "must-reads"), and knew enough to question the exact meaning of the word with regards to Koufax. In the hands of a less knowledgeable person, this could have become an overblown controversy; instead, we can all go on with our lives, comfortable in the knowledge that at least one of our heroes is still what we thought he was.

Sometimes, You Just Know

It's hard to believe, but tonight marks the eight year anniversary of the day I first laid eyes on my future wife. (We won't talk about the eight year anniversary of the day I first laid my future wife.) I left a family party to meet her in the parking lot of the Nashua Denny's, not knowing if driving an hour to meet a near-total stranger was really a good idea. Twelve hours later, I left her parents' house, drove straight to my best friend's place of employment, and proclaimed, "I just had a really great date."

Still, we were only twenty-years old that night. If you had asked either of us to consider, if only for a moment, that eight years later we would be married with an infant son, we would have thought you were insane (well, I would have thought you were insane; Vicki's a girl, so there's a good chance she was already planning our wedding while we walked around Wal-Mart).

Ah, eight years. It's been a good run so far - here's hoping we can keep it going for another fifty or sixty.

Reverse Survivor: Don't Talk Nonsense, Man! I Peed My Kilt The First Time I Went Into Battle!

Twelve teams have dropped out of Reverse Survivor and one team has been added since last week’s introduction, leaving 47 schools battling for the right to be number 341. The newcomer is CSU Bakersfield, an independent with a 1-9 record that somehow slipped through the cracks when the original list was compiled.

With a Canisius victory yesterday, only four winless teams remain. The house favorite is still the New Jersey Institute of Technology, which currently sits at 0-13. Sadly, the Highlanders don’t play again until December 30. On the bright side, we’re only 37 days, 13 hours and 14 minutes away from the men’s volleyball season opener!

These numbers were compiled last night. Please contact me via email or leave a comment with any corrections.

Zero (4)
New Jersey Institute of Technology (Independent, 0-13), Ball State (Mid-American West, 0-8), Furman (Southern South, 0-8), Grambling State (Southwestern Athletic, 0-6)

One (15)
Newcomer: Canisius (Metro-Atlantic) - beat Coastal Carolina, 88-62, on December 15 to improve to 1-8

North Florida (Atlantic Sun, 1-7), South Carolina Upstate (Atlantic Sun, 1-8), CSU Bakersfield (Independent, 1-9), Presbyterian (Independent, 1-11), North Carolina Central (Independent, 1-11), Eastern Illinois (Ohio Valley, 1-8), Texas A&M Corpus Christi (Southland West, 1-6), Alcorn State (Southwestern Athletic, 1-6), Texas Southern (Southwestern Athletic, 1-6), Southern (Southwestern Athletic, 1-6), Mississippi Valley State (Southwestern Athletic, 1-8), Jackston State (Southwestern Athletic, 1-10), Louisiana Lafayette (Sun Belt West, 1-6), Louisiana Tech (Western Athletic, 1-7)

Two (28)
Newcomers: Binghamton (America East) – beat George Washington, 71-59, on December 13 to improve to 2-7

Hofstra (Colonial Athletic) - beat Charlotte, 70-68, on December 15 to improve to 2-5

Maryland Eastern Shore (Mid-Eastern) - beat Kennesaw State, 77-72, to improve to 2-9

Vermont (America East, 2-6), Kennesaw State (Atlantic Sun, 2-6), Stetson (Atlantic Sun, 2-7), DePaul (Big East, 2-5), Sacramento State (Big Sky, 2-8), Idaho State (Big Sky, 2-7), Long Beach State (Big West, 2-6), UC Riverside (Big West, 2-6), Delaware (Colonial Athletic, 2-5), William & Mary (Colonial Athletic, 2-5), Rice (Conference USA, 2-6), Winston-Salem (Independent, 2-5), Longwood (Independent, 2-10), Princeton (Ivy League, 2-7), Fairfield (Metro Atlantic Athletic, 2-7), Northern Illinois (Mid-American West, 2-8), Toledo (Mid-American West, 2-8), Norfolk State (Mid-Eastern, 2-6), Monmouth (Northeast, 2-8), Morehead State (Ohio Valley, 2-6), Jacksonville State (Ohio Valley, 2-7), Prairie View A&M (Southwestern Athletic, 2-7), Southern Utah (Summit, 2-8), Florida Atlantic (Sun Belt East, 2-7), Idaho (Western Athletic, 2-7)

Dropped Out (12)
Boston University (America East, 3-6), Stony Brook (America East, 3-8), Campbell (Atlantic Sun, 3-6), Weber State (Big Sky, 3-6), Georgia State (Colonial Athletic, 3-6), Iona (Metro Atlantic Athletic, 3-7), Florida A&M (Mid-Eastern, 3-6), St. Francis (PA) (Northeast, 3-8), Fairleigh Dickinson (Northeast, 3-5), Central Connecticut State (Northeast, 3-7), Nicholls State (Southland East, 4-7), Middle Tennessee State (Sun Belt East, 3-6)

You Say It's Your Birthday, Happy Birthday To You

All I wanted to do for my brother's birthday today was find a nice YouTube clip of something brotherly to let him know how much I appreciate having him in my life. Guess what? YouTube kinda sucks when it comes to clips like that. The only useful thing I found was a clip from Big Brother of two lesbians having sex, which was cool, but not really what I was looking for.

Step Two: Check Baseball-Reference to see if anyone cool shares his birthday. This excursion led to a fascinating internal dialogue in which I attempted to determine if Billy Ripken can be described as cool. On the one hand, you have the infamous "Fuck Face" baseball card; on the other, whenever I see his name, it's always seems to be associated with something Cal is doing, which gives off the vibe that Billy would be little more than a regular 9-to-5 nobody if his big brother wasn't one of the greatest players in baseball history. Again, not the right sentiment.

Step Three: Pro-Football-Reference, which as I mentioned earlier is a greatly improved option for historical football statistics and information. Frivolities, Birthdays, scroll scroll scroll...and there it was. William "Refrigerator" Perry, born December 16, 1962. Jackpot. You just don't get cooler than The Fridge.

