Hey Everybody I am a Communist!

I recently received this comment to the post I wrote about the suicide of Tony Dungy's son, James. I have been trying to think of a way to respond to someone calling me a communist because anyone who knows me can state that I am anything but a communist. I find it interesting, though, that someone felt so strongly, about what I wrote, that they resorted to name calling and questioning my intellectual capacity. While it is true that I only finished the 3rd grade he didn't have to go and call me a communist. So before I go any further I want you to read what anonymous wrote, in response to my post:

"When the media reports on a death, yes, it is important to report the cause. What are they suppose to say, "sorry, but the coroners office told us cause of death, but we're not going to pass that information on to our viewers, even though thats our job." The kid killed himself, hate to break it to you, but that does qualify as news. I for one dont want my news censored because it my hurt someones feelings. Give us the truth. Nothing more, nothing less. I think your post might be the dumbest thing Ive ever read in my life. With all the things wrong with ESPN, reporting on a cause of death is not one of them. If you don't like freedom of the press, China is always looking for some cheap labor in their gulags".

I say that the media should leave the Dungy family alone and I suddendly become dumb and someone who doesn't beleive in the 1st amendment. In today's society if you have a different opinion on a subject, people feel it necessary to resort to name calling and character assination. I guess that the days of intellectual debates are over? The zeitgeist of the times calls for people to be lumped into groups and pigeon holed into certain beliefs. People from the South are no longer Southerners, we are Red Staters. As if every Southerner is a Republican. If you believe in God than you a Religous Right Wing Zealot. And if you are a Sourtherner, who is religous, then you are a Southern Right Wing Republican who voted for Charleston Heston as your President, because don't you know all Southerners own guns (Another Favorite). We are not free thinking adults we have become labels. Labels that have been conveinently defined by popular media outlets, who need content to fill the pages and airwaves that we consume only a daily basis. And this is why I feel that the media outlets should leave Tony Dungy and his family alone. Content! ESPN does not have to rely on another TO story because now they can dig into every minute detail of James Dungy's life. I watched yesterday, ESPN made James Dungy's funeral into star watch. Who was at the funeral? How will this effect the Colts chances of winning the Super Bowl? How will this effect Peyton's ability to read a defense? Lets go to Sal Palintonio to see how this will effect Marvin Harrison's ability to fart. It wasn't about James or Tony Dungy and the issues that caused this tragedy it was about Warren Sap, Herm Edwards et al who showed up to the church. This is what I have a problem with because ESPN is going to milk this through the Playoffs but they will be nowhere to be found 20 years from now when Tony Dungy is tromented by the thoughts that he could have done more for his son. But they don't have a problem taking advantage of someone's death in order to fill air time but what do I know all I want to do is piss on the Constitution because I am a Communist. Well I am off to buy my Che Guevera shirt, a copy of Marx's Communist Manifesto, a sickle and sledgehammer, and a one way ticket to China. Talk to you later Comrads.

Does It Get Any Better Than This?

Since I have been a Memphis Tiger fan I can't remember two better days than these past two. Yesterday we won our second bowl game in three years in which Deangelo had one of his average games in which he only rushes for 233 yards and 3 touchdowns and tonight the basketball team comes from behind to beat #8 Gonzaga by 11. For a program that is trying to position itself to get in a BCS conference in 2008 we are doing some good things. The TV exposure alone has been priceless.

Tony Dungy

I just read an article that dealt with the death of Tony Dungy's son. I really feel for him because of his loss and I hope that ESPN and other media outlets leave him alone. This is not a time to park a reporter in Tampa and in Indy watching the every movement of the Dungy family. Let this family greave in peace. It is not a story that sports fans or celebrity watchers need to know, it is a personal issue. When I saw this story I was a little shocked because the media is so quick to report that it was an apperant suicide. Have they no shame? Is this really something we need to know? Couldn't they have just reported that he died and been done with it? In reporting that it was a suicide, it makes things worse for the family because the parents feel even more responsible for the death of their child . They are going blame themselves because they will think that there was more they could have done or they should have noticed that something was wrong. With the media coverage these emotions will only be intesified because of the attention that the story has been given and will receive. I wish that the executives, at the media outlets that are reporting this, lived under the same microscope that athletes and coaches operate, maybe then they would see that somethings should be off limits. As a society have we no shame?

