SUMLIN BACK TO THE BIG-12? FANS TURN ON AL DAVIS & A PLAY ON THE "CIVIL WAR"
Houston Cougar head coach, Kevin Sumlin, may be looking to move back north. He was an assistant with A&M & an offensive coordinator with Oklahoma for a total of 8 seasons. In his 2 seasons with the Cougars, they have compiled an 18-7 record, play for the Conference-USA Championship this Saturday & will play in their 2nd bowl game in a few weeks. He calls the nations most efficient passing game with nearly 5,000 yards in 2009. Houston officials have said publicly they want to sign Sumlin to a contract extension, but they might not get that opportunity if Mark Mangino gets canned at KU & he's in the mix to fill the vacant slot. I've seen Sumlin's team play 5 times this season & he truly belongs back in the BIG-12, the Cougars' spread offense, led by Heisman hopeful Case Keenum, looks no different from Texas Tech, Missouri or the rest.
We saw "The Blind Side" last night. If you haven't seen this inspiring movie about Raven tackle Michael Oher, I highly recommend it. Oher was on the street as a 16-year old, basically living by himself, failing in school when on a rainy November night a wealthy white Memphis family saw him walking down the street & coaxed him into their car, the rest, as they say, is history. Sandra Bullock plays the very strong willed Christian mom, wife & decorator. I think it's about the best thing she's ever done. The film has it all, it's funny, poignant & it's a true story, taken from the best-seller of the same name. It is truly a feel-good movie for everyone.
Some of the Raider faithful have had enough. In the land where everyday is Halloween, a number of fans are tired of supporting a losing franchise & they're taking action. The website, messagetoal.com is soliciting donations to pay for billboard rental & radio ads. The first billboard is already up in Oakland & they want more. This group wants owner Al Davis to hire a real general manager with real power to develop a winning team in Oakland. They believe as long as Al Davis is running the franchise, unimpeded by a GM, this team isn't likely to improve. I couldn't agree more, but I don't see Al relinquishing control anytime soon, as long as he can draw a breath, Davis believes he & only he, can make this team a winner.
We have 2 games tonight, the Jets travel way north to Toronto in search of revenge. The Bills hope to earn a season sweep over New York in a game that will intrigue 3 groups of people, Jets' fans, Bills' fans & bettors. I have no interest in the game at all, it will be on a smaller screen with no sound.
Fortunately, there is an all-or-nothing game on ESPN at 8PM, which we will watch with great interest. The 113th renewal of "The Civil War" between 16th ranked Oregon State & #7 Oregon means everything to both teams. One, it's an intense in-state rivalry game. Two, the winner is the PAC-10 Champion. Three, Oregon QB Jeremiah Masoli still has an outside shot at the Heisman Trophy, if he duplicates his awesome performance at Arizona, he could still win it. Four, the winner goes to the Rose Bowl to beat Ohio State, I mean play Ohio State. It's the first time in the 113 years, this game will decide who goes to the Rose Bowl. The game in Oregon's Autzen Stadium will rock, this is one of the loudest venues in all of college football. Between the stadium design & the almost constant low-hanging clouds, the 55,000 in attendance sound like double that. Oregon won last season, as an underdog, the Ducks slaughtered the Beavers 65-38. In '06 & '07, the underdog Beavers won. The home team has lost 4 of the last 6 Civil Wars. The Beavers have a very potent offense led by QB Sean Canfield. Short(5' 7"), but very tough running back, Jaquizz Rogers & his older brother James, a wide receiver & punt returner, give Canfield a lot of options. The Ducks are led by Masoli, freshman running back LaMichael James & tight end Ed Dickson. Oregon coach Chip Kelly did a miraculous job getting his team back to #7 after their opening game debacle at Boise State. Mike Riley leads the Beavers, a team that has beaten USC twice in the last 3 years & is seemingly always over achieving.
The line in this game is 9 1/2. In my experience with rivalry games, you're better off taking the points, especially in a rivalry that has been dominated lately by the underdog. I'm taking the points & tho tempted by the total of 62 1/2, I'm only interested in Oregon State in what should be a very entertaining game to watch.
We saw "The Blind Side" last night. If you haven't seen this inspiring movie about Raven tackle Michael Oher, I highly recommend it. Oher was on the street as a 16-year old, basically living by himself, failing in school when on a rainy November night a wealthy white Memphis family saw him walking down the street & coaxed him into their car, the rest, as they say, is history. Sandra Bullock plays the very strong willed Christian mom, wife & decorator. I think it's about the best thing she's ever done. The film has it all, it's funny, poignant & it's a true story, taken from the best-seller of the same name. It is truly a feel-good movie for everyone.
Some of the Raider faithful have had enough. In the land where everyday is Halloween, a number of fans are tired of supporting a losing franchise & they're taking action. The website, messagetoal.com is soliciting donations to pay for billboard rental & radio ads. The first billboard is already up in Oakland & they want more. This group wants owner Al Davis to hire a real general manager with real power to develop a winning team in Oakland. They believe as long as Al Davis is running the franchise, unimpeded by a GM, this team isn't likely to improve. I couldn't agree more, but I don't see Al relinquishing control anytime soon, as long as he can draw a breath, Davis believes he & only he, can make this team a winner.
We have 2 games tonight, the Jets travel way north to Toronto in search of revenge. The Bills hope to earn a season sweep over New York in a game that will intrigue 3 groups of people, Jets' fans, Bills' fans & bettors. I have no interest in the game at all, it will be on a smaller screen with no sound.
Fortunately, there is an all-or-nothing game on ESPN at 8PM, which we will watch with great interest. The 113th renewal of "The Civil War" between 16th ranked Oregon State & #7 Oregon means everything to both teams. One, it's an intense in-state rivalry game. Two, the winner is the PAC-10 Champion. Three, Oregon QB Jeremiah Masoli still has an outside shot at the Heisman Trophy, if he duplicates his awesome performance at Arizona, he could still win it. Four, the winner goes to the Rose Bowl to beat Ohio State, I mean play Ohio State. It's the first time in the 113 years, this game will decide who goes to the Rose Bowl. The game in Oregon's Autzen Stadium will rock, this is one of the loudest venues in all of college football. Between the stadium design & the almost constant low-hanging clouds, the 55,000 in attendance sound like double that. Oregon won last season, as an underdog, the Ducks slaughtered the Beavers 65-38. In '06 & '07, the underdog Beavers won. The home team has lost 4 of the last 6 Civil Wars. The Beavers have a very potent offense led by QB Sean Canfield. Short(5' 7"), but very tough running back, Jaquizz Rogers & his older brother James, a wide receiver & punt returner, give Canfield a lot of options. The Ducks are led by Masoli, freshman running back LaMichael James & tight end Ed Dickson. Oregon coach Chip Kelly did a miraculous job getting his team back to #7 after their opening game debacle at Boise State. Mike Riley leads the Beavers, a team that has beaten USC twice in the last 3 years & is seemingly always over achieving.
The line in this game is 9 1/2. In my experience with rivalry games, you're better off taking the points, especially in a rivalry that has been dominated lately by the underdog. I'm taking the points & tho tempted by the total of 62 1/2, I'm only interested in Oregon State in what should be a very entertaining game to watch.
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