So Happy Birthday to my brother. I've already attempted to entertain him with a "Dear Jon" letter to Jon Kitna and his impact on our fantasy team - now, I leave that task to Mr. Perry.



You wouldn't think a simple Coke commercial would be so fascinating, but it is. Somehow, it is.

Oh, and I'll probably get in trouble for putting this so far down in the post, but yesterday was my mother-in-law's 50th birthday. We took her out to dinner at a nice restaurant last night (and by "took her out", I mean "my wife and I ate dinner that somebody else paid for") and had cake and ice cream at our apartment later. Finding a video for her was much easier: just show her a kid laughing hysterically and she's good to go.

Deep Down, Everyone Wants To Be A Quarterback

In the greatest Internet development since Baseball-Reference started doing daily stat updates earlier this year, sister site Pro-Football-Reference is now working on expanding its statistical database, allowing them to provide users with a much more detailed look at players throughout the game's history.

A snowy Sunday morning offered the perfect chance to snoop around the new site a bit (it's still in development, but the changes that have already been made are remarkable) and eventually ended up on the "Frivolities" page, one of my favorite stops at Baseball-Reference. Two new lists in particular caught my eye: "Non-Quarterback Passers" and "Cups of Coffee". Expect a post on the latter in the near future (maybe even today - depends on whether or not I have a heart attack while shoveling) - for now, however, I decided to look through the first section and see what some Hall of Famers and other prominent players have accomplished through the air in their careers.

Halfbacks/Fullbacks

Player	Comp	Att	Yards	TD	INT	Rating
Marcus Allen	12	27	282	6	1	106.8
Jerome Bettis	3	6	63	3	1	87.5
Jim Brown	4	12	117	3	0	110.1
Earl Campbell	1	3	57	1	1	81.9
Eric Dickerson	1	2	15	1	1	75.0
Tony Dorsett	2	8	41	1	1	48.4
Marshall Faulk	0	2	0	0	0	39.6
Frank Gifford	29	63	823	14	6	92.5
Archie Griffin	3	4	39	2	0	144.8
Franco Harris	0	1	0	0	0	39.6
John Henry Johnson	2	5	25	2	1	56.2
Leroy Kelly	3	16	93	2	0	90.9
Curtis Martin	2	2	36	2	0	158.3
Hugh McElhenny	2	7	13	1	1	39.6
Bobby Mitchell	3	3	61	1	0	158.3
Lenny Moore	3	12	33	2	2	39.6
Walter Payton	11	34	331	8	6	69.6
Joe Perry	3	11	79	1	0	87.3
Dan Reeves	14	32	370	2	4	68.0
John Riggins	0	2	0	0	0	39.6
Barry Sanders	1	4	11	0	1	0.0
Gale Sayers	4	18	111	1	2	31.7
O.J. Simpson	6	16	110	1	0	82.8
Emmitt Smith	1	1	21	1	0	158.3
Thurman Thomas	0	1	0	0	39.6
LaDainian Tomlinson	8	11	143	7	0	154.4
Herschel Walker	1	3	12	0	0	46.5

Wide Receivers

Player	Comp	Att	Yards	TD	INT	Rating
Lance Alworth	1	2	-11	0	0	56.2
Isaac Bruce	3	7	81	0	1	46.4
Keyshawn Johnson	0	5	0	0	2	0.0
Charlie Joiner	0	1	0	0	0	39.6
Steve Largent	2	7	29	0	0	44.3
James Lofton	1	5	43	0	0	62.9
Art Monk	1	2	46	0	0	95.8
Randy Moss	4	8	106	2	1	95.8
Jerry Rice	3	10	71	1	1	50.4
Charley Taylor	3	14	99	1	1	50.6

Tight Ends

Player	Comp	Att	Yards	TD	INT	Rating
Dave Casper	0	1	0	0	0	39.6
Jackie Smith	0	3	0	0	1	0.0

Defense

Player	Comp	Att	Yards	TD	INT	Rating
Lou Groza	1	4	-7	0	1	0.0
Yale Lary	0	4	0	0	0	39.6

Punter/Kicker

Player	Comp	Att	Yards	TD	INT	Rating
Ray Guy	2	3	54	0	1	70.1
Adam Vinatieri	1	1	4	1	0	122.9

Saluting College Football's National Champions

Late in my senior year of high school, I received a letter from the athletic department of Western New England College, the Division III school I attended before transferring to the University of New Hampshire in 2000. Somehow, they had learned that I "played" football in high school (at the banquet my senior year, my position coach - who often wore a Snuggly with his infant daughter inside during practices - spoke glowingly about a tackle I had made about halfway through the season in a game against our archrival, Dover High School, where I met the runner in the hole and brought him down for a loss. The reason he was able to speak so highly of that play was that it was one of two defensive tackles I made all season) and sent out one of those form letters designed to gauge the interest of marginal prospects who might have had the talent to play the game at some level but had not yet committed anywhere. I spent a week telling people, "I'm thinking about playing ball next year," then remembered that I never really enjoyed the game all that much and mainly did it because it made my dad happy and I'd probably hate life by the end of preseason practice. So I didn't play. Oddly enough, I kind of regret it now and will likely end up pushing my son to do something he doesn't want to do because it helps me relive my unrecognized dreams of gridiron glory. C'est la vie.

I wish there was a way to break that first paragraph down into smaller sections. It's really long. Unfortunately, there isn't a clear point of delineation, so it'll have to do as is.

That brief brush with college football's lower regions gave me an appreciation for the guys who play for the sheer joy of it, not because every yard they gain or tackle they make on Saturday means an extra hundred thou when they get to the pros. I don't have the numbers on how many players from lower division schools are currently in the NFL, but my first guess would be "not many". Division III players become accountants, or teachers, or doctors. They generally don't become NFL players, which I think means that there is at least a superficial veneer of innocence to the game at that level.

Players in the FCS, Division II, Division III, and the NAIA are also playing for something that their FBS counterparts aren't: a true national championship. Every one of those levels has a playoff system that leaves one team standing at season's end, and every one of those championship games was played this weekend. Last December, I wrote a post saluting the 2006 version of these oft-neglected champions (I know, I know: it's tough to call them "oft-neglected" when their stories are all over ESPN and Yahoo! Sports. Rest assured, however; these teams will be forgotten faster than the Mitchell Report); below, the 2007 champs are afforded the same courtesy.

