Dan Le Batard Gave Me His Vote and Got Banned For It

Editor's Note: It's been announced that Dan Le Batard has been stripped of any future Hall of Fame vote and barred from the Baseball Writer's Association for one year. Also, statements appearing below in quotations are generalized statements and not actual quotes.

By Justin Cates

It's funny how little it often takes for the sporting press to lose its damn mind.

In this particular case, Dan Le Batard of ESPN and the Miami Herald created the stir amongst his peers by giving his vote for the baseball Hall of Fame to readers of sports website and athlete 'sext' aggregator Deadspin.

Full disclosure, from the very beginning I thought this was a marvelous idea and not just because I'm a regular reader Deadspin.

Baseball writers by and large desperately hold on to the antiquated notion of baseball as a sacred game. Baseball, apple pies and Chevrolet. America's pastime.

They long for baseball's "golden age" completely ignoring the fact that African-Americans weren't allowed to play in the majors back then. They decry "performance enhancing drugs" while lauding anybody who gets shot up with cortisone—a steroid commonly used to reduce joint inflammation, attendant pain and swelling—as a "gamer" for being so "tough".

Writers commonly ignore that rampant drug abuse in baseball dates back at least to the start of the modern age of baseball, which was around 1960.

Mickey Mantle is my favorite baseball player of all time, but if you don't think he was working through countless hangovers by taking enough amphetamines to kill a horse, well, we disagree.

Who appointed these writers as the arbiters of baseball morality anyway?

Oh that's right, they did.

There are no rules in the Hall of Fame voting guidelines that explicitly prevent writers from voting for players that used steroids. 

They created this criteria themselves because baseball just loves unwritten rules.

As it turns out, there's actually a National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association Hall of Fame. I checked out the members to see what kind of warped double standard was applied there and to my horror, there doesn't seem to be one.

Recent inductees include Bob Ryan, John Feinstein and Peter Gammons. Fine writers all but an outrage for the Hall of Fame!

How dare they induct men who wrote during the word processor era! It's completely unfair. Can you imagine what Grantland Rice would have done with spell-check and a laptop computer?

He probably would have written an insufferable poem.

Now, let's get back to Mr. Le Batard.

People are absolutely crucifying him. I will address a few of the more laughable criticisms as follows.

"He only did this for publicity."

Dan only attached his name to this protest as a means of owning the thing. If he'd remained anonymous, you know damn well the rallying cry would have been, "COWARD! If you're going to pull a stunt like this at least put your name on it!"

"Spare us the sanctimonious diatribe Danny boy."

You guys keep using that word...I do not think it means what you think it means.

Sanctimonious-Making a hypocritical show of religion, piety or righteousness.

I don't think Le Batard ever claimed he was one hundred percent right. He just feels that the process is dumb and too many people are clinging to it. Arguably, many of the folks so vehemently defending the old way are being far more self-righteous than he ever was with statements like...

"The media covering baseball everyday are more qualified than fans to judge these things, that's why there's no fan vote."

If you mean former players with a press pass, okay. However, if you mean some schlub from the Times who once saw Tom Glavine remove his jock strap with the grace and precision of a champion...stop, just stop.

You didn't glean any magical insight from getting quotes in a locker room that I watched simulcast on the YES Network.

"He's making a mockery of the Hall of Fame voting process."

No, he's not. That's done just fine every year by other voters like Ken Gurnick who this year voted only for Jack Morris. He left the other nine spots blank because he claimed he didn't want to vote for "steroid-era" players even though Morris finished his career during that same era.

Which brings me to my final point. Did anyone even look at the ballot submitted by Le Batard?

Most Deadspin voters took it seriously, I among them.

I voted after looking at everyone's numbers—I even looked up Armando Benitez—checking out highlights when possible and looking at a bio here and there.

The compiled website ballot was Greg Maddux, Frank Thomas, Tom Glavine, Mike Piazza, Craig Biggio, Edgar Martinez, Jeff Bagwell, Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds and Curt Schilling.

It would appear the joke, the farce, the travesty of a vote actually included all of the inductees.

That's a lot better than some voters.

I'm looking at you Gurnick.

