Bleacher Report - Articles by AAAA AAAA

Tennessee Volunteers 2009 Football Recruits

AAAA AAAA — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 09:45:09 -0400

It’s never too early to discuss college football, especially players being recruited by the Tennessee Volunteers. The Vols have set their sights on the class of 2009 with 18 players being ranked in the top 10 nationally at their respective positions.

The two major recruiting sites, Scout and Rivals, have released their “Top 100” lists and you’ll see Tennessee among the mix with the usual suspects for many of the best players. You can view a list of the players Tennessee is recruiting according to Scout by clicking here.

There is one player on the list I can offer my personal scouting report for. The Vols are recruiting Marlon Brown, the nation’s No. 2 wide receiver along with Florida, Georgia, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Texas and USC.

Marlon plays for Harding Academy in Memphis and my nephew Stephen just happens to be his teammate. I watched Harding play several games last fall and initially my interest was watching my nephew. But Marlon immediately draws your attention with his size and athletic ability.

Sometimes coaches and recruiting services have a tendency to overdue a player’s height and weight, but in this case Marlon is every bit of 6’5” and 200 pounds. Harding runs the spread option offense and the coaching staff does a good job of moving Marlon around in various formations. Moreover, they understand the concept of getting the ball to their best player and letting him make big plays. Marlon consistently does that for Harding Academy.

Marlon will lineup as the outside receiver, in the slot or in the backfield. They’ll put him in motion to run reverses or give him a chance to get open down the field on pass plays. Marlon is a player that can catch a 10-yard pass and turn it into a 60-yard touchdown.

Harding utilizes every athletic advantage Marlon has and will direct snap the ball to him in a run-pass option. Marlon has a good arm; I watched him throw a nice 20-yard spiral last season that resulted in a TD. I know it sounds cliché but Marlon can literally do it all on a football field.

I’ve estimated his speed somewhere in the 4.6 range, but it’s always difficult to get a real sense unless you’re down on the field. Not to mention, when players are timed they are in shorts as opposed to running in pads.

Before everyone starts envisioning young Marlon in orange, there is a potential drawback. While Marlon does possess tremendous ability and has a near limitless upside, the level of competition he plays against is weak. In fact, it’s no where near the level of competition of the best high school teams in Tennessee, much less the Southeastern Conference.

At this point I really don’t know if Marlon could step onto a field for any major college football program and contribute as a freshman. However, he has so much potential after a year as a red shirt, Marlon would be ready to showcase his talent.

Harding will hold their spring football practices in May and I’ll be taking some time to watch. I’d like to see Marlon add at least 10-15 pounds and improve his route running, which at this point needs some work. I’ll also look forward to seeing my nephew who will be entering his junior year at Harding.

One other point of particular interest, especially those of us supporting the Vols, Marlon won’t be a problem off the field. Harding is a private school with students from good backgrounds and foolishness isn’t tolerated. Players understand early on if they wish to participate that being a citizen off the field is mandatory.

I don’t know how much this is worth, but I’ll continue to post updates regarding Marlon’s development and I can assure you I’ll be at the games this fall wearing my big orange hoodie.

Tennessee Basketball: Lady Vols Win 13th SEC Tourney Title

AAAA AAAA — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 18:24:45 -0400

Tennessee won their 13thSEC women’s tournament championship in front of 12,392 at the Sommet Center in Nashville.

Candace Parker scored a game-high 28 points to lead the Lady Vols past LSU 61-55 Sunday night, helping the Lady Vols avenge an earlier regular season loss to the Lady Tigers. LSU defeated the Lady Vols 78-62 in on Feb. 14, handing them only their second loss of the season.

The Lady Vols improved to 13-5 all-time in SEC tournament championship games.

Parker said the Lady Vols had extra motivation playing in front of a predominantly crowd.

“We're really excited to get this win tonight. We really want to thank our fans because they're the best in America," said Park. "It was like a home game tonight, playing in front of all that orange. But we know that this is the SEC championship, and we have bigger fish to fry. We're going to celebrate tonight, but when we go back next week we know we have to play for the NCAA championship.”

The Lady Vols, 30-2, reached 30 wins for the 18th time in coach Pat Summitt's 34 years. Summitt has said all year she didn’t really have a true sense of this team. Summitt believes she has a better feel for this team after the tournament victory.

“I know the way they played in this tournament they're a team that's got a chance to win the championship. I think for a team coming off a championship, I think they had a hard time being motivated for 40 minutes game in and game out. Fortunately with the schedule we played, that made it very challenging in a lot of games.”

The Lady Tigers, 27-5, were making their fourth straight appearance in the title game. While leading 56-54, LSU’s Sylvia Fowles was fouled with remaining. Fowles only made one of two free throw attempts and the Lady Tigers would not score again.

Fowles lead LSU with 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Quianna Chaney added 13.

Fowles said she'd rather have both titles if given a choice. “For the most part, I'm glad we won the regular season,” she said.

LSU guard Erica White said the only difference between the two teams was probably that Tennessee wanted it more.

"Does that bother me? You know, Tennessee won. Tennessee is the SEC champion, so hats off to them, " said White. "I look at my teammates and I look at the stats sheet, and I don't see any difference on that stats sheet too much. The only thing that I can think of, they had to have wanted it more than us. Maybe they prayed more last night, I don't know. ”

The Lady Vols were ahead early behind the play of Parker and Shannon Bobbitt. However, over the last eight minutes of the first half, the Lady Vols struggled to find the basket. LSU’s defense was solid throughout, but the Lady Vols clamped down at the most crucial moments in the game.

Despite their late first half drought, the Lady Vols led 25-22 going into the locker room at halftime.

The second half was just as closely contested as the first, with the teams swapping the lead 16 times with five ties. With leading 33-26 early in the second half, Allison Hightower hit a 3-pointer that capped a 7-0 run, tying the game at 33.

Tennessee could only muster two free throws during a five minute stretch, and the Lady Tigers took advantage going in front 39-35.

Tennessee went on a Parker-led 5-0 run to take a 40-39 lead to begin a back and forth affair the rest of the way.

Quianna Chaney scored with remaining giving LSU their final lead of the game, 54-51.

The Lady Vols answered on their next possession when Bobbitt hit a 3-pointer to tie it, and Parker nailed a jumper as the shot clock expired to put in front for good, 56-54 with remaining.

Parker, named the tournament MVP after the game, added two more free throws as was 5-of-7 at the line in the final 45.7 seconds to clinch the victory. Bobbitt had 12 for , while Nicky Anosike had a team-high 11 rebounds for the Lady Vols. out-rebounded the LSU 40-33.

They now have won six straight since the loss that Summitt called a wakeup call for a team still enjoying the national championship the Lady Vols won last spring. And it's now the sixth time the Lady Vols have finished second in the SEC in the regular season only to bounce back and win the tournament title.

The loss meant LSU coach Van Chancellor would go another year without an SEC tournament title. The Hall of Fame coach didn't win this tournament in his 19 seasons at Ole Miss.

“If Tennessee is good enough to win a national championship, we are too,” Chancellor said he told his players after the game. “We beat them at home; we had a great game here today. I don't see much difference in the two teams.”

Both teams will await their NCAA tournament seedings, locations and opponents when the women’s tournament field is announced next Sunday.

No. 4 Vols Crush South Carolina

AAAA AAAA — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 13:09:37 -0400

Chris Lofton scored 28 points to lead the No. 4 Tennessee Volunteers to an 89-56 victory over Sunday afternoon in front of 21,734 at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tenn.

Three Volunteer seniors, Lofton, JuJuan Smith and Jordan Howell, were given a rousing send-off for their final home game in a Tennessee uniform.

During the first half it appeared the Gamecocks might spoil the fun, keeping it close until halftime.

The Volunteers led early, 24-17 behind good three-point shooting from Lofton and Smith. But South Carolina wasn’t bad from behind the arc either, with Evaldas Baniulis and Mike Holmes nailing 6-of-12 three pointer’s to keep the Gamecocks close.

The Vols' shooting turned cold late in the first half and the Gamecocks took advantage, going into the locker room cutting the Tennessee's lead to 40-39.

Tennessee turned it on in the second half behind a 9-0 run that increased the Vols' lead to 49-39. The Gamecocks wouldn't get any closer the rest of the game as the Volunteers were torrid in the second half, shooting 61 percent from the field.

A four minute scoring drought by allowed to add insult to injury as the Vols increased their lead to 64-43 on a basket by Tyler Smith late in the second half .

Lofton’s 28 points came primarily on three-pointers, connecting on 6-of-10 for the game. The Vols (28-3 overall, 14-2 SEC) forced 16 turnovers and out-rebounded the Gamecocks 49-34.

After the 33-point victory the Vols said they more goals to accomplish this season.

Mike Holmes led the Gamecocks (13-17 overall, 5-11 SEC) with 15 points.

Tennessee awaits the winner of the LSU-South Carolina game this Thursday during the SEC tournament.

Prior to the game, a new championship banner was hung from the rafters in recognition of the Vols first SEC title in 41 years.

Tigers-Blazers: Memphis Manhandles UAB

AAAA AAAA — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 06:26:23 -0400

When Joey Dorsey asserts himself there usually isn’t much opponents can do that will prevent him from doing so. Yesterday Dorsey asserted himself against the UAB Blazers scoring 16 points and grabbing 12 rebounds leading the No. 2 Memphis Tigers to a 94-56 victory.

The Tigers dominated from the opening tip and wrapped up their second straight perfect Conference season. It was the perfect performance for Senior Night as Dorsey and fellow senior Andre Allen helped the Tigers to their 39thconsecutive C-USA win.

“It ought to be Senior Night every night for Joey,” ' Chris Douglas-Roberts said.

Dorsey has been an enigma throughout his career at , possessing a wealth of talent but struggling with the mental aspects of the game. When he puts it all together, Dorsey can be a nearly unstoppable force.

“I came into this game and I was hoping the slump was over, and I can play like this the rest of the year,” Dorsey said. “The last couple of games, I've been so frustrated just to see what's going on with me. It takes hard work, playing harder than everybody on the court.”

Memphis, 30-1 overall, 16-0 C-USA, were cruising by the midway point of the first half and eventually took a 28-point lead into the locker room at halftime. Unlike their earlier meeting in when had to rally from seven points down in the final to win, the Tigers sent a clear message.

“We had no answer for them,” Blazers coach Mike Davis said. “We just wanted to get the game over with. That didn't happen either because it felt like it took all day for it to get over.”

Lawrence Kinnard led UAB, 22-9 overall, 12-4 C-USA, with 16 points, while Robert Vaden had 13 and Aaron Johnson chipped in 10 points. The Blazers never got on track against the Tigers swarming defense and ended the day with 23 turnovers and shooting just 34 percent from the field.

“We wanted to tell them this was not going to be a game like ,” Tigers freshman guard Derrick Rose said. “When you hit a team like that, it kind of takes down their confidence a little bit.”

UAB, which was the last team to beat Memphis in a conference game over two years ago, were down by as many as 43 at one point in the second half. Allen and Doneal Mack scored 11 points each for , while finished with 10, all in the first half. Rose had 5 points and 11 assists in 21 minutes of play.

“We came in today, and I said: ‘I'm not losing on Senior Night. I'm going to come out with so much energy, and you all just follow me,” Dorsey said.

The Tigers used 12 players, with 11 tossing in at least three points.

“That's what a deep team will do. The biggest thing is we just guarded,” coach John Calipari said.

With just under four minutes left in the game, the crowd of 17,822 at the FedEx Forum gave Dorsey a standing ovation and chanted “Joey, Joey” with Dorsey waving to the crowd as he left the court. Allen was next to leave and received a similar standing ovation.

Blazers coach Mike Davis wasn’t pleased with his team’s poor outing, questioning the lack of effort and motivation.

“It was like this game didn't even matter, and that was the way we played,” said. “It was Senior Night for , and it was a stop before the C-USA tournament." "We could have gotten beat by 40 by anybody. We just weren't ready to play.”

Dorsey’s teammates understand how important his strong play helps their chances of being successful in the coming C-USA and NCAA tournaments.

“We did it because of Joey,” Douglas-Roberts said. “I hope he gets the picture now. He makes himself look so good, and he makes us look so good. I don't understand why he wouldn't want to look good out there all the time.”

The Tigers are entering the C-USA tournament this week as the No. 1 seed and will await their Thursday opponent. The C-USA tournament begins this Wednesday at the FedEx Forum.

Memphis Grizzles Wheel and Deal

AAAA AAAA — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 10:09:31 -0500

The Memphis Grizzlies, mired in a second straight season of futility, have traded Pau Gasol to the Los Angeles Lakers for Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, and first round draft picks in 2008 and 2010.

In a separate trade, the New Jersey Nets acquired Stromile Swift from the Grizzlies in exchange for Jason Collins.

News of both trades was first reported by Ronald Tliiery, staff reporter for The Commercial Appeal, and can be viewed on-line by visiting The Memphis Edge.

