Reminder: Baseball Runs Deep

I received an email on Sunday afternoon from someone that I hadn't expected to write me. It wasn't from my dad or from Gaetan or Cousin Karina from New Hampshire.

It was from Rob Manfred.

Rob Manfred, the newly elected commissioner of Major League Baseball decided to take time from his coronation into the most powerful position in the sport and express his love for the game and his determination to make it a staple in the American fabric.

The timing of Mr. Manfred's letter, to me, was perfect. On Sunday afternoon, we had the aftershock of Bill Belichick's take on Deflategate, a NHL All-Star game, Durant vs. LeBron, college basketball match-ups galore and the Australian Open. (By the way, I love January for this reason and we'll visit the top sports months in a later entry.) His letter, though, signaled to me that baseball is taking its approach to modernizing and globalizing the game very seriously, not seasonally.

His letter was highlighted by two very poignant and passionate paragraphs:

"The mission before us is clear: To honor the game's history while welcoming new people to our great sport - people who will one day pass their love of baseball down through the generations. That is what our parents and grandparents did for us, and it is what we are doing for our own children. Baseball is a game firmly rooted in childhood experiences, and its vitality and growth rely heavily on giving young people from all backgrounds the opportunity to play and watch baseball."

Baseball tugs at the chords of my core like no other sport can. Its dynamics, symmetry, strategy and history all resonate in a very powerful mix that I revisit every February during Spring Training and carry through to the Fall Classic. Between those Major League checkpoints, I remember having my most enjoyable moments as a Little League in Aspinwall, a Colt Leaguer in Indiana, a Legionier in Springdale and an outfielder at Fox Chapel. Baseball elevated my dad on a higher pedestal when fatherhood took a passenger seat to manager and Mom and Christa become cheerleader #1 and #1A.

I never played organized football or hockey, or the relationship I had with the Steelers and Penguins was indeed adrenalized and fervent. Both enjoyed great success through my childhood, especially in the 1990s and remain iconic to the national and global sports scene. The Pirates were different in a lot of ways, partly due to their futility from 1993 through 2012 but also due to their accessibility. Three Rivers Stadium was, literally, 11 minutes from my house. This was a personal connection I was fortunate enough to feel with my family and friends as weekends were checkered with $5 tickets in the outfield or a Wednesday night showcase with the family after school and work.  Manfred's letter aided in this reminiscence and certainly seems like a goal that I hope he can consistently reflect upon.

His second-to-last paragraph was an important one, but could be dangerous:

"Another priority for me is to continue to modernize the game without interfering with its history and traditions. Last season's expanded instant replay improved the game's quality and addressed concerns shared by fans and players. We made a dramatic change without altering the game's fundamentals. I look forward to tapping into the power of technology to consider additional advancements that will continue to heighten the excitement of the game, improve the pace of play and attract more young people to the game."

Baseball's purity and history are central to its attraction.  It's understandable to desire to use technology to improve and attract, but hopefully Manfred won't dull its luster by cheapening its marketability.  In a New York Times article, Manfred said, "I think it’s really important that we use technology to make the game as user-friendly in the ballpark and during broadcasts as we possibly can. You can enhance and provide real fans with information via technology that makes the game move faster and keeps people engaged during the game."  The national television ratings consistently indicate the average age of viewers in the fifties.  Did you know, though, that almost 6 million people open the MLB At-Bat app every day and the average age of those techies is 30?

Did you know, too, the average MLB game take 13 minutes less than the average NFL game?  If technology speeds games by another 13 minutes, you're entering into NCAA basketball time-of-game territory.   Additionally, MLB seems to be taking this pace-of-play thing rather seriously.

Hopefully that doesn't mean eliminating defensive shifts, or lowering the pitcher's mound, or shortening the fences or pumping music as play is unfolding.

