Bleacher Report - Articles by Brent Eubank

We Apologize A-Rod... It's All Our Fault

Brent Eubank — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 16:57:10 -0500

Did anyone hear what A-Rod just said?

He finally admitted to the world that he took steroids for three seasons, from 2001 through 2003.

But that's not the part I am talking about. I'm talking about his reasons why he did it.

“I did take a banned substance and, you know, for that I’m very sorry and deeply regretful," Rodriguez said in an interview with ESPN's Peter Gammons. He continued: "And although it was the culture back then and Major League Baseball overall was very—I just feel that—You know, I’m just sorry. I’m sorry for that time. I’m sorry to fans. I’m sorry for my fans in Texas. It wasn’t until then that I ever thought about substance of any kind, and since then I’ve proved to myself and to everyone that I don’t need any of that."

Did you catch that? His reasoning was "it was the culture back then and MLB was very..."

A-Rod, did you really just say what I think you said? Did you just use the old but everyone was doing it excuse?

Rodriguez continued to talk about how everyone expected so much of him because of his giant contract, and how we—as fans—put all this pressure on him to be the greatest player ever.

Umm, did I offer him $252 million? Did we fans ever tell A-Rod to be the best player in the world?

Or... did he agree to get paid that much money and take on the responsibility? Wasn't it Rodriguez who agreed to get paid some $25 million dollars a year? Did he think about what that contract meant when he signed it?

No, A-Rod; I will not apologize to you for the pressure under which you placed yourself. I will not be blamed for your downfall.

I will accept your apology for cheating, as long as you take the blame.

Don't blame the media.

Don't blame Major League Baseball for turning a blind-eye.

Don't say "it was just the culture."

Be a man. Take the blame for your mistakes.

In fact, if you do that, we might respect you even more. Not for being the greatest man to ever play the game. But for just being a man.

Ball State-Central Michigan Football: A Clash of the Titans (Well, Kinda)

Brent Eubank — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 02:38:22 -0500

The Arena: Kelly/Shorts Stadium (Mount Pleasant, MI)

The Date: Nov. 19, 2009 at 7 p.m. (EST)

The Prize: MAC West Title (barring a letdown next week)

Entering the Ring in the Right Corner

With a record of 10 wins and zero loses, the Ball State University Cardinals. Ball State is best known for the continuing references to David Letterman, surprise quarterback Nate Davis, tiny running back MiQuale Lewis, and being called a "BCS Buster."

Entering the Ring in the Left Corner

With a record of eight wins and two losses, the Central Michigan Chippewas. CMU is best known for highly-touted quarterback Dan LeFevour, winning close games (seven of eight wins by 10 or less), TWO consecutive MAC championships, and having the 20th highest winning percentage in FBS.

I hope you will tune in on Wednesday night to see this clash of the titans.

Ball State's closest game was a 12-point win against Navy. The Cardinals have won by an average of 22.2 points per game.

They have not lost a game since Jan. 5 of this year and are currently ranked 17th in the BCS.

Central Michigan is the exact opposite of Ball State. The Chippewas play close games, with wins of three (in overtime), three, one, 10, 10, two, three, and 19.

The Chippewas have two losses, to Purdue by seven and No. 11-ranked Georgia by 39.

Each team enters the contest undefeated in MAC play, 6-0 in the conference.

Only one team will leave Mount Pleasant, Mich., undefeated in conference. Which will it be?

My pick: Ball State 35, Central Michigan 23

Central Michigan-Northern Illinois: Fans Got Their Money's Worth in This One

Brent Eubank — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 09:18:56 -0500

For the third game in a row, the Chippewas gave their fans a scare. This time, Central Michigan took a 23-3 halftime lead but decided a blowout win would be no fun, letting host Northern Illinois force overtime in an eventual 33-30 victory.

The Chippewas came out firing on all cylinders, scoring on five of the first seven drives. A balanced scoring attack of a field goal, two rushing touchdowns (both by Dan LeFevour) and two receiving touchdowns (Antonio Brown, Ontario Sneed).

