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Posted by: Bradley McDonald

If you're a college football fan, you've got to be in heaven the next couple of days. I'm glad we're finally to New Year's Eve and some real bowl games. Maybe it's just me, but it seems like if you've got a winning record, there's a bowl for you. The "We've Got a Sponsor and a Stadium So Let's Have a Football Game" Bowl, anyone?

My interest has been piqued in the Louisville/Boise State game today, due to LSU interviewing Bobby Petrino, Louisville's head coach. He is one of the hottest young coaches in the country because of his high-octane offense, but I'd rather LSU get someone with more head coaching experience. Petrino has only been a head coach for two years and his offense-first philosophy is totally contrary to Nick Saban's defensive minded teams. I'm not sure if that offensive game plan would work in the SEC, but Petrino could very well be the next Steve Spurrier.

I'm also anxious to see if all this coaching distraction will affect LSU's players in the bowl game against Iowa tomorrow. Saban usually has his boys focused despite the surroundings, but I wonder how focused Nick himself is. It will be a defensive game, no matter what, but I would give the advantage to the Tigers (of course, I'm unbiased) because of their superior running game.

Coming Soon - The Top 5 Sports Stories of 2004!

Posted by: Bradley McDonald

Last night, after seeing a news clip on the catastrophe in Asia, I felt guilty for putting such a high premium on sports. Over 60,000 people are now dead because of the earthquake and ensuing tsunami, but I can still sit on my couch and watch a football or basketball game in comfort. Please, if you've been blessed monetarily, donate to one of these aid sites. At least offer up some prayers for this region.

Posted by: Bradley McDonald

What a crazy Christmas weekend for me. I have been saddened, amazed, disappointed and elated all in a few days. I haven't been through this many emotions in so short a time since I got my first girlfriend at junior-high youth camp (ah...weren't those the days?).

Disappointed...
...in Nick Saban's decision to go to the Miami Dolphins. I had a feeling this time he would go, but I heard rumors before he announced his decision that gave me hope that he would stay. I can't fault him for his decision, even though I believe if he would've stayed long-term, he had all the tools necessary to be a legendary college coach. I'm thankful he awakened the "sleeping giant" here at LSU, though, and I hope the next coach can keep it awake.

...in my fantasy football team, The Malicious Mullets, on Sunday. After scoring 171 points the week before, I only scored 114 in the championship game. That still left me with a lead of three points going into Monday night's game, though. Unfortunately, my opponent had David Akers, Philly's field goal kicker. All he had to do was kick one field goal and one extra point and I was done.

Elated...
...that the Eagles sat their first string offense and they only scored one touchdown in the game! The Malicious Mullets, despite their subpar performance, won oh-so-important bragging rights for me for an entire year. And bragging is what it's all about, isn't it?

Amazed...
...that parts of south Louisiana had a white Christmas. The snow didn't stay on the ground around here, but I did see some flakes falling. And that's good enough for us to call it a "White Christmas!"

...in Peyton Manning's ability to make the quarterback position look so easy. The touchdown pass he threw to break Dan Marino's record was brilliant and epitomized why he's so good at what he does. There are quarterbacks who have more natural talent, but none that are smarter or that work better with their receivers.

Saddened...
...by the early death of retired NFL great Reggie White, who was only 43 years old. White, who became an ordained minister at age 17, may have been the greatest defensive lineman ever, but people are talking about his generosity off the field now just as much as his ability on the field. "He was the kindest, most loving and loyal friend a person could ever ask for.", said Bill Horn, his long-time friend and agent.

As Stuart Scott said on SportsCenter, I can hear him telling his teammates in his gruff voice, "Y'all don't need to be cussing now. God don't like that." He always stood up for what God liked and that earned him a lot of respect.

Posted by: Bradley McDonald

Hope everyone is having a lovely Christmas holiday so far. It actually feels like Christmas time down here in Louisiana. The high temperature is only going to be in the 30s today. Allegedly, there were some snow flurries (flurries = 2 flakes around here) yesterday, too, but not where I was.

