The College Football thread

“BTW II - The Big Ten can claim 15 Heisman Trophy winners, while the SEC has only 8.”

“Congrats. The field was a bit thin this year wasn't it? heehee. It would be interesting to see him throwing to Braylon Edwards (Wolverine) in Cleveland and still getting beat by the Bengals. :)

again, congrats.”

“Congrats to my fellow Clevelander in winning the Heisman Trophy

I think that proves it was a PITY vote....”

“Hey, don't pity Cleveland. They surf there.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/10/us/10surf.html?em&ex=1165899600&en=a55bfd3b2a7103db&ei=5087%0A

BTW, I love the picture with that article. It kind of looks like Al-Qaeda arriving on shore.”

“Bama is just desperately looking for a leader, any leader. We've been devoid of a leader for 10 years now and frankly, we suck. Contrary to what the papers write, which is where arc obviously gets his info on the subject, we just want a leader. I can certainly tolerate losing to the rivals while the team is built. Shula was not fired because of lost to Auburn a few weeks ago. He had rampant discipline issues, stubborness to the point that he felt no changes needed to be made, and no imagination or progress on his O. He called the plays. BTW, he was 1-11 against AU, UT, and LSU. There is losing then there is losing.

I was excited about Rodriquez but now realize we got played. High stakes gambling means you sometimes lose. Now it appears we're waiting on Saban. I happen to think that's ludicrous (sp). We should go after Grobe at Wake or Johnson at Navy, or maybe Kragthorpe at Tulsa.

arc, for the record, I'm not interested in one of your classless, juvenile debates. I'm just expressing my thoughts.”

“"Congrats to my fellow Clevelander in winning the Heisman Trophy. You can't help but see some commonalities between him and Mauirice Clarett."
Buddha


Gosh let's hope not:

"Maurice Clarett pleaded guilty Monday to aggravated robbery and carrying a concealed weapon and was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison."

http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0B16FA3B550C7A8DDDA00894DE404482&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fPeople%2fC%2fClarett%2c%20Maurice


That's quite the classy bunch they've got at Ohio State there.




I knew there was a reason I liked our local sports writer. Looks like he's got little respect for his profession (and the fools who lap it up) as well:

Gators get job done
December 10. 2006


How did we get here?

How did we get to Arizona?

How did we get to cover another national championship game inside 10 months?

How could we have been so wrong?

It's always fun as a season comes to a frenetic ending to go back and look at our preseason edition and see how our predictions pan out. We did pretty well — picking Florida to finish fourth in the SEC and 11th in the nation.

Sheesh.

That's what makes this so crazy, Florida winning the SEC and playing for the national title. Only the most optimistic, reality-be-darned Gator fans saw this coming, especially all of you who sent off angry e-mails or groused on sports talk shows about the offense as win after win piled up.

It doesn't seem possible that this has happened, but that's what the wacky world of college football is about — the improbable.

And nothing is more surreal than this — Florida, playing for the national title, with a coach who has both fans and members of the media grinding their teeth.

Our deja view of this season includes a former coach voting Florida No. 1 in his Harris poll, then saying he can't stand the Gators (Jim Walden), two ex-Gator coaches putting the Gators ahead of Michigan in the final poll even though one of them (Ron Zook) is in the same conference as Michigan and knows he's going to take some heat and an assortment of other bizarre votes that still ended up good for the Gators at the end of the day.

So let them be mad at Urban Meyer, bad-mouth the Gator offense, ridicule the BCS and all root for Ohio State to crush Florida. You've been there before.

Back in the day, when your team was winning all the time. Remember? All of the national columnists used to take cheap shots at your coach and misrepresent his comments?

Well, guess what people?

They're baaaaccckk.

It's better to be the hated Gators than the Outback Bowl Gators, no?

This vilification of Meyer is stupid of course and one more example of how the business I'm in lets me down a little more every day. Hey, I'm far from perfect but at least I don't criticize a coach who actually offers a real opinion when he is asked a question. I guess Meyer, who unfortunately told us this week he'll have to be more cautious, should have answered the questions this way.

Q: Coach, what would you think if you beat Arkansas and are left out of the national title game for a Michigan-Ohio State rematch?

A: All I care about is making sure our student-athletes are attending class Monday.

No, we get candor and he gets criticism. He also gets a shot at Ohio State, which is all that really matters.

I still can't answer the question I started this column with, about how we got here covering this team in a game to decide a national champion. This team had too many holes, too many places where it relied on freshmen, too little depth, too little experience in the offensive line.

