College Football Thoughts for Today

The Heisman Trophy was awarded while the strange case in Michigan continues to lead the news plus the coaching carousel continues to spin.

Was having these thoughts anyway so figured might as well jot them down and put them up on Substack.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Probably not a popular opinion but I think President Trump should veto the $900 billion stimulus package. He should insist on $1,200 cash relief for citizens on a single page bill... John Heisman - the man for whom the Heisman Trophy is named - used to supplement his income when he was coach of Georgia Tech by being a Shakespearean actor in the offseason. I just find that an interesting tidbit of history. Can you picture Nick Saban doing Hamlet after the bowl games are over?... I knew it!...  With Jacksonville now in line for the 1st pick in the draft I wonder if Gardner Minshew is now on the Patriots radar as a potential QB for next season... The term of the day is "hapax legomenon." That is something that is only mentioned once. An example would be Gopher wood which is mentioned just once in the Bible (Genesis 6:14). That was the wood Noah was told by God to use to build his ark... Editing My Reality would be a good name for a blog... I wouldn't be surprised if that next Christmas the hottest gifts of the season are AI/Deep Fake Hogwarts-style moving portraits. The technology is not too far away from making this a reality... 

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

The last time an Ivy League student won the Heisman Trophy was Princeton's Dick Kazmaier in 1951. Maybe sometime in the future we'll have a trivia question about the last time an Ivy Leaguer was elected President... This was cute... I have a good feeling that this year may finally be the year that People Magazine names me "Sexiest Man Alive." I've got my fingers crossed... It would be funny if it weren't so true... On a recent Joe Rogan podcast with Jocko Willink the suggestion was raised that police should all be at least purple belts in Jiu Jitsu. That way they would know proper choke holds and have the experience of being choked out themselves (so they know how it feels). I really like this idea. I believe Joe gave original credit for the idea to Andrew Yang...  This is hopeful - URI engineering professor helping ALS patients use their brains to communicate. Nice to read some good news for a change - isn't it? And Doug Sawyer should be an inspiration for us all. (Hat tip Liberty Man)...

Ryan Fitzpatrick

Ryan Fitzpatrick has been named the opening game starter for the Miami Dolphins. This will be Fitzmagic's 15th NFL season after graduating from Harvard.

I have a special place in my heart for Fitzpatrick because I predicted his success. Here's what I wrote on September 11, 2004:

"I am picking Harvard QB Ryan Fitzpatrick as my dark horse candidate for the Heisman this year. Fitzpatrick is the real deal. He has a cannon and can run. Some day he'll be playing on Sundays. If the Crimson can go undefeated - then look for Fitzpatrick to pick up some Gordie Lockbaum like support from the major media."

Now I'm not trying to say Fitzpatrick is a Tom Brady level QB but 15 NFL seasons is no joke.  Fitzpatrick was the last of 14 QB's taken in the 2005 NFL Draft (4 of which never played an NFL down). Aaron Rodgers was by far the best of the QB's drafted but Fitzpatrick could easily finish with the 2nd most passing yards and TD's of the group (assuming Alex Smith's career may be finished by his devastating injury last season).

Oh and 2004 Heisman - I'm guessing winner Matt Leinart got the votes but I bet he wishes he had Fitzmagic's NFL career.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Am I the only one bothered by ESPN and others always using the term "sexual assault" when discussing Jameis Winston? He is accused of "rape". Rape! Use the frigging word... Does drinking beer make you more creative? Not sure. Does the existence of beer prove there is a God who loves us? Absolutely... Not sure if this is just a Massachusetts expression but "book it" means run away. As in "the cops came and we all booked it"... You can get away with wearing a hat like this when you are Tom Brady... This blows my mind - Michael J. Fox's middle name is Andrew... Welcome to Zombo.com. You can do anything at Zombo.com. Always puts a smile on my face... I wish the AP issued a Stylebook ruling that said any time Alex Rodriguez's name is mentioned in print - the word "churlish" must precede his name... If Justin Beiber made a Christmas CD - I would give it as a gift to people I hate... It is amusing to see how the White House has stopped using the term "Obamacare" and now is calling it the Affordable Care Act once again.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

