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Brian Nwokedi’s Sports Life Football Season in Review

The turn of the New Year brings the end of college football and the start of the NFL playoffs, and with that, I wanted to take a moment to give a season and mid-season review of all my Texans’ and my Longhorns’ performances thus far against my expectations:

Houston Texans: 
My comfort level with this season: 9/10

Last year:
10-6 and 1st in AFC South
Won AFC Wild Card game against Cincinnati Bengals
Lost Divisional game against Baltimore Ravens
Custom 2025 Sports Life expectation:
13-3 and 1st in AFC South
Get to the AFC Conference Championship
Current Season result:
12-4 and 1st in AFC South
Won AFC Wild Card game against Cincinnati Bengals

This year I have been pretty quiet about my Houston Texans, primarily because I was uncertain if this year’s team was going to live up to my lofty expectations. After last season’s history making campaign, the Texans came into 2012 no longer a dark horse team in the AFC. Vegas had them as 12/1 odds to win the Super Bowl at the beginning of the season and many “experts” picked them to win the AFC.
The city of Houston was buying into the hype and I too was drinking the Texans’ Kool-Aid. From my perspective it was quite simple:
The Texans went to the 2ndround of the playoffs last year on the back of a great defense and a rookie quarterback in T.J. Yates. The defense, which finished the year ranked #2 behind the Pittsburgh Steelers[1], was only going to get better in year 2 of defensive coordinator Wade Phillips’ scheme. The Texans were also getting their starting QB back. If they stayed healthy, there was no reason for them to not contend for a Super Bowl.
So like many other Houstonians, I fully expected the Texans to have a great year. And after last night’s 19-13 Wild Card victory over the Cincinnati Bengals the Texans haven’t disappointed.
Sure prior to yesterday’s victory the Texans had lost 3 of the last 4 games and were trending the wrong direction going into the playoffs. During this putrid stretch, there was the 42-12 shellacking on Monday Night at the hands of Tom Brady, the 23-6 stink bomb of a game against the Vikings and the lost opportunity of clinching home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
At the same time, the Texans have lived to see another day and that’s more than I can say for the Dallas Cowboys (okay that was a cheap shot and I only slightly apologize to my Dallas friends). Defensively they have found a way to keep it together even after losing ILB Brian Cushing. Offensively, they have re-established their run identify. Although next weekend will be a tall order facing Tom Brady at home, it’s been fun watching these boys ball
 Not bad for a team that was established in 2002.  
  
Texas Longhorns
My comfort level with this season: 4/10
Last year:
8-5 overall; 4-5 in conference; 6th in the Big 12
55-17 loss to Oklahoma
27-25 victory over Texas A&M
Won Holiday Bowl against California Golden Bears
Custom 2025 Sports Life expectation:
10-3 overall; 3rd in Big 12
Beat OU
Current Season result:
9-4 overall; 5-4 in conference; 3rd in Big 12
63-21 loss to Oklahoma; loss to TCU
Won Alamo Bowl against Oregon State Beavers

Expectations
 Expectations 
 Oh Expectations

When you are the University of Texas Longhorns and you pull in top 5 recruiting classes year over year over year, the expectation from the fan base (and me included) is the BCS or bust. We can have a detailed conversation about whether or not this is fair, but this is the reality of big time college football especially when you pay your head coach $5.2 million annually, your nine-assistant coaches $3.6 million annually, and you’re the most valuable college football team in the land[2].
After last season’s 8-5 finish, I have to admit that I wasn’t as delusional as some of my Texas Longhorn brethren who believed in their heart of hearts that the Longhorns were one year away from competing for the Big 12 and of course the National Championship. And after this season’s performance, I can honestly say that the Longhorns are not going in the right direction and here is why:
The fact remains that in football defense wins championships. I don’t care how many points you put on the board
 If you cannot stop the other team from scoring, you will get beat.
After 13 games this year, the Texas Longhorn defense gave up a total of 404 yards per game and ranked 66thout of 120. As a point of reference, Alabama and Notre Dame give up 246 and 287 yards per game respectively and are ranked 1st and 6th in total defense[3]. It is no surprise why these two teams are playing for the National Championship tomorrow night.
Even looking at last year, Alabama and LSU were ranked #1 and #2 respectively in total defense giving up 184 and 262 per game. Shocker 
 Those two teams slugged it out at the end of the year for the National Championship.
In year two of Manny Diaz’s defensive scheme, the Longhorns have regressed. In 2011 Texas finished the year ranked #11 in total defense at 306 per game[4]. In 2010, Will Muschamp’s last year, Texas finished the year ranked #6 in total defense at 300 yards per game.
If defense wins championships, the Longhorns are not playing championship style defense and their 66thranking shows this. So although they have performed decently from a win-loss perspective this year, I have to say that the Longhorns are far from getting this ship turned in the right direction.
For the last couple of seasons, the Longhorns have clearly underperformed (that’s the nice way of saying it). For those of you that follow this blog, you all know where I stand on Mack Brown and his future tenure with the ‘Horns (see below). Call me spoiled, but for a team that is supposed to be in the business of winning championships this isn’t good enough.
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Jose Mourinho 
 It’s time for you to come home to West London. Chelsea F.C. needs you.

