Bleacher Report - Articles by Gustavo Destro

Arsene Wenger: The Master Economist

Gustavo Destro — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 02:47:48 -0400

With Arsene Wenger completing 13 years with Arsenal I wanted to do a tribute article but, in doing so, one thing became ever so clear, Arsene has become a master of this money-centric world we live in today, finding young, cheap talent and developing and subsequently turning in a huge profit for the club. Not surprising, considering his Master's degree in Economics from Strasbourg University. Following is a list of some players Arsenal paid a minimum ammount only to receive a huge sum of cash years later.

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An Open Letter To F.C. Barcelona: Back Off From Cesc

Gustavo Destro — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 22:00:44 -0400

Dear Mr. Laporta, Begiristain, and Guardiola,

First off I'd like to state that I have been a supporter of your club for a long time and still am. F.C. Barcelona is my favorite Spanish side and has been for as long as I follow football; my favorite player of all time plays for your club at the moment (Thierry Henry) and another did for the apogee of his career (Ronaldinho).

Last season, I celebrated as you beat Manchester United to complete the Treble (a fantastic accomplishment) and look forward to see what you can do for an encore.

Having said that, I must get to the point of my letter, and it is as simple as two words:

Back Off.

As a passionate Arsenal fan I must say I have grown tired of the constant news "stories" regarding one Francesc Fabregas, which just so happens to be our current captain.

The stories, you are all aware of, all have a similar content and one main point: The idea that Cesc Fabregas should play for Barcelona. Your players (Xavi, Puyol), as well as the manager, Josep Guardiola and even the club's Chairman and president, Joan Laporta have given plenty of fuel to the Catalan press regarding the fact that Fabregas is a perfect fit for the club and that he would be a welcome addition.

Well, I find it all very unprofessional and disrespectful to the Arsenal organization, its fans and of course, Fabregas himself.

The fact that Cesc is a Catalan native, that he began his youth career at Barcelona, that he considers Guardiola as his idol and that he has the perfect abilities to play in the team's current style (fast thinking, quick passer) is no excuse to inundate the Spanish press and therefore the English press with stories that he has the "Barcelona DNA".

The young man has had to answer more questions about this subject than he should; and what is constant with his answers is that he always makes one point and one point only: That he is Arsenal's current captain and that he is currently committed 100% to Arsenal.

He does, however, have to do this every few weeks, given how many times a new "report" surfaces, or any Barcelona employee makes a comment.

The media creates stories whenever there is no story to cover, and it does so in Spain, England, Brazil and everywhere in the world, what really infuriates me is that most stories could be shot down with a simple "no comment" or a "our squad is strong as it stands" by any player/manager/coach/administrator, but no such thing is done.

Again, very unprofessional and disrespectful.

You hardly hear an Arsenal player say that such and such player has the "Arsenal DNA," or that he is perfect for the team and he should come play in London. Arsene Wenger stays quiet like a tomb even when stories are actually true and he is the wrong guy to go to for a little wood for the media fire.

I am under no illusions, though, that Fabregas will forever be a Gunner, especially during this money-first, business football world we live in nowadays. I understand that he has desires to play for the club he adored when he was growing up (heck, we all do) and even Henry left and he still is one of the most beloved Gunners ever.

But for now, Fabregas is Arsenal's captain, he is playing well and is totally committed to the club.

So, for now, back off.

Gustavo Destro

P.S.: On Nov. 29th, show Real that even €180m still doesn't get them over the top.

EPL 2009-10: What We Have Learned So Far

Gustavo Destro — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 03:26:19 -0400

This break in the EPL season gives us a perfect opportunity to sit back and analyze the year so far. From the good (lots of scoring), the bad (Portsmouth, Hull) to the ugly (Adebayor's antics, diving controversies, Portsmouth's financial mess) this has been a busy season so far and hopefully the following months are as exciting as the first two.

At the top of the table, you can find the usual suspects Chelsea and Manchester United (yawn). Both went through relatively quiet off-seasons, with Man United losing Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez and Chelsea adding a Russian midfielder (Yuri Zhirkov) who is yet to see the field.

Still, both have strong enough squads and barring any injuries both figure to play a part in the title race - again.

Rounding out the top four are Tottenham and Manchester City. Spurs have beaten Liverpool in Week One, but then were unceremoniously thumped by Chelsea and therefore are a big question mark. Jermaine Defoe and Robbie Keane (four goals at Burnley) are playing well so they have a chance to make some noise.

Man City has started well and seemed that all who called for them to finish in the top four this season were saying 'told you so' and patting themselves on the back. Adebayor-gate and the loss to United in the Derby took some of the air off the City balloon but it is clear that so far the new kids of the group are alright.

Chasing the top four are two familiar faces.

On sixth place, Liverpool are not really hanging by a thread but certainly are walking the tight rope. With three losses already they are already six points off the lead and will definitely not have room for error as the season goes along.

What bothers me about the Reds is that they do beat the teams they are supposed to (Stoke, Hull, Burnley) but whenever they play someone who is on a par with their talent level (Tottenham, Villa, Chelsea) they look totally outmatched.

Arsenal sit fifth, five points off the pace with a game in hand. As is typical with Arsenal in the last few several years, injuries have hit them hard all over the board, and the team has had to play many different players along the season.

The Gunners have also not been out of the headlines, most of the times for the wrong reasons. Lately Chief Executive Ivan Gazidis has demanded that Arsene Wenger end the team's trophy less run this year. Things are interesting in North London to say the least.

A memo to Gazidis: Delivering a public ultimatum to the most successful manager in club history is not the best signal to give a team that has been coming under fire over the past few years.

(That concludes my Arsenal fan rant, now back to your regularly scheduled programming).

Aston Villa and Sunderland are playing well and sit right on the cusp but will probably not be more than spoilers to the big clubs and hang around the 7-10 spots throughout the season.

Bad news to the fans of everyone sitting nine to 20. Your team is not going to win this year and is most likely to play the part of cannon fodder for the big guns up top. Sorry, that's life.

Big ups for the new boys though. Wolves, Burnley, and Birmingham, the newly promoted clubs, are all hanging in there. Burnley in particular are proving to be a pain on the behind to all who go play at Turf Moor (Just ask Rooney and Co.).

I could go out on a limb and say that Burnley has a great chance to stay up and that since they are sitting at ninth, they would only have to win a certain amount of matches and all would be rosy but then I remind myself that at this time last season Hull was sitting way up there on the table and everyone was crowning Phil Brown as the next genius manager.

That was all before we all found out that Brown was a nut job and before his players quit on him - in December!

Which is around the same time I stop thinking Burnley is in the clear.

Speaking of Hull...Boy, where to start? A -12 goal difference, the fact that they have Jozy Altidore on their team, who rarely plays, but when he does he makes a difference (Hint: Play him more often!) or that they either win close or get blown out of the water makes this the worst team of the Premiership.

No, Portsmouth is off the hook even losing their first seven matches. Well, at least my 'opinion hook,' because they still are dead last and will most definitely be relegated. What is ironic is that they played so well during their losses (okay, in a few) but then won a complete stinker. Go figure.

And don't even begin with their financial situation, that requires another article, which I would have no patience writing - given the amount of b.s. involved.

In a nutshell: As it is trendy now in the EPL, Portsmouth was purchased by a U.A.E. businessman who apparently would help the team get out of financial trouble by injecting a bunch of oil money on the team and creating Man City 2.0.

Problem was, the guy who bought the team had no money - did no one check his bank account before signing the deal? - and consequently the team was 'thisclose' to being broke and was unable to pay their players ("coincidentally" the team lost its first seven matches - surely just a coincidence).

What do they decide to do then? Sell the team to another Arab oil tycoon.

Why do I not see this ending well?

(That was the story in a nutshell, for the full version, get a big mug of hot chocolate, bundle up under a blanket and prepare for a lot of reading when you ask yourself over and over again "What the hell were they thinking?")

Now onto a few quarterly awards:

Player Of The Year So Far

1. Fernando Torres - Liverpool

Without him Liverpool would be in deep trouble(as in Hull deep), and 3 losses would look good. Given the fact that he is the most indispensable player and also arguably the best striker out there, he gets my "Player of the Year So Far Award".

2. Ryan Giggs - Manchester United

What does this guy eat? Seriously, he should be on the downswing of his career and all he does is make Man United better. If this was America and Giggs played baseball everyone would be accusing him of using steroids, thank God this is soccer/football.

3. Darren Bent - Sunderland

Here's a fun fact about Darren Bent: He often does not admit he is himself. Here is the story. "People usually ask me, are you Darren Bent?" the striker said in an interview. "And I say no."

This is a guy who also thinks the depletion of the ozone layer will cause the end of the world and believes in ghosts. And also the third best player of the Premiership.

Jerk Of The Year So Far

(I say jerk to keep this clean)

1. Emmanuel Adebayor - Man City

Yes, I'm an Arsenal fan, and yes, if I were in the stands and Adebayor came running towards me to celebrate I would aim really well. The thing is, he did stomp on Fabregas' ankle and van Persie's face and said that Arsenal have no 'true' fans, forgetting to consider that all Man City fans from this season on (his first) will be ones that will only follow the team if it does well and jump ship at first sight of trouble.

What, you thought there would be more? Adebayor has already won the award for the whole season.

Manager Of The Year So Far

Phil Brown and Paul Hart - Hull City and Portsmouth

Kidding, kidding.

1. Mark Hughes - Manchester City

The key phrase here is 'so far' because there are already reports of unrest inside the locker room. Carlos Tevez wants more playing time and so does every other egomaniacal, money-hungry player they have brought on this off-season (And Robinho is out with an injury).

This is the problem with buying everyone you want; soon enough, after a loss or two, one guy thinks he should have played more in order to change the outcome. The problem is that every egomaniacal, money-hungry player will think the exact same.

In short: Have fun Mark Hughes.

2. Sir Alex Ferguson - Manchester United

Do we really need the 'Sir' every time we write his name? Sigh. Anyways, back to the topic in hand.

Losing Ronaldo and Tevez surely decreases the amount of talent (and of dives) at Old Trafford, but give Ferguson credit, his Michael Owen Pick-up surely was a great call (again, so far). Every manager should do this; instead of paying the players up front tell them "if you play well, you get paid a wad of cash", you would no doubt have players playing their hearts out for you.

Or a mutiny, whatever.

3. Arsene Wenger - Arsenal

13 years and still going strong. Sure, the past three four years have not been all lollipops and rainbows (who wants that anyways?) but anyone who questions Wenger surely does not know football. His Arsenal side has the best goal differential, play the most beautiful football and are one shady call and an own goal away from being in the top 3. And yet we are fifth (groans).

Here's to a final six-ish months of controversy, craziness and just good damn footy.

And a trophy for Arsenal! (sorry, had to).

Cougars Pull It Off and Cowboys, Tide Roll: College Football Week One Recap

Gustavo Destro — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 20:18:57 -0400

Week one has come and gone and left us with a pile of unanswered questions, expectations, and bodies (the latter courtesy of one LeGarrette Blount). What week one really taught us was that preseason rankings mean absolutely nothing, squat, zilch, nada, and this may be one of those crazy seasons where anything is possible every week. But then again, so is almost every year.

The big story of the weekend is the condition of Oklahoma’s Heisman-winning quarterback, Sam Bradford and how long it’ll take for him to return to action. It is safe to say though, without Bradford, Oklahoma is a shell of the team they were last year (not to take any credit away from BYU, more on them a bit later on).

Sure, a Bradford-less Oklahoma can waltz over the likes of Idaho State and Tulsa, but a less than 100 percent Bradford-led Sooners may find bit more trouble going against the likes of Oklahoma St. and Texas, which is very bad news for the Sooners title chances. They can still get there if they run the table, but they need a healthy Bradford for it.

Now, regardless of who was under center, BYU deserves all the credit in the world for pulling the upset, their defense looked good even when Bradford was playing and seemed to turn it up a notch during the final quarter, when the game was on the line. The fact that Oklahoma was playing a Redshirt-Freshman during all of the second half means little the way the Cougars D was playing.