Division 1 FBS: Appalachian State beats Delaware, 49-21 - The Mountaineers beat the Fightin' Blue Hens for an unprecedented third straight FBS title. Of course, everywhere you look, someone is talking about the season opening win over Michigan and how this victory bookends that one perfectly. Ask Appalachian State how much they're connected:

"Michigan didn't put a ring on our finger," [Mountaineers quarterback Armanti] Edwards said.

The play of the game might have been a Delaware punt return for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter. With the crowd ringing the field in preparation for the obligatory rushing of the field, the return man took it to the house, fired the ball into the stands...and hit a cop. Probably not the best idea, friend.

Division II: Valdosta State beats Northwest Missouri State, 25-20 - You have to feel at least a little bit bad for Northwest Missouri: the Bearcats were the anti-Appalachian State, losing in the national championship game for the third consecutive season (silver lining: at least they managed to get past Grand Valley State this time). They led Valdosta State 20-17 early in the fourth quarter, but the Blazers returned a blocked extra point to make it 20-19 and won it with a touchdown in the final minute of play.

If you're still into the whole "bookend" thing mentioned above, how about this: Northwest Missouri State lost its season opener, won twelve straight, then lost its final game.

Division III: Wisconsin-Whitewater beats Mount Union, 31-21 - Speaking of possible three-peats...in each of the last two seasons, Mount Union beat Wisconsin-Whitewater in the national championship. Last year's loss was especially tough for the Warhawks, as it was the final game of coach Bob Berezowitz's 22-year career at the school. They were led to victory by a player who would surely headline Extra P's Porn Name All-Stars should he ever decide to run that feature on the lower divisions: Justin Beaver, Division III's player of the year, who ran for 249 yards and a touchdown.

NAIA: Carroll College beats Sioux Falls, 17-9 - Another division, another dynasty. Only three teams have appeared in the NAIA finals since 2004: Carroll College, Sioux Falls, and St. Francis (Ind.). Carroll won four times in a row from 2002-05, Sioux Falls dealt St. Francis a third-consecutive championship game loss last year, and the Fighting Saints got back on track with this win against the Cougars.

My Favorite Part Of The Mitchell Report

Like many people, I skimmed through the majority of the Mitchell Report earlier today on the off chance I might stumble upon a name or tidbit that everyone else had somehow missed. Didn't happen, of course, but I did find one section that made me smile with its implications.

Roger Clemens is the would-be steroid user. Brian McNamee is his trainer. And Jose Canseco is the resident tester:

During the 1998 season (around the time of the injections), Clemens showed McNamee a white bottle of Anadrol-50. Clemens told McNamee he was not using it but wanted to know more about it. McNamee told Clemens not to use it. McNamee said he took the bottle and gave it to Canseco. McNamee does not know where Clemens obtained the Anadrol-50.

Doesn't that give off a "don't try this until we test it on Canseco" vibe? Like if somebody has something they don't want or are uncertain about, they can give it to Jose and he'll give it a whirl, see what happens? That's what I took away from it, partly because the idea made me laugh and partly because I enjoy the concept of Canseco as a human steroid disposal. And, oddly enough, it doesn't appear to be that far from the truth:

"McNamee stated that he showed the bottle to Canseco because he thought that Canseco was knowledgeable and he felt comfortable approaching him. According to McNamee, Canseco volunteered to take the bottle."

The only difference between the perception of the first block quote and the reality of the second is that in the latter, Canseco is more than willing to take what McNamee is offering. "What do you mean, Roger doesn't want these? I'll take 'em - who needs a functioning liver when you can have free 'roids?!"

Oh, Jose. I just can't decide if he's going to outlive us all or disintegrate before our eyes one day.

Reverse Survivor: The Early Favorite

Of all the teams vying for the honor of being college basketball's first Reverse Survivor winner, one caught my eye above all others. I was warned about making his declaration, on the grounds that it might constitute institutional bias and thereby sully the entire process, but I don't care. It must be said:

The New Jersey Institute of Technology is the shit.

I arrived at this conclusion last night. Looking through the Division 1 basketball standings, I couldn't help but notice the school at the bottom of the Independents list, defined only by its 0-12 record and four letter abbreviation, N.J.I.T. Upon further examination, including a visit to the athletics web site, I uncovered a number of facts about the school and its athletic program that instantly piqued my interest. For instance:

1) NJIT's sports teams are known as the Highlanders. If this doesn't result in approximately 57,275 jokes about Adrian Paul, Christopher Lambert's accent, and "There can be only one!", I will be sorely disappointed in myself.

2) The front page of the "official athletic web site" features a countdown to the men's volleyball season opener in the upper right corner. I don't think anything could ever make me watch men's volleyball.

3) A check of the "Notable Alumni" section on the school's Wikipedia page reveals company presidents, two inventors, a string theorist, an astronaut...and "Rah Digga, American Rapper, member of Flipmode Squad".

4) The leading scorer on the basketball team is named Nesho Milosevic. His last name was the first thing that caught my eye, but I also giggled at the fact that the members of his family are named Nebojsa, Snezana, Milos...and Steven.

5) Again, according to Wikipedia, "NJIT is currently ranked by Princeton Review as #2 in the Nation for Least Happy Students. In recent years, it has been ranked #1 in this category three times (2002-2005), and #5 once (2005-2006 academic year)."

If the Reverse Survivor champion was chosen based on awesomeness, we would have our winner already, and it wouldn't even be close. Even if not all of that stuff is true (and I'm not 100% sold on number five, but I can't possibly leave something like that out), this is quite obviously one of the greatest schools ever. I'm not sure we'll find any other college or university that is so clearly deserving of being the first with its name engraved on the Reverse Survivor plaque. Now, it's up to the basketball team to follow through. I have to think that anything better than 0-28 will be viewed as a disappointment.

Reverse Survivor: Just When You Thought You Were Out...

I bet you thought Reverse Survivor was over with the conclusion of college football's regular season, didn't you?

