The USC hour, er, I mean College Football Live

As some of you may have guessed from the title, the purpose of today's entry is to bitch and moan about "The Worldwide Leader in Sports" adding a half-hour daily college football show to the programming schedule. Now, any other time, I'd be thrilled about such a program. In fact, when they first announced it, I was pumped. Who wouldn't want a daily dose of college football during the weekdays? It's a sure-fire hit. At least thats what I thought until I watched it. And what I saw was basically a half hour of fawning over USC. That wasn't a one-episode thing either, it has been every day. I knew we'd be subjected to this crap to an extent, but this is so blatant that it's sickening. This is from the same network that debated whether or not the 2005 USC team was the best ever, only to watch them get beat by Texas in the National Title game. This is the same network that said they were going for a three-peat when they've only won one crystal ball and then shut out Auburn when they were the real deserving champion. It's a one peat, not even legit back-to-back titles. But don't try to persuade Mark May and Herbie, they've got their head so far up Pete Carroll's ass that they can probably see out his mouth.

Am I asking for Nebraska coverage? Not at all. The Big 12 North just isn't sexy enough to cover right now, and that's understandable until we start beating top-10 teams. But that doesn't mean that the douchebags at ESPN can completely ignore everyone but the top 5 teams in the country. I just wish we could get an unbiased look at all of college football, not the worship of two or three programs, which is what ESPN does. Unfortunately, they have a near monopoly on coverage of the sport, so you have no choice but to watch them.

Oh and another thing: They talked about USC's schedule and had the people with internet access vote on which of their games will be the toughest to win. The game against the Cal Bears was first, the game against NOTRE DAME was second, and the tilt in Lincoln on September 15th was ranked third. Which begs the question, are these people f*cking retarded? Really? The Cal Golden Bears? The chronic underachiever of the Pac 10? The one whose stadium in Berkley holds 75,000 but frequently only plays host to 60,000? What the hell is so intimidating about them? USC beats their ass every year. And Notre Dame? Pretty sure that they are replacing their all-time leading passer, as well as their top 2 recievers and best tailback. Oh, and did I mention that their defense sucks too? What is so tough about this game? Ohhhhhh, now I remember. The Golden Domers will be led by reigning Biggest Douchebag in the Universe Jimmy Clausen. So apparently playing an already weak team with a freshmen QB will be more difficult than going into Lincoln and playing a deep and talented Husker squad in front of the Sea of Red. This goes to show just how stupid most of the public is. Either that or it shows that more people in Nebraska need to get internet access so we can out-vote them next time.

Good thing Cally let the process sort itself out

This is why you don't jump to conclusions. Why you don't call for someone's head before the situation resolves itself. The biggest news of every Husker fans summer was released today, as Cally announced that Mo Purify will only miss the season opener against Nevada for his two run-ins with the law earlier this summer. This obviously is a HUGE relief for all of us who thought we'd have to be without our primary aerial threat. Sure, we talked ourselves into our other recievers making up for him, and they may very well have, but I think we all know that in the back of our mind we were more than a little worried. Our fantasies of Keller-to-Mo touchdowns are still alive, and that is cause for celebration.

I made the mistake of jumping to the conlusion that Callahan was sure to kick him off the team, which was short-sighted on my part. I was sure that Cally, having little or no tolerance for off-the-field issues, was going to give him the boot. But that is where I was too quick to fire off an entry, and man am I glad that Callahan let the legal system figure it out first before making the same mistake I did. Welcome back, Mo. You may never have been gone, but to most of us, it was a bad couple of weeks thinking about the prospect of you not being a Husker.

If Husker players were Transformers, they'd be....

So I went to Transformers last night. Not an amazing movie, but a solid 2 hours of entertainment (the problem is that it goes 20 minutes too long and drags on, but hey, for six bucks I can't complain). But it got me thinking: If we were to look at current Husker players, what kind of Transformer would they be? What I mean by that is, what type of vehicle would they be before transforming into ass-kicking machines? Every player has a type of personality that would match up with a particular type of vehicle, so let us analyze one player from each position group and determine what vehicle they would be in disguise before shifting into decepticon ass-kicking mode.

