SATURDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
Lessons from Saturday night's bowl games in how one play can change the entire complexion of a game. The bizarre aspect of this is that both plays took place around the same spot of the field and were somewhat similar.
First, the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando, which matched Florida State against Wisconsin. And, as an aside, Graham Gano, you're already on my All-Dubs Bowl Team. Anyway, the score is 14-6 Seminoles early in the 3rd quarter and FSU has the ball at about its own 30. The Badgers had just taken the opening kickoff of the 2nd half and marched down for a field goal.
So, FSU, on 1st-and-10, tosses a quick flareout to a wide receiver Bert Reed. The Badger DB jumps the route and arrives just a moment after the ball does. As Reed is being tackled, behind the line of scrimmage, the Badger DB is ripping the ball out of his grasp while also torquing around him like a cylcone.
All in one movement, Reed is down but the ball is now in the Badger player's grasp. The referee signals Badger ball as up in the booth Brad Nessler (highly underrated), Bob Griese and Paul Maguire debate the call. The short answer is, FSU ball. The Seminoles take the second chance and extend the drive all the way for a TD. What could have been 'Sconnie ball in Seminole territory, down just 8 points, turns instead into a 21-6 Seminole lead.
And suddenly the Badgers abandon their run game (unwise) and before you know it FSU has put up three more TDs to take a 42-6 lead. Final score: 42-13.
There are more than 100 plays in any one football game, but some just mean more than others. If the replay official does not overrule that call and Wisconsin goes in to score, I think we've got a tight game the rest of the way. But he did, and FSU pounced on the opportunity. Give them credit for that.
My only problem with the overruling is this: There were two camera angles. On one angle, you can definitely see that Reed's knee is down, but the ball is on the other side of his body. At that moment you cannot tell whether he or the Badger possesses it. On the other angle, you can see when the ball is in the Badger player's grasp, but you cannot see Reed's knees. So my question is, By looking at these two angles, how could any official claim to have incontrovertible evidence as to when Reed's knee was down in relation to when the Badger player took it away?
If, like me, you get the feeling that you and your friends could do a better job as replay officials, well, we're all not alone. Replay officials are ordinarily semi-retired, highly respected refs. But, as I said, they're semi-retired. If you've ever driven with your grandpa, then you know the problem with this.
For me, this call was ridiculous not because it was obvious that the UW player had ripped the ball away from the FSU player before he was down. Rather, it was ridiculous because the ref on the field signaled UW ball and there was absolutely no video PROOF that his call was incorrect. And that, purportedly, is what you need to overturn the call. Not what you think. What you can prove.
Also, we need to run a clock on the replay booth. You've got 60 seconds to get the call right. If you need more time than that, then plainly your eyes could not discern enough evidence to overturn the call. Am I the only one who finds this obvious?
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Second play took place in the Emerald Bowl between Cal and Miami. Midway through the first quarter Cal, playing in front of a home crowd at All-Tel Park or whatever it is now known as in San Fran, is up 14-0. Jahvid Best already has a 42-yard TD scamper and the Hurricane QB, a talented but inexperienced Jacory Harris, looks rattled.
The Canes face 3rd-and-8 from their own 22 and Harris tosses a route over the middle to a converted offensive tackle playing tight end because of the suspensions earlier this month. The ball ricochets off his chest and hangs in the air for a moment. If a Golden Bear player comes down with it, Cal has a short field and a chance to go up 21-0 early.
But he doesn't. Tavarris James of the U. grabs it. Miami, with a new life, marches all the way downfield for a TD. And the Canes basically hold Cal without a touchdown the rest of the game.
This one looked like it would be a rout early, but credit the young Canes with finding their poise in hostile environs. Cal hung on to win 24-17, although the winning TD drive began from two yards out thanks to a forced fumble. When it was 14-0 early, you never thought Cal would have that much trouble scoring the rest of the evening. And I wonder what might have been if James hadn't come down with that deflected pass.
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I'm looking through the sports section of The Arizona Republic here in Phoenix and this morning they've named their All State prep football team for 2008. My new favorite player is a linebacker from the small pine-strewn northern Arizona town of Lakeside. The linebacker, out of Lakeside Blue Ridge High School, is named Steel Armstrong. Seriously. Steel Armstrong! How do you not grow up to be an all-state tackling dynamo with such a moniker? Either that or you become Derek Zoolander's arch-rival.