Baseball is not short on cash.  Bud Selig captained the sport through troubling times after the 1994 strike and saw it manifest into a $9 billion profit with a stronger steroid prevention policy and a more leveled playing field that saw the Kansas City Royals make the World Series.  Common sense led Manfred to eliminate any mention of creating more money for the game in his letter, which was a nice touch to his opening salvo. 

Are there areas that need improving in baseball... absolutely.  The good news is every sport needs improving.  An effective commissioner, though, should be able to identify areas of improvement without compromising the worth of its stakeholders.

Commissioner Goddell and Commissioner Bettman have set the bar awfully low for Manfred and Commissioner Silver is just now leaving the honeymoon phrase of his NBA leadership tenure.  Commissioner Manfred can do a lot of good during his time on the job.  His letter to me was a very nice commencement to his journey moving baseball forward.

The Art of Smiling and Getting Out of the Way

There was something deeply unsatisfying watching the unraveling of the Green Bay Packers yesterday afternoon.  Personally, I had nothing riding on the game emotionally, financially or family-ly.  I do believe in the Simmons 5-year rule (see #12) and wanted the Packers to win if, for no other reasons:

* Mike McCarthy is from Pittsburgh.

* Aaron Rodgers is the ultimate combination of confident, talented, influential, and gutsy as any athlete we have.

* the thought of the Packers possibly being the team of the teens (following their 2011 title) was a sign we could be coming full circle with “team of the decades (’60 Packers, ’70 Steelers, ‘80s 49ers, ’90 Cowboys, ‘00s Patriots…’10s Packers ….then …)

The lack of satisfaction doesn’t come from the Packers watching their season sail into the arms of Jermaine Kearse for the game-winning, overtime touchdown.  It’s not watching the 2-point conversation that would never work 99 times out of 100.  It’s not Brandon Bostick brain-cramping on his blocking assignment and instead doing his best Ike Taylor impersonation, dropping the game-ending onside kick.  It’s not Morgan Burnett getting winded after four yards and falling to the turf after his interception that he could have run back to Wisconsin himself because there was NO ONE IN FRONT OF HIM. 

The lack of satisfaction comes from Pete Carroll joyously running down the sidelines after, by not much of his doing, his team ripped the hearts out of every Cheese Head.  It truly is amazing how smart winning can make some people look and feel.

I am not a Pete Carroll fan.  I thought his brash, arrogant style wouldn’t produce much at USC and thought he had potential in New England.  Turns out it did bare fruitful outcomes, of which were obtained through shadiness and chicanery.  After he bolted Southern California at the sign of illegalities that he was responsible for promoting, ignoring, and eventually covering-up, the genuineness of his leadership, for me, fluttered away with his vacated Trojan victories.

Carroll, though, is the most popular NFL head coach has been voted the NFL’s most popular coach by NFL players.  According to a poll initiated by ESPN the Super Bowl-bound Carroll received 23% of the vote, well above, among others (Mike Tomlin was the silver medalist at 14%!!!)  In the poll, players were asked, “Which head coach would you most like to play for?” 

What does this say about leadership?  The choice is a revealing one, as Carroll has long had a reputation as the ultimate “player’s coach,” known for his highly emotional, ultra-supportive style.  Yet in the pro ranks, until his recent success with Seahawks, he had been viewed as a glorified cheerleader, low on tactical skills and developing players past their abilities entering his program.  Most thought he was better suited for college football than for the NFL.

His move to Seattle was a stark and troubling sign of someone fleeing the crime sense and convincing an employee that his optimism, family-style approach to coaching deserved one more shot.  It helped Carroll greatly, too, that he succeeded Jim Mora Jr. in Seattle, known all-too well as a prick. 

He had two relatively unsuccessful coaching stints with the New York Jets and New England Patriots in the 1990s, after which he returned to the college ranks and built a championship program with USC before stabbing it in the back.  He left the student-athletes to suffer postseason bans and vacated triumphs while he jolted for the money and anonymity he could find in the Great Northwest.

