One of college football's grittiest rivalries gets a do-over Saturday for the first time since 1903, and once again this week we've been treated to the reason the college game is so much more outright fun than that stuff they play on Sundays.
It's Oklahoma vs. Texas for the Big 12 title, a rematch of the October game in which the Longhorns handed the Sooners their only loss. And, boy howdy, the enmity is flowin'.
To sum up: OU's quarterback doesn't like UT's quarterback. UT's quarterback doesn't much care for OU's quarterback. None of their teammates like the other team's quarterback either.
Best quote of the week so far?
This from Texas defensive tackle Chris Nelson: ""It's gonna be a dirty game. You'll probably see hitting after the whistle. You'll probably see a lot of stuff if you keep your eyes open.\
"It's gonna be a dogfight. But I love it, man."
Who doesn't?
Friday, November 30, 2018
Thursday, November 29, 2018
Perception is all
Five million lost viewers.
Thirteen years.
This is not the sort of calculus that works, if you're a once-going concern that wants to remain a going concern. This is, in fact, as bad as it gets when the once-going concern is the most wildly successful motorsports entity in American history, a motorsports entity that once gushed money with such ease it briefly imagined itself the nation's fourth major sport.
That was then. This is now.
This is post-NASCAR NASCAR, the bust after the boom. In 2005, nearly 8.5 million people watched each Cup Series race, according to the latest figures. In 2018 fewer than 3.5 million did. This means almost twice as many people have stopped watching NASCAR across the last 13 years than watched it this year.
This was would be awful news for any professional; for a motorsport like NASCAR, which relies heavily on sponsorship dollars for its very breath, it is catastrophic.
Eyeballs attract sponsors. Lack of same sends them screaming into the night. That is not a good thing.
So why is this happening?
At least part of it, one senses, is that NASCAR is experiencing exactly what IndyCar did in the early '90s, when so many reliable draws retired almost at once. Within a three or four year span, A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti, Rick Mears and Al Unser Sr. all hung it up. Every one of them represented a chunky fan base. At least a portion of those fan bases never caught on with the next generation of stars, none of whom shone with nearly the sustained brilliance.
NASCAR, same deal. Four of the biggest draws in the sport -- Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and, to a somewhat lesser extent, Carl Edwards -- have all walked away from the sport in the last four years. A fifth, Jimmie Johnson, has become a diminished presence. The next generation of sustainable draws is still in the development stage, and a few of the established remaining veterans aren't particularly likeable.
So NASCAR is stuck in neutral, for the time being. And as has been pointed out in this space before, a lot of that is its own doing.
All that aforementioned wild success, you see, created expectations that were unrealistic and unsustainable. This was especially true among sponsors and potential sponsors, who saw that gusher of money and assumed it would gush forever. It was never going to -- anyone who understood that motorsports is and always will remain a niche entity could see that -- but booms are hothouses for delusion. If the money's rolling in, it's always going to roll in. Right?
Well ... no. And so we've come to a place where 3 million plus viewers for every Cup race is a catastrophe because of the backdrop against which it's playing out. Thirty, 40 years ago, when NASCAR was still largely a regional phenomenon, 3 million plus viewers would have had everyone in the sport turning cartwheels. And sponsors would have been lined up out the door.
Now?
Now it's sending them fleeing out the door.
What a difference perception makes.
Thirteen years.
This is not the sort of calculus that works, if you're a once-going concern that wants to remain a going concern. This is, in fact, as bad as it gets when the once-going concern is the most wildly successful motorsports entity in American history, a motorsports entity that once gushed money with such ease it briefly imagined itself the nation's fourth major sport.
That was then. This is now.
This is post-NASCAR NASCAR, the bust after the boom. In 2005, nearly 8.5 million people watched each Cup Series race, according to the latest figures. In 2018 fewer than 3.5 million did. This means almost twice as many people have stopped watching NASCAR across the last 13 years than watched it this year.
This was would be awful news for any professional; for a motorsport like NASCAR, which relies heavily on sponsorship dollars for its very breath, it is catastrophic.
Eyeballs attract sponsors. Lack of same sends them screaming into the night. That is not a good thing.
So why is this happening?