The only real negatives of the first half for the Chippewas was a missed extra point and fumble on the Northern Illinois 29.

CMU took a 23-3 lead into the half with things looking like smooth sailing.

NIU opened the second half with a little trickery. A converted onside-kick gave the Huskies the ball on their own 46-yard line to start the half, which led to a field goal.

The Chippewas did not look phased at all. They took the following drive all the way to the end zone for LeFevour's second rushing touchdown of the night. This was a drive that included a gutsy 4th-and-1 attempt.

Everything still seemed to be on Central Michigan's side.

Then, it all stopped. With the score 30-6, Northern Illinois decided to start pulling out all the stops.

The following drive, which also included a successful fourth and one attempt, led the Huskies to a rushing touchdown by Chandler Harnish, followed by a two-point conversion.

And then, once again the Huskies tried an onside-kick. Again it was successful.

The Huskies quickly moved the ball down field and scored on a Chad Spann rushing touchdown. Once again, the Huskies attempted a two point conversion. It was unsuccessful this time.

Tough run defense and penalties forced CMU into a four and out.

Northern Illinois wasted no time after the punt in moving the ball back into the Chippewa's red zone with passes of 39 and 23 on consecutive plays. From there, Spann rushed for his second touchdown of the game. With the extra point, the lead was cut 30-27.

With the Chippewas ensuing possession, there was a steady dose of running. And after five minutes and some change, the punt team was back out on the field.

Now with only 2:31 left on the clock, the Huskies needed to travel down the field and at least kick a field goal to tie. And that is just what they did.

On a drive that included an amazing fourth and 18 conversion, the Huskies' kicker Matt Salerno buried a 25-yard field goal with only 19 seconds left on the clock.

I told you that Central Michigan likes to keep their fans on the edge of their seats. For those fans who left at halftime, they missed an exciting overtime finish.

The Huskies began overtime with the first possession. And almost as fast as they started, they gave the ball right back to Central Michigan on an interception by Josh Gordy.

The Chippewas were not so giving with their possession. Running the ball three times to set up a 40-yard attempt for Andrew Aguila, who had previously missed an extra point.

He calmly drained the kick right down the middle of the uprights.

Central Michigan remained unbeaten in MAC play with a record of 6-0 and 8-2 overall.

Northern Illinois falls to 4-3 in the MAC and 5-5 overall.

Final score: Central Michigan 33, Northern Illinois 30

Central Michigan Riding the "What If" Train

Brent Eubank — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 05:37:26 -0500

The "what if" train just pulled into town...

The Chippewas will be wondering "what if" for the rest of the season.

What if...someone tackled Kory Sheets?

What if...we didn't get that 15-yard face mask penalty?

What if...we held on to beat Purdue?

I will tell them what would have happened.

Central Michigan would currently be 8-1.

The Chippewas would probably be ranked about 20th in the nation instead of "receiving votes."

ESPN would be playing your Nov. 19 matchup with Ball State on ESPN instead of ESPN 2.

The nation would be talking about the Chippewas as well as the Cardinals.

There would countless references to Chris Kaman, to go along with all the references to Dave Letterman.

In short, Central Michigan would be talked about on the national level weekly. The MAC would be talked about in the same breath as the Mountain West.

And nobody would be left thinking, "what if."

Indianapolis Colts: Playoffs?!?! PLAYOFFS?!?!

Brent Eubank — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 02:07:27 -0500

The Colts started the '08-'09 season poorly.

Three wins and four losses for a Super Bowl contender is not positive.

Some blame it on Peyton Manning's injuries. Some blame it on being rusty. Whatever the excuse, the Colts did not look good.

They looked terrible in the opener against the Bears. They looked equally bad in a win against Minnesota.

After losing to Jacksonville and barely beating a mediocre Texans team, Indy looked like a team that didn't deserve the playoffs.

Then, Week 6 came around and the Colts pummeled a good Ravens team, helped by Joe Flacco's three interceptions. But for the first time all season, the offense and defense showed up in the same game.