And America, meet Max Hall.

For two years all Hall did was help BYU to a 22-5 record, doing it all in relative obscurity. Saturday was his coming out party, and his 23rd win was his biggest. The last scoring drive was beautifully executed and showed the kind of player Hall is. The line of recent Quarterbacks from smaller schools leading them to national prominence is long (Colt Brennan, Nate Davis, Brian Johnson, among others) and Max Hall just joined it.

The Mountain West is quickly becoming the “other conference,” the one that is as good as a BCS conference, but is not one. Really, with the likes of Utah, BYU, and TCU, this cannot be considered one of the “small” or “weaker” conferences and if one of these teams goes undefeated, I see no reason why they should not be ranked as high as an undefeated team from, say, the Big Ten or the ACC. Once more, the BCS proves itself ineffective, and it’s only week one.

The week did begin on Thursday, with a snoozer between NC State and South Carolina, which doesn’t even merit a recap. Then ESPN promised an embarrassment of scoring between Boise St. and Oregon, and let’s just say that there was not much scoring (or even first-downs) but there was plenty of embarrassment on the Oregon side, during and after the game.

The Ducks were completely and thoroughly dominated all game long by a more disciplined, better coached and just better Boise State team. Afterwards Mr. Blount, who said they (Oregon) owed Boise St. an a**-whooping, and proceeded to back his comments by rushing for -5 yards, took matter into his own hands and dropped a Boise St. player dumb enough to mess with a 6’2” 240lbs. pissed off man with a single right straight, then went all Artest on the Boise fans and had to be contained by the police.

Sportsmanship week is kind of ironic now.

Jokes aside, Oregon did the right thing suspending Blount for the season and effectively ending his college career.

The next big piece of news has to be Oklahoma State and their performance against Georgia. We knew Mike Gundy was a man, we knew he was 40 (he kind of forced it on us) but now we know he has a defense good enough to go along with his high-powered offense.

The Cowboys’ D held Georgia to only three points after giving up a score in their first drive and did a great job while the offense was trying to get in rhythm. Now, it is true that this is a new Georgia offense, but it was an impressive performance nonetheless, and all the hype about Oklahoma State may be indeed justified.

Now, a little round-up of what I liked and what I did not from this first week

Five Things I Really Liked From Week One

1. Matt Barkley’s debut. If he is as good as advertised, and he sure looked like it on Saturday (15-19, 233, 1 TD, 0 Int.) we may be looking at a guy who has the potential of going down as one of the best. I know it’s early for this kind of talk (really early actually), but from a guy who has followed his career since his junior year of high school, I know one this for sure, he will not get nervous playing at the Horseshoe next week.

2. The Pac-10. Cal got revenge on Maryland big time, USC looked like USC does every year, even if their line-up is quite different from last year’s. Oregon State is my bet to being the biggest threat to USC (not Cal, as many people are predicting), and they began their season with an easy win over Portland St. Even Washington looked good; sure they lost, but it was to LSU and they looked good; Stave Sarkisian seems to be taking this team in the right direction.

3. Notre Dame and Jimmy Claussen. I still don’t think they can beat Michigan and I am sure they cannot stay on the same field with USC, but they sure looked good against Nevada. You can interpret that in whichever way you want; Claussen did look good, having time to throw all day, he picked Nevada’s defense apart and racked up big numbers.

4. Alabama’s offense. New pieces almost everywhere and not a beat missed by the Tide. The fact that they were losing the game until early in the fourth quarter was bizarre, given their dominance in the stat department. A barrage of scoring in the fourth quarter swung the game in their favor and gave them a much deserved win. The SEC West should be very, very scared, the Tide is rolling again.

5. Boise State’s defense. The Broncos D looks to be headed for another top 40 ranking and another BCS appearance. The schedule from now on looks like a cakewalk considered how much they embarrassed Oregon.

Five Things I Did Not Like From Week One

1. The Big Ten. I am seriously done with trying to defend them, this first week was truly not what the conference needed to help improve their image. From Minnesota needing overtime to beat a team led by a basketball player to Iowa squeaking by Northern Iowa blocking a field goal—twice—to Ohio State looking less than great against a Navy team that surely better than people think—just ask Notre Dame. Next week’s Ohio State—USC showdown will dictate how the Big Ten is seen by the rest of the nation, a poor performance and the conference will continue to be the laughing stock of the nation.

2. LeGarrette Blount. Do I need to say more? The worst part is that one NFL team will give him a free-agent spot on their training camp roster next year, no doubt. Hey, if Maurice Clarett was drafted in the third round.

3. Florida’s Schedule. Seriously, I know you guys play in the Almighty SEC but to open with Charleston Southern and then Troy next week is just like buying a win. Hey wait, they pay the small schools to come get their behinds handed to them at the Swamp, so it is buying a win.

4. Virginia Tech. Their offense looked like they had never practiced together before the game and the defense got tired at the end, allowing Alabama to take the game. Tyrod Taylor said he wants to show the nation he can throw the ball well, he apparently still can’t. Much like Clemson last year, Virginia Tech is supposed to carry the banner for the ACC, but one game showed that this is a flawed team that has a long ways to go.

5. Chip Kelly’s debut. Oregon lost for many reasons, but the biggest one was that they were out coached, which is not shameful to say when playing Boise St., Chris Peterson is a great play caller and he prepares his team very well. What surprised me was how badly out coached Kelly was, he panicked when things began not going his way and changed his offense scheme, turning Masoli from a dual threat QB into a shotgun pocket passer, which did not help one bit and led to the consequent final score of 19-8.

Ranking USC's Top Rivals As of Right Now

Gustavo Destro — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 14:40:16 -0400

With Notre Dame and UCLA hitting rough patches the past few years, I went researching to find USC's biggest rivals as of right now? I considered results in the past 5 years, and how these results impacted the Trojans' seasons. Also playing a role is how good it feels to win a game against a certain opponent, because we all know, the bigger the rival, the sweetest the victory tastes.

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WEC 41 Preview: Brown vs. Faber 2

Gustavo Destro — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 22:11:52 -0400

This Sunday night, one of the most anticipated fights of the year will take place in Sacramento, Calif. It's the WEC Featherweight championship, and I can't wait for it.

The main card, a rematch of WEC 36 last Nov. 5, between former WEC Featherweight Champion and No. 1 contender Urijah Faber and the current Featherweight champ Mike Thomas Brown promises to be a great one.

The first fight was a short exciting bout, with Brown connecting with a right cross just as Faber attempted one of his signature elbows and then continued to ground and pound until the fight was called at 2:23 of the first round.

But what about this time around? Who has the advantage on stand-up? Who is the best on the ground? Who will win? Well, here are my breakdown and prediction for the fight.

Stand-up

Brown is definitely the most technically sound of the two fighters; he is more patient and doesn't have the same reckless abandon Faber has.

Faber is a bit of a freestyle fighter standing up, he doesn't stop moving back and forth, always trying to find a weakness in his opponent's armor and when he does find one he jumps on it like a bat out of hell, no fear, no hesitation.

Faber's reckless nature was what did him in during the first fight, he had his back turned to Brown and attempted a wild elbow which missed and his chin ran right into Brown's right cross, knocking him down to the ground and signalling the beginning of the end.

When clinching, Brown showed in the first fight he will not be thrown around like one of Faber's other opponents, therefore, Faber cannot rely on this tactic to take the game to the ground if he is unable to stay toe to toe with Brown.

Ground Game

This is a part of both fighters I wish we could have seen more of in the first fight. Both men have great wrestling skills and a fight on the ground would be very entertaining.

Brown has had 12 of his 21 professional victories come in the form of a submission, although it must be pointed out that, ironically, all his four professional losses have come via submission.

Faber is a renowned wrestler, ever since his days at UC-Davis and this has translated into the octagon, with 11 out of 22 victories via submission, a vicious ground and pound and the ability to get out of even the worst possible positions.

It will be interesting to see who has the edge if the game goes to the ground.

Strength

Brown has the advantage in this department, both standing up and on the ground, his vicious right hands have knocked down many fighters over the years including Faber, and on the ground his strength helps him impose his will over the opponent.

Faber is also a very strong fighter, but his strength comes from his ability to string combos together and use his quickness to catch opponents when they are most vulnerable.

Speed

Although most people believe Faber has a clear advantage in this department, do not count out Brown’s ability to move around the cage and always find himself in a good position in relation to his opponent.

Faber is as quick as they come, not just on his feet, but also when pinned to the ground; he is able to get himself out of some very sticky situations by using leverage and moving quickly enough for his opponent not to catch up. On foot, he is deadly once he has found his range and can move in, throw a few combos and move out, a skill that will come in handy against the more powerful Brown.

X-Factors

There are a couple of X-factors in this fight.

For starters, this is the first time Faber has challenged for the belt since WEC 19, March 2006, and although it may not sound like such a big deal, some fighters say that they feel some added pressure when they are attempting to win their title back.

The second factor is the location of the fight. The fact that the fight is taking place in Faber’s hometown of Sacramento, CA can either help him immensely or add that much more pressure on him. Faber is a showman; he loves the attention, so I think that fighting in his hometown, in such a big arena will make him much more eager to put on a show.

Brown, on the other hand will have to deal with a hostile crowd and the fact that he is the champion and has to defend it now for the first time against the guy that once held it.

Prediction

This is a tough one; one could see Brown’s dominance over the past three years, his power and quickly go with him.

Others will see Faber, the exciting showman, and think his speed and “improv” skills will win back his belt.

This will be a quick fight, expect more of a ground game but don’t think this will go the distance, both men like to jump right in and impose their wills on their opponents.

I say Brown’s power and technique will trump Faber’s wild, unorthodox style and he wins with a TKO in the third retaining his WEC Featherweight belt.

Regardless of who wins this, really, let’s just hope this is a good one.

USC Football to Play Hawaii in 2012-2013

Gustavo Destro — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 20:22:44 -0400

USC's athletic director Mike Garrett announced this past Wednesday that USC and Hawai'i would play a home and home during the 2012-2013 seasons.

That is great news for college football fans...if USC can play the 2006 version of the Warriors, that is.

Listen, nothing against the Warriors, they are a great team to watch with their crazy offense and all that, but since Colt & Co. left they have just been, well, mediocre. Sure, it was only one season, but c'mon, they made Jimmy Clausen look like John Elway during the Hawaii bowl.

So, now that we can be assured that this won't be headline news anywhere in America with the exception of Honolulu and Los Angeles—make that just Honolulu, LA has that whole Lakers thing going on, supposedly it's a big deal there—let's look at this story from a USC point of view shall we?

How about Pete Carroll, eh? And there are people that still don't know why he is one of the most successful coaches in the whole country. It's because he is good with math, simple math actually:

Early season trip to Hawai'i = happy players. Happy players = great season.

Nothing like a good trip to the Islands to boost the morale of the troops.

This isn't the first time Carroll has done this. USC played in Hawai'i in 2005 and will do so again in 2010. That means that only the 2006 recruiting class did not go to Honolulu—no wonder they haven't won a title since.

I wonder what a conversation between Carroll and a recruit sounds like.

Carroll: I assure you that you will be attending one of the best programs in America.

Mom & Dad: What about academics?

Recruit: Mom, we talk about academics later, okay? So, I know you are a big deal and all, but Florida has said I will start my freshman year, can you promise that?

Carroll: Well, I can promise we will give you a chance, but I can't promise you we will just give you the position.

Recruit: Well....

Carroll: Have I told you we are going to play our season opener in Hawai'i in 2010 and 2013.

Recruit: Really? So, where do I sign?

But back to reality, these trips to Hawai'i are what separate Carroll from most of the other coaches. He thinks like a 20-year old male, he knows what they want and he gives it to them.

Think about this for a second, a coach and an athletic director are trying to fill out their 2012 schedule and they have a choice of playing either Hawai'i in September or Wyoming in November. I mean, is there really any decision to make?