The Grizzlies are currently 13-33 and are well out of the playoff picture for this season. With a lackluster off-season that saw the Grizzlies sign Casey Jacobsen, Juan Carlos Navarro, Andre Brown, and Darko Milicic, the chemistry needed to compete in the NBA has been non-existent.

Milicic has been a complete disaster, averaging 6.4 PPG and 5.6 RPG—horrific numbers considering the Grizzlies signed him to a three-year, $21 million dollar contract. Unless my math is terribly wrong, Darko is averaging one point for every million he's earning this season.

The Grizzlies, perhaps, were further motivated to make these trades in an effort to reduce payroll. During this past off-season owner Michael Heisley didn't hide the fact he was looking for a buyer.

Coupled with Heisley's desire to sell the team, Jerry West resigned his position as President of Basketball Operations at the end of last season, leaving the team in a state of flux.

Former Boston Celtic GM Chris Wallace was hired this past June to replace West, and it appears he's been a busy man the past few days. For a man with less than one year on the job, Wallace is facing an uphill battle in turning the Grizzlies around.

With the announcement of these trades, the Grizzlies may be the only team in the NBA with four point guards. With the glut of players at that position the Grizzlies may not be done dealing. Other trade options include sending either Kyle Lowry or Navarro to a team in need of help at the point.

Swapping the long-term deal of Gasol for the one year Kwame Brown has remaining on his contract will further bolster the Grizzlies chances of signing an impact player this off-season. Brown certainly has the potential to be a solid NBA player but has yet to realize it. Considering he's had enough time, like Milicic, to prove his NBA-worthiness, I don't see the Grizzlies retaining his services beyond this season.

The Grizzlies have enjoyed a respectable level of success since arriving in Memphis in 2001. The Grizzlies made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history during the 2004 season, and made the playoffs the following year as well. However, the Grizzlies were swept out of the first round in both playoff appearances, and haven't won a playoff game in franchise history to date.

Being that I reside in Memphis I was glad to see the Grizzlies make these trades. The Grizzlies aren't without a solid core of young players that have the potential to be very good NBA players.

Rudy Gay, Hakim Warrick and Mike Conley, Jr. have played well this season and appear to be the foundation on which the Grizzlies can build upon. The FedEx Forum in downtown Memphis is a state of the art facility that provides the Grizzlies and the University of Memphis with an exceptional basketball venue.

The potential for a bright future is in place and the trades made today will relieve the Grizzlies of salary, making room for additional players via trade or free agent signings. While at present the situation in Memphis is a bit gloomy, today’s activities may well be the turning point toward renewed respectability.

Write Your Own Damn Article!

AAAA AAAA — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 02:16:41 -0500

Plagiarism is the practice of claiming or implying original authorship of (or incorporating material from) someone else's written or creative work, in whole or in part, into one's own without adequate acknowledgement. Unlike cases of forgery, in which the authenticity of the writing, document, or some other kind of object itself is in question, plagiarism is concerned with the issue of false attribution.

In journalism, plagiarism is considered a breach of journalistic ethics, and reporters caught plagiarizing typically face disciplinary measures ranging from suspension to termination.

Plagiarism is concerned with the unearned increment to the plagiarizing author's reputation that is achieved through false claims of authorship.

I quoted the above two paragraphs directly from Wikipedia because I wanted everyone reading this article to understand exactly what plagiarism means.

I had a few ideas rolling around my head last night as I intended to post another article at Bleacher Report. I entered a generic string on Google and began perusing the pages.

Suddenly, I came across a link that looked very familiar and navigated my way to the site. I discovered that someone going by the screen name of"bamaboy550" had copied, pasted, and edited my recent article The SEC: Overrated? NEVER!! and posted it at The Sporting News claiming it to be his work.

In fact, I could tell by the way it appeared that the article was copied from Bleacher Report. He even went as far to post only the first half of the article to generate anticipation for the second half.

I’m not a naïve person, nor am I shocked this occurred. I’m shocked it happened with regard to an article I wrote because I don’t consider anything I write to be that good. I’m not going to make anyone forget Shakespeare anytime soon and there are countless writers that put me to shame every day. But I am thoroughly pissed off because the article in question took weeks to research, and nearly four hours of my free time to write.

We may be classified as bloggers and receive no compensation for the articles we write, however, the articles we write and post belong to us. And in this case specifically, it belongs to me. I can prove my work, as all writers can, by the time stamp on the document.

I would have never known this occurred unless I was performing a search for another article I intended to write. This problem of plagiarism isn’t limited to me, but affects thousands who take the time to research, write, and post articles around the internet.

I notified the administrative staff at The Sporting News of this abuse, and they were quick to respond. I received an e-mail shortly before completing this article informing me the article had been removed and the person who posted it was being dealt with appropriately.

For all of you that take a few moments to read this article, please be aware that some of us take a lot of time to do the right thing. If I quote something I make it clear I’m doing so; if I use images in my post I capture them from the public domain. Any blogger or professional writer with a moral barometer would understand this, but apparently there are people that don’t.

For all of you posting articles here at Bleacher Report, or any other site, I suggest you take a few minutes and conduct a search. You may be surprised to find that an article you wrote apparently looks good to someone else and they’ve decided to claim it as their own.

Don’t shrug your shoulders if you discover someone else claiming your work to be their own. Notify the web site administrators and demand they take immediate action. For the owners of this site, I’d ask that you take measures to prevent this from happening in the future. I realize it is nearly impossible to do so, but I ask you make a concerted effort to protect those of us posting articles on this site.

Bloggers deserve to be treated no differently than a professional journalist. I can assure you I will make it my personal goal to ensure that we get the respect we’ve earned. My advice, for anyone reading this article, don’t copy and paste it somewhere on the net because I’ll locate it. And when I do, the person committing plagiarism is going to be dealt with harshly.

College Football for Dummies

AAAA AAAA — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 00:36:55 -0500

Before I get into the meat of this article, I want to make it clear that I don’t refer to a specific reader by name.

Much like Bill Parcells referred to Terrell Owens as “the player,” I refer to a reader as “the reader.”

After posting my most recent blog at Bleacher Report, “the reader” wrote a lengthy comment highlighting a number of differences between the Big 10 and SEC.

One of the areas “the reader” made note of was the fact the SEC has a conference championship game, while the Big 10 does not.

The reader believed the SEC Championship was an advantage for potentially propelling an SEC team into the BCS Championship game. I could easily make a compelling argument for both sides of this issue. However, when I wrote my response I stated the advantage only rests with the team having the superior record and higher BCS ranking.

Should the team with the higher ranking lose, then it becomes a decided disadvantage and could potentially prevent a team from playing for the BCS title.

I’ve read several articles in the recent past regarding this subject and most consider the conferences with championship games to be an advantage. The most noted complaint among those writing was the fact the SEC, ACC, and Big 12 do not play a conference schedule against every team within the conference.

The Big 10 doesn’t either, but they don’t play a conference championship game. Only two conferences, the Big East and Pac 10, play against every team within the conference and arrive at a conference champion without playing a championship game.

So what’s the big problem?

It’s obvious most of you haven’t read my book, sitting atop the New York Times Best Seller List for over 25 years—College Football for Dummies. I’ll share some of the pearls of wisdom contained within the book for free, but beyond this article, you’ll need to spend the $19.95.

Conference championship games are played for several reasons, the first being MONEY!

As an example, CBS paid the SEC over $13 million for the right to televise the SEC Championship game. I suspect ABC paid the Big 12 and ACC a hefty sum for the right to televise those conference championship games as well. Who among us would turn down $13 million for an extra day’s work?

Another reason conference championship games are played is due to the changing landscape in college football.

If you read my previous article, “The SEC: Overrated? NEVER!!,” you’ll note I wrote a few paragraphs specifically about scheduling. With the advent of the 85 scholarship limit, the BCS, conference realignments, an additional regular season game, and no playoff format in sight, every BCS-member team had to revise their thinking.

I’ll use the SEC again as an example; every SEC member team plays an eight-game conference schedule. With a 12-game schedule, that leaves an SEC team facing four non-conference opponents. Like most BCS-member teams, one game is scheduled against a non-conference BCS opponent.

The remaining three games of the schedule will generally consist of teams from the other Division 1 conferences. The respective winners of the East and West Divisions square off in Atlanta each year to determine the SEC champion.

In reality, the two teams appearing in the conference championship game will have faced ten quality opponents in a 13-game schedule.

You may wonder what this has to do with a conference championship game being an advantage. What are the chances of a team going undefeated in a power conference, having played ten quality opponents in today’s college football environment? Little to none, right?

Now, what are the chances of a team from a power conference having one loss, perhaps two, and winning their conference championship game and still earning a berth in the BCS title?

If you don’t remember, see LSU from about three weeks ago. That’s why teams are scheduling the way they are, and well in advance as I’ve so adroitly noted in recent articles.

That’s why conference championship games are played, and how teams from the power conferences are positioning themselves for an opportunity to earn a berth in the BCS title game.

Let’s set up a hypothetical schedule for a team from a conference that doesn’t play a championship game.

We’ll use the SEC’s favorite team, Ohio State. Everybody in the SEC loves Ohio State because they’re so accommodating in allowing the likes of Florida and LSU to step on their heads en route to a BCS Championship.

With the Buckeyes playing in the Big 10, they’ll play an eight-game conference schedule and four non-conference games. While it would be great for the fans to see the Buckeyes schedule USC, South Florida, Maryland and Colorado to round out their 12-game schedule, it isn’t going to happen. They’ll play one team from a power conference, and three games against relative cupcakes.

And they’ll do this because the chance of playing an incredibly difficult schedule while maintaining less than one loss is remote. With parity being the norm in college football, one loss can potentially remove you from contention for the BCS title.

Teams from the power conferences—regardless if they play a championship game or not—aren’t going to schedule themselves out of an opportunity to win a BCS title.

If you take a look at the long-term future schedules of virtually every major college football program, all of them are going to schedule one non-conference game against a BCS opponent and two or three games against lesser competition.

For the foreseeable future, or at least until we arrive at a better means of determining a true National Champion, this will be the prescribed method. Frankly, it’s the only method. It’s good business and it gives the major BCS member teams the chance to win the big one.

So, are we clear now? This should have cost you $19.95, but for the sake of not having to read any more illogical articles regarding scheduling and conference championship games, I’ll let it slide—this time.

College Football: Why the SEC is Absolutely Not Overated

AAAA AAAA — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 03:02:13 -0500

Three months ago I wrote my first blog, mentioning I resided in the heart of SEC country. I admit to having a bias towards the SEC, in fact, I’m convinced the SEC is the best football conference in America. However, I further mentioned I wasn’t so nearsighted that I didn’t recognize other teams and conferences play a respectable brand of football. I LOVE college football; I can get as much enjoyment watching Michigan-Ohio State as I can the Iron Bowl.

I’ve been amazed at the fierceness of which bloggers discuss the best teams and conferences, and why everyone was wasting their time doing so. It became clear to me 10 years ago, as it did for all of my SEC homers; the SEC is and will continue to be the most dominant football conference in the nation. However, it appears that only among the fans do the great debates take place. At times I see comments from those responding to an article stating the SEC is overrated. WHAT?! Are you kidding me? So in an effort to put this myth of the SEC being overrated to bed, I decided to take a very deep look into the world of college football.

Ultimately, I agree the end results are settled on the field, as they should be. But I don’t believe you can measure a conference by a won-loss record. There are many factors determining the true measure of a conference that go well beyond the playing field. Records versus other BCS conferences, attendance, recruiting, TV/radio contracts and ratings, corporate sponsorships and revenue are the primary areas of focus for the purpose of supporting my argument. Historical data in some cases can only be generated from the past two years when statistics or records began being tracked. By the time we’re done you’ll have no questions and thankfully, no comments to support your position.

One of the “overrated” arguments I’ve heard is the SEC doesn’t play a competitive non-conference schedule. The realities of college football have shifted over the past decade, where an additional regular season game and potential conference championship game will give some teams as many as 14 games to play during the season. Teams from the BCS conferences have recognized that playing a conference schedule without a loss is becoming more unlikely. Factor in the 85 scholarship limit for every team and parity has become the norm in college football.

Teams simply can’t afford to schedule more than two games against non-conference BCS opponents and expect to have a realistic opportunity to win a BCS Championship. Moreover, virtually every team from the BCS conferences has scheduled their one or two non-conference BCS opponents well in advance. Please read this article I wrote late last year for a list of some BCS teams that have scheduled their major non-conference BCS opponents. As you can see, most teams are going to play one major non-conference BCS opponent, two or three non-BCS opponents and then play their conference schedule, giving them their 12 game total.

Let’s start with records, the SEC against all other BCS conferences. I compiled this list of SEC teams against non-conference BCS opponents, including Notre Dame, over the past 10 seasons from 1998 through this past season. In addition, these records include bowl games against non-conference BCS opponents. As you can clearly see, the SEC has the superior winning percentage against all other BCS conferences.