Florida State Wins The National Championship or, The BCS is Dead and Buried

By Justin Cates

The final five BCS football games were all wonderful.

This season's games were exciting, evenly matched and generally without controversy. The national championship game between Florida State and Auburn was for my money the best championship of the entire BCS system—save for the first three quarters of the title game in 2000.

For the most part, the results of the BCS actually turned out to be the "right" ones pretty much every time. There was some healthy debate regarding the participants on occasion, but almost every national champion crowned under the system was considered the best team in college football.

But that's all no more.

Now we can all look forward to a future where we sit in our post-apocalyptic bunkers regaling the youth with tales of this antiquated system.

"When I was growing up computers decided the national champion in football."

"You mean like Skynet?"

"No, no. This was back before the machines became self-aware. Humans fed a bunch of data into a formula we created and the machines spat out the two teams allowed to play for the championship."

"So the computers didn't even design the formula?"

"Nah. Actually, most of the data we used was based on subjective human observations too. It was really one of the last times we controlled the machines..."

"This is a bad story Grandpa. Tell us again about telephones that plugged into the wall!"

Pictured: A visual approximation of the BCS computers.

Right. Where were we? Ah yes, FOOTBALL! 'MURICA! CHAMPIONS!

Some general thoughts about game:

Florida State is here to stay. I knew he could recruit, but now we know Jimbo Fisher is a full-on football coach which is scary. He also seems pretty classy and humble.

Even seeing him cowed by old age, I still had an uncontrollable desire to punch Bobby Bowden in the neck. I hope he spends his days sitting on a fishing boat staring wistfully into the distance muttering "dadgummit" under his breath.

Brent Musberger gets worse with each passing moment.

I'm sure there was a time before I was born when Musberger was cogent and delivered crisp calls without fawning over hot coeds in the stands or accidentally announcing himself as Kirk Herbstreit.

That being said, I want him gone before he does to Kirk what Tim McCarver did to Joe Buck. This can't end well.

ESPN kept billing their "mega-cast" as some revolution in broadcasting. I found it annoying as it really just amounted to dozens of their analysts—some of whom have no particular football expertise—clogging their various platforms with half-cocked observations and hooting and hollering. I did all that on my own thank you kindly.

On the bright side for ESPN, Nick Saban was terrific and Tim Tebow was actually pretty tolerable.

Both were impressive in their game predictions with Tebow calling for a 35-31 FSU win and Saban saying Auburn would need to score 35 points to win. Bravo gents.

Florida State's win ties a nice bow on this college football season and now we can all look forward to the new college football playoff.

Anticipation is one thing but please, pace yourselves friends! There's still 233 days until the opening game between Ole Miss and Boise State.

A Look Ahead: Virginia Tech vs. North Carolina

By Justin Cates

North Carolina (1-3, 0-1 ACC) was a trendy pick in the preseason to win the ACC's Coastal division while Virginia Tech (4-1, 1-0 ACC) was largely an afterthought.

Those roles have have quickly reversed as the Tarheels limp into Lane Stadium Saturday afternoon.

The Hokies surprised many by dominating Georgia Tech on a Thursday night in Atlanta. The 17-10 final score didn't tell the story.

The Hokie defense allowed the vaunted Georgia Tech rushing attack just 129 yards while Logan Thomas played his best game of the season on offense.

My last preview featured only one mildly optimistic note that Hokie QB's often play well in Atlanta and Thomas joined the list by completing 19-of-25 passes (including his first 9) for 221 yards and a touchdown.

He also toted the ball 16 times for 58 yards and a rushing touchdown despite nursing an abdominal strain and a mild ankle sprain late in the game.

It's no secret, the man is a tank but the Hokies will likely try to limit his carries a little more this week. That will of course be somewhat dictated by the defense.     

Outside of Thomas, Tech had absolutely no running game last week. The plan from the start was to throw the ball a lot because defenses are stacking the box and daring them to pass. Assuming that remains the case against a struggling Carolina defense, look for LT to keep throwing.

His receivers are finally stepping up and helping him out too.

Demitri Knowles had his best game of the season snagging five catches for 67 yards. D.J. Coles caught a touchdown pass on Tech's first drive of the game, Josh Stanford made some tough catches in big situations and Willie Byrn continues to be a reliable option as well.