If reports are to be believed, the Special One is on the brink at the Bernabeu. After today’s humiliating 3-2 loss to lowly Malaga, Real Madrid now stand 16 points behind league leaders Barcelona. At this point in the season, Los Blancos have already dropped more points than they did during the whole of last season’s campaign. And as a result, the Champions League showdown with Manchester United in February will all but decide Mourinho’s future with Madrid.


The ex-Chelsea boss has insisted he will not quit at any point this season even though he has all but conceded the title to Barcelona. At the same time, multiple reports have surfaced that even prior to the beginning of this season Mourinho was keen on returning to the Premier League. It is no secret that he and his family love living in London; so much so that in early February of 2012 he was caught house hunting in West London with his wife and two children. His daughter has also recently enrolled in courses at the Camberwell College of Arts in London which sits a mere six miles from Chelsea’s football ground.




It is also no secret that the Chelsea faithful have yet to warm to interim-manager Rafa Benitez (and will probably never warm to him as the signs below show), and have yet to forgive Roman Abramovich for his haste dismissal of Roberto Di Matteo (as evidenced by the 16th minute chants for Di Matteo every home game).




This is the perfect storm that I have been “patiently” waiting for since Mourinho’s shock departure from Chelsea in September of 2007. Since ’07, Chelsea have sacked 6 mangers and if you include Rafa Benitez (who has the interim tag and is not likely to get a renewal at the end of the year), an argument can be made that Roman has been searching for that “Special One” long-term manager ever since. Mourinho has been the “one who got away”, like the perfect girl for you but you where too stupid to realize it.

This is a key moment in Chelsea F.C. footballing history and Roman has an opportunity to inject a level of management stability to a club that hasn’t seen such stability since Jose Mourinho. During his three-year tenure with the Blues, Mourinho won two Premier League titles, two League Cups, and an FA Cup. There are talks that Roman craves Pep Guardiola, who in my opinion is not worth the ÂŁ15 million price tag because I have doubts about his abilities to coach players not named Messi and Iniesta.

Chelsea are currently third place after 17 games and 11 points off pace. They have also been knocked out of Champions League. We need a proven manager (not named Rafa Benitez or Pep Guardiola) who has been there before. We need a manager who knows how to handle player egos. We need a manager who values defense first and protects results. That manager is Jose Mourinho.  
The time is now to bring Chelsea’s most successful manager back to the Bridge. Roman, give me and the Chelsea faithful what we want. Bring back the Special One! I promise you will not regret it!

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Defense wins Championships not Heisman Trophies

First off, let me start by congratulating Johnny Manziel (a.k.a. Johnny Football) for becoming the first freshman in the history of college football to win the Heisman Trophy. Over the season, Johnny Football racked up over 4,600 yards of total offense, including 1,181 rushing yards and 43 TDs in arguably the toughest conference in college football. 

His “Heisman Moment” came on November 10, 2012 when he passed for 252 yards, 2 TDs, and rushed for another 92 yards in the Aggies’ upset win over the #1 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide. His truly gaudy numbers, general improvisation, exciting play, and overall charisma make him a truly deserving winner. At the same time, a part of me can’t help but feel that Manti Te’o was hard done by yesterday’s result.



In the 78 year history of the Heisman Memorial Trophy Award, 73 players that have claimed this award have either been a quarterback or running back. The other 5 have been some combinations of wide receiver, punt returner, and kick returner. No purely defensive player has ever won the award, and there have only been a total of 23 defensive players (including Manti Te’o) to finish within the top five of voting. Last night, Manti Te’o finished with a total of 1,706 points, the highest point total any purely defensive player has ever received. It still wasn’t enough to make Heisman Trophy history.




With 103 total tackles, 7 interceptions, and 1 fumble recovery, Manti Te’o was clearly one of the most dominant players in college football and most NCAA coaches acknowledged as much. This fact was only further solidified by his winning of the Maxwell Award[1]and the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award[2], two awards that tend to be dominated by offensive players.




The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award is supposed to be awarded to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. Over the last 78 years, most outstanding has been synonymous with most exciting, and most statistically relevant/significant. And yesterday’s vote continued this trend.

The old football adage states that “offense wins games, and defense wins championships.” The 928 voters spoke in complete unison when they invited Johnny Football into the Heisman fraternity. Each member was saying 
 “Offense wins games 
 and Heismans”  

P.S. The closest to “defensive player” to win the Heisman was University of Michigan cornerback Charles Woodson. In 1997, he dazzled college football but he won the award primarily because of his punt and kick returning ability.

P.P.S. On an aside, take a look at the list of talented freshman to not win this award in their first year 
.

