Category: Sports

Approximately 13 seconds into the race, with her entire body airborne after coming off a turn into a jump, Vonn clipped a gate. With no way to stabilize herself, her body twisted and she hit the ground in a cloud of snow. Vonn tumbled down the slope, coming to rest in a tangle of skis and limbs. “Oh my goodness! No!” cried the NBC announcers, speaking for everyone watching, at home and on site.

In the end, it seemed, there would be no poetic, storybook ending to Vonn’s comeback story: just a medevac helicopter carrying the skier’s prone body into the sky.

These are the 1903 NY Highlanders, a team that would later be called the Yankees. They were not an especially good team, barely cracking the .500 mark, but the three circled men are baseball legends and Hall of Famers.

On the top is John “Happy Jack” Chesbro. He won 21 games that year as the ace of the staff, but it was the following season that got him into the Hall of Fame. He posted an unreal record of 41-12, with 48 complete games. That remains, and probably always will remain, the most games ever won in one season at the modern pitching distance. It may be the most unbreakable single-season record.

Third from the left in the lower row is Clark Griffith. He was then at the tail end of an excellent pitching career, but was in his first year as the team manager. Two years earlier, he had managed the first pennant winner in the history of the American league. That turned out to be his only pennant as a manager, but he would later manage the Washington Senators for many years in the Walter Johnson era. After his playing and managing careers, he had a third baseball life as the team president and owner of the Washington club, where he won three more pennants and a World Series. The Senators’ ballpark was named after him.

Next to Griffith is “Wee” Willie Keeler, the 5’4″ bat-control specialist who coined the phrase “hit ’em where they ain’t.” He had eight consecutive years with 200 or more hits. Through the 1903 season, his first with the Highlanders, his lifetime batting average was .366, which would have been the highest of all time had he retired then. He continued to play when he was no longer effective, and his lifetime mark dropped to a “mere” .341.

As of now, Indiana has the last undefeated college football team and the last undefeated college basketball team.

Helluva second half. There’s no doubt that we got the two best teams into the finals. The stats match up perfectly. The difference between the teams was a blocked punt and that heart-stopping last-minute interception.

Here is how ESPN summed it up:

A 27-21 win over Miami that closed out an undefeated season and brought an improbable national championship to a program that had known nothing but losing and indifference for almost 140 years. Coach Curt Cignetti, who took over a program with a nation-leading 713 losses and turned it into the game’s biggest winner in the span of two years.

The three key plays:

Mendoza’s epic run:

The blocked punt:

The INT:

The vaunted SEC will have no finalist this year.

I can’t ever seem to get a rooting interest in the college football finals. Last year, I wanted them both to lose. This year, I want them both to win.

Indiana has the horsepower, and it would be fun to watch an once-unheralded football school have an undefeated season for the ages.

On the other hand, Miami had to scratch and claw their way here after finishing 3rd in their own conference, and having half of fandom saying they didn’t even belong in the tournament. They are single-handedly defending the honor of the ACC against the Big Two. Plus Carson Beck could become a national champion with two different universities, which is kind of a cool oddity precipitated by the new free-transfer world.

As I type this, Indiana is a 7.5 point favorite. That’s not surprising. The Miami game wasn’t decided until the final play, in a battle between evenly matched teams, while Indiana totally made mincemeat out of Oregon.

You might be surprised to read that Oregon actually produced more yards from scrimmage in that game, 378-362. That’s a pretty amazing stat for a game that Indiana won by five touchdowns, but an offense doesn’t need to amass a lot of yardage when the defense hands them the ball on the three-yard line. Indiana had one scoring drive of three yards, one of four, and another of nineteen.

THE Ohio State University was defending a national championship and spent most of this year looking invulnerable at #1, a place they held from week two through week fifteen.

Many people felt that Miami shouldn’t have been in the tournament at all. They didn’t even qualify to play in the championship game in their own conference, and came into this game as 9.5 point underdogs.

None of that matters now.

Miami has made the final four by knocking off an SEC team and a Big Ten team. They have made it to that point with little offense. They scored only ten against A&M in round one, with 278 yards from scrimmage. Their offense scored only 17 against Ohio State in round two, and they again failed to reach 300 yards from scrimmage.

But, oh, that defense!

They gave a Heisman finalist QB the worst day of his sporting career. They sacked him five times and picked him off twice, including a pick-six. The Hurricanes caused the worst performance by an elite quarterback since 1998, when the Farrelly Brothers cast Brett Favre in There’s Something About Mary.