Defensive Backs: Cortney Grixby, CB
Pre-Transformed car (PTC): Vespa

To be honest, I wanted to do Asante, only because he's seemingly more badass, but we dont know enough about him and haven't seen him in action outside of a scrimmage, so I decided to go with Grixby. So I thought about it a while, and what tiny vehicle seems to be sped by on a regular basis and constantly ridiculed? Obviously, its the Vespa. While I think Grixby will improve this year, his lack of size and speed made it way too easy for this comparison. And the urge to dropkick people on Vespas is just too strong to ignore.

Linebackers: Bo Ruud
PTC: Chevy Silverado 1500HD

Much like the Silverado, Ruud is the picture of reliability and strength, and while sometimes underrated has shown to be a dependable and long lasting cog in the Husker defense. While some claim he is overrated, I beg to differ. While I think he could stand to lose a couple tenths off his 40, he is always in the picture at the end of plays and he is a tireless worker. Plus, his size and workmanlike attitude overshadows his subtle knack for making plays. When you really think about it, cant you see Ruud buying a truck with his 1st NFL contract instead of a Benz? I'd like to think so.

D-Line: Ndamukong Suh
PTC: Hummer H1

I'm not talking about these pussy mass production vehicles that you see every guy with a midlife crisis driving, I'm talking about the Desert-Storm era fighting machines, the ones that only go 80 miles an hour but can go over and through just about anything. Suh, while raw, has a combination of power and speed that few people possess, much like the original ass-kicking Hummers.

O-Line: Lydon Murtha
PTC: V-22 Osprey

Why would I give Murtha a sweet vehicle like the U.S. Marines' Osprey? Because much like the Osprey, Murtha has been a question mark for years, an unproven product prone to malfunction. The Osprey is famous for it's multiple crashes and inability to live up to it's impressive design capacities. Murtha is known for being a physical specimen who has yet to live up to his abilities and publicity when he came in. Here's to hoping that Murtha follows the Osprey's now-error-free path to fulfilling his potential.

Wide Reciever: Mo Purify
PTC: Ford Crown Victoria

Why the Crown Vic? Because fit it with lights and a siren and Mo feels right at home. Aw c'mon, it had to be said.

Quarterback: Sam Keller
PTC: Ferrari 360 Spyder

Like the flasy Italian import, Keller grabs people's attention as well as the headlines. Keller oozes the west-coast cockiness and cool that the Ferrari necessitates, and his competitive streak would mesh well with a car whose top speed is north of 190 miles an hour. Plus, Keller looks like the type of guy who would feel at home in the 360, with some spiked up hair and a playboy model on his arm. A year from now we might actually see it (let's hope so, that'd mean he's a first or second round pick).

Running Backs: Cody Glenn
PTC: A Bulldozer

Do I even need to explain why this one makes sense?

Some Links

While there not be a lot going on in the world of college football in mid-June, that doesn't stop the media or the fans from devoting countless hours writing and talking about it. As the years go by, and especially since the baseball strike of 1994, football has become the most popular sport in the country (and it's not even close). I've always thought it superior, but it's nice to see that everyone else finally realizes it now. That's why you have people like Stuart Mandel and Peter King of Sports Illustrated doing their football columns essentially year-round now. It's why you can turn on the NFL Network and watch grown men go through tackling drills in mini-camp. If you had told someone 20 years ago that we would be doing that, they would have laughed at you. Now, football is king. And that ain't changing, maybe ever.

First off, it was a sad week in college football when Indiana's Terry Hoeppner succumbed to a brain tumor. I can't talk about Hoeppner like I knew a lot about him, but after reading many of his ex-players' accounts, he seems to be one of the most well-liked and respected coaches in the Big 10, if not the country. It's a shame his story hasn't recieved more press and attention. If Lloyd Carr or Jim Tressel had passed away, it'd be the leading story on Sportscenter for a week. But because this seemingly great man coached lowly Indiana, he is briefly mentioned before everybody moves on to bigger stories.

Sports Illustrated has story by Rival's Steve Megargee in which he breaks down the top 25 toughest schedules in the country for next season. The Huskers are ranked 12th, which isn't too bad and is probably pretty accurate, although the biased side of me thinks that our slate merits at least a top 10 position. Sure, Oklahoma isn't on the docket, but we still might have to play them in the Big XII title game, and if not them, then a rematch with a top-10 Texas team awaits, so I think our rankings could potentially rise because of that. What I find funny is Notre Dame being ranked 13th. When are people going to stop drinking the Charlie Weis kool-aid? Megargee says "The start of Notre Dame's schedule couldn't be much tougher. The end couldn't be much easier." Really? The start is that hard for them? They play a Calvin Johnson-less Georgia Tech team (who also replaces their starting QB in Reggie Ball), an overrated Penn State team, as well as a hapless Michigan State team. That said, I do give them credit for having Michigan, USC, and up-and-comers in UCLA and Boston College (who I'm still not as sold on as some other media members are). Either way, I'm looking forward to the Irish having a five or six loss season and still somehow making a BCS bowl.