Weeks Seven and Eight brought two more losses to the Colts.

Now, they were sitting at 3-4 almost at the half way point in the season.

Then, all of a sudden something clicked.

Maybe it was Peyton Manning being fully healthy.

Maybe it was the return of Bob Sanders.

Who really knows what happened, but it happened.

A 5-2 New England team came to town and the Colts won a "rivalry" game. Followed this week by traveling to a 6-2 Pittsburgh team and bringing home another W.

Currently, the Indianapolis Colts are sitting at five wins and four losses.

How then do I say they are a playoff team?

Let's look at their remaining schedule:

Houston Texans 3-6 (the Colts have already beaten them once this season)
San Diego 4-5 (San Diego has been inconsistent at best)
Cleveland 3-6 (Barring another Derek Anderson miracle game like he had against the Giants, this should be an easy win)
Cincinnati 1-8 (The only team worse than the Bengals is...)
Detroit 0-9 (Seriously, who could ask for a better schedule?)
Jacksonville 4-5 (The Colts will probably need a W here to cement a playoff position)
Tennessee 9-0 (A possible perfect season spoiler?)

Let's take a quick look at this. I'm seeing FIVE more wins in a row.

The Colts should be 10-4 going to Jacksonville.

Even if the Colts lose to the Jags and Titans, that puts them at 10-6.

If we are looking at wild-card scenarios, the Colts have won heads-up against Pittsburgh, New England, and Baltimore.

Everything seems to be falling in place for Indy to make another playoff appearance.

ICH-I-RO!!!

Brent Eubank — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 03:09:35 -0500

Did anyone outside of Seattle know that Ichiro Suzuki is still in the MLB?

Did anyone in Seattle know for that matter?

Has Ichiro-mania ended?

The man is 35 years old. He hits over .300. He is one of the best defensive outfielders in history. He is still stealing 40+ bases a season.

And yet, nobody seems to care anymore.

Yesterday, Ichiro won his eighth Gold Glove in his eight seasons. And nobody seemed to blink or even notice.

In eight seasons, Ichiro has amassed 1,805 hits! That is 225 a year!

If we are to compare him to Ken Griffey Jr., who was 35 during the 2004 season, Ichiro appears to be a better baseball player:

Ichiro - .310 BA, 6 HR, 42 RBI, 43 SB, 213 hits, and .361 OPS (in 162 games)
Griffey (2004) - .253 BA, 20 HR, 60 RBI, 1 SB, 76 hits, and .351 OPS (in 83 games)

If I am a general manager, I am looking to trade for Ichiro before Griffey.

If Ichiro plays for another five seasons and continues to put up the same numbers, he will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

So, what has happened to Ichiro-mania? Why haven't I heard his name in the last 12 months?

Why doesn't Ichiro receive the respect a future Hall of Famer deserves?

BCS: Dear Mr. University President

Brent Eubank — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 07:36:45 -0500

Dear Mr. University President,

Thank you for this opportunity to come to you and speak on behalf of 90 percent of college football fans. We really love your sport. We talk about it, argue about it, dream about it, and generally can't get enough of it.

I am not coming to you to complain about your sport. Please do not change college football. There is nothing more exciting than watching 50 college football games every Saturday, except maybe watching 32 college basketball games in two days.

The thing is we are a society that loves winners. We not only love winners; we love underdogs.

We want to see David take down Goliath. We want to see George Mason go to the Final Four. We want drama. We NEED drama.

The problem is with the BCS we get no drama. We get no underdog story. We (usually) get no clear winner.

You say “the whole season is a playoff.” If that is true, why do teams almost always back into the Championship game? Why are there teams that go undefeated that never have a chance? Is that even fair?

I understand your dilemma. You want money. College sports are a source of income. You are making lots of money already.

In fact, what we all want will lose you millions of dollars.

So maybe you, University Presidents, aren't the problem. Maybe the problem is with the fans. Maybe it is because we don't demand a better product.

