Things That Piss ME (The MMQ) Off

Hello All! It’s the MMQ. I’m back from a brief but sorely needed mental vacation and I’ve been doing some reading and trying to understand the College Football World as it is today. This is SO much easier said than done as we are looking at so many changing landscapes and unintended fall out of those changes that it makes my head hurt. In no particular order, here are some things that when I glance at any sports web page are all over them and they are generally pissing me off.

1. Auburn. Firing Chizik who technically should have been canned after the Cam Newton incident on grounds that he had to know something was going on, but everyone involved just clammed up and the NCAA couldn’t find anyone that would talk. But they can him this year after winning zero (0) SEC games and 3 non-con games. AND, the reports are that the leading candidate is Bobby Petrino to replace Chizik. All that matters are wins, baby. Damn any NCAA investigation or questionable character decisions….Auburn is really pissing me off….

2. Notre Dame. Notice, please, I didn’t say DOMERS (JEEZ I HATE THESE GUYS!) out of respect for the institution. But they are really pissing me off. Right when the hypocritical bastards started to come around to the fact that they were probably going to be better off in a conference, they do something stupid and go undefeated. With a good defense. And they have improved all season to the point where Vegas only has them as barely a double digit (10 point) dog against either Bama or Georgia. But what really ticks me off is that it’s pretty clear that Maryland didn’t want to A.) let the Domers in without football and B.)knew they had an escape clause that they said they would use (the Big 10) if the rest of the conference agreed to let the Domers in without football. It didn’t take the Big 10 and Maryland very long to come to an agreement that had all been pre-ordained (Maryland voted to NOT raise the buy out to $50M) knowing that they WOULD be leaving if the rest of the ACC voted to let the DOMERS sans football in. Now, the once strong ACC has become a feeding ground for SEC and Big12 conference strengthening. The rumors are flying hard and fast, but it sounds a lot like FSU and Clemson might be closer to deals then anyone realizes, not to mention that the Big12 is seeing Eastern Expansion as a very real possibility. Once the ACC dyke is broken, I have a feeling all hell will break loose. The Domers are really pissing me off….

3. The BCS (and the SEC Conspiracy). We are going to have this “magical” time in 2014, two years down the road, when 4 teams will be “honored” as being the best 4 teams in College Football and they will get to me in semi-finals and try to beat the collective crap out of each other for a National Title. While that’s great, what about this year? I believe one of the best teams playing in College Football this year is getting completely hosed. That team: Oregon. Yes, they lost to Stanford. On a rainy night in Autzen, Oregon. Their home field. So, too, did Alabama LAST YEAR, lose at home to an incredible LSU squad. Then, miraculously, Okie State pooped their pants at ISU and Stanford lost to Oregon and we have Alabama somehow getting back in the title game by virtue of ranking and some “eye test” of sportswriters and voters everywhere. Well, this guy’s eyes are still telling him that Oregon is the best team in this country with everyone healthy on a neutral field. Why isn’t that 1 loss team getting any love? They are in the Pac 12 and the Domers didn’t lose. Yet, here we are with a solution: let the top 4 teams play in the new propsed format. What is keeping that from happening? Some Bowl contract…. The BCS is really pissing me off….

4. The SEC. Okay. You have 5 teams in the top 10. HOW IS THIS MATHEMATICALLY POSSIBLE? WHY AREN’T YOU PLAYING MORE CONFERENCE GAMES TO SETTLE THE DISPUTES WITHIN YOUR CONFERENCE ON THE FIELD? Why? Because the SEC has figured out that the National Title is worth X amount of $$$$$$$ and there’s NO WAY they will ever give that up without a fight. So, what do they do? Alabama only schedules 6 SEC games (not counting Mississippi and Miss State – come on, they don’t REALLY count as SEC teams) and doesn’t play Florida, Georgia, or South Carolina, three teams that were PRETTY competitive from the SEC East. Instead, everybody pads their schedule with cupcakes and claims they play too hard of a schedule to play any more SEC games…Give me a break. On top of that, the media machine (and Home Depot is a big part of this, along with ESPN) makes everyone believe that the SEC is so far superior to the regular collegiate football team conference that most top level SEC teams would win in the pros…Puke…The SEC is really pissing me off….

