Some good news

I'll share more about my thoughts on teams looking like crap this weekend.

But I was inspired by my Sports Illustrated college football preview to look for a little good news in the sport, and this really hit me this morning.

It's a story about how the UCF fans will wear red bandannas this Saturday when the Knights play Boston College. That's in honor of 1999 BC grad Welles Crowther, who died in the World Trade Center attacks and who rescued as many as 12 people while wearing his trademark red bandanna. I think it's pretty cool.

Fall from grace

Last season Texas Christian University, the Horned Frogs, beat Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl. Last night they lost to Baylor. I'm not going to lie: I have no idea what conference the Baylor Bears are in.

Here's what this proves - a quarterback can make or break a team. Without Andy Dalton, TCU looked like a completely different team. Yes, they had quite a comeback in the fourth quarter, but the spark wasn't there. That redheaded, absurd-looking spark.

Anyway, today's a big day. It's the first Saturday of college football! Like Christmas morning.

And after an off-season filled with conflict and scandal, it should be interesting to watch. For example, how will Ohio State handle an interim coach and a new quarterback? Does Miami even get to play anymore? (More on that another day).

I'll post more later, but for now I'll leave you with these important articles to read.

• Miami's scandal
• Who are the SEC's best-looking QBs?
• A Deadspin guide to college football

Cheating

I'm trying really hard to remain naive about the dirty world of college athletics.

But these are getting in my way:

• Cam Newton allegedly seeking out a six-figure payment to play for Mississippi State.
• Josh Luchs coming clean on paying college players
• And pretty much everything Michigan does.

Then I read these articles, and I'm really confused and interested. Essentially what it says is, college scholarship athletes often still have to pay part of their tuition. I recognize that a couple thousand dollars is a lot of money to pay each year if you're from a tough background. Heck, it's a lot for anyone. But it's also a hell of a lot cheaper than it would be if you didn't have a scholarship. I guess I'm torn about this one.

I saw the football boys in the dining hall in college; those kids were not worried about running out of money to spend on food. They were eating like 4 plates of exploding chicken and drinking bedwetters of milk.

There's a committee that's recommended allowing athletes to take out more aid-based loans, and I guess that would help a bit.

Anyway, just an interesting situation: these kids shouldn't be soliciting money from agents and boosters. But how much money do they realistically need to attend their colleges? Is a free college education enough?

I've been remiss

I admit it.

I've been remiss in my duties as best female sports blogger recently.

I'll try harder.

Here are some thoughts: Oregon is good. I can admit it. They make the NCAA look like a video game. It's awesome. I wish I liked the Ducks so I could get excited about their play. However, I hold to the opinion that they will not finish the season undefeated.

Related to Oregon, I find it disconcerting to turn on the television and see Jeremiah Masoli playing for Ole Miss. It's distracting...but damn he is good. Even if he is a drunk-driving thief. The Rebels, who are now some sort of new mascot to prevent the whole "we are racist creeps" theme.

Which brings me to my favorite ESPN ad of the season:

Seriously it's amazing.

In other news Boston College actually won yesterday. This is amusing for two reasons: one, we are terrible. Two, my best friend Laura's little brother Paul went to Clemson, and every year when we beat Clemson (because it literally seems like it's every year) he throws some sort of monster fit and refuses to tailgate after the game because he has to walk off his anger. And I like the idea of sad Paul wandering BC's campus in a Clemson T-shirt.

Speaking of walking off your anger, I made the error of watching the end of the Notre Dame - Tulsa game yesterday at the old folks home, where it's generally not acceptable to go on an expletive-laced tirade.

I'd like to, if I thought that anything I yelled would make anyone figure out how to make a team that perennially features some of the best, most highly recruited players in the country...play like winners.

Here's a start: hey coach, don't ask your freshman quarterback to throw into the end zone on 2nd and 8 with 2 minutes remaining at the 19 yard line when you're down by 1 point. Literally all you need to do is run the ball through the middle, line up a field goal for one of the best field goal kickers in America, and be done. It doesn't have to be pretty; I'd rather you win by 2 than win by 6, if it means you win. Which, ummm, you didn't. You lost to Tulsa.

Let's have a look at Tulsa: this is a football team that is 2-2 in Conference USA play. So to be clear, this is a team that has lost to Southern Methodist and got one of its wins over Central Arkansas.