These games will not make headlines, they will not get the attention of most people—unless USC loses, knock on wood—but these are the little things that make a championship team. Give them a treat, a trip to Hawaii, and they will repay you when you need them to—a foggy, rainy night in Corvallis or Pullman or Berkley; you get the idea.

The genius of Pete Carroll is simple enough, as simple as simple math.

Early season trip to Hawai'i = happy players. Happy players = great season.

Gators' Resilience, Defense Helps Florida Outlast Oklahoma in BCS Championship

Gustavo Destro — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 01:12:58 -0500

Legend has it that when Paul "Bear" Bryant went to a recruit to try to lure him to play for Alabama he would say, "Son, do you wanna win? Then come to Alabama."

Urban Meyer may be able to bring in recruits using the same line.

Florida's 24-14 win over the Oklahoma Sooners has cemented Urban Meyer as college football's best current head coach and the University of Florida as college football's new "it" school.

It was by no means easy but the Gators did it the old-fashioned way, with defense and a dominant running game. Florida ran for 232 rushing yards—Tim Tebow and Percy Harvin shouldered the brunt of the load with 22 and nine carries respectively.

The story of the game, however, was Florida's defense, which was given the seemingly impossible task of slowing down Oklahoma's high-octane offense. No one had come close to slowing down the Sooners since their defeat to Texas.

The Gators did it, holding Oklahoma to 14 points, by far its lowest offensive output for the season. They stopped two Oklahoma drives inside their own 5-yard line and intercepted Sam Bradford twice.

The most impressive aspect of the feat was their timing. The second of the goal-line stands—an interception by safety Major Wright—ended an Oklahoma drive that could have given the Sooners the lead going into halftime.

The Gators' second interception was, in effect, the game's most important play. With the score 17-14 in favor of Tebow's crew, the Sooners began to drive down the field and their offense was moving along well. That was before safety Ahmad Black wrestled the football away from Juaquim Iglesias' hands and gave Florida the ball back.

The Gators' offense proceeded to move down the field and score, icing the game and sealing the final score.

Oklahoma's biggest problem was not capitalizing on many chances during the first half. They kept Tebow in check for most of the opening half and intercepted him twice. They had long drives and were able to protect Bradford for most of the game but could not punch it in when they had they chance.

And everyone knew it wouldn't be long until the Man-Child took over the game.

After his two first half interceptions, Tebow played a near flawless game, finishing with a line that read 18-out of-30 for 232 yards with 2 TDs and 2 INTs. He also rushed 22 times for 108 yards.

But if you know Tebow, you know it's not about the statistics. He made plays when the Gators needed him and rarely made a bad decision during the second half—the whistle incident not included.

And as for the Maestro behind the spectacle, what can be said about Urban Meyer that hasn't been said before? He has an uncanny ability to lure talent to Gainesville and it is really no surprise.

He runs and offense that is fun to play in and that gets everyone involved. He doesn't have any revolutionary defensive schemes, but has a great eye for talent and always puts a group of fast, ball-hawking players on defense.

And, of course, Gainesville itself is a major recruiting chip.

For the beginning of the 21st century, USC had established itself as college football's "coolest" university, the one university almost every big-time recruit aimed for.

Now, after two titles in three years, an offense that is current with what teams run in the high schools, and a beautiful campus/weather, Florida became that school.

And Urban Meyer may not need to sweet talk recruits as much.

The product on the field is worth a million words.

Why the Utah Utes Should Win the AP National Championship

Gustavo Destro — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 17:02:07 -0500

The BCS champion will be crowned on Jan. 8, that is already determined. However, after tonight's performance, one question must be asked.

Shouldn't Utah win the AP title?

The Utes' 31-17 win over Alabama didn't need trick plays or overtime (okay, there was that hook-and-ladder play), it was just a dominating performance by the mid-major underdog over the SEC powerhouse.

The Utes led by at least 11 points for all but one minute of the game without ever looking as if they had lost control.

Utah's defense was superb, pressuring John Parker Wilson all game long and sacking him eight (yes, eight) times. The offense was spot-on all game long, with QB Brian Johnson looking poised and under control leading Utah on one long drive after another.

Now, mind you, this is not just some scrub team that somehow got into the BCS, this is the same team that gave the Florida Gators all it could handle, a team that was ranked No. 1 for most of the year and finished the year ranked No. 4.

All of which brings up the question, should Utah be crowned the AP National Champions?

The BCS champion will be determined next Thursday in the Florida-Oklahoma game, and there is nothing anyone can do about it. Now, the AP on the other hand, can have a different champion, as it happened in 2003 with USC.

Writers everywhere complain endlessly about how the BCS is flawed and should be changed or completely blown-up. Well, ladies and gentlemen, this is your chance to make a difference, to stick it up the BCS formula.

Forget the names, forget conferences, would you like the 13-0 team or a 12-1 team to be ranked No. 1?

(Some time to think it over...)

Well...

It's easy to sit back and write articles complaining about how the BCS is flawed and do nothing when the opportunity shows. This is the opportunity; any writer that votes for the AP poll should do something about it.

It's really a no-brainer, there is absolutely no reason why Utah should not be ranked No. 1 in the final AP poll, they beat all teams they played, they dominated the SEC's No. 2 team and did nothing wrong, except for having the unfortunate reality of playing in a non-BCS conference.

The last time the AP voted a different champion than the BCS it was on the grounds that they did not feel the BCS champion was the best team in the land. They got it right once.

It's time for the AP to get it right again.

NFL Week 17: Philadelphia Eagles Get Help Then Take Care of Business

Gustavo Destro — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 15:26:49 -0500

After last week’s lost to the Redskins, the first thing I did was go to the NFL’s website to figure out how the heck my beloved Eagles could make it into the playoffs.

The Bucs had to lose—at home—to the Oakland Raiders, the Bears or the Vikings would have to lose and finally, the Eagles would have to beat a Cowboys team that would be as desperate as their opponents.

And once those pieces fell into place, the Eagles made sure there was no way they would miss the opportunity. In trouncing the favored Cowboys 44-6 in a game that was as bad as the score shows, Philly proved it is never over ‘till it’s over.

Much of the credit should go to the Eagles’ D for pressuring Tony Romo constantly and creating points off turnovers deep in their own territory. Also, this will not be said much around the talk shows, but Andy Reid’s play calling on offense was great, mixing run and pass plays (36 and 21 respectively).

Now the Eagles must travel to Minnesota and face the Vikings for the first round of the playoffs.

Now, here are some more observations from more games around the league.

- Sticking with the Eagles-‘Boys game, do you really think Jerry Jones will stick with his statement that Wade Phillips is safe? Really? After this debacle? I’m gonna go out on a limb and say he will do a 180 and find one (or more) scapegoats.

- How ‘bout them Lions? Okay, I won’t beat on a team on its worst time, and that’s saying something considering the Lions’ recent history, but think about it, a 0-16 finish isn’t as bad as a 2-14 record. No, really, think about, every year it seems a team finishes 2-14 (I’m looking at you Herm) but it doesn’t really bring change, but a 0-fer? Now that will bring change, and that is a good thing for the Lions. Also, this was as bad as you can get right? This is rock bottom, so to all Lion’s fans, it’s all uphill from here, smile.

- That was scary stuff seeing Ben Roethlisberger lying on the turf for as long as he did, in a meaningless game to boot. It’s great to hear he will be well, it would be a shame for the Steelers to lose such an important player heading into the playoffs in a game where it seemed as if the Browns couldn’t even beat the Steelers’ third stringers.

- Speaking of the Browns, I do not agree at all with their decision to fire Phil Savage. One 10-6 year and you think you are the elite of the league? And you fire your GM moments after a 4-12 season? That’s a panic move that shouldn’t have been made; it is stuff like this that can derail a team going in the right direction.

- It must feel horrible to be a Patriots fan watching the Sunday Night game; an 8-8 or 9-7 team will make the playoffs while their 11-5 Pats will sit at home and watch. And congratulations to Matt Cassel for stepping into arguably the hardest QB spot in the league and improving week after week. I guess college is overrated.

- 16 yards, that’s how much Drew Brees needed to pass Dan Marino’s single-season record and his last second pass fell just short of a wide open receiver, a microcosm of the Saints season, almost, but not quite. Saints fans are nodding in disappointment.

- Was it just me or this was the season of epic collapses? Dallas, Denver, Jets, Tampa Bay. I cannot really say which one was the worst one, because each was uniquely horrible and demoralizing.

- I will, however, dedicate one paragraph to the Buccaneers. They were 9-3 at one point, looking like Super Bowl contenders, then they lost four games and will be on the outside looking in. And losing four games isn’t the worst part, it’s how they lost it.

The last two games in particular were back breakers, the loss to the Chargers was humiliating but it wasn’t anything compared to the loss to the Raiders. The team’s identity, their tough defense, was run over, literally. From their Sunday Night matchup against Carolina, they couldn’t stop the run, and that was their demise.

- The worst part for the Bucs may not have been their loss to the Raiders, but the loss of Carnell “Cadillac” Williams to another knee injury, this time the other one. It was really heart wrenching to hear that doctors fear he has a torn tendon, horrible news.

- Congratulations to Mike Singletary for the way he took a once deadbeat team and took it to a respectable 7-9 finish (hey, the way the Niners have been the last few years, 7-9 is very respectable).

- If you think LaDanian Tomlinson has lost it, you clearly didn’t see him against the Broncos. He was explosive, running strong and determined, but then against, you could say that about every Chargers player. Congrats to the Chargers on pulling the near impossible.

Bring on the playoffs, and to everyone I wish you a very happy new year.

College Football: Breaking Down the BCS Bowl Games

Gustavo Destro — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 13:29:13 -0500

So here we go. The regular season is over and the bowl season is set to begin. There's no more room for whining, no more time to make the cases for your teams. Now it's all about the games, the way football should always be.

Here is my breakdown of each BCS Bowl game.

Orange Bowl—No. 12 Cincinnati vs. No. 19 Virginia Tech

The least publicized and hyped of all the BCS bowls, the Orange Bowl will make up for its lack of appeal with what should be a very exciting game. Have you seen the ACC and the Big East this year? They were clearly the two most dysfunctional conferences in the country. Any given week, not only something weird could happen, you could bank that it would happen.

What does that mean for this game? Anything could happen. I haven't seen much of either team, but I am sure I'm not alone, and that will make for the most intriguing of all BCS games.

The Bearcats haven't been this successful since, since...well, it's been a while. The Hokies, on the other hand have dominated the ACC since joining it.

It's a classic example of an up-and-coming program against the "traditional" power. I personally have to go with the underdog Bearcats, but because of this year, I am not all that confident.

Pick—Cincinnati by 7

Fiesta Bowl—No. 3 Texas vs. No. 10 Ohio State

From a possible Big 12 title game and a chance to play for the National Title game to the Fiesta Bowl. Yeah, it has been rough for the Longhorns lately. (And how bad would it be if Colt McCoy does not win the Heisman on Saturday? How mad would Texas be? Where would that rank in the "we're so disrespected we'll take it out on the next opponent" category? I would not like to be Ohio State if McCoy comes up short.)

Speaking of the Buckeyes, they are very fortunate to be playing a BCS game. Even though they were humbled by USC and could not come up big against Penn State here they are, playing for a BCS bowl for the fourth straight year and trying to shed the 'slow and choker' label that has hovered over them for the past couple of years.

Don't write the Buckeyes off because the Longhorn's offense is ridiculously good. The Buckeyes D is equally impressive; they held Penn State's offense to only 13 points and have averaged only 9.8 points against.

It will come down to whether or not OSU's offense can score enough points to win, and I have very serious doubts about it.

Pick—Texas by 10

Sugar Bowl—No. 6 Utah vs. No. 4 Alabama

An SEC power against the mid-major Cinderella, basically a home game for the Tide, the No. 1 team in the country for most of the season against a team that could not afford to lose.

All signs point to an Alabama win right? Right? Not so fast. These Utes are not just a great offense with no defense, they can clamp down and play close, defensive games as they did in a 13-10 win against TCU. They can stop the run and they force turnovers. Plus, they have a clutch QB in Brian Johnson.