Weird trivia:

The top four seeds are 1-7 in the new format.

Last year, the top four seeds, coming off their first-round byes, all lost in the New Year’s Eve/Day round. Then the two best remaining teams, seeds 5 and 6, lost in the next round. Then the next best remaining team, seed 7, lost in the championship, leaving the eighth seed as the national champion.

This year, the 2, 3 and 4 seeds all lost. Only Indiana prevailed.

Next up: Indiana vs Oregon; Mississippi vs Miami

A group of Indiana loggers has felled the mightiest redwood in the forest, THE Ohio State University.

And my other wish also came true: lowly, unranked, five-loss Duke won the ACC championship, clearing the way for my sentimental rooting favorite, James Madison, to get the 12th seed. Of course I don’t expect them to beat Oregon, but stranger things have happened. I hope they at least make a good showing. Oregon is favored by 22!

So here is how things fall out for the tournament seeds:

1 Indiana.
2 Ohio State
3 Georgia

If it were my call, I would have dropped Ohio State to 3, because Georgia has now defeated every opponent they faced. (Their one loss was to Alabama, and they got their revenge with a three-touchdown victory.) That said, the difference between 2 and 3 is not really meaningful. There is a big difference between 4 and 5 (only one gets a first-round bye)

4. Texas Tech
5. Oregon

This year, the difference between 6 and 7 is aiso very important, because #6 Ole Miss is a 17-point favorite against Tulane (and they already beat them by 35 earlier this year), but #7 A&M has a tough opponent in Miami. (The Aggies are favored by just four in the opening line.)

6. Mississippi
7. Texas A&M
8. Oklahoma

Major controversy: the committee leapfrogged Miami over Notre Dame! Tough call. That’s hard to justify because the Irish were rated higher by the same committee last week – and both teams were idle, so nothing could have changed.

9. Alabama
10. Miami

Well, nothing objective.

I’ll take a guess: Duke’s victory left the ACC without a team in the tournament, so the committee promoted Miami to remedy that. If that is the rationale, and I can’t see any other possible justification, that makes it more of a political decision than an objective evaluation. That’s a tough beat for the Irish. Notre Dame is rated #3 in the nation by the computers, but will watch the tournament on TV like the rest of us, as the best team excluded from the tournament.

For what it’s worth, the AP poll kept both Notre Dame and Miami, and booted Alabama.

Meanwhile, the 11 and 12 seeds allow some weaker conference champions into the tournament.

11. Tulane
12. James Madison

They could just take the top twelve teams, but holding at least one place for the Group of Five teams is something that the executives feel to be a necessary compromise. Is it ideal that Tulane and James Madison are in while teams like Texas and Notre Dame are out? Nah. If Notre Dame played Tulane on neutral turf, they would be favored by three touchdowns. It would be more if they played at home.

But that’s the way the cookie crumbles.

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Computer ratings

Committee and AP rankings

The commmittee’s latest rankings are now public.

The conference championship games have been set.

In the most unlikely match-up, Virginia and Duke will play for the ACC championship. Duke needed about a zillion different things to happen in the last three weeks in order to crack the safe, and all the tumblers somehow fell into place.

If Virginia wins that game, they would be the fourth-best champion, and would therefore get the 11th seed. Duke, with five losses, is unlikely to make the playoff even with a conference championship. Only five conference champions get automatic bids, and they would likely be the sixth-best conference champion, assuming a James Madison win in the Sun Belt

A Duke win is not that unlikely. Virginia is only favored by 3.5.

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In the Big 12, Texas Tech will play BYU. Each team has something important to play for. Tech’s spot in the playoff seems secure, win or lose, but a Tech win is the difference between a first-round bye and a lower spot in the pecking order. A BYU win will guarantee them the tenth seed, but a loss will eliminate them from the playoff.

The game will be played in Arlington (Texas Tech is 300 miles away, in Lubbock), so I suppose neither team has a home field advantage, but Tech has the home state advantage. Tech is favored by 12.5.

WEIRDEST SCENARIO: A BYU win could give the Big Ten three of the first-round byes!

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The loss by Texas A&M means that Georgia and Alabama will play for the SEC championship. Georgia will make the playoff, win or lose, but a win will secure a first-round bye. An Alabama win would guarantee them at least the ninth seed if BYU wins, or at least the tenth seed if BYU loses. Alabama will be one of the bubble boys if they lose.

