2 cents
A very ugly side of college football is on display in Miami, and it doesn’t have anything to do with the Gators and Sooners.
It’s how the University of Miami is treating quarterback Robert Marve like something sub-human. A commodity.
Marve, a top recruit two years ago out of Tampa Plant, is transferring. It happens all the time - a player doesn’t get along well with the coach, who has picked another top underclassman as the starter. A transfer to a new school is best for everybody.
Except Miami doesn’t want Marve to go any program that they deem a threat. So they won’t grant him a release to transfer to any other Atlantic Coast Conference school, only a few Southeastern Conference schools (no to LSU or Tennessee), and no schools in Florida.
So in order for Marve to continue his college football career, he has to leave the state. He can’t even go to USF, a decent Big East program in his hometown. And to make Randy Shannon and the Hurricanes appear even more callous, Marve’s father has cancer, and he understandably wants his son reasonably close to home.
As Yahoo’s Dan Wetzel wrote, you never see a school prohibit someone on a theatre scholarship from transferring, so why should they care about Marve?
Didn’t Miami accept Brock Berlin after he wished to transfer from Florida in 2001? You bet.
Marve’s family has threatened legal action. Hope they have a great attorney.

Redrawing the college football map, Russian style

A Wall Street Journal story last Monday raised a few eyebrows, detailing the prediction of Russian professor Igor Panarin that the United States will collapse in 2010, a victim of moral and economic decay.
Panarin says the U.S. will split into four separate republics (see the map above), with Alaska going back to the Russians, and that there’s a “55-45 percent chance right now that disintegration will occur.”
It will cause a profound change, of course. We’ll need passports to get to South Carolina, and I guess we’ll all have to learn Spanish. Yet nobody has talked about what will be really important - how this affects college football.
Oklahoma and Florida would still play for the national title. The Mexican national title.
Down here in Mexico, we’ll certainly have the best football. We’ll see a championship battle between Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas and LSU every year, not to mention Florida State, Miami, Arkansas, Auburn, etc.
Tennessee, split off from its former SEC brethren, will have to deal with Clemson, Virginia Tech and Penn State (split from the Big Ten) for the European title. It looks like Ohio State and Michigan will be playing for the Canadian national championship every year, and Southern Cal, of course, will be the class of China.
And maybe, just maybe, they can all get together at the end and play a four-game playoff? Heck, it would be better than the current system.


RIP to UNF jinx

Good news for UNF’s athletic program: Your facilities are officially no longer jinxed.
In fact, the jinx has totally reversed itself. Nebraska, which trained at the University of North Florida last week, rallied to win the Gator Bowl, giving UNF-trained teams three wins in a row. Texas Tech, the 2008 champ, won last year after training at UNF, and West Virginia won in 2007. The teams that trained at UNF, from 2002-2006:
Game    Jinxed team    Lost to

2003 Gator Bowl    Notre Dame    N.C. State 28-6

2004 Gator Bowl    West Virginia    Maryland 41-7

2004 Olympics    USA Basketball    Argentina 89-81

2005 Gator Bowl    West Virginia    Florida State 30-18

2005 Super Bowl    Phila. Eagles    New England 24-21

2006 Gator Bowl    Louisville    Virginia Tech 35-24

One of the nice things about working on the Sports Desk is that people bring us their leftover candy and goodies. And since there are a bunch of us and we're usually hungry it almost always is consumed. But sometimes we get something really weird. Like this:

We're not completely sure what it is, and even though it's some kind of chocolate wrapped around a pretzel it just doesn't look like it would taste good. Or smell good. In fact, it looks like some kind of movie prop from Caddyshack.

Last year somebody gave us a box of the Worst Candy Ever Made. It tasted like vomit and motor oil mixed together inside a hard chocolate shell. It was as if somebody boiled the emotion of Hate into a taste and made candy from that. But most of us tried it anyway just to see how bad it really was. And it came in a nice chocolate box ... Kevin Upright polished off most of that.

Edit: Uppy just ate the thing. He said "I'm not scared ... it's just a pretzel with chocolate on it."

2 Cents

It’s that time of year again. It’s time for quarterback Brett Favre to put another team’s plans in limbo while he decides whether not to retire.

First, it was the Packers and now, it’s the Jets’ turn.  

Look, I think he is on the short list of the best quarterbacks to play the game, but c’mon. 

This is not five years ago. 

Make up your mind and be done with it already.

The Jets want Favre back, for some reason. Even though he led the NFL in interceptions for a third time. 