Florida in Glendale? No way.

But the Gators found a way. This was a team that could be sitting here with a 7-5 record or could be going to the big game with a perfect 13-0 mark. The games were that close. In all but one of them, Florida pulled out a victory and even that low point in the season — the loss at Auburn — needed a controversial call to end the UF hopes for perfection.

Boy, has it been a weird year. Weird in a good way. You lose your best defensive lineman twice and still manage to be dominant up front. You insist that rivals like Georgia and FSU stay in the game with a chance to beat you when you are clearly the better team and you look back as if it were a tease. You get all of those big plays, all of those favorable instant replay calls (except that one in Auburn) and all of those interceptions and you're still hanging on in every fourth quarter.

Made it exciting, didn't it?

In the end, you have to come back to one thing and that is the head football coach at the University of Florida. This is what we expected of Meyer, if not so soon. This is what Jeremy Foley saw in him when he sat across the dining room table in his home in Utah and offered Meyer the job.

He's got it.

I'm still not sure what it is, but he reeks of it.

Confidence, cockiness, conviction. I had a former player tell me that the biggest difference between Meyer and other coaches at UF, the one thing that got them this far, was what they did before practices ever began. Maybe that's the answer.

Or maybe we don't need to know the answer, just the result.

The Gators in Glendale.

Who's whining now?

http://gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061210/NEWS/612100374&SearchID=73265569642137”

“"No, we get candor and he gets criticism. He also gets a shot at Ohio State, which is all that really matters."

Yup. Who cares about a little thing like honor.”

“But, given Florida's "graduation success rate," we can be sure that at least Urban Meyer was being honest.”

“Here's why I missed the 2nd half of the "Big Game" a couple weeks ago:

http://community.webshots.com/video/3012127120037037243

and

http://community.webshots.com/video/3091203460037037243”

“damn arc you go on and on like a Castro speech. puttin everyone to sleep buddy.”

“Arc -
Your brief description of the Peachtree Plaza brought back memories of a certain "dine and dash" done by a couple drunken teenagers. Teens, maybe, but legal at 18 in '77.

Goooooooooooooood times!
God Bless America!”

“Note to self: Dayhiker loses it when subjected to pain. Too bad Dayhiker because the only easy day was yesterday.




You know reformed, I think Dooley was referring to the fact we shouldn’t pay attention to the whiney idiots who criticize Meyer for being honest when asked a question. What’s important is that those whiners were unable to convince the voters that Florida didn’t deserve their shot. Those whiners are dishonorable.

Honor and honesty just seem to go hand-in-hand.

We certainly are proud of the fact that Florida has a great graduation rate and all of its 2006 recruits qualified. It is wonderful to have a coach as honorable and honest as Urban Meyer.
last edited: 12/11/06 8:32:38 PM”

“I know. But he unintentionally indicted the entire Florida program with his statement.

Michigan made no attempt to influence the voters.

That was probably a mistake. But Lloyd Carr just doesn't believe in slamming down another program.

Listen, Florida a good institution. It is probably as ethical in its sports programs as it can probably be and still achieve success.

I think that Carr didn't like the idea of slamming a good program.

It's just that Urban Meyer didn't feel the same way.

He didn't have to belittle Michigan to make his case for Florida.”

“"...unintentionally indicted the entire Florida program with his statement. ..."
reformed lurker


What in the Sam Hill are you talking about? Exactly which comments slammed Michigan, reformed? Please post the exact comments Meyer made that belittle Michigan.

Methinks you're letting the emotional ranting of the talking heads do your thinking. Michigan is a fine educational institution. They deserve better than that feel/think post.

Unfortunately the whiney emotional idiots are encouraged to continue their behavior when the sheep become co dependently placating towards these idiots. Completely unnecessary apologies are often made. The world dumbs down and loses just a bit more honesty every time the emotionally dysfunctional among us convince the sheep that there’s a CRISIS or that someone has been offended. It happens in politics. It happens in religion. And it happens in sports. It happens when the sheep try to think with their emotions.


Here’s what we get:

"...After taking some criticism across the nation for his negative views of the BCS and his perceived lobbying for his own team, Florida coach Urban Meyer apparently has become more guarded in his comments.

During the team's bowl media day Monday, Meyer took a deep breath and counted backward from 10 to one when he received a question that could have easily provoked a volatile response.

In the eyes of the national media, you have no business being on the same field with this team. Is that motivation? Meyer responded with his countdown.

"See, I've learned. I made comments in this room before (that were criticized)," Meyer said after counting from 10 to one. "Watch how mature I am. You're going to hear a lot of nonsense out of my mouth from here on out.