Yeah, so did I.

Writing about the Miami Dolphins the other night, however, made me think: why couldn't RS be extended to cover college basketball as well? Sure, the chances of a winless season are way, way lower than college football (only two in the last fifty years, according to this article), but the spirit of the competition remains intact: at its core, Reverse Survivor is all about the celebration of mediocrity. If the winner of the basketball version wins three or five or seven games, so be it.

This could actually be more fun, in a way, because the odds are great that several teams will finish the season with an equal number of wins, which means I might have to get creative in determining the champion. Unless, of course, somebody goes winless. That is always the ultimate dream - if it happens, I'll take it as a sign from the Basketball Gods (College Division) that this little labor of love was truly meant to be.

Now, because the idea of a winless team is unlikely, the initial breakdown will include teams that currently have zero, one, and two wins, which should be enough to get us started. The low team total last year was two (Iona) and a few others had four, so we have a good chance of being in the ballpark by the time the final results are in.

Updates will probably be a bit more fluid than the football ones, where the structure of the season made it easy to just post the new standings every Sunday. In this case, at least for awhile, I'll probably make mention when one of the 57 teams below gets its third win and becomes (momentarily) ineligible.

Zero (5): New Jersey Institute of Technology (Independent, 0-12), Canisius (Metro-Atlantic, 0-8), Ball State (Mid-American West, 0-8), Furman (Southern South, 0-7), Grambling State (Southwestern Athletic, 0-5)

One (16): Binghamton (America East, 1-7), North Florida (Atlantic Sun, 1-6), South Carolina Upstate (Atlantic Sun, 1-7), Hofstra (Colonial Athletic, 1-4), Presbyterian (Independent, 1-10), North Carolina Central (Independent, 1-11), Maryland Eastern Shore (Mid-Eastern, 1-9), Eastern Illinois (Ohio Valley, 1-8), Texas A&M Corpus Christi (Southland West, 1-5), Alcorn State (Southwestern Athletic, 1-6), Texas Southern (Southwestern Athletic, 1-6), Southern (Southwestern Athletic, 1-6), Mississippi Valley State (Southwestern Athletic, 1-8), Jackston State (Southwestern Athletic, 1-10), Louisiana Lafayette (Sun Belt West, 1-4), Louisiana Tech (Western Athletic, 1-5)

Two (36): Vermont (America East, 2-6), Boston University (America East, 2-6), Stony Brook (America East, 2-7), Campbell (Atlantic Sun, 2-5), Kennesaw State (Atlantic Sun, 2-5), Stetson (Atlantic Sun, 2-7), DePaul (Big East, 2-3), Sacramento State (Big Sky, 2-6), Weber State (Big Sky, 2-6), Idaho State (Big Sky, 2-6), Long Beach State (Big West, 2-6), UC Riverside (Big West, 2-6), Delaware (Colonial Athletic, 2-5), William & Mary (Colonial Athletic, 2-5), Georgia State (Colonial Athletic, 2-6), Rice (Conference USA, 2-6), Winston-Salem (Independent, 2-5), Longwood (Independent, 2-9), Princeton (Ivy League, 2-6), Iona (Metro Atlantic Athletic, 2-7), Fairfield (Metro Atlantic Athletic, 2-7), Northern Illinois (Mid-American West, 2-7), Toledo (Mid-American West, 2-7), Norfolk State (Mid-Eastern, 2-5), Florida A&M (Mid-Eastern, 2-6), St. Francis (PA) (Northeast, 2-6), Fairleigh Dickinson (Northeast, 2-5), Monmouth (Northeast, 2-6), Central Connecticut State (Northeast, 2-7), Morehead State (Ohio Valley, 2-6), Jacksonville State (Ohio Valley, 2-7), Nicholls State (Southland East, 2-7), Prairie View A&M (Southwestern Athletic, 2-5), Southern Utah (Summit, 2-7), Middle Tennessee State (Sun Belt East, 2-5), Florida Atlantic (Sun Belt East, 2-7), Idaho (Western Athletic, 2-6)

I Like Mediocrity - It's Sort Of My "Thing"

Near the end of the baseball season, a post about the Tampa Bay Devil Rays prompted the fine gentleman behind Vegas Watch to note that "between this and the Reverse Survivor, you have a strange but interesting obsession with shitty teams." As I thought of that comment last night, something occurred to me: I have yet to write anything about the Miami Dolphins.

Looking for a reasonably fresh approach, I visited the Dolphins page at Yahoo! Sports and made what I consider an interesting discovery (note: my endorsement does not actually guarantee that this discovery was, in fact, interesting): of the five players included in the "Individual Leaders" section, none - not one - was a contributor to the team in the Week 14 loss at Buffalo.

Trent Green hasn't played since suffering a head injury in Week 5, but his 987 yards led the team's quarterbacks until Cleo Lemon passed him on Sunday. One might be tempted to view that as a positive, until one realizes that Lemon started this game as the second string quarterback behind rookie John Beck, who was pulled after nine plays, three sacks, and one completion.

Ronnie Brown was a bright spot early in the year, averaging 86 yards per game, but he went out in Week 7 with a knee injury. He still leads the team in rushing yards, however, and may hold that spot for some time: second stringer Jesse Chatman, who filled in admirably, was inactive for the Buffalo game with an ankle injury, leaving the bulk of the carries to journeyman Samkon Gado and rookie Lorenzo Booker.

Marty Booker's salad days in Chicago are a distant memory - where he once recorded back-to-back seasons of 100 and 97 passes, he currently leads the Dolphins with 430 receiving yards. He also missed Week 14, with a knee injury. The team's second leading receiver, Chris Chambers, isn't even on the team anymore, having been traded to San Diego after Week 6. And the third leading receiver, you ask? Ronnie Brown, which means the players with the most catches and yards who actually played for the Dolphins against the Bills were David Martin and Ted Ginn, Jr.