A few sports notes:

• I laughed to myself when I saw that the Associated Press asked the BCS committee to stop using their poll in the BCS formula. They're basically saying they don't want to be associated with something that's as messed up as the BCS. The BCS committee definitely has to change, and it will be interesting to see what they actually do.
• Shaq and Kobe (and their 3rd grade feud) reunite today in a matchup between the Heat and Lakers. There's been a lot of trash talk between the two, but I suspect the two will be respectful on the court. Miami should take the game, but don't be surprised if Kobe goes off for 40 points.
• My eyes will be more on football this weekend, though. Not only are there some great matchups with teams fighting for playoffs sports, but I'm also in the championship game of our fantasy football league. Come on, Randy Moss, send me an early Christmas present today!
• Nick Saban is still mulling over the Dolphin's head coaching offer. According to the Miami Herald, LSU came back with a huge counter-offer, but there's been conflicting stories about that. Looks like the Astros also upped the ante to keep Carlos Beltran. Talk about a Merry Christmas for me if both these guys stay!

This time of the year is always hectic, but I hope everyone can find some time to relax.
Our mothership, ninetyandnine.com, will not be posting any new articles this week so our voluntary staff can find more time to relax, but us faithful bloggers will try to find time to post, so come back and bring friends!

Happy Holidays!

Posted by: Bradley McDonald

I went to bed fairly early last night (for me) and the Patriots were leading the Dolphins by 11 points. Well, when I got to work this morning, someone informs me that the Dolphins came away with a win. "Surely, they jest", I thought. "I just ranked the Patriots number one in my top 5." But, alas, as I checked espn.com, I realized no one is jesting. The lowly Dolphins, previously of a 2-10 record, upset the mighty Patriots by scoring two touchdowns with 2:07 left in the game.

Everyone had pretty much conceded this game to New England, even before it started. Wow. Well, that'll change my rankings. Even though I think the Pats will still be ready for the playoffs, I'll go ahead and put Pittsburgh in the top spot now.

Posted by: Bradley McDonald

Man, only five days left until Christmas. Does anyone else have all their shopping left to do? Every year I say I’m going to get it done online and in plenty of time and every year I wait until it’s too late. We’re at the two-minute warning now and I have no timeouts left, so I’ve got to get to work.

NFL
As the season is winding down, the playoff picture is getting clearer. This year, it’s easy to see that the power lies in the AFC. Only 4 teams in the NFC are over .500, while there are 9 in the AFC over .500. My top 5 contains 4 teams from the AFC and only one from the NFC. Here they are:

1. New England (11-1)

Their only loss was to Pittsburgh and Patriots coach Bill Belichick, the best in the NFL, will find a way to beat the Steelers if they meet in the playoffs.

2. Pittsburgh (12-1)

They define the word “solid.” A number one ranked defense and an offense that doesn’t make mistakes is a recipe for success in the playoffs.

3. San Diego (11-3)

The Chargers only won 4 games last year and no one gave them much hope this year, but they have already clinched a division title. Eli Manning shunned them on draft day, also. Manning said he would sit out the season if the Chargers drafted him with the first pick because he felt New York was a “better fit” (I began cheering for San Diego that day). The Chargers ended up drafting him and trading him to the Giants who are 5-9 and out of the playoffs. Still want to play in New York, Eli?

4. Indianapolis (11-3)

The amazing run by Peyton Manning has slowed somewhat, but he only needs 2 touchdown passes in the last two games to break Dan Marino’s single season touchdown record. Manning showed a lot of class yesterday against Baltimore by kneeling down for the last two plays when he probably could’ve easily had a touchdown.

5. Philadelphia (12-1)

The Eagles received bad news today. Terrell Owens will be out at least until the Super Bowl with a sprained ankle. The good news for Philly is that with the mediocrity of the rest of the NFC, they could make it to the Super Bowl without Owens.