"I'm going to start talking like a lot of these other coaches. ... I think we're going to take it one game at a time. We're going to play very hard. Ohio State's got great players. How's that?" ..."

http://www.gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061212/GATORS01/612120348/-1/sports



I hope you’re happy now. I cannot fathom what sort of control freak it takes to create these “controversies.” I suppose it's because this behavior gets the desired response from the sheep.


REFORMED LURKER, POST MEYERS OFFENDING COMMENTS
last edited: 12/12/06 3:30:31 PM”

“Most famous quote: "The other team had a shot."

Official Urban Meyer web page: http://www.gatorzone.com/insidefootball/?sub=legacy&page=ncaa_96

Nice description of the Florida/Florida State rematch after an initial Florida loss to FSU. No mention of the unfairness of the rematch.

"I do believe that's a true statement," Florida coach Urban Meyer said. A rematch "would not have been fair to Ohio State."

Again, no mention of Florida's 1996 rematch with FSU.

[Evan] Hello Coach Meyer, what are your thoughts on a playoff system in college football and the recent media poll situation?
Coach Meyer: There is not a perfect system in place and I'm not sure unless you have a playoff you will have a true champion.

Let's see him repeat that one if he wins in January.

He is on record as stating that Utah deserved a BCS bowl when he coached there. And this year, he opposed the entry of Boise State into the BCS mix because, well, he doesn't coach at a mid-major school anymore.

Oh, and here's a nice little link from November 20 that shows the extent of Meyer's preemptive whine fest.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/20/AR2006112000785.html

While Lloyd Carr was burying his mentor and taking the high road, Urban Meyer was exulting in a victory over a non-division 1A football team and slamming the BCS system that he gets paid a bonus to support.

Probably 90% of the big time coaches are like Urban Meyer. They'll say anything that gets them a bigger paycheck or a more impressive matchup. So, I don't fault him.

But I've watched Lloyd Carr over the years. He is the most honorable coach there is. He does everything the right way. His team is the second best team in the country. And he deserved better from Meyer and from the system.”

“read like an article in favor of a playoff system to me. especially the quotes from Parterno - where's he coach? oh yeah, that other Big 10 school.

Meyer wasn't the coach at FL when they got the rematch with FSU - he might have thought it sucked back then too, no-body asked him as far as I know.”

“Here's what I love, though.

Meyer's opening salvo in his little whine tour happened the same weekend when Carr was helping to get the funeral arrangements together for his mentor, Bo Schembechler.

People have actually criticized Lloyd Carr for not begging like Meyer did.

Well, when the Michigan athletic department had to open the stadium again in like three days for the funeral and when Carr was getting together all of the returning players, he wasn't going to match wits with a little punk coach from Florida.

Just imagine the media offensive that Michigan COULD HAVE put together. There might be a nice little video of Carr's eulogy and some kind of crap about how the death of the great man impacted the game.

But, no. Michigan did none of that. It played the whole thing classy.

Of course, Urban Meyer's mentor was probably John Cooper, so what does he know?”

“Man I'll tell ya what; if Acry felt about Jesus the way he feels about Florida Football he'd be the next Billy Grahm.

Can I get an amen?!”

“The really funny thing is that he thinks Florida is going to lose.”

“Reformed Lurker, your specific comments were (and I quote):

“That was probably a mistake. But Lloyd Carr just doesn't believe in slamming down another program.

He didn't have to belittle Michigan to make his case for Florida.”


There is nothing in Urban Meyer’s comments that either slams or belittles Michigan.

So how do you define yourself?
A. A sheep who needs to be told how to think
B. A dishonorable liar
C. A bonafide oxygen thief
D. All of the above


There is no evidentiary support for the conclusions that you have reached. The only evidence you provide is someone’s (the exact type of writer I have previously discussed) corrosively dysfunctional opinion. Your problem solving skills are less than weak. You provide an excellent example of what I have pointed out. You’re a sheep who can’t you think for yourself.

Yeah, I’m slamming YOU! I despise people who pass along unfounded rumors based on their on emotionally arrived at conclusions. I saw this same attempted character assassination towards Spurrier and even one of the media’s own (Pat Dooley) sees it happening again with Meyer. Your thinking is less than dishonorable.

That is probably the worst type of thinking that human being engage in and it’s evident in all our world affairs. “We’re pure of heart. It’s the other guys who are evil.”

The dishonorable discharge coming out of your brain is enough to fill thousands of diapers and it stinks.