     1. Adrian Peterson (RB) of Oklahoma finished second in 2004 after rushing for 1,925 yards and 15 TDs.


     2. Michael Vick (QB) of Virginia Tech finished third in 1999 after amassing 2,420 total yards at 20 TDs.

     3. Herschel Walker of Georgia finished third in 1980 after rushing for 1,616 yards and 15 TDs.






[1]The Maxwell Award is presented annually to the collegiate football player judged by a panel of sportswriters, head coaches, and sportscasters to be the best football player in the United States.
[2]The Walter Camp Player of the Year Award is presented annually to the collegiate football player judged by a group of NCAA Division 1 head coaches and sports directors to be the player of the year.

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Conference Realignment 
 In this High Stakes Game of College Football RISK the ACC is at Risk


Maryland leaving the ACC and Rutgers leaving the Big East (both teams are heading to the Big Ten) signals to the rest of college football that super conferences are on their way whether we like it or not (and I do not like it for the record). And when you consider the Big Ten/Pac-12 partnership for the Rose Bowl and the SEC/Big XII newly formed partnership for the so-called “Champions Bowl” (better name clearly still pending), the ACC is in deep trouble. 


Just this past September, things looked very rosy for the ACC. Notre Dame agreed to join the ACC in all sports except for football but also committed to playing a minimum of five football games against ACC opponents annually. Furthermore, the ACC as a group voted to raise the overall exit fee to $50 million, although both Maryland and Florida State voted against this measure. It seemed as though Commissioner John Swofford had done enough to insulate his conference from any further defections. 

But yesterday, Maryland decided it was time for them to move to greener pastures even in the face of a $50 million buyout (Maryland stands to make approximately $24 million annually compared to the $15 million it currently makes in the ACC). And although I’m certain that the ACC will quickly replace Maryland with either UConn or Louisville within the next coming weeks I am still making the following declaration: 

The ACC will cease to exist as a preeminent BCS football conference in the next coming years.

The high stakes game of Conference Realignment (which I’m calling Collegiate Football Risk) comes down to one thing: Acquiring more television markets to generate more Benjamins, and participating in a preeminent BCS bowl.

Although the ACC currently has teams in and around nine of the top 20 U.S. TV markets (New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Atlanta, Washington D.C., Tampa, Miami, Orlando), I believe that their lack of a preeminent/important BCS bowl tie (Orange Bowl***) in will be their final undoing even with the impending playoff format. 


***Please note that in my opinion, the Orange Bowl doesn’t really count as an important college football bowl in the grand scheme of it all. It’s located in Miami and far too corporate. And outside of the national championship game in Miami, it has the lowest Nielsen ratings year over year of all the other BCS Bowls (see post #1 for more details about Nielsen’s). 

The two biggest power brokers in conference realignment thus far have been the Big Ten and the SEC. With 14 teams already, both conferences are best positioned to become the first 16-team super conference. As a result, in the post ACC (and Big East) world of college football they will work together to create the first two true 16-team Super Conferences. 
I predict that the SEC will look as follows (please note that in the parenthesis is ranking of the relating larger TV market served by related team):


West                                     
Texas A&M -Houston (10)
Missouri -St. Louis (21)
LSU -New Orleans/Shreveport (53/84)
Arkansas -Little Rock (56)
Alabama -Birmingham/Mobile (40/60)
Auburn -Birmingham/Mobile (40/60)
Mississippi State  -Jackson (90)
Ole Miss -Jackson (90) 



East
Georgia -Atlanta (8)
Va. Tech -Washington D.C. (9)
Florida -Tampa/Jacksonville (13/47)
NC State -Raleigh-Durham (27)
Vanderbilt -Nashville (29)
South Carolina -Greenville/Columbia (36/79)
Kentucky -Memphis (48)
Tennessee -Knoxville (59)


I predict that the Big Ten will look as follows (please note that in the parenthesis is ranking of the relating larger TV market served by related team):



Legends                                     

Illinois -Chicago (3)

Iowa -Des Moines-Ames (71)

Michigan -Detroit (11)
Michigan State -Detroit (11)
Minnesota -MSP (15)
Nebraska -Omaha (76)
Northwestern -Chicago (3)
Wisconsin -Madison (85)

Leaders
Indiana -Indianapolis (25)
Ohio State -Cleveland/Columbus (18/32)
Penn State -Philadelphia/Pitt (4/23)
Purdue -Indianapolis (25)
Boston College -Boston (7)
Rutgers -New York (1)
Maryland -Washington DC (9)
UNC -Raleigh-Durham (27)

