Koo’s Corner

Besides the cost of living, the only other drawback to living in the Bay Area is the lack of passion surrounding college football. It’s well documented that the Bay Area and New York City are the two least enthused and engaged urban areas when it comes to college football. Its really a shame.

Despite the fact that Stanford and CAL open up with intruiging home openers, the passion and excitement of the nation’s most crazed sports fan base has yet to resonate in the world of high tech, outdoors, and cosmpolitan enthusiasts.

Regardless I am pysched and hilight some of the key games I will be watching thanks to the ESPN College Game plan in my latest edition of Koo’s News which is linked below.
http://www.bucknuts.com/news/story.php?article=1580

Althought 60% of the content in the article is OSU related the bottom section titled “The National Scene” is and will be a quick guide for any casual college football fan on the upcoming weekend. Enjoy!

A decent sized contingency of co-workers, friend and acquaintances have been asking for me to give them some fantasy football advice. Since I have done two out of three of my drafts, I will share my thoughts on best practices for your upcoming draft.

First Round Thoughts:
I am seeing a lot of drafts where Pennsylvania running backs are going in the first round (Willy Parker and Brian Westbrook). I do not see them as first round picks and believe you would be better off picking Lawrence Maroney or Joseph Addai. Both backs are on better teams, no longer have to split carries, and will get a lot of carries milking the clock with leads. Most importantly they are younger.

Also don’t be afraid to draft Peyton Manning. It’s a safe bet in a year where there are a lot of question marks in the first round.

Good Value Picks/Sleepers:
Below is a list of guys who I believe will outperform their average draft position

Thomas Jones- I think he will get over 1300 yards. Keep in mind the Jets drafted 2 first round O lineman last year who played pretty damn well last year.

Jay Cutler- This kid is going to be good

Anquan Boldin- He will be playing Hines Ward position in Ken Wisenehunt’s new offense and might even throw for a touchdown.

Tony Romo- First full year at the helm. They are going to let him air it out

Chris Chambers- First time in his career he has had a real qb.

Brandon Jackson- Confident the rookie will be getting 15-20 carries a game by week 4

Anthony Gonzalez- A perfect fit in Indy. Peyton has been vibing with him already

Stay away from

Mark Bulger- Going against my peers but the offensive line isn’t that good, Bruce is near retirement, Holt is getting old, and Bulger is horrible on the run

Maurice Jones Drew- He had a ridiculous year last year so his draft stock is a little inflated. They Jags still like Taylor too.

Chris Cooley- Mark Brunell looked for him, but Jason Campbell wont as much. He can’t stretch the field either.

Steve Smith- the running game is non-existent and Keyshawn is no longer on the other side.

I always go on rants about good and bad commercials. With that in mind I am going to start a new feature on my site where I give an enthusiastic thumbs up or thumbs down to new commercials. The innagural commercial goes to Roger Clemens’ new Cingular ad (this will be the last distinction he needs to get into Cooperstown).

This commercial gets a thumps up from me as the already successful Cingular dropped calls series adds a new twist by incorporating humor that pokes fun of celebrities. Roger Clemens, hasn’t been a popular spokesperson but does a great job hear poking fun at his propensity to come out of retirement mid season. The funny thing is that Roger Clemens may be getting close to earning more money post his initial retirement than he did in his extensive MLB career. The Cingular money isnt too shabby either.

If you are familiar with HBO, then you are aware that the network trots out many interesting, unique, and brilliant shows that are a far cry from anything else on tv. Some of these shows become monster hits (Sopranos, Sex In the City, Entourage) while others garner critical acclaim but fail to achieve mainstream success (Ali G Show, The Wire, Deadwood). There is also a third category of shows on HBO that fail to resonate with a cult audience as well as the average viewer and find themselves quickly canceled (Lucky Louie , The Comeback, John From Cincinnati-yup already canceled). With so many HBO shows not making it past their rookie campaign, industry experts were split on if Flight of The Conchords would have a sophomore campaign.