Well Folks We are #4!

The last time the Memphis Tigers were ranked in the top 5 was in 1996. Thanks to one of our most hated rivals , Loserville, the Tigers moved to #4. I would like to thank the University of Kentucky for beating Loserville saturday. Go Big Blue!

Why Is ESPN Trying To Sell Me Madden 2006?

I was flipping through the channels the other day and came upon a show,on ESPN, that centered on guys playing Madden 2006 while wearing certain players NFL jersey. This has to be the most blatant scam I have seen in a while. All this show was a a more stylized version of the infommercials that come on late at night. The problem that I have is that ESPN tried to pawn this off as entertainment as oppossed to a commercial. The whole purpose of this show is to sell video games, much like the And 1 Mix Tour and tapes are meant to promote the shoe brand. How dumb do the ESPN executives think that we, as viewers, are? As consumers become tried of the constant barrage of advertisements companies are looking for new and creative ways to sell thier products. Hence the creation of the Madden 2006 competition show. I would really like to see the Neilson ratings for this show. I truly wonder if there were people who fell for this show?

New segment

I will be adding a new segment to my blog, in the upcoming weeks. I plan to interview sports business professionals, in order to help those that are thinking about making it a career. I want people to understabd what they are getting into before they get thier hopes up and then have the dashed that working in the sports field is not what they thought. Now I have made it my career but I was a bit naive when I started graduate school thinking it was going to be fame and fortune. I am trying to counteract stories people see played out on TV and the movies, i.e. Jerry Maguire. He is a character in a movies and he is pure fantasy. Now I had some really great professors who taught me alot but your education while only get you so far. That is why I have decided to do this so people don't make thier decision blindly. So if there are any questions or certain fields/specialties you want explored please leave a comment and I will do my best to get you an answer.

Deangelo Update

In the last week Deangelo has been named to the Walter Camp 1st team All American Team and today he was named to the AP 2nd team All American team. While I am still disappointed that he didn't win the Doak Walker Award, he is being recognized for his acheivements by others.

BCS Bias

Last night I was disappointed that Deangelo Williams didn't win the Doak Walker Award but such is life. After thinking about the award I have come to the conclusion that the Non-BCS schools should create their own seperate league that could be comparable to Division 1 AA. In this league you would have the WAC, The Mountain West, CUSA, the MAC, and the Big Sky conferences. You would play all of your non-conference games against these teams and you could compete for the Non-BCS national championship. In doing this you could also have a playoff system that would lead to the champion being crowned. You can use the bowls as playoff sights and have the championship played in a warm climate city. This would only hold true for football because there are a few of these schools could compete for a national championship in basketball. In doing this you can invigorate the programs by creating a viable incentive to play for. If the BCS won't let us in maybe it is time to create a new system. There are the haves and the have nots, and non-BCS schools are the have nots so maybe this system will change that image that these schools have.

Memphis and the Graduation Rate

Well I some good news and bad news Memphis fans. The Memphis Football team ranks in the top ten in graduating football players but the bad news the graduation rate of the overall student body. I have to say that I am trully embaressed, as an Alumni of the Uof M, that Memphis only graduates 33% of the overall student body. I repeat 33%. 1 out of every three students attending Memphis will graduate. To me this is mind boggling. What is going on that they cannot graduate more people? I truely am afraid what I will find if I dig any deeper.