But if he waits too long — and I saw the other day that he will not decide for several months — the Jets will be faced with the prospect of some veteran free agent or Kellen Clemens.

Yikes.

Here’s how the conversation should go with his family.

Favre: “Remember that long talk we had last spring about my future.” Family: “Yes.” Favre: “ Well, just keep all that in mind again.”

Favre was a stud, but his time has passed and the Jets should pass now.

2 Cents

Former NBA star Charles Barkley provided further proof of why he’s “not a role model” when he was arrested early Wednesday on suspicion of driving under the influence.

Apparently, instead of inspiring youngsters, Barkley wanted to show New Year’s revelers what not to do after they’ve thrown back a few to celebrate the start of what I can only hope is a better year than the last one.

Role model or not, there’s never a good reason to drink and drive.

Take a cab, man. I know you can afford it.

Memorable meetings

In my end-of-the-year musings, I started thinking about some of the local athletes I interviewed in the past 12 months. I have to admit, one of the perks of my job is all the interesting people I get to meet. Not just celebrity-caliber athletes, but everyday people who have made their mark on area sports in some way. So here are five of my favorite local athletes from 2008 and why meeting them is a special memory for me:

• Donna Deegan, three-time cancer survivor and creator of the 26.2 with Donna: The National Marathon to Fight Breast Cancer — Her story might be one of the most inspiring I’ve ever had the privilege to tell.

• Memorable quote: “I think beyond the birth of my children, it probably gave me more joy than anything that I’ve ever done in my life.” — on creating the 26.2 with Donna.

• Molly Manning, former Bartram Trail pitcher and 2008 Times-Union All-First Coast softball player of the year — She has the most infectious personality of any high school athlete I met this year. I think I spent half the interview laughing.

• Memorable quote: ”It’s weird to think that I’m known as a softball player. I’ve been playing basketball since I was in the womb, basically. I was at basketball games when my mom was pregnant, so it’s weird how it worked out — but I’m glad it did.”

• Todd Martin, former ATP star who beat Pete Sampras in an exhibition at Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena in March — Martin might have the best sense of humor of any local athlete I’ve met. In a five-minute interview after the match, he made at least five jokes.

• Memorable quote: “Winning, frankly, is really nice. The thing I was most concerned about was coming out here and getting shellacked, but I kept that from happening early in the match, which was good.”

• Kim Pawelek, elite area runner who has competed in three Olympic marathon trials — She just has her own way of saying things. I talk to her several times a year for various running stories, and she’s my favorite interview.

• Memorable quote: “Once you hit that finish line, it’s just like ... you accomplished all your goals. But that’s not even the finish line. There is no finish line in running.”

• Grant Prather, UNF student and River Run competitor, who was born with cystic fibrosis — His story was another inspiring one that I felt privileged to tell.

• Memorable quote: “[I’ll] switch on Eye of the Tiger on my iPod and just try to keep moving.” — on how he planned to tackle the Green Monster of the Hart Bridge during the race.

 