Going into last week it was not clear if Flight of the Conchords was going to be make it for a second season. Despite a rabid group of fans, the quirky show was performing only marginally for a show that follows a smash hit like Entourage.

Luckily HBO made the smart decision to renew the show that has slowly but surely seeped its way into mainstream pop culture significance. With Sportscenter anchors quoting the show, an abundance of clips on youtube, a plethora of fan websites, and a fan base that spans my boss, his boss, my roomates, my former roommates, a large contingency of my friends and my fantasy football commisioner, HBO pulled the trigger on bringing back the funniest/oddest shows on television.

If you are not familiar with the show, here are a couple of clips to take in.

Below is the link to the college football preview I wrote for bucknuts.com. Its not a premium article so everyone can enjoy.

http://www.bucknuts.com/news/story.php?article=1516

This may surprise you but no college football team has won 2 BCS Championships. Florida State, Oklahoma, Miami, USC, and Ohio State all had shots to win two championships and were all favored but could not accomplish this feat. Unless a Big East team or Michigan or Wisconsin win it this year, its likely we will have our first two time champion.

The Top Ten looks like this

1. USC

2. Texas

3. Oklahoma

4. Michigan

5. LSU

6. West Virginia

7. Ohio State

8. UCLA

9. Wisconsin

10. Louisville

Below is an example of the format used in the article

7. Ohio State

What the Roster Tells You: The Buckeyes return a star-studded defense led by All-American candidates DE Vernon Gholston, LB James Laurinaitis, and CB Malcolm Jenkins.

Ohio State returns the best offensive line in the conference but will be hard-pressed to replace the production of Heisman winning quarterback Troy Smith, leading rusher Antonio Pittman, and first round picks Anthony Gonzalez and Teddy Ginn. Running back Chris Wells showed flashes of brilliance in his freshmen campaign but will have to improve on ball security as well as his pass catching skills. There will be a lot of focus on the new wave of Ohio State wide receivers in helping out new quarterback Todd Boeckman.

What the Schedule Tells You: Ohio State has a pretty tame schedule until late October where they will face Penn State, Wisconsin, and Michigan in three of the last four games of the year.

Four Toughest Games: at Purdue, at Penn State, Wisconsin, at Michigan

Bottom Line: Chris Wells should become a household name by the end of the year but the reality is that the Buckeyes will only go as far as their quarterback takes them.

IT SHOULD BE NOTED that the first batter Jenks faced after I wrote the below blog got a hit off of him thus ending the streak. I could blame myself but I will opt to blame the White Sox who sat him a week as the team continued to lose.

Baseball seems to be the sport where the most significance is put on records. Maybe it’s because the game is considerablyslower and fans and announcers have to fill the void with meaningful talking points to keep fans engaged.

For whatever reason, baseball fans can rattle off a plethora of impressive records and feats that may or may not be broken.

Several years ago my favorite team, the Oakland A’s, won an astonishing 20 games in a row. I remember thinking I do not know if I will see this again in my lifetime. I didn’t just mean that the A’s could not repeat this feat, but that it would be very unlikely that any MLB team would win 20 in a row. In fact before the A’s run of 20 consecutive wins, no team had accomplished the feat since the 1920’s.

The A’s wining streak tied an AL record but has faded into obscurity already. Yesterday another very impressive record was tied is very likely to be broken.

Under the cover of the start of the NFL preseason and Barry Bonds’ record breaking homerun, Chicago White Sox closer Bobby Jenks has marched his way into the history books by retiring his 41^st consecutive batter.

Closers have quite the challenge finding their way into history as well as the Hall of Fame. Who is the all time saves leader? Who holds the record for most saves in a season? More than likely the names Lee Smith and Bobby Thigpen were not on the tip of your tongue.