BCS and collusion

To say that the BCS system is unfair is a understatement. There are 117 D1 college football programs and a majority of them do not have a chance to play in a BCS bowl before a game is even played. Last year was a beautiful sight when Utah crashed the party and won the Fiesta Bowl but that was a once in a while occurrence. The big six BCS conferences have colluded to keep the "smaller" conferences out of the BCS picture. It is a situation of the haves and the have nots.The have nots have their bowl ties ins and the haves have the national championship, as well as the money that goes along with it. The way it is now we will not have programs like Miami or Florida State, teams that built a program from nothing and have become BCS powers. The BCS has made provisions for "smaller" schools to be able to play into the the bowl picture but it is not enough. What is enough is that BCS schools can schedule the smaller schools, as non conference games, beat them and leave. Every so often you have surprises such as UT-Memphis(1996) and Southern Miss-Nebraska (2004). What is the choice the non-BCS schools have but to play along because they need the buy games to support thier athletic budgets? So here is a compromise, allow the smaller schools to have thier bowl games and allow the BCS schools to have the playoffs. It is not like the smaller schools are even going to considered for the playoff in the first place, so think outside of the box. I see this as a win/win situation where everyone wins.

Memphis's Bowl Game

It looks like the Tigers are going to play another MAC team but instead of Mobile it will be played in the US's favorite tourist destination, Detroit.
That's right the Tigers will play the Akron Zips, on December 26 at 3pm, at Ford Field. So Tiger fans get out your shorts, beach towels, and hand guns because we are going to Detroit, Michigan.

Trite Language

I have had it with these half-wit football announcers and their language. I have to believe that their is either a book or a school that these sports announcers have access to because they all use the same trite language. Where are the modern day Grantland Rices? Why have networks dumbed down sports broadcasts to extent that a flee would feel smarter than the sports announcers? It amazes me that pundits say that US citizens are becoming smarter but our entertainment outputs are absolutely mind numbing. The sad thing is there is a trickle down effect in terms of sports presentation. It flows from the top. National broadcasters to local sports talk radio hosts. There is no end to absolute simple analysis being delivered by simple people. Here are some of the phrases that make wish that music would be played rather than having announcers:
Barn Burner
Duck( meaning a bad pass)
Call Off the Dogs
Get on a Roll
Any type of BCS debate
Frozen Rope
Clicking on All Cylinders
Trickeration/Tickery : There is no such thing as a trick play
Physicality
Big body/Big Boy/Big Fella
Good Hustle
Take It To Them
HeartBreaker
Battle In the Trenches
Quit Giving Up So Many Big Plays
Well Covered
Feel free to participate.

Deangelo Update

This week Deangelo Williams garnered two more awards when he was named CUSA Offensive Player of the Year for the 3rd time and he was named to the AFCA ALL-American Team with Reggie Bush sharing the backfield with him. Deangelo is the 1st player from Memphis to be named to this team. While we know that he isn't going to win the Heisman it is the hope, of all Memphis Fans, that he get invited to New York for the ceremony. While he won't win the Heisman he is in the running for the Doak Walker Award, which he is one of two backs that will win it, Reggie Bush being the other. We will keep our fingers crossed.

Liberty Bowl

Well folks we well not have a marquee matchup in the Liberty Bowl like the one we had last year. Boise State vs. Louisville was a great matchup but this year we have Fresno State vs. Tulsa, two teams that met when they were in the WAC. Ah, let me rush out and buy my tickets now because I want to see this match up. I want to see a team that brings a three game losing streak, Fresno State, play Tulsa, whose star player is a Tight End. Now you will never hear me say that Memphis should be in the Liberty Bowl this year but I believe that they jumped the gun when they invited Fresno State. Since they were invited, Fresno has lost to Nevada(38-35) and LaTech (40-28), this does not bode well for the City of Memphis or the Liberty Bowl in terms of fans and visitors to the city. Think about it you have two teams that will have to travel from Oklahoma and California and neither of these teams draw well at home. Fresno averages 39,307 and Tulsa averages 22,826.The Memphis Tigers drew 23,000 when they were consistent losers. So for the fan, who does not have a rooting interest in these teams what is the draw? Neither of these teams have ever had a following here or a true national following, so why were they chosen? Tulsa was chosen because of the CUSA contract but couldn't they have waited to choose another team to play Tulsa? Last year the Liberty Bowl drew a record crowd and it is yet to be seen what type of interest this year match up will generate. I know one thing is for sure they will not even come close to last year's crowd when Boise and Louisville played.