Current legislation in the state of North Carolina forces UNC to be in the same conference as NC State unless NC State can find a home in another BCS conference. In other words, UNC can only split from NC State if NC State ends up in another BCS conference. As a result, The SEC and the Big Ten will make a deal to split the Charlotte (24) and the Raleigh-Durham (27) television markets by taking NC State and UNC respectively.
The Big Ten will then move to lock up the Boston television market (even though Boston isn’t necessarily a huge college football market) by taking Boston College. The SEC will round out the overall television market package with Virginia Tech which will give them the Washington D.C. (9), Richmond (58) and Roanoke-Lynchburg (67) television markets
At 16 apiece and a majority of the major U.S. television markets consumed, the Big Ten and the SEC will stop (I hope to God!) leaving the Pac-12 and the Big 12 to fight over the remaining remnants of the ACC and Big East.
The Big 12 currently has 10 members and would need to attract 6 new teams to reach Super Conference status. Current members and their related TV markets are as follows:

Texas -Dallas-Ft. Worth/Austin (5/49)
Oklahoma -Dallas-Ft. Worth/O.K.C. (5/45)
Texas Tech -Dallas-Ft. Worth (5)
TCU -Dallas-Ft. Worth (5)
Oklahoma State -O.C.K. (45)
Baylor -San Antonio (37)
Iowa State -Des Moines-Ames (71)
Kansas -Kansas City (31)
Kansas State -Kansas City (31)
West Virginia – ……… It’s West Virginia
Upon further analysis, you start to see a very consistent theme with the current Big 12 
. It’s very Texas focused. And while I love me some Texas, it’s simply not enough to survive the new cut throat world of conference realignment. As a result they will have to be aggressive in the expansion of their television footprint.
At the same time you have the Pac-12, currently sitting pretty with 12 members but also suffering from the same geographical concentration as the Big 12.

Because both the Big 12 and Pac-12 will be eager to expand (not certain if all the way to 16), the remaining “attractive” teams in the ACC (Miami, Florida State, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Duke, Wake Forest, Virginia, Pittsburgh, and Syracuse) and Big East teams (Connecticut, Cincinnati, South Florida, Louisville) will have the power in deciding where they end up (grade-A suppliers market).

Due to the geographical constraints of the Pac-12 (all remaining teams are approximately 1,500 to 2,000 miles away from the closet Pac-12 school) and the simple fact that there are only four really good television markets remaining, I believe the Big 12 will go to 14 (Miami, Florida State, Clemson, Georgia Tech) bringing them the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale (16), Tampa (13), Jacksonville (47), Greenville (36) and Atlanta (8) television markets.
At 12-teams and their partnership with the Big Ten, the Pac-12 is safe even though they are the smallest conference in terms of numbers but they will definitely have the smallest television contract in the future world of the post Conference Realignment game of Risk.
In closing, I just want to say that as a fan of college football, I am utterly disgusted at the sheer lack of respect for college football traditions. This high stakes game of realignment is driven solely by greed and money. At the same time, I’d be a liar if I told you that if I were the commissioner of a major conference I wouldn’t be doing the same thing for the sake of the overall conference.
So fans of college football, enjoy the last couple years of tradition. In the post conference realignment world, tradition will be all but dead.
P.S. I didn’t talk much about Notre Dame primarily because this year’s performance all but solidifies the fact that they will never join a conference. 

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Dear Soccer, It’s Time to Use Replay Technology to Help Referees and Linesmen Correctly Identify Offside Goals. Sincerely, Irate Chelsea Fan

This past weekend in the Barclay’s Premier League there were a number of controversial results directly tied to offsides decisions. And in each of these situations, replays showed that the offsides decisions made by the linesmen in-game were incorrect:



Manchester United defeated nine-men Chelsea 3-2 on a 75th minute strike from Javier Hernandez who was in an offsides position before scoring. This was after the Blues were incorrectly reduced to nine-men by the sending off of Fernando Torres for suspicions of diving. Replays clearly showed that Hernandez was offsides and Fernando Torres didn’t dive. 

Liverpool were held 2-2 in their derby match against Everton after Luis Suarez’s game winning goal in stoppage time was disallowed by the linesman who incorrectly ruled the play offsides. Replays clearly showed that Suarez was onsides.







Arsenal crept past QPR 1-0 after Mikel Arteta scored the game’s only goal in the 84th minute from an offsides position. Replays clearly showed that Arteta was offsides.



The clichĂ© around soccer and sport in general is that refereeing is “an impossible job” and because referees and linemen are prone to simple human errors, they deserve some level of sympathy when they do in fact make the wrong decision. Often times it is said that this is just part of the game and we as fans have to learn to live with it when things don’t go our way 
 Or do we?

For a league as grand as the Barclay’s Premiership, games deserve to be decided by moment of brilliance and deft skill, not simple human errors! I simply don’t buy the argument that offsides decisions and goals scored from offsides positions are just part of the game, especially given the day of age we currently live in. For each of us, technology is a part of everyday life and I see no reason why it can’t play a more influential role in soccer.  

Now to be fair, the International Football Association Board (I.F.A.B.) is taking steps to come into the modern era through the implementation of goal-line technology to the game of soccer. This past July, the I.F.A.B. recommended to FIFA to allow the implementation of two technology systems that will help referees determine if the ball fully crossed the goal-line. At a cost of approximately $200,000 per stadium, once implemented the Hawk-Eye and Goal Ref systems will help referees determine whether or not the entire ball crossed the goal-line (see below):

Although this landmark decision will help with disputed goals which have marred the sport at its highest levels for years (see England v. Germany in the 2010 World Cup here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HV4nc_sjW9Y), I believe that soccer can go on step further in its use of technology to help the game.