SEC ACC Big East Big 12 Big 10 Pac 10

Games 191 217 181 174 215 182

Wins 103 102 85 83 113 88

Losses 88 115 96 91 102 94

Percentage .5392% .4700% .4696% .4770% .5235% .4835%

If 10 years of data didn’t appease you, I decided to take a look at the SEC against all other BCS conferences from 1990 through this past season. Oddly enough, only the Big East has an advantage against the SEC in head-to-head match ups over the past 18 seasons, adjusted for realignments.

SEC vs. ACC 71-53-2 .5634%

SEC vs. Big East 14-19-0 .4242%

SEC vs. Big 12 20-18-0 .5263%

SEC vs. Big 10 67-47-2 .5775%

SEC vs. Pac 10 59-37-5 .5841%

I’ve mentioned these figures include bowl games, so let’s look specifically at the bowl records of each BCS conference. These are all-time bowl records since each conference was formed, and adjusted for realignments.

Bowls Wins Losses Ties Percentage

SEC 361 184 164 13 .5287%

Big 12 312 149 160 4 .4837%

ACC 276 143 128 5 .5276%

Big 10 234 114 117 3 .4935%

Pac 10 220 112 102 6 .5233%

Big East 105 48 54 2 .4660%

Since 1998 the BCS has crowned its champion using a formula to determine a match up of the No.1 and No. 2 ranked teams. For the record, the BCS by no means is the best method to arrive at a true national champion, and I’m a strong proponent of a playoff. However, based on the current method, the SEC has won the most BCS championships since 1998.

SEC - 4

ACC -1

Big 12 - 2

Big 10 - 1

Pac 10 - 1 – Southern California was BCS Champion in 2004, shared titled (AP) in 2003.

Big East - 1

Let’s turn our attention to attendance figures. On the surface attendance may not appear to be a relevant factor in determining conference superiority. However, attendance is vital in the areas of revenue generation, TV contract negotiations and recruiting, all of which are important elements in determining a conference’s strength.

For the past 10 seasons from 1998 through this past season, the SEC has led in total home game attendance. The most recent figures from this past season can be viewed by clicking here. The SEC has five of the top 10, and nine of the top 25 schools. The Big 10 has six schools in the top 25, the Big 12 four, the Pac 10 three, and the ACC two. Notre Dame was the only school without a conference affiliation to appear, rounding out the top 25.

To view past attendance figures from 2001 until 2006, please click the following links.

2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006.

In order to achieve this level of success you need talented players, and the search for those players is a never ending process. The recruitment of the nation’s best high school football players is exhaustive, and for the past seven years, including this year, the SEC has recruited more nationally ranked players than any other conference. You can search Scout or Rivals by clicking on team rankings, and then clicking on conference rankings to view a list from 2002 to the present.

Television ratings are a huge component in the success of a conference. Greater ratings provide the conference a stronger bargaining position in negotiating future TV contracts. With greater revenue received through contracts with the networks, conference schools can fund other non-revenue producing sports, among a host of other uses. The SEC is the only conference guaranteed a national game of the week on free network television through its contract with CBS Sports. The only other BCS affiliated member that can make such a claim is Notre Dame. The SEC is the only conference that can potentially appear on every free television network via regional telecasts, or exclusively on NBC if an SEC team has scheduled a game against Notre Dame. The SEC has television contracts with CBS Sports (national), ESPN (national cable), FSN South/FSN Southwest/SUN Sports (regional cable) and Lincoln Financial Sports (regional syndication).

This past season CBS Sports earned an average national household rating/share for the season of 3.5/8, up 13 percent from a 3.1/7 last year. This 3.5/8 marks the best college football season average for CBS since a 3.7/10 in 1999. CBS Sports was the only network to show a ratings gain for coverage of college football for the 2007 season. The season was capped off by national coverage of the SEC Championship game between Tennessee and LSU, which earned a national household rating/share of 5.9/12, up 31 percent from last year's 4.5/8 for the SEC Championship featuring Florida and Arkansas. The 5.9/12 was the best rating for the SEC Championship game since the 2001 primetime game on CBS, which earned a 7.9/15 rating/share for Tennessee-LSU.

As a result, the SEC disbursed $85.2 million for revenues generated during the 2006/2007 regular and bowl seasons to its member schools through revenue received from its TV contract with CBS, including the SEC Championship game, and all bowl game revenue. No other conference generated a greater amount of football revenue than the SEC. Figures for the 2007/2008 regular and bowl seasons have yet to be released.

SEC fans across the continental United States can tune in to SEC sports on XM satellite radio. XM recently signed a five-year agreement with the SEC to carry games and special programming nationwide. During this past season, XM carried the most SEC games on the radio with coast-to-coast live broadcasts of Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and Tennessee football. South Carolina will join XM in fall 2008, followed by Florida in fall 2009.

The SEC was the first conference to establish an extensive presence on the internet. The conference's main web site, SECsports.com, contains the latest information on all of the league's sports and championships and also has the latest video and audio features from the conference.

The SEC corporate sponsor program began in 1988 with three companies dedicated to intercollegiate athletics and higher education. Now supported by many of the nation’s top corporations, this program has evolved into the most successful of its kind. The corporations also conduct consumer promotions designed to increase sales and brand awareness. These promotions also increase public awareness of the member institutions of the SEC, which in turn supports increased ticket sales and high television and radio ratings.

In addition to the broad spectrum of benefits provided by these contributions, each SEC institution is a direct beneficiary of the program. SEC Corporate sponsors include AT&T, Dr Pepper and Quaker State, Air Tran Airways, BC Powder, Chick-fil-A, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Eckrich, Gatorade, Golden Flake, Nissan, Regions Bank, State Farm Insurance, Texas Pete and XM Satellite Radio.

Let’s talk about money. We all know big time college football is really big business. So big in fact, the major programs around the country generate millions each year. I wrote an article that can be viewed here listing the top 20 revenue producing programs in college football. In addition this list includes the profit generated from these revenues. These are the latest figures released annually by Forbes Magazine and as you will note, the SEC has eight programs in the top 20, more than any other conference in America.

As if all of this weren’t enough to convince you and settle this debate forever, this recent article appearing in USA Today this past November should dispel any notions of other conferences being superior to the SEC.

The debate is as old as college football itself: Where are the best teams? With the increased importance of conferences in the latter part of the 20th century, the focus could be narrowed. Over the years, some leagues have grown, some have disappeared, but the argument remains. Deciding which league has been tops might be only a matter of opinion.

From week to week this season it has been difficult to determine which college football teams are the best in the nation. There has been far less debate over which conference has been tops in the Bowl Championship Series era. Through all the chaos, controversy, unexpected outcomes, pleas for a playoff and tweaks to the BCS formula the past decade, the Southeastern Conference stands as the best Division I-A league.

A USA Today/Gallup Poll favors the SEC, with 30 percent of respondents saying the conference, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary, has been the best of the past decade. The nationwide survey was conducted Nov. 2-4, asking more than 500 respondents classifying themselves as college football fans.

"Top to bottom, the SEC has been that conference long-term," says Fox and Big Ten Network football analyst Charles Davis, a former defensive back at Tennessee. ESPN analyst Lou Holtz, who most recently coached at South Carolina, gives credit to the Pacific-10 for scheduling an extra league game when the NCAA began allowing 12-game schedules. He thinks Pac-10 offenses are more advanced than what is typically the case in the SEC. But in the end, Holtz gives the nod to the SEC as the best.

"The first part of the year, you can be doing good, but you just get beat up week after week in that league," says Holtz, who also coached in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Big Ten, the old Southwest Conference and at independent Notre Dame. "And it's a religion down there, just a passion. We never had an empty seat at (South Carolina). We'd be 11th in the country in attendance and sixth in the SEC."

CBS football analyst Gary Danielson, who played at Purdue, believes the SEC and Big Ten look like the "co-best leagues" over time. But he says the SEC, traditionally, has been stellar. "The top 30 or 40 teams, in a one-game situation, could beat each other," says Danielson, who earlier in his broadcasting career analyzed games for ABC and ESPN. "But the SEC is tougher with the most NFL players and the most history of (fans) going to games. Its 75 years of tradition and the away games are brutal.” "It's not that all the teams are always great, but it's that football means a lot. Even Kentucky sells out every game. So it's very important to the kids who grow up in (the SEC's region) and to the fans who go." Danielson thinks the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac-10 are on a different level than the ACC and Big East.

ESPN analyst Lee Corso believes the SEC has been the best league of the past decade but says the Pac-10 is tops this season.

"The skill-position players in the Pac-10, particularly at quarterback, make it the best this year," Corso says. Florida's Tim Tebow "is the best quarterback in the SEC, but nobody else is really that close to some of the quarterbacks in the Pac-10."

The Pac-10 "has modern offenses and skilled athletes," Corso says. "But over the long period, the SEC has been dominant because of speed on defense."

As Davis points out, such debates are sometimes not easily resolved, especially considering what has been in evidence in recent seasons. "Any team can jump up," Davis says. "Look at Mississippi State, Connecticut, Cincinnati—even Rutgers had a chance at the whole deal late last season, and they ended up in the Texas Bowl. “It's a razor's edge of a difference sometimes.”

So, are you satisfied now? What could you possibly say to refute the evidence? I’m confident many of you will attempt to offer an argument, but frankly, you’ll be exercising a lesson in futility. Get your heads wrapped around these undisputed facts and stop wasting your breath and my time. Besides, the sooner you resign yourselves to the truth, it will make you feel better because you’ll no longer have to worry about which conference is truly the best. That conference is the SEC.

Boo NFL!: Why Doesn't Los Angeles Have a Team?

AAAA AAAA — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 09:44:01 -0500

One of the saddest commentaries on U.S. sports is that the city of Los Angeles, the nation's second-largest television market, doesn’t have a franchise in the NFL.

Abandoned by both the Rams and the Raiders in 1994, the city of Los Angeles and the NFL have been going in circles ever since.

Every week, it seems, a report appears about a new stadium proposal; the L.A. Coliseum will be renovated, Chavez Ravine is an option, or Anaheim is in the running. The NFL will fly executives to Los Angeles to scout out sites, announce that none meet their criteria and the game begins again.

Two pro sports franchises leaving town the same year should have caused an uproar. When Cleveland lost the Browns to Baltimore, owner Art Modell was vilified and received death threats.

When the Raiders and Rams departed in 1994, Los Angelinos yawned before going surfing. To add insult to injury, there was recent news of Canadian Football League officials talking about the possibility of an NFL team moving to Canada.

CANADA?!

While the NFL has no current plans for expansion, several existing teams are believed to be potential candidates for relocation, including the Buffalo Bills, Minnesota Vikings, Jacksonville Jaguars and New Orleans Saints.

Of those franchises, the Bills seem most likely to move in the short-term; given that 89-year-old owner Ralph Wilson has publicly declared the team will be sold to the highest bidder after his death.

The Buffalo market will be too small to generate the revenue needed to offset an NFL franchise purchased for current value. While the NFL insists putting a team in Los Angeles is its top priority, why are we talking about Canada?

What team wouldn’t want to relocate to Los Angeles? L.A. offers plenty of advantages; the region is home to a number of Fortune 500 companies, the population of Los Angeles County alone tops 10 million, and the weather is generally good year-round.

In my opinion, there are two primary reasons L.A. doesn't have an NFL team. First, the taxpayers are being asked to pay for a multi-million dollar stadium. Why should the people of any city be forced to pay for stadiums when the people of the city will receive no benefit from the team's presence?

Let's see, we pay for the stadiums, then they charge us anywhere between $100-$200 bucks a seat. So the owners get a free stadium, then get to charge outrageous amounts of money so the people who paid for the stadium can watch games in the stadium they paid for? Uhhh…I don’t think so!

Second, I think the NFL has been using Los Angeles as a bargaining chip to help other franchises get new stadium deals. In the event a franchise isn’t satisfied with their current stadium lease, and what team is, the owner(s) can say, “Well, I’ll just have to look elsewhere if I can’t get a new stadium.” And where is the first place they’ll look? Yep. L.A.

The stories will continue to be posted, but the bottom line is this: Los Angeles is as close to landing an NFL team as Paris Hilton is to having a clean driving record.

It's Just Sports!

AAAA AAAA — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 15:43:16 -0500

I’m entering my third month of blogging, and I decided to take an account of what I’ve seen to this point.

My writing had previously been limited to newsletters and passionate correspondence with my Congressman and Senators regarding my positions on the issues at hand. In reality, I began writing in earnest over 20 years ago while serving in the U.S. Navy.

My department head was Lt. Bradley A. Bellis, an Annapolis graduate with a sharp intellect and a very even disposition. Bradley has since achieved the rank of Captain, which is the equivalent of a full Colonel in the other branches of the military.