Unbelievable

Dixie Carter, a fellow Memphis alumn, once said that "In the South We Don't Hide Our Crazies, We Bring Them Out of the Closet For Everyone to See." Well ladies and gentlemen I want to introduce you to one of our crazies, Phyllis from Mulga. I came to know Phyllis via a link on Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer blog. Phyllis is a character that frequently calls the Paul Finebaum radio show, which is out of Birmingham Alabama. I have to say that she is truly one passionate lady in terms of her hate for Phil Fulmer and her love of Bama football. So folks if you want to know how people in the South feel about their football, then you need to click on the link and listen to Phyliss. I have to say is that this is some really good radio.

An Important Rivalry

In my family the Army-Navy game has always been an important event because of my family's involvement in serving the country in the Naval Services. Growing up in a Navy family and on a Naval base I have a really hard time rooting Army, under any circumstances. Rooting for Army would rank right up there with rooting for the Russians. When the game is over Army is okay but while it is being played I just can't say anything nice about them.

All kidding aside, tomarrow's game is what college athletics once were. The Army/Navy game is an example of what college football was once in terms of the pangentry, the importance, the athletes, and the amateurism; all things that are slowly disappearing from the other 100 plus Division 1 A football programs. Tomarrow's game is about something more than TV ratings, merchandise sales, bowl games, or butts in the seats, it is about pride. While there hasn't been a truly relevant Army/Navy since Staubach, in terms of a National Champion, the one constant has always been pride. These men aren't playing for the scouts and many of them will never play football game again. They are playing for each other and for you, the citizens of the US. So tomarrow you will hear one chant at my house "Go Navy beat Army!"

Fulmer Apologizes

Today Phil Fulmer sent an email apologizing for the 5-6 season that the Vols finished with.

"I assure you that no one is happy about our season - especially me, and I know that our fans deserve better than what we produced this year."

The problem with this apology is that he does not apologize for the off the field incidents that took place during the off season. How many of his players were arrested? How many of them left the program? No matter what you say or how you try to spin it their season was lost in the spring and summer. You cannot have that much controversy and it not affect your team. So he can apologize for the Vols record all he wants but until the off the field issues are dealt with nothing will change.

Apologize, only at Tennessee!

Fuel For The Fire

Today the blog Everyday Should Be Saturday wrote a peice that delved into the problems surrounding ESPN, today. Well I recently came across an article in Fast Company Magazine that deals with ESPN's marketing. I had been saving this for a companion to what I wrote about ESPN a couple of weeks ago. Since we currently have a wave of change I decided to post it today.

Fast Company's August 2004 issue, page 41. Interview of Lee Ann Daly, Executive Vice President, Marketing ESPN Inc.

We take sportsvery seriously, but we don't take ourselves very seriously. That goes back to ESPN's roots. Our founders were bohemian sports fans in the same way that poets and pianters and jazz musicians believe in what they're doing in a passionate way. They really just wanted to create a 24-hours sports, news, and information network to share with other fans.

Although ESPN has grown into 40 different businesses [ 25 television networks globally, a radio network, a magazine, ownership of the professional bass-fishing and extreme sports tourneys, a chain of sports bar/resturants, etc.], what hasn't changed is our conversation with fans. It's almost like a club. So all of these extensions of the original ESPN must serve our relationship with each fan. When we expand, the most important thing to me is whether we can transform the business that we go into by better serving the fan. If it doesn't, you'll make money for 10 minutes, and then the fan will be disappointed and you won't be making any more money.