In a manner similar to the NFL, soccer should have a replay official who reviews all goals scored. His job above all is to spot goals scored from offsides positions, which will help to alleviate the pressure that linesmen currently feel to get it right.

In the time it takes to restart the game after a goal is scored, this replay official could in theory radio in to the referee and linemen that the goal scored was from an offsides position. In a matter of merely seconds, goals scored from offsides positions that change the dynamic of a game would be correctly nullified and big decisions that change the landscape of a season like the ones made this past weekend would be reduced.

In closing, the argument that these things even themselves out over the course of a season is at best bull-s*** and at worst horse-s***. Chelsea are currently atop the table but now only lead by one point. QPR is at the bottom of the table after being robbed of a potential one point that could be the difference between them staying up or going down. And as for Everton, that one point they stole from Liverpool currently keeps them in 5thplace ahead of Arsenal for a Europa League spot.

These decisions this past weekend, which I believe would have been avoided with the implementation of replay technology, will have dramatic implications for the remainder of the season. Without the further implementation replay of technology, referee and linesmen will continue to be at risk and undermine the integrity of the beautiful game we all currently enjoy 
 Okay that last line was a bit melodramatic I admit but you catch my drift!











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From a win-loss perspective, the Texas Longhorns can no longer afford to have Mack Brown as their coach

First let me say that my heart goes out to Texas DT Brandon Moore who was injured in the third quarter of today’s game. He has movement in all of his limbs and is in stable condition at a local hospital. This post or better yet rant is clearly irrelevant in the grand scheme of life given the fact that it’s only football games I am talking about.
I started calling for Mack Brown’s resignation after last weekend’s 48-45 home loss to West Virginia, a move that had most of my Texas brethren calling me ungrateful. On Thursday, I wrote that today’s game against Oklahoma would be a referendum on the tenure of Mack Brown. And after today’s 63-21 shellacking, no Longhorn fan can deny that the time has come for the Texas Longhorns to part ways with Mack Brown.

Since 1998, the Longhorns are 145-41 under Mack Brown. With a win percentage of 78% (give or take a couple decimal places), Mack Brown’s tenure at Texas has been one of the most successful in Longhorn history. But like the old adage says 
 All good things must come to an end.

Since 2002, the Texas Longhorns have had recruiting classes ranked higher than the Oklahoma Sooners 7 out of 11 times (see following chart).
Final Recruiting Rankings Based on Rivals.com
Texas Longhorns
Oklahoma Sooners
2012
2
11
2011
3
14
2010
3
7
2009
5
13
2008
14
6
2007
5
14
2006
5
9
2005
20
3
2004
18
11
2003
15
4
2002
1
7
But during this same time period, the Longhorn’s record against their arch rival has been downright abysmal. Since ‘02 (including today’s game), the Longhorns are 4-7 with blowout losses of 65-13 (2003), 55-17 (2011) and 63-15 (2012). To make matters worse, there was also a blowout in 2000, 63-14.

After today’s game the ‘Horns are now 6-9 overall against the Sooners during Mack Brown’s tenure began in 1998. Like I said in Thursday’s post, this is simply not good enough given how much money Brown is currently being paid by the Texas athletic department and how much next-level talent there is in the program.

My issue with the Longhorns during Brown’s tenure isn’t talent level. Since Mack Brown has been at Texas, 52 players have been drafted into the NFL and 20 have been first round picks. Since Bob Stoops has been at Oklahoma, 53 players have been drafted into the NFL and 12 have been first round picks.

But given the fact that the ‘Horns out-recruit the Sooners (at least based on class rankings) their record against their biggest rival is downright appalling, and the number of blowout losses is unsettling. From and X’s and O’s and motivational standpoint, when it comes to Oklahoma vs. Texas, Bob Stoops is simply better at getting his boys ready to play. His 9-5 record against Texas post today’s game only serve to further proof this fact.


Football can be a very cruel sport to head coaches. When their teams win, they get a fair bit of credit. But when their teams lose, they get all the blame. Fans like me start criticizing their tactics and schemes and start (at times irrationally) calling for their heads. An argument can be made that this isn’t right, but regardless this is the way it is especially given the amount of money coaches are making in college football. Something is no longer working anymore and that something is William Mack Brown. From a purely win-loss perspective the Texas Longhorns can no longer afford to have Mack Brown as their lead head coach.

After today’s dreadful performance, the Longhorns are now 17-14 since their 2009 BCS National Championship appearance. What was once considered the strength of the program, this year’s defense is average at best and the offense is 
 well 
 they scored 21 points and gained a total of 289 yards in four quarters of football so enough said. The game was so bad today that ABC stopped showing coverage in my area with 9:00 minutes left in the 4thquarter (probably better for my overall mental health).