As you gain time and rank in the service, naturally your level of responsibility increases. A big part of the service is its administrative aspects, for as they said, the Navy floated on a sea of paperwork. I began writing contracts, addendums to manuals, and outlines for processes.

As you can imagine, writing in the military is much different than what we commonly write. The structure and format was specific, and you didn’t venture off the prescribed course. Upon completing a document and before it was considered final, I would turn all of my work over to Brad for his review.

We referred to that process as “chopping," which was the Navy’s way of saying edit. The first week’s work was returned to me with more red markings indicating various errors than anything I’d ever written. It was demoralizing, but I took it in stride and paid more attention to detail.

As the weeks progressed, the red markings were becoming fewer. Finally, one day while searching through my box, I came across a document I had given Brad for chopping. It didn’t have any markings on it, and I initially thought he hadn’t reviewed it.

I approached him with the document and asked, “hey man, are you going to chop this or what?" He looked at me and said, “I already have.” I had arrived.

So a few months ago, I decided to delve into the world of blogging with a particular focus on sports. To be honest, I hadn’t read the first sports blog because I became ingrained with the various media outlets reporting the day’s headlines. In doing so, I began to notice the opinions of the writers were beginning to shroud the line between opinion and reality.

If opinion should happen to become reality, fine. But at no time should opinion be reported as reality. For those of you that take the time to read this, the chasm between opinion and reality is wide, and deep. Not unlike the talking heads we see night after night debating issues, it became more apparent the journalism profession was no longer honorable.

If you watch and listen closely, the pseudo-intellectuals will attempt to make you believe they know more than you and I.

Know more about what? That which we already knew? Or that they’ve become legends in their own minds?

I wanted to get away from the incessant ramblings of the elitists pretending to report the news. Sports was the perfect venue, for after all, it’s just sports. Here I could write for sheer enjoyment, discussing a host of topics with fellow sports enthusiasts.

I believed light-hearted banter between and among us would give me respite. After all, it’s just sports. Perhaps I could follow the format of Costas Now or Real Sports, in my mind the two best sports journalism shows on television. I wrote my first article, and a huge contingent of anxious readers descended upon my blog, leaving behind a total of two comments.

I went back to the days of my time in the military, recalling those first documents I’d written, and Brad chopping them mercilessly. Not to be deterred, I continued writing; my next project was a three-part history of Monday Night Football, which incidentally, I consider my best work to date.

Then several weeks ago I hit the jackpot - the hot button issue of the day. I wrote an article on the beliefs of Stephen A. Smith and Bill Conlin, both suggesting that anyone other than a professional journalist doesn’t have a right to present their argument in a public forum.

The article received more comments than any I’d written, and the following day, there was the MoonDog, sitting atop the blogosphere as Blog of the Day at Fox Sports. And do you know the most interesting aspect of that article? It didn’t have a damn thing to do about sports.

There are at least 10 blogs I read every day, all of which you can find in my list of favorites at my website. I may not agree with everything that’s being written, but I respect the view of the writer, and post a comment.

I’ll go back to those blogs and note the other comments being posted and find myself dismayed at the number of people that engage in personal attacks against the writer, and against others who’ve commented. Instead of having a healthy debate, the discussion has turns into a contest of who can put the other guy down.

Opinions and reality are being shrouded – again. Have I misconstrued the intent of writing a sports-related blog? After all, it’s just sports.

I’ve pondered that over the past week and perhaps sports-related articles aren’t my niche. With so many important issues facing our nation, sports wouldn’t sit in my top 100.

Do any of you know what the national debt is? Do you know how much the interest on the debt is for this fiscal year? What percentage of the federal budget was used to pay the interest on the debt? It’s just sports.

I’ve had the opportunity to speak with many of my fellow bloggers through personal e-mail exchanges, and I can honestly say everyone I’ve had a conversation with is a decent, bright, and well-minded person.

I’m hopeful the impressions I’ve left with others have been in the same light, even though I suspect anyone having spoken with me comes away thinking I’m a complete jackass. You’d be correct; I am a complete jackass, although in my defense, I’m an affable jackass.

It is through dialogue that we can begin to understand the views of others. Even if we disagree, rational conversation can present an opportunity that allows us to grow beyond the trivial, even if the topic is just sports.

So perhaps this year we can read a blog without spewing venom at one another. Perhaps we can take the writers opinion into account an offer a valid argument if we should happen to disagree.

So here's some friendly advice - free too, I might add - that you can live by the rest of the year. Before you read the next blog, I want you to sit down, close your eyes, take a deep breath, and repeat after me: It’s just sports.

That’s the reality of my opinion.

A History of Monday Night Football

AAAA AAAA — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 16:45:51 -0500

I’m seriously giving away my age but I can recall watching the first Monday Night Football telecast in September of 1970. Long before cable had arrived, we were only able to watch one game on Sunday afternoons. Prior to that first Monday night game, we had just upgraded from a 19” black and white to a 19” color. Color! Wow! At a time when we had a total of four channels and no remote control, color television and an additional game to watch were almost beyond fathomable.

The story leading up to that first telecast in September of 1970 was based on the efforts of then NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle. During the early 60’s, Rozelle wanted to expand the game to offer additional opportunities for the American television audience. An attempt in 1964 to play games on Friday nights was quickly dismissed with critics claiming attendance at high school football games would suffer. Not to be deterred, Rozelle contracted with CBS to air one NFL prime time game on Monday night during the 1966 and 1967 seasons. At that time, the rival American Football League had a television contract with NBC. Seeing the success of the first Monday night games, NBC followed suit by airing AFL games on Monday night during the 1968 and 1969 seasons.

After the New York Jets defeated the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III, the NFL and AFL merged. Rozelle acted quickly on the growing popularity of the sport to negotiate a contract to air weekly Monday night games. At that time, CBS and NBC were the dominant networks and both were reluctant to enter into what was perceived as a risky venture. Rozelle then approached ABC, which was the lowest rated network, about the possibility of signing a contract to air the games. Even with their lowest rating status, ABC shared their network rivals sentiment that the prospect of airing weekly games on Monday night was a less than stellar proposition. Sensing ABC’s reluctance, Rozelle approached the independent Hughes Sports Network, an entity wholly subsidized by reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes, with the proposed Monday night games. Upon hearing this news, ABC, although still less than convinced, entered into a contract with the NFL to begin airing games on Monday night for the 1970 season.

After the contract was signed, ABC selected Roone Arledge to produce the new show. Arledge began his career at ABC 10 years earlier when he was hired as an assistant producer. Arledge was quick to recognize that the network needed to present sports telecasts in a way the viewer hadn’t seen. As opposed to the somewhat rigid style of broadcasting the game on a play by play basis, Arledge wanted to provide the viewer with a spectacle. In September of 1960, ABC aired the network’s first college football telecast utilizing Arledge’s theories. The game featured the University of Alabama hosting the University of Georgia and college football was never the same again. Arledge had established a benchmark in the way the viewer watched the game. Expanding upon the same formula for success with college football, Arledge saw a wealth of possibilities for the new MNF program and began developing a product that was to be both entertaining and visually appealing. As his first order of business, Arledge hired Chet Forte as the director of MNF and they quickly brought innovations to the broadcast. MNF would have twice the number of cameras covering the action, graphics and displays that presented more information to the viewer, and added a third person to the typical two man broadcast booth.

With the production plan in place, Arledge set about the task of hiring an announcing team. Arledge was a friend of Frank Gifford and wanted him to be the play by play announcer for the telecasts. However, Gifford was under contract with CBS until 1971 and thus Arledge had to find an anchor. He initially tried to lure Curt Gowdy away from NBC and Vin Scully, the radio voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Being unable to secure the services of either, Arledge selected Keith Jackson, who at that time had yet to achieve his status as “the voice of college football” as he was to attain later in his career. Arledge then announced the hiring of Howard Cosell, a well educated attorney who had made a name for himself by establishing a unique relationship with the current heavyweight boxing champion, Muhammad Ali. To fill out the three man booth, Arledge turned to his friend Frank Gifford who suggested Don Meredith, the former Dallas Cowboy quarterback that recently retired from football. With the three man team of Keith Jackson, Howard Cosell, and Don Meredith in place, ABC was set to broadcast their first Monday night game.

ABC’s Monday Night Football hit the airwaves for the first time on September 21, 1970. The game took place in Cleveland with the defending Super Bowl champion New York Jets visiting the Browns. Little did anyone know at that time what an icon of American culture MNF was to become. The game drew a 33 rating, bringing elation to ABC executives and making Pete Rozelle look like the well deserved genius he was. Advertisers were charged $65,000.00 dollars per 60 second commercial, at the time an amount of money considered to be a bargain. The Browns went on to defeat the Jets, 31-21 and the groundwork had been set for the longest running primetime program in American television history.

The first season brought about the genesis of what became the sometimes combative relationship between Howard Cosell and Don Meredith. To hear Howard Cosell speak was tantamount to listening to someone who just recently had a bad experience with an enema. Cosell’s droning, nasally voice made skin crawl throughout America during the telecasts. With Cosell frequently uttering caustic and pompous comments, Meredith’s folksy southern drawl was a welcome diversion. With Cosell hammering home his points as if he were giving a closing argument to a jury, Meredith would light heartedly offer commentary regarding the play on the field. Meredith’s laid back approach fit the Cosell invented nickname of “Dandy Don” perfectly, while Cosell seemed to be disgusted and annoyed with Meredith’s antics. Meredith, who was friends with Willie Nelson, began singing the Nelson song Turn Out the Lights, the Party’s Over whenever a team scored to cause what appeared to be an insurmountable lead. Much to the chagrin of Cosell, and to the delight of viewers, Meredith would sing or hum the song throughout his tenure on MNF.

MNF quickly became must see TV long before the phrase was coined. No one can argue that while Cosell was annoying and obnoxious, MNF would never have achieved its popularity without him. In the years to follow, Cosell would continue to infuriate viewers to the point that “Cosell Bricks” became mandatory during MNF telecasts. The foam rubber blocks were fashioned into the shape and color of a brick with the name “Cosell” etched into the foam. During the telecast, whenever Cosell uttered something objectionable, which was frequent, the viewer could heave the brick at the TV and yell “Shut up Howard”!! By game’s end, there was a small mountain of Cosell Bricks piled in front of the TV.

The first season of MNF did bring amount mild controversy when Henry Ford II, chairman of the Ford Motor Company, and the primary sponsor for MNF, threatened to pull his sponsorship if Cosell wasn’t removed. Cosell was involved in yet another controversy when he appeared to be inebriated on the air during the first season’s November 23rd game between the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles. It was later reported that Cosell became so ill he vomited on Meredith’s cowboy boots near the end of the first half. Keith Jackson and Meredith provided the commentary for the remainder of the game.

Controversy and combative relationships aside, MNF had enjoyed a wildly successful first season. For the first time, women began watching the games which had previously been viewed overwhelmingly by men. The fact that women were turning away from other forms of entertainment to watch the games was exactly what Pete Rozelle and Roone Arledge had envisioned. Today, it’s estimated that nearly 40% of the viewers for MNF telecasts are women. The first season also marked the first of what was to become many appearances for several teams. The Green Bay Packers, Washington Redskins, Oakland Raiders, Miami Dolphins, and the Dallas Cowboys all appeared during the inaugural season and have continued to appear frequently throughout the 36 year history of MNF.

Prior to the 1971 season, Roone Arledge hired Frank Gifford to serve as the play by play announcer after he’d completed his contract with CBS. Teaming with Cosell and Meredith, Gifford began what was to become the longest tenure of any MNF broadcaster ending in 1998. Gifford was by no means the world’s greatest orator, but he was the perfect “straight” guy for Cosell and Meredith. Gifford was often criticized for his see no evil approach to the NFL but those criticisms were unfounded. With Cosell providing often bitter comments regarding the game in general, Gifford was able to call the play by play and allow Cosell and Meredith the space they needed. The three man team quickly became what is widely accepted as the best to have worked on MNF telecasts throughout its rich history.

With the tremendous success of the debut season, observations and criticisms from journalists and the average fan were focused on Howard Cosell and Don Meredith, and justifiably so. The chemistry that was established between the two during the inaugural season was quickly becoming legend. The mere fact that two polar opposites could drive a telecast to such popularity, especially a live sports telecast, was reshaping the broadcast format for the future. Just prior to the hiring of Frank Gifford in 1971 as the play by play announcer, Cosell was interviewed and offered his thoughts about the first season of MNF. The trio of Keith Jackson, Cosell, and Meredith had become so entertaining some complained they overshadowed the game. Cosell, being mindful of his popularity, pled guilty to the charge. Cosell asked the interviewer "What do people talk about on Tuesday morning?" Answering his own question, Cosell replied "They talk about me and Dandy and even Keith. “We have become, if I may continue to tell it like it is, which is my nature, bigger than the game." Cosell’s insight was completely accurate and exactly why the broadcast was so popular. No longer was it so much about watching the game, but tuning in to watch Cosell and Meredith.