How do some football analysts view Carroll’s recent selection?  From Stephen Cohen in seattlepi.com: “Carroll’s creation of a laid back, player-first atmosphere has been a hallmark of his time at both Seattle and USC, and that’s a major reason why players are drawn to him,”

This from Jeffri Chadiha via ESPN.com:  “His mantra is Always Compete, and he applies that mindset to everybody who works in the building. In the end, Carroll comes off as a man who ultimately wants to see the best come out of everybody, mainly because of how much joy he would take in seeing somebody else attain that level of success.”

Nothing succeeds like success.  If you break down Pete Carroll’s approach into basic management terms, he’s an excellent communicator who appears to deeply care about his organization.  He’s built a distinctive, cohesive culture in Seattle, one that motivates and encourages others to want to join it.  The defense could be a result of his bombastic personality.  The offense is a result of Russell Wilson and 31 other teams deciding he wasn't a good fit for their system.

In New England and New York, Carroll’s teams didn’t perform exceptionally well, and he ended up being viewed as slightly odd.  He’s still odd.  That hasn’t changed in 63 years.  The difference is this glorified cheerleader is rah-rahhing his team to two straight Super Bowls, a feat last accomplished by the gentleman he’s facing on February 1 for the Lombardi Trophy.

So as we watched him sprint towards his team’s dogpile at the winning end zone, we watched a man that exudes happiness when things are going fantastic.  It has been proven to work for the best team in football during these last 122 weeks.  Let’s see if it works against his counterpart across the sidelines, who has proven just how successful you can be with a scowl and a sweatshirt.

When Your Number is Called

I run a fun little college football spreads league with my buddies, where we choose 5 games every weekend against the spread.  The league extends to the first week in December when most of the college football conference championships take place. This fifteenth and final week ultimately decides the winners of the league for the season.  It also gives the sharks at Vegas plenty of time to dissect teams to fully understand personnel, match-ups and stakes heading into the respective contests.

On December 4, here is what I typed to my pals for the Big 10 Championship:

FAVORITE      Line       Underdog

#13 Wisconsin    4     #5 Ohio State   8:17pm - Big 10 Title Game in Indianapolis

The confluence of that line came courtesy of the Buckeyes being left to their third string quarterback, a guy named Cardale Jones and facing a Wisconsin team that had just won their last seven games.  OSU's starting quarterback going into the season was Braxton Miller, a Heisman Trophy hopeful and crusader towards the Scarlet and Gray's chance at national glory.  His season-ending injury before the Buckeyes even took one meaningful snap left the signal-calling duties to J.T. Barrett.  Barrett's weekly performances were Heisman worthy and he steadied the Buckeyes through a lukewarm, pedestrian yet undefeated Big 10 schedule.  Then, on the first play of the fourth quarter of OSU’s regular season finale against Michigan, Barrett went down with a very significant injury to his lower right leg.  Barrett was bent over backwards by a Wolverine defender, his leg became pinned and millions of Buckeyes fans thought their carpet-ride of a season had been grounded.

A four-point underdog, their chances of making the inaugural playoff rested with an unproven third string sophomore quarterback.  

Final score ... Ohio State 59, Wisconsin 0. Cardale Jones, in his first college start, threw for 237 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

The manhandling of the Badgers earned the Buckeyes the right to vault into #4 in the country and a ticket to face #1 Alabama in the inaugural semifinal.  Again, I ran a fun little Bowl Spreads League with my buddies, where we choose a bunch of games during bowl season against the spread.  (No, I don't have a gambling problem.  It's just a nice way to place meaning on watching the Alamo Bowl since, you know, it doesn't really matter who ultimately wins 92% of the bowl games.) One caveat to our rules, though, is everyone in the league is required to choose the New Year's Six bowl games.  