Alabama, on the other side, went undefeated all of the year and No. 1 for the last two months, but all that went down the tubes with a loss to the Florida Gators and they will have to settle for the Sugar bowl.

It would be great to see a Mountain West team take down the second best team in the SEC, and I would pick the Utes if I wanted to make some 'Bama fans angry, but the fact of the matter is that I watched the Alabama—Florida game on Saturday and Alabama was as good a team as Florida. I cannot see Utah beating them, but then again, I could not see Boise State beating Oklahoma two years ago either.

Pick—Alabama by 14

Rose Bowl— No. 5 USC vs. No. 8 Penn State

USC playing in the Rose Bowl! Can you feel the excitement!? No? Good, me neither. Has any team dominated a single bowl game as much as USC has with the Rose Bowl? They have played in it four of the past five years, including three straight years, and in all but one of these meeting they have run over a Big Ten team (Michigan in ’03 and ’06 and Illinois last year).

Can Penn State buck the trend? Well, if they play as they did against Oho State and Iowa, forget about it. But if they play the way they have for every other game, then they will have a chance.

There’s been a lot of talk about Penn State’s Spread HD offense, and rightfully so, but this is the Trojans’ defense they will face, the best defense in the country, and remember that Penn State struggled against Ohio State, scoring only 13 points.

USC has depended too much on their defense. I have no doubt they can contain the Spread HD, but their offense has to come alive, and the weird part is they always get up for bowl games. They have scored 55, 38, 32, 49 points in the past four bowl games.

For as much as Joe Pa’s team has done this year, USC has the defensive playmakers to stop the Spread HD and their offense will score just enough points—as always.

Pick—USC by 10

BCS National Championship Game— No. 1 Oklahoma vs. No. 2 Florida

For as much scrutiny as the BCS has faced, this year’s title game has given what fans wanted, the winner of the Big 12 against the winner of the SEC. Arguably the two best teams are facing off, and that is what the BCS was created to do.

Oklahoma comes in having scored over 60 points in their past five games (and 58 in the previous one), and have played out of their minds since their loss to Texas. Sam Bradford is in the short list for the Heisman and the Sooner’s defense is much better than some people (read: me) have given them credit for.

The Gators have an athletic defense that bears many similarities to their 2006 championship edition – quick, strong and opportunistic—and have a certain guy named Tebow. Percy Harvin is likely to be fully healthy in time for the game which will give the Gators more playmakers than they did against Alabama.

This game promises to be much, much better than the past two, and will have the star power and hype to match the 2006 Rose Bowl.

It will all come down to the defense, which can put pressure on the opposing QB, which one can force the more turnovers. The Gators have the edge in that department.

Pick—Gators by 3

Myron Rolle: A Breath of Fresh Air in the World of College Football

Gustavo Destro — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 18:55:07 -0500

This past Saturday, the Florida State Seminoles scored an important victory, beating the Maryland Terrapins 37-3 and keeping their hopes of an ACC Coastal Championship alive.

But the school's biggest win came outside of the football field. A few hours earlier, Myron Rolle, the Seminoles' starting safety, was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship which will pay for two or three years at London's Oxford University.

Rolle's accomplishment is great news for a school that has been hit with one public scandal after another. The biggest one came just before the football season when it was revealed that 61 students (25 football players) were given the answers to a test in an online music class.

More recently, a brawl in the student union between football players and frat members left a female student severely injured when a chair thrown by one of the culprits hit her in the head.

Rolle was nowhere near either scandal. He was too busy studying and preparing for what he called "the most important day of his life." Here's a man who throws all the dumb jock stereotypes out the window and puts the student back into student-athlete.

Rolle has a 3.75 GPA and is a pre-med major. He finished his bachelor degree in just two-and-a-half years and wants to be a neurosurgeon. He has his own stem-cell research project and he has founded a program to teach Seminole tribe children how to live healthy lives.

Oh yeah, and he is the starter for a BCS school in the hunt for a conference title, is second in the team in tackles (50 total, 33 solo), and is one of the locker room leaders.

Some resume.

The truly spectacular part of the story is that after receiving the news Rolle boarded a private jet and flew to the FSU-Maryland game. He arrived during the second quarter and finished with two solo tackles.

In a world where news of a player being detained by police is met with a shrug and a scoff—"Another dumb jock"—especially regarding Florida State, a school which has gone through so much in the past year, Rolle's news should be given much more air time than stories about brawls and players getting arrested.

Unfortunately it is not. Although SI.com has dedicated its college football front page to Rolle's story (until last time I checked), the news is nowhere to be found in ESPN.com or FOXsports.com.

Think about it, if Tim Tebow were to be charged with assault a day before a game, it would be all over the news. Rolle's story is nothing but a side note.

Myron Rolle should serve as an example to all student-athletes. No, they shouldn't all try for a Rhodes scholarship—that is not for everyone. But they should follow his lead and make decisions that would make them, their schools, and fellow teammates proud, not ashamed.

My football coach once told us after an incident on school grounds involving one of the team's player that, "We [football team members] are painted in the same brush. So if you go out there and do something stupid, the whole team carries that reputation."

If more student-athletes could be like Rolle they would be painted with the same brush. That student-athletes are in fact students first.

To see how Myron Rolle spent his hectic day click here.

College Football: Oklahoma Throws a Wrench into BCS Machine

Gustavo Destro — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 21:37:43 -0500

Why couldn’t it just be simple?

Oklahoma’s 65-21 thumping of Texas Tech on Saturday night makes the BCS, once again, painfully confusing to figure out.

The Big 12 South, heralded this year as the toughest conference in the country, now has a three-team gridlock for first place and countless ways to look at who would be the highest ranked team.

"If you can't move us in front of Texas because they beat us, then you have to keep Texas Tech in front of Texas," said victorious Oklahoma Head Coach Bob Stoops after the game. He has a point, but then again, Texas did beat Oklahoma at a neutral site and lost on a last second TD on the road after being greatly outplayed. So what gives?

The fact of the matter is, Oklahoma should be the highest ranked team going into the final week of the season and here’s why:

- They did lose to Texas, but that was Oct. 11, a long time ago in college football lifetime. Also, Oklahoma has scored over 58 in all of their past four games (including last night’s shellacking), so one can argue that they have been playing the best football in the country.

And if you think that argument is moot, consider Florida, already being written in as one of the title game teams even though they lost, at home, to Ole Miss.

- Oklahoma is running over whomever they play. Let’s recap: Since losing to Texas they beat Kansas (45-31), Kansas State (58-35), Nebraska (62-28), Texas A&M (66-28), and finally Texas Tech (65-21). Pretty impressive in my opinion, and you can start to see a trend forming from these games, which brings me to my last point.

- The Sooners’ defence is not as bad as I thought it was, and it has improved significantly since the Texas game. They were able to do something neither Texas or Oklahoma St. were able to do and that was to pressure Graham Harrell effectively and throw him off his rhythm, making him less effective and therefore less of a threat.

This argument is still a bit premature, since we have one week left in the season and the Sooners face another huge challenge having to play the Bedlam game at Stillwater.

If they fall, the Red Raiders (who host Baylor) will be dancing all the way to the Big 12 championship game, even with Saturday night’s loss still only a couple of weeks in the rear view mirror.

If all three teams do win out, their future will hang on the judgement of humans and machines.

Can’t we just flip a coin?

College Football: Handicaping Each Contenders Chances of Reaching the Title Game

Gustavo Destro — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 19:01:38 -0500

Week 11 provided us collge football fans with some, say, closure. Penn State's loss cleared the way to what most fans believe is the rightful national title matchup, a Big 12 vs. SEC showdown.

Nittany Lions fans may not like this, but the truth is that the both the SEC and Big 12 champs, even one-loss champs, would look much more attractive to play in the championship game than an undefeated Penn State team—those are just the cold-hard facts. Would it happen? Probably not, if PSU were to finish undefeated, they would go to Miami, nobody would have liked it, but they would go.

Each team will have a different path to reach the title game, some easier than others, here's my take on how easy each team's road to Miami will be.

1. Alabama Crimson Tide

The Tide have an easy schedule before the SEC title game (home dates against Mississippi St. and Auburn), but anyone that has seen them since the Georgia game know this is not the same Alabama team. They haven't dominated opponents and have relied too much on their defense to win games that should have been much easier. That bodes badly when they face the Gators in Atlanta.

Path to Miami: Win out regular season schedule, beat Florida.

Chances of it happening: 30 percent. The Tide will most likely than not win out and reach the SEC title game undefeated. To beat the Gators the Tide will have to play at a level they haven't for over one month.

2. Texas Tech Red Raiders

The new media darlings are red-hot and have dominated every team they played this year and did not let up as some predicted they would last week against Oklahoma St. Now comes their biggest test of the year, a visit to Norman that will determine the Big 12 South champs (sorry, Texas). Do I believe they can win it? Yes, I do (in fact, I have since the spring, points 14 and 15 show that much) and from what I've seen so far this year, they will knock out the Sooners. Need a reason why? Two words, Sooners' defense.

Path to Miami: Beat Oklahoma, run over Baylor and beat Big 12 North champ.

Chances: 90 percent. If you are a Tech fan, I'd start planing my trip to South Beach; should be fun.

3. Florida Gators

Florida has only one game left in their SEC schedule and no matter the outcome of ther game against South Carolina, they are already penciled in as the East champion and will square off against the Crimson Tide. To say that the Gators are playing as good as any other team in the country is an understatement and if they keep their foot on the gas, Alabama will be in bad shape come Dec. 6.

Path to Miami: Win out during the regular season and beat Alabama. Simple enough.

Chances: 85 percent.

4. Texas Longhorns

Now it starts to get complicated, only because Texas doesn't control its own destiny. If they win out, just like the above teams, it will be all fine and good, but it won't take them to the title game.

Path to Miami: First of all, they have to stop their mini-skid against Texas A&M, a team that has beaten them twice in the past two years. Then, Texas Tech has to lose at least once, preferably against Baylor (ye, right), but since that most likely won't happen, Texas has to hope that Oklahoma beats Tech and hope that their win over the Sooners on October 11th can somehow keep them above Oklahoma on the polls. Oh, yes, and then they must beat the Big 12 North Champ.

Chances: 20 percent. Texas has a very good chance of finishing 11-1, but to reach the title game, they need to place ahead of an Oklahoma team that would have just beat Texas Tech and Oklahoma St., not likely.

5. Oklahoma Sooners

Oklahoma, unlike Texas, has a much cleaner path to Miami, if they run the table, they will most likely win the Big 12 South championship because of one technicality. See, if Tech, Texas and Oklahoma finish 11-1, the winner is decided by which team is the highest ranked in the BCS and since Oklahoma would have the the earliest loss (Texas) and the latest impressive win (No. 2 Texas Tech) they would be more likely to be ranked higher than either Texas or Texas Tech.

Path to Miami: Beat Texas Tech, then Oklahoma St., and then beat the Big 12 North champ.

Chances: 40 percent. If they beat Tech the path seems easy enough. That is a big if, however, and one I feel the Sooners cannot overcome. Two words, Sooners defense.

6. USC Trojans

The Trojans may be playing the best football of any team in the country for the past month; the opponents, however, haven't been the most impressive. If the Pac-10 was any worse, USC would be considered a mid-major.

Path to Miami: Oh boy, here we go—please bear with me, as this will get complicated...For starters, Texas Tech has to lose, twice; then Oklahoma, who would've just beaten Tech, would have to lose to Oklahoma St. Mizzou would have to beat the Big 12 south champ and Alabama would have to lose to Auburn (or Miss. St.) and then beat Florida. Making USC the only conference champion with one loss, they would have to go to the title game, right?...

Chances: 0.0000001 percent. No really, if the scenario above does occur, it just might kill the BCS. Um, wait, that might not be such a bad idea...

