First off, I am back.
I moved, I went to Seattle, I went to New York, I launched thecomeback.com and so on…It was a very busy month but I’ll be back more often. Now back to blogging….
From the moment the Super Bowl ends to first college football games, I yearn for football. Yes, I seriously yearn for it. I could list a million reasons why I love it so much and why its probably either number 1 or 2 of favorite thing in my life. Sheesh, that short list of my favorite things is a all over the place and probably NSFW.
From February- June I survive off of March Madness, the draft, NBA, NHL, and thinking the A’s might contend. All of those things end in June and then its just torture. Nascar, golf, and tennis are all sportscenter things for me unless Nadal is playing Federer or there is some type of playoff in a Major. MMA and boxing is getting traction, but you’re not going to find me with gel in my hair and an Affliction shirt on at a bar anytime soon.
Then all of the sudden, it’s back……..College football kicked off today, with a myriad of big games on the horizon for Saturday and the NFL only a week away. To put it in perspective today was essentially the equivalent of being released from prison and then immediately being taken to the Playboy Mansion for a 4 month calendar shoot in which you are photographer, casting director, and oil boy.
Even though I unveiled a new addition to my life (to the left below), the sheer crappiness of the 6 hours of football I watched was pretty disheartening.
I’ll get to the football in just a second, but unless you live under a rock you know that the major news from college football was Oregon’s Running Back, LeGarrette Blount, sucker punching a Boise State player (Byron Houtt with his helmet off) after the game. He followed this with taunting Boise State players concerned for their teammate, trying to fight people in the Boise State crowd, and then seemingly getting overly aggressive with 3-5 different personnel who were restraining him. His last name is Blount, but on this night he seemed high on PCP.
Head Coach Chris Peterson telling his player not to taunt Blount and is treated to a up close and personal look at Blount’s right hook
I’ll post a video at the end of this article/after the jump (although it will probably be taken down by espn at some point). Click read more…
Blount who was actually tackled for a safety and had multiple runs on 3rd and 4th downs that didn’t move the chains. He actually had negative yardage despite having 8 carries. He was most likely reeling after one of the worst performances I’ve seen by a top 25 team in years. Oregon, believed to be an offensive juggernaut, did not have a first down until 1/2 through the third quarter. The play calling was awful and the execution was just horrendous.
There was the most phantom pick I had ever seen and a fumble. Seriously my only explanation for this interception was that Scott Bakula Quantam Leaped and became Oregon’s QB, Jeremiah Masoli, right as he received the snap. Bakula/Masoli stood their with the ball for about 2 seconds getting his bearings as he always does when he Quantam Leaps. Not dropping back, not faking a hand off, not tucking the ball, but rather holding it as if he was going to kiss the football in just a second. When Bakula/Masoli finally came to, he looked to throw a short 5 yard pass but was intercepted.
I thought that was the low point of the game but also in contention was 3 inexplicable fumbles by Boise State (qb exchanges late in the game) as well as a blocked punt and 2 botched field goal attempts that really made this a pretty agonizing game to watch.
Coupled with the fact that the earlier South Carolina vs NC State was a competitive yet pretty boring 7-3 tilt, Thursday’s hype didn’t meet my or anyone’s expectations. It was like seeing Ocean’s 12 all over again (Julia Roberts trying to pretend to be Julia Roberts….errrr……).
I don’t know why I didn’t change the channel, but then the misery of 6 hours of lame football got compounded by an immature player and a short temper. Yes Blount was provoked by a shoulder tap and some taunting, but his sucker punch and 2 minutes of rage afterwards was despicable.
I was actually amazed that it didn’t turn into a brawl as so many players were on the field and Blount was just asking for it. Kudos to Boise State and head coach Peterson for being in control and right on top of the situation. As you can see in the 1-2 seconds of taunting to the sucker punch, somehow Peterson is right there already trying to break up the two parties.
Blount has issued a pretty weak and not very convincing apology. Its not just that he punched a player, but that he taunted Boise State as he ran away, tried to fight fans in the stands, and then looked as if he needed to be maced or tranquilized to get back into the locker room.
Definitely understand the frustration for getting whooped on, having negative yardage on 8 carries (-5 yards for the day) and being the fall guy for some really horrible play calls, but this kid has issues. He needs help and he isn’t going to get it on the practice field.
He’s obviously going to be suspended and I’m going to say its 40/60 he is kicked off the team. If I had to make the call, I would suspend him from all team activities for the rest of the month and make him go to anger management or a psychiatrist during normal practice hours. If his grades are good and he’s been saying and doing the right things, I would let him practice but not play for October and then at that point let earn his way back for the last 4 games of the season.
A deflating way to kickoff 09, but hell we’re .1% through this season. Saturday will likely really get things rolling.
Blount…..blowing his senior season and his NFL Career