 2 cents

So the Pro Bowl is going to be played in Miami in 2010.That will certainly entice Dolphins players to play hard that year and to be the best at their position so that they can get in their car and drive to Dolphin Stadium to play in a meaningless all-star game.Better yet, what do you think Dolphins wives would be saying about that time? They miss out on a chance to enjoy the beaches, pineapples and surf of Hawaii in order to stay home and enjoy the same beaches, oranges and surf of Miami Beach that they see 365 days a year. After all, the trip to the Pro Bowl is as much about taking your family and in some cases, your teammates, to a place where many players have never been. Can you just hear Miami quarterback Chad Pennington (above) telling his offensive line, that with his selection to the Pro Bowl squad, he’s going to honor them for all the hard work they did in protecting him this season by … carpooling them to the game?What if Miami had been the destination of last year’s Pro Bowl game? Can you imagine some of the luster that would have been lost in Fred Taylor’s case of finally making it to this game after 10 years in the league? With family and friends in the Miami suburbs, it just would have been another trip home for Taylor.I do like the idea of playing the game the week before the Super Bowl, giving the Pro Bowl better exposure. But there’s something unique about the game being played in Hawaii. Let’s hope the NFL realizes that and gets the game back on the island as quickly as possible after the 2010 excursion to Miami. What I’d like to see in the next 12 months, sports-wiseWith less than 24 hours until we flip the calendar and welcome 2009, here’s a list of sports happenings that I’d like to see for the Jacksonville area over the next 12 months:January: A venture-capital group builds a hockey arena in St. Johns County and locks in minor-league hockey for the next five years.February: Danica Patrick stuns NASCAR by capturing the Daytona 500 in a photo finish over Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr.March: Jacksonville University wins the Atlantic Sun Tournament, then knocks off Duke in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.April: The MPS Group tennis tournament at Sawgrass comes up with enough venues to attract a quality field of players to match the play we’re accustomed to seeing at Amelia Island.May: Cautious with his rehabilitation, Tiger Woods uses The Players as his return to the Tour but loses in a playoff to fan favorite Jim Furyk, who uses an ace on the 17th hole to help register a one-shot win.June: The Jaguars sign free agent defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth to a multi-year deal with a first-ever contract that is based strictly on game performance.July: The Florida Marlins continually send their injured players to Jacksonville, where they rehab and spend an average of a week each playing for the Suns to order to regain their timing.August: The University of North Florida unveils plans to field a scholarship football team within the next three years, with the first game against JU at Hodges Stadium.September: On the first play of the season opener, the Jaguars complete a pass to a receiver, and the play goes for more than 20 yards.October: The Jaguars and a foreign car company announce a 10-year, $80 million dollar deal for the naming rights to the stadium, keeping the Jaguars in the city through at least 2019.November: Florida State completes a magical 11-1 regular season with a 31-30 victory in Gainesville to come within a win over Miami in the ACC title game of playing for the BCS national championship.December: The Jaguars rest their regulars after having locked up home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs with a 13-3 record.  

2 Cents

The next month will tell us a little bit about Bill Parcells. 

We already know he’s a great coach. We already know he’s done a fantastic job as a team executive this year with the Dolphins. We already know he looks like Mrs. Doubtfire and Colin Montgomerie.

But due to a clause in the four-year contract he signed last year, he can opt out of that deal, demand the $12 million remaining and walk away with a giant sack of cash if the team is sold. According to the AP, a deal to sell the majority of the team is expected to be finalized soon after this season is over.

What would you do? Would you take the cash and start somewhere fresh? Would you renegotiate? Would you work through with the deal you have? Parcells has the leverage and the resume, so he is once again in complete control.

There’s no doubt the fans in Miami appreciate what Parcells has done for them. Now we’ll see what he can do for himself.

 2 cents

I read one of the saddest commentaries on fame gone wrong that I’ve ever heard this weekend.

The 12-year-old son of former England soccer star Paul Gascoigne apparently told a British TV channel that his father is beyond help with his addiction to alcohol and struggle with mental health issues.“He’s probably going to die soon,” Regan Gascoigne told a Channel Four film crew in a documentary to be shown in 2009. “I don’t think there’s any point helping him — we’re wasting our time. If I could wish, I would wish that he would go away from us.“Everyone thinks he’s Gazza, but because he’s the top player doesn’t mean he’s a good dad or a good person to be with, does it, really?”Personally, I don’t believe anyone is ever beyond help. But I don’t have Gazza for a father, either.Who knows what this boy has been through and seen to say something like that about his own father.It’s just another stark reminder that fame isn’t everything.

 2 cents

It’s not that I’m against a playoff system, it’s just that no one has shown me a playoff plan that I’m comfortable with.

As a result, give me a bowl game today, tomorrow, the next day and each day for the next week or so leading up to the BCS championship game.

I’ve seen playoff pundits talk about anywhere from a four-team field to a 16-team field for a playoff. I’m telling you, it just won’t work.

Take an eight-team field, which seems to be the most popular suggestion. We’re talking about three weeks worth of games for two teams. You say that you want to keep the current bowl games involved, so that four bowl games would host quarterfinal games, two others would get semifinal matchups and one would get the championship game.

If you’re one of the eight teams, do you go into a bowl town for six or seven days, like most bowl teams do now? I hardly think a school administration would go for that. For two teams, that would mean sending an official party to three different sites for a week for three consecutive weeks.

You can’t just have teams arrive the night before the game and play the next day, even though that’s the procedure followed for a normal road game. But how exciting would that be for a bowl committee, to entertain the two teams for one day and then play the game?

Nebraska players got off their plane in Jacksonville on Friday, excited to be in a city that was 30 or 40 degrees warmer than back home. As the Cornhuskers filed through the Marriott Sawgrass lobby, you could just see the excitement and satisfaction of knowing they would be in sunshine and warm weather for the next seven days. A playoff was the farthest thing from their minds. They were out of the cold of Nebraska for a week, at a bowl game at which they would have fun, be catered to and receive nice gifts.

