Heisman Snubs

So the Heisman Trophy is awarded this Saturday and by now we all know the four finalists. All four are well deserved, but what about the others that weren’t invited to New York? Dennis Dixon of Oregon was my frontrunner before he was injured, and if anything his injury showed us how vulnerable the Ducks are without him. The team was ranked number two at one point, then completely collapsed losing three in a row. What might be even a bigger slight is not inviting Kevin Smith of Central Florida. This kid, in relative obscurity, has rushed for nearly 2,500 yards and is 150 yards away from the record held by Barry Sanders. He has put together one of the finest seasons in college football history with 29 touchdowns, a game of over 300 yards, and five games of over 200 yards. How this guy was not invited to New York is beyond me, but then again I’m not suprised. The media are always starf*%#ers and the voters probably have never seen one of his games. So at the end of the day h  e will probably have the second best season in college football history for a running back and no one will know. This reaks of Bo Jackson, Hershel Walker, and Jim Brown being snubbed. I refuse to vote for a Heisman winner again.

Callin’ Out For Bush

So Drew Brees said what everyone was thinking. Reggie Bush needs to clean up his act. Well he didn’t exactly put it that way, but that’s what he meant. Brees said that Bush is one of the greatest athletes that he has seen, but his football knowledge and game still need to be learned. Bush is having a hugely dissappointing season, only averaging slightly over three yards per carry with a ton of fumbles and dropped passes. Other teammates have called out Bush earlier in the season, claiming that he has gone “Hollywood”. My own esteemed colleague here at onthebuzzer.com has started referring to Bush as Reggie Kardashian. After Deuce McAllister went down for the year, the focal point was on Kardashian to turn it up, however he has regressed and it is safe to say that of the running backs in his draft class, he is behind Maurice Jones-Drew, Joseph Addai, Laurence Maroney, and dare I say his old teammate at USC, LenDale White. Bush isn’t an every down back, we knew that, however, it looks like he is a no down back. Bush it seems like needs to go back to the drawing board here. At this point he has become a product of his own hype, and when your head is too big for your britches, you’re in trouble. It’s been easy to hate on Bush, afterall he was a star before he even put on an NFL uniform, and the wheels of his publicity machine were rolling. He dates socialites, and by all accounts is a nice guy, but until he starts proving he belongs in the NFL, he’ll be an easy target because of his fame. So here’s hoping he turns it around, because there’s nothing worse than being thrown under the bus by a teammate. Even if it is a nice bus full of young groupies.

Can I Get A Mic?

So the NBA has resorted to gimmicks in order to bring in viewers. I’m surprised too, not that they use parlor tricks, but that the NBA season has started already. David Stern is trying something new this season. Soon all NBA head coaches will have to wear mics during games. That means we get to hear all the blaberings of an NBA coach when you just want to peacefully watch a game. As if it wasn’t hard enough listening to Bill Walton and Marv Albert for two straight hours, now you get to hear Mike Dunleavy and Stan Van Gundy too. I can’t wait for Phil Jackson’s brilliant give it to Kobe plays, or Mike Brown asking Lebron what they should do. It gets better, we will also have access to locker rooms during halftime. What has happened with the NBA? This league used to be a major player back in the day, now it’s pulling tricks I would expect from the WNBA. That’s right, there is a WNBA too! Needless to say coaches aren’t happy about this. Scott Skiles thinks it will be a disruption during games and that coaches won’t be themselves. Maybe that’s a good thing. Whatever the protest, it looks like it’s happening, so let’s sit back and watch what happens. I can’t wait for the first F-Bomb to slip through the censors.

‘Tis The Season

General managers must be in a giving mood because of the holidays, and Christmas came early this year at the Turner household. Chargers general manager A.J. Smith said today that coach Norv Turner would be back next year. Apparantly Smith isn’t a loyal onthebuzzer.com reader, or else he would follow our “fire Norv Turner” chants more closely. The Chargers are in first place in a weak AFC West, and after starting out the year 1-3, the Chargers have gone 6-2 the rest of the way. The funny thing about this is that Norv Turner signed a four year deal, so why wouldn’t he be back after only one season right? Well, after your star player calls you ou  t, and every media outlet is calling for your head after starting 1-3, you know why Smith had to publicly defend his coach. Afterall, Turner is A.J. Smith’s guy. He fired Marty Schottenheimer after a 14-2 season and brought in Norv. After Wade Phillips and Cam Cameron left as well for head coaching jobs, Turner was the only option left who knew the offense. So let’s wait and see how the season turns out for the Chargers the rest of the way, and we can all stop with the fire Norv Turner chants, at least for this year, but hey, there’s always next season!

Not So Fast…

So we all know that the LSU Tigers are playing in the National Title Game against The Ohio State Buckeyes. We also know that Les Miles was the frontrunner for the Michigan job, but he has stated that he is staying in Baton Rouge, and will coach the Tigers. So LSU rolls a truck load of money in front of him and signs him to an extension to keep him put. Not so fast though. Miles hasn’t signed the contract yet and officials say that he won’t sign until after the title game in January. Hmmmm? Miles and LSU claim that there just isn’t any time right now. So let me get this straight. All the parameters of the contract were agreed upon. The money, the length, etc. All Miles has to do is put pen to paper. How long does it take you to sign a contract? A minute, maybe a minute and a half if you have a long name. Sounds to me like Les Miles is pulling a Nick Saban. All these coaches are the same, you can’t trust them as far as you can spit. Miles probably wants to keep his options open, and I think if Michigan holds the job open until January, Miles will be the next Wolverine coach. This w  hole situation just stinks. So the next time a coach says that without a doubt he is staying put, take it for what it’s worth, and the next time you have to sign a contract, make sure you prepare, because apparently it takes a bit of time to put your name down.