The “blame” shouldn’t fall solely on Mack Brown’s shoulders especially since he’s not out there actually playing. But ultimately as the head coach, he is supposed to push the right buttons to get his players to play at their best level. Because he has been unable to do this recently (over the last three years) as the “CEO” of the Texas Longhorns, it’s time for him to step aside and open the door for someone new.
2005 was such a long time ago 
.


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Saturday, October 13, 2012 
 Dallas, Texas 
 Oklahoma-Texas 
 Mack Brown’s last stand
?

Every year about this time (Thursday evening before the Oklahoma-Texas game), I start to get butterflies in my stomach as if I am taking the field in Dallas on Saturday. You may think I’m crazy for this, but if truth be told, my nerves are simply a reflection of the magnitude and importantance of a win in this game (clearly not life magnitude or a matter of life and death but still very important).
Once known as the Red River Shootout (still my favorite name), the OU-Texas Game (now known as the Red River Rivalry) has been played 106 times since October 10, 1900. The Longhorns lead the current series 59-42-5, and since 1945, one or both of the two teams have been ranked within the top 25 61 out of 66 games. This Saturday is no different.


The #15 Texas Longhorns hobble into Dallas to face the #13 Oklahoma Sooners and the stakes couldn’t be any higher. Given last weekend’s home loss to West Virginia and Oklahoma’s early season loss to Kansas State, Saturday’s game is pretty much for all the marbles.
The winner of six of the last ten matchups between the Longhorns and Sooners has played for the BCS National Championship (the Sooners 4 times and the ‘Horns 2 times). The loser of Saturday’s game will have two conference losses, which will all but relegate them to a second place finish and an outside chance at a BCS bowl (although stranger things have happened
 See two-loss LSU vs. two-loss Ohio State circa 2007).
To call Saturday’s game “Put up or Shut up Time” for the ‘Horns is an understatement. Since the Mack Brown era began in 1998, Texas has only won six of the last 14 matchups against the Sooners and has lost the last two consecutive matchups. In the past two seasons, the Longhorns are a measly 13-12 and will be taking an eight-game losing streak against teams ranked in the AP Top 25 into Saturday’s Red River Rivalry. To make matters even worse, the ‘Horns are 1-10 in their last 11 games against Top 25 teams. To be frank, things haven’t been this bad in Austin in a while. Saturday’s game in Dallas may be a referendum on the 15 year tenure of William Mack Brown.
Now to be fair, from 2001 through 2009, Mack won 10 or more games each year, won a national championship, played for another, and went 3-1 in big time BCS bowl games. He has worked tirelessly to make Texas relevant on the national stage once again. But like a Fortune 500 CEO, his recent performance is simply not good enough given his annual salary of $5.2 million (which makes him one of top three highest paid coaches in America).
So this Saturday, the Texas Longhorns have a chance to right the ship and stay in the national championship picture. A win Saturday will go a long way towards erasing some of the ‘Horns recent failure. A loss Saturday and the ‘Horns will drop to 1-2 in conference all but sealing their second place finish.
No pressure 
.
So let’s hope that Saturday my ‘Horns feel like this 
.














And not like this 
. 














Favorite Red River Rivalry Game:
October 11, 2008:
Texas 45, Oklahoma 35
Hands down one of the best regular season college football games ever played. It ended as the highest scoring game in the rivalry’s history with the most fans to ever see this game. My boy Chris Ogbonnaya sealed the game with a 62-yard run 
 Hook ‘Em



Most regrettable Red River Rivalry Game:
October 6, 2001
Texas 3, Oklahoma 14
Down 7-3 late in the 4th quarter the Longhorns had the ball on their own three-yard line. On first down the ‘Horns decided to air it out. As Chris Simms (who I’m still irrationally angry at) dropped back to pass, Roy Williams, starting safety for the Sooner leapt over an offensive lineman (see picture below) and deflected the pass which fell unfortunately into the hands of Teddy Lehman, the Sooners starting linebacker
 Game, Set, Match Sooners



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I’m going down to Columbia, SC again and this time Georgia’s coming to town.

Honestly, is it Saturday yet?

Last November while in my second year of business school, I completed my college football tour with the South Carolina-Florida homecoming game in Columbia, SC. I was introduced to a proper SEC-style tailgate (moonshine included) and a more than decent football game 
 South Carolina outlasted Florida 17-12 to keep its SEC East title hopes alive, which were subsequently dashed the following week when the Georgia Bulldogs beat the Kentucky Wildcats 19-10.

Before this season began, I committed to returning to Columbia, South Carolina for the Georgia game and it’s safe to say that I made a very wise decision since South Carolina and Georgia both won last night. The Georgia-South Carolina rivalry has been contested since 1894 and has become so heated in recent years that sports writers have dubbed this annual game “New Fashioned Hate.”