On December 22, here's what I typed to the league:

FAVORITE      Line       Underdog

#1 Alabama    9.5     #4 Ohio State - 8:30pm - BCS Semis - Sugar Bowl - New Orleans, LA

And with big, bad Alabama running to a two touchdown halftime lead, it was the calm, steady hand of Jones that raced passed the Crimson Tide for their 42-35 victory and a trip to the national championship.  If you conjured reasons why Ohio State beat inferior Wisconsin and if you thought Alabama would punish Jones and his young teammates into submission, you were now taking notice.  How has this kid whose only collegiate starts have, progressively, been in the biggest games of his life?  

And then to the National Championship.  The Oregon Ducks had just embarrassed the defending national champion Florida State Seminoles.  They looked as fast as we thought, but their added defensive dimension was scary-good.  Like most, I thought Oregon would be too much to handle.  

To close our Bowl League season, here's what was sent to the league on January 6:

FAVORITE   Line    Underdog

#2 Oregon       6     #4 Ohio State - Monday, January 12, 8:30pm - Arlington, TX

Frankly, I didn't have much desire to watch the game.  I thought I would tune in and out to catch a score before falling asleep and reading about it in the morning.  The first play I caught was in the first quarter, the 1-yard touchdown that saw the Buckeyes take a 14-7 lead.  I ended up watching the remaining three quarters.  

Sophomore Ezekiel Elliott was the best player on the field.  He ran for a career-high 246 yards and 4 touchdowns.  All season he was overshadowed by other backs in the Big 10, but he was, in fact, there all season.  The game was close because of turnovers, but the Buckeyes were the better team and by the end, Oregon was too bruised physically and mentally to recover.  When OSU needed Elliott to carry the day, he did so and then some.  He deserves a lot of credit. 

But not as much as Jones.  It should not be understated in any regard how difficult it is for an athlete to know that he is not the top dog.  You participate in athletics and yearn for competition because you believe you are talented and worthy of opportunities.  How often does an athlete get knocked-down to the second team or the third string and either quit, transfer, complain or all three?  We certainly don't know how many conversations coach Urban Meyer had with Jones during his time in Columbus.  But it takes someone very special to recognize that, when your number is called, you better be ready.  

And ready he was.  I had never heard of Cardale Jones before December 4.  I don't live and die by college football as much as others.  I guarantee many of you hadn't heard of Cardale Jones either.  I know bits and pieces of his harsh life story, growing up in Cleveland and having a new baby girl.  And, yes, being from Western Pennsylvania, it is very difficult to cheer for anything associated with the state of Ohio.  You and I, though, should walk away from the game with a greater value of what it means to be poised, prepared and patient.  Jones didn't light-up AT&T Stadium, or the Superdome or Lucas Oil Stadium like Elliott or the Buckeye defense.  He illuminated it.

Jones was the reason I watched tonight.  Jones was the reason Ohio State handled the favored Ducks.  He could have easily folded when he fumbled TWICE and threw an interception that hit his receiver in the hands and fell into the lap of the Ducks.  Throughout the game, he keep his composure, delivered darts across the field and guided HIS team to convincing victory.  He threw for 246 yards, threw for one touchdown and ran for another.  Not bad for a first-string quarterback, let alone a third.  Ryan Lindley was thrown into the limelight for the Arizona Cardinals during their biggest games of the season.  Where might they be if their third-string signal-caller could move the team to prominence rather than a record-low in playoff yardage?

As polished as any four-year starter, listen to some of his comments after the game:

* When asked about how he feels: "It's even better.  This is still an unreal feeling.  I'm glad we could do it for the seniors.  These guys have never won a bowl game.  Never won a championship in the four years they've been here.  This game was definitely for the seniors."

* When asked about being the starter in just three games, "I mean, just having faith in my teammates. I knew I didn't have to do too much going into this game.  Even though I had a couple of stupid turnovers.  Keeping faith in my teammates. Keeping faith in my defense.  And we got it done."

