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And the BCS Still Sucks posted on 01/03/2009

When I played high school sports, I heard coaches throw around the cliche to "Play against the names on the back of their jerseys, not the front" whenever we played somebody that had a history steeped in success. In other words, just because they were good in the past, doesn't mean we couldn't beat them this year. 

Well apparently, Bowl Championship Series (BCS) officials think the name on the front of your shirt--not who won the most games--dictates who should get to play for and win championships. Undoubtedly, there will be journalists, fans, sports administrators, coaches, and players everywhere giving lip service to the reality that the BCS just sucks, it doesn't get the best teams playing in championships, and most of all, it's unjust. Suddenly, Barack Obama's "change" and "yes we can" rhetoric seems relevant to college football, and I--along with several deservedly righteous Utah Utes players--are about to start marching against the establishment. If the BCS were a political issue, the word "crises" would be appropriate. 

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Loss to the Colts the Epitome of a Season posted on 12/24/2008

On this Christmas Eve, coaches, players, and fans draw one day closer to the final week of the NFL 2008-2009 season. 

The Jacksonville Jaguars have fit the "playing for pride" bill quite well in the past couple weeks, knocking off an unlucky Green Bay Packers team, at home, and giving the 11-4 Colts everything they could handle before ending up on the losing end of some fourth quarter Peyton Manning heroics, 31-24, finishing the game with the ball on the Indy seven-yard line. Against the Colts, QB David Garrard was brilliant for three quarters, throwing for 329 yards through the air and a touchdown (and also running for one), WR Dennis Northcutt had another good game with 101 yards and a receiving touchdown, and Maurice Jones-Drew continued his late season push to be "the guy" next year with 91 yards rushing. The defense, on the other hand, played forgettably against Indianpolis's traditional offensive machine. This Sunday, the Jags travel to another cold weather city, Baltimore, for one last game that means...well, nothing. 

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Pride on the Line Up North posted on 12/07/2008

It has been embarrassingly long since I've posted. And speaking of embarrassing, that's what the Jaguars' season has been. It's been a difficult year to be a new fan. I just heard on TV that the Jags signed a new punter who will get his first NFL start. Damn it, I knew I should have tried out!

In a week when former Jags' lineman Richard Collier--now in a wheelchair with one leg--spoke candidly to the press about his experience, life, and psyche, in the wake of his own shooting in Riverside, the 4-8 Jags battle another mediocre team, the 6-6 Chicago Bears at frigid Soldier Field. Today's mostly meaningless game pits my childhood loyalty--the Bears--against the local favorite of my post-college life--the Jaguars. The Bears' season started out hopefully but has been miserable for the last four games. The Jaguars have been miserable all year long. The Bears do have something to play for--the slight chance of still making the playoffs out of the subpar NFC North. For the Jaguars, we can no longer say "Well, if they win this won and then go on a streak..." but have succumbed to the reality that the Jags will be watching the playoffs from their living rooms. 

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Why the Jags Will Knock off the Undefeated Titans posted on 11/16/2008

As the Titans--the only team in the NFL still undefeated--just kicked a field goal to take an early 3-0 lead--here are five reasons why it will be the 4-5 Jaguars who come away winners today:

5. The game is in Jacksonville.

4. The Jags will be looking to avenge their close loss back in week one.

3. Titans QB Kerry Collins is still Kerry Collins, even if has been impressive in his dream season.

2. The Titans are good, but not this good. Their bound to lose eventually. Pardon me for not putting them in the same category as last year's Patriots or the Colts in 2005-2006. There's just no way they run the table. Why not get their first loss today?

1. The Titans are a mediocre team having an overachieving season while the Jags are a talented, underachieving team. The Jags have everything to gain and little to lose, while the Titans have little to gain (other than extending their winning streak).  

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What Else is There to Say? posted on 11/08/2008

What a difference two months make. It was nine weeks ago that Shannon Sharpe was predicting a Super Bowl year for the Jaguars (and Jags fans were silently hoping he was right). Now, halfway through, the Jags sit at 3-5 after two disgusting losses to two lowly teams for Ohio. Another sub-par Midwestern team--the Lions, perennial NFL laughingstock--host the Jags this weekend in the second half opener for the Jags. As the Jags' official website acknowledged, Jax is trying to avoid becoming the first team in the history of the NFL to lose two straight games to 0-8 teams. It goes without being said that last week's cliche status--must-win time--has been upgraded to "do-or-die time." As one who's following the Jags for the first time, I'm finding it difficult to keep watching, keep caring. But if they're going to turn things around and save face, a lot is going to have to change. Almost everything, starting with:

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