BCS playoff, bah humbug. Give me an old-fashioned bowl game any day.

Gardner’s long season

NFL players will often use the phrase “Not For Long” when talking about a playing career in the league. No one might know that better than Jaguars defensive back Isaiah Gardner, whose 2008 season must have felt like a revolving door. Gardner might have woken up some mornings trying to remember if he was a member of the Jaguars roster that day or not.

  Here’s what Gardner went through after making it through training camp and all the way to the final cuts for the 53-man roster this season:

  Aug. 30 — waived

  Aug. 31 — signed to the practice squad

  Sept. 2 — signed a contract

  Sept. 9 — waived

  Sept. 10 — signed to the practice squad

  Oct. 4 — signed a contract

  Oct. 25 — waived

  Oct. 29 — signed to the practice squad

  Dec. 10 — signed a contract

  Dec. 21 — waived

  Dec. 23 — signed to the practice squad

 

2 Cents

Charles Barkley has apologized to new Auburn football coach Gene Chizik, but Barkley needn’t apologize to anyone else.

Barkley, an Auburn alumnus, went off on his school after the Tigers’ athletic administration bypassed black candidate Turner Gill and chose Chizik, who was hired despite a 5-19 record as head coach of Iowa State. Barkley said race was clearly a factor in the decision. 

How could it not be? Chizik’s biggest plus is he’s a former Auburn assistant coach. But his Iowa State team lost its last 10 games this season (without having to play Oklahoma, Texas or Texas Tech) and was trounced 38-10 by Baylor. Sorry, but coaches with that kind of record aren’t usually hired by potential college football powerhouses. 

Gill turned a University of Buffalo team that was 10-69 before he took over in 2006 into this year’s MAC champion. If his credentials aren’t impressive enough, then Chizik’s aren’t, either.

Barkley added that he served on Auburn’s search committee to hire a basketball coach before the 2004-05 season. He said he pitched black candidates Mike Davis (subsequently hired by UAB), Mike Anderson (hired at Missouri) and Jeff Capel (hired at Oklahoma). Instead, Auburn chose Jeff Lebo, whose SEC record with the Tigers is 19-45. 

While Barkley sometimes thrives on the outrageous, this time he’s simply telling the truth.    

Just what they need

’Tis the season for holiday gifts, so here’s what may be on a few wish lists for the rest of 2008 and into ’09:

• Rod Marinelli, coach of the 0-15 Lions: Cow, pillow, crossbow. Anything that ends with a W.

• James Harris: Another chance with an NFL team.

• New York Yankees: Fiscal restraint.

• Jerry Porter: A mask.

• University of Texas football team: New and improved BCS computers.

• Boston Celtics: Competition.

• GM, Ford, Chrysler: A new game plan.

• Jack Del Rio: Last year’s game plan.

• Duke, UNC basketball: Same old game plan.

• Notre Dame football: Ara Parseghian’s game plan.

• Manny Pacquiao: National recognition.

• Phil Mickelson, caddie Steve Williams: Boxing gloves.

• Auburn athletic department: A clue.

• Plaxico Burress: A water pistol.

• Rest of the world: A happy new year.

2 Cents

In the run-up to the BCS title game, I’ve heard more than once that the AP national champion doesn’t count anymore.

I’ve heard talking heads and Times-Union colleagues say the BCS means everything now. 

I couldn’t disagree more.

While I appreciate the BCS giving us a legitimate No. 1 vs. 2 matchup nearly every year, I can’t fully buy into a system that’s only been around for a decade. The Associated Press has been voting for a champion since 1936.

The BCS system certainly hasn’t been without controversy. I consider Southern Cal’s AP national title in 2003 just as valid as LSU’s claim as the BCS champion.

It’s hard to buy into a system when the coaches are contractually obligated to vote the BCS champion No. 1.

That’s not a poll. It’s a dictatorship.

The AP national champion has come up in the debate this year, because some fans and pundits are speculating that Texas could win a backdoor AP national title.

The thinking is that the Longhorns’ win over Oklahoma might persuade the AP voters, if Texas wins its bowl game and the Sooners beat Florida by a slim margin.

In that instance, I’d probably disagree with the result, but I’d respect Texas as a champion. It’s hard to argue with a victory on the field.

And I’ll take the AP national champion over the BCS any day.