Saturday’s game between the #5 Bulldogs and the #6 Gamecocks takes this rivalry to new heights. The October 6th contest is already being called “The Biggest Game in South Carolina 
History.” 

Both teams enter the game undefeated and both teams enter the game playing pretty darn good football. 

The Georgia Bulldogs roll into town as the third SEC team in history to score at least 40 points in each of its first five games in a season — not sure if that’s because they play good defense or bad offense in the SEC =). 

South Carolina has won its last nine-games in a row and has won 11 straight games against SEC East opponents dating back to last season. And the Gamecocks have won the last two meeting against the Bulldogs.




At stake is clearly bragging rights but far more important is first place in the SEC East. And the winner of this game will move into pole position for a place in the national championship game.

This game is so big that the original kickoff time of 1:00 pm eastern has been pushed back to 7:00 pm prime-time and I fully expect to take advantage of the additional 5 hours of tailgating time (see picture to the left).

ESPN’s College GameDay will be their first thing in the morning and my man Lee Corso better pick South Carolina and the Ole’ Ball Coach!

Now I just have to get through this work week!



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It really is the SEC and everyone else especially in the biggest games

***Warning, I’m about to rant all because of the Alabama Crimson Tide***

It pains me to say this 
 I’ve known this as fact for the last 7 years. I’ve known it since the BCS era began with Tennessee beating Florida State. Although top-heavy, the SEC is head over heels the best conference in college football. And if I am very honest, it’s not even close. I’ve been watching college football for a while now but what we are seeing right now is something else. The top of the SEC is stupid good!


Typically conferences and teams trade off their domination of college football. The 1970s were dominated by the Big Ten and the Big Eight. The 1980s were dominated by the Miami Hurricanes and the early 1990s were dominated by the Florida State Seminoles. Oklahoma, USC, Nebraska, Michigan, Ohio State, Notre Dame, and Texas have all had dominate runs, but what we are witnessing right now as college football fans is something different. In particular the Alabama Crimson Tide and the LSU Tigers 
.

The very top of the SEC is sustaining their dominance year over year as evidenced by this year’s top 10 AP pre-season poll. The SEC has five teams ranked in the top 10 (#2 Alabama, #3 LSU, #6 Georgia, #9 South Carolina, and #10 Arkansas). As a conference, they have won 8 of 14 BCS national championships and have won the last 6 in a row. When you peel back the SEC’s performance over the last 14 years you start to realize that their success is a function of some very “simple” factors
. NFL-type talent, NFL-type coaches, NFL-type strategies

First off, SEC football is played in a region of the United States that has some of the best high school football talent. Currently, 15 of the top 25 high school programs in this year’s MaxPreps top 25 poll are from Southern states (I’ve included Texas in this primarily because the SEC recruits heavily in Texas). I’m not knocking the brand of high school football played elsewhere. California, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Michigan have all produced their fair share of Division 1 and NFL talent. But the old adage that speed kills is alive and well in Southern football talent. Those defensive ends and tackles that run as fast as wide receivers , those safeties that hit like defensive tackles but run like the wind, and those line backers that run as fast as safeties are all found in the South. Simply put, it’s the defensive talent in the SEC that sets their teams apart from the rest of America!


Secondly, SEC coaches and staff are paid more on average than the rest of the coaches and staff in the nation. The 12 SEC coaches and staff made an average of $5.98 million in 2011 with Alabama, LSU, and Florida, and Auburn paying well above $6.3 million in total compensation[1]. More specifically, of the 10 highest paid head coaches in the country (at public institutions) six were from the SEC[2]. Les Miles, Nick Saban, Urban Meyer, Steve Spurrier, and Gene Chizik are all NFL caliber coaches with NFL caliber coaching staffs. Money talks plain and simple. If you pay more you will get better coaches. Better coaches plus high quality players equals better qualify programs.

And lastly, the brand of football played in the SEC is fundamentally the best way to win football games. Oregon, Oklahoma, Michigan, Texas, and a plethora of other teams have gotten away from the brand of football that wins the big game. Don’t get me wrong, I love the spread. As a former wide receiver, the spread otherwise known as fun ball is my type of style. But when you really think about it, football in general is a run first type of game. Strong running games and great defenses have always been the back bone of most championship teams. The old adage that defense wins championships is clearly alive and well in the SEC. Haters will say that the SEC defenses don’t face real offenses in conference. To that I say, ask the 2010 Oregon Ducks (lost to Auburn), 2009 Texas Longhorns (lost to Alabama), and 2008 Oklahoma Sooners (lost to Florida) to name a few what it felt like to run up against an SEC defense. Each of these teams had top 5 ranked offenses heading into the national championship games and each of these teams were held to their lowest outputs all season.

I am far from an SEC homer in fact I’ve been one of the biggest SEC hater for some time. Primarily because their fans chant the following at their games: “S-E-C, S-E-C, S-E-C.” I am also certain that this eventual dominance will ebb (especially once Nick Saban and Les Miles retire). But after what I just witnessed in this Michigan-Alabama game I have to pay proper respect to college football’s pre-eminent conference (at the moment). I guess I have finally “accepted” it and the rest of the haters should too.