Michael Phelps: The Best Sports Story of the Past Four Years

Gustavo Destro — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 12:46:07 -0400

We all know of Michael Phelps' great accomplishments throughout these Olympic Games—the eight gold medals, the seven world records, the close finishes, and the dominant races. I am not here to elaborate on those, but to try to prove a point.

The point is not that Michael Phelps is the best athlete, swimmer, or Olympian ever. But that all the hoopla (and we know there was a lot) behind his quest has made for the best sports story in a long, long time.

Going into Athens, Phelps was already targeting Mark Spitz's mark of seven gold medals in a single Olympics. He wound up "short" with "only" six gold medals and two bronze medals.

There are two simple reasons why I used quotation marks to modify the words above. First, what he accomplished in Athens was enough to guarantee him a place in history. Second, Phelps himself was not satisfied with his performance, winning "only" six of a possible eight gold medals.

How do I know that? How do I know that Phelps was disappointed with his performance?

Because as we went back to our normal lives after the 2004 Olympics, Phelps started training toward his goal, and did so for four years. As we followed the NFL, NBA, MLB, College Football, and so on, Phelps was waking up early every morning and hitting the pool and weight room. He was making himself the best swimmer he could be.

It paid off.

The most important (and in many ways disappointing) part of this story is that while Phelps was training towards this unimaginable goal we were treated to stories of Michael Vick, Barry Bonds, Pacman, and every other misbehaving athlete that time after time let everyone down and had people losing faith in sports, little by little.

The stories that I just mentioned should have been reported—I am not saying they shouldn't have been. All those stories led to improvements in the sports (cracking down on steroids, NFL's conduct policy), but Michael Phelps is why we follow sports.

It's not the gold medals, not the world records, but the story behind the scenes, the story that was going on while we focused on steroids, dogfights, and all those headlines.

We need more stories like Phelps’. He's a guy who is as laid-back and respectful outside of the pool as he is intense and focused in it.

And we need these stories more often, not only once every four years.

Championships are nice, but I love sports because of these great stories. Stories like this one, about a Baltimore kid who was bullied and poked fun of at in school and is now the greatest Olympic swimmer ever.

So, thank you, Michael Phelps, for such a great ride and for a story that shows the true reason why sports are so great to follow.

Why I Love College Football, in a Few Short Sentences

Gustavo Destro — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 13:10:11 -0400

Ah, the summertime. Sunshine, no school, baseball.

Who am I kidding? Give me some college football.

Don't even ask me how many days are left until it starts. I stopped counting for fear my head was going to explode. "Why the rush?" You ask. Well, let me tell you.

I love college football. As a team, I love the Red Sox more, but as a sport nothing can beat college football.

I love that you are sure Team A will win in a landslide. Why even bother to watch, right? Wrong. Next thing you know, Team B pulls off a two-overtime upset and you spend the next week saying, "Should've watched that."

I love waking up on Saturday morning (on the West coast), turning on the TV, and watching two teams play their hearts out. In August.

I love the sound of 100,000 fans screaming at the top of their lungs during 3rd-and-2. Even if it's through the TV.

I love hearing "The Buckeye Battle Cry," "Fight On," "Boomer Sooner," "War Eagle," and every other fight song after a team scores a touchdown.

I love seeing Beanie run, Harvin catch, Maualuga tackle, and Crabtree return.

I love fourth down gambles.

I love seeing the kicker nail the game-winning field goal. Twice.

I love that every game matters.

I love the Pac-10. And the Big Ten, the SEC, the Big 12, and all the other conferences.

I love that the BCS is so flawed. It keeps it interesting.

I love College Gameday.

I love having my friends over and cheering on our favourite team. Or whatever other team we decide to cheer for.

I love circus catches, broken tackles, and jukes. But I love interceptions, bone-jarring tackles, and sacks even more.

I love when a referee makes the wrong decision, just to be shown on the JumboTron making the wrong call and then he is mercilessly booed by the home crowd.

I love the Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, the Big Game, the Red River Showdown, and the Iron Bowl. But most especially the Army-Navy game.

I love the Commander in Chief's Trophy, the Victory Bell, the Egg Bowl, the Stanford Axe.

I really love the Spread Offense.

I love seeing 20-year-olds put under great pressure and succeed.

I love the Heisman Trophy and all the history that follows it.

I love seeing massive upsets.

I love when the crowd storms the field after said upsets.

I love BCS busters.

I love that "The games you remember, you play in November."

I love hearing the local broadcasters call a touchdown.

I love the bowl games.

I love New Year's Day.

I love the title game. No matter who plays in it.

I love that every new season brings new possibilities, new upsets, new favorites, new underdogs, and a different experience altogether.

I love college football.

College Football: 30 Fearless Predictions for the 2008 Season

Gustavo Destro — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:01:39 -0400

The 2008 college football season can't come soon enough. NCAA Football 09 is great, but I need the real thing.

With that in mind, I came up with 30 predictions for the 2008 season.

1. The SEC will be really good this year, again. Unfortunately, they will be too good—and no team will finish in the top three of the BCS.

2. 15 returning starters and a win against Texas on October 18 mean that the Missouri Tigers will head to South Beach to play for the national championship.

3. Ohio State-USC will be one of the most enjoyable games of the whole year, and the winner will face Missouri for the championship.

4. The third time will be the charm for Jim Tressel's crew, making it two National Championships for the Buckeyes in Miami.

5. The Heisman race will be the most closely contested of the decade. Chris Wells, Knowshon Moreno, and Michael Crabtree will all be legitimate contenders.

6. A Buckeye will win the Heisman for the first time since Troy Smith won it two years ago.

7. Michigan will be much better than people predict. Even if Rich Rodriguez's offense doesn't work at first, they will still be the fourth-best team in the Big Ten. Hello Outback Bowl.

8. Sticking with the Big Ten, it's still Buckeye dominated, but Wisconsin will go to the Rose Bowl to face USC. And then get pummeled.

9. After losing to Ohio State, USC will go on a tear and win the Pac-10 without much trouble, except for...

10. Circle October 11 on your calendar. Arizona State at USC will be a must-see, and Rudy Carpenter will do whatever he can to win the game. However, it won't be enough.

11. Jake Locker will be first-team All-Pac-10 in leading the Washington Huskies to their first bowl game in five years—and saving Ty Willingham's job.

12. The Big 12 North will not be as good as last year, and it won't be as competitive as the South.

13. Kansas will fall back down to earth with a tougher schedule. Expect losses at South Florida and Oklahoma, at home against Texas Tech and Texas, and against Mizzou.

14. The Big 12 South title will not come down to the winner of Texas-Oklahoma, but from the winner of the Oklahoma-Texas Tech game.

15. Missouri-Texas Tech will be the most exciting Big 12 championship game in a long time.

16. No Rich Rod means no problem for the Mountaineers. Expect them to take the Big East crown without much competition.

17a. A win over West Virginia in the last week of the season is nice, but it doesn't mean that all of your problems will be solved. Yes, I'm talking about you, Pitt Panthers. You still went 5-7 and lost three O-Linemen, including your All-Conference left tackle.

17b. Don't expect Pitt to be in the Top 25 at the end of the season. They will be only the fourth-best team in the Big East after the aforementioned Mountaineers, South Florida, and Rutgers.

18. It's going to take a while before Louisville reaches national prominence again. This year is the start of the rebuilding process. Translation: 5-7 record.

19. This is the year for Clemson to finally break through and win the ACC. If they can't even reach the championship game, Tommy Bowden will be shown the door.

20. The ACC Coastal Divison is Virginia Tech's to lose. In fact, don't be surprised if they have only one loss at season's end.

21. Besides Clemson and Va. Tech, don't expect any other ACC team to make much noise this year.

(21 1/2. I wish I could write more about the ACC, but it's the most boring conference this year.)

22. As I mentioned before, the SEC will beat each other up until no team is in position to go to the national title game.

23. Georgia will lose at least one game. Don't be surprised if they lose two. Against Florida and at Auburn are good bets.

24. Florida will start 2-0 and then be knocked out by Tennessee in Knoxville on September 20. The October 25 game against Kentucky (one week before the Georgia game) will give the Gators all they can handle.

25. A two-loss Auburn team will face and beat a one-loss Florida team in the SEC championship game.

26. No non-BCS team will crash the BCS bowls. Unfortunately.

27. BYU will lose at TCU, Boise State will lose at Oregon, and Fresno State will lose at Boise.

28. Fresno State at Boise State will be the best non-BCS conference game. Hey, you can't beat the blue turf.

29. Think Hawaii will fall off the map? Well, they will, but it's not like they will be horrible. Expect the Warriors to win at least seven games during the regular season and beat a mediocre Pac-10 team in the Hawaii Bowl.

30. This year will not have nearly as many upsets as last year, but in no way will it be less exciting.

MLB Rumor Mill: Who's Going Where?

Gustavo Destro — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:26:19 -0400

With the deal that sent C.C. Sabathia to Milwaukee becoming official today, the MLB's trade season is officially underway.

Now teams that had their eyes on the big lefty will go to their plan B and much can happen until the official deadline, July 31st.

Here are some of the more prominent rumors flying out there.

Rich Harden in the Cubs' sights.

Having lost on the Sabathia sweepstakes to a division rival will make Cubs GM Jim Hendry work much harder to try and improve his pitching rotation in anticipation of a late season dogfight against the Cardinals and Brewers.

The biggest name thrown out there is Rich Harden. The hard throwing Canadian has had a great year (when he can stay away from the DL) and would be a great fit for the Cubs as a number two starter.

But, knowing Billy Beane, he will do everything possible to get exactly what he wants from the Cubs, so don't be surprised if a deal for Harden takes up to July 31st to be completed.

Brian Fuentes is a hot name out there.

Current Rockies' closer Brian Fuentes is being coveted by many teams, most notably, the Red Sox, Cardinals, Cubs, A's, and Yankees. But the team that is making the stronger push to land the 32-year-old reliever is the best team in baseball, the Rays.

The Rays wonder if Troy Percival, who has done a great job during the first half, will hold up through the stretch run. If he can't, then the Rays don't want to be stuck with a closer-by-committee situation, so expect them to push hard to land Fuentes.

The Red Sox are at a crossroads.

The Red Sox want to catch the Rays this year, but at the same time know that this is a young Rays team, and the Sox are no fountain of youth.

With David Ortiz's injury apparently more serious than expected, the Sox are keeping a close eye on Mark Teixeira, who is rumored to be available in the market.

Also, with the bullpen being wildly inconsistent (translation: not good), the Red Sox have their eyes on possible trades with the Pittsburgh Pirates for Damaso Marte and for the aforementioned Brian Fuentes.

The Phils are desperate.

The Philadelphia Phillies wanted Sabathia really bad. Now that he is headed to Milwaukee, the Phillies are putting plan B into action: Eric Bedard.

With the Phillies as the favorites to win the NL East, they know that they need more starting pitching to go along with their great bullpen. Combine that with the fact that the Mariners are headed for a fire sale, Bedard could very likely be headed back east to help the Phils' playoff push.

Rockies are shopping around.

Word is that the Rockies are looking to trade a few players, most notably Yorvit Torrealba, Scott Podsednik, and Willy Taveras.

Florida is interested in all of these players, and since the Rockies have a young catcher emerging (Chris Iannetta) and a surplus of center fielders, expect some of these player to be dealt away.

The Cardinals have also kept the Rockies' phones busy, inquiring about right-hander Matt Herges, a player that would provide veteran leadership in the Cards' bullpen.

For now, these are all rumors, but don't be surprised if this trade season is a busy one.

Charlie Weis Predicts 9-12 Wins: It's Not Happening

Gustavo Destro — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:13:45 -0400

Blue and Gold Illustrated reports that Notre Dame Head Coach Charlie Weis is "privately projecting anywhere from nine to 12 victories this year."

I could spend the whole article analyzing Notre Dame's schedule, but let's cut to the chase. Notre Dame is coming off a 3-9 season. Even if Jimmy Claussen is healthy, even if the O-Line improves, and even if what went wrong last year (everything) is improved, this is not a 9-12 win season.

