| Blue View |
White View |
| By Tim Olsen |
By Mark Nance |
| Should the Cowboys have played Romo? |
| As much as I hate to see my Super Bowl pick go down the drain, the Cowboys did the right thing by not playing Tony Romo. Sooner or later Dallas was going to have to find out how much Brad Johnson had left in the tank. The result wasn’t pretty, but better an early regular season loss to the Rams than another late/post-season collapse. Tony’s pinkie will heal and he’ll get back to being the best quarterback in the NFC. The real travesty on Sunday was the performance of the Dallas defense. Johnson did throw three pics, but you can’t allow Steven Jackson to run for 160 yards and 3 TD’s, and give up 34 points to the Rams. The offense will continue to improve with Johnson at the helm, and the Cowboys need to get Romo healthy if the expect to make a playoff push. |
Brad Johnson and the Cowboys were demolished by the Rams on Sunday. Johnson had three interceptions and Terrell Owens had a measly two catches. The Cowboys had the option of playing Tony Romo as their offense struggled. It’s a great thing that Romo stayed on the bench, because it made Dallas look like a joke. Romo has one of the highest winning percentages since he became a starter in 2006. He has a NFC-leading 103.5 quarterback rating. However, the Cowboys decided not to play him after Johnson’s three interceptions, and paid the lovely price of embarrassment. I’ll enjoy watching the Cowboys crumble as their best player sits and heals his little finger. With all the talent and money the Cowboys have, it’s interesting to see how bad they can play without their best player. Keep the bench warm, Tony. |
| Who will win the World Series? |
| Since my original pick was knocked out after a great 7-game series, I’m going to have to go with the team that beat them … The Tampa Bay Rays. One year after posting the worst record in baseball, the Rays went on a tear through the AL East winning the division for the first time. The Phillies have had a nice season, but expect the miracle season to continue for Tampa Bay. The Rays are a complete team, and that is what gave them the ability to knock of the defending champs. The AL East is the toughest division in baseball, hence the all AL East American League Championship Series. In the end, the Rays will be simply too much for the Phillies to handle, especially at Tropicana Field. |
The Red Sox dynasty was defeated by last season’s worst team. No one believed the Rays would be able to keep winning, especially when they went up against the Red Sox. The Rays will win the World Series because of great starting pitching and a bullpen that doesn’t give up anything. B.J. Upton has hit seven home runs in the postseason, compared to nine during the entire regular season. With the firepower and timely hitting the Rays displayed, the momentum will carry them to beat the Phillies in six. The Rays have the 29th lowest payroll, which totals the salary of two Boston Red Sox. They’ve had a Cinderella season with hardly any support from the fans during the regular season, no money and one of the youngest teams to ever make the playoffs. |
| Thoughts on the BCS standings |
| How ‘bout them Longhorns. They still have a brutal schedule ahead, but after their shellacking of Missouri they are absolutely the No. 1 team. The BCS is going to be a mess this year though. Two, if not more, teams from outside the BCS conferences are going to finish undefeated, and there’s a good chance that at least two of those teams will finish in the top 12 which is the requirement to receive a bid to play in a BCS game. This system is broken, and something needs to be done to fix it. Also, how are USC and Ohio State already so high in the standings. USC lost to a middle of the pack Pac-10 team, and OSU got throttled by USC. I hope upsets continue to happen and Utah and Boise State continue to move up the polls, because if they go undefeated they’re just as deserving as any team to play for a national title. |
With Texas killing Missouri on Saturday, I have flip-flopped and feel that they have proven that they are No. 1 in the nation. The biggest surprise in this years BCS polls is that TCU is ranked No. 14. TCU’s only loss came to then-No. 1, Oklahoma. They killed BYU, 32-7, and have touted one of the best defenses all season. Is it possible that a one-loss, non-BCS Conference team could get into a BCS game? Why not? Utah and Boise State are ranked No. 11 and No. 12, but if TCU can beat the rest of their opponents and take care of Utah, then there is no reason that TCU should not be ranked in the top eight of the BCS, and get consideration to go to a BCS game. BYU fell all the way from 9th to 21st and doesn’t have a real shot to compete for anything. |
| Thoughts on the USU women’s soccer team |
| Props to the women’s soccer team for picking up their first ever conference win over Fresno State. The Aggies are 9-7-1 on the year, but 4-0 in WAC play. Aggie fans should keep an eye on these girls and come out and support them. Junior defender Sydne Porter was recognized this week by the media being named the player of the week. It’s great to recognize these sports and players at USU that don’t get followed as much as they should. With the WAC tournament coming up and with their performance so far this season, the Aggie women have a great chance of doing well. The defense is playing especially well for this team and will help to carry them far. Thanks for doing our school proud and keep up the good work. |
It feels good to have an athletic team that USU can be proud of. I’m sick and tired of going on about how the football team can’t play and coach Brent Guy needs to resign. Until Guy leaves, let’s talk about some other great news. The Aggie soccer team is number one in the WAC, with wins over the traditional talented Fresno State and Boise State squads. If the Aggies can at least tie Hawaii, they should be the top-ranked team going into the WAC tournament. Our women have a great defense and some of the best young talent in the nation. It seems like our soccer team has won more games than Guy has his entire career at USU. It’s about time that our soccer team gets some credit they deserve. Maybe some of our soccer players should try out for the football team. They’re faster, more physical and can post some wins. Keep up the great work and continue to make us proud of USU athletics. |
| Rant |
| In a move that has become classic 49ers as of late, San Francisco fired its head coach this week after another loss. The replacement? A former Pro-Bowl player that was a position coach with no head coaching experience. This is just another example of bad management of this once proud franchise. Since 2003 the 49ers have gone 27-60 and not made the playoffs and gone through about as many coaches (head and otherwise), as they have wins. If the York’s keep treating their team like this they will continue to enjoy a top five pick each April. Of course, if they continue to operate like this they will be giving that pick about as much of a chance to succeed as they gave Alex Smith. A lot of changes need to be made in San Francisco, but they need to start a little higher up than the head coach. |
Why do the ACC and Big East conferences get automatic BCS bowl bids? Both of these conferences have been jokes this football season, yet one team from each will get to play in a BCS game that they don’t deserve. There are three non-BCS conference teams that are ranked higher than both the first place ACC and Big East teams. It’s not fair to the smaller conferences that they won’t get to compete with the top-ranked teams because the ACC and Big East have more money and apparently superior schools. Each team in the nation has a non-conference schedule. Depending on how well each conference plays during those games and assuming that the teams beaten are decent teams, then the BCS should hand out automatic invitations after all the non-conference games are played. It’s only fair to let each conference have a shot at a big game. |
