Land-Grant Holy Land (a very good Ohio State blog you must definitely check out) has a nice piece projecting all of the four team playoff model games since 1998 using the new proposed plan. The results offers advocates and detractors ample arguments for their perspectives with historical quarterfinal match-ups ranging from sacrificial lamb offerings to epic contests that would have changed multiple national title outcomes.

Let's dig into some match-ups h/t to Land-Grant Holy Land for the chart

Continue reading this post »

via www.csnbayarea.com

With the very sad news about Junior Seau fresh in everybody's mind, a lot of people (who have not mastered the google) are asking me for the articles Scipio wrote on this stuff.

They are here:

Is Football As We Know It About To End?

Cutting Down Concussions (And Junk Science)

Malcolm Gladwell, much the impetus for some of the articles above, is back at it and will do a live debate on May 8th arguing for why college football should be banned.

I also found this article about a Tim Brown radio interview very interesting too.

Although a moribund (by Augie's high standards) Texas baseball team suffered an uncharacteristic series loss to the Aggies last weekend (I believe we had won 137 straight games against them previously - I didn't verify that statistic) our softball team won their series and our lady golfers plied their nine irons like warrior poets in capri pants.

That puts the Longhorns up 11-6 with superfluous men and women's outdoor track competitions left to complete.

GTFO tour is now over. Buy the t-shirt. It won't be back anytime soon.

Truthfully, The Lone Star Showdown never really resonated with Longhorn fans.

Perhaps because it suggested that A&M was a measuring stick for us and we don't like that; the Aggies use Texas as their metric, Texas fans prefer to use the region or nation. They pursue, we ignore. That's how it works. They come into our room and taunt us, we ignore them, eventually we get irritated and chase them down the hall and beat their ass before they can make it to sanctuary with Mom.

Perhaps it didn't resonate because of the 19 points awarded, only 3 of them were in men's football, basketball, and baseball. No sensible Longhorn or Aggie weighs it like that, outside of Bill Byrne. That's 16% of the value equation when my own personal calculus has those sports at 99% (let's say football 65, basketball 30, baseball 4). Yet, track accounts for 6 of the 19 points available. Please.

No, the Lone Star Showdown's value is what any comparison's value is between Texas and A&M: its ability to torture Aggies, build on their insecurity complex, and force them into irrational and hilarious behaviors on the internet and at Thanksgiving dinner. It's not about elevating us so much as picking on them and sending them off into careening paroxysms of inadequacy. The Lone Star Showdown is compelling to us to the extent to which it needles our Aggie neighbors, co-workers, and may-God-help-you: relatives.

Continue reading this post »

Three Longhorns were drafted - all defenders - and the offensive talent drought continues. We've not seen an offensive player drafted since the 2005 recruiting class. It's 2012 right now, if you track that sort of thing.

LB Keenan Robinson was taken in the 4th round by the Washington Redskins. The Skins have become a true 3-4 team with Ryan Kerrigan and Brian Orakpo locked in at OLB and Redskins DC Jim Haslett will ask Robinson to play one of the ILB positions. Though Robinson is clearly a NFL athlete, plug-and-fill and big blocker shedding wasn't his strength at Texas. Either the Redskins believe Robinson has the capacity to learn traditional 3-4 ILB responsibilities or they'll constantly shield Robinson with offset alignments and allow a great athlete to flow to the ball. Or maybe they didn't do their homework. Not a natural fit, but maybe there's a bigger plan here.

By contrast, Emmanuel Acho was taken in the 6th round by the Cleveland Browns and the former Lott and Wuerffel Award winner will provide good value and is a natural fit as a OLB in their 4-3 defense. I suspect that, like his brother Sam (who fell to the 4th round and then played well as a rookie), his stock may have actually suffered a bit in that he has a bit too much going for him off of the field. The NFL likes good citizens, but good citizens with interests outside of football and who can do Calculus make them leery. From a NFL perspective, he's an average athlete, but he has a great first step and he's a natural leader.

Continue reading this post »

Step inside for the double-secret formula that can tell you how YOUR team fared in the first round. SCIENCE!!! (WARNING: This will be the dorkiest thing you have ever seen).

Continue reading this post »

After taking Brandon Weeden in the first round of the NFL draft, the Cleveland Browns all but handed the Oklahoma State QB the starting job.

Browns General Manager Tom Heckert said, "In our opinion, he is (the guy),we took the kid at the 22nd pick of the draft. We're hoping he is."

The Browns indicated that they might move Colt McCoy as soon as today to either move up to the top of the 2nd round or gather more draft picks.

McCoy is 6-15 as a starter for the Browns after being thrown into the starting lineup as a rookie because of injuries.

McCoy was drafted in the third round in 2010. McCoy is listed at 6-1 and 215 pounds, while Weeden is 6-3, 220. Weeden's arm strength is considered to be better. Weeden will be 29 by opening day, but the Browns believe that he still has a "young" body that has not taken the blows most QB's in the league his age, since he spent five years playing minor league baseball.

Colt getting out of Cleveland quickly and getting a new start somewhere else would be the best scenario.

Greetings, draftniks and draftnikas! It’s once again time to celebrate the NFL draft, as well as the dominance of the NFL – which will draw better ratings for its player allocation ceremony than other leagues draw for their opening-round playoff series.

Continue reading this post »

[Phone Rings]

Sir, call on line 1.

You've got Ross.

You've...uhh...got, well. Philbin.

Regis! How are you, old chap? Still making millionaires out of thin air, eh, Reege?

Uhh, no sir. Joe. This is Joe. Philbin.

Continue reading this post »