You’re an indictment on the entire Michigan program. Apparently you and you entire insititution lack any semblance of honor.


GO TROJANS!!
last edited: 12/13/06 6:18:08 AM”

“There's a reason folks in the SEC call him Urban Cryer.”

“Of course, Urban Meyer's mentor was probably John Cooper, so what does he know?”
reformed lurker
7:02:32 PM
12/12/06

Well that explains everything!”

“Oh how I miss John Cooper.”

“There's a reason the media treats its readers like idiots.”

“dang, i keep finding myself agreeing with arclite comments!

LOL”

“Yes, but in plagiarizing the media, arclite has treated us with the same or less respect.”

“I may be wacked, but I try to back up my wack with facts.




Nowslimmer, I try to give you all the respect you deserve.”

“

Schiano was named national Coach of the Year by the Walter Camp Foundation for directing Rutgers to a 10-2 regular season. It was the third coaching award Schiano has picked up this month, along with Big East Coach of the Year and the ESPN/Home Depot national Coach of the Year.

http://www.nj.com/sports/ledger/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/1165995516295110.xml&coll=1”

“He sort of looks like W in that photo.”

“Awesome, violin, just awesome. And well deserved. The guy's a class act as is Brian Leonard.

Come clean now. Did you even know what the Draddy was before this year?”

“My father used to speak every year at the Hertz #1 club - where the top high school athlete from each state would hear how poor the odds are to make it in the pros and why education is so important. (He got close with OJ there BTW.)

Don't you think I'd be pretty familiar with the Draddy?”

“Short answer: no.”

“I never heard of it before this year on this forum! LOL”

“I am really impressed with Schiano and have never thought of the W resemblance, but gray his hair a little and that's him above.”

“That's it! Dayhiker goes on ignore.”

“





Notice the hawklike nose and squinty eye similarity. If he'd just shrug his shoulders and bawl his fist he'd have it.
last edited: 12/13/06 1:49:26 PM”

“Of course, Arclite still thinks Florida is going to lose.”

“Listen, Arclite, you can believe what you want to believe.

But I do think that it is less than honorable to campaign for your team like that.

It's a gentleman's code - kind of like how coaches and players will turn somersaults to say nice things during pregame press conferences.

But Meyer is not a gentleman.

And I think it is especially dishonorable given the proximity of the death.

But he's your coach. Of course, you like him.”

“Don't you think I'd be pretty familiar with the Draddy?”
Reverend Truth V Wicked
1:26:57 PM
12/13/06

“Short answer: no.”
Reverend Truth V Wicked
1:34:47 PM
12/13/06

Lol. Congrats V-man, I hope he'll continue to build your program. You've been a loyal fan.”

“I’m not quite sure what your dysfunction is, reformed lurker. But I did just get finished watching an extremely interesting show on PBS about education. It appears that all the studies show that kids tend to absorb information that fits their preconceived view of the world and ignore information that doesn’t.

Bwahahahaha. Considering that’s one of my beating-a-dead-horse subjects here, I wondered why it was a revelation to educators. Well at least now it’s been scientifically documented. I’ve been observing that behavior for years.




I received this in an email today. How appropriate:


Business intelligence
Toxic Communication

"Corporate memo and mass e-mail aside, no communication is as old—or time-tested—as gossip and eavesdropping. But, Ontario, Canada-based workforce consultancy Juice Inc. has some techniques it says work much better. The agency has isolated the four most common types of virulent communication: Indirect communication in which non-verbal messages include disapproving attitudes and critical humor; character assassination that dishonors someone who is not there to defend themselves; public re-dressing that uncovers another's ideas in a public forum to avoid a face-to-face talk; and e-stabbing in which a scathing e-mail is sent complete with cc's, or assistance is requested with the recipient's manager cc'ed so he or she is forced to comply."

http://www.elabs2.com/functions/message_view.html?mid=37594&mlid=73&siteid=15988&uid=b6115ff3ce



That describes you very well, reformed lurker. People like you, and those media hacks you cling to, are toxic communicators. Your ideas are formed not by facts, but by the opinions of others. You've already shown you can't think for yourself.



The media, and so many fans, love Bobby Bowden. For years we’ve heard Bowden make comments similar to, “We’ll have to play our best against Duke. They’ve got talented players.”

Bobby slaps players on the wrist for legal infractions, and they have a horrible graduation rate, but many perceive him as a swell guy.


