The dreaded Cowboys

Why would a state like Texas claim to have America's team? Texas is SO NOT AMERICA. Little kids don't grow up thinking, "Man, I would love to live in Texas." The only redeeming quality the entire state has is the Dallas Cowboy CHEERLEADERS!
I watched the Cowboys beat the Panthers last night. The first half was a sleeper and all my suspicions of Romo were being played out as true. He really isn't very good. However, the second half was 30 minutes of redemption for the QB, regardless of what I think of him. He consistently kept his offense on the field and by the time the game was over, he had led his team to a quality win. Still, one can't help but wonder if this might be his last year in the big D.
Well, my Shehawks are pathetic. Time to fire the coach. How can you have a 3rd and two, and throw two passes to end the game. GET YOUR FIRST DOWN.
Still, it isn't that painful, not as painful as watching my Mariners not make the playoffs again. Baseball will always be more of a sport than football. In fact, it's more of a sport than the other major three. (I know, I included hockey, don't ask me why.)
Is it me, or is the fact that alcohol sales and promotions for sporting events so integral in American culture is an oxymoron? Sports is about attaining the highest physical ability possible, and well drinking, is not. I know why though. Ever have just enough beers to believe you are one of those athletes. Hell yeah. That's usually about the time you tear the ACL deciding to go out and play tackle football.
Is it me, or are women tennis players more manly than men tennis players? I went to a women's tournament in Manhatten Beach Ca, and the Williams sisters were there, I was surprised at how big they were in person. Very imposing. In fact, even a short tennis player like Date from Japan was thick.

THIS WEEK IN SPORTS!
So you think Tiger isn't the best? Well, he doesn't even have to win to take home the Fed ex trophy and he certainly has placed himself in position to do so. However, you have to love a 49 year old guy shooting a 64 in Kenny Perry. Once again, the Big 10 rolled over when they were in the top 10. Penn St wasn't very good offensively yesterday, as is usually the case when the Big 10 is in the top ten.
Too early to talk hoops, so I will leave it alone, BUT, having Ron Artest come to LA is like giving your favorite girl crabs.
PRO FOOTBALL! Already two weeks in the books and nobody seems to be that good. What sort of world is it when we can't rely on the Pats to dominate? I'll tell ya, it is the kind of world that saw the post packers of the 60's give rise to the 70's and the Cowboys and Steelers, then they gave way to eighties and the 49ers, then they gave way to the Cowboys, then they gave way to the Pats. Who will rise from the ashes? (And don't say the Steelers. They were lucky to beat the Hawks and REALLY lucky that they got the Cardinals, because that team had no business being in a superbowl.) Maybe we will see an interim team, like the Rams of the turn of the century, or the Broncos in the mid 90s, or the Bears of the mid 80s, or Dolphins in the early 70s, or or or these very Steelers. (I doubt it!) Are the Colts washed up already, or is it just me? Sad when Peyton's little brother looks more promising than him. Sad, because that kid brother is horrible. (Another unfortunate event, watching the Giants spoil the Pats undefeated season. Sad because we had to listen to all those Dolphin ex players gloat.) Something about powder blue and orange colors that brings out the man in them. Wouldn't it be great if that interim team was the Saints? Who wouldn't root for them. Besides, isn't Drew Brees the most underrated QB in all of football. He is the Kurt Warner of this day and age, oh wait, Kurt is still playing. Maybe the Chargers will get the monkey off their back. Doubtful, I think they are cursed for getting rid of Marty. You don't get rid of a coach when a player fumbles the ball and GIVES the Pats the win, not when the team had an insane winning percentage under him. How about the Vikings? If not for the Bills, who more sad than the Vikings. Now that they have Brett Faaaaaaaaav, (lets face it, it is pronounced FAV RAY!) Anyway, now that they have him and that mule train of a running back, aren't they supposed to win the superbowl? Wouldn't that be the John Elway way to go out? Of course, Brett would come back with another team, maybe the Dolphins.
TRACK AND FIELD. Yeah, I know, who cares. Since there isn't any great American even remotely close to EVER catching the Jamaican Bolton. Wouldn't it be good to juice that guy up and see just how fast a human could run. I'm thinking he catches a cheetah.