On October 9, during the 1972 season, the Oakland Raiders were headed for a 34-0 drubbing of the Houston Oilers. As the fans left the Astrodome during the final quarter, the cameras found a fan alone in his section, asleep. Cosell commented regarding the sleeping man as "a vivid picturization of the excitement attendant upon this game.” Suddenly, the man woke up, and proceeded to "flip off" the camera. Without missing a beat, Meredith commented, "he thinks they're number one in the nation!" It would be four year before the Oilers appeared again on MNF, and a total of six years before Houston hosted another Monday night game.

During the 1973 season, it appeared Meredith began to lose his sense of purpose. Having received critical acclaim for his work during the first three seasons, he seemed to be more intent on having a good time as opposed to providing the type of commentary that won him acclaim. On October 22, Meredith began his pre-game comments of the Denver Broncos-Oakland Raiders game from Denver by stating "we're in the Mile High City and I sure am." It was no secret that Meredith enjoyed the drippings of his fame, partaking in wine, women, song – and marijuana. During the Pittsburgh Steelers-Washington Redskins game on November 5, he referred to Richard Nixon as "Tricky Dick." Meredith apparently confused his presence as a commentator with being a pure entertainer and as such, ABC executives began questioning his motivation. Based upon his performance during the 1973 season, Meredith’s popularity couldn’t justify ABC from retaining his services as a member of the MNF crew. In 1974, Meredith left MNF to work at NBC under a contract in which he would cover football and act on television shows. This action ushered in a new era of MNF and would continue a cycle of rotating personalities in the broadcast booth until the present. In addition, Meredith’s departure brought about a series of events that would make the 1974 season the most tumultuous and intriguing season in MNF history.

Fred Williamson, a former Kansas City Chiefs player nicknamed "The Hammer", was hired by ABC to replace Meredith in 1974. With his reputation for saying outrageous things, and with his stardom in "blaxploitation" films of the early 70’s, ABC was hopeful his presence would widen the program's fan base. Instead, the highlight of Williamson's MNF career was probably at the introductory press conference where he joked that he was hired to "bring some color to the booth." Unfortunately, the hiring of Williamson proved to be a complete disaster. Williamson’s debut during the first pre-season broadcasts proved to be nothing short of horrendous. As opposed to wearing the traditional wardrobe of the network, Williamson opted for open-collared shirts and gaudy jewelry. He was “Super Fly” and looked the part, more pimp than broadcaster. Williamson had little to say, and when he did offer an utterance, it was of no relevance. Gone were the verbal jabs between Meredith and Cosell, which had proved to be the driving force of the telecast. Williamson was so incompetent he was fired prior to the start of the 1974 regular season, earning him the dubious distinction of becoming the first MNF broadcaster not to last an entire season.

Williamson was replaced by Alex Karras, a former player with the Detroit Lions who had acted in several movie and television roles, most notably as “Mongo” in the Mel Brooks comedy Blazing Saddles. Karras made his debut on September 16, 1974 and immediately made his presence felt. During the game between the Oakland Raiders and Buffalo Bills, the camera focused on Raiders defensive lineman Otis Sistrunk sitting on the bench. At that time, Sistrunk was one of the very few players in the NFL, or any other sport, to have a completely shaved head. Upon seeing Sistrunk, Karras jokingly referred to him as having attended "The University of Mars." After Karras' remark and for the rest of Sistrunk's time with the Raiders, the official team guide listed Sistrunk’s alma mater as "The University of Mars.” Much to the dismay of ABC and the viewers, that would basically be the high point of Karras' three-year tenure. With a burgeoning movie career apparently restraining him from showing any real interest in his purpose, and as with Fred Williamson, there was no chemistry between him and Cosell. As a result, Cosell was left to carry the broadcast and was obviously no where near as effective without a philosophical adversary.

With Meredith’s departure, the miserably failed experiment with Fred Williamson, and the lackluster performance of Alex Karras, the highlight of the 1974 season occurred during the December 9 game between the Washington Redskins and the Los Angeles Rams. California Governor Ronald Reagan and former Beatle John Lennon were to be interviewed at halftime. Upon hearing who the guests were, Cosell quickly indicated that he’d “take the Beatle” while Frank Gifford would interview Reagan. During the first half of the game, Reagan and Lennon were in a room together watching the game. That these two were in the same room was amazing given that Reagan was viewed as a staunch traditionalist with little use for long hair or radical ideas, and Lennon was fighting a U.S. order to deport him, stemming from an earlier drug conviction. The two got along well, with Reagan explaining American football to Lennon, who was attending his first NFL game. It was the same ability to connect with people that Reagan used to become “the great communicator” during his two terms as President of the United States. It was later learned that Lennon so enjoyed his experience with MNF, he gave Gifford and Cosell each a complete collection of Beatles albums, which he autographed.

Meredith returned to MNF in 1977, but appeared to be a watered down version of “Dandy Don” which made his stint from 1970 to 1973 so memorable. While not publicly stated, ABC executives made it clear to Meredith that the controversies leading to his departure in 1973 wouldn’t be tolerated. As a result, the interaction between him and Cosell was much less volatile, leaving viewers disappointed. In 1978 the NFL added two regular season games bringing the total number of games to 16 for each team. Meredith was only contractually obligated to work 14 games, leaving Cosell and Gifford to work two games as a duo. In 1979, after 18 seasons in the NFL, Fran Tarkenton was hired to join Cosell and Gifford on a part-time basis, primarily as a fill-in for the two games Meredith didn’t work. Tarkenton’s work was competent, yet unremarkable and further illustrated that the fireworks created between Cosell and Meredith made any other personality’s presence virtually untenable. Tarkenton’s left MNF without fanfare after the 1982 season.

Perhaps the most memorable moment in MNF history occurred on December 8, 1980, during the game between the Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots. Howard Cosell broke the news of former Beatle John Lennon's murder,almost six years to the day when he first appeared as part of the halftime show during a 1974 game.

“This, we have to say it, is just a football game, no matter who wins or loses. An unspeakable tragedy confirmed to us by ABC News in New York City: John Lennon, outside of his apartment building on the West Side of New York City, the most famous perhaps of all The Beatles, shot five times in the back, rushed to Roosevelt Hospital, dead ... on ... arrival.”

Lennon’s death sent shock waves around the country, an iconic figure that for many, symbolized the core of an entire generation. The baby boomers that had grown up admiring The Beatles likened his assassination to that of former President John F. Kennedy. Just as everyone knew exactly where they were and what they were doing when JFK was shot, so did those upon hearing the news of Lennon’s demise. While Lennon’s death certainly didn’t have the world wide effect that JFK’s assassination had, it was a sobering event none the less. How appropriate was the fact that Howard Cosell, perhaps the most controversial journalist of that era, and the man who’d interviewed him during halftime of a 1974 MNF telecast, was the person to bring us the terrible news.

Beginning in 1983, O.J. Simpson replaced Tarkenton to serve the same purpose during Meredith’s absence. In Simpson’s defense, he was at least enthusiastic and offered meaningful insight during the telecasts on which he appeared. On Sept. 5, during the first MNF game of the season between the Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys, Cosell referred to Alvin Garrett, a black wide receiver for the Redskins, as a "little monkey." Point in fact, I recall vividly watching the game and seeing the play take place, Cosell actually said “look at that little monkey go” weaving his way down the field to score, culminating a spectacular play. Responding to a barrage of criticism following the game, Cosell noted that Garrett's small stature, and not his race, was the basis for his comment, citing the fact that he had used the term to describe his grandchildren. Many would come to Cosell’s defense, citing an earlier MNF telecast where Cosell referred to Mike Adamle, a white player, as a "little monkey." The remarks came at a most unfortunate time because the game resulted in one of the greatest comebacks in MNF history. The Cowboys, down 23-3 at halftime, rallied to win the game 31-30. Two other historically important games took place that season with perhaps the most exciting game ever to have been played on MNF. The October 17, 1983 match up between the Green Bay Packers and Washington Redskins ended with the Packers earning a 48-47 victory, and to this day is still the highest scoring game in MNF history. One week later, the New York Giants and St. Louis Cardinals battled to a 20-20 overtime tie, and is the only game to have ever ended in a tie in MNF history.

Amid the overwhelming controversy that was incurred due to his “little monkey” comment, Howard Cosell, hired to be the lightning rod of MNF, resigned his position at the end of the 1983 season. Regardless of how annoying Cosell was, week after week millions of viewers tuned in just to hear what he had to say. The tremendous success enjoyed by MNF was due in large to his presence, and that same popularity has never been reached since. Stung by the unrelenting barrage of remarks, Cosell claimed upon his departure from MNF that the NFL had become "a stagnant bore." The 1983 season brought about what was to become the end of an era for MNF.

With Howard Cosell’s departure prior to the start of the 1984 season, Frank Gifford, Don Meredith and O.J. Simpson comprised the three man broadcast team. Cosell's absence proved to have the greatest effect on Meredith, who no longer had anyone to exchange verbal jabs with. Similar to the departure of Meredith between 1974 and 1976, there were no philosophical differences between Meredith and Simpson. Neither were there differing points of view to the action taking place on the field. As ratings began to fall for the first time, it indicated that much of the mystique surrounding MNF had disappeared. After the 1984 season, ABC replaced Meredith with Joe Namath. Nicknamed “Broadway Joe,” the former New York Jets quarterback led the Jets to an upset victory over the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III. The scene of Namath running off the field waving his index finger is one of the most recognizable images in NFL history. The Jets victory was instrumental in bringing about the merger between the NFL and AFL.

Namath, however, was completely unprepared for the task of providing color commentary. Joe sounded like he had a mouthful of marshmallows and simply couldn’t offer concise, well enunciated sentences. With Gifford, Simpson and Namath in the broadcast booth, MNF began a downward spiral. Long gone was the magic that existed between Meredith and Cosell. Much like the previous year with Meredith and Simpson providing the color commentary, Namath and Simpson offered no countering points of view regarding the play on the field. One of the most memorable games in MNF history took place on November 18, 1985 between the Washington Redskins and New York Giants. Redskins’ quarterback Joe Theismann’s dropped back to pass, when Giants’ linebacker Lawrence Taylor rushed and ultimately sacked him from behind. In the process, Theismann’s leg twisted under him as the viewers could see in a gruesome slow-motion replay. Taylor immediately recognized Theismann was injured and began waving frantically towards the Redskins’ sideline for the training staff. Theismann suffered a compound fracture of the tibia and fibula in his right leg, and as a result, never played a down of football again.

On December 2, 1985, the most anticipated game of the NFL season took place in Miami with the undefeated Chicago Bears visiting the Dolphins. The Bears entered the game with a 12-0 record and were striving to become only the second team to finish a season undefeated. The Dolphins were acutely aware of the historical importance of the game and played perhaps their best game of the season. The Dolphins beat the Bears 38-24 and that would turn out to be Chicago's only loss in 1985, preserving the record of the 1972 Dolphins as being the last undefeated team. The game drew a Nielsen rating of 29.6 with a 46 share and to this day is the highest rated MNF telecast throughout its 37-year history.

With the completion of the 1985 season, Joe Namath and O.J. Simpson were fired, much to the approval of viewers. Beginning with the 1986 campaign, veteran broadcaster Al Michaels was hired to team with Gifford forming a two man booth. Michaels became the new play by play announcer with Gifford becoming the new color commentator. With his hiring, Michaels would embark on the second longest tenure of any MNF personality, serving in the broadcast booth for 19 seasons. The color commentator role was unfamiliar territory for Gifford; his even disposition and steady delivery was a welcomed relief for viewers that endured the previous season with Namath and Simpson. Gifford was still a straight shooter and didn’t provide the sharp criticisms of Howard Cosell or the light hearted commentary of Don Meredith, but he and Michaels co-existed well. During the 1986 season, the Miami Dolphins again made MNF night history with a 45-3 rout of the New York Jets. The Jets entered the game with a record of 10-1, and the 42 point margin of victory was the largest ever to take place on MNF and would remain until the 2005 season.

In 1987, Gifford and Michaels were joined by Dan Dierdorf, a former player with the St. Louis Cardinals and a soon to be Hall of Fame inductee. With the addition of Dierdorf, it marked a return to the original concept of a three man broadcast team. Dierdorf was received well by viewers as he provided enthusiastic commentary without being overbearing. Dierdorf wasn’t afraid to voice his opinions and didn’t mind ruffling a few feathers in the process. The trio would last for 11 seasons through the conclusion of the 1997 season and became the longest tenured trio in MNF history. However, it was clear that Gifford’s role in the booth was diminishing with each passing season. Dierdorf dominated the color commentary while Gifford would provide only minimal thoughts regarding play on the field. By the end of the 1997 season, Gifford became an afterthought in the MNF booth and would leave after 27 seasons.