Byrn is listed as probable for this weekend after suffering a knee injury against the Yellow Jackets.

The Hokie defense is playing simply masterful. It was nice to hear ESPN's Thursday night crew fawning over the defensive line, particularly Derrick Hopkins.

The defense stands to get a little better this week with the return of defensive back Antone Exum.

Antone Exum adds depth to an already talented and deep secondary.

Exum had offseason surgery to repair a torn ACL as well as his lateral and medial meniscus and a bone fracture all suffered during a pick-up basketball game.

In his absence, Tech has continued to see veteran Kyle Fuller play well and everyone has been wowed by his brother Kendall and fellow true freshman Brandon Facyson.

Facyson is currently tied for the national lead in interceptions with four and will continue to start at field corner with Exum getting time in spots.

There were rumors during the week about Exum starting and Facyson getting reps on offense (he got a few) but for now at least, it's just an idea.

The defense will look to harass UNC quarterback Bryn Renner who has struggled so far this season, but his top weapon, tight end Eric Ebron is always a match up problem.

Eric Ebron will challenge Tech's stout pass defense.

 At 6-4, 245 he presents a significant challenge for a linebacker but still has the speed to give defensive backs headaches. Tech has used 6-6 quarterback Bucky Hodges to simulate Ebron's size while receiver Austin Jones was used for speed in practice.

It's a must win game for the Tarheels if they have any hope of salvaging the season and it's a massively important recruiting day for the Hokies as a number of valued high school prospects will be in attendance.

The game kicks off Saturday at 12:30 and will be broadcast on the ACC Network—which isn't really a real thing so check you local listings for an affiliate in your area.

How ESPN Killed Tim Tebow's Career

By W.T. Salisbury M.D.

Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow is currently in the process of washing out of the NFL, and if you're one of those people who can't stand him, you have ESPN to thank.

The mothership went out of it's way to push the "Tebow angle" because they thrive on beating a dead horse, reviving it, and beating it again.

It's no secret that personalities were instructed to mention Tebow as often as possible. Former ESPN college basketball analyst and current CBS punching bag Doug Gottlieb mentioned this fact a while back on The Dan Patrick Show.

I was told specifically, 'You can't talk enough Tebow.' I would jokingly throw it into a segment. 'I gotta find 15 seconds here to talk about Tebow, all right let's move on and talk about Major League Baseball.'

And this is what ESPN does now. Rather than report the news they attempt to create it in the most haphazard of manners.

What the actual story consists of is inconsequential. Whether it's Brett Favre coming out of retirement, anything someone like Tebow or LeBron James says, or a big upcoming event they're broadcasting, ESPN loves to jam it down our throats until we finally say, "Man, this must be a big deal".

Tebow in particular has been the goose that lays the golden egg. The trouble is, rather than let the eggs come when they're ready ESPN decided to scream in the goose's ear to goad it along.

"I want to control the news cycle NOW!"

Eventually, the poor beast became so stressed out by these fools that it couldn't lay any eggs at all.

Having no alternatives, they killed, cooked and carved the bird devouring it whole only to move on to the next unlucky fowl.

If it wasn't clear, Tim Tebow is the goose in this scenario.

Certainly, the fact that Tim Tebow isn't a very good quarterback is also a factor in his being blackballed. But he's at least as capable as a host of second and third string backups throughout the NFL.

Most young guys with raw talent and a flawed throwing motion would get a chance to naturally develop behind a more polished veteran. For example, Philip Rivers throws a football like I discard an empty beer can but he's now a veteran Pro Bowler.

Sometimes patience pays off, sometimes it doesn't. Backups wash out all the time—even former first round draft picks—but rarely do they receive attention like this.

ESPN went out of their way to constantly bombard us with Tebow coverage, even injecting him into unrelated stories. They oversaturated the market with Tebow nonsense to such an extent that he became a "circus" and too big of a "risk" for teams to consider bringing him on board.

Now, ESPN has the gall to report on how he can't find a job as a free agent because of this "circus" that their very network had a significant role in creating.

Tim Tebow minding his own business. HOW DARE HE?!