It's not included with the "Individual Leaders", but on the defensive side of the ball, Jason Taylor appears to be as good as ever, with eight sacks in thirteen games. Joey Porter hasn't been exceptional (although he IS tied for the team lead in interceptions with two), and you can't tell me that they don't miss the on-field presence of Zach Thomas, who was finally placed on injured reserve after missing several games with migraines. (Special Zach Thomas note: I saw on ESPN that he has more career tackles than any linebacker in the Hall of Fame, which is both amazing and unbelievable. It makes me wonder what kind of defensive records were kept for old-time players.)

It's not easy to be part of a losing team (especially one that is losing at an all-time record pace), and we're starting to see that with the 2007 Miami Dolphins. They started out sort of okay, playing everyone (even Dallas, Pittsburgh, and, at times, New England) reasonably tough until Week 13 against the Jets. Even then, it was the second half that undid them, with twenty unanswered points turning a 20-13 halftime score into a 40-13 rout and a twelfth consecutive loss. The bad taste from that horrible half followed them all the way to Buffalo, where the Bills ran up a 31-7 halftime lead before taking their foot off the accelerator in the second half.

The Road To Winsville doesn't get any easier for the Dolphins, with the Ravens, Patriots, and Bengals on the schedule to finish off the season. Baltimore might be beatable, especially since they seem to have used up a season's worth of fight against the Patriots last Monday, but it will largely depend on who plays. If Chris McAlister and Samari Rolle remain on the sidelines, you have to believe that Lemon/Beck will have at least a chance.

Against New England, however, all hope is lost. There are only two ways the Dolphins can beat the Patriots: hope and pray for a monster game from Jason Taylor (I'm talking six or seven sacks, total individual domination that singlehandedly and significantly disrupts the passing game) or figure out a way to prevent the Pats from leaving the locker room and hope for a forfeit. That's about it, methinks, unless Cam Cameron decides to prove his coaching genius to the NFL and engineers some sort of magical game plan.

Cincinnati? Also beatable, although I have to think that the Bengals offense, in particular the passing game, is going to carve up the Miami defense. Combine that with the fact that there may not be a lot of fight left in the fish by that point in the season and we could be looking at a 56-7 laugher and a long, long off-season.

Much like the Dolphins 2007 season, I don't even know where this post is going anymore. Unlike them, however, I can wrap things up and never have to think about the team again, which is nice.

Maybe We Don't Need A College Football Playoff After All

Last year, I remember seeing a post somewhere in which the author used the "Team X beat Team Y, and Team Y beat Team Z, and so on..." argument to crown a lower-rung team as college football's national champion. While working on the playoff post earlier, I started wondering what the results might be if we did the same thing with the topsy-turvy 2007 season.

LSU and Ohio State are the two teams in the running for this year's BCS Championship, so I ran through the schedules for both teams. Here's what I came up with for the Tigers:

LSU lost to Kentucky
Kentucky lost to South Carolina
South Carolina lost to Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt lost to Alabama
Alabama lost to Louisiana-Monroe
Louisiana-Monroe lost to North Texas
North Texas lost to Florida International

Not bad. I noted early in the season that the Sun Belt might be the worst conference in the FBS, so it's somehow fitting that under this system, its worst team comes away as the "national champion". The Ohio State version, however, had me absolutely fascinated:

Ohio State lost to Illinois
Illinois lost to Michigan
Michigan lost to Appalachian State
Appalachian State lost to Georgia Southern
Georgia Southern lost to Chattanooga
Chattanooga lost to Carson-Newman

Everyone knew that Appalachian State's win over Michigan was a big deal, but you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who thought it would give a Division II team that didn't even make the playoffs a "legitimate" claim to the FBS national championship. Talk about a butterfly effect.

The Playoffs Are Coming, The Playoffs Are Coming!

Ah, December. You really have to love it: Huge crowds and long lines at shopping malls, school cancellations caused by snow and ice, kids who probably couldn’t pick Jesus out of a lineup getting overly excited about material possessions (in fairness, I once felt the same way about a Super Nintendo)…and the resumption of the “college football needs a playoff” argument.

It truly is the most wonderful time of the year.

Thinking back, I have absolutely no idea when the intense desire to crown college football’s national championship through a playoff system began to simmer, although I suspect it might have had something to do with the 1993 fiasco in which Notre Dame beat Florida State during the regular season, then found itself watching the Seminoles play for the title on New Year’s Day. Actually, I have no idea if that’s the case – in fact, I’d bet money that it isn’t – but I saw an opportunity to blame Notre Dame for all our problems and I ran with it. Is that so wrong?

Regardless of when this insane thirst started, it was the key factor in my decision last winter to institute the most drastic playoff format possible: a 128 team monster featuring all 119 FBS teams and the top nine FCS programs. The FBS teams were ranked according to their final won-lost record, including bowl games, with no consideration given for strength or schedule or any other factors; all that counted in the original rankings were wins and losses, which allowed Boise State to sneak into the number one spot over BCS champion Florida. If two teams had the same number of wins, the first tiebreaker was losses (the team with fewer losses obviously earned the better rank), followed by conference record. If those numbers were equal, then the teams were ranked randomly (the fun part of doing it this way? Half of the rankings will make little to no sense. As of right now, Kansas is in front of Missouri, Missouri is in front of Oklahoma, and Arizona State is in front of USC).

A couple of minor changes have been put into place for this season. First, Western Kentucky will not be the FBS’s 120th full member until 2009, which means they are not eligible to participate in bowl games for the next two seasons. Doesn’t matter for my purposes – the Hilltoppers and their 7-5 record are in, and could end up in decent position in the final rankings (their pre-bowl standing is 59, but that could change significantly). Second, the addition of Western Kentucky means that only the top eight FCS squads will be included (good news, Wolverine fans: as it stands right now, Michigan and Appalachian State wouldn’t meet until the Elite Eight, or whatever I end up calling it). And third, I’ve tried to do away with random placement as the third tiebreaker (as described above). In it’s place? Alphabetical order, baby!

In addition to the minor alterations, there will also be a major change to the way the tournament is presented. Last year, I seeded from 1 to 128 at the outset, then reseeded for every ensuing round: the highest remaining seed always played the lowest, the second-highest always played the second-lowest, and so on down the line. This year, I’m taking the suggestion of several observers and placing every team into one great big bracket, so there is a very specific path to follow to the championship, which strikes me as a more realistic method.