It’s in my opinion that baseball closers and goalies in hockey are the two positions that have the most career volatility. Rivera and Hoffman are the exception to the rule as even the best closers find themselves demoted in a short period of time (Brad Lidge, John Rocker, Keith Foulke, Billy Koch, Eddy Guardardo, and the list goes on and on)

With all of this in mind, its time to give love to the stocky fireballer from the Windy City. Jenks has not given up a hit OR a walk since July 17^th. In that time frame he has recorded 8 saves and a win in 13 appearances.

Jenks has taken the mound 13x and has retired the side in order 13 straight times in addition to the last two batters he faced on the 17^th of July. 6 teams have faced Jenks with the game on the line during this impressive streak and all have come up empty. None of the last 41 professional hitters who have stepped in the box to face Jenks have been able to to get some small talk in with Whitesox first baseman, Paul Konerko. No smalltalk, No hits, no walks, no chance, and most importantly no blown saves.

Jenks has never been revered as an A list closer. In fact most fantasy baseball “experts” had him outside the top ten out of all major league closers. Regardles of the consensus opinion that Jenks was just another arm in the fast revolving closer industry, Jenks is now on the verge of history for accomplishing something insanely improbable.

Jenks is likely to go for the record sometime this week and more than likely will be against my beloved A’s. I am sure the hype will build if and when Jenks break and extends the record. I really hope so because its going to be awhile if we ever see anything like this. How long is this going to go on and who is going to join Jenks in history as being the guy who broke up this remarkable streak?

Regardless whatever Jenks puts the new record at, I have that same feeling that “we might never see this again”. Hitters are too good and the strike is too small for a pitcher to retire 40+ hitters. Its way to easy for hitters to eek out a base hit or work a walk in a tight game. Somehow Jenks has defied the odds and is on the verge of breaking a record that will likely go unnoticed and unappreciated by the sports world. Its not as sexy and memorable as other records we celebrate, but to me 41 consecutive hitters is pretty damn impressive and I am anxious to see just how far he can go even if it comes at the expense of my A’s.

 

Congrats to Bobby and the defense behind for being so stellar when the game is on the line.

 

Below are two examples of a trick football play that seems to be gaining some popularity

Here is an even stealthier example

I am a fan of trick plays in football, but am going to say that this takes it too far. Although most trick plays have a level of deception to them, this trick play involves tricking the defense that that play has not even started. The defense simply has no chance because they are not even aware a snap has taken place.

Below are 2 trick plays that I would like to see team’s use more often that are deceptive yet fair.

1) 11th man fake fg play- I saw this in a college game about a decade ago and was able to get my high school team to run it. Basically you line up for a normal field goal, and the kicker counts the men on the field. He screams at a supposed 12th man to get off the field to avoid a penalty. The rest of the team can play along and point for him to get off.

However the player running towards the sideline is in fact a legal 11th man and is actually in motion. Once he is near the sideline, the holder or kicker than calls for the snap and lobs a ball to the sideline where he is all alone. Although this play uses some deception and acting, the defense is aware of the snap and has the ability to react although in most cases it is too late.

2) A play I think is ideal for third and short is the fake QB timeout. I initially saw the Rams execute this one a couple of years back. Basically the offense sets up in a normal formation. The quarter back then takes a hard look at the defense and then acts as if he is going to call a timeout. He unstraps his helmet and starts to walk to the sideline. Usually defenses relax just enough for a quick snap to the HB to go unnoticed as the offensive line gets an easy surge up the middle. Its a low risk play that usually can gain an easy 3-8 yards and isn’t bush league like the video above because once again defenses have the chance to react.

I have no qualms about the use of trick plays in football, but wanted to point a trick play that is making a stir that seems to go to far. Love to hear your opinion on the “wrong ball” play as well as some trick plays you don’t think get their just due.

Television’s Golden Era?

As you flip through the mass amount of channels that satellite and cable have added to their basic programming packages, you may find yourself coming to the realization that the quality of television has significantly gone down hill. While I do see how one could come to that sentiment flipping between Wild’ N Out and Mind of Mencia, I strongly disagree.