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Brian Nwokedi’s Sports Bucket List 
 The Making of my Ultimate Sports Year.

Now that I am officially 28 and I am 3 days from rejoining the work force, I thought I’d end my “summer retirement” with a list of the top 10 sporting events I plan on attending before I die (or before I turn 40)! Note that this bucket list leaves off some worldly events like the FIFA World Cup, the Summer Olympics, and the UEFA European Football Championships, all of which I would clearly like to attend given the opportunity, but I hope you all enjoy it nonetheless! And if any of y’all want to accompany me on any of the sporting events or donate to the Custom 2025 Sports Bucket List fund I’m clearly down LOL …!
   
1. The Rose Bowl National Championship Game in the new Playoff Era
Sport: College Football
When: January 1st
Location: Pasadena, California

Also known as the Granddaddy of Them All, simply put there is no greater bowl game than the Rose Bowl. Played every year on January 1st since 1902, the Rose Bowl represents college football’s ultimate tradition. With the new era of the BCS changing to a 4-team playoff starting in 2014-15 season, I want to attend the first ever 4-team National Championship played at the Rose Bowl. Let’s hope my Texas Longhorns will be there!


2. The Super Bowl
Sport: Professional Football
When: End of January, Early February

Location: Rotates, but ideally Cowboy Stadium, Arlington, Texas


Simply put, there is no bigger show in all of American sports, and to be honest, there may not be a better sports day than Super Bowl Sunday! My ideal Super Bowl scenario would clearly be the Houston Texans vs. the Dallas Cowboys in Cowboy Stadium and with the way my Texans are finally trending, I better start saving my money!

 3. El ClĂĄsico
Sport: Professional Soccer
When: annually in March or April
Location: Barcelona, Spain or Madrid, Spain

What more can you ask for: the two largest cities in Spain with two of the best teams in the world and two of the best players in Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. When Real Madrid and FC Barcelona get together, hundreds of millions of people watch and wait!

4. Catch Amen Corner at The Masters
Sport: Professional Golf
When: First full week of April

Location: Augusta, Georgia


Otherwise known as “Amen Corner” the 11th, 12th, and 13thholes represent the most treacherous part of the August National Golf Course were Masters have been lost. I’m looking forward to seeing the presentation of the green jacket in person.

5. The Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs
Sport: Thoroughbred Racing
When: First Saturday in May

Location: Louisville, Kentucky 


Considered the ultimate mark in horse racing, I’m just looking forward to enjoying the pomp and circumstances, partying, and the hats, and the bourbon.

6. The Football League Championship play-offs
Sport: Professional Soccer
When: May
Location: United Kingdom

This is a series of playoff matches that are contested by the teams finishing 3rdthrough 6th in the Football League Championship table. At stake is the final promotion slot into the Barclays Premier League with the winner gaining an approximately ÂŁ85 million


7. The FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium
Sport: Professional Soccer
When: May
Location: London, England

Where to begin 
 Well the Football Association (FA) Cup has been held since 1872 and is the oldest association football competition in the world. Secondly, there are no seeds, which allow clubs of all stripes to compete and afford lesser clubs to play the role of “Giant Killer” Lastly, the New Wembley is simply immaculate! It’s as if it’s been erected to the footballing gods! Now in the most ideal situation, it would be Chelsea vs. Manchester United but only time will tell. Plus, do I really need another reason to go back to London? Maybe I do (see #8)


8. The Championships, Wimbledon
Sport: Professional Tennis
When: Late June to early July

Location: Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton, United Kingdom


The oldest tennis tournament in the world Wimbledon is the mark of tradition. Played at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club since 1877, this grass court tournament is by far the most prestigious of all tennis Grand Slams. Give me some great tennis and some strawberries and cream!


9. The Open Championship
Sport: Professional Golf
When: The weekend of the third Friday in July

Location: Scotland or England


The oldest of the four major championships in professional golf, the Open takes place on a proper links course and has by far one of the best trophies in all of sport 
 the Claret Jug! If I can choose, I’d love to catch the Open at The Old Course at St. Andrews quite simply because this is one of the oldest golf courses in the entire world and the “home of golf.”

10. The Game
Sport: College Football
When: Last weekend in November

Location: Columbus, Ohio or Ann Arbor, Michigan


In 2006, Ohio State and Michigan entered their final regular season game unbeaten and ranked #1 and #2 respectively. This game was the first game of the 21stCentury to be dubbed the “Game of the Century” and it lived up to the hype with the Buckeyes beating the Wolverines 42-39. Last October, I had the opportunity to finally catch a UM game at the Big House, and let’s just say 
 I’m trying to do that again real soon and what better game to see than “The Game.”

On an aside, I still believe that Michigan would have won this game had Chad Henne not missed Mario Manningham on an out and up route in the second quarter 
 D. Bickel, you know what I’m talking about!