The pre-bowl rankings are below. Numbers 74-120 are all set; no matter what happens, those teams cannot change positions. 1-73 and 121-128? Still very fluid. A lot can, and probably will, happen over the next month.

When the bowl games are completed, I will finalize the rankings, set the matchups, post the bracket and pop NCAA Football 08 into the ol’ Xbox for the game simulations. A word of warning: the first couple of rounds take for-ev-er, which makes sense given the sheer volume of games that need to be simmed (64 first rounders, 32 seconds). I know there will be four or five people out there who are actually interested in seeing how this turns out, so I promise to get through the games as fast as I can.

Last year’s champion was Auburn. Any thoughts on who will be taking home the mythical national championship trophy in 2008? (My money’s on Troy.)

(Teams with a bowl game remaining on the schedule are in bolded italics.)

Team	Conference	Conf	All
Hawaii	WAC	8-0	12-0
Kansas	Big 12 North	7-1	11-1
Ohio State	Big Ten	7-1	11-1
Virginia Tech	ACC Coastal	8-1	11-2
LSU	SEC West	7-2	11-2
Missouri	Big 12 North	7-2	11-2
Oklahoma	Big 12 South	7-2	11-2
Brigham Young	Mountain West	8-0	10-2
Boise State	WAC	7-1	10-2
Arizona State	Pac-10	7-2	10-2
USC	Pac-10	7-2	10-2
Georgia	SEC East	6-2	10-2
West Virginia	Big East	5-2	10-2
UCF	CUSA East	8-1	10-3
Boston College	ACC Atlantic	6-3	10-3
Air Force	Mountain West	6-2	9-3
Illinois	Big Ten	6-2	9-3
Virginia	ACC Coastal	6-2	9-3
Connecticut	Big East	5-2	9-3
Clemson	ACC Atlantic	5-3	9-3
Florida	SEC East	5-3	9-3
Texas	Big 12 South	5-3	9-3
Wisconsin	Big Ten	5-3	9-3
Cincinnati	Big East	4-3	9-3
South Florida	Big East	4-3	9-3
Tennessee	SEC East	6-3	9-4
Tulsa	CUSA West	6-3	9-4
Troy	Sun Belt	6-1	8-4
Bowling Green	MAC East	6-2	8-4
Fresno State	WAC	6-2	8-4
Houston	CUSA West	6-2	8-4
Michigan	Big Ten	6-2	8-4
Oregon State	Pac-10	6-3	8-4
Auburn	SEC West	5-3	8-4
New Mexico	Mountain West	5-3	8-4
Utah	Mountain West	5-3	9-4
Wake Forest	ACC Atlantic	5-3	8-4
Oregon	Pac-10	5-4	8-4
Arkansas	SEC West	4-4	8-4
Penn State	Big Ten	4-4	8-4
Texas Tech	Big 12 South	4-4	8-4
Navy	Independent	0-0	8-5
Central Michigan	MAC East	7-1	8-5
Florida Atlantic	Sun Belt	6-1	7-5
East Carolina	CUSA East	6-2	7-5
Memphis	CUSA East	6-2	7-5
Ball State	MAC West	5-2	7-5
Southern Miss	CUSA East	5-3	7-5
Florida State	ACC Atlantic	4-4	7-5
Georgia Tech	ACC Coastal	4-4	7-5
Mississippi State	SEC West	4-4	7-5
Texas A&M	Big 12 South	4-4	7-5
TCU	Mountain West	4-4	7-5
Rutgers	Big East	3-4	7-5
Indiana	Big Ten	3-5	7-5
Kentucky	SEC East	3-5	7-5
Michigan State	Big Ten	3-5	7-5
Purdue	Big Ten	3-5	7-5
Western Kentucky	Independent	0-0	7-5
UCLA	Pac-10	5-4	6-6
Louisiana-Monroe	Sun Belt	4-3	6-6
Alabama	SEC West	4-4	6-6
Colorado	Big 12 North	4-4	6-6
Iowa	Big Ten	4-4	6-6
Nevada	WAC	4-4	6-6
Ohio	MAC East	4-4	6-6
Oklahoma State	Big 12 South	4-4	6-6
Louisville	Big East	3-4	6-6
Maryland	ACC Atlantic	3-5	6-6
Northwestern	Big Ten	3-5	6-6
South Carolina	SEC East	3-5	6-6
California	Pac-10	3-6	6-6
Miami (OH)	MAC East	5-3	6-7
Buffalo	MAC East	5-3	5-7
Middle Tennessee	Sun Belt	4-3	5-7
Louisiana Tech	WAC	4-4	5-7
San Jose State	WAC	4-4	5-7
Arizona	Pac-10	4-5	5-7
Arkansas State	Sun Belt	3-4	5-7
Pittsburgh	Big East	3-4	5-7
Western Michigan	MAC West	3-4	5-7
Kansas State	Big 12 North	3-5	5-7
North Carolina State	ACC Atlantic	3-5	5-7
Toledo	MAC West	3-5	5-7
Washington State	Pac-10	3-6	5-7
Miami (FL)	ACC Coastal	2-6	5-7
Nebraska	Big 12 North	2-6	5-7
Vanderbilt	SEC East	2-6	5-7
Wyoming	Mountain West	2-6	5-7
Temple	MAC East	4-4	4-8
Eastern Michigan	MAC West	3-4	4-8
Akron	MAC East	3-5	4-8
North Carolina	ACC Coastal	3-5	4-8
San Diego State	Mountain West	3-5	4-8
Tulane	CUSA West	3-5	4-8
Stanford	Pac-10	3-6	4-8
UTEP	CUSA West	2-6	4-8
Washington	Pac-10	2-7	4-9
New Mexico State	WAC	1-7	4-9
Louisiana-Lafayette	Sun Belt	3-4	3-9
Marshall	CUSA East	3-5	3-9
Rice	CUSA West	3-5	3-9
Colorado State	Mountain West	2-6	3-9
Iowa State	Big 12 North	2-6	3-9
Kent State	MAC East	1-7	3-9
Army	Independent	0-0	3-9
Notre Dame	Independent	0-0	3-9
Baylor	Big 12 South	0-8	3-9
Mississippi	SEC West	0-8	3-9
Utah State	WAC	2-6	2-10
North Texas	Sun Belt	1-6	2-10
Northern Illinois	MAC West	1-6	2-10
Syracuse	Big East	1-6	2-10
UAB	CUSA East	1-7	2-10
UNLV	Mountain West	1-7	2-10
Florida International	Sun Belt	1-6	1-11
Duke	ACC Coastal	0-8	1-11
Idaho	WAC	0-8	1-11
Minnesota	Big Ten	0-8	1-11
Southern Methodist	CUSA West	0-8	1-11
Appalachian State	FCS
Delaware	FCS
Richmond	FCS
Southern Illinois	FCS
Eastern Washington	FCS
Northern Iowa	FCS
Wofford	FCS
Massachusetts	FCS