It's the worst kind of non-journalism. ESPN doesn't report the news, they make it. It's manufactured in a gleaming, high-definition studio trimmed with neon backlights and greed all quaintly nestled in rural Connecticut.  

Nothing Tebow does on his own really stirs up controversy that isn't created by the media.

Does he talk about his religion? Yeah, but only when he's asked about it. He doesn't go out of his way to mention it when being asked football questions.

Even if he does bring it up, it's to thank his Lord and savior for his blessings which seemingly every marginal athlete does when interviewed postgame.

Again, he is flawed as a player even though he has the intangibles of "heart"and "toughness" which every hack of a general manager and hard-nosed coach claims to want in a player.

Truth is, they don't know what they want. You hear people whispering with increasing volume that Tebow will have to change positions to stay in the league.

Right. That makes sense.

Because I'm sure a former quarterback drafted in the first round will draw far less attention as a back-up tight end. No way SportsCenter would play that story on loop 24/7.

These people are incompetent boobs of the first order.

The NFL won't make a move because of the feared media distraction and ESPN won't shut up about the media distraction even though THEY ARE THE DISTRACTION.

Coming up on SportsCenter, can Ouroboros perform in the clutch? Stephen A. Smith will scream at you about it...

ESPN has become Ouroboros, the mythical serpent that eats its own tail. It is a neverending cycle of fake arguments and hot air that tries in vain to re-create itself but succeeds only in driving the wedge further between viewers and their programming.

One can only hope the monster finally does devour itself, if not for Tim Tebow's sake, than for the sanity of all.

The BCS Still Sucks and Will Cause The Zombie Apocalypse

For years, we’ve been told that the BCS was the “best system available” to determine college football’s national champion.

Never mind that the lower divisions of college football have playoffs with great success. Never mind that the idea is pounded home that these are amateur athletes on the playing fields of a sport dominated by big money.

These are the last desperate arguments of a group barely hanging on to the cash cow that is the BCS.

Dan Wetzel of Yahoo! Sports published an article Wednesday detailing what the BCS actually is.

Five of the six computer polls used in the BCS don’t make their formulas public, so not even BCS officials know what goes into it.

We do know that two thirds of the BCS are wildly subjective human polls, known to be riddled with political bias and straight up homerism.

Ultimately, this season puts to rest the nonsense argument that the BCS puts an emphasis on the regular season. “Every game matters!” ESPN is fond of spouting, but clearly, that isn’t true.

In the past, we’ve been told teams can lose early in the season and still recover to make the championship game. Now, even that vague guideline seems to have gone out the window.

Alabama already lost to LSU once, and failed to qualify for the SEC Championship game as a result, yet they remain No. 2 in the BCS.

That’s better than Oklahoma State. The Cowboys lost just last week to an unimpressive 6-5 Iowa State team, but they remain third in the BCS.

But the untimely loss by OSU has been glossed over, and if they defeat Oklahoma to end the season they’ll be first in line of the teams that got “jobbed” by the system.

What the Hell is a computer?

Now it doesn't even seem to matter if LSU wins against Georgia this weekend. It's a foregone conclusion that they'll be in the BCS championship game if the entire squad comes down with the old Louisiana two-step (note: Cajun' food burns coming out too).

Frankly, I hate the BCS and every year I come up with a different angle from which to criticize it.

A playoff might not be better, but it would be infinitely more satisfying. The basic concept that the top teams in college football are determined by a complicated formula fully understood by no one is upsetting.

Even now my blood boils as Jesse Palmer and the strangely still employed Craig James gasbag about quality losses.

I'm gonna kill y'all

There's no such thing as a quality loss! Vince Lombardi is spinning in his grave! Bear Bryant will soon reanimate and punch you in the face if you even use the phrase, and rightfully so.

And that ultimately is the biggest problem, great coaches of the past will turn into zombies and storm ESPN, CBS and the individual homes of all BCS proponents if we don't do something to end this nonsense.

Is that really what we want? Waves of the undead fixing a problem that living humans could easily remedy?

No! We must take a stand and defend what little sanctity is left in college football. We must end the BCS any way possible, even if it means a little bloodshed.

That's food for thought. Zombie food.