Posted by: Bradley McDonald

During the 2004 NCAA basketball tournament, I noticed one player for Oklahoma State that looked like a man among boys. Even though Joey Graham's role last year was to "set a lot of picks and crash the boards" (mainly because of teammate Tony Allen, who was a first round draft pick), you could tell he was going to be special. This year, he is showing off his offensive potential by averaging 18 points so far into the young season.

There's an article in the December 20th issue of Sports Illustrated which shows that Joey and his twin brother Stephen (a key bench player for Oklahoma State) go a lot deeper than just basketball.

The duo, who are sons of a Navy pilot, just received their private pilot's license. Obtaining the license is admirable in itself, but the time frame the two had to complete their training is what's impressive. It takes the average student 6 months to get a pilot's license, but because of constraints from the basketball season, the Grahams completed theirs in 2 1/2 months.

"They want to be the best in all areas of life, whether it's school, basketball, or studying to be a pilot, " says assistant coach Sean Sutton about the twins, who also play jazz music and watch the cooking show Emeril Live to learn how to cook dishes like golden mushroom chicken.

What impressed me most about the Graham boys, though, is the fact that they host a Bible study every Sunday for teammates. "We'll sit in their living room and talk about life," says John Lucas III, starting point guard for the Cowboys. "That's a big reason why we're so close as a team."

Posted by: Bradley McDonald

A couple of people have asked for more info on our New York trip, so here's a rundown of our activities.

There were eight of us crusaders along on the trip: myself, my girlfriend (Jaime), my parents, my good friend and erudite David Bunch and his lovely wife Farrah, and another high-spirited couple from our church, Anthony and Phyllis Butler.

I promised Super Shuttle I would tell this story to everyone until the lawsuit settles. We actually arrived early at the Newark airport on our direct flight from New Orleans. I had reserved a shuttle that would take us to our hotel in Manhattan, since I figured that would be the worry-free and cheap way to go. Well, approximately an hour and a half later, I was regretting that decision. I falsely assumed that reservations mean you reserve the shuttle for the time you requested, especially since I had already paid. Well, someone else must've reserved the shuttle to take them to Mexico that same day, because Super Shuttle was nowhere to be found. After several phone calls (each one telling us the shuttle was 15 minutes away), the shuttle finally arrived. I think the driver slept halfway to Manhattan by the way he was driving, but we made it there about midnight. Thankfully, that would be the only thing that went wrong the whole trip.

(Editors Note: there really is no lawsuit; only a feisty email.)

The first day we visited the Guggenheim Museum and we saw a very unique work of art. We walked into a room and there were two poles placed behind a light with what looked to be random materials at the top of each pole. It cast shadows on the wall that looked exactly like two heads with a crow on top of one. Well, as we got closer, I heard Jaime gasp and I noticed the "random materials" were actually dead, stuffed animals! The artists had arranged clusters of taxidermic rodents and birds to form the shadows on the wall. I thought it was pure genius, but there were a lot of people shaking their heads in disgust.

We also visited the gigantic Metropolitan Museum of Art. I'm no artist, but I do appreciate art, so it was striking to be standing in front of art by the likes of Picasso, Rodin, and van Gogh.

Saturday, we strolled around Greenwich Village and New York University (the president of NYU actually stopped to give us directions). It was nice to see the more peaceful side of New York. We ended the day with an awesome dinner at an Italian restaurant in Little Italy, and then headed to Carnegie Hall to hear Handel's Messiah.

Sunday we headed to the southern tip of the island to pay our respects at the World Trade Center. It's still emotional to be around there and I saw more than one person with tears in their eyes.

My Dad and I then headed to Madison Square Garden to see the Knicks take on the Nuggets. SPORTS NOTE - the Nuggets have a lot of talent and if they can start playing together, they will be in the thick of things in the end.

All the buildings in New York look huge until you get atop the beast called the Empire State Building. The views are incredible.

Of course, we spent a lot of time in Times Square and we saw the tree at Rockefeller Center and ice-skating in Central Park. We saw the Rockettes in the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall and did some shopping in SoHo.