The October 17, 1994 match up between the Kansas City Chiefs and Denver Broncos featured two future Hall of Fame quarterbacks, Joe Montana and John Elway. With 1:29 left to play in the game, Elway scored on a 4-yard touchdown run to put the Broncos ahead 28-24. But with time left on the clock and being perhaps the greatest quarterback in NFL history, Montana led the Chiefs on a 75-yard drive to score the game winning touchdown with just 8 seconds to play. It was the one of the last great moments in Montana’s storied career that ended that same year.

For the 1998 season, Boomer Esiason replaced Frank Gifford in the broadcast booth maintaining a three man crew of Michaels, Dierdorf, and Esiason. The 1998 season also brought a new start time for MNF telecasts as ABC decided to revise the kick off time for each game to 8:20 P.M. eastern, a move many viewers welcomed. The fact that many games were ending well past midnight in the Eastern Time zone was causing viewers to miss, in some cases, almost the entire second half. Unfortunately the NFL didn’t acknowledge the disparity in start times between the eastern and Pacific Time zones, and the overall length of games until about 10 years beyond its practicality. Critics believe much of the ratings woes ABC encountered between 1984 and 2005, was a result of the late start time.

One of the more embarrassing moments took place during the 1998 season finale when prior to a halftime interview with Buffalo Bills quarterback Doug Flutie, Dierdorf asked Michaels, "Are you gonna tell 'em how you're sick of all this B.C. stuff?" Michaels, thinking that they had gone into a commercial break and that his microphone was off, replied, "No shit." Nielsen numbers for the 1998 TV season showed that MNF averaged a 13.9 rating, down 8 percent from 1997's 15.0, the previous standard in ratings futility. In actuality, MNF ratings had been hitting all time record lows for the previous four years. With the conclusion of the 1998 season, Dan Dierdorf left MNF to take a similar job with CBS. Boomer Esiason would team with Michaels during the 1999 season amid controversy. The two apparently never got along, disagreeing on virtually every aspect of the telecast. While the tension between the two didn’t play out during the telecasts, the failed experiment resulted in ABC firing Esiason shortly after the 1999 season.

Perhaps the most controversial hiring occurred prior to the 2000 season when ABC hired comedian Dennis Miller to work along side Al Michaels. In addition to the Miller hiring, ABC again formed a three man booth by hiring former San Diego Charger quarterback Dan Fouts. The hiring of Miller was especially shocking because he had no background in sports journalism. Moreover, his particular brand of comedy was viewed as being too sophisticated for the average MNF viewer. Miller demonstrated a knowledge of the game and its players, but just as critics and viewers feared, Miller would often spin into one of his “rants” leaving viewers bewildered. While Michaels at least appeared to “get” Miller, Dan Fouts was clearly intellectually overmatched. Fouts didn’t understand the pop culture based ramblings of Miller, and was often left to sound more like a village idiot than a color commentator. In an effort to help viewers understand Miller’s rants, ABC established a web page dedicated to explaining his obscure references and vocabulary.

Also in 2000, Don Ohlmeyer, the original producer of MNF from 1970 until 1977, was lured out of retirement to spark interest and provide some vigor to the broadcast. Besides the on-air talent, Ohlmeyer's changes included clips of players introducing themselves, new graphics, and music. The highlight of the 2000 season occurred on October 23, 2000 when the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins played in what is now known as “The Monday Night Miracle.” Trailing 30-7 in the fourth quarter, the Jets scored 23 consecutive points to tie the game. After Miami scored another touchdown, Jets’ quarterback Vinny Testaverde threw a touchdown pass to offensive tackle Jumbo Elliott to tie the game at 37. At 1:08 A.M. the following morning, Jets’ place kicker John Hall booted a field goal in overtime to win the game 40-37. It was the second biggest fourth quarter comeback in NFL history and the biggest comeback in Jets' history.

Upon the conclusion of the 2001 season, ABC decided to rid themselves of Dennis Miller and Dan Fouts. While Miller wasn’t that bad in terms of his purpose in the booth, viewers were simply annoyed with his rants and Fouts was completely ineffective. Veteran broadcaster John Madden became available when his long time partner Pat Summerall retired from broadcasting. Madden and Summerall had worked together at CBS before moving to Fox when the network acquired the NFC package of games. Summerall and Madden enjoyed 21 years together broadcasting games and both knew change was imminent. In addition, Fox needed to make room for rising star Joe Buck and Madden, while not viewed as expendable, was allowed to seek other opportunities. Madden joined Al Michaels in the MNF booth beginning with the 2002 season, a move that brought stability and instant credibility to the broadcast.

Michaels and Madden worked very well together and the results were positive among viewers. Michaels had always been one of the better play by play men because of his ability to think along with the fans. Michaels could lead a color commentator to voice his opinions without forcing the issue, and Madden never had a problem with doing just that. Madden was comfort food to the viewers who had become accustomed to his “boom” and analogies of the game.

Another incredible comeback would take place during the contest between the Indianapolis Colts and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on October 6, 2003. Indianapolis was trailing 35-14 with 3:43 remaining in the game. The Colts had returned a Tampa Bay kickoff 90 yards to the Bucs’ 11 yard line, setting up a quick score. The Colts recovered an onside kick and scored again to narrow the margin to 35-28. They forced a Tampa Bay punt and with less two minutes remaining, Colts quarterback Peyton Manning led an 87-yard touchdown drive tying the game with 35 seconds left in regulation. In overtime, kicker Mike Vanderjagt missed a 40-yard field goal, but Simeon Rice was called for a leaping penalty, an infraction that is rarely called. Vanderjagt's subsequent kick was batted and hit the upright, but fell in good, winning the game for the Colts. Vanderjagt went on to become the first kicker in NFL history not to miss a kick attempt in a complete season, including the playoffs.

On December 22, 2003, Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre put on one of the most defining moments of his career. The day before the contest against the Oakland Raiders, his father, Irvin, died suddenly of a heart attack. Favre elected to play, passing for four touchdowns in the first half, and 399 yards for the game in a 41-7 victory over the Oakland Raiders.

Despite high ratings, ABC lost millions of dollars on televising MNF games during the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. In addition, the NFL indicated it wanted Sunday night to be the new night for its marquee game, because more people tend to watch TV on Sundays. Moreover, Sundays would be more conducive to flexible scheduling, allowing more compelling and important games to be rescheduled from Sunday afternoon to Sunday night on short notice. While ABC sought flexible scheduling for the Monday night games for years, the NFL rationed, and justifiably so, that moving other networks Sunday games to Monday wasn’t feasible. Given these factors, on April 18, 2005, ABC and the NFL announced that the 2005 season would be the last for MNF on ABC, ending their 36 year partnership. Monday Night Football would move to ESPN starting with the 2006 season, and the new Sunday night package would move to NBC. ESPN's ability to collect subscription fees from cable and satellite providers, in addition to selling commercials, made it more likely that ESPN could turn a profit on NFL telecasts, as opposed to ABC's heavy losses.

The final ABC MNF broadcast was on December 26, 2005, when the New York Jets hosted the New England Patriots. The Jets earned the distinction as being one of the two teams to appear in the first and last MNF telecast. Ironically, the Jets lost the game 31-21, just as they did against the Cleveland Browns in the first MNF telecast in September of 1970. The final play of the ABC era was a Pats kneel-down by 44-year-old reserve quarterback Doug Flutie. MNF had become a shadow of its former self but had provided a generation of fans with some of the greatest moments in NFL history. John Madden said at the games ending “They can take football away from ABC on Monday nights, but they can't take away the memories.” Somewhere I could hear Howard Cosell droning on about the sad state of affairs that had become MNF, and Dandy Don was singing Turn out the Lights, the Party’s Over.

ESPN signed an eight-year contract worth $1.1 billion a year, double the price of ABC's final contract, to televise MNF. ESPN initially announced its MNF team would consist of Al Michaels and Joe Theismann in the booth. However, on February 8, 2006, ESPN announced that Mike Tirico would replace Michaels in the booth, joined by Theismann and Tony Kornheiser. In addition, ESPN announced it had "traded" the contract of Michaels to NBC so he could join the recently hired John Madden on their Sunday Night Football broadcast. It was widely rumored that Michaels wanted to leave ESPN after he learned that NBC hired most of ABC's former MNF production team. It was a portent of things to come as ESPN embarked upon its first season of MNF.

The first regular season MNF game to air on ESPN was on September 11, 2006, with the Minnesota Vikings visiting the Washington Redskins. The three man booth of Tirico, Theismann and Kornheiser was a dysfunctional family from the very beginning. Theismann spent John Edwards like time on his hair and blabbered on about his playing days with the Redskins. Kornheiser, a sports journalist that had a column in The Washington Post and co hosted ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption, took it upon himself to be the comic relief of the broadcast. Why is it that every time I see Kornheiser I think of Krusty the Clown?

The fact that ESPN had turned an American icon into a complete disaster so quickly was shocking. The telecast had become a contest between Theismann and Kornheiser to see who could speak the most and do so as annoyingly as possible. Theismann was never interested in anything beyond promoting himself and Kornheiser proved to be a buffoon. The two clearly didn’t get along and the telecast suffered, as did the viewing audience. To make matters worse, the marquee games had taken place on Sunday and ESPN was left with only a marginally compelling match up. ESPN made MNF into an over hyped, over analyzed and sorely over rated event.

MNF anchor Mike Tirico was interviewed regarding the criticisms ESPN received after the first season. Tirico had this to say: "People who try to make comparisons to what MNF was 25 to 30 years ago and now -- I think it's the stupidest thing I've ever heard." "I see really respected writers talk about: 'Well, MNF used to be like this.' Well, you know what? The writing has changed at Time magazine in 30 years. The network news has changed. Everything's changed. "What MNF is now is a show where we have to consider there are a lot of options. What we try to do is keep as much of the audience as we can while giving the core audience everything they need and giving the casual viewer something to stay around for. It's a huge challenge.'' Therein lies the problem – Tirico simply doesn’t get it. Howard Cosell quickly recognized that MNF wasn’t just about the game; it was also about the personalities broadcasting the game. The three man team of Tirico, Theismann and Kornheiser surely didn’t have the viewers hearkening back to the days of Gifford, Meredith, and Cosell.

In ESPN’s defense, television in general was a much different form of media when MNF first aired on ABC in 1970. Only seven percent of American homes received basic cable in 1970, whereas today roughly 85% of households have basic cable. The evolution of MNF can't be measured solely in years; it is part of a time line that has seen sports grow to monstrous proportions. The transition from network to cable signals a change in TV sports broadcasting and shapes how NFL games are televised as the league seeks to maintain its core audience while wooing a new generation of fans. ESPN's first season of MNF produced a 9.9 rating, appearing in 9.1 million households and featuring 12.3 million viewers per game. By comparison, the average audience for MNF on ABC in 2003 was 16.8 million. However, while ABC lost hundreds of millions on MNF, ESPN has turned a profit.

Analyst and former NFL quarterback Ron Jaworski replaced Joe Theismann in the booth beginning with the 2007 season. Jaworski was a welcome addition full of football insight and critical points, which bodes well for the future of MNF on ESPN. Admittedly, there are times when Jaworski appears to be a tad overzealous, but I can handle that because he loves the game. Unfortunately for viewers, ESPN didn’t have the wisdom to fire Kornheiser as well. Reportedly, the telecast has become “Kornheiser’s show” and Jaworski was seen as being the perfect fit to accommodate him. What the new season shows is that replacing Theismann hasn’t altered the snooze factor. It’s not that we expect MNF will be the national event it was when we were kids. But we do expect to watch a game without the endless crossover promotions for ESPN's sister network ABC, and the distracting celebrity interviews in the booth during the game.

The 2007 season opener only validated what fans had been saying about the presence of Kornheiser in the booth. In the middle of the third quarter, Kornheiser asked if Kanye West was related to Adam West. What? For those of you who don’t know Kanye West or Adam West, Kanye West is a young black rapper, and Adam West is the white guy who played Batman on television. During another telecast while conducting the mind numbing celebrity interview, Kornheiser asked Desperate Housewives star James Denton to "rate the housewives." Considering that 40% of viewers consist of women, this isn’t exactly the way to endear them. The obvious conclusion is that there’s simply no reason to have Kornheiser in the booth. You would think a journalist such as Kornheiser might have some important nuggets to impart as Cosell did. Instead, we get to hear Kornheiser make asinine proclamations like “this game feels critical,” and “the toe is the Achilles heel for great athletes.”

A recent poll indicated only 7 percent of the respondents said they actually like ESPN's MNF broadcasts while 79 percent said they did not. The remaining 14 percent said they do not watch MNF. Fans aren't happy and ratings have begun to fall, in part because viewers are losing patience even if ESPN doesn't want to admit it. All good things must come to an end, and unfortunately for ESPN, the end came over 20 years ago when Howard Cosell and Don Meredith left the MNF booth. The game was an event where friends got together for the sole purpose of watching MNF. Now, if you actually watch the game, and ratings suggest many aren’t, you do so with the sound muted.

