My Favorite College Football Receiver

My favorite football receiver, who I've been able to see during my years on this earth, is one whose career was cut short due to an injury. Tyrone Prothro was a receiver that could make an impact and before his injury was blossoming into an impact player. Tyrone was a threat in many different ways. He was a receiver, lined up as a rusher and was also Alabama's returner. He has one of the better highlight reels of the last decade. His most famous catch, which is the best catch I've ever seen, Tyrone reached over the shoulders of a defender, caught the ball, and then pulled it in to the back of the defender while flipping forward with the receiver. I find it sad that his careers ended so soon, because I would have loved to see how many more amazing catches he could come up with.

Cinderella Story In The NFL

With this year possibly being Brett Favre's last season in the NFL, could the Packers possibly win the Super Bowl? I can only hope. Being a Favre fan, and knowing he should have quit two years ago, with his passion for playing and mostly winning could possibly be fueled with one last Super Bowl win. Brett is on of the greatest qb's of all time and to win in his last season, the season where he has been set to break the NFL passing records, would be a great accomplishment for him, and an even better story for the NFL amidst the controversies that has surrounding them this year.

The Greatest Game This Season

In my opinion there will be one game this football season that will be better than any other. One November 17, one of the college football teams that I hate will be beaten by a team that has won once the past 24 games. Duke will play Notre Dame and I hope with all my heart that Duke can pull off just one more win within the next 22 games.

Coaches Standing Up For Players

As many people have already seen this week, Oklahoma State Coach, Mike Gundy, had a talk with the media this week in his post game press meeting. Now most of the media has been bashing Mike Gundy for his reaction, saying he acted unprofessional and was totally out of order. One of my least favorite articles comes from Pat Forde of ESPN.com, who bashed Gundy and brought his record at the school into the picture. I disagree with those in the media who said he was out of order. Do I think he might have over reacted? Sure, but it was something that needed to be done. So much pressure is put on college athletes by the media that someone needed to step up and say hey, they're just kids and they're in college to learn not to play sports. The media downgrades college athletes saying that many of them don't deserve to be in college because of their grades, but then turns around and calls them weak and indirectly calls them a momma's boy. I believe that article was totally irresponsible of the author, editor and paper. And Pat Forde was worse by bringing in so many things that did not deal with the issue at hand, for instance Coach Gundy's record and the fact that the kid can fight in the Army but not take criticism. Tha argument is rediculous in my mind considering the kid is not the one who says he is old enough or not to die at war, but the government. And for Pat Forde to call him unprofessional is just as rediculous. As one of the members said on the message board, "I'd say someone calling themselves a nickname in the third person is a little more unprofessional than what Gundy did."

Sports Star Turned Analyst

Tiki Barber, the New York Giants record breaking rb, seems to have ill feelings towards his old team. Once again this week Tiki has lashed out against a current Giants player. Considering Tiki was the one who was disrespectful to people doing their jobs, and waiting a whole season to tell his team and the media whether or not it was his final year or not, he should shut his mouth. Ever since retiring from football he hasn't done much more than talk negatively about his former team. The Giants were the ones to draft him in '97 and give him his break, so he should show more respect towards the owners and his old teammates. Not to say Tiki hasn't worked hard in his career, but he should know that even though you feel you were mistreated there has to be some good that happened to you in New York, so why not talk about that for once.

Worst Team Of The Year

For the first time in the school's history, Notre Dame is 0-4. Being biased against Notre Dame for their ego, I am proud to say that I think they are the worst team in nation. Having the #1 prospect qb in the nation from high school last year, a coach who is worth to a 10-year contract extension and considering yourself one of the best teams in the history of college football, you should be able to win a game every once in awhile. You should also be able to score an offensive touchdown before the fourth game of the season. Seeing Notre Dame 0-4 makes me smile.

Back In Trouble

As you have probably already heard by now O.J. Simpson is back in the spotlight again for holding up some memorabilia dealers who he claims stole his stuff. Only a week after he was in the spotlight for his book, If I did it, came out he is back in the public eye. With audio files circulating over the internet of him yelling at the men that he confronted about stealing his stuff, it seems that O.J. is in trouble with the law and quite possibly will go to jail. To many this seems like a good thing considering millions believe he should be in jail right now for murder. As for me, it wouldn't hurt my feelings one bit if he was sent to jail for this.

Race Controversy In Football

After two weeks into the football season, Donovan Mcnabb, Philadelphia Eagles' starting quarterback has said some things on "Real Sports with Bryant Gumble" that has gained some media attention. Mcnabb, who is one of the better qb's of the NFL, brought race into the issue. Mcnabb has said that there is more pressure on black qb's in the game than on white qb's. In my opinion I don't think he has so much pressure on him because he is black, but because of his playing. Mcnabb has proven himself as a great qb, but has been prone to injury. He plays for a town that is passionate about their football, so any qb for the Eagles would have pressure put on them. Many of the black qb's, such as Michael Vick, are paid substantial amounts of money, which also puts more pressure on them, and often don't deliver. I see what Mcnabb is saying, considering the large majority of qb's are white, but I don't believe that so much pressure has been put on him because of his race.

A Bigger Upset?

Many might remember the upset experienced by Yankees nation in 2004 when Boston came back in a series that they were three games down to win the World Series. It has been called by many to be the biggest upset in the history of baseball. Never before had a team that was three games down come back to win the World Series. And what made it better was the two teams involved, THE rivalry in baseball.

