My Issue with College Sports

The inconsistency in college sports has been on my mind for a long time now, but with the events that transpired last night—Northern Iowa defeating powerhouse Kansas—I felt it was necessary for me to express my opinion.

Let's start with college baseball. I am a huge Florida State fan. I mean, I will paint my chest garnet and gold and scream until I lose my voice for an FSU gymnastics competition. So you can only imagine my frustration when I saw the Seminoles baseball team go into the top of the ninth inning at home against top-ranked Virginia with an 8-3 lead, only to lose the game.

Now, let me ask you this: Wouldn't you think that a five run cushion is a tough hill for any team to climb, especially since the Cavs were probably checked out of the game mentally and thought it was over?

So how is it at all possible that no one could manage to retire three batters and seal the victory?

With a team full of phenoms and future MLB stars, no one could retire the Virginia Cavaliers, who were the beneficiary of a six-run inning and came back to beat the fourth ranked Seminoles 9-8.

I love to watch all the NBA games that come on. I mostly enjoy the precision with which the players play—the smooth, smart passes and the good shot selection. Even a team like the New Jersey Nets does a great job of playing the game the way it's meant to be played. They take open jump shots, they move the ball around, and they pound the paint to open up jump shots around the perimeter.

My dilemma with college hoops is that when I see a game that doesn't feature one of the future NBA stars like Carmelo Anthony or Kevin Durant, it is like watching a team of eight-year-olds who aren't tall enough or strong enough to shoot the proper way and aren't aware enough to see the guy standing six feet away from them completely open. A prime example is when I watch the Seminoles basketball team and see their center, Solomon Alabi, who towers over his opposition at 7'1" yet settles for a hook shot.

The rule of thumb is that if you're bigger than everyone else and your arms are so long that you can dunk without leaving the ground, then you take the ball strong to the hoop and power the ball past people.

Obviously Alabi doesn't see it that way.

And how many times have we seen a guard in a college hoops game take a ridiculously long three-pointer, take a terrible contested shot, or not one be underneath the rim to box out those easy offensive rebounds?

Once you get a taste of the NBA it almost disgusts you to watch college hoops.

The only sport in the college ranks that shows even a little precision to me is college football. It seems to be the only sport in which you don't have to have a roster full of future Hall of Famers to be successful. While the game of college football isn't as fast as the NFL game or as physical as the NFL game, it's still enjoyable to watch and you can still have an absolute appreciation for the game whether you are watching the Florida Gators or Washington State Cougars.

Basketball and baseball are just too inconsistent for me because one day the Georgetown Hoyas will look like they are returning to being a powerhouse throughout college basketball and then the next day they'll lose to Ohio University.

I am so fed up with the randomness of college hoops I am tempted to start following women's college basketball. At least that way I will know what to expect and Maya Moore will give me a dosage of greatness day in and day out.

What makes it worse is that it's not like when Florida lost to Ole Miss in 2008 and then never lost a game again for the remainder of the season, in basketball it happens about once a week.

Maybe it's just me and maybe I am being a little too hard on these guys, but heck, give me a scholarship to play for UNC; I can do what they did this whole season all on my own!

But I know what will be at the top of my Christmas list for Santa this year: Just a little bit of consistency throughout college sports for the sake of the fans please!