Sound Effects Potential? Are You Kidding Me?

My Division II alma mater, when it isn’t losing on national TV (CSTV covered them this week, and as they always do in the national spotlight, IUP lost), is one of the NCAA teams forced to change their mascot from a Native American themed name to something else. I have always found this policy a bit ridiculous, but felt resigned to it because I figured that IUP was going to succumb sooner or later. However, the only reason I write about this small team here is the following:

Following the link above gets you to the IUP mascot choosing website. The three choices are Crimson Thunder, Crimson Hawks, and Gray Wolves. All three, in my opinion, are lame. I fear we are going to see a rash of lame school nicknames in the wake of this decision by the NCAA.

Crimson Thunder? How do you represent THAT? Hawks and Wolves have been overdone. In my opinion, you should only do a mascot that has been done before if you can show its connection to your area. For example, the Miners had been suggested for IUP, which would make sense considering Western Pennsylvania’s heritage in that area. I would have loved to be the Miners. However, Hawks, despite the claim by the naming committee, have no real connection to the area – they just live there. Wolves have been gone for a long time: much longer than Mountain Lions had been gone since Penn State named their sports teams. (Nittany also is a local mountain and refers to the region.)

Seriously, guys, this is lame. I’m going to try to keep an eye on what other schools name themselves in the wake of the NCAA’s decision. We’ve already seen strange things happen: Syracuse went from the Orangemen to the Orange, which is weak. Marquette went from the Golden Warriors to the Golden Eagles, which is a bit weak, especially considering that there are no golden eagles near Marquette. I could tolerate that one, though. However, that was much better than their recent move to screw everyone by just calling their teams “The Golden”.

I’m probably overreacting, but I was hoping IUP could come up with a good mascot. However, I knew from the start that I was hoping for too much. I’ll try to keep you posted on mascot changes throughout the NCAA.

Steelers Post Mortem

OK, we can see the writing on the wall for these guys. They’ve been put into an oven for half a season, and are now DONE.

I can’t believe I’m saying this. Although I didn’t think the Steelers were the hands down favorite to win the next Super Bowl, I would have at least figured that they would be a playoff team that COULD make another good run.

So, now the question is “what the heck went wrong”? Also, “How on God’s green earth did the Steelers lose to OAKLAND?” has also been pondered. Here’s the main reason:

Turnovers.

Its as simple as that. The Steelers have turned the ball over at the worst times. On kick returns and in the red zone. They are either about to score, and cough up the ball, or they are about to get the ball back, and give it up, killing any possible offensive momentum.

The team is very productive on offense, but cannot score. We’ve out-gained many of the teams we have played. We also lost to them, because we give up great field position on turnovers. It is frustrating to see your team gained almost 500 yards in offense . . . and still lost.

Who is to blame? I have no idea, really. The whole team is dropping the balls. The defense is doing an OK job at stopping the other team, really. They could be better, but I really have no beef with them. The offense is playing horrible football. Big Ben is throwing way too many interceptions, and I wonder if that is because we are asking him to throw too much. Roethlisberger seems to do best when the running game is firing on all cylinders, which it is not. Which, of course, brings us to the run game. Willie Parker is doing OK, but he cannot grind out the yardage in the way Bettis could. We need someone who can grind out yardage, although I understand we are not going to get another Bettis – we need a back to fill that role, and the Steelers don’t seem to be doing a good job of getting running backs to try out for this position.

All in all, this is an extremely disappointing season. With the Pittsburgh Penguins at 7-4-1, I may just have to try to follow hockey for the first time in years. Also, a columnist pointed out that the Pittsburgh Pirates were no longer the worst team in Pittsburgh – they have a better winning percentage than the Steelers. Ouch.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers to play 3 games in 11 days

From AP-

TAMPA, Fla. – Three games in 11 days is a challenge for any NFL team, let alone one facing an uphill battle to save its season. The struggling
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-6) embark on such a journey Monday night at Carolina. They return home to play Washington the following Sunday, then finish the laborious stretch at Dallas on Thanksgiving Day.

In less than two weeks, they could pump some semblance of hope back into their season or sink even deeper into misery.

“For one, I’m looking forward to it because, if you look at it in these terms, we have a chance to get to 5-6 quick,” running back Carnell “Cadillac” Williams said Thursday.

“Two-and-six is definitely not a good feeling. With the upcoming schedule that we have, I feel like as a team we should look at it as we’ve got a chance to go 5-6 in a couple of days. That’s the bright side of it.”

The flip side is historically teams have not fared well under similar circumstances, especially when two of the three games are on the road.

