The Blue Workhorse

Jeff Jagodzinski is an idiot.

He has every right to be an idiot, but that does not make him any less of an idiot. He put himself in the position to lose a job where he has been in the conference championship the past two years just to interview for a job, I believe, he has no chance of getting.

Maybe he has won with Tom O’Brien’s players and wants to get out of Chestnut Hill before the storm comes. Maybe he will be the next head coach of the New York Jets. Maybe Boston College will eventually regret firing Coach Jagodzinski and scare away any quality potential candidates for coaching vacancies in the future.

This is what I do know: I want to be the next head coach at Boston College.

The loyalty Boston College shows their coaches and players is what they demand in return. They continuously are the exception to the rule by consistently leading the NCAA with the rate at which their football players graduate. Without being educated on the details of their support system, one can only imply it must provide unparalleled resources to its players and continuous diligence in making sure its players are honoring the student in the moniker student-athlete.

The academic rigors and demands of Boston College make recruiting interesting to say the least for any coach of an Eagles program. However, Boston College has placed an enormous amount of capital into BC’s facilities in order for Boston College to stay competitive with the rival schools in the ACC.

The Yawkey Center and Alumni Stadium are modern facilities that can match up those rival programs. These facilities are just one aspect that illustrate the dedication the administration has to providing resources to a coach in order to be a competitive program on a National Stage.

In exchange for this loyalty, all Boston College asked Coach Jagodzinski to do is show loyalty to the university and not contact an NFL team regarding employment for three years. This is America and Coach Jagodzinski has the right to talk to anyone about a job as long as he is willing to realize the possibility of jeopardizing the status of his employment with his current employer.

I have a tremendous amount of respect for what Boston College football stands for and commits its resources towards. I believe it is refreshing for an administration to stand up and challenge a coach in an era of the perpetual coaching carousel. While many feel Boston College may be hard pressed to find a coach willing to commit in the degree they desire to the Eagles’ football program, I have the perfect solution: Hire me.

Heisman

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I was a bit surprised to see the news regarding Robert Marve’s decision to transfer from Miami scroll across the screen while I was soaking in some great bowl games over the holidays. However, I was even more surprised at Yahoo sports columnist Dan Wetzel’s assessment of the situation.

Wetzel stops just short of calling the University of Miami and the NCAA slave traders. He argues that Miami’s restrictions on where Marve can transfer are overreaching and that universities and the NCAA take advantage of all of the student athletes that operate under its banner.

While the NCAA is far from perfect, Wetzel’s argument does not hold water due to three concepts: the universities must protect themselves as much as possible on a risky investment in an 18-year-old kid, Marve is still free to transfer if he is willing to sit out a year, and the simple fact that head coach Randy Shannon is trying to protect his team by not letting Marve come back and haunt the ‘Canes in upcoming seasons.

First, even as unstable as the global financial markets are, I find it hard to label another investment as risky as an 18-year-old male athlete. It is true schools and the NCAA make ridiculous amounts of money off of the athletic programs they sponsor. However, it is a return on the thousands of dollars invested in the education, room and board, and football operations that is allotted for each player (even for just one year).

How many times has a big time prospect not panned out once they are in school? Generally, when a player falls flat on his face on or off of the field, the school is unable to recoup any of those funds. The best they can hope for is the player flunking out of school or getting in legal trouble, in order to revoke the scholarship.

Marve should be thankful of the opportunities he has received at Miami. He may feel he has received the proverbial short end of the stick due to playing time, but at least he has gotten a fairly high profile audition for the schools he can transfer to in order to continue his playing and educational career.

Even if Marve has been treated unfairly by the staff at the University of Miami, it is not as if he is completely out of options. In the end, it may work out to his advantage to be able to mature mentally and physically before he steps under center for another Division I college program. Another option is to transfer to a highly regarded Division I-AA (FCS) or Division II school. This option seems to have been a golden ticket for Joe Flacco, and after Appalachian State’s upset of Michigan last year, many are finally giving the athletes that play for those programs some respect.