I believe this is the end of Notre Dame football tradition. While I believe Notre Dame football has long been dead, the idea that a Fightin' Irish football team could lose to something called the Golden Hurricane (singular, which I believe makes it worse) indicates that any allure of this football program is gone.

Finally I just want to tell you that if you haven't seen Cam Newton play football, get yourself to a television next weekend. This guy (who is the QB for Auburn) is awesome to watch. At least as fun as LaMichael James to watch, and since he's not a Duck it's easier to be psyched to watch him succeed.

Also, he's not bad to look at either:

Thank you, Cam Newton. In the midst of a season wherein my teams are shameful and Oregon fans are being incredibly but predictably annoying, I salute you for making football-watching fun.

I am in hiding

Some of you may be saying, "Gee, Sheila. Why haven't you been posting your deep thoughts on college football recently?"

My answer: I am boycotting football that actually matters to me. I was so embarrassed by the Notre Dame - Boston College game, or as my friends referred to it, the Battle of Who Is Worst, that I just couldn't bring myself to write about college football.

Every year I think, 'This year I won't take it personally.'

Every year I am wrong.

I take it personally that two years ago my alma mater thought it was a good idea to fire Coach Jags because an NFL team wanted him. I take it personally that instead of hiring a real coach, BC's AD decided to go with the easy, cheap decision and take on Tom Selleck lookalike. I take it personally that the punter is averaging more yards per game than the quarterback.

Furthermore, I take it personally that Notre Dame still is able to recruit the top (able-to-read) receivers and quarterbacks in the nation, then can do nothing with them.

I take it personally that I have to live in a state where the Ducks also live, and as a result I have to listen to Ducks fans all season. And I have to watch the Ducks actually look really, really good.

Anyway, I'm trying. I promise.

Here are a few thoughts for you to chew on until Saturday:

--There are 11 freaking undefeated teams in the top 25 right now. The top ones are Ohio State and Oregon, but really there are a whole lot of good teams out there that could shape up to play some good ball down the road. Michigan State? I mean, I hate the Spartans but there's nothing better than a team playing for a sick coach. Or how about LSU? Damn they looked good last weekend. And Nebraska could win out the regular season and be shut out of the national title game too.

--Boise State and TCU: guess who no longer cares? Me. They're good. They are. I just still can't get behind teams that get to play their schedules each season. Even with OSU. I still can't root for them until they're playing decent teams week in and week out. That means I can't allow them to go into the ACC either, because the ACC is awful.

--Finally, here's something I totally disagree with: Eugene, Ore. being #3 on a list of best college football towns. Chapel Hill, NC ahead of Gainesville? No one even knew UNC had a football team til like 2 years ago. And they cheated to become a real football team. Speaking of, UVA? They have a football team? I am alarmed by this list. All I can guess is that they were just referring to "college towns" rather than "college football towns."

Have the writers been to Eugene? Because if they did they didn't leave campus.

The battle for last place

Sorry guys.

I stink because I failed to write anything for the past week or so.

Let me explain. I coach a boys soccer team. They're 8 and they're not very good. And they take up a lot of my time; incidentally, they also make me not want to have any children.

However, I have a job to do. So here you go.

I'm no longer talking about Boston College. First of all, they gained just 11 yards in the second half of their game against Virginia Tech on Saturday. Here's the problem with that: VT lost to a Div I-AA team, and also that's awful.

11 yards. You can walk that in like 10 seconds.

In other news, Notre Dame sucks too.

Now here's where it gets really bad: they play each other this weekend. It's the battle of who is the worst team in Division I-A. Get ready. It's going to be awful.

Why can't either of my teams have this guy?

I have bad news for you guys. There aren't really any good games today.

It's hard to get excited about the Texas Tech - Texas game when the man who was obsessed with pirates and UFOs and who was often invited to do the weather on the Lubbock TV station is gone.

That's right, folks. Mike Leach was a great coach who got fired for allegedly locking Adam James, the son of ESPN commentator Craig James, in an equipment locker after he got a mild concussion (or, perhaps, was just being a baby).

He was hilarious. Check out this ESPN video about him: I'm not joking when I say he loves pirates.

Without him, I really don't care about the Texas Tech - Texas game, except to see the new Texas QB who is replacing the boy named Colt. Unfortunately the new Texas QB has a way less interesting, ridiculous and Texas name.

Anyway, there aren't any games I'm very excited about. Though it will be interesting to see whether Virginia Tech is so bad that they lose to Eastern Carolina University after a loss last week to James Madison. That would be real real bad.