In one of my personal favorites of the past week, Big 10 commish Jim Delaney wants Comcast cable to apologize for remarks about the soon-to-be-unveiled-and-then-folded Big 10 Network, which still hasn't been picked up by most cable companies. Comcast's remarks that hurt Jim's feelings: Comcast said the network will show "second and third-tier sporting events," called it "a niche sports channel" and added: "Indiana basketball fans don't want to watch Iowa volleyball, but the Big Ten wants everyone to pay for their new network." OHHH BURN! I thought this was hilarious, partly because I hate the Big 10, but mostly because it actually is a dumb idea. Would you pay for an NFL-network type channel that showed crap like women's softball and basketball? No, of course not, no man in his right mind would. Let's say it gets you two more football games a week from your conference, is that worth the price when you can just go to a sports bar instead and spend the money you didnt spend on Jim Delaney's pipe dream on beer? I think not. Stupid idea, and no cable company is going to put it on basic cable, which is where it needs to be if it is going to even have a chance of survival.

Over on College Sports TV's website, Brian Jones breaks down the Big 12 in an apparently unresearched article. Why do I think that? Because he has the Huskers QB battle between Keller and Zac Lee, with no mention of Ganz. I'm not saying that Lee won't be a factor, I think he's gonna be a good player. But if your going to write about the situation, at least include the all the front runners. How do you not mention Ganz, him and Keller are all Husker nation has been talking about all spring.

Before I sign off, I suggest you all check out the ongoing statistical supremacy over at Double Extra Point, they are doing some crazy stuff over there that I barely even understand. Also, for more frequent updates on recruiting and day-to-day stuff, head over to Big Red Network. Links for both sites can be found at right. Have a good weekend everybody.

Stick a Fork in him........he's done

Well I'm glad to report that I'm finally back in the swing of things. I've graduated from college, moved to a new house, and come to the sad realization that I am no longer a college kid and will now have to start working to support myself. Gone are the days of sleeping until 10 A.M. and few responsibilities. In other news, my brother may be joining Husker Guy as a contributor, as he is something of a recruiting expert and will be writing from time to time about developments with prospects and signees.


Now, to today's main topic:


We all breathed a sigh of relief when Mo Purify was allowed to enter a diversion program after post-barfight arrest five weeks ago, but it appears that our exhale was premature. For those of you who dont know, Purify was arrested Thursday night on suspicion of DWI, which was followed by his prompt dismissal from the Husker football team by Callahan.

Before I say anything about Mo, let me say this: I've done it. I've made the same mistake that he did, the difference is that I didn't get caught. How many college kids (or adults for that matter) have two or three too many beers and then get behind the wheel? Trust me, it's a large number. There have been times where I had 10 or 12 too many and still drove, and to this day I still kick myself for my stupidity. So what Purify did is not that different from what happens in towns and cities across the country, which is bad of course but I think it's important that people realize it.

That said, the stakes and the circumstances of Purify's mistake are much larger than the average person who gets stopped for a DWI. If I had been pulled over for drunk driving, it'd cost me 3 grand and haunt my record for a while. For Mo, it's not going to cost 3 grand. The fines and violations will, but the damage he did to his potential for future income on the other hand is irrevocable. With the personnel the Huskers have in place on offense, Purify had the potential for a 60 catch-900 receiving yard-10+ TD season. Whether or not he really would have gotten those numbers is debatable, but the potential was there. With a performance like that, he would have the potential to be a second or third round draft pick (taking his somewhat pedestrian 40 time into account). Let's say that he would have been drafted in the middle of the 3rd round. The initial salary fora pick in that range is $345,000 a year, not counting whatever signing bonuses there are and other considerations. The average contract length for NFL rookies is six years, meaning that his total compensation off of just salary would have been just over 2 million dollars. And that's the first contract. The real money is made in a player's second contract, and who knows how it would have played out. But none of that matters now. With Goodell in charge of the NFL, there is no longer room for oft-troubled players who don't learn their lesson. While Mo isn't a Pacman Jones, his actions the past month and a half don't bode well for his draft potential. Adding to that is the fact that he never established himself as a game breaker before his suspension, unlike USC's Mike Williams, who sat out a year before being drafted a couple years ago. Williams was star player with no criminal record, meaning that even if he did sit out a year, a team would still take him. Mo has none of that going for him. At this point, he would be extremely fortunate if someone were to even offer a free agent contract to him. If he's lucky, someone might take a chance on him later this summer in the supplemental draft, but even that is a longshot.

