When will a non-quarterback win the Heisman?

Tonight there are three worthy candidates hoping to flash the pose in New York and win the Heisman trophy.   But there’s no drama leading up to the announcement because yet again everyone seems to know who it’s going to be.

Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper and Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon both had phenomenal seasons for their respective schools yet the consensus belief is that Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota is going to run away with the award. 

                                        Andy Manis/Associated Press
Gordon's best game of the season was his 408-yard effort
on November 15 against Nebraska in which he did not play
in the fourth quarter.

It would be nice to have some suspense building up to the decision but there’s a quarterback bias that seems to win out every year, which ruins the fun deciding who’s going to be college football’s most outstanding player.  Since 1956, Barry Sanders, Kevin Smith and Marcus Allen are the only three running backs to run for more yards in a single season than Gordon’s 2,336 this season. 

I know it’s hard to argue with the season Mariota had throwing 38 touchdowns and two interceptions but it would be nice if voters valued each position equally and didn’t favor the quarterback. 

                                                        Bob Rosato/Sports Illustrated
Darren McFadden had two outstanding seasons at Arkansas
but fell just short of the Heisman in both 2006 and 2007.

Darren McFadden was a two-time Heisman runner up at Arkansas falling just short in 2006 and 2007 to Troy Smith and Tim Tebow respectively.  Mcfadden set the Arkansas single season rushing record in 2006 with 1,647 yards on the ground only to break that record in 2007 with 1,830 rushing yards.  The Razorbacks became trendsetters in McFadden’s time there as they started running the wildcat offense with McFadden as the centerpiece and the wildcat soon made its way into the NFL.  Yet,

McFadden never made his way up to the podium to give a Heisman speech.

Adrian Peterson totaled 1,925 rushing yards his freshman year at Oklahoma but fell short to Matt Leinart in the 2004 Heisman race.  In 2003, Larry Fitzgerald had 1,672 receiving yards for Pittsburgh and a jaw-dropping 22 touchdowns but it was Oklahoma quarterback Jason White that won the Heisman trophy.  Larry Johnson eclipsed 2,000 yards on the ground for Penn State in 2003, averaged 7.7 yards per carry, and scored 20 touchdowns and all that got him was a third place finish behind Iowa quarterback Brad Banks and Southern California’s Carson Palmer. 

                   Matt Slocum/Associated Press
Adrian Peterson burst onto the scene as a
freshman running for close to 2,000 yards at
Oklahoma but had no Heisman to show for it.

Since 2000, the Heisman has favored quarterbacks and it’s not fair.  Ron Dayne, Ricky Williams, Charles Woodson, Eddie Geroge, Rashaan Salaam, and Desmond Howard all won the award as non-quarterbacks in the 90s and there have been many more legendary running backs that have won the award, so what’s caused the change?

I’m not trying to argue against Mariota because that’s really hard to do but more than anything else it baffles my mind how Gordon can rush for the fourth most yards in a single season in college football history and not even be considered.  Let’s not forget Cooper and 1,656 yards and 14 touchdowns.  If it weren’t for him who knows how many losses Alabama would have in a loaded SEC West.

Entering this season 12 of the last 14 Heisman winners have been quarterbacks and that’s if you count Reggie Bush as one of the two non-quarterbacks who ended up vacating his Heisman.   With all signs indicating Mariota will make that 13 of the last 15 who knows when the next time a Heisman winner will not be a quarterback.   Your guess is as good as mine.

Photos:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2179933-melvin-gordon-can-jump-into-heisman-discussion-with-strong-showing-against-lsu

http://garnetreport.com/what-happened-to-the-heisman/#sthash.5EJnhDyA.dpbs

http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_5774544?_requestid=4414661

The best holiday of the year

Thanksgiving is really a day like no other and has become my favorite holiday.  It used to be Christmas for me.  I still love Christmas.  But now that I’m passed the age of waking up at 7 AM on Christmas, checking my stocking, waking up my parents and opening presents, I’ve began to like Thanksgiving more and more.

As a sports fan, nothing beats a day where you can sit on the couch all day watching football with family, eat copious amounts of food and not be called lazy. Thanksgiving is probably the only day when that is viewed as the norm.  So now that I’m at the age when waking up on Christmas morning isn’t the same anymore, I’d be lying if I said Thanksgiving wasn’t my favorite holiday.