We covered a lot of ground in four days and I see why there are no overweight people in New York. If you don't want to be stuck in traffic, you walk. And even with the subway system, it's a lot of exercise.

Posted by: Bradley McDonald

If anyone has wondered what David Robinson has been doing since he retired from the NBA, here's the answer. He has started The Carver Academy, a school that prepares students "for success not only in their work, but also in their relationships with their families and communities." Robinson says that every day in chapel he presents stories of champions from the Bible and dares the students to build upon that foundation.

The interview contains an excellent testimony from Robinson about how he came to his faith in God. Faith that brought him through tough times when he was trying to start the school. "Any time you have a vision that stretches you to take risks, you're going to have disappointments", Robinson says. But he felt that he was in the will of God and now the school is a reality.

Posted by: Bradley McDonald

Apparently LSU's head football coach, Nick Saban, has been in discussions with the Miami Dolphins to take over their vacant coaching position. St. Nick, as he is lovingly called down here, has talked with NFL teams before, but I have a feeling this time it's more serious. Word around here is that he's going to be offered around $5-6 million annually. I don't think I would turn down a 200 percent raise and even as much as Nick loves LSU, I don't think he will, either.

I was hoping seeing Steve Spurrier, Dennis Erickson, Butch Davis and other great college coaches struggle in the NFL would dissuade Saban from going to the next level. That may actually entice him now that I think about it. He loves a challenge and succeeding where those other coaches failed would probably gratify him more than winning another National Championship in college.

Well, if he goes, I can't say I blame him. And I'd much rather be looking for a coach after he left for the NFL than after he was forced out. That's the good side. The bad side is that there are only a handful of coaches anywhere that are on par with Saban. Here's hoping we don't have to worry about that!

Posted by: Bradley McDonald

Well, I'm back from an exciting, brisk trip to the Big Apple. It was nice to get away from work for a few days. We covered everything from the Metropolitan Museum of Art to the New York Knicks to Wall Street. I can now tell you the difference between SoHo and TriBeCa and the subways that will get you there.

The most intriguing thing to me about New York is the history. Every area and every building has so many interesting stories. We did a lot of exploring in four days, but we just scratched the surface.

I stopped by the Downtown Athletic Club to see if I had won the Heisman, but apparently they gave it to some guy named Matt. Oh, well. I’m sure he’s worthy.

I’ve got a lot of catching up to do since I got back in town, so that’s it for now. Coming soon - sports talk! Stay tuned...

Posted by: Bradley McDonald

Well, I am off to New York City tomorrow for a small vacation. I've only been to the Big Apple once before and that was part of a tour group. This time I want to spend more time casually exploring the city. We have a tentative itinerary, but the best trips are the ones where spontaneity overrules strict plans.

I was hoping it would snow some while we're there (we've had snow on the ground about three times in Lousiana in my lifetime), but it looks like a little rain is all we'll get.

We're going to see the Knicks and Nuggets play while we're there. I'll try not hurl any projectiles at the players, but no promises.

This bench may not be warmed until I return early next week. Staring at a computer screen 40 hours a week has turned my eyes into mini-monitors, so I'm going to try to look at a computer as little as possible while I'm gone. Until I return...

Posted by: Bradley McDonald

Here's an interesting article on Athletes in Action, a traveling basketball squad made up of primarily ex-college players. This exhibition team travels around the country taking on some of the top college teams. But an AIA game may be a little different than other college exhibition games. You're likely to hear a sermon or a testimony before, during or after the game.

The "sports arm" of the Campus Crusade for Christ gives more than just a high-quality opponent for college teams. They give testimonies during halftime and post-game prayers. The "action" part of their name has to do more with the players lifestyle than their proficiency on the basketball court. According to an FAQ on their website, "each player should demonstrate a lifestyle consistent with Christian values."

Sadly, the NCAA has banned Division I schools from playing non-collegiate preseason opponents starting next year. AIA will continue to play against Division II and III schools, though, looking for any opportunities to spread their message.