The Bucs are the fourth team since 1978 secheduled to play three games in 11 days, with two of them on the road.

The previous three — Seattle (0-3) in 1980, Washington (1-2) in 1990 and Buffalo (1-2) in 1994 — went a combined 2-7.

The NFL scheduling department must be full of sadists. Football is a rough sport but this kind of schedule has to just increase the challenges a team faces in fielding a healthy starting lineup. In all fairness no team should be put through this grind.

What do you think?

The San Francisco Santa Clara 49ers

From AP-

SAN FRANCISCO – The 49ers have given up hope of building a state-of-the-art stadium in San Francisco and are considering a move to suburban Santa Clara.

Owner John York notified San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom of the team’s decision Wednesday, the mayor’s spokesman, Peter Ragone, told The Associated Press.

York planned to hold a news conference Thursday in Santa Clara to talk in detail about the decision. But in a news release announcing the decision issued late Wednesday night, York said the team will not change its name even if he decided to move.

“Nothing will persuade us to change the name of the San Francisco 49ers, one of the most storied brands in the world of sports,” he said.

According to the release, York made his decision after a yearlong study of the area around Candlestick Park determined that the area needed too many infrastructure and public transit improvements to make a new stadium viable.

The team said the cost of those improvements could have exceeded the entire bill for the proposed stadium, which was estimated to cost between $600 million and $800 million.

Also, the team said it was unlikely it could achieve its goal of opening the new stadium in time for the 2012 season.

Now the team is seeking to build a new stadium in Santa Clara, near the Great America amusement park and the Santa Clara Convention Center. The 49ers headquarters and training facility are currently based in Santa Clara, which is located about 30 miles south of San Francisco, near San Jose.

Many pro franchises don’t reside in the city that they are named for. The New York Jets and Giants left for the New Jersey Meadowlands years ago. The Miami Dolphins don’t play in the city of Miami either. There are many more examples.

The impact of the team’s move will be felt by the businesses closest to Candlestick. Then that’s the risk one takes if your business is heavily reliant on one factor. Candlestick was a mistake when it opened 46 years ago. I think its long past time for the 49ers to find a better home.

Former MLB Pitcher Johnny Sain dead at 89

One half of the baseball saying “Spahn and Sain and two days of rain”, Sain was a very good pitcher who lost three years of his career to World War II. When his playing career was over, Johnny worked as a pitching coach for another 20 years. He passed away in Illinois yesterday. RIP.

DOWNERS GROVE, Ill. – Johnny Sain, a three-time All-Star who teamed with Warren Spahn to make up one of baseball’s most fabled pitching tandems, died Tuesday. He was 89.

Sain’s best year was 1948, when he and Hall of Famer Spahn led the Boston Braves to the World Series, where they lost to Cleveland. It was during that season when the famous saying was born: “Spahn and Sain and pray for rain.”

The Boston Post ran a poem by sports editor Gerald Hern that led to the catchy phrase about the Braves’ two dominant pitchers — and the rest of their unheralded rotation.

“First we’ll use Spahn, then we’ll use Sain, Then an off day, followed by rain. Back will come Spahn, followed by Sain, And followed, we hope, by two days of rain,” it read.

Sain was 139-116 with a 3.49 ERA in 11 seasons in the 1940s and 1950s, mostly with the Braves and New York Yankees. He won three straight World Series titles with Casey Stengel’s Yankees from 1951-53.

The right-hander made his major league debut in 1942, then spent from 1943-45 in the military during World War II. He returned to the big leagues in 1946.

Sain had a stroke in 2002 and had been in poor health. The Knollcrest Funeral Home in Lombard, Ill., said it was handling the arrangements.

The Chicago Tribune reported Sain’s death earlier on its Web site.

Sain was a four-time 20-game winner and later became a top reliever, leading the AL with 22 saves in 1954.

Sain topped the majors with 24 victories and 28 complete games in 1948. He beat Hall of Famer Bob Feller and the Indians 1-0 in Game 1 of the World Series that season.

Later, Sain became a popular pitching coach with the Yankees, Chicago White Sox, Minnesota, Detroit and Atlanta.

Miami DL Bryan Pata Murdered After Practice

Miami Hurricane Bryan Pata was murdered yesterday shortly after finishing practice.

University of Miami defensive lineman Bryan Pata was fatally shot less than two hours after the Hurricanes finished their afternoon practice Tuesday, the University of Miami and Miami-Dade police said Tuesday night. Pata was shot in the head at an apartment complex south of the university, Miami-Dade police spokesman Roy Rutland told the Associated Press. A Miami-Dade police dispatcher said a call reporting the shooting came at 7:03 p.m. A police spokesman said the incident took place at Pata’s residence and his death was ruled a homicide, Rutland said.

