Its time for a playoff

Year after year the college football season ends by crowning confernce champions and placing the best teams into bowl games. While this system works to a point it does not always lead to the best two teams playing each other in the National Championship Game. This will again be the case this year. I find it hard to believe that Alabama which is ranked number 1 is better than Florida which is ranked number 4. This however will be figured out in the SEC championship game. Even with this fact no one can tell me that Texas Tech, Texas, and Oklahoma, who are all in the same conference, do not deserve a chance to play in the National Championship game too. To sum it up i believe that a playoff must be created.

The playoff would include all of the conference champions, which this year include Oklahoma, USC, Penn State, Alabama or Florida (yet to be decided), Boston College, UC, Utah, Ball State, Boise State, Troy and Tulsa. There would also be several at large bids which this year would include Ohio State, Texas, Texas Tech, Florida or Alabama (depending on who wins the conference) and Georgia. They would then be placed against each other in basically the same way that the NCAA Basketball sweet 16 is made. They would recieve their rankings from the BCS and then its up to who shows up on gameday. So what do you think?

SPORTS: Overview of Recent Events in the World of Sports

So its been awhile since i've done one of these but i come back to you with a good one. An overview of the recent major sporting news.

I'll begin with the NFL. The Tennesse Titans continued there chase for the perfect season with a 19-16 nail-biting win over the Green Bay Packers. Also, as a side note the Cincinnati Bengals got their first win of the season defeating the Jacksonville Jaguars 21-19. Lets go Bengals!

In college football Texas Tech shocked Texas 39-33 and then got screwed out of a first place ranking, which they deserved. Oh, and Alabama is your new number one. Can you say Texas Tech = National Champions?

The MLB season is now over but not without some drama. After twice being delayed game 5 of the World Series was played and the Phillies rapped up a great season with a World Series victory. Better luck next year Tampa Bay.

In the NBA a major trade happened today when the Denver Nuggets dealt Allen Iverson to the Detroit Pistons. To me that makes them an automatic contender for the NBA title. Yet, I still have to stick with my team... GO SPURS!!!

College Basketball is about to begin, so its time for my preseason picks. The best team, by far, is the Tar Heals of North Carolina. They return their top six players from last year and add two stellar freshman players in Tyler Zeller and Ed Davis. My sleeper is Xavier. Do not, I repeat do not overlook them (I'm talking to you Duke).

Well, thats all I have for you right now. Oh, and if your looking for a great read check out Paul Daugherty's latest article on the Bengal Organization, in which he blasts Mike Brown for the way he is running the Bengals. Thank you Daugherty.

SPORTS: Rays are Going to the World Series

Well, what can be said about the Tampa Bay Rays? They are the best team in the American League this year, period. No arguments. Boston couldn't get it done even with a valiant effort. No one can take away the fact that the Rays beat them fair and square. A seven game series offers more than enough opportunities to win and the Rays capitalized on just enough of them to make their way to the World Series, which is where they belong.

All year they have overcome adversity and they did it again when they absolutely needed to. This is the true David and Goliath story. The little guy coming out on top. It's the feel good story that everyone searches for. While I myself am a Red Sox fan and at the moment am not in the best of moods (if you cant figure out why please read above) I cannot take anything away from a Rays team that out-played them in four of the seven games earning them the right to be in the world series.

I am eager to see the Rays take on the Phillies in the World Series. It is a match-up of two teams that are very young with a ton of talent. It should be an extremely good series featuring many great moments and many tight games. But, I'm sure you saw this coming, GO PHILLIES!!!!

POLITICS: Red States Turning Blue

The election like many other events has its givens. California and New York will vote Democratic. Texas and Virginia will vote Republican. But this year there has been a shake up.

A recent poll from CNN has shown that states that have in the past been safe states for the Republicans are no longer as safe as they seem. Virginia for instance has not voted for a Democratic nominee since the 1964 election, yet a recent poll shows that Obama has a 10 point lead on McCain 53%-43%. The same is true in several other states.

In Colorado, which hasn't voted Democratic in 16 years, Obama has a lead of 4 points winning 51% to 47%.

In Georgia, a state which Bush one handily by 17 points over Kerry, McCain has only a 6 point lead over Obama.

A turning of the tide is being seen. Voters are beginning to realize that voting in a candidate that can turn the country around is more important than being loyal to a party that they have voted for for most of their lives.

SPORTS: New #1 in College Football

With another weekend of upsets behind us the top 25 in college football has once again been shaken up. This past weekend saw #1 Oklahoma get beaten in the "Red River Rivalry" by #5 Texas 45-35, #3 Missouri beaten by #17 Oklahoma State, #4 LSU beaten by #11 Florida, #13 Vanderbilt beaten by unranked Mississippi State and #20 Auburn beaten by unranked Arkansas.