The media, and so many fans, try to engage in character assassination towards Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer. For years we heard Spurrier make comments similar to, “We should beat Vanderbilt. They haven’t got the talent we do.” Now there’s Meyer’s, "I do believe as this thing moves on we do need a playoff system" and, "I think that'd be unfair to Ohio State and I think it'd be unfair to the country. I Just don't believe that's the right thing to do. You're going to tell Ohio State they have to go beat the same team twice, which is extremely difficult?" and, (What if a rematch happens?) "If that does happen, all the (university) presidents need to get together immediately and put together a playoff system…"

Spurrier and Meyer both discipline their players for legal infractions, and they have (had) good graduation rates, but many perceive them as terrible guys.


One approach is politically correct cow flop and lies. It teaches a privileged attitude towards athletes and encourages false humility. The other approach is to instill personal responsibility, discipline, and the value of being honest.

Yep, the media, and many fans, sure have shown these young men the value of an honest opinion.

Admire…vilify…admire…vilify…
Oh yeah, honorable sports writers and sports fans. Bless their hearts.




Providing such a sterling example myself, it is my mission to expose ALL obnoxious sports fans.


The whole "controversy" comes down to Lloyd Carr, Michigan fans, and media morons, showing a complete lack of class:

Meyer sounded puzzled by Carr's attack and said he was being critical of the system, not Michigan. "I have no idea (what he meant)," Meyer said. "I have great respect for them; I always have. I'm from that area. That's why I don't like this whole thing. If it came across that way, it was incorrect. For people who know me and the way we operate, no, I did not lobby. I was asked a question, 'How do you feel,' and that was my answer. From now on, I'll be very cautious with my answers."

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/2006-12-04-meyer-comments_x.htm


Sports fans who back up their rants with facts, I respect as passionately twisted.

I will give special attention to exposing sports fans who can’t back up their rants with facts as the low-life scum they are.

Stick around, reformed lurker. I haven’t begun to dial up yet. I’ve seen your ilk before.

You’re a waste of skin. You’re a low-life gossip monger who is contributing to the dumbing-down of public discourse with your emotion-based ranting. There seem to be an awful lot of idiots such as yourself. But I believe that many, if not most, fans will see the dishonor in your approach.

My obnoxious sports fan thrives on exposing characters like your obnoxious sports fan. You half-wits provide no factual substantiation with your emotional dysfunction.

You parrot the endemic idiocy that the media believes sells their product. You have no respect for your readers. Statistics showing declining readership and viewing audience would suggest a different approach for the media, but fools like you and in the media can’t seem to change their own behavior.

You can’t provide factual basis for your arguments because there is none. You try to create controversy where there is none. You cling to lies. Your arguments are weak and pathetically whiny.

Meyer wasn't around when the Florida State rematch took place. And you want him to expound on his view of that? You're an idiot, reformed. Ask him the question yourself by phone or email. But you're too toxic to use the direct approach, aren't you? You'd rather hide behind the apron strings of bile-filled sports pundits.

My opinion about it? I thought it was a bad idea then for exactly the same reasons given against a Michigan/Ohio State rematch. It wasn't fair for Florida State to beat the Gators twice. But at least they weren't from the same conference.

The BCS is broken you bozo. And that's the honest opinion Meyer gave when asked a direct question. Many, many people agree that is the case and eventually we’ll get a playoff.

Now you and your fellow morons are trying to criticize him for giving an honest opinion?


How many years is it that you have lost to Ohio State? You know, that honorable team with the disciplinary problem players and the dishonorable graduation rate. Will you be rooting for that team to defend your lies, or to defend the honor of your conference representative?


You lack honor of any kind.
last edited: 12/13/06 7:46:14 PM”

“Schiano DOES look like W!!!! LOL”

“Congratulations, Dayhiker, on your new coach. I think Gump is the best you could possibly do, and he's alumni, to boot.”

“I like the look of that new Bama coach. He looks like a man of honor.”

“Arclite I'm a SEC fan just like you, but damn, you write alot!!
last edited: 12/13/06 9:22:59 PM”

“I have no pity, stick.


I know this is the MTV era, and some folks have the attention span of a gnat, but I have a very long attention span.

Besides, I'm pretty quite in real life. I suppose I'm just compensating.

I gotta be me... gotta be me...happy and free...pee on a tree...I gotta be me...”

“When the movie Gump came out UA actually received calls from all over the country wanting information on his football records and statistics.”

“Mostly "knowledgeable" big-ten fans, right?”

“knowlegeable enough to know the difference in quite and quiet. :)”

“Easy on him, Buddha Bear. That was just a typographical slip. Besides, like most of his material, he probably copied it from elsewhere.”