Posted by: Bradley McDonald

Well, the bowl match-ups are set and Auburn, after going through the SEC undefeated, will be at home watching the National Championship Game on TV with the rest of us. Auburn, USC and Oklahoma all won their respective games this past Saturday leaving three undefeated teams at the top of the pack. The BCS did it's job and picked two teams out of the three, but we may never know if it's the best two teams.

It's the second year in a row that there is controversy surrounding the BCS and it won't stop with the growing parity in college football. After the mess last year, a "plus-one" system was considered, where the top two teams after the BCS bowl games would play each other to determine the champion. I think this mini-playoff idea is the best bet we have to end the controversy we have with the BCS.

Bowl games to watch:
1. Orange Bowl - USC vs. Oklahoma
With all the controversy, a lot of people are overlooking an awesome match-up. When's the last time four Heisman candidates suited up for the same game? Not since the National Yo-Yo Championship (yeah, it's real) has there been so much talent in one place.


2. Sugar Bowl - Auburn vs. Virginia Tech
Will Auburn come out angry and crush the Hokies or will they be too disappointed to care? I vote for 'A'.

3. Liberty Bowl - Louisville vs. Boise State
These teams have the top two offenses in the nation and combine to average 100 points per game. Yes - we're still talking about football.

4. Peach Bowl - Miami vs. Florida
I never thought I'd see this match-up in the Peach Bowl, but I smirk now that I've seen it. It's been a disappointing year for Florida football fans, but since about 40% of the championships of the last 13 years have gone to their state, sympathy escapes me. These guys hate each other, so it'll be fun to watch.

5. Silicon Valley Bowl - Northern Illinois vs. Troy
Just kidding.

6. Capitol One Bowl - LSU vs. Iowa State
It's LSU, so you know I'll be watching. The one thing I'm not looking forward to is the 250 "what's in yer wallet?" Capitol One commercials that will be shown. Oh, the sacrifices I make.

Posted by: Bradley McDonald

Black Coaches
The big sports news earlier this week was the firing of Tyrone Willingham, the coach at Notre Dame for the past three years. Willingham was the first black coach at Notre Dame and one of only five in Division One football at the beginning of this season. Plenty of other coaches have been fired this year (Ron Zook, for one, was also fired after three years), but three of the five black coaches were a part of that number and this is why Willingham's firing has been such big news.

Most people realize that Notre Dame is not the problem with this race issue. If Notre Dame's decisions were racially motivated, they would have never hired Willingham in the first place. The big football schools like Notre Dame and Florida simply choose not to wait around for a coach to improve the program once it's headed in the wrong direction. Call it greedy, but winning is the bottom line.

I do believe there is some kind of issue, since there are now only two black coaches in Division One, but correcting it will be more difficult than just saying "colleges have to hire more black coaches". But until it is corrected, the race issue will come up every time a black coach is fired.

Steroids
The story of Willingham's firing is now taking a back seat to talk of steroids in Major League Baseball. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Jason Giambi, a first baseman with the Yankees, admitted to using steroids for three years in a court testimony. A day after this was reported, the newspaper claims that in the same court case, Barry Bonds admitted to using supplements that contained steroids but said he didn't know they were steroids.

It was quite evident to anyone who followed baseball that Bonds used something to bulk up between the 1999 and 2000 seasons and I don't think it was Wheaties. I also don't think that Bonds all of a sudden got motivated to work out to get that big after his 14th season in the league. Check out these pictures between the 1999 and 2000 seasons that show the difference. It's no coincidence that his 73 home run year (which was double his career home run per year average) came after 2000.

It's disgusting to me that these players are so greedy that they'll try anything to get better than they are. Bonds was a great player in the pre-steroid years, but he just wasn't satisfied with that. Even if Bonds didn't know they were steroids, why did he accept a questionable substance when he already had hit 400 home runs and made millions? No matter what he does now, those numbers will always be tarnished.

The people that this will affect most are the ones who don't even know what steroids are. The young kids who live and die with their heroes are the ones I feel sorry for. They just know their "idol" has cheated and deceived them. It's a sad day for baseball.