This rule is in effect to try and protect the university’s investment in the recruitment and enrollment of the student athlete. Also, it helps protect the student as well. The first year of college is a tough enough adjustment for students who do not participate in athletic programs. The stipulation of transfers makes the athlete think long and hard about his or her decision, instead of relying on unrealistic whims. Marve may not like the choice he has in front of him, but it is still a choice.

Finally, Coach Randy Shannon is trying to protect his team. This, unbelievably, is his job. Why should he allow an unhappy player transfer to a school that has a chance to beat his team? That could cost the dozens of players who have stayed and dedicated themselves to the program a chance at a win over a rival or even a championship.

Also, Coach Shannon is evaluated each year on how he performs against those rivals and the conference foes. Why should he potentially lose his job just because a player is unhappy?

Marve committed to the Hurricanes last February and he should try to honor that commitment. If he is unable to, he must accept the consequences of his decision to leave.

The University of Miami is not hardhearted because of this decision. They are trying to do what is in the best interest of the school and the student athletes who choose to attend the school. That being said I wish Marve and his father the best of luck as they move forward in this tumultuous time.

Heisman

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Normally, I find the college and pro football writings of ESPN.com’s Pat Forde light hearted and entertaining to read. However, after reading today’s article regarding the firing of the Broncos’ Mike Shanahan, Mr. Forde might want to stick to the fluff pieces and stay away from the serious analysis.

Forde praises Broncos’ owner Pat Bowlen for making the difficult decision to hand Shanahan the pink slip. Pointing toward a lone playoff win since John Elway retired; Forde argues the organization has been in a steady decline ever since, due to Shanahan’s personnel decisions and love affair with quarterback Jay Cutler.

In interest of full disclosure, Forde does divulge he is a lifetime Broncos fan. In my opinion, Forde’s fanatical behavior is better suited for a tailgate outside of Mile High than a reputable sports information website.

Sure the Broncos have not won a Super Bowl in 10 years. Who has? The list really is not that long with the Patriots taking up close to a third of the championships. Look at the other teams in that division. San Diego has been talented but chokes it away in the playoffs while Oakland and Kansas City have been in disarray (not counting Oakland’s one Superbowl appearance).

While Shanahan has made some questionable personnel decisions, how is he supposed to keep players from getting hurt? Al Wilson was the heart and soul of that defense until injury ended his career, and at one point, the Broncos were down to their 5^th string tailback. This brings us to Cutler. He is playing with a 5^th string tailback. John Elway had Terrell Davis in their heyday.

Cutler also had to have a gunslinger mentality when he carried a Vanderbilt team to overachievement during his collegiate career. He is going to continue to grow and the running backs will eventually heal. The Broncos can use the bulk of their draft picks on defense in order to be legitimate contenders once again in 2009.

Sadly, Forde decides to mouth the script of fans across the modern sporting world. What have you done for me lately, coach? Although, many salaries dictate close scrutiny of bodies of work by the men who lead their teams and organizations, a coach like Shanahan deserves to keep his job when he consistently produces a winning team in a league praised for its parity.

Stick to the jokes Forde when you are knocking back the orange and blue kool-aid.

Heisman

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It was almost a year ago that I got so pissed off with FOX’s coverage of the Bowl Championship Series games I was shouting at the television even when it was on MUTE. It was then I decided I needed an outlet since I was no longer in college and didn’t have the guys around to vent with and to.

After some study, I decided a blog was a perfect choice since it would also give me the opportunity to continue working on my craft of writing since I hope to become a full-time sports journalist in the future. With the help of the other sports fiends I know, The Blue Workhorse staff and site was assembled with a continuous work in progress mentality.

Since we went live on January 22, we’ve learned the blogging ropes, met a lot of cool people, have had a small bit of success, and have hopefully spread some insight and knowledge along the way.

So you have what this season has brought, and now I’ll take you through the top 10 most popular posts (in chronological order) on this site from the year that was 2008:

***Less than a month after our first post, Dwight Howard showed in the Slam Dunk Competition that maybe he could really be Superman, and helped us get our first real big traffic surge. I wrote a breakdown of the competition that included photos of Superman and links to video of each of the impressive dunks performed by Howard, Gerald Green, and the other competitors.