This is the second week in a row where there has been a major shake up in the standings. Now, who does that leave as the #1 team in America if #2 Alabama didn't play?

You might assume Alabama would just move into that #1 spot, but my friend, you would be wrong. Texas jumped all the way from 5th to 1st and claimed the top spot with their upset victory over the Sooners. As a result of the loses by #3 Missouri and #4 LSU the rest of the top 5 also changed. it now goes #1 Texas, #2 Alabama, #3 Penn State, #4 Oklahoma, and #5 Florida. Also as a result of their loses Vanderbilt fell to #22 and Auburn fell out of the top 25.

MUSIC: Paper Trail by T.I.: Album of the Year?

For anyone who may not know who T.I. is, aka those of you who have been living under a rock for the last few years, he is one of the most influential rap artists of our time.

His amazing mixture of head bobbing beats and lyrics that actually have a meaning have created a standard for rap that many artists cannot equal. In a time where the industry is often dominated by artists such as Soulja Boy and songs like "Marco Polo" it is refreshing to have someone whose songs mean something.

"Dead and Gone" is one of my favorite songs on an album that has the potential to be one of the greatest ever made. Every song has the potential to be a hit and several already are including "Whatever You Like" and "No Matter What".

Without a doubt this is my choice for album of the year. Despite the fact that many great albums were released this year I feel that none have the potential for greatness that this album has. If you have not had the chance to listen to this album I highly suggest that you do.

SPORTS: Bengals Do It Again

It happened to the Bengals again but this time it wasn't them losing..... a game that is. Once again a Bengals player has been suspended by the league; this time for not following the leagues substance abuse policy.

Darryl Blackstock, who was picked up in the off-season from the Arizona Cardinals, was found to be taking an illegal substance. This is only the latest miscue for a team with an already notorious problem with staying out of trouble. Chris Henry, need i say more? The man was arrested nine times in the span of three years. He has also been suspended a total of 12 games since he was drafted. That is unacceptable. What good can he do the team when he's always on the bench.

The Bengals need to clean house and start with a clean slate. They need to find players like Willie Anderson, players that represent what can become of the young players if they stay out of trouble. Role models need to be found to keep future draft picks from doing the same stupid shit that our past draft picks have done. And as I have stated in earlier blogs the only way that that is going to happen is if Brown sells the Bengals, which I really doubt will happen any time soon if at all. So I guess we should just get used to this, its going to continue happening for a long while.

ATHENS TRANSIT: Athens Transit

Looking for a ride to Walmart? Maybe to the ridges? Well look no farther... Ride the Athens Transit.

The Athens Transit is a busing service that Athens provides to the students of Ohio University and it costs a mere 75 cents to ride. Make the right, and cheap, decision and take the Transit!

SPORTS: Bengals: 0-4 And No Help In Sight

It's going to be a long year. That's the only way to describe the debacle that is currently the Cincinnati Bengals. Where has the desire to win gone? They take the field every Sunday looking uninspired and confused. Timing is off on offense and I don't even want to talk about the defense. It's almost like the only people on the field who care anymore are the rookies and the non-starters. I mean I see more hustle from the water boy than half the players. When your kicker is the best player on the team you really know that something is wrong.



Where has Chad Johnson, i mean Ocho Cinco, been all year? Well wherever he's been he hasn't been doing his job. Ben Utecht, uhh yeah he's done so much since hes been here to. Glad hes helped out the offense a lot. And man letting go of Rudi Johnson was such a smart move because Chris Perry is definitely an every down back, hahaha. But I mean you cant put all the blame on these guys. They're not throwing the ball to themselves. Carson Palmer no longer looks like the Palmer that Cincinnati fans grew to love. The one with the sweet play action fake which of course led to the beautiful long spiral that he would complete with unbelievable accuracy all over the field. But, forget about that. Those days are over apparently. But, don't put it all on Palmer's shoulders either, you cant forget about the trusty old offensive line. They look weak and pathetic and give very little time for Palmer to do anything.


Looks like were going to have to once again look to next year. Maybe they'll even have a decent draft this year. But here's the real question: Do we draft offense or defense?

BACK HOME: Jim Borgman says goodbye

His cartoons entertained us for years, sometimes making us laugh, other times making us think more about the world we live in and how it could be better. But now that run is over. Jim Borgman said good-bye to the Cincinnati Enquirer after working there for 32 years. Never again will we find another Jim Borgman, someone who in many cases brought important issues to people's attention, not through writing, but through his drawings. Never afraid to show his feelings he was one of the very few "journalists" who reported things without bias. We need more of these in todays society, but that quest took a major step backwards today. Jim Borgman will be missed. Best of Luck!