* (Of course we need to throw-in LeBron.) When asked about what LeBron said to him on the sideline, "Way to do it for the hometown.  This is something Cleveland can hang their hats on for another year and we need to get right back at it."

I'm not sure where life will take Cardale Jones.  I'm not sure if his head will get too big for his helmet or if he'll flutter away from our memory like Maurice Clarett and Terrelle Pryor.  I'm not sure he'll make it in the NFL should he decide that's his next opportunity, or even in Columbus past this season.  I just know that's as impressive of a run as we've witnessed in a long time from someone that we had never heard of one month earlier.  I know that beating a Badger team with a Heisman finalist on their roster followed by beating a Crimson Tide team with a Heisman finalist on their roster and finishing it off beating a Ducks team with the Heisman champion on their roster takes a team effort.  It's not done by accident or by luck.  Jones captained and steadied the Buckeyes and his astonishing string of performances is historical.  I wish him great success and health moving forward.  If these last six weeks are an indication, I think he'll be just fine.

Oregon vs. Ohio State ... In Other Ways

Whether the Oregon Ducks or Ohio State Buckeyes win the national championship of college football is of minute importance to me.  I don't have any direct relatives or pals that call Eugene or Columbus their home or pride-and-joy.  It would be neat to see Oregon claim their school's first title in football, but if Ohio State wins, that's cool, I suppose.

So often fan bases get into less-than-justified arguments over which team is "better."  Usually this argues starts and stops with the play on the field for that team in that season.  The game on Monday night features two teams that are really good.  Rather that debate which team is going to win and why, I think I'll just watch the game, maybe even use this cool and simple link for background knowledge.  Let's for a moment take a bigger, broader look at the Ducks and Bucks.  There are many reasons why universities and athletic programs are great so I thought it must be useful to see which athletic department and school stacked-up better against each other in a variety of areas.

Let's compare athletic programs dating back to 1960 (I wasn't confident the readers of this article were from the graduating classes of 1959 and earlier.)  The rankings and tuition figures will be as up-to-date as possible.  Other criteria include  conference championships and national titles, professional and famous athletes and coaches, mascots as well as academic reputation, tuition, and applications received.

Oregon

Oregon is home to 18 varsity athletic programs, two of which are "Acrobats and Tumbling" and Sand Volleyball.  Be advised only 12 teams in the NCAA house Acrobats and Tumbling, so the Ducks' 4 national titles will not be counted towards their success rate or their programs of stature.  Neither will the Sand Volleyball, which have recently found a 41st NCAA participant.  From the NCAA website: "When the total number of institutions sponsoring sand volleyball reaches 40, which it has as of Jan. 2014, the NCAA will begin the transition from an emerging sport status to a championship sport. After the transition is complete, which could take two years, the NCAA will sponsor the national championship."

The Ducks have 23 NCAA Championships since 1962 and EVERY ONE OF THEM is in either track and field or cross country.  Of these 23 titles, 11 have come since 2007, which no other university can claim as many titles in that span.  Therefore, if you eliminate track and field, cross country, acrobats and sand volleyball, the remaining 14 programs have not won any national championships with the exception of the men's basketball Ducks in 1939.

Their Pac-10 / Pac-12 Championships are very respectable.  The number of team conference championships since 1960 are indicated below (not including individual champions that you might find in sports like swimming, track, tennis, cross-country, golf or wrestling) with their most recent title in parenthesis:

Men's Basketball - 3, all in tournament play, most recently in 2013

Men's Cross Country - 16 (2008)

Football - 6 (2014)

Men's Golf - 2 (1977)

Men's Track - 16 (every year from 2007-2014)

Women's Basketball - 2 (2000)

Women's Cross Country - 9 (2014)

Softball - 2 (2013, 2014)

Women's Track - 8 (every year from 2009-2014)

Total since 1960 = 64

Oregon has some very proud history with their athletic programs.  It's easy to forget just how difficult it can be for a school like Oregon to break to dominance of traditional West Coast powerhouses that claimed the athletics landscape ... see UCLA, USC and Stanford more often than not.  If you click on this link, you'll visit a very cool timeline of some of the highlights of Oregon athletics.  And you know how sometimes we get caught-up in saying something is the "greatest" right now when you should account for multiple eras of performance.  Well Marcus Mariota won the first Heisman Trophy for the University of Oregon on December 13, 2014.