5. The Coaching Carousel. Normally, when a team hires a new coach, the next few years are actually worse than the years that preceeded the firing of the former coach. Not in ever case, but most cases. (I can’t believe that Auburn will win any LESS than 3 games next year, but hey, anything is possible. I didn’t think Michigan would only win 3 games, either.) But, does that stop any AD from firing a guy with time left on a contract, paying that coach (or collective of coaches) the fans hard earned dollars and hiring a guy that he knows is less than 50-50 to do better in his first or second season? Not ONLY that, but half of those hires and up getting canned also (See: Alabama, Notre Dame, Michigan, Florida, Auburn, Arkansas, Mississippi, Arizona, Kentucky, Purdue, Colorado, Illinois, Miami, to name a few). Yes, some, eventually, pay off. See: Brian Kelly, Nick Saban, Urban Meyer. But ask Notre Dame EXACTLY how much the heading “Football Coaches Salary” in the ole ledger has earmarked on it and you can see that wins at schools that fire coaches come at a price…But such is the fickle way of college football. And its probably only going to get worse. I foresee a day when schools may finally say, “Okay, you’re getting a 1 year deal laden with incentives and you will get X number of $$$ if we don’t bring you back next year.” It’s getting that crazy. And it should be about the student athlete and recognizing that EVERY TEAM AT THE FBS LEVEL CANNOT GO UNDEFEATED OR EVEN HAVE A WINNING RECORD….Firing decent coaches for winning 6 games is really pissing me off…

6. The Heisman Trophy. How can a guy that was technically at the top of everyone’s ballot go out in the 3rd to last game of the season and have an off day, follow it up with a great game and be considered, “Out of the running” but sportswriters everywhere? Klein at K-State is the real deal and has done more to help his team win, in exciting fashion, no less, than any other player out there. And yet Johnny Football, and I mean no dis-respect, has a big upset win against Bama but who’s stats are otherwise good, not great and he’s the front runner? Let’s call the Heisman what it is: This week’s beauty contest. If you get hot at the right time, you’re in. If you’re just “average” at the end of the year…Oh well. I guess I can see either side of this argument, but the trophy itself should be awarded to the most EXCITING football player in college football. And I guess I’m pissed that one guy really didn’t get a chance to show case what his talents truly were this year…So maybe it’s not the Heisman that’s pissing me off but Michigan’s offense.

7. Expansion. I guess I’m adding to the rant about the Domers above. Expansion has ruined rivalries and wrecked traditions that are as old as anyone reading this. Texas vs. Texas A&M. WVU vs. Pitt. Nebraska vs. Colorado (granted, that one had paled quite a bit lately). Oklahoma vs. Nebraska (Not so much). Michigan vs. Notre Dame. What do we have now? Michigan vs. Rutgers…(Whoopeee….) Ditto Michigan vs. Maryland. What I want to know is: Does anyone care about the GAME anymore or are is everyone simply chasing money? I know the answer, I just don’t like it and I hope that at some point, somewhere grown men can come to their senses and realize that some things are just meant to be and there needs to be a way for the traditional rivalries to carry forward. Figure it out because losing them is really pissing me off….

8. Penn State and the NCAA: When are we going to stop hearing about Penn State, the money Penn State is paying to “former employees” (Spanier got $3.2M last year and will get an undisclosed amount this year) and how the NCAA is still looking at sanctions against this institution? I’m tired of the NCAA sticking its collective noses into this one. Believe me, PSU GETS IT!!! You’ve made your point now go away and let them figure out how to manage it. And why PSU just doesn’t send Spanier out to pasture is beyond me….Everyone, meaning every institution, has learned something from this and have asked questions internally to all their athletic programs, I’m sure. But the constant reporting of Spanier still getting money and McQueery NOT GETTING ANY compensation for being the whistle blower is really pissing me off…

9. Louisville to the ACC: How can a school that less than 15 years ago that was on the brink of athletic financial collapse, being investigated for MAJOR allegations by the NCAA and almost kicked OUT of C-USA manage to get an invite to what was once (and I guess still is) possibly the most prestigious conference of many widely acclaimed academic institutions that are all AAU recognized? These schools: Duke, North Carolina, Virginia, Clemson, NC State, to name a few, are large public and some private institutions with rich histories. Louisville? A City School that was largely known for basketball and coach Denny Crumm….And Thursday night Football. A school that is currently ranked 160th in academics. Screw academics. Bring on the sports footprint. And, as an academic…I guess that really pisses me off…..

10. ohio: The attorney that blew the whistle on the shady dealings of the football program and coach, not to mention tattoo-gate, got a 1 year suspension that a lot of other attorneys were calling a “little harsh”. He gets a 1 year suspension from practicing felony law and ohio honors the turd that got them in this mess in the first place. Why not go the distance and get a “work release” for Claret and bring him to the 2002 national championship 10 year anniversary as well? ohio is REALLY pissing me off….

So, yes, the MMQ is a little pissed….I guess you can now see why.