"Why Should I Change My Name? She's The One Who Sucks."

Unusually named people and the weirdness that surrounds the entire state of Colorado are two things that have fascinated me for a long time. Tonight, circumstance brought the two together in the most glorious of ways.

For the first time in nearly four years, the Colorado University women's basketball team earned a win over a ranked opponent, beating previously undefeated Wyoming 69-55. The two high scorers for the Buffaloes: senior forward Jackie McFarland, who had 21, and freshman forward Brittany Spears, who had 19. I'm going to resist the urge to make a terrible "Gimme More" joke right here, if that's all right with everyone.

The kicker, however, is that Spears is not the only member of the Buffs with a famous name. They also have a sophomore guard from Memphis named Whitney Houston. And, thanks to someone with a tremendous sense of humor, the two are roommates.

Best of all, we finally have an answer for Mike Patrick, who in late September asked the immortal question, "What is Britney Spears doing with her life?" Turns out she's averaging 13.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Not too shabby.

Visual Crack: Bizarro Full House

My friend Allison's birthday was today. Because she watches our kid for free at least once or twice a week and pretty much worships the ground he lays immobile on, my wife and I decided to get her the ultimate item on her wish list: the complete Full House box set, with all 193 episodes.

One of the special features on the first disc was the original unaired pilot, which was the exact same as the first regular episode of the series except for one minor detail: John Posey, not Bob Saget, played the role of Danny Tanner.

It may not be evident from the opening credits seen below, but Posey's acting at this stage in his career was absolutely horrific (trust me, I saw the evidence). I imagine the decision to replace him was made after test audiences laughed during the obligatory "newly widowed father tells his two young daughters that everything will be okay" scene. He made John Stamos look like Brando out there.

I Just Lost All Faith In Humanity

Nuxhall, King, Morgan up for Hall's Frick Award

Why is this bad? Oh, I don't know - take your pick.

Matt Forte and Kevin Smith: The Next Great Running Backs, Or Troy Davis and Byron Hanspard?

Lost in the ridiculousness of this college football season was the fact that for just the second time ever, two players rushed for more than 2,000 yards. Tulane’s Matt Forte was the first to cross the threshold, carving up Rice for 195 yards on November 17 en route to a final total of 2,127 in 12 games. A footnote to that story was the performance of UCF’s Kevin Smith, who went for 177 yards against SMU to raise his season total to 1,945. In the two games since, Smith has rushed for 503 yards for a total of 2,448 yards in 13 games. The following chart lists the thirteen 2,000-yard seasons in Division 1-A history in chronological order:

Player	School	Year	Yards	Games
Marcus Allen	USC	1981	2,342	11
Mike Rozier	Nebraska	1983	2,148	12
Barry Sanders	Oklahoma State	1988	2,628	11
Rashaan Salaam	Colorado	1994	2,055	11
Troy Davis	Iowa State	1995	2,010	11
Troy Davis	Iowa State	1996	2,185	11
Byron Hanspard	Texas Tech	1996	2,084	11
Ricky Williams	Texas	1998	2,124	11
LaDainian Tomlinson	TCU	2000	2,158	11
Larry Johnson	Penn State	2002	2,087	13
J.J. Arrington	California	2004	2,018	12
Kevin Smith*	UCF	2007	2,448	13
Matt Forte	Tulane	2007	2,127	12

Smith’s 2,448 yards is the second highest single-season total of all-time, trailing only the 2,628 of Barry Sanders’ extraordinary 1988 campaign. Sanders, however, holds a couple of clear advantages: his record-setting total came in just eleven games, compared with thirteen for Smith, and the mark does not include his performance in the 1988 Holiday Bowl. In that game, Sanders padded his stats with another 222 yards, bringing his final total to 2,850 yards in twelve games. Smith is good, sure, but “402 yards against the third best team in the SEC West” good? Probably not (his career high is 320). Still, his performance in 2007 has clearly been about six notches above exceptional and he deserves recognition for that.

With two great seasons like this, the natural inclination is to eagerly anticipate the arrival of these two young men at the professional level (Forte is a senior, Smith a junior). Before we get overly excited about their bright futures, however, we should consider the last time two players rushed for 2,000 yards in the same season: 1996, when Iowa State’s Troy Davis and Texas Tech’s Byron Hanspard both reached that magical number. Davis’ total in particular was historic in that it marked the first time ever that a player had recorded multiple 2,000-yard seasons (he had 2,010 as a sophomore the year before).

Davis and Hanspard were exceptional college backs, but neither experienced much success at the professional level after leaving school a year early for the siren’s song of the NFL. Fresh off those back-to-back 2,000-yard seasons, Davis ran for just 446 yards and one touchdown in three seasons after being drafted in the third round by the New Orleans Saints, with 271 of those coming in his rookie year. He did go on to have a decent career in the Canadian Football League, with five 1,000-yard seasons to date.

Hanspard also enjoyed a disappointing professional career, with 718 yards in two seasons as a second-round pick of the Atlanta Falcon. The next-to-last game he played was his best as a pro: 26 carries for 102 yards and a touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals in 1999.