What can I do to get a better product? Should I boycott the bowl games? Should I write letters to my congressmen and women? Should I cancel my college football Game Plan? How do I get my plea across to you?

How do we solve this dilemma?

Sincerely,
College Football Fans who long for a playoff system

The Pistons Did What?!?!

Brent Eubank — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 08:40:36 -0500

Well, I guess it is time to say goodbye to the Pistons best player and championship chances.

Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess, and Cheikh Samb just got one-way tickets to Denver, while Detroit gets "the cancer" that is Allen Iverson.

Don't get me wrong, Iverson is a great basketball player. He does things on the floor that are humanly impossible.

The problem is "practice." Practice equals work ethic. Practice equals team basketball. Practice equals defense.

The Pistons already have Rasheed Wallace. Now they have the only player with a worse work ethic than 'Sheed.

With the addition of AI, the new starting lineup will look like this:

Iverson, Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, 'Sheed, and Amir Johnson

I don't think that Rip and Tayshaun can guard all five players on the other team. We all know that AI and 'Sheed won't play defense and Amir just stands under the rim swatting at every shot that goes up.

Please Joe Dumars, package AI and 'Sheed for a real star.

Maybe one that can spell T-E-A-M.

The Solution to the BCS

Brent Eubank — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 11:11:46 -0400

I am sure that by now you have read at least 100 articles and seen everyone and their grandma's solution to the BCS. So I am going to keep mine short and sweet.

This is a 24-team tournament.

11 automatic bids: one for each league champion

13 at-large bids: the top 13 remaining teams using the BCS rating system

Week 1

Teams 9-24 play each other, while top eight rated teams get a bye.

Conference winners get automatic home berths.

Week 2

Winners of Week 1 will play the teams with the bye.

Week 3

Winners of Week 2 play—we are now down to the Final Four.

Week 4

Final Four teams play at neutral sites.

Week 5

National Championship Game is played at a neutral site.

Advantages

- 24 teams divided by 120 total FBS = 20 percent of colleges reach the postseason (cuts down on pointless bowl games and teams that are 6-7, 7-7 receiving postseason games).

- Smaller non-BCS colleges have an opportunity to host BCS schools in the national spotlight.

- March Madness style makes it "win or go home."

- A clear National Champion is crowned.

- Possible "Cinderellas" emerge.

- All conferences have a championship game.

- Everyone has a shot at a national title, no matter how big or small your school is.

Disadvantages

- Lots of money to University Presidents from schools that are perennial 6-7, 7-7 bowl eligible teams.

- Whole season is no longer "a playoff."

- A lot fewer football games for us to watch from Dec. 16-Jan. 8.

- No automatic for Independents (Notre Dame).

- No shared conference championships.

That is the end of my article, but if you are interested in how this would've looked last season, here it is.

Week 1

No. 9 West Virginia vs. No. 24 South Florida
No. 10 Hawaii vs. No. 23 Virginia
No. 11 Arizona State vs. No. 22 Texas
No. 12 Florida vs. No. 21 Wisconsin
No. 13 *BYU vs. No. 20 Tennessee
No. 14 *UCF vs. No. 19 Clemson
No. 15 *CMU vs. No. 18 Boston College
No. 16 *Winner of FAU/Troy (Sun Belt) vs. No. 17 Illinois

Week 2

No. 1 Ohio State vs. Winner 16/17
No. 2 LSU vs. Winner 15/18
No. 3 Virginia Tech vs. Winner 14/19
No. 4 Oklahoma vs. Winner 13/20
No. 5 Georgia vs. Winner 12/21
No. 6 Missouri vs. Winner 11/22
No. 7 USC vs. Winner 10/23
No. 8 Kansas vs. Winner 9/24

Week 3

Final Eight (higher seed with home game)

Week 4

Final Four (neutral sites)

Week 5

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME (neutral site)

* Conference winner—ranked to be in the top 16 only so they can have a home game and the No. 9 team is not on the road playing at the No. 24 team.

Home team