Now this year, having been 14 games behind the Red Sox at one time, I see what could be a bigger upset in baseball. IF the Yankees were able to make it to the playoffs, which they probably will, and did beat the Red Sox and won the World Series, what could that do to the rivalry. Since 2004, the Sox Nation has been able to rub that in the face of the Yankees, being almost the only thing they can use against them considering the luck of the Red Sox in their quest for the Championship. If this were to happen, how sweet would it be for the Yankees fans out there?

Now He Is In The Hot Seat

Last week I posted a blog about how Charlie Weis isn't really on the hot seat. I recant my statement. After a loss today to Michigan, Notre Dame could officially be the worst team to have made it to a bowl game last year. Notre Dame lost 38-0 today to Michigan. I did not get to watch this game, because of a previous post I stated that it would be boring, but now it could have made an interesting situation.

Sorry Charlie Weis, maybe Belichick needs another camera man for next year.

Clash of the Titans

Today two of the "Powerhouse" teams of the country square off for a battle like no other. I call it the Battle of the Bore. The preseason number 5 team in the nation, Michigan, takes on the Fighting Irish. The only problem with this game is that it will take a miracle from Touchdown Jesus to make it exciting.

Like always the two teams have been overrated, like Rudy, and now it seems to be a surprise for everyone that they lose. Playing weak schedules for the past few years, they seem to be considered good teams, when they are really given bids into bowl games, to lose. I'm glad to see that people are turning around and realizing that just because a team was once a powerhouse, doesn't mean they still are. The upside to this game for the two teams though is that at least one team will have won 1 game this season.

Cheating in Football Not So Bad

This past week Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots were fined a total of $750,000 and draft picks. And what was their crime? A cameraman for the Patriots was seen on the sideline of the New York Jets filming their defensive calls. And of course the media has over-exaggerated. This for instance is what has been said about the Patriots and Belichick.

I'm not a big Patriots fan but I do realize what they have done in the new century. They have dominated the AFC, in other words the NFL. I like to have reasons to not like the Patriots, but this can't be one. In the sport of football the teams play mind games with each other. Plays, calls and signals are constantly being changed so the other team will always be on their toes. Since these calls keep being changed it's safe to assume that the Jets would not use those same calls again so why is it a big deal? It's not even that hard to pick up on signals. I couldn't count how many times I've watched a game and the announcers were able to pick up signals and calls.

I understand how football is trying to clean up its image right now because of the many other incidents that have been going around. This could be one reason why the media has covered the story like it has. If one of the more notable teams has been seen as cheaters in many people's eyes, it will only further complicate the NFL's goal.

Is a High Paid College Coach Really on the Hot Seat?

Since the Notre Dame football team has started off 0-2 this season, many people have been talking about the possibility of Charlie Weis being on the hot seat. Even though Notre Dame has not went 0-2 the opening games of a season in a long time, I do not see Charlie being on the hot seat. Notre Dame is in a rebuilding stage after losing their all-american QB Brady Quinn. The Fighting Irish have been a decent team since Charlie Weis started in the 2005 season having a record of 19-7, and going to two straight BCS games. They currently have the #1 sought after QB from last year's class, and are destined to get better as he continues to slowly become accustomed to the speed of college football. With the talent and potential that his team has this year, and as early as it is in the season, Charlie could not be in the hot seat right now. However, if Weis and his team don't shape up by the end of the year or next, Notre Dame might need a new coach very soon.

A Bias in Sports Media?

One recent article that I read on ESPN.com was about two basketball players, Antoine Walker and Eddy Curry, who were robbed in their own houses. The article grabbed my attention because it discussed how black athletes are shown negatively in the American sports media. Citing examples as the Pacman Jones and Michael Vick issues, the author discussed how something like this happened to a black athlete, and since he didn't commit the crime, it did not get as much attention as the other cases.

Although I think that the author was right when he said most of the time black athletes are shown in the media it is in the negative light, I do not think that these two occurrences were downplayed because of their race. These are two mediocre basketball players, at best, who were robbed. If it had been a star like Kobe Bryant or Shaq, I could understand an uproar if people were not informed of that. People get robbed every day and most likely it is not reported, and I feel like it even being mentioned in a news paper is sufficient.

This brings me to the negative news in sports media. I believe that most of the articles that are shown on TV and read on the Internet are over exposed, and mostly negative. I remember just two weeks ago I couldn't turn on a TV without hearing something about Michael Vick. The author of this article mentioned this, and my response is that Michael Vick is the highest paid player in the NFL, and could have quite possibly thrown away hundreds of millions of dollars on a poor mistake, which seems to me and probably most sports fans to be bigger news than a mediocre basketball player being robbed. Is it fair that the viewers and reporters treat the stars like that? No. Since when has news been fair?

15th Century Art with 21st Century Music

My multi-media piece that I found dealt with artwork done by Heironymus Bosch. Heironymus Bosch was a 15th-16th Century Netherlandish artist known for painting dealing with sin and human moral failings. This video is taken from a famous triptych by Bosch called "The Garden of Earthly Delights". This painting is made up of three pieces of wood with the left side displaying the Garden of Eden, the middle piece displaying earthly delights, and the right piece shows Bosch's depiction of Hell. When the three pieces close a painting of God creating the Earth can be seen. The video takes pieces from Bosch's Hell painting and animates them. The music is played by Buckethead. I chose this piece because first of all, Buckethead is one of my favorite guitarists, but also because I was captivated by two forms of art, that are centuries apart, being combined. This video contains some graphic images that are disturbing, which freaked me out, but is interesting because it shows a 15th century artist's idea of Hell.