MNF Facts and Trivia.

What was the original color of the blazers worn by the broadcasting team?

What is the actual name of the MNF theme song – not the one Hank Williams, Jr. sings.

The worst match up in MNF history was in 1999 when the Atlanta Falcons played the San Francisco 49ers in the last game of the season, with both teams entering the contest with records of 4-11. This game sparked the debate about flexible scheduling to prevent match ups between sub .500 teams.

The two most common match ups on MNF have been between the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Redskins, and the Denver Broncos against the Oakland Raiders, both with 14 appearances.

What is the maximum number of appearances one team can make on MNF during a season?

The game clock and score were not continuously shown throughout the game on screen until 1997.

The Cowboys-Giants game on October 23, 2006 had the largest cable TV audience in history, besting the Gore-Perot debate in 1993 with over 16 million viewers. To date, MNF has 8 of the top 10 viewing audiences in TV history.

MNF is tape-delayed in Hawaii until 6 P.M. local time, but broadcast live on radio. The "radio game" is almost over when the TV broadcast begins that evening.

MNF is aired "live" at 11am on Tuesdays in Guam.

The only neutral site game in MNF history was in 2003 between San Diego and Miami played in Tempe, Arizona. This was due to the fires in the San Diego area. Tickets were free for the game.

Pieces of film from the MNF game between Arizona and Dallas in 1995 were used to make the 1996 film, Jerry Maguire.

The first sponsor of MNF was Marlboro Cigarettes - before cigarette commercials were banned from TV.

Debuting in 1989, Hank Williams, Jr. sang All My Rowdy Friends Are Here on Monday Night, a spin off of his 1984 hit All My Rowdy Friends Are Comin' Over Tonight.

Beginning in 1999, MNF telecasts used a computer-generated yellow line to mark where a team needs to get a first down. ESPN had begun using it first.

In 2003, ABC and the NFL dropped the MNF game for the final week of the regular season. The move, which had been in effect for the first eight years of the broadcast (1970-1977), was the result of declining ratings, as well as problems involved for playoff teams, as there was a potential of only four days between their final regular season game and first round playoff game. ABC replaced the telecast with an opening weekend Thursday night game, and in exchange ESPN got a Saturday night game on the final weekend.

In November 2004, Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Terrell Owens appeared with whom in a pregame skit?

In 2005, the Seattle Seahawks matched the record for MNF margin of victory, shutting out the hometown Philadelphia Eagles, 42-0. However, two weeks later, the Baltimore Ravens establish a new benchmark in this department by defeating the Green Bay Packers, 48-3.

NCAA Basketball: University of Memphis Earns No. 1 Ranking

AAAA AAAA — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 16:32:23 -0500

The University of Memphis men’s basketball team will be ranked No. 1 in the polls set to be released later today for the first time in 25 years.

On January 10, 1983, Memphis State was ranked No. 1 for the first time in the school’s rich basketball history.

However, the thrill of achieving the No. 1 ranking was extremely short-lived.

Later that day, the Tigers traveled to Blacksburg, VA to face a well-inspired Virginia Tech team and promptly lost.

This year, and this team—are dramatically different. The Tigers, 17-0, are legitimate contenders for the national championship, with a deep and talented roster loaded with athleticism.

If you think this team has backed into this ranking as a result of North Carolina’s loss this past weekend, think again. The Tigers currently boast the No. 2 RPI ranking, with a 4-0 mark against the RPI top 50. Often not considered one of the better basketball programs because of their presence in Conference USA, the Tigers have beaten Oklahoma, Connecticut, USC, Georgetown and Arizona.

Memphis has already roared past four conference opponents and the remaining conference schedule doesn’t figure to cause any concern.

Of the 14 games left on the schedule, the only two teams that will give the Tigers trouble are Gonzaga and Tennessee. In fact, Tennessee is currently ranked No.1 in the latest RPI rankings, and should the Tigers and Vols stay on course, the February 23rd match up at the Fed Ex Forum could be the marquee game of the year.

Regardless of what transpires the rest of the way, this Tiger team will rest atop the polls for longer than a few hours.

BCS Flawed College Football Needs a Playoff

AAAA AAAA — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 16:26:26 -0500

I've just started this blog so before I begin my rambling a quick introduction is in order.

As you will note, I didn't upload a photo of myself for use as my avatar. I felt that if I were to do so, Rolaids consumption would quadruple in a matter of seconds.

Of course, this would make the good people at Pfizer very happy, but I must keep the readers gastro-intestinal health in mind.

I played college football many years ago and while this fact doesn't necessarily make me an expert, it does give me a unique insight into the sport I truly love.

I'll spend a good portion of my time writing opinions on a variety of subjects pertaining to college and professional football. Being that I reside in the heart of SEC country, I must admit that I'm SEC biased, but I'm not an SEC snob.

I recognize that other conferences do exist and the quality of football is just as competitive.

For my first post, I want to offer my thoughts on the need for a college football playoff.

I realize this has been discussed to the point of creating heartburn, but I'm convinced that a playoff is needed. I've heard the arguments from college presidents that a playoff would serve as a detriment to the player’s academics.

PLEASE!! You will have a hard time convincing me that additional two or three weeks would cause ever lasting harm to anyone's grade point average.

Another argument that has been heard is the current bowl system and the conference affiliations would be disrupted or eliminated.

To steal a line from Lee Corso, "not so fast my friend!" I'll outline a plan that I believe would, at minimum, attempt to maintain the current bowl system and conference affiliations.

Finally, we have those that profess any playoff system will be flawed. I agree with that to some extent, but the lack of effort and imagination to improve the current system is inexcusable. If you know the current system needs improvement, why remain idle and allow for potential chaos?

I believe the BCS is at least better than the previous method used to crown a national champion. However, if ever there was a year that cried out for a playoff, it's this past season.

The biggest problem I have with the BCS is the confusion it creates.

Instead of having a true national championship game between the two best teams, we're often left with questions.

Let's face it, if two teams from power conferences don't finish undefeated, we can only speculate the game pits the two best teams.

In every season where more than two teams finish undefeated, or if there are no undefeated teams and multiple one loss teams, we're left with no true resolution.

So many of you may ask, "OK genius, what's your plan?"

Let's start by stating we all have to make a few concessions. Not all of the initial bowl pairings will be compelling but remember, I'm trying to maintain conference affiliations and arrive at an eventual, and true national champion.

It should be further noted that I'm not limiting the participating teams to the major conferences. We're seeding the best 16 teams, so this year, as an example, Hawaii may very well have an opportunity to appear.

In addition, some of the current conference tie ins may not be maintained, but its all part of the effort to arrive at the ultimate goal.

I'll begin by incorporating eight bowl games that feature, at least historically, the best 16 teams in the nation—the eight bowls are the Rose, Sugar, Fiesta, Orange, Cotton, Outback, Capital One, and Peach.

While not strictly arbitrary, those eight bowls will have match ups involving one of the top three teams from each of the major conferences. Therefore, the aforementioned bowls have tie ins that provides each of the major conferences with an equal opportunity.

We'll seed the 16 teams, just as we do for the NCAA Basketball Championship, and we can use any number of means of seeding the teams. We can use the BCS standings, an independent panel similar to the NCAA basketball selection committee, or we can use Madam Zubu, psychic friend extraordinaire.

I really don't care what means we use to arrive at the seedings, I just want it done impartially.

From this point forward, the parings are hypothetical.

Let's say Ohio State is seeded No. 1 and Southern California is the No. 16. Since the Rose Bowl wants their game between teams representing the Pac 10 and Big 10 (11) Conferences, we'll maintain that relationship.

Keep in mind that my plan doesn't take seedings into account. If Ohio State was the No. 4 seed and USC the No. 12 seed, then they'd still play in the Rose Bowl to maintain the conference tie in.

If the seedings are such that the conference tie ins can't be maintained, then so be it.

The Cotton Bowl currently matches the SEC's second or third place team against their equal counterpart from the Big 12.

If Georgia is the No. 8 seed, and Texas the No. 9 seed, that's the Cotton Bowl match up.

See where I'm going with this?

After the bowl games are played, the remaining teams will participate in the NCAA Football Tournament sponsored by Club Bee Hive, a unique and eclectic dining experience featuring neck bones and fried pickles.

Each of the games will be played at neutral sites and maintain the original seeding, just as the NCAA Basketball Tournament does.

By the last weekend in January, we'll be ready to play the National Championship game and crown a true champion based entirely on impartial pairings and where it matters most —on the field.

I'm anxious to hear your thoughts and by all means, if you have a better plan, I'm all ears.

Thanks in advance for taking the time to read and please stay tuned for more.

Memo To All Bloggers: Stop Writing Immediately!

AAAA AAAA — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 04:56:10 -0500

Several weeks ago, Dayn Perry posted an article on his $8 Beers blog at Fox Sports regarding comments made during a recent interview with ESPN NBA analyst Stephen A. Smith. In addition, Dayn made note of comments by another professional sports journalist, Bill Conlin of the Philadelphia Daily News. For those of you that didn’t get an opportunity to read the Stephen A. Smith comments, this is a shortened version quoted directly from the interview.

"And when you look at the internet business, what’s dangerous about it is that people who are clearly unqualified get to disseminate their piece to the masses. I respect the journalism industry, and the fact of the matter is...someone with no training should not be allowed to have any kind of format whatsoever to disseminate to the masses to the level which they can. They are not trained. Not experts. More important are the level of ethics and integrity that comes along with the quote-unqoute profession hasn’t been firmly established and entrenched in the minds of those who’ve been given that license.”

"Therefore, there’s a total disregard, a level of wrecklessness that ends up being a domino effect. And the people who suffer are the common viewers out there and, more importantly, those in the industry who haven’t been fortunate to get a radio or television deal and only rely on the written word. And now they’ve been sabotaged. Not because of me. Or like me. But because of the industry or the world has allowed the average joe to resemble a professional without any credentials whatsoever."

Even more disturbing were the comments made by Bill Conlin in a series of e-mail exchanges between him and Bill Baer of the popular baseball blog, Crash Burn Alley. The abridged but directly quoted version of those comments is as follows.

“The only positive thing I can think of about Hitler’s time on earth–I’m sure he would have eliminated all bloggers. In Colonial times, bloggers were called “Pamphleteers.” They hung on street corners handing them out to passersby. Now, they hang out on electronic street corners, hoping somebody mouses on to their pretentious sites.”

“Most of you guys are unreadable. That’s one of my gripes. And while many of you–not all–can get away with a level of insult and ridicule that would be actionable in a publication governed by standards and libel and slander laws, professionals must abide by those standards and laws. My columns are read by a minimum of three editors for fact, style, fairness and balance. Who checks your facts and deletes a line that is over the edge of good taste or might demean or defame an athlete or subject? Did you take a course in the libel and slander laws? Or do you merely throw it against the wall and see what sticks? That’s what most of you do. I can’t pin that on you specifically because I have never read your blog.”

When reading these comments, the clear underlying theme is that Smith and Conlin don’t have any love for bloggers. In fact, as Conlin mentioned, if Hitler were still alive, he’d eliminate all bloggers.

It gave me pause to ponder these comments, which led me to conclude Smith and Conlin are simply mad and jealous. Based on these truly asinine positions, Smith and Conlin will have us believe that only a true journalist has the ability—and apparently the right—to offer an opinion. For that matter, journalists are the only qualified members of society that should be allowed to write in a public forum.

If that skewed assumption were true, people who don’t have a degree in computer science lack the necessary computer skills to compete in the job market. Those of us not holding a degree in medicine aren’t qualified to perform CPR.

The big bad evil bloggers like you and I have no qualifications and aren’t capable of forming a well written, lucid, and thought-provoking article. Perhaps at this point I should cease writing, and ask Smith and Conlin if I now may begin genuflecting.

I’ve read many blogs on the net and most of them are quite good, and some are exceptional. I’d venture to guess that none of the people writing these blogs have a degree in journalism. Some may not have a degree at all. Point in fact, most of us are doing exactly what is inherent of sports journalism—we’re offering an opinion.

Some of us write articles that require research and we ensure our facts are correct, all without the aid of an editor. Admittedly, I didn’t take a course in slander and libel laws, but why should I? Any self respecting blogger with a modicum of common sense wouldn’t post an article that purposely slandered a subject. It leads me to question why anyone would waste their time attending a university for the sole purpose of obtaining a degree in journalism.

I’d personally like to know where the moral and legal ethics are in the journalism industry. Are Smith and Conlin referring to the ethics of Dan Rather, who falsified and aired a report regarding President Bush’s National Guard service? What about the morals of Marv Albert? Perhaps they rest in Keith Olbermann’s shameful pursuit of his personal agendas night after night.