Christmas Day has become an all day affair for the NBA, New Year’s Day has always been a great day for college football and more recently the NHL with the winter classic.  Easter can be a bit of a wild card for sports fans but if it falls late enough there are usually some big NHL and NBA playoff games and maybe even a final round of the Masters.  But nothing is comparable to Thanksgiving and the NFL.  Three games spread out throughout the day in what will always be the best holiday tradition for sports fans.

This year will be a little more satisfying than other Thanksgivings as I’ll get to watch the Eagles and Cowboys with my family.  My grandfather was an Eagles season ticket holder for years at Veterans Stadium and so I always enjoy watching a game with him.

The Lions and Cowboys always play on Thanksgiving and for the better part of the 2000s the Lions were the warm-up game for the Cowboys at 4:30 as the season was always over by Thanksgiving for the Lions.  That’s not the case this year as the Lions are battling for a playoff spot in the NFC and welcome into Detroit a division rival in the Chicago Bears. 

The Eagles and Cowboys are next.  Is there really a better stage to play this game on?  Thanksgiving Day in Dallas, both teams come in at 8-3 tied for first place in the NFC East.  Get your popcorn turkey ready.

Lastly the 49ers host the Seahawks as both teams are jockeying for position in a jam-packed NFC playoff picture.  It’s a rematch of last year’s NFC Championship game and looks like it’s becoming one of the NFL’s best rivalries.

While the slate of games isn’t always the best on thanksgiving, the tradition will always last.  After looking at each of the three games tomorrow, it looks like we’ll have three good ones to enjoy anyway and there will also be lots of food to enjoy.  For someone like me, that’s all it takes.

Why four teams is not the answer for College Football

There is less than one month left in the college football season.  Early on in each week, we see the new polls released and begin to prognosticate who the four teams will be in the inaugural college football playoff.  The problem is, none of it really matters.  The four teams seem to change every week and when all is said and done teams five, six and seven will probably have a legitimate complaint for being left out.

The only team that looks like a lock to make the playoff is Florida State.  If the Seminoles can get past Miami this week, in a weak ACC, they should be playoff bound.  Oregon also looks safe as of now as well with a bye this week and then conference games against Colorado and Oregon State, but the Ducks one loss this season did come a then-unranked Arizona team.  However, two of the top five teams will face off on Saturday afternoon in Tuscaloosa, as Alabama will host Mississippi State.   Therein lies the problem and is the reason why a four-team playoff will ultimately prove to be too small.

Mississippi State and Alabama could very well end the season as two of the nation’s best four teams.  If Alabama wins on Saturday then they’ll jump into the top four, and Mississippi State’s playoff hopes will take a hit and with a game at the end of the season at Ole Miss it’s very possible Mississippi State could miss the playoff.  If Mississippi State wins, with two losses Alabama’s chance of making the playoff is almost non-existent.  But some could easily argue Alabama could take down Oregon, Florida State or Texas Christian who are currently teams two, three and four respectively.

It’s tough for teams like Mississippi State and Alabama to run the table in a very deep SEC West division.  It’s not as tough for Florida State to go undefeated in the ACC or Oregon to win out in the Pac 12.  A four-team playoff favors the Florida States of the world who can beat up on an average schedule at best and works against the SEC teams who have big games each week just to stay in the conversation.  It’s hard to see both Alabama and Mississippi State making the playoff this year, but if the playoff were eight teams both would probably qualify.  Baylor is another team that sits on the outside looking in that beat TCU earlier in the season.  While there certainly were complaints about the BCS, there are still going to be unhappy teams this year and rightfully so.  If expanded to eight teams, it’s hard to see teams nine, 10 and 11 having the same complaints teams five, six and seven may end up having this year. 

Ultimately, it boils down to strength of schedule.  Teams with more difficult schedules have much more difficult paths to the playoffs.  Florida State had some close calls against Oklahoma State, Notre Dame and Louisville but hasn’t really been tested otherwise and of those three close games, Louisville was the only conference opponent for the Seminoles.  In order to devalue the importance of strength of schedule, the playoff needs to go to eight.