It'd be one thing if Purify got in a barfight 5 years ago. People would be more forgiving, more understanding, and would go out of their way to make sure that he still had an opportunity to make up for this mistake. But he didn't get into a barfight 5 years ago. That was 5 WEEKS ago, and no judge (or football coach) is going to have any leniency when the kid obviously didn't learn anything from his previous altercation. It's been a rough couple of weeks for him, and its going to get worse before it gets better. The diversion program he was allowed into no doubt demands that he remain law-abiding for a certain amount of time (usually a year). Unless driving violations don't count, this means that he will be kicked out of that program and face charges for the prior assault as well as drunken driving, meaning that he could face jail time. I hope everything works out for him, and if nothing else he will live on in Husker lore for his game winning catch at A&M. It's too bad though.........he could have been one of the greats.

I'm sorry, but I'm really not

Some of you might be wondering wny I haven't written anything. The reason for that is that it's finals week and I've been busy the past couple weeks with job interviews and the dealing with the prospect of not bineg able to stay up till 2 AM every night with my friends drinking. It's a sobering realization. Anyways, I'll be back on here soon.

I'm not sexist, it's just not fun to watch

Usually I try not to get too involved with stuff that stays from the territory of college football when I'm writing these entries. But surfing around over on Sports Illustrated's website, I came across an article by Aditi Kinkhabwala about how women's athletics doesn't need sex to sell the sports, they need female athletes who "transcend the sex appeal" and make people WANT to watch. She may be right about the sex thing....I thought Anna Kournikova was great, but I was never going to go out of my way and watch a womens tennis match just to see her. But at the same time, I think Kinkhabwala is missing the main point: the reason that nobody wants to watch female sports is because there is a better alternative: their male counterparts. Nobody wants to watch a woman play a sport when on a different channel there is a superior athlete doing it better.

The best example of this is evident in the NBA and it's sister league, the WNBA. I still get a little pissed off when I'm forced to sit through "highlights" that show fast-breaks punctuated by sweet layups, or when they throw an alley-oop pass that isn't ooped because only two people in the league can even get the ball over the rim. If you want a great article to read about this, I suggest you check out Bill Simmons' article about it over on ESPN. It's still one of my favorite reads, and he sums up the stupidity of the WNBA very well:

"I have no business criticizing someone else's hobbies. We all have dopey things we enjoy. Maybe I like playing video games with the Patriots and pretending I run the team. Maybe you enjoy watching women playing basketball at the highest possible level -- a level that could roughly be compared to "a good intramural game at a Division 2 college, only if nobody could jump or dunk" -- and find the WNBA strangely intoxicating."

The thing is, this isn't restricted to basketball. It's the easiest example because it is repeatedly forced down our throat by the NBA, which keeps hemorrhaging money to keep this charade (as Simmons correctly calls it) alive. It's across the board. Say that you have a son and daughter, the son plays baseball, the daughter softball. Let's go on to say that they have a game the same day, at the same time. Who's game do you attend? Don't feel bad if you thought of your son first. It's human nature. Why? Because nobody wants to watch slower, less athletic people do anything when there is a better product elsewhere. And that's not to say that women shouldn't play sports, or that they shouldn't be provided every opportunity a male gets. But every time someone bitches and moans about the lack of attention female athletics gets, it drives me nuts.

What I'm getting at is that this female athlete who transcends sex appeal, the one that Kinkhabwala talks about in her article? She doesn't exist. There isn't one female athlete dominant enough that I will make it a point to watch her. Until one steps up and plays (well) in a male professional league, I am going to continue to change the channel to something else. Kinkhabwala is right, sex doesn't always sell, and it's not going to influence me to watch an inferior product. Unfortunately for womens athletics, I'm the norm, not the exception.