Not surprisingly, the career rushing totals of Davis and Hanspard are two of the lowest for any members of the 2,000 Yard Club. The only player who has carried the ball for less as a professional is J.J. Arrington, who had 2,018 yards for California but only 438 in three seasons for Arizona Cardinals. On the flip side, there are three 10,000-yard rushers on the list: Sanders, Marcus Allen and LaDainian Tomlinson. Tomlinson sits in third right now, with 10,225, but he has seven consecutive 1,000-yard seasons and is one year removed from a career-high 1,815 yards in 2006.

Player	Career Yards	Single-Season High
Marcus Allen	12,243	1,759 (1984)
Mike Rozier	4,462	1,002 (1988)
Barry Sanders	15,269	2,053 (1997)
Rashaan Salaam	1,682	1,074 (1995)
Troy Davis	446	271 (1997)
Byron Hanspard	718	383 (1999)
Ricky Williams	7,112	1,853 (2002)
LaDainian Tomlinson	10,048*	1,815 (2006)
Larry Johnson	4,764*	1,789 (2006)
J.J. Arrington	438*	370 (2005)

*Active

The next few weeks should be interesting for Forte and Smith as the former prepares for life after college (he is currently projected as a third or fourth round draft pick) and the latter considers the possibility of leaving early for the NFL. (It should be noted that UCF’s offense featured five seniors this season, including the quarterback, fullback, and two offensive linemen.) Personally, I think it would be great if he broke 2,600 yards for the season in the bowl game against Mississippi State, then came back next year and tried for 3,000 (!), but my opinion is skewed by the fact that I’m all about the history of the game and not about the millions of dollars that await in the pros.

Source for player list:
http://www.sportsline.com/collegefootball/story/10473216

Kuhn, Four Others Are Now Hall Of Famers

I'm going to go out on a limb here and make an observation. When the powers that be at the Baseball Hall of Fame changed the rules for election via the Veterans Committee earlier this year (following three ballots in which no candidates received enough votes to gain entry), this is not what they had in mind:

Former commissioner Bowie Kuhn was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the
Veterans Committee on Monday while his longtime adversary, players' union boss
Marvin Miller, was left out for the second time this year.

Former Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley, Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss and managers Dick Williams and Billy Southworth were also elected. Williams, who made his debut with the "Impossible Dream'' Red Sox in 1967 and went on to manage five other teams in a 21-year career, is the only living inductee.

Kuhn, who died in March, is the fourth of baseball's nine commissioners to be honored by the Hall. None of the remaining five is likely to be elected in the future, unless Peter Ueberroth's five year term is deemed long enough to merit consideration (I refuse to consider Bud Selig's candidacy right now - way too many questions surrounding his tenure as commish, starting with his role in the 1994 strike and the Steroid Era).

As for the other four newcomers - well, the Hall of Fame wanted the Veterans Committee to elect somebody, so the Veterans Committee elected four of them. If you look at it that way, I guess they did an okay job. (Side note: I really, really hope Signal to Noise writes about O'Malley's election.) I'm not entirely sold on any of them as Hall of Famers, but that's just me. I'm an elitist snob.

Family Tree: The McCarthys

My wife and I visited my parents on Saturday. In the course of conversation my mother mentioned that she had taken a few genealogical notes about her side of the family, typed them up, and planned to distribute the copies to any interested family members. As soon as I saw the lists, which feature no less than six different families from which I descend, I knew it would be an interesting topic for a blog post.

I tend to learn and remember things more visually, so I broke the notes from each family down into individual trees, most of which looked like something I drew for a third grade history project. Vincent Van Gogh, I am not (I'm not even Bob Ross). Still, it was very helpful in that it allowed me to see exactly where and how everyone fit in with a particular family. Unfortunately, those trees don't translate so well to the computer. I'm currently working on an online version that contains every person and family on the list, but it's unclear as to how much I'll be able to utilize it even when it is done. With that in mind, I've decided to write about each family individually, even if all I have is a list that shows the ancestral progression from one generation to the next.

First up: the McCarthys.

The information on the McCarthy family goes back roughly seven generations, from me and my siblings to our great-great-great-great-great grandfather, Christopher Sigerson. Sigerson was of Dunigeagen House, Balla Na, Spellings in Kerry. His daughter, Anne Sigerson, married Roger Shugrue and had a child, Julia, who later married James McCarthy. McCarthy, the son of Timothy McCarthy and Mary O'Connell McCarthy, was born in a farm house near Cahirciveen, Ireland.

James and Julia had a daughter, Bridget, who was born in 1846 about seven miles south of the village of Cabureiveen in County Kerry, Ireland. Bridget came to America in 1864 and worked as a domestic in Springfield, MA and Hartford, CT, with her mother and other family members following suit. The family first lived in Baltic, CT but later moved to Pawcatuck, CT, where Bridget met and married Patrick McMahon.

GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT GRANDPARENTS
Christopher Sigerson

GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT GRANDPARENTS
Roger Shugrue
Anne (Sigerson) Shugrue
Timothy McCarthy
Mary (O'Connell) McCarthy

GREAT-GREAT-GREAT GRANDPARENTS
James McCarthy
Julia (Shugrue) McCarthy
John McMahon
Mary (O'Connell) McCarthy

GREAT-GREAT GRANDPARENTS
Bridget (McCarthy) McMahon
Patrick McMahon

Reverse Survivor: Joy In Mudville

It's official: the Idaho Vandals are your 2007 Reverse Survivor champions.

Originally believed to have been eliminated from the competition on September 8, the Vandals stormed back in recent weeks after it was discovered that the team's only win had come against an FCS program (Cal Poly). Since I pretty much make up the rules as I go around here, this was deemed a loophole, and Idaho was placed back in the running.

It looked for a time like they might share the title with last year's co-winner Florida International (who were declared the "unofficial" winner here two weeks ago), but the Golden Panthers avoided history with a 38-19 rout of North Texas in the season finale on Saturday. The win halted a 23-game losing streak.

So congratulations, Idaho. Your team survived its challenges (most notably from FIU and Utah State) and can proudly wear the crown. I only wish there was a trophy, or a T-shirt, or something. It isn't easy to go winless for an entire season, but you did it (sort of). You persevered, and for that you should be commended.

Now come back next year, stop this losing streak, and kick some ass.