I think it's very difficult to put up with us if you don't love sports. What I'm talking about is a fundamental respect and understanding for just how important sports are in people's lives. Even though many people don't consider themselves to be sports fans. when you delve a little beneath the surface, most people are. To some degree, I don't think you can call yourself an American if you're not a sports fan.

This just points out how clueless that the executives at ESPN truely are. They truely have taken their viewers for granted. Compare and contrast her version and what has been written on EDSBS.

Deangelo Williams

I would like to begin this by saying thank you to Deangelo Williams. When I started at Memphis State, in 1992, the football program was a mediocre 6-5 and followed up that season with two more 6-5 seasons. Now these teams were severe underacheivers due to the fact that there were 10 players, off that team, that went on to play in either the CFL or NFL and one of those players was Isaac Bruce. Well after that last 6-5 season they fired Chuck Stobart and we didn't see a winning season until you came along. We had 1 big win beating #6 ranked Tennessee, who had Peyton, in 1996 but beside this things were extremely bleak. Bleak, meaning 10,000 fans a game bleak. Bleak meaning people began to say "Well there is always basketball season" after the second football game bleak. Now I know that you are one player on the team and that there are many people who are responsible for the success that has happened in the last 4 years but you were a major player. You have generated enormous publicity for the school and the football program, due to your play on the field. You have lit the spark on a dying football program. You have given Memphis fans something that they have been longing for and that is pride. We, as fans, can now say that we to have a football team. We no longer have to listen to Ole Miss, Mississippi State, and Tennessee fans put our program down. And for the first time in history Memphis is going to a bowl and those three schools aren't. We no longer have to set and watch SEC teams come into Memphis and raid the talent pool because we are now competing for those players. We no longer have to say that we are a basketball school because now we have two successful programs.

So as I was watching the clock tic down to zero on Saturday, I became very sad because I knew that I would not get the chance to watch you play in the Liberty Bowl again. In a small way this is what parents go through when their children go off to college. You watch someone grow and succeed and then it is time for them to move onto bigger and better challenges. It is bittersweet to say the least but I have plenty of good memories of watching you play. So with this said, I hope that you acheive all your hopes and dreams because you have helped many Tiger fans fulfill theirs.

Ladies and Gentlemen....

It is with great pleasure to be able to sit here and write something that makes feel all tingley inside. The University of Memphis has finished the season going to it's 3rd straight bowl and they have a better record than the University of Tennessee, that mighty football power to the East of Memphis. I have waited 13 years to be able to say that and it has finally arrived with great joy.

UT, a school with a truck load of blue chippers, finished the season 5-6 after starting the season #3 in the country. It really goes to show you that Karma works. Their arrogance has finally caught up with them and has made it clear that you need more than talent to win at football. To win at football you need chamraderie, luck, heart, and a work ethic. It became very clear before the season started, up on the hill, that these were missing. UT fans saw a program run amuck with countless behavior problems and a coach who failed to take control.Therefore no one should be surprised that the Vols finished the season as they did.

While Memphis finished the season 6-5, they didn't give up. They had four different quaterbacks, they lost the majority of their defensive line ( ending the season playing a two man d line), they lost 16 starters to injury, and they had to go from a passing team to a running team to fit quaterback Maurice Avery, who was a converted wide receiver. They had every opportunity to quit and no one would have blamed them if they had but the kept fighting. They wouldn't allow themselves to feel sorry for themselves. They walked on the feild with head up and played as if they had their full compliment of players. They adopted their coaches never say die menatlity and the they played like a team. A team that will forever be remembered by it fans, not for it's record for how they played the game: with heart.

I know I speak for all Tiger fans when I say Thank You. Thank You for making us proud to say that we went to Memphis. Thank You for being good citizens. Thank You for bringing a 3rd straight bowl to a program who had only been to 2 in it's 90 year history. Thank You for giving us great memories. And finally thank you for never quiting.