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Tulane and North Texas will battle for the American Conference title. Based on the committee’s rankings, the winner of that game is guaranteed a playoff spot. In the case of a Duke win in the ACC, the American champ would get the 11th seed. If Virginia wins the ACC, the American champ would get the twelfth seed.

The committee ranks Tulane higher than North Texas, but the bookies disagree. NT is favored by 2.5, even though they are on the road.

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James Madison will battle Troy for the Sun Belt crown. Madison is favored by more than three touchdowns. If they win, and Duke wins the ACC, Madison should get the twelfth seed, promoting the American Conference champion to the eleventh seed.

If Virginia wins the ACC. Madison can’t make the playoff unless the the committee vaults them over the American Conference winner into the twelfth seed. Such a leapfrog seems unlikely, but it’s not impossible because North Texas is only rated one slot higher than Madison in the national rankings, and they are the likely winner in their game against Tulane.

So the kids at James Madison need to steamroll Troy by about a zillion points and root North Texas to look bad in a win. That gives them a hope.

And even with that in the bag on Friday, they’ll also be rooting hard for Duke on Saturday night, because that one gives them a guarantee rather than a hope. This may mark the first time in history that someone other than a Duke student or alum ever rooted for them.

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In the Big Ten, Indiana and Ohio State are playing with house money. They will both make the playoff, the winner will get the top seed, and the loser will still get a first-round bye. (I assume. It’s unlikely that a loss would drop the loser to the fifth slot since that is currently occupied by idle Oregon, which finished below both of them in the same conference.)

The bubble boys

These eight teams seem completely safe for a playoff spot:

Ohio State
Indiana
Georgia
Texas Tech
Oregon
Ole Miss
Texas A&M
Oklahoma

The 11th and 12th seeds will go to the fourth and fifth best conference champions.

A. With a BYU win and an Alabama win, all twelve spots will be filled, leaving these two teams out of the playoff.

Notre Dame
Miami

B. With a BYU win and Alabama loss, there will be eleven secure spots, leaving only one for these three teams:

losing Alabama
Notre Dame
Miami

The committee has ranked Notre Dame over Miami, and they are both idle, so Miami is out in this scenario, and the committee would have to choose between losing Alabama and idle Notre Dame. That’s a tough call, likely to spur a lively debate between two of the most passionate fan bases in America.

C. If both BYU and Alabama lose, there will be only ten secure spots, meaning that two of these teams will make it

losing Alabama
Notre Dame
Miami

In this case, no matter the final ranking of Alabama, Notre Dame is in, and the committee would have to choose between losing Alabama and idle Miami. Another tough one.

Therefore, in order for Miami to make the playoff, three things must happen:

1. BYU must lose (likelihood high; they are 13-point dogs).
2. Alabama must lose (likelihood moderate; they are 3-point dogs).
3. The committee must vault idle Miami over losing Alabama. (likelihood unknown).

The Miami kids need to root for Georgia and Texas Tech.

Yes, I know it would be silly and unjust to leave Notre Dame and Miami out in the cold, while the weaker conference champions make it. The computer rankings list Notre Dame #2 in the nation, and Miami #6. Notre Dame would be nearly a three-touchdown favorite over North Texas or Tulane, approximately a two-touchdown favorite over James Madison, and about a ten-point favorite over BYU.

And Miami is just as good as Notre Dame. In fact, they already beat them earlier this year, thanks to two key Irish turnovers.

Yes, it would be unjust.

But the cookie may crumble that way.

Scoreboard

New rankings

New computer ratings

It was a week for silly games.

Three of the top-ranked teams were using this week to play rah-rah home games against the weakest teams they could find. It must be a crazy week for bookies because there is no way to know exactly when the good teams will take a foot off the gas. Alabama covered an enormous spread, the other two did not.

#3 Texas A&M took on Samford, a team rated 59 points lower by the computer and 53.5 by the oddsmakers. Samford is an FCS team with a 1-10 record. They may not be the worst D1 team in the country, but they are in the discussion. A&M won 48-0, as Samford was able to gain only 77 yards from scrimmage. A&M did not try to run up the score, choosing instead to give everyone a chance to play. At the end of the game, the Aggies were playing their 4th-string freshman quarterback.

#10 Alabama matched up against Eastern Illinois. Like Samford, Eastern Illinois is not only an FCS team, but a very weak one. The computer had ‘Bama up by 55, and the bookies called it 50.5 points. ‘Bama won 56-0. Alabama emptied the bench, but poor Eastern Illinois just didn’t belong in that game. They managed only two first downs in the entire game, for a total of 34 yards from scrimmage. At least their punters got plenty of practice.