It's a seven win team. At best.

I'm sure Notre Dame homers will cry foul, but they should hope for seven. Because less than that will heat up Weis' seat big time.

Notre Dame has never won more than 10 games since 1993 (11), which was under Lou Holtz (Coincidentally, it was the last season Notre Dame won a bowl game).

Even with a Senior laden team in 2006 that included Brady Quinn, Jeff Samardzija, Tom Zbikowski, and Victor Abiamiri, Notre Dame won "only" 10 games.

So to predict 9-12 wins coming off the train-wreck that was last season takes a lot of guts.

It's too bad it's not realistic.

Listen, I have no problem with a coach predicting a near perfect season for his team at athletic banquets, what the heck is he supposed to say? They are going to lose nine again? The boosters need to be kept happy.

But the fact of the matter is, Irish fans shouldn't get their hopes up. They do play some cupcakes (San Diego State, North Carolina, Stanford, Washington, and Navy) but don't expect this team to reach a New Year's Day bowl game.

If the Irish win seven or even eight games, they should be very happy with their season. Just don't expect them to enter the L.A. Coliseum on November 29th with a 11-0 record.

College Football: 2008 Top 10 Wide Receivers

Gustavo Destro — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 12:24:32 -0400

This is Part Two of a series ranking the country's best players by position. You can read Part One here.

College Football is a great little machine. No matter the year, you are sure that great players will have great seasons—and no matter the position, there will always be a discussion on which player is better.

This year's Wide Receiver class is not as deep as previous years, but it is filled with underclassmen that will become household names by the end of the season, if they're not already.

So without further ado, here it goes.

1. Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech

Only a redshirt freshman last year, Crabtree had the best season ever by a freshman WR—134 catches, 1,962 yards and 22 touchdown receptions.

With his partner in crime, QB Graham Harrell, also back this year, expect Crabtree to have as good a year as last.

If he does, it might be his last season in Lubbock.

2. Percy Harvin, Florida

The other half of Florida's dynamic duo.

A true playmaker if there ever was one, Harvin can do it all, from catching (59 receptions, 858 yards, and four TDs) to running (764 rush yards, six rush TDs). His ability to line up anywhere from sideline to sideline makes him a nightmare for opposing defenses.

Expect Harvin to do much of the same this year, as Florida has a team good enough to play for the SEC title. His team's success will help with his exposure.

3. Jeremy Maclin, Missouri

Another young gun that had a superb freshman year. Maclin returns as QB Chase Daniel's primary target. Therefore, expect his already lofty stats (80 receptions, 1,055 yards, nine TDs) to increase even more.

Maclin's 2,776 all-purpose yards shows what really makes him special. He can return punts, kickoffs, and run, all in addition to catching passes in Missouri's spread offense.

If not for Crabtree, Maclin would be the best receiver in his conference. Unfortunately for him, he will have to settle for second in the Big 12, and third on this list.

4. Juaquin Iglesias, Oklahoma

Quick question—who was Oklahoma's leading receiver last year?

If you answered Malcolm Kelly, sorry, wrong. Iglesias' 68 receptions for 907 yards and five TDs led the Sooners. With Kelly now a Washington Redskin, Iglesias' stats will be even better.

And with Sam Bradford boasting a full year under his belt, expect Iglesias to lay his claim to the title of best senior WR.

5. Jarett Dillard, Rice

The best receiver few people have heard of. Since he plays for the Rice Owls (3-9 last year), his accomplishments are not as well-published as Crabtree or Harvin.

But Dillard's numbers are as good as any. His 2007 numbers (79 receptions 1,057 yards and 14 TDs) are not even as good as his 2006 ones (91 receptions, 1,247 yards, and 21 TDs).

The reason? A new offensive coordinator and a new offensive scheme meant a learning curve that compromised Dillard's early season stats.

He played better late in the season. This year, without having to learn a new offensive scheme, expect Dillard to play like his 2006 self.

Rounding out the top 10:

6. Arrelious Benn, Illinois

7. Mike Thomas, Arizona

8. Tiquan Underwood, Rutgers

9. Brian Robiskie, Ohio State

10. Julio Jones, Alabama

Disagree? Was your favourite wide receiver not on the list? Think player X was too high or too low? Well, the comment box is made for you.

Let the discussion begin.

Why Federer-Nadal Pt. Three Is A Must See

Gustavo Destro — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 09:18:27 -0400

On Sunday, the two most dominant players of this generation will face each other in what promises to be a clash of titans.

And, no, I'm not talking about Wakefield-Chamberlain on Sunday Night Baseball.

This year's Wimbledon final comes at a crossroads of the sport. The giant that has dominated all for the past 5 years (sans clay courts) will face his longtime nemesis amid speculation that his greatness is fading by the minute.

Roger Federer has known nothing but success through the last five years, winning 12 majors since his first at Wimbeldon in 2003. He has racked up 5 straight titles at the All England Club, four straight US Opens, dating back to 2004 and has won 3 Australian Open titles.

Federer's only blemish is on the surface in which his greater rival is the most successful—clay. Federer has reached the French Open finals the last three years, only to be beaten by Nadal, including a 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 loss this year.

If Federer does indeed win his sixth straight Wimbledon trophy, he will put the critics that say he's not as dominant as in the past at bay, for the moment, and will move one major title closer to Pete Sampras' 14.

If he falters, however, the questions will pour in and the critics will come out in full force. They will ask how he could lose in the surface he is most comfortable with to a player who had never won a grass court title until two weeks ago.

Rafael Nadal, the longtime arch-rival and even longer No. 2 in the world is desperate to ditch the clay court specialist moniker. His ranking goes hand in hand with his inability to win a title outside of Paris, being beaten by Federer in the past two Wimbledon finals (he has never reached the finals in a hard court major). He has, however, played extremely well during this grass court season.

If Nadal comes through and wins his first major that is not played on clay, he will finally silence whoever talks about how he is a one trick pony made only to win on clay courts and will remove the monkey off his back. Also, he will creep closer to the stanglehold that is Federer's No. 1 ranking.

However, if he again falls short, the label of clay court specialist will become even stronger and his continuous struggle to catch Federer will extend for another year (Nadal is notoriously ineffective at hard courts and is not likely to win the US Open).

Both players have so much to gain if they win and so much to lose if they are defeated that Sunday's match will likely be the hardest fought meeting between the two long time rivals.

So, if you want to see the two best tennis players of this generation play in what promises to be a must-see match that will define the near future of tennis, tune in at 7 am ET. And yes, the start time is a hassle, but do yourself a favour and TiVo or record the match.

Because this one is a must-see!

Red Sox-Yankees: John Lester Goes Nine Strong

Gustavo Destro — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 17:15:15 -0400

If you told me at the beginning of the season that Jon Lester would be the Red Sox's best pitcher, I would have been a bit skeptical.

Listen, I love Lester. The way he came back from cancer to pitch less than a year after being diagnosed shows what kind of man he is. His no-hitter earlier this year was superb. But there is no way I would have guessed he would be the first-half ace of the rotation.

Now, all I have to say is, "Thank God for Jon Lester."

After a series against the Rays in which the Sox's bullpen looked so awful I was starting to think that letting Julian Tavarez go was a bad idea, a series against a New York team that had just scored 18 runs the night before was giving me chills.

So, what does Jon Lester (7-3) do in his first start at Yankee Stadium? He keeps the Yankee bats at bay, yielding only five hits in a complete-game shutout masterpiece.

How important was Lester's performance for the Red Sox?

It stopped a five-game losing streak and gave a shaky bullpen some rest (much needed, I might add). It also helped the Sox gain a half-game over the Rays lead, as the team from Tampa was idle Thursday night.

The offense did their part, chasing Yankee starter Andy Pettitte (9-6) after only 4.2 innings. They collected nine hits and six runs (five earned) off the Yankee pitcher.

Tomorrow, in the second game of this four-game set, the Sox send Josh Beckett to the mound, and the ace will be countered by Darrell Rasner, a pitcher that has struggled in his last couple of outings.

College Football Pre-Season: 2008 Top 10 Running Backs

Gustavo Destro — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 17:47:22 -0400

College Football is a great little machine. No matter the year, you are sure that great players will have great seasons and no matter the position, there will always be a discussion on which player is better.

Even with the loss of players such as Darren McFadden, Steve Slaton, Ray Rice, and Mike Hart, 2008 has as good a crop of running backs as any year this decade.

So, without further ado, here it goes:

1. Chris 'Beanie' Wells, Ohio State

With all the hate that Ohio State receives every year, one thing nobody can question is the amount of talent the Buckeyes produce every year and Beanie is a prime example.

Even with a couple of nagging injuries all throughout last year, he still rushed for over 1,600 yards and scored fifteen touchdowns.

Now, healthy entering the season, and running behind an O-line that returns four starters and plugs in the best OL prospect (Mike Adams) at Right Tackle, expect Beanie to run for over 1800 yards and help Ohio State win another Big 10 title.

2. Ian Johnson, Boise St.

Injuries slowed Johnson down last year (207 carries, down from 276 in 2006) and limited him to 1,041 yards rushing (he did score 16 TDs).

But expect Johnson to have another great year for a team that is good enough to crash the BCS party for the second time in three years.

The only thing that could diminish Johnson's production, besides injuries, is the fact that Boise St. has tremendous depth at the running back position and if his coaches choose to, Johnson could see limited touches early on in the season.

3. Knowshown Moreno

From being a complete unknown to a household name.

That's the easiest way to describe Moreno's season, and he did most of the damage in the second half of the year. After only one 100-yard performance in the first six games of the season (15 carries/game), Moreno exploded for five 100-yard games and 11 TDs in the final seven (23 carries/game).

With a five game stretch that saw him run for 157, 188, 196, 101, 124 yards Moreno finished strong.

If Moreno plays like he did for the second-half of the '07 season, expect him to get an invite to NYC.

4. DeMarco Murray, Oklahoma

I am still not sold on Oklahoma as the class of the Big 12, but I am sure Murray will take that Conference by storm and keep many defensive coordinators awake at night.

He showed what he could do last year before injuring his knee with two games remaining in the regular season by scoring 13 rushing touchdowns in only 127 carries (1 TD per 9.7 carries) and also returned two kickoff for touchdowns.

With Allen Patrick graduating, Murray will have plenty more touches and, barring any injuries, will definitely eclipse 1,000 yards.

5. Noel Devine, West Virginia

Even in his first year, while splitting carries with Pat White and Steve Slaton, Devine still managed to run for 627 yards and 6 TDs.

His big-play ability is undeniable (8.6 yard per carry) and with more touches this year, Devine will create many more highlights and will more than likely surpass 1,000 yard and even with White cutting into his touchdown count, 10 TDs is a very realistic number.

New Head Coach Bill Stewart will employ a spread option offence just like Rich Rodriguez, so Devine will still have the ability to make plays in space, just the way he likes it.

Rounding out the Top 10:

6. PJ Hill, Wisconsin

7. CJ Spiller, Clemson

8. LeSean McCoy

9. Darrell Scott

10. Joe McKnight

Disagree? Was your favourite running back not on the list? Was player X too high or too low? Well, the comment box is made for you.

Let the discussion begin.

My Town Rocks: Port Coquitlam, British Columbia

Gustavo Destro — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 20:35:29 -0400

(Writer's note: I am having some problems with my computer, but as soon as I can I will upload a picture.)

Why does my town rock? Let's begin with sports (since this is a sports website, duh!).

Port Coquitlam is about a one-hour drive from Vancouver, BC. That gives us a chance to watch the Vancouver Canucks (unfortunately), the Vancouver Giants (the WHL hockey team that is actually better than the NHL team, go figure), the BC Lions (Canadian Football League), the Vancouver Whitecaps (Soccer), and the Vancouver Canadians (Short season Single-A baseball, Oakland A's minor league team).

But that's Vancouver, the big city—we're the small city that nobody knows until we say, "It's close to Vancouver."

PoCo, as we're known, has a rich sports history, most coming from Terry Fox Secondary School, my current stomping grounds.