Where are the ethics and morals they hold so dear? Here in the northern hemisphere, swishing counter clock-wise down the drain.

I’m not suggesting the articles I’ve posted are journalistic masterpieces that revolutionized the industry. I write in hope of presenting the reader an opportunity to give pause for thought and offer commentary. I do this as well as I can with the desire of improving upon every article I write. I believe I just described what all of us are doing.

I’m curious to know what my fellow bloggers think, and especially the professional journalists, other than Stephen A. Smith and Bill Conlin of course.

Dayn Perry’s blog can be found at Fox Sports Blogs at the following address:

http://community.foxsports.com/blogs/Dayn%20Perry

Bill Baer’s Crash Burn Alley blog can be found at:

http://crashburnalley.com

Money Talks: The Business of College Football

AAAA AAAA — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 04:29:29 -0500

Anyone following college football knows that the game has become big business. So big in fact, that major college football programs have begun taking pages for revenue generation from their counterparts in professional sports.

Over the past 25 years, college football’s popularity has mushroomed due in large to the love of the game in general, and the explosion of television coverage.

There has been a concerted effort among major college football programs to generate alternative revenue streams through massive stadium expansions, lucrative premium seating, corporate sponsorship, and broadcast contracts.

The days of gaining revenue through contributions and ticket sales alone have long since passed. The need to increase revenue is a direct reflection of the current state of college football.

During the 2007-2008 college football bowl season, over $240 million will be paid out to the participating teams. By generating additional revenues, football programs can improve facilities, gaining a competitive edge in recruiting. By recruiting better players your chances of fielding a winning team increase precipitously, providing a greater opportunity to appear in a bowl game.

Last year, 10 college football teams generated at least $45 million in revenues – among them, Notre Dame, Georgia, Ohio State and Auburn – compared to none five years ago. The revenue they generate is extremely valuable, in many cases funding the school’s other athletic programs or providing necessary support for academic facilities.

Notre Dame, worth $101 million, is the most valuable team in college football. Unlike other programs, Notre Dame's athletic department operates under the umbrella of the university and is not run as a separate entity. As a result, a much higher share of profits are retained by university for academic use.

The football team's contribution to academics totaled $21.1 million for the 2006-2007 season – that's as much as the next five most valuable teams contributed to their respective schools combined.

Having always been an independent football program, unlike the conference system, Notre Dame keeps the entire $9 million in annual television revenue it receives from its contract with NBC.

The University of Texas, valued at $92 million, was college football's most profitable program last season, netting $46.2 million.

University of Texas merchandise royalties doubled to $8 million after the Longhorns won the BCS championship in 2006. Premium and club seating at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium generates $12 million a year. The athletic department even added an exclusive space, dubbed the Centennial Room, which is reserved for boosters who contribute the most money to the program.

In fact, 17 of the 20 most valuable teams have undergone major stadium expansions and renovations over the last 10 years, and two others have renovation plans in the works. Premium seating has proved to be a valuable source of revenue that was nonexistent at the time most aging college stadiums were constructed.

For example, Ohio State and Tennessee added 81 and 78 suites, respectively, in recent years. For programs like Michigan, Ohio State, and Tennessee whose stadiums were built decades ago, luxury suites are a much more cost effective means to increase stadium revenue than building another crowded upper deck. On average, the 31 largest college stadiums already have 11,000 more seats than a typical NFL stadium.

One of the strongest links tying the college and professional football in recent years has been corporate sponsorships. Gatorade sponsors five of the six major conferences, while sister company Pepsi Bottling Group is in its third year of a 10-year, $27 million deal with the University of Florida.

Moreover, companies are now taking a prominent role in naming rights of stadiums. The University of Louisville’s Papa John's Cardinal Stadium and TCF Bank Stadium, the future home of the University of Minnesota, are some examples.

Similar to the seat licensing and naming rights campaigns implemented by professional sports franchises, the University of Tennessee raised $16 million of the $21.2 million contributed to the Volunteer Athletic & Scholarship Fund in 2006 through reservation fees for football tickets. You can bet that other programs will implement a similar plan, if they haven’t already done so.

New television contracts will continue to increase college football team values in the future.

This past season, Fox began televising four BCS games as per the terms of a four year contract that pays the NCAA $320 million. That’s four games annually, at a cost of $20 million per game.

The Big Ten Conference launched its own network this year, the first cable outlet to reach 30 million homes in its first 30 days on air, despite charging carriers as much as $1 per subscriber.

Big 12 Conference institutions will see a $16 million boost in TV revenue next year from existing deals with Fox Sports Net and ESPN/ABC, with some schools projected to make as much as $10 million in 2008, based on their number of TV appearances and scheduling.

In 2006, the SEC distributed $43 million of football television money to its 12 member schools primarily as a result of its contract with CBS.

As the lists below will indicate, total attendance no longer results in greater revenue. For years the University of Michigan has led in total attendance for their home football games. However, while Michigan outdistances Notre Dame by an average of nearly 30,000 fans per home game, the Irish generated $9.6 million more in profit.

Granted, Notre Dame’s status as an independent gives the school an advantage over the conference affiliated programs. But the fact that you can draw nearly 30,000 more fans and earn less is truly indicative of where college football is headed.

With the advent of pay-per-view, and independent contracts being developed for the sole purpose of televising one conference’s sporting events, the day of free TV games, much like the NFL, may soon pass into history.

College Football Events Scheduled Far Into the Future

AAAA AAAA — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 03:55:11 -0500

About a month ago I found myself curious to know which teams the University of Tennessee was scheduled to play over the next few years. I did some research and discovered that many major college football programs have scheduled marquee out-of-conference games.

On the surface, this fact comes as no surprise. However, I think you will find it interesting that some schools have scheduled these games as far as 13 years in advance!

At present, the year 2013 will showcase seven contests involving current BCS powers, and the year 2015 will have no less than five major games.

It should be noted that you cannot view an entire slate of 12 games for your favorite team in the year 2017. However, if you know how your team’s conference schedule rotates (if applicable) then you can determine at least 75% of the 12 games that will be played in the foreseeable future.

Below, I’ve provided a list of several teams that have very compelling games scheduled over the next 13 years. LSU and North Carolina State have scheduled a game in the year 2020, holding the distinction of being the most advanced scheduled game among Division 1 schools.

I selected several teams from the BCS conferences and listed the most intriguing games. As you will note, should the status quo persist, some true gems that await us. I’ll have to give Oklahoma, UCLA, Nebraska, Tennessee, and Oregon the nod for scheduling the most interesting and potentially difficult teams for the future.

If you’d like to see your team’s future schedule, check out this site:

http://cfbpalace.decro.net/currentsched.cgi

Ohio State

AT USC 2008
VS USC 2009
VS California 2012
AT California 2013
VS Virginia Tech 2014
AT Virginia Tech 2015

Southern California

VS Ohio State 2008
AT Ohio State 2009
VS Virginia 2010
VS Syracuse 2011
AT Syracuse 2012
VS Boston College 2013
AT Boston College 2014

Alabama

VS Penn State 2010
AT Penn State 2011

Oregon

AT Tennessee 2010
VS Tennessee 2013
VS Georgia 2015
AT Georgia 2016

Florida

VS South Florida 2015

Virginia Tech

AT Ohio State 2014
VS Ohio State 2015
AT Wisconsin 2016
VS Wisconsin 2017

Georgia

VS Louisville 2011
AT Louisville 2012
AT Clemson 2013
VS Clemson 2014
AT Oregon 2015
VS Oregon 2016

Florida State

AT Oklahoma 2010
VS Oklahoma 2011
AT West Virginia 2012
VS West Virginia 2013

Arizona State

VS Wisconsin 2012
AT Notre Dame 2013
VS Notre Dame 2014
AT LSU 2015
VS LSU 2016

Nebraska

VS Virginia Tech 2008
AT Virginia Tech 2009
AT UCLA 2012
VS UCLA 2013
VS Tennessee 2016
AT Tennessee 2017

LSU

VS Arizona State 2015
AT Arizona State 2016
VS NC State 2017
TBD Oklahoma 2018
TBD Oklahoma 2019
AT NC State 2020

UCLA

VS Tennessee 2008
AT Tennessee 2009
AT Texas 2010
VS Texas 2011
VS Nebraska 2012
AT Nebraska 2013

Oklahoma

VS Florida State 2010
AT Florida State 2011
VS Notre Dame 2012
AT Notre Dame 2013
VS Tennessee 2014
AT Tennessee 2015
TBA LSU 2018
TBA LSU 2019

Tennessee

AT UCLA 2008
VS UCLA 2009
VS Oregon 2010
AT North Carolina 2011
VS North Carolina 2012
AT Oregon 2013
AT Oklahoma 2014
VS Oklahoma 2015
AT Nebraska 2016
VS Nebraska 2017

Sportsmanship: Where Art Thou?

AAAA AAAA — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 19:43:48 -0500

The NFL’s Punt, Pass and Kick competition winners were introduced during the Colts-Chargers game last weekend.

One such winner, Anny Grant, a 14-year old from New Hampshire sporting a New England Patriots jersey, was booed by fans during her introduction.

I would expect this type of reaction in Philadelphia, the city where fans booed Santa Claus and tossed batteries at then St. Louis Cardinals outfielder J.D. Drew. But this is Indianapolis, a Mwestern city with salt of the earth types known for courtesy and warm welcomes.

What happened to invoke such a reaction? The child was wearing the jersey of a team that beat the Colts earlier this season. That’s it.

How far have we sunk as a society when a child, perhaps experiencing the most thrilling moment in her young life, is booed for nothing more than wearing the jersey of a team the fans didn’t like.

This type of behavior has become more prevalent at sporting events across America, and even throughout the globe.

We’ve become so obsessed with winning and showing the other guy up that we’ve lost track of the true spirit of the games. The fans booing this child should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves, but in reality, we’ve brought this upon ourselves.

Sports are a mirror of society, and society as whole has devolved to such a point where failing standards and values contribute to the weak minded souls viewing the games.

What do we expect of sports fans in a nation where episodes of humiliation, greed and win-at-all-costs behavior pass for family entertainment?

"Incivility, boorishness and crassness are everywhere in the idiot culture that we live in," says veteran sportscaster Bob Costas. "And yet we celebrate all this as edginess. This behavior is encouraged."

When we mix strutting players, hardened fans and perhaps the most important element—alcohol—today's sports venues become ripe for agitation.

Games aren't mere athletic contests; they are in-your-face productions. Loud music and public address announcers exhorting the fans to pump up the volume are factors contributing to an atmosphere of confrontation.

Fans who were once happy to cheer for the home team have now turned every contest into a hate fest. Opposing players must be verbally eviscerated, their personal problems made fodder for derision.

Home-team players who don't measure up aren't spared either. Players taunt other players, players taunt the fans, and the fans taunt the players – where does it end?

The obnoxiousness isn't limited to pro sports either. Many college venues take great pride in their lack of hospitality for visiting teams.

Even high school and little league games are rife with players, coaches, and parents exhibiting poor sportsmanship. I recall an incident when I was playing little league baseball, perhaps at the age of 11.

I was playing first base and a ground ball was hit to me. I caught the ball, but the pitcher didn’t cover first so I had to run to the bag. The player running towards first and I arrived at the bag simultaneously and we ran into each other.

I was a big kid for my age and the other kid went flying into foul territory. The first base coach for the opposing team, obviously being a parent of one of the players, grabbed my left arm and shook me. He rather sternly asked me what I was doing and I just looked at him and said, “What are you doing?”

I wrested my arm away from him and started walking towards my dugout. My coach walked towards the man that grabbed me and I looked over my shoulder to see the two of them having a conversation.

I don’t know what was said but I can safely imagine what was discussed. My mother was in attendance at that game, but being she is exactly 5’2”, and weighs exactly 105 pounds and has been so for every second of my life, she wasn’t in a position to do much.

I recall her telling me after the game she was glad my father wasn’t there. To be honest, it didn’t faze me that much as I had been exposed to that type of physical contact between player and coach.

The one underlying point that needs to be brought to the forefront is how are we supposed to teach our children sportsmanship when the fans, coaches, and parents are acting like idiots?

Considering how hard it is to teach our children anything today with the collapse of the educational system in this nation, I don’t think we contribute anything that further hinders their ability to learn.

A prerequisite to good sportsmanship requires one to understand their own prejudices that may become a factor in your behavior.

The true value of competition relies upon everyone exhibiting behavior which is representative of a sound value base. A proper perspective must be maintained if the educational values are to be realized.

Your behavior influences others whether you are aware of it or not.

Applause for an opponent's good play displays a courtesy that should be regularly practiced. This not only represents good sportsmanship but reflects a true awareness of the game by recognizing and acknowledging quality.

Be gracious in victory and defeat, and shake the hand of your opponent after the game and congratulate them on their performance. The only missing piece of good sportsmanship is YOU!