ECONOMY: The Economy: Time For A Change

Okay so i'm not sure if any of you are keeping an eye on the economy, but if your not here is a recap of the terrible week it just had. Maryland, which has been in existance for a very long time, was bought out by Bank of America, The Lehman Brothers went under and AIG went through a Federal bailout. These are three major complications for an already damaged economy and with the way things are going in the current administration its not going to get any better. It is time for a change and both John McCain and Barack Obama realize this and have said that they will improve the failing economy. Now, my question for you is which plan do you like better? John McCain's of Barack Obama's?

POLITICS: The Convenience within the Inconvenient Truth: The Al Gore Effect

Recently in Political Science class we watched The Inconvenient Truth. While the movie itself is highly informative it is also very opinion based and many of the facts are skewed. One major example of this is the relationship graph which shows the connection between CO2 levels and the relative temperature of the earth. When looking at the original draft of the graph which shows the two constants side-by-side one can see that they are skewed in the movie. At first I didn't understand how people could completely believe this movie when the facts like that were obviously skewed, but then it hit me. It is this revelation that revealed to me the convenience of The Inconvenient Truth. The name of this convenience is Al Gore....

Now before you stop reading this because you don't understand let me explain. Al Gore is the major convenience because simply, he is Al Gore. Basically he is the convenience in the movie because people know and respect him and therefore believe and trust what he says, which includes his beliefs on global warming. The fact that he was a former Vice President goes a long way too. People look at him and have a sense of security because he is experienced. That is why this movie went over so well. Just think about it, if it was just some person that you had never seen before and never heard of, would you take them as seriously as Gore? I wouldn't. Facts were changed and information was altered in the movie and yet people continue to back up everything that Al Gore said in it. That is the Al Gore Effect.

Personally I am an in-betweener on this issue based upon the fact that i agree with the arguments for both sides. This movie did nothing to change my stance at all.

Would I like to see change that betters the environment? -Yes
But, are there other issues that I feel are more important at this time? -Yes

That of course is personal opinion, and this blog is currently not discussing what I believe so that is for another time. What I do see, however, is that ironically The Inconvenient Truth was a success because it was held up by a convenience.

POLITICS: Atlanta Man's Execution Postponed, Been On Death Row Since 1974

Today in Atlanta Jack Alderman, who has been on death row since 1974, was given postponement on his execution which was supposed to occur tonight at seven. In 1974 he murdered his wife to collect the 20,000 dollar life insurance policy that she had purchased. Judge Melvin Westmoreland gave the postponement so that witnesses that were supposed to speak on his behalf at his first trial can again show up and be questioned. Personally, I am prolife and have an overall high value for human life. On this issue, however, I lean a different way. He killed his wife, someone he married as a result of the love they shared for each other, simply to collect money. That in itself is enough to justify giving him the death penalty. More over why should these witnesses that failed to show up at the first trial be given the option of showing up now? It is obvious that no remorse is felt by Alderman for his outrageous actions and I feel that it is completely useless for these witnesses to be questioned. He was already found guilty of the crime so what could these witnesses possibly say to change the outlook that a jury has already given?

If you wish to read the article you can find it at http://www.cbs46.com/news/17474936/detail.html

SPORTS: Bungals

I realize that many people don't care about football at all. I however am a die-hard football fan and seeing my home-town team get destroyed week in and week out is not fun. In some ways what used to be an all day affair which i enjoyed sometimes feels like a chore. I'm almost to the point where I have to turn off their games and watch or do something else. It's ridculous that the Bengals have become this bad. They are not an 0-2 team. With the talent that they have on both sides of the ball, especially on the offensive side of the ball, they should be 2-0. Not taking away anything form Baltimore and rookie quarterback Joe Flacko or Tennessee but we should be and could be better than they are. It makes no sense to me that an offense that has Carson Palmer, Chad Johnson, and TJ Houshmanzadeh has not scored a touchdown in two games. There is no timing, no confidence, and no urgency. I mean in all honesty if your in the NFL and your already two games in the hole and in last place in a division that you should be trying to win you have to have urgency.

Also lately it seems like Marvin Lewis doesnt even want to coach the Bengals anymore, and honestly whose to blame him? Every decision that he makes is over ruled and reversed by Mike Brown. For instance, Lewis terminated the contract of Chris Henry, a troubled yet talented wide reciever, and vowed to change the image of the franchise. Then Chad Johnson went down with a shoulder injury. Almost immediately Mike Brown resigned Henry, making Lewis look like absolute garbage in a coaching standpoint. Honestly I am sick of watching this team spiral out of control. What does anyone else think? Are there any other Bengal fans that are fed up with the current state of the franchise? Your imput is highly appreciated.