Virginia Tech Takes NFL to Task on Helmet Safety

Virginia Tech's outstanding Engineering programs are world-renowned for cutting edge research in countless fields, so it makes sense when there's a Hokie breakthrough in football injuries.

For years, Tech footballers have been using the High Impact Telemetry System (HITS) to determine the severity of impacts suffered during football activities.

This ESPN article spells out the details and the video below from Discovery Science gives you a visual look.

Basically, engineers put sensors in the helmets to measure the force of impacts at several important spots on the head.

The ESPN story paints a frustrating picture about the NFL's stance on helmet regulations. Player safety concerns are at an all-time high as they should be. Increased money for retired players has been an important part of the NFL's new collective bargaining negotiations.

Hopefully new data can continue to fuel the football safety movement and help keep players at all levels of football healthy.

Remembering Erica Blasberg

A year after her startling suicide, ESPN's Outside The Lines program recently did a feature on Erica Blasberg and it's quite unsettling.

I'll be honest, one of my motivations in sending this around was so I wouldn't be the only one who had to watch it.

I was already pretty low before this—I find myself deeply depressed by simply being reminded of her death, let alone it being a suicide and then the other details gleaned from this report.

I've idealized her a good bit in my mind I suppose. I always enjoyed our sizzling spring days spent imbibing alongside beautiful and talented ladies back home. I always thought, perhaps foolishly, that we were at the center of the golfing world and even there, I really thought she stood out. Sure, we convinced ourselves that she was eyeing us that one afternoon (and maybe she was) but there was definitely something about her that sent my heart skipping. We had some kind of connection, however minimal it might be.

Man was she gorgeous, and she was definitely very talented, though I think it was clear in person that something wasn't quite clicking in her game. I thought it might be the stress of the tour. Unfortunately, it extended much further than that.

As Andy touched on, anything like this is tragic and senseless. Given my mental proclivities to the darker side, I can relate to the feelings of hopelessness. I cannot relate to putting a bag over my head to end my existence. That is heavier than I care to fathom.

Sorry guys. It's raining out and the bum-train just ain't stoppin'.

ESPN's College GameDay Comes to Blacksburg

The college hoops version of ESPN's College GameDay will be in Blacksburg this weekend as the Hokies host the No. 1 ranked Duke Blue Devils in a prime time match up.

The game is enormous for Tech (18-8, 8-5) as they once again reside squarely on the "bubble" for the NCAA Tournament.

Duke (26-2, 12-1) has only lost to St. Johns and Florida State this season and sits poised to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament come March.

Tech has played extremely well against the top-ranked team in the nation, compiling a 3-4 all-time record including wins over North Carolina in 2007 and Wake Forest in 2009.

In it's last five games against the No. 1 team The cumulative score reads Virginia Tech 389 No. 1 Team 383.

This is an enormous opportunity for the Hokies and you can expect a raucous crowd in Cassell Coliseum.

The only bad thing will be how many times they'll show former Tech great Dell Curry wearing Duke stuff behind their bench.

Another Super Bowl Song

I wasn't going to get involved in what has amounted to some kind of sports-fueled rap battle, but Lil' Wayne once again proved that he's the funniest man in the rap game with his "Green and Yellow" take on this really awful song.

My main critique of the "Black and Yellow" jam all the kids are rockin' is that it's not talking about anything remotely related to the game.

There are some vague Steeler references, but any song featuring a black and yellow reference to a bumblebee pretty much loses all credibility right there.

But I digress. Lil' Wayne as usual seems to have gotten high and pumped out some genuinely funny couplets. In a rare feat, I've even found an entire verse free of cursing to prove my point.

Uhh, big Gs on the helmet
Steel Curtain? What is that, velvet?
And if we win, I’mma throw a Super Bowl party
And blow a cigar like Vince Lombardi
I’m in Wisconsin, smoking Amsterdam
Yeah I’m from New Orleans, but I been a Packers fan
We knocked the Eagles and the Falcons and the Bears off
Now we ’bout to cut Troy Polamalu hair off

See? Funny. It also contains direct references to the enemy. Anyway, I thought it was enjoyable. I really can't wait for this game to be over because I can't take much more coverage on ESPN.