#4 Georgia played Charlotte. Charlotte is an FBS school, but they came into the game 1-9, and their only win was against an FCS opponent. The computers rank them as the second-worst FBS team in the country, with only lowly U Mass beneath them. The betting spread was 42.5, and the computer rated Georgia 51 points better. Georgia basically gave their starters a rest, so it was one of those games where all the parents got to see their kids play. Their quarterbacks completed passes to fourteen different receivers, nine of whom caught exactly one pass. I don’t know what the D1 record is, but fourteen receivers seems like a big number. I like that a lot, since I would have been one of those “Look, mom, I caught one” kids. Georgia won 35-3.

Auburn, South Carolina, LSU and Clemson also scheduled home games against weak opponents this week, but since they have not performed up to expectations this year, it didn’t matter much.

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#9 Notre Dame and #1 Ohio State weren’t trying to schedule weak opponents. It just worked out that way. Ohio State had a conference game against Rutgers (score 42-9), while Notre Dame scored 35 in the first quarter against Syracuse, on their way to a 70-7 curb-stomping. The Irish couldn’t let up much because they are locked in a life-and-death struggle with Alabama at the bottom of the top ten. It’s not likely that there will be a difference between finishing 9th and 10th in the rankings, but there could be. If BYU wins the Big 12 and is not in the top ten nationally, they will get the tenth tournament seed automatically, knocking out the team ranked 10th nationally. While that isn’t likely, both Notre Dame and Alabama are acutely aware of the possibility that the #9 team is completely safe, while the #10 team is not.

In games that mattered …

Most of the top ten teams have to keep winning to make the playoff, while the teams just below them not only have to win, but have to hope for one of the top ten to lose.

None of the top fourteen teams lost, but there could be some movement among the bubble boys.

#11 BYU beat Cincinnati, 26-14
#12 Utah won, but allowed 47 points
#13 Miami won easily, 34-17
#14 Vanderbilt crushed Kentucky. 45-17
#15 USC lost to #7 Oregon
#16 Georgia Tech fell behind Pitt 21-0 and never recovered.
#17 Texas won, but allowed 37 points.

Miami is obviously hoping that their win will impress the committee more than Utah’s, thus allowing them to climb a little.

Texas should move up to #15, but they have three losses,so their chance of making the playoff is close to zero, if not absolute zero.

The best hope for the bubble boys: Three of the top ten teams have tough opponents next week. Oklahoma plays LSU next week, Oregon plays Washington, and Alabama plays Auburn. An Oklahoma, Oregon or Alabama loss could knock them out of the top ten. Oregon might survive a loss, but the other two can’t. The rest of the top ten teams either have easy games or are so secure that a loss won’t knock them down below #10.

Some essential conference races are still wide open:

The ACC: The winner of the ACC championship game is likely to be the 11th seed in the playoffs. Despite the loss by Georgia Tech, Miami is still on the outside looking in. Both Virginia and SMU are in if they win, making the Miami-Pitt game meaningless.

If BYU stays at #11, they could still make the playoff by winning the Big 12 championship game, in which case it will get the 10th seed and knock out the team ranked #10.

On the other side of the tracks

The worst FBS squad, poor U Mass, remained winless … but they only lost by 28, so it was a decent week.

You read above that #2 Charlotte made the audacious move of scheduling Georgia. They only lost by 32 because Georgia emptied the bench early.

#4 Middle Tennessee played #3 Sam Houston in a sort of reverse bowl game. Call it the Toilet Bowl. Middle Tennessee won easily, 31-17, so Sam Houston held onto the third spot, and the bottom three remain the same.

Overrated teams o’ the week

The current list. (Based on the new Sagarin computer ratings and this week’s AP poll.)

1. 32 places (!!) – Tulane (54, 22)
2. 22 Places – North Texas (43,21)
3. 19 places – Georgia Tech (42, 23)
4. 17 places – Virginia (34,17)

Houston fell from the list because voters finally acknowledged reality.

What happened to last week’s most overrated teams? (Based on last week’s Sagarin computer ratings and last week’s AP poll.)

1. 38 places (!!) – Tulane (62, 24) beat Temple 37-13.
2. 26 places – Houston (51, 25) lost to unranked TCU, 17-14.
3. 24 places – North Texas (46,22) shellacked Rice
4. 20 places – Georgia Tech (35, 15) lost to Pitt, as I expected.
5. 17 places – Virginia (36,19) did not play.

Scoreboard

New rankings

New computer ratings