At least part of it, one senses, is that NASCAR is experiencing exactly what IndyCar did in the early '90s, when so many reliable draws retired almost at once. Within a three or four year span, A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti, Rick Mears and Al Unser Sr. all hung it up. Every one of them represented a chunky fan base. At least a portion of those fan bases never caught on with the next generation of stars, none of whom shone with nearly the sustained brilliance.
NASCAR, same deal. Four of the biggest draws in the sport -- Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and, to a somewhat lesser extent, Carl Edwards -- have all walked away from the sport in the last four years. A fifth, Jimmie Johnson, has become a diminished presence. The next generation of sustainable draws is still in the development stage, and a few of the established remaining veterans aren't particularly likeable.
So NASCAR is stuck in neutral, for the time being. And as has been pointed out in this space before, a lot of that is its own doing.
All that aforementioned wild success, you see, created expectations that were unrealistic and unsustainable. This was especially true among sponsors and potential sponsors, who saw that gusher of money and assumed it would gush forever. It was never going to -- anyone who understood that motorsports is and always will remain a niche entity could see that -- but booms are hothouses for delusion. If the money's rolling in, it's always going to roll in. Right?
Well ... no. And so we've come to a place where 3 million plus viewers for every Cup race is a catastrophe because of the backdrop against which it's playing out. Thirty, 40 years ago, when NASCAR was still largely a regional phenomenon, 3 million plus viewers would have had everyone in the sport turning cartwheels. And sponsors would have been lined up out the door.
Now?
Now it's sending them fleeing out the door.
What a difference perception makes.
Spurning home
This was a no-brainer, or so some of the wise guys thought. Who doesn't want to go home again, if offered the chance? Especially when the chance comes with so many dollar signs attached to it?
And so Jeff Brohm was going to go to Louisville. He was, wasn't he?
The circumstances were all weighted in that direction, after all. He was a high school star in Louisville. Then he was a collegiate star there, just as his brother had been. If Louisville, a basketball school in a basketball town in a basketball state, had a first family of football, it was the Brohm family.
Who better to resurrect the football program Bobby Petrino had just burned to the waterline, than the guy who sorted through the wreckage Darrell Hazell left behind to win 13 games in two seasons at Purdue?
On the other hand ... who better to stick around and see the job through?
Which you have to figure was at least partly what it came down to for Brohm, who hinted at as much in announcing he would turn down home to stay 180 miles away at Purdue. If the fit sounded as right as a fit gets, it seems, the timing wasn't. Everything at Purdue was just getting started. He'd made commitment to both the university and a passel of recruits. Louisville, if it ever happened, could wait.
And you had to wonder, when the news came down yesterday and all of West Lafayette audibly exhaled, just when Brohm's decision shifted in Purdue's favor. Does it go this way without a certain October night in Ross-Ade Stadium, when Purdue crushed the life out of then No. 2 Ohio State and Brohm got swept up in the magic of a lost program finding its mojo again? Does it go this way without athletic director Mike Bobinski's concerted push to pour money into the football program? Or Purdue solidifying its commitment to that program, and to Brohm, by reportedly topping Louisville's offer?
So many variables. What if Ohio State had beaten Purdue that night the way the Buckeyes had in three of the last four meetings? What if Bobinski's predecessor, Morgan Burke, hadn't decided to retire? Would Brohm had stuck around if Burke had stuck around?
Fair questions all. And, of course, a tidy window into just how much karma or circumstance or plain old garden variety luck plays into these things.
Far too often, plain old garden variety luck has turned its back on Purdue. This time it didn't. Score it a W.
And so Jeff Brohm was going to go to Louisville. He was, wasn't he?
The circumstances were all weighted in that direction, after all. He was a high school star in Louisville. Then he was a collegiate star there, just as his brother had been. If Louisville, a basketball school in a basketball town in a basketball state, had a first family of football, it was the Brohm family.
Who better to resurrect the football program Bobby Petrino had just burned to the waterline, than the guy who sorted through the wreckage Darrell Hazell left behind to win 13 games in two seasons at Purdue?
On the other hand ... who better to stick around and see the job through?