Yes there is crap on television. A whole lot of crap. However in between the crap there is an unprecedented and diverse group of shows with large cult followings. While there has always been popular shows that have garnered passionate fans who tune in every week (or at least DVR/Tivo each new episode), never has there been such a deep and broad spectrum of shows that captivate cult audiences.

Perpetuating this explosion of shows with cult followings is the sudden increase in the distribution of television shows on DVD. While I cannot find a statistic to cite, there has been an obvious and dramatic increase in shelf space at retailers as well personal collections that are now taken up by boxed sets of shows.

The upward surge of boxed sets combined in addition to shows being hosted via cable provider’s On Demand services as well as cable channels streaming past episodes has been a critical factor in allowing high quality shows reach new audiences. These innovative distribution methods have allowed fans to relive past seasons, get ramped up for a new season, and introduce shows to their friends and family.

Many of these shows have which are past their inaugural season have been able to harvest new fans who are late to the party. I myself have now watched every episode of Sopranos, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and The Wire although I was late to the party and had to catch up on these story lines via DVD’s and On-Demand.

Below I will list and classify shows that have built themselves a base of fans who try not to miss an episode and often watch the show with other fans.

Keep in mind that there are genres of television that are increasingly popular but do not have individual shows that will make this list. For example ESPN, TLC, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, and News Coverage are all examples of programming that is growing a larger audience but lacks the individual star power to stand out. I also want to note that I was very selective when picking what reality shows and game shows made the list as I feel a lot of these programs are watched by casual fans.

Mass ratings/ cultural significance –

Shows garner enough attention where the show is often” water cooler conversation” and are referenced in mainstream media.

Lost- Losing some steam but definitely going strong

Desperate Housewives- Milfs sells

Sopranos- The last words of the show were perfect… “Don’t stop”

The Apprentice- Depends on the season

Entourage- Extra bonus points for nudity, drugs, and of course Ari Gold. I have also been very impressed that the quality of storylines has not gone down hill.

Survivor- Someone invited me to a Survivor Party recently… Says it all

Gray’s Anatomy- Recently I was complaining about life when I was told “Don’t go Gray’s Anatomy on me”

24- This show is crack to many people. My parents are on the crack

Prison Break- A good friends of mine never misses watching this show with her mom….. Or she just is blowing me off.

American Idol- Never watched a full episode but I can’t escape its cultural significance

Friday Night Lights- Blew away low expectations. Doing quite well

Rob and Big- I might be overstating this show’s popularity, but it seems as big as Big Black

The Office- Can’t get enough Steve Carrel

Family Guy- Might be considered more of a niche show but the fact it was able to come back to Fox instead of a cable network was huge

Simpsons – Some of the top colleges in the US have philosophy classes that revolve around the Simpsons

South Park- I love to watch this show when I feel too grown up. It hits the spot.

CSI (all of them)- This in addition to CBS shows like Without a Trace and Criminal Minds are a hit with the older crowd

Heroes- People love it, and it’s quickly infiltrating more social networks

Dancing with the Stars- Women love it, guys can stomach it.

Smaller Niche hits-

Fails to reach mainstream acceptance but has a significant base of fans who swear the show is under appreciated. Usually positively received by critics

 

House- the main character annoys me but that doesn’t stop millions from tuning in weekly

The Wire- Wikipedia this show to see how much praise this show has garnered. It’s not for everyone, but I think this show is absolutely brilliant and thought provocative

Veronica Mars – How can a show make this list that got cancelled? Family guy was cancelled to only to return with a vengeance. Very possible this show does the same

The Shield- A badass show

Big Love- this could be HBO’s new star with no more Sopranos and The Wire in its final season

Curb Your Enthusiasm- Unfortunately there is a Larry David in all of us. I am really interested to see if his real world divorce will seep its way into the show.

Rescue Me- Never watched a full episode but I keep getting hassled to do so.