***Just over a week after Howard’s superhero performance, the sports world lost a true originator when famed Pittsburgh Steelers’ broadcaster Myron Cope passed away. In tribute of Cope and the Terrible Towel he created, we compiled our Top 9 (we’re anti-Top 10) sports paraphernalia traditions that included everything from green weenies to foam tomahawks to cheeseheads.

***In March, we highlighted the story of Georgia basketball seniors Dave Bliss and Sundiate Gaines, a basketball story that was later forgotten about in the midst of Stephen Curry, Memphis’s free throw woes, Kansas’s championship, and the rest of March Madness. The two seniors went from four years of disappointment and obscurity to national attention and a trip to the NCAA tournament in a span of 8 glorious days.

***The Blue Workhorse made its debut on sports talk radio in April after Heisman, our resident pot stirrer, wrote a controversial article on why he thought Bruce Pearl may end up being bad for the University of Tennessee. Later in the month, Heisman again angered many Volunteer fans with his opinions about the possibilities of Pat Summit being able to cut it as a men’s basketball coach.

***Throughout the year on occasion, we have showed some love with our Sunday Sports Selections series where we showcase sports related gadgets, books, movies, and even clothing. However, it was a little hate that produced our most popular Sunday Sports Selection. Evidently, a lot of people dislike the Red Sox and Yankees.

***During the month of July, seemingly every breath Brett Favre took was covered by ESPN. I’ve no doubt that if Favre would have strained while taking a dump, we would have been able to read about it on ESPN’s Bottom Line. So I decided to mock the continuous coverage with a fake news story about #4 returning to the city where he started his NFL career.

***Our most popular post of the year came in October thanks to the Fall Classic, the Tampa Bay (no longer Devil) Rays, and a little help from Sports Illustrated’s Extra Mustard web page. In an attempt to sway the majority to cheer on the underdogs in the World Series, I gave 23 reasons to root for the Rays.

***In November, following Phil Fulmer’s forced resignation, DRang took a look at a possible long term solution for the University of Tennessee football program. After it was picked up by some of the most prominent Vols web sites/forums, it became one of our Top 10 posts.

***And finally, our most recent post to make our year end list came thanks to the assistance of 60-something other sports blogs who all participated in our Sports Blog Heisman voting. After counting all the votes and reading what each of the participating sports bloggers had to say about their candidates, we named the 2008 Sports Blog Heisman Trophy Winner.

Shotgun Spratling

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Throughout this year’s college football bowl season, I have enjoyed being off work, spending time with friends and family, and watching plenty of bowl games on the ESPN family of networks.

The TCU-Boise game was a great display of competition, as well as the highlight reel catches in the North Carolina and West “By God” Virginia game. However, there is one thing that continually disturbs me through these early bowl games.

Have we heard anything about the Oklahoma-Florida game?  What about the Alabama-Utah contest?  Ohio State-Texas? Cincinnati-Virginia Tech?? These games are all supposed to be the biggest games of the college bowl season. However, you may have noticed if you are an ESPN viewer, such as myself, ESPN has only been hammering one big bowl game into our heads.

Yes, the Rose Bowl. The Rose Bowl, which is conveniently aired by ABC, which owns ESPN, has been the focus of this network. I am already so tired of hearing about this game.

They even got the senile Lou Holtz to say that he is excited more about the Rose Bowl than he is the BCS title game, which could be one of the best matchups ever!!

Obviously, there is a simple marketing strategy to all this.  Fox airs the games that were previously mentioned in this column. ABC airs the Rose Bowl, and anyone who watches ESPN will have to listen to more studio analysts blabbing about this great matchup.

Okay, USC has a good defense. So does Penn State. Both offenses will probably get shut down, making for a field position, low-scoring contest. Lets talk about some other storylines for once ESPN.

I want to hear about Tebow versus the Oklahoma defense. I want to hear about the recent Choke-lahoma Sooners. I want to hear about Utah going for perfection against a SEC beast. I want to hear about all the early-season adversity overcome by both Cincinnati and Va. Tech. I want to hear about Pryor versus McCoy in the Fiesta. I want to hear about something other than how good the damn Rose Bowl will be this year!

DRang

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With only two weekends remaining in the NFL’s regular season, the playoff picture couldn’t have been more muddled. Some teams just needed to win; some just needed other teams to lose; while others were in the unfortunate position of needing to win and receive help from others.