This won't be a curse this year

Sure, we have all heard of it - The Curse! That would be the fate of the superbowl runnerup the following year. However, do you seriously believe if the cardinals don't make it to the playoffs that it will be because they were cursed? Actually, two things will keep the Cardinals out of the playoffs, first, they aren't that good, and second, because of their lofty job last year, their schedule will be tougher. Don't get me wrong, I root for the underdog, and in fact, I was rooting for the Cardinals last year, when just like the last time the Steelers were in the playoffs, they broke my heart. I like Kurt Warner, albeit, HOW MUCH LONGER CAN HE PLAY?
The NFC is tough enough, and with the soft NFC west, you better win that division to make the playoffs, because I don't see two teams out of that division going on, and since I am blind with love for the Seahawks, I am betting the Cardinals are resting comfortably by playoff time.

What I can't stand about rules.

Professional football could liven up their sport if they adopted another one of college footballs great rules. (the first being the two point conversion) If pro football wanted to really generate excitement down the stretch of a game, they would simply install the movement of the chains timeout. It is a truly wonderful rule, and anyone that has watched a two minute drill in college football knows what I am talking about. Come on pro football, get your crap together.

College football needs to adopt a playoff system and I have one that is genius if I don't say so myself. Start the league schedule on week 1, don't schedule non conference games until the end of the season. (you will see why in a minute.) At week eight, take the top 16 teams and put them in a week to week tourney. The teams that are taken out of their schedule because the team they would have played is now in the playoffs simply slide into the scheduled game of the other playoff teams opponent. example: Lets say USC - ranked 1st is playing the 16th ranked BYU cougars, and lets say that in week 9 the trojans were scheduled to play WSU. Conversely, BYU in week 9 was scheduled to play San Diego State. WSU would play San Diego State in week 9. If both were home games, the team with the higher ranked playoff team opponent gets home field. It would be a real interesting way of scheduling spur of the moment non conference games. Now, lets say USC wins in week 9 against BYU. BYU goes back into their rotation of games, and USC's 10th week regular season team plays the regular season opponent of USC's 10th week playoff opponent. By the tenth week there are only 8 teams left so the regular schedule is only disrupted for eight other teams in the nation. By week 11, it's down to four teams. I like this system and believe it is beautiful. I think it has ZERO flaws.

Tiger Woods vs Jack Nicholas

I will jump into this fray. Golf is such an inexact sport that perfection is not something any golfer will ever have. Perfection would imply that every approach shot went in the hole. Every par 3 would be a hole in one. Since perfection isn't a possibility, what actual barometer can we use in golf? Personally, the only one I can think of is wins. However, with wins the argument then becomes competition and there are so many arguments about competition that we must first discuss the reality of competition.
In my humble opinion, our sports universe is evolving, not de evolving. With the popularity of getting physically fit, as well as the technological advances one wonders how we can't be getting better. With computers helping us understand body mechanics and equipment improvements I would have to believe that today's athletes are superior to yesterdays.
Given that hypothesis, I am going to weigh in on the Tiger argument. At his age, his totals surpass Jack's. I don't buy the competition argument because Arnie was not a major factor for most of Jack's career and neither was Tom Watson. One left before Jack was in full bloom and the other arrived as Jack was declining. The only real constant for Jack was Gary.
Tiger has a lot of young talents in the game today, not to mention an international contingent that has never been more talented.
As a betting man, I am putting my money on the gamble that Tiger will retire with most majors, most wins, and greatest winning percentage. Can't argue that if he has that, he isn't the greatest golfer of all time.

Why another sport's page

Ever since yahoo started a sports page, I have realized that anyone can write sports, their lame writers are testimonies to that. I know several writers here in Los Angeles that are far more astute, with less opportunity to actually interview the figures being written about, than the selected writers on yahoo. That isn't to say that I don't enjoy the Yahoo writers, it's just that more often than not, they are wrong. What I hope to do here is to find out just how many sport know-it-alls there are out there. I will freely give the space for any and all individuals who think they have an opinion that will bear fruit.