Which you have to figure was at least partly what it came down to for Brohm, who hinted at as much in announcing he would turn down home to stay 180 miles away at Purdue. If the fit sounded as right as a fit gets, it seems, the timing wasn't. Everything at Purdue was just getting started. He'd made commitment to both the university and a passel of recruits. Louisville, if it ever happened, could wait.
And you had to wonder, when the news came down yesterday and all of West Lafayette audibly exhaled, just when Brohm's decision shifted in Purdue's favor. Does it go this way without a certain October night in Ross-Ade Stadium, when Purdue crushed the life out of then No. 2 Ohio State and Brohm got swept up in the magic of a lost program finding its mojo again? Does it go this way without athletic director Mike Bobinski's concerted push to pour money into the football program? Or Purdue solidifying its commitment to that program, and to Brohm, by reportedly topping Louisville's offer?
So many variables. What if Ohio State had beaten Purdue that night the way the Buckeyes had in three of the last four meetings? What if Bobinski's predecessor, Morgan Burke, hadn't decided to retire? Would Brohm had stuck around if Burke had stuck around?
Fair questions all. And, of course, a tidy window into just how much karma or circumstance or plain old garden variety luck plays into these things.
Far too often, plain old garden variety luck has turned its back on Purdue. This time it didn't. Score it a W.
Wednesday, November 28, 2018
Still a ways to go
OK. So at least now we know.
At least now we know just how good Archie Miller's impressive collection of newbies and returning vets are -- and more to the point, just how good they aren't. They aren't as good as Mike Krzyzewski's even more impressive collection of newbies and returning talent at One-and-Done U. One-and-Done U. -- aka, NBA Team-In-Training, aka, Duke University -- is better. Like, way better.
Miller's Indiana Hoosiers and One-and-Done U. met in Durham last night, and 'tweren't pretty for the Bloomington lads. One-and-Done had them down 53-29 at halftime before Coach K lifted the throttle. The final, 90-69, was therefore something of a mirage in gauging exactly how much distance there is between K's legions and Miller's.
In any case, the obvious conclusion is that Romeo Langford, Robert Phinisee 'n' them ain't R.J. Barrett, Zion Williamson 'n' them. This is no knock on the former; right now hardly anyone is R.J. and Zion 'n' them. Which suggests, if you're a Hoosiers fan, Indiana will hold fast to that knowledge and not let last night's beatdown sour them going forward. Instead, they will apply some perspective, and realize that Romeo, Robert 'n' them are still a vast upgrade over last season, and that they'll still be good enough to beat most comers on most nights this winter.
In other words, they'll use last night as a measuring stick, not a stick with which to beat themselves over the head. Or at least Hoosier Nation can hope.
At least now we know just how good Archie Miller's impressive collection of newbies and returning vets are -- and more to the point, just how good they aren't. They aren't as good as Mike Krzyzewski's even more impressive collection of newbies and returning talent at One-and-Done U. One-and-Done U. -- aka, NBA Team-In-Training, aka, Duke University -- is better. Like, way better.
Miller's Indiana Hoosiers and One-and-Done U. met in Durham last night, and 'tweren't pretty for the Bloomington lads. One-and-Done had them down 53-29 at halftime before Coach K lifted the throttle. The final, 90-69, was therefore something of a mirage in gauging exactly how much distance there is between K's legions and Miller's.
In any case, the obvious conclusion is that Romeo Langford, Robert Phinisee 'n' them ain't R.J. Barrett, Zion Williamson 'n' them. This is no knock on the former; right now hardly anyone is R.J. and Zion 'n' them. Which suggests, if you're a Hoosiers fan, Indiana will hold fast to that knowledge and not let last night's beatdown sour them going forward. Instead, they will apply some perspective, and realize that Romeo, Robert 'n' them are still a vast upgrade over last season, and that they'll still be good enough to beat most comers on most nights this winter.
In other words, they'll use last night as a measuring stick, not a stick with which to beat themselves over the head. Or at least Hoosier Nation can hope.
Meanwhile, in chess ...
Time now for another exciting update from the world chess championships, where reigning world champion and LeBron James of chess Magnus Carlsen and mega-talented American challenger Fabiano Caruana are locked in an epic struggle of knights, pawns and castle-looking things (aka, rooks.)