However, with Indianapolis winning against an emotionally charged Jacksonville team (thanks to the return of injured lineman Richard Collier to the sideline as an honorary captain) Thursday night and Baltimore’s running game dominating the Cowboys’ defense late in the fourth quarter Saturday, the playoff picture began to see the Windex going to work.

Indianapolis clinched a playoff spot with their win, but due to Tennessee’s advantage in the divisional tiebreaker system, Indianapolis was only able to secure the #5 seed while Tennessee locked up the #1 seed with their win over Pittsburgh. With the loss the Steelers are now locked as the #2 seed.

Also, locking up a #1 seed were the New York football Giants with their overtime win in the Meadowlands against Carolina. Carolina is now only a loss (and a Falcons’ win) away from falling from a potential #1 seed to the #5 seed. The #3 seed will go to the winner of the North division, of which Minnesota has the inside track over Chicago.

Despite their beat down at the hands of the Patriots, the apparently hapless-in-cold-weather Arizona Cardinals had already clinched the NFC West title and a #4 seed in the NFC thanks to playing in an abysmal division. Speaking of terrible divisions on the west coast, the AFC West, which appeared all but wrapped up for the Broncos when they had a 3 game lead with 3 games remaining, will now come down to a division battle between Denver & San Diego on the last weekend of the regular season.

What now appears to be the toughest (well at least the one with the most parity) division in the AFC is the East. The four division opponents will play each other this weekend with both games having playoff implications. If Miami beats the Jets…they’re the division champ. If New England beats Buffalo…they’re in the playoffs with a Baltimore loss. The Jets have to win and hope the Bills, who have been atrocious as of late, can pull off a win or the Ravens fall.

Baltimore just has to take care of the severely underachieving Jaguars at home to assure their playoff spot and the #6 seed.

With all that said, here’s the current outlook of the playoffs:

(teams in bold have locked position)

NFC

1. New York Giants
2. Carolina Panthers
3. Minnesota Vikings/Chicago Bears
4. Arizona Cardinals
5. Atlanta Falcons
6. Tampa Bay Buccaneers/Dallas Cowboys

Still Alive/What They Need to Clinch:

• Minnesota (#3 seed with win OR Chicago loss)
• Chicago (#3 seed with win & Minnesota loss)
• Dallas (#6 seed with win)
• Tampa Bay (#6 seed with win & Dallas loss)
• Philadelphia (YEA RIGHT! Tampa would have to lose to Oakland so Philly is done)

AFC

1. Tennessee Titans
2. Pittsburgh Steelers
3. AFC East Champ (MIA/NE/NYJ)
4. Denver Broncos v. San Diego Chargers winner
5. Indianapolis Colts
6. Baltimore Ravens/AFC East

Still Alive/What They Need to Clinch:

• Miami (#3 seed with win OR New England loss)
• New England (#3 seed with win & Miami loss; #6 seed with win & Baltimore loss)
• New York (#3 seed with win & New England loss; #6 seed with win & Baltimore loss)
• Denver (#4 seed with win)
• San Diego (#4 seed with win)
• Baltimore (#6 seed with win OR New England loss)

Shotgun Spratling

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Who would have thought the listless Atlanta Falcons, a team that went 4-12 last season and went through the various turmoils that were the Bobby Petrino-era and the Michael Vick incarceration, would have been .500 this season, much less in the playoff hunt?

Despite having a rookie quarterback, a rookie head coach, a rookie general manager, a free agent running back that had never been a feature NFL back, and a defense that didn’t make any significant additions after being shredded for 25.9 points per game last season, Atlanta has shocked many, by not only being competitive all season, but by already getting to double digit victories for only the fifth time in franchise history (1980, 1991, 1998, 2004).

With their 24-17 victory over Minnesota on Sunday (along with losses by Dallas and Tampa Bay), the Falcons clinched their first playoff appearance since 2004 and still have an outside opportunity to win the NFC South and get a first round bye in the playoffs.

Not too shabby for a team that was ranked last in the preseason NFL Sports Blog Power Rankings.

Shotgun Spratling

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