The Dish

The biggest game in the NFL this week, and quite possibly the second biggest game of the season, will not be watched by two thirds of the population. Dallas vs. Green Bay will only be seen on the NFL Network, and the NFL network doesn’t do basic cable. That means the Governor of Wisonsin won’t be able to watch it from his home because he only has basic cable, and that means that the majority of NFL fans will have to go to a sports bar or a neighbor’s house that carries the dish. All of this is just another nail in the coffin that was basic cable. Cable companies had a monopoly for such a long period of time, but now the tables have turned, and as a satellite t.v. client myself I couldn’t be happier. The bigger picture here is how the richest and most powerful sport league in America needs to blackmail it’s fans. Why wouldn’t you make one of the biggest games of the year available to the masses? Does the NFL need more money? Jerry Jones, owner of the Cowboys had a simple message to those complaining, “get the dish”. I will be relaxing in my home watching the game, and all of our loyal readers at Onthebuzzer.com are welcome to join me. Until then, NFL fans will just have to watch the thousand other games this season on basic cable. Sorry guys.

Dancin’ Machine

The fans have voted, and Helio Castroneves is the new Dancing With The Stars champion. Helio is the third straight athlete to win the competition, following Olympic speed skater Apolo Ono, and running back Emmit Smith. What does this have to do with sports? Well Helio has a day job and he’s an Indy Car racer. You may remember Indy racing, it’s the other kind of racing not named Nascar. Indy used to be a major player back in the day, now they’ll appreciate the publicity. Helio’s win can only help the circuit because Dancing With The Star’s audience dwarfs any sports viewers. I’m not ashamed to say that I was caught up in the final episode to see who America would vote champ, and I’m glad to say they got it right. The energy and enthusiasm that Helio brought to the dancefloor is the same intensity that he brings to the track everytime he races. So if you’re free one day, tune in and watch and Indy race, they’re quite exciting. Now if Formula Racing really wants to spike ratings, they should put Helio’s dancing partner in the backseat of his car! GGRRRRRRRRRR

Puff Puff Pass

The NFL reinstated Ricky Williams today from his drug suspension. The Miami Dolphins, who have the rights to Williams must now decide what to do with him. If I’m Miami, and I’m glad I’m not, I would put him in the backfield and let him run. If he can be anywhere near the Williams of 2002, when he ran for 1800 yards, then why not. Ronnie Brown is out for the year and Jesse Chatman hasn’t been able to find the endzone, so why not plug Ricky in. Worst case scenario you don’t win a game with Williams, and since Miami hasn’t won a game without him, then they have nothing to lose. Contrary to rumors, Williams is not a clubhouse cancer. He is a shy, quiet, introvert, who will go about his business. If Williams tears it up in the next few ga  mes, then Miami can even trade him if need-be. I say this is a no brainer for everyone involved, but then again it is the Dolphins, and there are no such things as no-brainers.

The Electric Backslide

So Alex Rodriguez and the New York Yankees are playing nice again, and reports are that the two parties have been in negotiations the past few days. What the @$%*? I thought Hank Steinbrenner came out and blasted ARod in the press after he opted out of his contract. Wasn’t ARod booed mercilessly in New York? Won’t he always be second fiddle to Derek Jeter? I guess money talks and bullshit runs a marathon. Reports have it that the Yankees are willing to pay ARod $275 million over ten years, however the catch is that they don’t want to deal with Scott Boras, ARod’s agent. Looks like Rodriguez might throw his agent under the bus to get the money he wants. This is the same agent that got Rodriguez his last record setting contract, and now how soon they forget. We always knew ARod was spineless, but show some loyalty man! It’s not all about the money. Did I just say that? Take a little less, go play for the Angels where you’ll be happy. We won’t boo you here when you fail in the playoffs, we’re just happy to be there. You won’t be second fiddle to anyone on the team, Vladimir Guerrero doesn’t speak English and doesn’t really speak for that matter. If ARod ends up back with the Yankees it will be pathetic on all counts. Steinbrenner threw him out with the dirty bath water and now he backslides and negotiates with him. Let’s just hope this is a p  loy to drive up the bids by other teams.

The Kids In The Hall

NCAA basketball is back and I for one am really excited about this season. This year, like the last, is going to be dominated by freshmen. I can’t remember a deeper freshman class coming in like this one. On Saturday night you had the two premiere freshman in SoCal, Kevin Love and O.J. Mayo leading their teams. Mayo dropped 32 in his debut, albeit a loss, but showed promise and poise for his first game. Love dropped 22 and 13 as No. 2 UCLA rolled. Watch out for Love, as I stated before, this kid is going to be the second coming of Bill Walton. Over in Memphis you have Derrick Rose almost single handedly leading the No. 3 ranked Tigers to victory. In the Big Ten, Eric Gordon made his debut for Indiana and promptly scored 33 points, the most ever for a Hoosier in his first game. However, the one freshman I’m keeping my eye on is Michael “Beastly” Beasley, the 6′9″ forward/center for Kansas State. In his two games for the Wildcats, Beasley has scored 31 points and 24 rebounds, and 30 points and 14 rebounds respectively. Just keep your eye on this kid, because he won’t be in college for long. The rule that the NBA implemented that a kid has to go to college for at least one year is beneficial to all, especially fans of college basketball. Here’s to an exciting season filled with “Diaper Dandies”, apologies to Dick Vitale.