The football team, which is scheduled to play Maryland on Saturday, concluded its practice at around 5:15 p.m., and players, who were provided with catered food, dispersed soon after for their dorms or homes, a sports information official said.

Investigators remained on the scene after 10 p.m., the Miami-Dade dispatcher said. In a statement released at 11 p.m., the university urged anyone with information on the shooting to come forward.

“Tonight the University of Miami tragically lost a member of our football family, Bryan Pata,” the statement read. “Bryan was a fine person and a great competitor. He will be forever missed by his coaches and teammates. We offer our thoughts and prayers to his family. Our players are deeply saddened and are grieving. We ask that their privacy be respected in the coming days.”

Miami, which lost 17-10 to Virginia Tech at the Orange Bowl on Saturday night, is scheduled to face No. 23 Maryland in College Park on Saturday. No announcement was made regarding whether that game will take place as scheduled. ACC Commissioner John Swofford was aware of the shooting, according to the Associated Press, and was working with Miami officials to gather information, conference spokeswoman Amy Yakola said.

Pata, a senior expected to be taken in next spring’s NFL draft, started eight games for the Hurricanes and made 29 tackles. Having made the shift from defensive end to tackle at the beginning of the season, Pata was credited for making Miami’s run defense one of the best in the nation.

Tuesday night’s shooting turned what has been an abysmal season for the Hurricanes into a tragic one. Other off-field incidents and disappointing play on the field have frustrated and embarrassed Miami, which is 5-4 and unranked.

Pata, a criminology major, was the second Miami football player shot this season. In July, safety Willie Cooper was shot in the buttocks in his front yard by an assailant after an early-morning workout, but he was not seriously injured. Miami’s Brandon Meriweather, who shared a house with Cooper, returned fire at Cooper’s assailant but apparently missed.

[...]

Pata became the second Hurricanes player murdered in the last decade. Linebacker Marlin Barnes was bludgeoned to death and slashed with a knife in his dorm room in April 1996.

Horrible.

Lance Armstrong Beaten by a Girl

Lance Armstrong didn’t train very hard for the New York City Marathon and came in half an hour behind the woman’s winner.

Lance Armstrong, who knows a thing or two about tough competition, got more of a challenge than he expected Sunday when he ran the ING New York City Marathon. “For the level of condition that I have now, that was without a doubt the hardest physical thing I have ever done,” the seven-time Tour de France winner said after the race, according to the Associated Press. “I never felt a point where I hit the wall. It was really a gradual progression of fatigue and soreness.”

Armstrong, 35, placed 856th in a field of more than 35,000 runners. His goal was to run the five-borough course in less than three hours – a feat he accomplished, though barely, crossing the finish line in 2:59:36. Visitors to the marathon’s official Web site could watch his progress live on a special “Lance cam.”

The week before the race, Armstrong told the AP, “I’ve been training some, but I wouldn’t call it serious. It’s just something to fill a void in my life after I quit competing as a professional cyclist.”

That approach may have come back to haunt him. “I think I bit off more than I could chew. I thought the marathon would be easier,” he said on Sunday. “(My shins) started to hurt in the second half, especially the right one. I could barely walk up here, because the calves are completely knotted up.”

Marilson Gomes dos Santos of Brazil won the men’s race in a time of 2:09:58. Defending champion Jelena Prokopcuka finished first among the women, with a time of 2:25:05.

Beaten by a girl. Actually, probably several. How embarrassing.

Paul Azinger named as 2008 US Ryder Cup Captain

From AP-

Paul Azinger, a former PGA champion and cancer survivor, was introduced as Ryder Cup captain Monday for a U.S. team that has lost a record three straight times.

His first order of business was to revamp the selection process, announcing a criteria that essentially goes off the PGA Tour money list. One point will be awarded for every $1,000 earned at the four majors in 2007 and tour events in 2008, with double points for the 2008 majors.

Opposite-field events will be worth only a half-point for every $1,000.

The other major change is that Azinger will get four captain’s picks instead of two. But it was unclear when he would make those picks.

The qualifying process will end at the ’08 PGA Championship, before the FedExCup playoff series on the PGA Tour that features three big events leading to the Tour Championship.

His only desire was to get the best players, and he figured the best way to measure that was money. Azinger is famous for saying he has only choked over cash and prestige during his 20 years on tour.

“We are always rewarded based on our earnings,” Azinger said at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky., where the 2008 matches will be played Sept. 19-21. “I think it’s the best way.”