So what has happened since the last time we checked in?
Same as last time: Not a damn thing!
Carlsen and Caruana have completed the 12-game match, and nothing has been settled. In fact, no one has yet won a single game of the 12. Every one has ended in a draw. This includes the last game, when it looked like Carlsen had Caruana on the ropes but refused to press his advantage, opting instead to offer the all-but-beaten Caruana another draw.
Not being a dummy, Caruana eagerly accepted.
According to people who know way more about chess than the Blob, this was extremely wuss-like behavior for a reigning champion. In fact many of the people who know way more about chess than the Blob all but called Carlsen a big fat chicken. Apparently it was like the LeBron James of chess imitating the real LeBron James and giving up the basketball with the game on the line.
(This is not exactly what LeBron James ever did, mind you. What he did was find the open man, which is what you're supposed to do when you're double- and sometimes triple-teamed. But you can't educate everyone about basketball overnight.)
Anyway ... so now it goes to a tiebreaker. The Blob has no idea what a tiebreaker in chess entails. You play only with the castle-looking things and knights? Speed checkers? Each player gets 10 moves and then you A) declare it a tie, in which Carlsen retains his title, or B) settle it with a rousing game of Stratego?
Beats me. All I know is, I'd have a huge advantage if they went the Stratego route.
Carlsen always hides his flag in the same place, you see. Always.
So what has happened since the last time we checked in?
Same as last time: Not a damn thing!
Carlsen and Caruana have completed the 12-game match, and nothing has been settled. In fact, no one has yet won a single game of the 12. Every one has ended in a draw. This includes the last game, when it looked like Carlsen had Caruana on the ropes but refused to press his advantage, opting instead to offer the all-but-beaten Caruana another draw.
Not being a dummy, Caruana eagerly accepted.
According to people who know way more about chess than the Blob, this was extremely wuss-like behavior for a reigning champion. In fact many of the people who know way more about chess than the Blob all but called Carlsen a big fat chicken. Apparently it was like the LeBron James of chess imitating the real LeBron James and giving up the basketball with the game on the line.
(This is not exactly what LeBron James ever did, mind you. What he did was find the open man, which is what you're supposed to do when you're double- and sometimes triple-teamed. But you can't educate everyone about basketball overnight.)
Anyway ... so now it goes to a tiebreaker. The Blob has no idea what a tiebreaker in chess entails. You play only with the castle-looking things and knights? Speed checkers? Each player gets 10 moves and then you A) declare it a tie, in which Carlsen retains his title, or B) settle it with a rousing game of Stratego?
Beats me. All I know is, I'd have a huge advantage if they went the Stratego route.
Carlsen always hides his flag in the same place, you see. Always.
Tuesday, November 27, 2018
A few brief thoughts on NFL Week 12
And now this week's edition of The NFL In So Many Words, the unmitigated gall-ish Blob feature of which critics have said "Why, the unmitigated gall of this feature!", and less harsh critics have said "I don't know. I think the gall here is pretty well mitigated.":
1. "Please. Help me. I'm being held hostage by a bunch of idiots. Aaron."
2. (Message found in an empty water bottle on the visitor's sideline Sunday night in U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.)
3. "Please. Help us. We're being held hostage by a football team that CAN'T EVEN COMPETE WITH THE STUPID BROWNS."
4. (Message found scrawled on a torn Bengals banner in the stands Sunday in Paul Brown Stadium. Also scrawled on the banner: "BITE ME BENGALS!")
5. "The Broncos? The freaking Broncos?! Are you freaking serious?!"
6. (Message left on a beer coaster in a sports bar in Pittsburgh Sunday by some guy wearing a Jack Lambert jersey.)
7. (OK, also by guys wearing Lynn Swann jerseys, Joe Greene jerseys, Rod Woodson jerseys, etc.)
8. "Please. Help us. We have to play Drew Brees next."
9. (Message found on the message board at the Dallas Cowboys complex Monday afternoon.)
10. (Shortly before it was taken down.)
1. "Please. Help me. I'm being held hostage by a bunch of idiots. Aaron."
2. (Message found in an empty water bottle on the visitor's sideline Sunday night in U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.)
