SportsWrite

Yes, the Arizona Cardinals are in the Super Bowl.  It still doesn’t sound right.  But its true, and it isn’t changing anytime soon.  It is almost like saying the Tampa Bay Rays are in the World Series….Oh, wait.  Nevermind.

I know, it is difficult to believe that the Cardinals are in the Super Bowl, but I also think it is ridiculous that some commentators are already predicting and assuming that the big game will be a complete snooze-fest.  It very well could end up being a snooze-fest or as a really great game, but to automatically think that the game will be crappy just because the Cardinals are playing in it is wrong.  And anyone who thinks that obviously hasn’t really been watching the playoffs at all.

Yes, they only finished 9-7 in the regular season and backed their way into the playoffs, but they are playing really well right now and that is all that matters at this point.  How did having that great regular season work out for the Titans, Giants and Panthers work out?

Besides, even if they weren’t playing that well right now, there are still plenty of good, intriguing storylines going into the game:

The Steelers are going for their record sixth Super Bowl championship.

The Cardinals are aiming to end the second longest championship drought in American professional sports currently. (Yes, there will always be those lovable Chicago Cubs.)

Kurt Warner will be only the second quarterback to lead two different franchises to the Super Bowl, and will try to become the first to win with two separate teams

Former Steelers offensive coordinator and current Arizona head coach Ken Whisenhunt will face his former team and the man who beat him out for the Steelers head coaching position two years ago, Mike Tomlin.  And will Whisenhunt’s knowledge of the Steelers help in trying to stop Pittsburgh?

Can the current Steelers defense match legendary defenses like the 1985 Bears and 2000 Ravens among others and secure a championship?

Will Ben Roethlisberger still be underrated if he wins his second Super Bowl in the last four years?

Can the Steelers recover from the brutal AFC Championship Game, to take on the Cardinals at full strength?

There is no shortage of great storylines for the Super Bowl, so to assume that the game will be inherently boring because of the participants is to be really quite dumb.

This is a story I have been following for quite some time now, ever since it was first reported that Myron Rolle was a finalist for a Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford University.

For anyone who might not know, Myron Rolle is a junior safety on Florida State’s football team, an All-American who was projected to be selected in the early rounds of the 2009 NFL Draft if he chose to forgo his senior season.  But he also completed his undergraduate pre-med degree in 2 1/2 years at FSU and has been taking graduate courses since, while still playing high level college football.

But the most remarkable part of this story is that Rolle has announced that he will actually skip the 2009 draft and attend Oxford instead, pursuing a Master’s degree in medical anthropology.

It is refreshing to hear about a true student-athlete like Rolle.  He obviously has a great deal of athletic ability and skill, but he has decided that becoming an NFL player (and receiving all the riches that comes with it) is of secondary importance to studying at Oxford and furthering his progress towards his goal of a medical degree and opening a medical clinic in the Bahamas. He still has a goal of playing in the NFL and will enter the 2010 draft to accomplish that goal, but he obviously believes that there are more important things for him to do outside of his athletic pursuits.

I haven’t spoken with anyone who doesn’t believe this is one of the best stories to come out of the sports world in recent years, especially in light of all the bad publicity and controversies that have plagued college and professional athletics recently.  And while I don’t think it is a story that has been publicized nearly enough, Myron Rolle would probably want it that way.

Thank you, Myron Rolle.

I am certainly no Dallas Cowboys fan, and I thoroughly enjoyed the beat down they suffered at the hands of the Eagles on the last weekend of the NFL regular season.However, I am glad that the Cowboys finally cut ties with ‘Pacman’ Jones, not necessarily because the Cowboys will be better off without him, but because the NFL, as a whole, will be better off without him.  The NFL doesn’t need players like him, troublemakers wreaking havoc while having little appreciable value on the field.

I admire Commissioner Roger Goodell for taking a strong stance against players like Jones, with the lengthy suspensions among other things.  But I can only hope that in this instance Goodell doesn’t need to get involved again.  I hope that all NFL teams give Jones an unofficial permanent ban from the league and refuse to sign him or even entertain the thought of giving him yet another chance.

I believe in giving people a real chance to straighten themselves out and change, but Jones has been given his chance (over and over) and has shown no desire or willingness to change.

Think about it, if I had a high profile corporate or government job and I was arrested six times and involved in twelve instances where police had to be called, in about 3 1/2 years, how long would I keep my job?  Keep in mind that several of these arrests and incidents involved shootings and other physical altercations.  Would I still have my job at this point?  No, and I would have been fired long before.  And no one else would even dare touch me, much less give me a high profile position.

You’ve had more than you’re fair share of chances, Pacman. It’s time to go.

I know that many people have already called for this, but enough is enough, it is time for a playoff in I-A college football.  The need for a playoff is clearer this year more than any other.

With the Texas victory last night over Ohio State, that makes three teams who have legitimate claims to at least a share of the national championship.  And if you count Oklahoma and Florida, who have yet to play, that brings the total to five different teams.  At this point, I don’t think you can really make a case for any one of USC, Utah, Texas, Oklahoma or Florida over any of the others.

This is one of the problems.  When determining a national champion, no one should have to make a case or argument for this team or that team.  Coaches shouldn’t have to politick for their team to get more votes.  The national champion shouldn’t be decided in press conferences, it should be decided on the field.