We are a public school, so as far as money going into the athletics department, we cannot compete with private schools. That's not an excuse—it just makes our achievements sweeter.

1989 marked the school's first Provincial Title (in Canada we have provinces, not states; just clearing that up) when the Football team went 12-1 and beat Handsworth (private school) in the finals.

The school's first two basketball titles came in back-to-back fashion, 1992-93 and 1993-94. The 1994 Team became only the fifth team in the 60-year history of B.C. High School Boys’ Basketball to win back-to-back Provincial titles.

This Raven team had an incredible year as they compiled a 40-2 overall record, going undefeated in the toughest league in the Province.

Both teams were inducted into the Terry Fox Secondary Wall of Fame in 2005.

However, if you thought this was Terry Fox Secondary's golden age of athletics, you would be wrong.

In 2006 the football team won both the Varsity and Junior Varsity titles (the first time by a public school, take that private schools!). The following year, the JV team made it back-to-back and the Varsity team made it to the Provincial semi-finals.

In 2008, the Varsity team is ranked No. 1 in the preseason polls, and the JV team will again be very good.

Terry Fox Secondary also has titles in competitions that do not have a provincial final. Tennis, Rugby, and Swimming teams (among others) have collected many District titles over the years.

Terry Fox Secondary has many famous alumni: Bret Anderson (BC Lions slotback), Chris Szarka (Saskatchewan Roughriders Fullback), Jamall Lee (Quebec University Football League most valuable player and a first-team All-Canadian), and Constantine Kudaba (2008 Olympic Canadian Water Polo Team Member).

But Terry Fox's greatest alum is the man who has his name on the front of the school—Terry Fox. If you don't know who Terry Fox is, educate yourself.

His story is too important and complex to squeeze into the middle of this article.

Our city also has many reasons why it rocks besides sports.

Our mayor is a convict. Not a joke.

Our most famous "citizen" is a convict. Not a joke.

No wonder some people call it Pocompton.

We have quite a few Facebook groups dedicated to the city. From the one above (Pocompton 4 life), to PoCo Pride!, this one, and a few others dedicated to the aforementioned Terry Fox Secondary, You know you go to Terry Fox... is the best one.

My town is divided in two (Chi-town style). Northside (my area) and Southside. And believe me, people start fights over it. All the time.

So this is my town, kind of crazy and out of place, just like its citizens.

I hope you enjoyed the little "virtual tour," and if you ever come to the Vancouver area, don't hesitate and visit.

P.S.: If you do ever stop by and talk to a PoCo resident, don't ever say "Port Coquitlam, Coquitlam, whatever, it's all the same." It's not gonna end well for you.

College Football: The History and Evolution of the Spread Offense

Gustavo Destro — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 10:41:18 -0400

Once obscure and mysterious, the spread offense has become a staple of Saturday afternoons, with more and more coaches changing their playbooks to a variation of the spread.

But it is still as mystifying and misunderstood as it was a decade ago. To understand the spread, you must understand its beginnings and how it became the monster it is today.

The first spread offense doesn't look "spread" at first glance, but the Triple Option is considered the earliest form of a spread attack.

Used since the early 1900s, the triple option was the favorite offense of the early part of the past century, with such powerhouses as Navy and Notre Dame using it as their playbook.

The Triple Option has its name because of the three possibilities in one play. The Quarterback has to read the defense both pre- and post-snap and decide which option is the best depending on the defensive alignment.

This play is from the University of Houston's playbook during the 1960s, from coach Bill Yeoman's tenure, and it's called the Houston Veer, one of the variations of the Triple Option.

As the ball is snapped, the fullback (back to the right of the QB) goes straight through the 4 hole (between the Guard and Tackle). The Quarterback's job is to read the Defensive tackle (T). If he goes straight downfield, the QB gives the ball to Fullback and now fakes the option to the Halfback.

The FB is now one-on-one with either a safety or a linebacker and the play has a great chance of gaining at least four yards (Option 1).

However, if the Defensive Tackle goes inside, squeezing to the 4 hole, the QB fakes the handoff and keeps the ball. Now he has another read to make. The Defensive End on the Tight End side is not blocked and the QB's job is to read him.

If he takes away the option man (The Halfback), the QB keeps the ball and runs downfield. If the first fake was convincing, the linebackers will jump the FB's run and the QB may have open field to run (Option 2).

The third Option is used when the DE squeezes down and takes away the QB's running lane. The QB then pitches the ball to the HB, who now has blockers downfield and a chance to break open a big run (Option 3).

As you can see, all three options, if executed to perfection, lead to big gains of yardage. But the Triple Option is one of the most complicated offenses to run. It takes time and the right personnel to run it, and the defense doesn't always play it the way the offense wants it to, leading to much confusion in the backfield.

While the Triple Option diminished in users, it was still very successful during the '80s and early '90s (See: Nebraska Cornhuskers, Oklahoma Sooners). But more teams started to adopt the West Coast Offense during that time period, and the Triple-Option became less of a common formation. It is used nowadays only by the Air Force Academy, Georgia Tech, and Navy.

During the 1970s, another unorthodox formation surfaced. The Run and Shoot was popularized by head coach Darrel "Mouse" Davis at Portland State University.

The formation started during the early '50s when Coach Glenn "Tiger" Ellison used a balanced formation that had the QB under center, a single Running Back, two Wide Receivers, and two tight slotbacks. The Quarterback usually rolled out, and the tight Slotback to the roll-out side stayed to block.

The formation, as you can see, is still not spread the way the Run and Shoot is run nowadays, but what made the formation so unique was that it counted on the QB and the WRs reading the defense both pre and post-snap. Sound familiar?

As the offense evolved, the receivers started going out wide and the formation became more spread out and complex.

As you can see, the Run and Shoot is unique—now not only does the QB have to read the play, but the receivers do too. The receivers are taught to read the defense, find the open area (if it's a zone coverage), and trust that the QB made the same read.

Now the read must be of the defensive coverage and not of the defensive linemen. There is motion pre-snap in almost every play, mostly to help the offensive players read the defense.

June Jones' offense that took Hawaii to the Sugar Bowl is very similar to Mouse Davis' playbook used in Portland State back in the '70s.

The Run and Shoot is often criticized because it is one-dimensional. If the opposing team is able to stop the passing game, which is a tough task, the running game is usually ineffective. Also, without a Tight End and Running Backs, the Quarterback is vulnerable to blitzes and pressure.

All this brings us to the Spread offense which we see nowadays. For starters, it should not be called just the Spread Offense, but the Spread Option Offense—as the name suggests, it incorporates features from the Option offense (QB reads, option pitches) with some features of the Run and Shoot offense (Shotgun formation, QB rolling out).

Both Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez and former Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder developed it during the mid '90s, and both deserve credit for developing the offense as we know it now.

However, the Spread Option really made a splash when Vince Young and the Texas Longhorns won the national championship using a spread option offense successfully against the juggernaut that was the USC defence.

Coincidentally (or was it?) during the same season, the Utah Utes went undefeated, led by head coach Urban Meyer's spread option offense, which was based on Rich Rodriguez's spread option offense run at West Virginia.

Meyer then led Florida to a national title in just his second year, using freshman QB Tim Tebow in Spread Option plays with much success.

After all I've written about both the Option offense and the Run and Shoot, a video explaining how the Spread Option Offense works is worth a thousand words. (Note the similarities to both the Option and the Run and Shoot.)

Expect the Spread Option offense to become even more popular, as recruits are getting faster, and more and more high schools are turning to a variation of the spread. Using the Spread option is a great recruiting tool for coaches nowadays.

Also, new teams are adopting it every year. Michigan, Auburn, and (when Terrelle Pryor takes over full time) Ohio State are teams that are changing to this new, exciting, and beautiful offense.

The Spread Option is here to stay and will keep creating highlights for years to come.

Ohio State Football: 2008 Schedule analysis

Gustavo Destro — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 18:57:20 -0400

After two years of coming one win away from the ultimate goal, the Buckeyes come into 2008 with as good a chance of winning it all as any other team in the country.

The road to Miami will not be easy, despite what people say about the Big 10, plus an early-season showdown with USC will determine how the rest of the year is played out.

August 30th—Yougstown State

Jim Tressel's old team comes to the horseshoe and leaves wishing they still had the sweater vest on their sidelines.

Beanie and Laurinatis have big games and the Buckeye crowd has a glimpse of the future as Terrelle Pryor plays the whole fourth quarter.

W 55-3

September 6th—Ohio University

A trap game. If the Buckeyes look past this MAC opponent they will have some problems, I don't see them losing, but a flat performance will not be good the week before going to the West Coast.

Tressel knows better, his team is known for not underestimating opponents so a loss is very unlikely.

W 41-10

September 13th—At USC

Early Game of the Year, It's the two best coaches of the decade against each other in what promises to be a very closely contested game.

Both teams have proven players on both sides of the ball and whoever wins is on the high road to Miami.

W - If running game can be established and Defence stops Mark Sanchez.

L - If Boeckman doesn't play well and commits turnovers and the defence gives up big plays.

My pick: W 27-21

September 20th—Troy

Troy better hope OSU wins against the Trojans, otherwise, they'll have to face a very mad Buckeye squad that will be looking to take it out on someone.

Defence has to be aware of Troy's spread offence though.

W 39-17

September 27th—Minnesota

Minnesota went 0-8 in conference play last year, and although I admit they will be improved this year, I don't see this one being close, plus I honestly don't know the last time the Gophers won in Columbus.

Wait for it, Googling...

Wikipedia...

Can't find it. It must've been a while back.

W 35-7

October 4th—At Wisconsin

Big time game, the winner of this game will most likely win the conference (Sorry Michigan...not really).

Jake Ikegwuonu's decision to leave for the NFL is good news for Ohio State's passing game.

The true test will be if the Buck's D can hold P.J. Hill and Wisconsin's offence at bay. If so a win is assured.

W - If passing game is effective and D stops Wisconsin's run

L - If Wisconsin is able to stop Beanie and the passing game isn't effective.

My pick: W 24-17

October 11th—Purdue

The team that no one is talking about that can actually make some noise.

I have Purdue as the third best team in the Big Ten (More in my Big Ten Preview in a couple of weeks) and they can cause some problems for the Buckeyes D.

Considering their problems trying to defend the Spread in the last few years, the Bucks better prepare for a tough game.

W 33-29

October 11th—At Michigan St.

Michigan St. is the kind of team that has the potential but never fulfills it (See: Clemson) and they appear to have the most heart-wrenching losses at home (See: Notre Dame game two years ago), so expect the Buckeyes to have some trouble and for this to be a close game.

Until the fourth quarter, when the Bucks pull away and make this game seem easier than it was.

W 28-17

October 25th—Penn State

Last year, the Penn State game was supposed to be a true test to Ohio State, they won 37-17 at Happy Valley.

Expect the same this year as PSU will come in with only one or two losses and expect the result to be similar.

W 37-14

November 8th—At Northwestern

Nothing against Northwestern but this is a good game to have before Illinois.

The Wildcats have a good enough offence but nothing spectacular that will have Laurinatis and company running circles.

A good game to build a lead and rest starters, and what that means? More Terrelle Pryor.

W 42-10

November 15th—At Illinois

As a high school football player, I gotta say, I love revenge games.

You watch the film from the previous year and all those feelings you had after the game come right back, you turn that into motivation and that means problem for the other team.

No matter what the players say, they remember last year, how Illinois ran through, around and over them. Expect the Bucks to return the favor this year.

W 33 - 21

November 22nd—Michigan

Rich Rod's first taste of The Big Game, and as far as I'm concerned, Jim Tressel isn't one for warm welcomes.

By now, Michigan will either have the playbook all figured out or I will feel really sorry for whoever the Michigan QB is.

Either way, Rich Rod will exit the 'Shoe with chants of "four in a row" coming from the stands.

W 29-17

With a couple of swing games, the 2008 season could go two ways:

Best case scenario: 12-0, everything goes smooth and they punch a ticket to Miami.