Tiger Woods and the Media Circus

Tiger Woods was fully aware that whenever he finally broke his silence, there would be a media firestorm surrounding his comments.

I'm not sure ever he could have predicted this.

At 11 AM Friday morning, the world came to a virtual standstill for fifteen minutes while Tiger spoke to selected media, family and friends.

Perhaps the world didn’t stop, but America certainly paid close attention. The land of the free where the only thing we love more than seeing an underdog rise to the top, is seeing the mighty brought back down to human levels.

We have a seemingly insatiable desire for scandal in this country. Look no further than your supermarket checkout line for proof of the garbage gossip rags that some people actually read, and worse yet believe.

Once in a while, as is the case with the Woods story, these charlatans of journalism stumble upon a story that is actually true.

With a story this big however, it’s the legitimate media outlets losing their minds as well.

ESPN’s SportsCenter hasn’t shown any game highlights that I’ve been able to see. It’s been non-stop Tiger Woods coverage.

They even went so far as to bring in a body language expert to see if he was being sincere during his apology.

The top four headlines listed under “latest news” on CNN.com were about Tiger Woods. Number four was, “Minaret collapse reportedly kills 11”.

Part of a mosque collapses in Morocco, and the top story is the reading of a prepared statement by an athlete.

And we have the gall to wonder why the world largely has a dim view of Americans?

People all over the Internet began the debate regarding his sincerity before Woods had even left the conference room.

The opinions seem to be split, with a slight lean towards people feeling he was insincere.

It’s amazing to me how many self-righteous individuals pop up whenever someone makes a public apology.

No one made him do that. It’s not a required part of the rehabilitation process Woods has been going through. He and his people likely decided long ago that he would make a statement when he was ready, and that time happened to be now between rehab sessions.

As for the folks questioning Tiger’s sincerity based on how uncomfortable he appeared, well, my response is, “duh”.

How would you feel reading even a prepared statement on national television, in a room filled with friends and professional colleagues?

Some have said, “He should have spoken from the heart”.

Again, I ask if anyone out there would feel comfortable admitting their own personal faults under that kind of microscope without prepared remarks?

All criticism aside, I just don’t care what Tiger did. It doesn’t matter to me. He hurt no one but himself and his family.

Growing up playing golf in the age of Tiger, I looked up to him not for the guy he was off the course, but for the impossible things he did on it.

I longed to blast outrageous drives down the middle of the fairway and hit absurd recovery shots from deep in the shade of towering pines.

I attempted to hone my focus and my short game to model the steely resolve Tiger has around the greens.

I even regrettably adopted Tiger’s penchant for anger and cursing on the course, something I’ve since been able to conquer as it’s the one part of Tiger’s game I’ve come to loathe.

And so, I’m far more critical of the media circus than I am of the man currently residing in the middle ring.

That is, until the circus packs up and moves on to the next town.

Goodbye Al Groh

Thanks for the memories Al.

Virginia Tech and Virginia battle today for the Commonwealth Cup, which is hopefully in one piece.

The Hokies and 'Hoos meet for the 90th time, and regardless of the outcome it appears it will be the final game for head coach Al Groh.

Groh is just 59-52 including 3-2 in bowl games and 1-7 against the Hokies.

I'll be sad to see him go, and interested to see who UVA hires to replace him. Will the Wahoos be able to close the gap and end Tech's dominance?

Will the Cavaliers pull a shocker in Charlottesville Saturday?

We shall see at 3:30 on ESPN or ABC depending on your area.

Classic SportsCenter Commerical

This is one of the simplest commercials, but I think it's hilarious. I honestly can't think of a bad commercial that Tiger Woods has been involved in.



Which reminds me...



That's the simplest yet coolest advertisement of our time.

Classic SportsCenter Commerical

I don't really know how it happened, but last night I stumbled upon countless classic commercials for ESPN's SportsCenter. They still kick out some classic stuff these days, but these spots from when I was just a little sports nut are where it's really at.

I'll probably keep posting these periodically when there's nothing in particular to talk about, mainly to appease our loyal readers (eat that Laura!).

This is a great one featuring Rich Eisen showing what really happens during commerical breaks on a sports show. Trust me, it's all true.