3. "Please. Help us. We're being held hostage by a football team that CAN'T EVEN COMPETE WITH THE STUPID BROWNS."
4. (Message found scrawled on a torn Bengals banner in the stands Sunday in Paul Brown Stadium. Also scrawled on the banner: "BITE ME BENGALS!")
5. "The Broncos? The freaking Broncos?! Are you freaking serious?!"
6. (Message left on a beer coaster in a sports bar in Pittsburgh Sunday by some guy wearing a Jack Lambert jersey.)
7. (OK, also by guys wearing Lynn Swann jerseys, Joe Greene jerseys, Rod Woodson jerseys, etc.)
8. "Please. Help us. We have to play Drew Brees next."
9. (Message found on the message board at the Dallas Cowboys complex Monday afternoon.)
10. (Shortly before it was taken down.)
Your non-news item for today
Or in other words: "Hey, look! That Blob guy was wrong again!"
This, because, in defending Frank Reich's gamblin' man decision to go for it on fourth down against the Texans on Sept. 30 -- a decision that backfired when Andrew Luck threw a one-hopper to Chester Rogers and the Houston Texans took possession a hop, skip and jump from field goal range in a 37-34 Texans' victory -- the Blob opined this: Even four games into the season, it's become apparent (if it wasn't from Day One) that this isn't a playoff team. It's a team positioning itself for the future, with a glut of promising young players, particularly on defense, who are still growing into their jobs.
Well. At least I was partly right.
The Colts do have a glut of promising young players. And they are still growing into their jobs.
I just didn't figure they'd grow into them quite this fast.
Which is to say, I might have been a mite, uh, premature to say the Colts weren't a playoff team when they were on their way to a 1-5 start. Since then, of course, they've won five in a row and are now 6-5.
That puts them second in the AFC South. It also makes them the seventh seed in the AFC playoff scenario right now, just out of the playoff picture behind the Ravens, who are also 6-5. And they seem to be getting better every week.
The return of Marlon Mack, first of all, has given them an actual semblance of a running game. And Luck, secure at last behind an offensive line that isn't the Seven Blocks of Al Dente Spaghetti, is simply embarrassing everyone he faces.
Three more touchdown passes yesterday against the Dolphins give him 32 for the season. His QBR (quarterback rating) hasn't been below 123.5 since Oct. 14. He's thrown at least three touchdown passes in every game since Sept. 30, and three times in that span he's thrown four.
In other words, the Blob was wrong, wrong, wrong. With the prospect that it could get even more wrong before this is all over.
I know, I know. Stop the presses.
This, because, in defending Frank Reich's gamblin' man decision to go for it on fourth down against the Texans on Sept. 30 -- a decision that backfired when Andrew Luck threw a one-hopper to Chester Rogers and the Houston Texans took possession a hop, skip and jump from field goal range in a 37-34 Texans' victory -- the Blob opined this: Even four games into the season, it's become apparent (if it wasn't from Day One) that this isn't a playoff team. It's a team positioning itself for the future, with a glut of promising young players, particularly on defense, who are still growing into their jobs.
Well. At least I was partly right.
The Colts do have a glut of promising young players. And they are still growing into their jobs.
I just didn't figure they'd grow into them quite this fast.
Which is to say, I might have been a mite, uh, premature to say the Colts weren't a playoff team when they were on their way to a 1-5 start. Since then, of course, they've won five in a row and are now 6-5.
That puts them second in the AFC South. It also makes them the seventh seed in the AFC playoff scenario right now, just out of the playoff picture behind the Ravens, who are also 6-5. And they seem to be getting better every week.
The return of Marlon Mack, first of all, has given them an actual semblance of a running game. And Luck, secure at last behind an offensive line that isn't the Seven Blocks of Al Dente Spaghetti, is simply embarrassing everyone he faces.
Three more touchdown passes yesterday against the Dolphins give him 32 for the season. His QBR (quarterback rating) hasn't been below 123.5 since Oct. 14. He's thrown at least three touchdown passes in every game since Sept. 30, and three times in that span he's thrown four.
In other words, the Blob was wrong, wrong, wrong. With the prospect that it could get even more wrong before this is all over.
I know, I know. Stop the presses.
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