I would like to start this week’s article with an apology as what follows is a bit rambling.  Do to some events in my professional life this week, which actually sparked an idea for next week’s column, I did not have time to go back and edit/rewrite the article like I normally do.  Hopefully people will still find it at least somewhat interesting and I promise that next week’s will be more on point.

As many of my readers probably know, prior to moving to Australia I was high school football and basketball official in the States.  Officiating was a fun activity that allowed me to be involved in sports and helped me to gain a deeper appreciation and understanding of sports, you get a very different perspective from watching the game on the playing surface.  It also gave me a different perspective on officiating, showing … [Read More]

The biggest, and by far the most controversial, proposed rule change concerns the rule about targeting of a player above the shoulders.  The current rule states that it is a foul when a player target’s and initiates contact to the head or neck of a defenseless opponent with his own helmet, forearm, elbow, or shoulder; the rule also states that if there is doubt in the … [Read More]

Well, that happened.

While a lot of people were saying that Alabama was ripe for a loss against a Texas A&M team that’s been playing really well over the past few weeks, most of this felt like lip service. You know, the kind of things that ESPN makes one person say on the Gameday set in order to appear unbiased.

And then- “Johnny Football”.

There are a lot of reasons why Alabama lost- coming off of an emotional win on the road in Death Valley, LSU’s offense showed a lot of people the issues that the Tide have in their secondary, Saban’s fear of the high speed offense is based on his knowledge of his team’s weaknesses; but the fact of the matter is that the Aggies outplayed Alabama, in Tuscaloosa, in several key areas of the game.

The Crimson Tide defensive … [Read More]

Buckeye 411

• Meaningful Awards- This week, we more about how well Ohio State’s players are being perceived nationally, as several more “just happy to be nominated” lists included Buckeyes. Jonathan Hankins is one of 16 being considered for the Bednarik award, given to the nation’s best defensive player, while Roby is one of 15 being looked at for the Thorpe trophy as the nation’s top defensive back. Braxton is getting some national appreciation as well, and is one of the 16 folks up for the Maxwell award this season.
  
• Walking Wounded? Coach Meyer said on Tuesday that Etienne Sabino will miss the game against Illinois, which isn’t a surprise to those of us paying attention- the additional two weeks will be helpful for his recovery for the
… [Read More]

Ah, Texas… where dreams go to die.  Three of the most interesting storylines this week came Deep In The Heart Of, so let’s travel to Lubbock to get things started.  Really, there’s no other reason to head there.

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m an idiot. Well, when I get the chance… which was this weekend when the team I’d most like to see play Oregon in a bowl game ended up falling victim to the same Achillies Heel that Oregon has in the past- defensive line pressure. The Red Raiders’ ability to disrupt the Mountaineer passing game by owning their backfield was something that the rest of the … [Read More]

There’s no way that we can start this week’s post without wishing Happy Birthday to Coach Jim Tressel. Ironically, it’s also the day of the ninja; although I can’t imagine the silent assassins being as polite or methodical as Senior Sweatervest- how would you write “Dave” in kanji?

While there were several significant games on the old telly this week, there were also off field doin’s that should not be left undiscussed. First, in this year’s addition of the River City Rivalry/Snow Bowl, Pittsburgh easily handled Ohio’s BCS team. That didn’t, however, keep the Bearcat mascot from getting arrested and escorted out of the stadium. Video and such, for those of you who are into that kind of thing, can be found here.

The Big lEast ended as it started, with a three way tie at the top of the conference. Pitt’s victory, … [Read More]