2014-2015 NBA Season Preview

On the eve of another NBA season here are my standings, awards, and playoff predictions:

*Numbers next to certain teams are playoff seeds

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division

1.     Toronto Raptors (4)

2.     New York Knicks (8)

3.     Brooklyn Nets

4.     Boston Celtics

5.     Philadelphia 76ers

Analysis: Not much to like about this division.  Toronto is the only team that has a chance to win 50 games.  The Raptors have a nice athletic core with Terrence Ross and Demar Derozan on the wings and a good point guard in Kyle Lowry.  It gets ugly fast though.  The Knicks were a mess last season and if Derek Fisher struggles to implement the triangle offense in the Big Apple it might not be any better.  By default, I think the Knicks sneak into the playoffs.  Brooklyn’s attempt to contend for a championship last season failed and they have an aging nucleus and don’t have too many draft picks.  Lionel Hollins coming in as the head coach won’t help fix that.  The Nets are in trouble.  The Celtics are in the midst of a rebuild and should look to trade Rajon Rondo to acquire more draft picks though watching sixth overall pick Marcus Smart this season will be interesting.  The Sixers are firing up the tank again and will probably win fewer than the 19 games they won last season.

Southeast Division

1.     Washington Wizards (3)

2.     Miami Heat (5)

3.     Charlotte Hornets (6)

4.     Atlanta Hawks (7)

5.     Orlando Magic

Analysis: Washington is one of the best up-and-coming teams in the NBA.  With John Wall and Bradley Beal anchoring the backcourt and the addition of Paul Pierce in the offseason, the Wizards should win this division.   In the first year of the post-LeBron era, the Heat should be good enough to make the playoffs, but Dwyane Wade’s health should be worth monitoring as well as Chris Bosh’s production after he got a max contract over the summer and is taking on a much larger role on offense.  The Hornets are another nice team on the rise and the addition of Lance Stephenson should definitely get them back in the playoffs for the second straight year. Atlanta is just okay and much like the Knicks sneak in by default as I think there’s a big gap between Charlotte and Atlanta.  Orlando is looking to add more pieces in the draft and will struggle through their third season since the Dwight Howard trade.

Central Division

1.)  Chicago Bulls (1)

2.)  Cleveland Cavaliers (2)

3.)  Detroit Pistons

4.)  Indiana Pacers

5.)  Milwaukee Bucks

Analysis: The Bulls are for real pending the health of a certain point guard and former MVP out of Memphis.  Derrick Rose needs to stay on the court but if he can I think he can still play at a high level and contend for the MVP award and Tom Thibodeau will of course have his team playing defense.  Adding Pau Gasol should help them on the offensive end.  Cleveland will be so much fun to watch. I think it’s awesome that LeBron went back home and I can already imagine Kevin Love throwing outlet pass after outlet pass to him in transition.  Detroit could be a borderline playoff team because I think there’s too much talent on that team for them to be as bad as they were last year.  Indiana is in bad shape.  They lost Lance Stepehnson and Paul George may miss the entire season.  They’ll be quite the offensively challenged team.  It will be hard for Milwaukee to be much worse than last year with Jason Kidd on the sideline now and Rookie of the Year favorite Jabari Parker providing lots of offense.

Western Conference

Southwest Division

1.)  San Antonio Spurs (1)

2.)  Houston Rockets (4)

3.)  Dallas Mavericks (6)

4.)  Memphis Grizzlies (8)

5.)  New Orleans Pelicans

Analysis: This is the best division in the NBA.  San Antonio comes in as the defending champs and until proven otherwise, I’ll put them as my top team in the West.  Houston lost Chandler Parsons but Trevor Ariza will help them defensively and knock down three-point shots like Parsons did.  Dallas got a lot better in the offseason adding Jameer Nelson, Raymond Felton, Al-Farouq Aminu, Tyson Chandler, and Chandler Parsons to a team that won 49 games a year ago.  Memphis will still be rock solid on defense, adding Vince Carter was a nice move, and Zach Randolph will still give them reliable post offense.  New Orleans has some nice young players but it’s just hard to take anyone else in the West out of the playoffs.