Worst case scenario: 8-4, with losses to USC, Purdue, Wisconsin and Penn St.

Don't expect this though, this team is too good to lose four games, and they still beat Michigan.

Red Sox: A Farewell to Curt Schilling

Gustavo Destro — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 15:09:26 -0400

As you know by now, Curt Schilling may have thrown his last pitch.

Oh, but what a career it was.

I could detail every great accomplishment of his 19-year career, but that would take an eternity. So I will cut it down to what he meant to me.

I became a fan of Schilling November 4, 2001: the day he went toe-to-toe with Roger Clemens during Game Seven of the '01 World Series. Even though he didn't get the win, the way he pitched made me think "Damn, why don't the Sox get someone like him? That way we can actually win a title."

It took another three years, but it became a reality; in November, 2003, Schilling was traded to Boston for...can't remember. What a bargain.

There was nothing Schilling didn't do that year. He went 21-6 with a 3.36 ERA, dominated the Yankees during the regular season, and, going into the playoffs, everything seemed to be going smoothly.

Until Game One of the ALDS, when Schilling injured his right ankle fielding a slow ground ball. It didn't seem serious at the time, so Terry Francona penciled Schilling as the ALCS's Game One starter.

The entirety of the injury wasn't disclosed until after Game One, and, by then, only a fool would think Schilling was 100 percent. The Yankees scored six runs off him in five innings, and now it was doubtful if he would pitch again that postseason.

As the Sox sank, so did I, nearly giving up hope before I watched as they climbed from the 0-3 hole to force a Game Six in the Bronx. And then came the most courageous performance in Red Sox history.

A day before Game Six, Schilling had the skin around the tendon sutured to the deep tissue, creating a sheath to hopefully hold the tendon in place.

As Schilling warmed-up, some of the sutures on the skin began to rupture and crimson blood began to show from the white sock. The sutures on the tendon, however, held on, and Schilling regained both command and velocity and went on to pitch the most important game of his Red Sox career.

The true Red Sock.

What happened afterward is history: The Sox win Game Seven, win the World Series and Schilling fulfills the promise of bringing a ring to the Beantown team.

If the story ended there, it would be a heck of a story. But it didn't.

Schilling spent most of the first half of the '05 season repairing the same injured ankle and even spent some time as the Red Sox closer. When he made it made back to the rotation, he struggled, and the Red Sox were knocked out of the playoffs by the Chicago White Sox.

The following season meant a new beginning. A healthy beginning.

Schill went 15-7 with 3.97 ERA, but what stood out were his milestones during that season.

He won his 200th career game (May 27), started his 400th career game (July 9) and recorded his 3000th strikeout (Aug. 10) but the Red Sox did not make the playoffs, which caused some people to overlook Schilling's great year.

The 2007 season was filled with ups and downs: A near no-hitter (one batter away) and a trip to the DL all marked a regular season which saw the Sox finish first in the AL East for the first time since 1995.

During the playoffs, Schilling continued his postseason success, winning a game in all three series, including Game Two of the World Series, which the Sox eventually won in four games.

The news that Schill may be done for his career saddens me, but isn't a real surprise; after the age of 40 a player's body can't handle the same physical toll without breaking down (unless you have some "help," right Rocket?).

For all the memories and great times, winning the World Series rings and being a great guy and an even better player, I know I speak for all of Red Sox Nation when I say, from the bottom of my heart:

Thank you Curt.

Ryan Leaf, Michael Vick, Merging, and the Tuck: Top Four NFL "What If?"s

Gustavo Destro — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 13:01:46 -0400

A few buddies and I were contemplating a bunch of "what ifs" the other day, ranging from the NFL to the NBA and beyond. Because of that discussion, I decided to rank the top four "what ifs" in NFL history.

So, with that said, here it goes:

4. What if the NFL and AFL had not merged?

This may seem a bit odd since I believe that sooner or later they would have to join forces and create the mega-league we know today as the NFL.

But imagine if both leagues were still taking shots at each other. It is safe to say that pro football may not have been the No. 1 sport in America and both leagues would be fighting with each other for players, money, and fans.

The draft would not even exist, players would come out of college and a furious bidding war would ensue between teams of both leagues.

Just imagine how many scandals could happened with such a format. If players get money while in college nowadays with the system that is in place, how bad would thing be in a two league system?

In sum, picture the NFL as we know today, but divide it in two and add some good old fashioned hatred between the two leagues and you'll have an answer.

3. What if Ryan Leaf wasn't a bust?

Before you dismiss this as a dumb "what if," consider the ripple effect that Leaf's implosion had on the league, we feel it today in the form of the best running back in the league.

Consider this. If Leaf was even somewhat successful, San Diego would not have the No. 1 pick in the 2002 draft and would not have traded with Atlanta and selected LaDanian Tomlinson with the fifth selection.

LT would end up somewhere else and possibly without the type of career he's had so far.

Marty Shottenheimer would not have come to San Diego and neither would Drew Brees, and the Chargers we know today would be completely different.

All if one guy played better.

2. What if Michael Vick wasn't so stupid?

This is tied up with the previous "what if", since Atlanta only had the first overall pick after a trade with San Diego. If Leaf played better, Atlanta might not be able to trade the pick with whoever owned the first selection meaning no Mike Vick in Atlanta.

And since Atlanta is close to Vick's home in Virginia, playing further away would maybe diminish his "contact" with the dogs.

But that's only half the solution. Even if he was with Atlanta, he just had to think along the lines of "You know what? I'll not risk my career over some stupid and petty thing like dogfighting" and his career would continue, fans would still come and watch him every Sunday, and Atlanta wouldn't be the mess they are now.

1. What if Brady's tuck was called a fumble?

This is the BIG ONE! with capital letters, that's how big it is.

Just consider for a second if the Patriots lose that game. Everything, and I mean everything, that we know now in the NFL is thrown out the window.

If the Pats lose, Oakland goes on to the Super Bowl and if they lose, we would be talking about the Rams' dynasty.

If Jon Gruden wins that game, maybe he stays in Oakland, and the Bucs don't win the title the next year. Who would? The Rams would be a good bet.

If the Pats lose, Bill Belichick is still a good-but-not-great coach, heck, Spygate wouldn't be such a big deal, and all his assistants (Weis, Crennel, Mangini) wouldn't be so coveted for head-coaching jobs.

And then there's the would-be golden boy Tom Brady. If the Pats lose that game, Brady would be vilified as the guy who gave the game away. The next year would bring a quarterback battle in training camp between Brady and Bledsoe.

And if Brady lost that battle, who knows, he could be a journeyman QB playing for his third team in four years by 2008.

Only "if".

And if you have one that you feel is better than any of these, feel free to comment.

NBA Finals: Celtics Bring the Trophy Back to Boston

Gustavo Destro — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 17:40:44 -0400

That took a while.

After 22 years of relative misery, the Boston Celtics can once again claim to be the champions of the basketball world.

It was a series to remember, arguably the best finals post-Jordan. Even though the series was already 2-0 after two games, you can never count Kobe out. After Game Three, some people thought the series was up for grabs.

But a historic comeback by Boston in Game Four and a shaky performance by the Lakers in Game Five foreshadowed a Game Six that turned into be a cakewalk.

The Celtics did not break a sweat in demolishing the Lakers 131-92 to pop the champagne in the Garden for the first time in two decades.

Here are a few thing that I'll remember from this series:

Kevin Garnett finally gets his ring

After what felt like an eternity in Minnesota playing for a mediocre team, KG finally goes the distance. If it wasn't for Garnett, the Celtics wouldn't be where they are right now. Garnett was the key to the greatest turnaround in NBA history and the Celts' rise back to the top. He was the glue that kept this team together.

Paul pierce gets his due

After suffering through the worst seasons a pro athlete could endure the past two years, Pierce is rewarded for keeping his mouth shut. Never in the last last couple of years did he "Pull a Kobe" and make a fuss about being on a crappy team. Without his play, the Celtics would not have gone this far and definitely would not be able to hoist a 17th banner.

Doc Rivers becomes the hero (kinda)

After being ridiculed day in and day out by the Boston media (Yes, I'm looking at you Bill Simmons) Doc Rivers now can say that he outcoached the Zen Master in a Finals series. He did not mess it up and never did something that would jeopardize the championship. He inspired his players to always keep fighting—and that caused the big Game Four turnaround that put Boston in control of the series.

Rondo answers his critics

Coming into the season, the play of Rajon Rondo was the main factor in whether or not the Big Three could go all the way. He did not disappoint, having a great season and playing great basketball during the playoffs. He never seemed rattled and never tried to do too much. His great floor vision ensured that a team could not key in on one player, as Rondo would find the open man.

Boston's Band Of Brothers

That's how I call all the role players of Boston's title team, and I knew none of them before except for Sam Cassell. From Eddie House, to James Posey, to Glenn Davis and all the others, all contributed and performed the role they had to without complaining, all with one goal in mind, hoist the trophy at season's end.

For the 2007-08 Celtics it was not about the personal accolades, or the money or the fame, it was about winning it all. It was never about only "The Big Three." It was about a team, coming together as one, bonding with those 11 other players and going forward to achieve their common goal. To win a NBA title.

Mission Accomplished.

College Football: Stop Defending Your Conference

Gustavo Destro — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 18:57:33 -0400

When it comes to college football, I am as passionate as they come—so after more than a year of hearing about which conference is the strongest and all that nonsense, I couldn't take it anymore.

First of all, how someone can "root" for a conference as a whole is beyond me.

I am a fan of both USC and Ohio State, so I will always hope UCLA and Michigan lose every game—but I really don't care about any other team in the conference unless it means something for the team that I root for.

If the rest of the Pac-10 or Big 10 goes 0-for-every-game-they-play, I wouldn't even think about them if the team I root for goes undefeated.

Yes, it's easy to ignore the whole "our conference sucks" or "our conference is the best" arguments if your team is a world-beating, BCS-bound, Juggernaut of the gridiron.

The problem begins when the team you root for doesn't perform the way you hoped. Then the whining begins.

Enter the Ole Miss and Alabama fans—among others—with their petty arguments.

"If the team I root for played in (insert conference here), we would go to a New Year's Day bowl game and not go (insert bad win-loss record here)."

The truth? If your team struggled in its conference, it would struggle in any other major conference—so just drop the charade.

Your team had a bad year—get over it, focus on next year, and don't blame it on scheduling or how tough the conference is.

On any sports talk website such as this one, when this argument comes up, its biggest backers are the fans of teams that had bad years.

If the problem ended there, things wouldn't be so complicated. But wait—there's more.

As annoying as fans of bad teams are, fans of teams that "should have gone to a better bowl game" are probably worse.

Last year it seemed that half of the Top 25 was in the running for the national title game, and most fans used the argument that their conference was tougher than the other conference, or that the out-of-conference schedule of Team A was better than of Team B, and therefore Team A should go to a better bowl game.

For you BCS bashers out there, I just provided you with some more ammo for your never-ending quest for a playoff in college football (it ain't happening, but that's another article). Without "strength of schedule" and other silly calculations, fans wouldn't care for the record of the rest of the conference.

Week in and week out, fans root for other teams that their own team has played already or that they will play in following weeks because it will "make our schedule look stronger."

Others even root for their own rivals becuse the conference will look stronger.

And don't get me started on the whole "Conference A is faster than Conference B" issue—that just doesn't make sense, and you look stupid saying it.

So if you're keeping score at home—fans of good teams complain, fans of bad teams complain, and fans of "slow" teams complain.

You can see where my frustration comes from.

To try and prevent this from happening next year, I have come up with a few guidelines.

Rule #1. Worry about how your team is doing this week and let the rest of the conference worry about themselves.

Rule #2. Do not blame other teams or other conferences if the team you root for is not doing well.

Rule #3. Follow rules #1 and #2.

Simple isn't it?

So the next time someone starts going off about how their team would be much better in another conference, tell them that the 4-8 team they root for better get a new coach that can recruit—or soon they'll be playing in the Sun Belt Conference.