For those who argue that it is decided on the field every week, and the whole regular season is a playoff, why is there still debate every year as to which team is really the champion?

And for those same people who argue that a playoff would diminish the importance of the regular season, what’s the point of an important regular season, if at the end of it, no one still knows who the champion is?  Who cares about the regular season if we still can’t figure out who won?  I don’t know if anyone has brought this question up before, but I think it is a valid one.

I really think it is unfortunate that this will be as good as it gets for a team like Utah.  At this point, the least they deserve is at least a chance to play for a national championship, but they won’t get that chance.

This is not the same as last year’s Hawaii team, or even the undefeated 2004 Utah team. If you look at Utah’s overall resume, it is pretty darn good.  They have beaten six bowl teams, including victories over #24 Oregon State (who had beaten USC), #17 BYU, #11 TCU and #4 Alabama.  Remember, Alabama was #1 for all of November and nearly was playing for the national title instead of Florida.  And yet, Utah won convincingly, thoroughly outplaying Alabama from the big, bad SEC.

Yes, the other top teams may have played slightly tougher schedules and defeated a few more bowl teams, but the fact remains that Utah won all of its games and Florida, Oklahoma, Texas and USC, frankly, did not.

Let’s say that LSU or Florida State went 13-0, was the only undefeated I-A team, beat six bowl teams, four of them ranked (two in the top ten), including the #1 team for all of November.  Would there be any question that they would be national champions?

After watching the start of the season for both the Celtics and the Cavaliers, I simply cannot wait to see these teams meet in the playoffs this spring.  I think these two teams are definitely the two best in the NBA, in spite of any case Lakers apologists might make.

The Celtics just won’t lose anymore.  They look more intensely focused than ever.  Contentment with a single title is not a quality of this teams.  And the Celtics are much more than the Big Three than at this time last year, thanks to the full blossoming of Rajon Rondo and solid contributions by guys like Eddie House and Leon Powe.  Yes, they had a close call at Atlanta last night, but considering that it is December and the game was played in an arena in which the Celtics couldn’t win a game for their lives in the playoffs, it was an awesome performance.  You would be smart to not bet against the Celtics repeating this year.

But as good as the Celtics have looked, the Cavs have looked equal to the challenge.  The Cavs have been absolutely destroying everyone.  And I don’t think there is any doubt who the best player in the NBA is now, again in spite of any case Kobe fans might make.  Think about it.  Questions about his defensive intensity have dogged LeBron throughout his career, and it seems as though this is the year he finally got pissed off enough to do something about.  He has been totally dominant on defense this year.  His free throw percentage is up around 80%.  His excellent all around play is the same as usual.  And because the Cavs have wrapped up most games so early, his minutes are down to 35 per night.  So, he’ll be even more fresh when the playoffs come around.  Would anyone dare bet against a defensively focused, fresh LeBron come spring?  I think not.

Which is why this all sets up to be a fantastic matchup come spring.

It’s good to see that Penn State finally gave Joe Paterno a contract extension for three more years (give or take a few years, according to the reports.)  I know this has probably been said many times before, but I’ll say it again:  JoePa has more than earned the right to coach at Penn State as long as he wants.  Even if that means till the day he dies (it probably does.)

What I think people sometimes forget is that he isn’t simply an old coach just hanging on as long as he can without the results to warrant it.  He still runs out a solid football team year after year, and still wins lots of football games.  Sure, he has had a couple rough years recently, but by and large he still gets it done.

Gone are the days of powerhouse schools dominating year after year after year, like the Alabama, Nebraska, Penn State, Oklahoma teams of old.  Penn State has averaged 10 wins per season the last four years and been Big Ten champions twice in that time.  If not for a last second Iowa field goal this season, we would be talking about Penn State in the national championship game.  Same story in 2005, when a last second Michigan touchdown prevented another undefeated Penn State campaign.

So, essentially, Penn State plays New Year’s Day bowls regularly and every few years contends for the national championship.  In today’s college football landscape, that is a pretty good record.  No one is a perennial national championship contender now, not with the parity present.  What would Nebraska fans give to have Penn State’s record the last few years? Or Alabama? Or Tennessee? Or Miami?

That’s why JoePa deserves to coach at PSU as long as he wants.  In addition to his previous achievements, he gets results about as good as anyone could ask for in the modern college football world.  Just let him keep coaching.

I have to say that I am disappointed, although not entirely surprised. I guess, ultimately, it probably was a forgone conclusion that Sabathia would sign with the New York Yankees, what with the $160 million they were offering.

But I was holding out hope that he would land somewhere else (perhaps the Dodgers), where he would be given a true chance to succeed.  ESPN’s Buster Olney made the comment today, and I paraphrase, that from the moment Sabathia first steps onto the mound, the fans and the city of New York will expect nothing but absolute perfection from him.  This kind of expectation can be extremely burdensome and certainly can affect performance.

I just wonder how fans in New York will react if, during the 2009 playoffs, Sabathia flames out like he has the past two years in Cleveland and Milwaukee. Will they give him a free pass and attribute it to him just needing to adjust to New York, the pressure and the lifestyle?  Or will they treat him like they have treated Alex Rodriguez since he came to New York?

I genuinely like CC Sabathia and I do hope he lives up to expectations while he is a Yankee.  I really do.  I just don’t think it’s very likely.