2 ½ men- Anything that keeps Charlie Sheen employed and out of movies should be recognized

How I met your Mother- Older people liked this show which wasn’t a surprise but recently I have heard people my age recommending it to me. Go Doogie!

Laguna Beach/ The Hills- The world would be a better place without these shows. However I recently heard this on Sportscenter “Justin Verlander is like Spencer in the Hills…. He’s bring the cheese”

Punked- The shenanigans are not growing old, but Ashton screaming at the camera giving his commentary definitely is.

Colbert Report- Colbert Nation is constantly challenged to flex their muscle by their leader.

My Sweet 16- Another national epidemic plaguing our country. Fun to watch though.

Getting close-

Look for these shows to possibly make the jump to one of the above two categories.

 

Weeds- People don’t usually pay for Showtime….

Dexter- Lots of buzz but not a lot of people tuning in.

Flight of the Concords- Will be interesting to see if this gets picked up. This fills the void left by the Ali G show as the wacky stonerific show.

Shark- Kind of like House but with a lawyer not a doctor.

Damages- Already renewed for next year

Adventures of Hollyhood- Thoroughly entertaining

I will try to update this page from time to time

Interview with Alex Coates/Lexco44

http://www.bucknuts.com/news/story.php?article=3680

Tale of Four Rookies Part IV Troy Smith- includes interview

http://bucknuts.com/news/story.php?article=3565

Tale of Four Rookies Part III Anthony Gonzalez

http://bucknuts.com/news/story.php?article=3564

Tale of Four Rookies Part II Ted Ginn

http://bucknuts.com/news/story.php?article=3563

Tale of Four Rookies Part I Antonio Pittman

http://bucknuts.com/news/story.php?article=3562

Ohio State Solidifying its status as Linebacker University

http://www.bucknuts.com/news/story.php?article=3508

Sitting This Dance out

http://bucknuts.com/news/story.php?article=3107

10 Plays that Got the Buckeyes to New Orleans

http://bucknuts.com/news/story.php?article=2601

2007 College Football Regular Season Recap

http://www.bucknuts.com/news/story.php?article=2421

Big 12 Championship Preview Article

http://www.bucknuts.com/news/story.php?article=2353

Tressel vs. Carr, the last Chapter?

http://bucknuts.com/news/story.php?article=2254

Koo’s News 11/9

http://www.bucknuts.com/news/story.php?article=2193

Buckntus Staff Bball predictions

http://www.bucknuts.com/news/story.php?article=2193

Koo’s News 10/25

http://www.bucknuts.com/news/story.php?article=2060

Koo’s College Halftime Report

http://www.bucknuts.com/news/story.php?article=1918

Koo’s News 9/27

http://bucknuts.com/news/story.php?article=1815

Koo’s News 9/20

http://bucknuts.com/news/story.php?article=1756

Special Teams: Where Momentum Swings (based on my awesome interviewing)

http://www.bucknuts.com/news/story.php?article=1722

James Laurunitis Road Opener Article ((based on my awesome interviewing)

http://www.bucknuts.com/news/story.php?article=1720

Bucknuts Photo Gallery with some of my photos

http://bucknuts.com/news/story.php?article=1732

Pictures from Field Pass vs Washington

http://gallery.mac.com/bennybuckeye#100003&sel=0

Koo’s News 9/13

http://bucknuts.com/news/story.php?article=1689

Koo’s News 9/6

http://www.bucknuts.com/news/story.php?article=1633

Koo’s News 8/30

http://www.bucknuts.com/news/story.php?article=1580

Top 25 College Football Preview

http://www.bucknuts.com/news/story.php?article=1516

Top 25 bball preview
http://www.bucknuts.com/news/story.php?article=1250

Josh Jenkins update
http://www.bucknuts.com/news/story.php?article=1212

Lamaar Thomas recruiting Article
http://www.bucknuts.com/news/story.php?article=1205

Matt Sylvester Update
http://bucknuts.com/news/story.php?article=1158

Ohio State Draft Destination Article
http://bucknuts.com/news/story.php?article=986