Northwest Division

1.)  Oklahoma City Thunder (3)

2.)  Portland Trail Blazers (7)

3.)  Denver Nuggets

4.)  Minnesota Timberwolves

5.)  Utah Jazz

Analysis: Oklahoma City will miss Kevin Durant enough early on to slip back from second in the West last year to third this season but once he gets back they’ll be a title contender.  Portland didn’t really do anything major in the offseason, and while LaMarcus Aldridge is so much fun to watch I don’t know if they can earn home-court advantage in the first round again.  Denver has some decent young players but that’s not enough to make the playoffs in the West.  Minnesota will be really fun to watch with their young core but inexperience will keep them around 30 wins this season.  Utah is continuing a rebuild, which I think may take some time.  I’m not sure if Trey Burke and Dante Exum can play together.

Pacific Division

1.)  Los Angeles Clippers (2)

2.)  Golden State Warriors (5)

3.)  Phoenix Suns

4.)  Los Angeles Lakers

5.)  Sacramento Kings

Analysis: The Clippers have a lot to prove this season after a disappointing six-game exit in the second round of the playoffs against Oklahoma City last year.  Golden State will still score a ton of points even though I’m still not sure why they fired Mark Jackson. Phoenix is good, but not good enough to make the playoffs in the West.  I think Kobe has a nice year for the Lakers, but he doesn’t have enough help.  Sacramento has one of the best centers in the game in Demarcus Cousins, but he doesn’t have enough help either.  Selecting Nik Stauskas eighth overall over Noah Vonleh who could have helped Cousins up front was a head scratcher.

Awards

MVP: LeBron James (Cleveland)

Coach of the Year: Dwane Casey (Toronto)

Defensive Player of the Year: Anthony Davis (New Orleans)

Sixth Man of the Year: Tristan Thompson (Cleveland)

Rookie of the Year: Nerlens Noel (Philadelphia)

Playoffs

Eastern Conference

First Round

1-Chicago over 8-New York in 5

2-Cleveland over 7-Atlanta in 4

3-Washington over 6-Charlotte in 6

4-Toronto over 5-Miami in 7

Second Round

1-Chicago over 4-Toronto in 6

2-Cleveland over 3-Washington in 6

Eastern Conference Finals

           

2-Cleveland over 1-Chicago in 6

Western Conference

First Round

1-San Antonio over 8-Memphis in 6

2-LA Clippers over 7-Portland in 6

3-Oklahoma City over 6-Dallas in 7

5-Golden State over 4-Houston in 7

Second Round

1-San Antonio over 5-Golden State in 6

2- LA Clippers over 3-Oklahoma City in 7

Western Conference Finals

2- LA Clippers over 1- San Antonio in 7

NBA Finals

Cleveland Cavaliers over Los Angeles Clippers in 7

      

NHL 2014-2015 Season Predictions

NHL 2014-2015 Season Predictions

With the puck set to drop in NHL arenas, time to give my predictions for the season.  An asterisk denotes a playoff team.

Eastern Conference

Metropolitan Division

1.)    Pittsburgh Penguins*

2.)    New York Rangers*

3.)    New York Islanders*

4.)    Columbus Blue Jackets*

5.)    Washington Capitals*

6.)    Philadelphia Flyers

7.)    New Jersey Devils

8.)    Carolina Hurricanes

Analysis: I think this is the deepest division in the NHL.  Arguments can be made for every team except Carolina to be a playoff team.  Pittsburgh lost some pieces in the offseason, but is still the class of the division as long as Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are healthy.  The Rangers had some subtractions from their Eastern Conference championship roster as well as Brian Boyle, Anton Stralman, and Brad Richards are no longer around, but are still very strong defensively and still have Henrik Lundqvist.  The Islanders are much improved.  Having made the playoffs in 2012-2013, they fell off a cliff last year once John Tavares got hurt in the Olympics.  With Tavares back, the addition of forwards Nikolai Kulemin and Mikhail Grabovski, Nick Leddy and Johnny Boychuk added on the back end, and Jaroslav Halak between the pipes, look for the Islanders to make the playoffs for the second time in three years.  Columbus is quite an up-and-coming team with a roster with lots of promise and Scott Hartnell could be a helpful glue guy for them.  Washington will be better as well having improved their defense bringing in Matt Niskanen and Brooks Orpik from Pittsburgh and Barry Trotz was a good hire for them.  The Flyers weren’t able to do much in the offseason due to their cap situation.  Steve Mason might be their goalie for the future but they have an average to good at best defense and will need to score a lot of goalies to have a chance at the playoffs.  Mike Cammalleri and Martin Havlat help the Devils up front but there’s not enough offensive firepower to help Corey Scheinder.  Carolina will be cellar dwellers without having done much to improve in the offseason and Eric Staal and Jeff Skinner sustained injuries in the preseason.

