Some Random Thoughts

Well, Ryan is off to Alabama, so I, Steve, am back babysitting the Times. After a strong weekend performance last time I kind of fizzled as the week went on, so here are just some random sports thoughts I’ve had since then. Just for fun, I’m going to use the flower bullet points that every sports site desperately needs to have….

• Beth did a great job breaking down the dollars per win yesterday in her post, and I’m glad she pointed out that even though they spent the most, my team, the White Sox, are the lone AL Central team to win a World Series since the AL Central was formed in 1994. I’ve actually been keeping track of something similar to the numbers she presented (with more math…have you seen my NFL Power Ranks?) but I’ve never actually done a post on it even though I’ve been meaning to for over 3 years. Maybe I’ll finally get it done before this season starts…

• We’re finally getting closer to getting out of the low point of the year for sports. After the Super Bowl, there isn’t much going on unless you’re infatuated with All-Star games, like NASCAR, or are obsessed with regular season basketball and hockey. Even this weekend, the conference tourneys have finally started, but its all the mid-majors. All that really does is give ESPN a reason to show even more Quinnipiac-Monmouth match-ups because a lot of their employees went to schools like that….

• Speaking of mid-majors, is it possible that some line has been crossed where they are now overrated? It seems like Gonzaga and George Mason ruined it for everyone. Everyone is looking for the next team to make a decent run in the NCAA, and now its showing up in the top 25 rankings. 2 weeks ago, #18 Drake beat #8 Butler in a bracket buster game here in Indy. My question, basically, is how did they get so high? Sure they don’t have many losses, but those losses are to teams like Wright State, Bradley, and Missouri State. Looking at schedules alone, I would have said Butler is the better team because their 2 conference losses to Wright State and Cleveland State are to teams with pretty good records, and they beat Ohio State pretty bad at home, but OSU is only 4-8 on the road and a fringe tourney team. Drake was the first ranked team they played all season, and they lost at home. How exactly do people think they’re the 12th best team in the country? Drake is ranked #21. Their most impressive match-up before Butler may have been St. Mary’s, a WCC team with only 5 losses….but they lost to them. They beat Iowa, but everyone beats Iowa. I would have thought that the past few years when Gonzaga got a much higher seed than they deserved and got dumped early would teach the pollsters a lesson, but I guess not. We’ll see how they do this year.

• Caught up in the mix of the Favre retirement, Warren Sapp quietly retired on the same day. Favre and Sapp were considered “rivals” in the old NFC Central, so it was fitting. What’s my take on it? Well, I’m a 49ers fan, so I will never forgive Sapp for trying to tear Jerry Rice’s head off in one of the most blatant face mask penalties of all time on opening day of the 1997 season, which caused Rice to plant his foot awkwardly and tear up his knee. That ’97 team was good enough to be Super Bowl champs, but that was a huge setback they never could really recover from. So good riddance, Warren, and I hope that video surfaces when it’s your turn to be voted on for the Hall of Fame. The guy whose career you tried to end has nothing to worry about when it’s his.