Top Five Clever Topics For So Very Clever Guy's Girls- Week 14
As proof that my job sucks, here I am pictured with the captain of the Dallas Stars, Brenden Morrow. This was taken during the photo shoot I did for the 2011 calendar. The Stars are highly community-minded and take their charitable endeavors very seriously. All proceeds from the calendar go to the Dallas Stars Foundation. To purchase one for every person you know go to www.nhl.dallasstars.com.
OK, onward. I missed week 13 due to turkey induced coma and subsequent haze, so here we are, my Top Five Clever Topics for So Very Clever Guy's Girls to bat around this weekend during the year's final weekend (sniff) of college football.
Don't forget, for more So Very Clever commentary and sports commentary go to www.soveryclever.com, and if you are interested in checking out my fiction www.lidestrigriffin.com. The first novel comes out in 13 days. Sounds like a horror film—13 days.
It's Championship Time. Will There Be Any Upsets?
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The SEC Championship game will take place and pit Auburn against South Carolina. Let me tell you, controversy is still brewing. I know a lot of higher-ups who will be rooting for South Carolina in this and I have to say I’m with them. More about Cam Newton and Auburn later.
The Big 12 Championship game will take place at the Cowboy Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and I so wish I could be there, however, I have to photograph a wedding and I am still not sure who sanctioned weddings on Saturdays between the months of September and December. Criminal, if you ask me.
I’m looking for a Nebraska upset over OU. For one thing, I am not an OU fan; for another, Nebraska is Big 10 next year and I need to start supporting them. The PAC-10 is featuring Oregon and Oregon State—a rivalry for sure, but we all know who will come out of that one on top.
Who Are The Champions, and How Long Is Harbaugh Going to Play Coy?
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As far as who has already been named champion, Wisconsin won the Big 10 and TCU finished on top of the WAC. Am I disappointed? You bet. I am always disappointed when University of Michigan is not the Big 10 Champion, however, I have been at an emotional crossroads for quite some time.
A losing season would have guaranteed RichRod’s departure from Ann Arbor, suddenly we are bowl eligible and some think that will buy him one more year. Here is the frightening scenario I see coming together.
Harbaugh wants to play coy and see if he can’t surmount the poor attendance issues at Stanford and turn them into a national championship team. If he does that, UM will keep RichRod for one more year and finish out his contract. However, if Harbaugh accepts what will be a highly lucrative offer to coach the Wolverines, RichRod will be sent packing and I don’t see another head coaching position in college for at least a year.
Will Stanford Pay The Price With The BCS For Lazy Fans? Maybe
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Bowl selections will be offered on Sunday and Jim Harbaugh is already yapping about Stanford getting overlooked. Apparently, while he was at University of San Diego he didn’t realize the politics involved with the BCS, which is why so many fans are opposed to the BCS. Most of us would like a playoff that would point to a clear-cut national champion. However, that isn’t the way it IS.
Jim Harbaugh is learning that if he doesn’t put people in seats, he might be passed over for bowl selections. The BCS is about money and ratings, and if your fans are not going to follow the team to the game, you are not going to get the bid. Stanford can’t get the fans to follow the team to the stadium on campus—they are more than 10,000 fans short.
For the So Very Clever Guy's Girls who do not know who Jim Harbaugh is, he was quarterback at University of Michigan—recruited to the Chicago Bears, then to the Colts and I think rounded out his career with the Ravens (a team his brother now coaches). He did a few tours in various assistant positions at the college level before landing the dream job at Stanford. Those at Michigan were proud and anxious for him to come home—UNTIL.
Jim made some "elitist" and arrogant remarks about the academics at University of Michigan playing down to their athletes. I think he's right, that communications degree he earned did not fulfill his academic potential. He's rather proud of the academic standards at Stanford and the fact they are also now a winning football program, but, last I checked, University of Michigan was one of the top performing academic schools in the country.
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Cam Newton: NOT GUILTY?
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Cam Newton was officially cleared of wrong doing in the pay-for-play scandal. Do I believe he didn’t know his father was shopping him? NO.
Do I think Auburn bought him? Not the administration, but I guarantee some boosters or alumni got together and made a large cash transaction to the Newton family. If I were his father, I'd not have told my son what I was up to either. Total deniability is much better than plausible deniability.
Now, Chip Brown of ESPN Radio would give me a hard time for asserting, but I am not a professional journalist so this is simply my opinion.
The Voters Get an All Clear to Give Cam Newton The Heisman
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The fact the public does not buy the “not-guilty” verdict is irrelevant. The Heisman goes to Cam Newton and that is a fact. The voters who are dazzled by his performance have just been given the “green light” on the integrity issue—so you can bank on Newton.
So Very Clever Guy’s Girls will ask the opinion of the men around her and listen with interest. Fact of the matter is, it's the only way to learn. As a recap, So Very Clever Girls, the Heisman Trophy is awarded yearly to the best college football player in the country. There was only one real contender this year other than Cam Newton and that was Denard Robinson of University of Michigan.
Sadly when University of Michigan began their conference play, there was no way for the offense to protect this explosive, one man team. He got banged up a little and simply could not be the only offensive production on the team. Sad. Next year, DRob.
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