Cobwebs

Loose thoughts from the sporting weekend…

• I’m not in favor of reseeding the NFL playoffs based on record, but I do have one question:  How is it that the Miami Dolphins get to host a playoff game AND draft higher than the Colts?  Obviously, I understand the mechanics of the situation, but that seems ridiculous to me.  The draft (with the exception of the two Super Bowl teams) is based strictly on record.  It seems there should be more uniformity.  My solution would be to slot the draft by record 1-20.  The final twelve slots should go to playoff teams first by seed, then by record (to slot the NFC/AFC disparity).  So the highest that a division winner could draft would be 24 and the lowest a wild card team could draft would be 23 (unless they made the Super Bowl).  Otherwise, reseed the playoffs.  I don’t think having two totally different systems makes any sense.

• Derek Jeter is an embarrassment at short stop.  Why any manager would play him there over Jimmy Rollins is beyond me.  I can’t see how the Yankees will contend with his defense at such a key position.  He’s awful.  As soon as the ball was hit to him in the 8th inning, my buddy Rich and I looked at each other in horror.  We knew he had no chance of making what was really just a routine play.  Awful

• Korea v Japan may not stir anyone’s passions around here, but it will be a war tonight.

• The NCAA Tournament is dangerously close to jumping the shark.  Last year’s chalk dance seemed like an aberration, but this year 14 of the top 16 seeds advanced to the Sweet 16, with only a mild seeding ‘upset’ in Purdue and Arizona serving as ‘Cinderella’.  There were precious few really close games, and the whole tourney is turning into the combination of an idiot’s luggage (1-2-3-4).  I don’t know why the drama is leaking out of the tournament, but part of me wonders if the new ‘science’ of bracketology isn’t leading the committee to doing such a good job of seeding teams that there aren’t as many flaws in the bracket.  They may be becoming so efficient at slotting the tournament, that they are unwittingly draining out all of the drama.

• I generally don’t root for Purdue in hoops, but I’m glad MSU and the Boilers are in the Sweet 16.  It would have been a serious blow to the Big 10s already shaky credibility if they hadn’t landed two teams in the top 16.  Don’t worry mid-westerners…the Hoosiers will be back to save you soon.

• JC got me thinking about the Patriots this week.  A large part of me wants to believe their run is over, and honestly, I’d go out on a limb and say that, if it wasn’t for Randy Moss.  We’ve said many times that Randy Moss is the most unique weapon in football.  When he’s healthy and motivated, he’s an unstoppable force. I think he’s singlehandedly covered up all other failings by the Pats organization in the last few years.  That being said, he’s going to drop off the table one of these years, because that’s what happens to wide outs.  It’s hard to know what to make of the 2009 Pats.  They have the potential to be horrible.  If Moss suddenly gets old, they are done.  They have a harder schedule, a gimpy QB, and their ‘free agent moves’ amount to signing a bunch of old cast offs like Fred Taylor and Joey Galloway.  They could be a train wreck.  Or…Moss could still be Moss and nothing else will matter.  He’s only 32, so my gut says he still has at least two more good years in him.  For that reason and that reason only, I expect the Pats to be back near the front of the pack next year.

Links:
Old gyms are dying in Indiana.

Peter King says Marvin is done.  Here’s the exact quote:
I think I keep hearing that Marvin Harrison
is finished. He’s not even being pursued by any teams now, and I think
he’ll never play again. He’s too proud to be someone’s third receiver,
he doesn’t love the game enough to play third or fourth receiver
somewhere, and he has no interest in limping through a season for $3
million plus incentives

King is a bit of goof, but he’s a well connected goof.  When he shares what he hears (rather than what he thinks) he tends to be right.  This makes me sad.  In fact, I just cried a little.

It’s no Jon Hamm’s John Ham, but it’s still pretty funny…