Hokies Name Starting Quarterback

The quarterback controvery is over in Blacksburg, at least for now as head football coach Frank Beamer named redshirt senior Sean Glennon the starter and said the team planned to redshirt sophomore quarterback Tyrod Taylor who burst onto the college football scene last fall and led to the Hokies using a two QB rotation much of the season.

The move to start Glennon and redshirt Taylor has led to an uproar among the fanbase, but really if it works out, the move will be great down the line for the Tech program.

With no proven receivers, either quarterback could struggle finding reliable targets so the Hokies look to run the ball a lot with a stable of young running backs and the prospect of bruising tight end Greg Boone both catching passes and rushing the ball in certain situations.

Next season, Taylor will have a more seasoned receving corps to work with in his first full season as the uncontested starter. Brandon Dillard will return and the youngin's won't be so green anymore more.

Of course if Glennon struggles during the first few weeks of the season, we could see the whole plan unravel and watch Tyrod lose the redshirt and come back to be a major contibutor (like last season).

Either way it proves as an interesting lead in to what should be a decent match up in the season opener in Charlotte against East Carolina this Saturday at Noon on ESPN.

ESPN + College Football Live = Garbage

Over the years I have become less and less of an ESPN fan. They have shelled out numerous stories with many factual inaccuracies and biases and it's disappointing and contradictory that they claim to be the worldwide leader in sports.

Their latest transgression occurred recently on the show College Football Live. On the ticker they show on the left-hand side of the screen they show various teams and their upcoming schedules for the season. At the bottom of the visual they include a little information about the team and/or coach and then list key returners and key losses. For Notre Dame, they list key losses as Tom Zbikowski and Maurice Crum.

Apparently Charlie Weis and co. were so upset over the loss of Crum that they decided to insert him at the starting inside linebacker position. Or maybe, just maybe, ESPN is incapable of typing Maurice Crum into Google. 

Maurice was a senior last year, so maybe that confused them. However, he applied for and was granted a 5th year with the Fighting Irish. This information is readily available on the internet at the official athletic website. It can be found in the section entitled roster. It can also be found here about halfway down the page.

It's amazing how the self-proclaimed worldwide leader in sports can't fact check or do any research to corroborate their statements. Scratch that. It's sad. Very sad. 

Album Review: O.A.R. All Sides

O.A.R. (Of A Revolution) released their sixth studio album All Sides last week, to both critical and fan distaste. Some see the new record as a bit too poppy and that's led to mixed reviews including this Rolling Stone review that says among other things that O.A.R. have, "...cultivated a slick pop sound to match their arena-size ambitions."

I can certainly see why some might feel that way. All Sides features songs that do sound more polished and that's largely thanks to producer Matt Wallace (Maroon 5). The big thing about the record that jumps out to me is that the songs have a much more mature sound. While I've always hated making the comparison, in some spots this record feels a bit Dave Matthews Band inspired.

I think the band has come a long way and this album is potentially as good a studio album as the band has put out. Despite Rolling Stone only giving All Sides 2 stars, they also gave In Between Now And Then, potentially O.A.R.'s best studio album just 2 stars when it released in 2003.

One thing that's clear on this effort is that the addition of Mikel Paris (keys, bongos, back-up vocals) really helps to fill out their sound. The featured song today, the first single off the album, "Shattered (Turn The Car Around)" benefits from and leans on Paris' key riff throughout. Other album cuts show Paris' flair on the bongos. "Whatever Happened" opens with a tribal sounding intro with nice percussion and a strange vocal that melts into Jerry DePizzo's saxophone part.

There are some songs that sound more like older O.A.R. songs. Tracks like "Living In The End", "What Is Mine" and "This Town" which was featured heavily on ESPN's coverage of the College World Series this year manage to blend their new maturity with the more upbeat classics of their past.

It's exciting to watch a band that continues to grow and push themselves as they get older. Clearly, O.A.R. still hopes to become more mainstream but they still stay true to their roots for the most part. Ultimately, this is a band that will continue to earn their bread on the road for some time as they will no doubt keep filling venues all over the U.S.

Based on early listens, I would definitely recommend this album to both new and old O.A.R. fans alike.