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Am now devouring Friday Night Lights episodes at a clip of three per day, along with my niece Kristen, a studly freshman girls hoops player (20 ppg) here in the Valley. I don't know who I like more at this point, Riggins or Landry, but my favorite scene of Season One may be when the two of them are seated on the bleachers and Landry is reading "Of Mice and Men" to Rig (because he is too lazy to read it himself). And then Landry, frustrated by Riggins' dearth of intellectual curiosity, shares with Riggins how he himself relates to the book: "Like, for example, I want to shoot you right now."
Another classic line, from paraplegic Jason Street: "I"m a cripple and I WANT TO LISTEN TO NIRVANA!"
(By the way, I don't know if we actually have a totem pole at NBC, but I'm quite sure that if we do I'm low enough on it to be able to tell you what the ground smells like. Be that as it may, I'm making an impassioned plea to our higher-ups not to air this program on Friday nights, as currently planned. Your target audience--families, teenagers--are not at home on Friday nights. I get it: Friday Night Lights, airing on Friday nights. As a mnemonic, it's unstoppable. But this is the best drama on network TV--by far--and it deserves better. The high school kids who adore this show are out at games of their own, or at the multi-plex, or at boondockers on Friday nights. Thank you.)
So, yeah, I have a serious crush on FNL. If you played high school football, or just were around organized sports growing up, then you recognize at least half the characters on this program. One of my closest friends, Paul Swingle (who'd go on to pitch briefly for the California Angels), was Tim Riggins. And while our sister high school, an all-girls school named Xavier, had a slew of Tyras, I never actually spoke to one other than to say, "Yes, I did do the Physics homework and no, you can't 'borrow' it (I guess I was a little bit Landry, a little bit Saracen).
When I return to the NBC Shop at 30 Rock in January, I'm going to look for a "Panther Football" t-shirt. But I'm also going to suggest that they begin stocking "Crucifictorious" t-shirts in homage to Landry's band. That is, unless someone already beat me to it.
Have I mentioned that I'm madly in love with this show?
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Announcing tid bits: Kudos to ESPN Radio's Dave Lamont and Robert Smith for doing a fantastic job at the Champs Sports Bowl. I had a chance to listen to the 2nd quarter of their call while driving yesterday and they were smart, candid and had clearly done their homework. The TV crew on the game--Nessler, Griese and Maguire--were also terrific. High praise to Nessler for being suitably p.o.'d when, after the aforementioned video replay, which was entirely too drawn out, the referee needed to run back to the headset dude to discern what down it was. And, after all that, the linesmen were off by five yards, making what should have been 2nd-and-13 into a 2nd-and-18 for the Noles.
Nessler was hilariously steamed about it, which was nice, because so was his audience (perennial flak Mike Tirico would have found some way to congratulate the Champs Sports Bowl and at least half the coaching fraternity for wasting five minutes of our lives). Anyway, Griese and Maguire began good-naturedly ribbing Nessler for his surliness toward the linesmen, and Nessler, in an angry-but-funny way, simply snorted, "It's their job!"
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Did you see Hakeem Nicks' absolutely ridonkulous, Tyree-an catch yesterday in the Meineke Car Care Bowl (you need to see the replay to truly appreciate it)? Most physically impossible grab I've seen since David Tyree's Super Bowl grab. The North Carolina wideout is a future NFL stud, and if you saw him against Notre Dame (9 catches, 141 yards), then you're not entirely surprised.
In fact, you can make the argument that Nicks had as much to do with spoiling Notre Dame's 2008 season as any one player. If the Irish win in Chapel Hill they are 6-1 heading into the Pitt game and riding a huge wave of momentum. And they never should have lost at UNC. You can definitely argue that the two 3rd-quarter turnovers by Jimmy Clausen (pick-six and a fumble) were the most crucial plays. And I would agree somewhat. But, after the Tar Heels lost Brandon Tate early, Nicks became their entire offense. Everyone in the stadium knew they were going to him, and yet the Irish never double-teamed him. Never forced C. J. Yates to look for another receiver (you can read my impassioned, frustrated blog as the game was taking place). Nicks made a number of crucial 3rd-down catches and I still don't understand why the Irish defense didn't do more to compel UNC to look for another option.
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NFL picks I like today:
1) Arizona huge over Seattle, whose coach can literally jump onto I-10 after the game on his new Harley and ride off into the sunset.
2) Pittsburgh huge over dysfunctional Cleveland.
3) New England over Buffalo in Buffalo. Belichik does not lose games like this unless Tyree is involved.
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Kate
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