The Associated Press first reported Azinger’s selection last Wednesday.

Azinger played on four U.S. teams, never losing to Europe during the prime of his career. His had a 5-7-3 record, but was unbeaten in singles (2-0-2), often taking on Europe’s best players.

The PGA of America had asked Azinger to be captain of the ’06 team, a job that likely would have gone to his close friend, the late Payne Stewart, but he declined. This time, he wasn’t about to turn it down.

Note= A week ago Ferguson reported it was the 2004 Ryder Cup Captaincy that Azinger was offered and declined. Can this loony AP writer ever get his facts straight?

Now can I ask- Has the PGA of America lost its mind? A 1993 Washington Post article
-

One of the best golfers on the PGA Tour today is a renowned cheater. This is not the opinion of an eagle-eyed member of his gallery or of some vigilant living room detective who pores over the television broadcasts with a rule book and a jeweler’s loupe. It is the view of enough of his comrades to constitute a quorum. On their short lists of the untrustworthy, he is invariably featured. Some international players tend to lead the register with his name. Of course it is a sealed indictment.

At this level, cheating is a subtle thing. It can be as ephemeral as the weight of pressure a player uses to tamp down the rough as he or she places the club head behind the ball at address. It can revolve around a blemish on the green that an amateur wouldn’t even notice, and the taking of a microscopic liberty in what should be the punctilious process of marking one’s ball.

Years ago at a U.S. Open, a beefy Californian named Lon Hinkle stood over a budding young star throughout their round, calling to mind a schoolmaster proctoring an exam. “He’s going to have to learn how to mark his ball like a pro,” Hinkle explained afterward.

This was the issue in the LPGA’s Jane Blalock incident of two decades ago which seemed to suggest that male and female golfers are made of the same clay. Suspended by her peers, Blalock was reinstated on anti-trust grounds. A judge ruled Blalock’s direct competitors were not entitled to judge her.

The modern golfer in question has won millions of dollars since the early ’80s. But he thrashed about for a few earlier summers, lost his playing card once and had to return several times to the merciless cauldron of the Tour’s qualifying school.

There is no steamier pressure in golf than coming down the Q School stretch on the edge of employment, literally playing for a livelihood. It’s an eerie event, a tournament without leaderboards in which the contestants instinctively know exactly where they stand.

At the 15th hole of the sixth and final round, all of the members of his threesome knew they couldn’t be more than one stroke to the good. Each was desperate for another birdie. The other two were fairly far from the hole and felt relieved to two-putt. He had a six- footer for birdie that grazed the cup but stayed on its lip. With a bolt of anger, he went to swat it in too hard and, decelerating abruptly, missed the ball entirely. Stepping back for an instant, he tapped it in. According to one of the playing partners, his face was as white as gypsum.

Neither of his companions could believe what he had just seen. Did that really happen? Before their spinning heads could fully process the information, he had stomped past them to the 16th tee, propped up his ball and blasted it into the sky. If he still claimed the honor, that meant he must have taken a par. They looked at each other confusedly but said nothing.

All three got their cards: two by a meager stroke; the third, the cheater, by two. Nobody in the field was denied a job by the dishonesty at the 15th.

Into the night, two of them drank to their success. However, when the exultation wore off before the liquor did, the potential injustice hit them full force. The smaller man, who was a handy player but a short hitter and, as it turned out, did not make it on tour, went to the telephone and woke up the cheater.

After identifying himself, he said, “I just want you to know that I saw what you did at 15 today. It’s too late for anyone to do anything about it, but I want you to understand you have to live with that the rest of your life. Do you get me? Is that clear?”

“Yeah,” the cheater said, and hung up.

He could become a historic player, but he will be a cheater his whole life.

The player in question is Paul Azinger. Tom Callahan’s article was written only 2 months before Azinger won his only major, the 1993 PGA Championship. I’ve had this verified by Palm Beach Post golf writer Craig Dolch. The article contains several clues, Azinger went through Q school three times between 1981-84 before finally establishing himself on tour.

Should a known cheat be the Captain of a team representing the United States? Or does it not matter at all? For the US team is likely to lose and what difference is it who is the Captain of any Ryder Cup team.

Weekly Miami Dolphins prediction

After a bye week, The 1-6 Dolphins play at The 7-0 Chicago Bears this afternoon. The records say it all. Right now I think the only 2006 goal left for Miami is how they position themselves for the 2007 NFL draft. I don’t think even a #1 pick will turn the franchise around. Miami appears to be in for a long rebuilding process.

As to this week’s game, here is my prediction- Chicago 34, Miami 10.