Quinn Pittcock Interview
http://bucknuts.com/news/story.php?article=962

Championship Preview
http://www.bucknuts.com/news/story.php?article=827

Final 4 Showdown Preview
http://www.bucknuts.com/news/story.php?article=806

Ron Lewis NBA Article
http://www.bucknuts.com/news/story.php?article=769

Anatomy of a Comeback Part 2
http://www.bucknuts.com/news/story.php?article=768

Anatomy of a Comeback
http://www.bucknuts.com/news/story.php?article=741

Sunday Fun day
http://www.bucknuts.com/news/story.php?article=703

Upcoming Big 10 tourney
http://www.bucknuts.com/news/story.php?article=679

Better chance at OSU championship
http://www.bucknuts.com/news/story.php?article=529

Documentary Interview
http://www.bucknuts.com/news/story.php?article=459

Tressel Top 15 Wins
http://www.bucknuts.com/news/story.php?article=348

Florida Bball preview
http://www.bucknuts.com/news/story.php?article=278

End of the year Awards
http://www.bucknuts.com/news/story.php?article=258

10 plays that got buckeyes to Glendale
http://ohiostate.scout.com/2/598606.html

A Saturday to remember
http://ohiostate.scout.com/2/596983.html

This is not new content but rather something I wrote about a month ago…. I wrote it for message board and my post was later quoted in an article about the acquisition. If you are not familiar with rivals.com, its a network of team specific fan websites. Scout.com is their only real competition and they were purchased by Fox in the days after Fox’s myspace acquisition. Scout.com has some serious financial and legal issues right now. The below was my analysis+reaction that this was yahoo’s attempt to get back at google.

“Yahoo and Google are two big movers and shakers in the valley but they are competing less and less.

Google stole the internet search engine market from yahoo and has branched off many different business units successfully. They are looking to get more into software, applications, and online tools. Yahoo is still in their sights, but they are gravitating more towards competing with Microsoft. Google doesn’t create a lot of its own content but just shrewdly makes money off its uncanny efficiency to organize information.

Yahoo on the other hand is redefining itself as the leading online media and services company. In the sports world they have been breaking a lot of stories (Reggy Bush house story for example).

Yahoo offers more robust services that are considered web 2.0 like fantasy sports, a music store, flickr (photo sharing), finance, and real estate.

I use a lot yahoo resources but google has the better and more defined business model.

As for the acquisition, I think it will mix it up a lot. I believe a decent amount of Rivals content was being syndicated on yahoo sports so yahoo does know what they are buying. Yahoo sports is continuing to grow and are doing some pretty solid work, but is anyone noticing and are they making money?

By buying Rivals yahoo will be able to absorb multiple passionate fan bases, to its growing sports reporting network. Fox hasn’t really done much with Scout, and the fact the big ten network and college football news is under the Fox umbrella makes you think what their move will be if Scout continues to implode.

Yahoo has been pretty shrewd with its acquisitions and synergy between business segments so I could see the rivals purchase helping out in a couple of areas (fantasy sports, search engine market share, yahoo travel, maps) and maybe putting more umph to rivals breaking into television.

Another thing to be aware of is the rumor that Fox might sell /trade myspace to yahoo for 25% stake in yahoo. Wowsers.

While Scout and Rivals never were able to make $$ or reach a sustainable level for IPO, both were able to do enough to attract big name buyers who clamored at the idea of owning a network of passionate fan bases who need their team’s coverage like a drug.

I look for Fox owned Scout to continue to bleed death as the actual websites are god awful. I am not talking about content but the actual look and design and message board usability is a pretty big turnoff. I mean just go to scout.com compared to rivals.com…HUGE difference. Its like scout doesnt even employ a web designer.

Yahoo and rivals should be interesting. Keep in mind this is yahoos new ceo’s first move although this was in the works for awhile. Knowing this is now kind of attached to his name, he might be keeping a closer eye on this then you would imagine.