The Baylor / TCU game last night was great but it won't end up being the best game of the year. TCU ended their night on an interception. The best game of the year won't be ending on a turnover... Is the real news that Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong flies Southwest? Or that he got kicked off the plane? Can you imagine his trying the "Do you know who I am?" bit and the airline attendant asking "Then what are you doing on this cheap flight?"... Every year the Heisman Trophy hype is in overdrive the first week of the season. On Thursday it was Russell Wilson that was the darkhorse for the award. This morning it is Robert Griffin III (RG3). Who will it be once today's games are done?... If I had a business I would add a small line item charge to each bill for "opaque retraction". Who would complain? Who would know what it was for?... Brian Kenny was my favorite ESPN anchor. Now he is leaving ESPN for the MLB Network. Good luck to a good guy... Speaking of sports guys on the move - Bruce Feldman freed himself from the purgatory that was ESPN (his sin was not being Craig James) and is now at CBS Sports. On his first day he predicted a 49-17 Wisconsin victory over Nevada. The actual score was 51-17. Way to impress the new bosses Bruce... Unsightly Ear Hair would be a good name for a band or a fantasy football team... I'm looking forward to hearing Obama's upcoming jobs speech. I'm just afraid that we are going to have to pass his Jobs Creation Bill to find out what's inside it. No thanks...

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

- A look behind the scenes on how the Red Sox landed Carl Crawford

- Where are they now? Heisman Edition 1988-2009

- Wow! Awesome power of the rail-gun

- Tommy Lee writes a letter to SeaWorld in protest of whale masturbation

- Gianni Versace Was Murdered Because He Owed Money To The Mafia?

- Betting slip: $300 July Bet Pays $300,000 If Auburn Beats Oregon

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

So Reggie Bush says that returning the Heisman is not an admission of guilt. So is Reggie Bush now going to write a book called "If I Did It" just like another USC running back?... Heh heh... I doubt Jonathan Papelbon will use the Drop Kick Murphy's Shipping Up to Boston for entrance music next season because I don't think he'll be with the Red Sox... Very sad. UMass band director dies on way to Ann Arbor for today's game. My sympathies and best wishes go out to the family of George Parks... I do not apologize for being happy that the WNBA finals are over. Now we can go months without ESPN jamming the WNBA down our throats... Giant Manta Ray swipes $5k camera rig from diver, shoots some video...

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Hope everyone had a good long weekend... Michigan plays Notre Dame this Saturday. I cannot recall a time when these two universities played each other as unranked teams... If I'm the Red Sox then I tell David Ortiz that the team will either pick up his 2011 $12.5 million option or give him a 2-year $20 million contract - his choice... ESPN first began broadcasting on this day in 1979... I'm a fan of history but I think the Heisman Trust is making a mistake by taking back Reggie Bush's trophy and leaving the year vacant. You can't tell me that other past Heisman winners didn't get booster cash and gifts. This reminds me of Jose Canseco's MVP award. Some people wanted him stripped of his award because he admitted to steroid use. What about Barry Bonds' awards and other questionable players? Do you strip Canseco and leave it vacant? Give it to second place finisher Mike Greenwell? Baseball is right and just leaving it be and the Heisman Trust would have been wise to have done the same... On this day in 1978 the greatest drummer in Rock and Roll history overdosed and died. Keith Moon - it was always just a matter of time...

The BCS and Heisman Voting

As unfair as the BCS system has been to TCU and Boise State - I think the Heisman voters who are considering Case Keenum of Houston but not Kellen Moore of Boise State are being equally unfair. Moore has 39 TD's to Keenum's 43 but just 3 INT's to Keenum's 9. Moore also has the best passer rating in all of FBS with a mark of 167.35 (Keenum is 5th with a 159.59 rating).

It is sheer hypocrisy for a writer with a Heisman vote to deride the BCS system if that same columnist did not include Kellen Moore on their Heisman ballot.

Tim Tebow Wins the Heisman

OK - the award isn't given out till tonight but any bit of drama in this award is purely being created by ESPN in the hopes people will tune into watch the presentation.

Consider that the odds of Tim Tebow winning are now 1/12 - meaning if you bet $100 your return would only be $8. When the oddsmakers make the return on a bet that minuscule - you know its already a foregone conclusion. Tim Tebow's name is already on the Heisman Trophy.

There - now you don't have to bother watching the show tonight.

Matt Ryan for Heisman

OK - last night put me fully on the Matt Ryan for Heisman bandwagon.

The Boston College Eagles are undefeated and currently #2 in the country. They might not even be ranked if it wasn't for Matt Ryan. Right now he is more valuable to his team than any other player in the country.

I also want to point out that last year Troy Smith won the Heisman Award mostly on the strength of leading Ohio State to an undefeated regular season. Smith finished the season with 2,507 yards passing. Matt Ryan needs just 74 more yards to pass Smith's output from last year and he has 4 games to do it in. If Ryan leads BC to an undefeated then he too deserves to win the award. However, unlike Troy Smith I'd be willing to bet that Matt Ryan would get more than 35 yards passing if the Eagles get to the BCS title game.