Atlantic Division

1.)    Tampa Bay Lightning*

2.)    Boston Bruins*

3.)    Montreal Canadiens*

4.)    Toronto Maple Leafs

5.)    Detroit Red Wings

6.)    Ottawa Senators

7.)    Florida Panthers

8.)    Buffalo Sabres

Analysis: Tampa Bay will win this division with a healthy Steven Stamkos and an improved blue line with Jason Garrison and Anton Stralman on board.  Boston won’t be far behind though as Tuukka Rask will compete for the Vezina and Zdeno Charra is always a threat to win the Norris.  Montreal went to the Eastern Conference Finals last year and may have won if Carey Price did not get hurt.  The Canadiens young forwards and Price will propel them into the playoffs.  Toronto and Detroit will vie for wild card spots with the teams that aren’t in the top three in the Metropolitan but there’s too much depth in the Metropolitan for me to see Toronto or Detroit make the playoffs.   For Detroit, this would end of streak of over two decades of making the playoffs.  Ottawa, Florida, and Buffalo will keep the basement warm in this division.

Western Conference

Central Division

1.)    St. Louis Blues*

2.)    Chicago Blackhawks*

3.)    Colorado Avalanche*

4.)    Dallas Stars*

5.)    Nashville Predators

6.)    Minnesota Wild

7.)    Winnipeg Jets

Analysis: While I tend to lean towards the Metropolitan as the deepest division in the NHL, the Central is also very deep.  St. Louis is a very talented team that just hasn’t been able to get it done in the playoffs.  Nonetheless they’ll have another shot this year.  Chicago is always a force to be reckoned with and Colorado, much like Columbus in the East, has an up-and-coming roster of young talent.  Dallas is loaded offensively and while they have some question marks on defense should be able to score enough to make the playoffs.  Nashville could be the most improved team in the West with Pekka Rinne healthy, a strong defense, and Peter Laviolette behind the bench.  Minnesota won a round in the playoffs last year but there has to be an odd team out here.  Similar to the Flyers in the Metropolitan, Minnesota isn’t a bad team, there are just better ones in this division and Winnipeg will be left at the bottom.

Pacific Division                                                                                                                                    1.)    Los Angeles Kings*

2.)    Anaheim Ducks*

3.)    San Jose Sharks*

4.)    Vancouver Canucks*

5.)    Edmonton Oilers

6.)    Arizona Coyotes

7.)    Calgary Flames

Analysis: The Kings aren’t going anywhere.  Anaheim and San Jose will still be playoff teams but questions remain about Bruce Boudreau and Todd McLellan.  Vancouver should be a playoff team with Ryan Miller solidifying their goaltending situation.  Edmonton has young talent especially up front and will be improved while the Coyotes and Flames struggle.

Awards

Hart Trophy (League MVP): Steven Stamkos- Tampa Bay

Rocket Richard Trophy (Most Goals): Steven Stamkos- Tampa Bay

Art Ross Trophy (Most Points): John Tavares- New York Islanders

Norris Trophy (Best Defenseman): Drew Doughty- Los Angeles

Vezina Trophy (Best Goalie): Carey Price- Montreal

Calder Trophy (Best Rookie): Jonathan Drouin- Tampa Bay

Playoffs

Metropolitan First Round

Washington over Pittsburgh in 7

New York Rangers over New York Islanders in 6

Metropolitan Second Round

New York Rangers over Washington in 5

Atlantic First Round

Tampa Bay over Columbus in 6

Montreal  over Boston in 7

Atlantic Second Round

Tampa Bay over Montreal in 7

Eastern Conference Finals

Tampa Bay over New York Rangers in 6 

                

Central First Round

St. Louis over Dallas in 6

Chicago over Colorado in 6

Central Second Round

Chicago over St. Louis in 7

Pacific First Round

Los Angeles over Vancouver in 5

Anaheim over San Jose in 7

Pacific Second Round

Los Angeles over Anaheim in 5

Western Conference Finals

Chicago over Los Angeles in 6

Stanley Cup Final

Tampa Bay over Chicago in 6

Happy Hockey Season!