Before today, I never knew the name of the mascot for Oregon was "Donald" and  now has no name.  If wikipedia doesn't give you the information you are looking for, you can click HERE.  Most universities have difficulty deciding the tipping point for their popularity or effectiveness of a program.  Usually it comes in the form of a great recruiting class, an improbable championship run, a string of dominant performances or a track record of successful professionals.  Is it possible that it came to Eugene when they decided to go crazy with their uniforms?

Oregon's famous alumni is impressive.  Athletically, Oregon doesn't have the professional pedigree that Ohio State boasts, but there are a number of famous figureheads that have Eugene roots.  One of them is Mark Few, currently head basketball coach at Gonzaga.  Few's resume is tremendous, especially when considering resources and opportunities presented in other locations that can potentially lure him away from the Northwest.

On the football side, I can still remember Akili Smith on the cover of Sports Illustrated ... needless to say that didn't work out so well.  Dennis Dixon and Kellen Clemens and Joey Harrington also were very talented Ducks that made little-to-no impact on the NFL landscape.  Did you know Ahmad Rashad went to Oregon?  Or Gary Zimmerman?  Or Patrick Chung (I know you knew, Mark.)  But the most famous could be Dan Fouts.  Fouts is a Hall of Famer on the field and still active in the broadcast booth.  Coaches include Mike Nolan, John Robinson and Norv Turner.

If you are looking to apply and attend Oregon, you have a solid chance of doing so.  Of the nearly 25,000 applications received from freshman and transfer students, roughly 73% were accepted by the admissions department with just over 5,000 students accepting their admission and enrolling in classes.  Oregon is a state school, and will cost roughly $10,000 per year if you live in Oregon, compared to $34,000 if you become a Duck live outside of the state.

If you guessed that Oregon is environmentally friendly and the campus would reflect those values, you would be correct.  From petersons.com: "Green is more than just a school color for Oregon's students and faculty, who enjoy a university that is environmentally conscious, socially active, and alive with opportunities for outdoor recreation."  Additionally, niche.com uses a variety of rankings, measurements and information to encapsulate the University of Oregon.  It was very helpful to see some of the criteria students and families use to determine what college is right for them.  The University of Oregon received an overall grade of A- for 2015.  Check out their rankings and note their highest, for some reason, falls under "Campus Food" and "Athletics."  

Ohio State

Even without including fencing, pistol, rifle, synchronized swimming or the spirit program, Ohio State can still lay claim to an astonishing 28 varsity programs for its men and women.  Since this conversation began with football, let start the Buckeye journey with a glimpse into their football history over the last five and half decades.  Ohio State has won the National Championship in 1961, 1968, 1970 and 2002.  It's taken the Big 10 title 24 times since 1961, most recently this season.  It boasts 4 Heisman Trophy winners including Archie Griffin on two occasions is 1974 and 1975, Eddie George in 1995 and Troy Smith in 2006.

Compared to the 10 titles won from 1959 and earlier, there are only 13 titles won by the Buckeyes in the last 55 years.  I say ONLY because I truly thought with so many teams on one campus, the Buckeyes would be earning at least one title every two or three years and there sports that claimed these titles.  Three are in fencing and 3 are in gymnastics and 2 are in rowing (very deserving, I'm sure ... just less popular.) That leaves one of them from the 1960 men's basketball team, one from the 1962 swimming team, one from the 1966 baseball team, one from the 1979 golf team and one from the 2011 volleyball team.

The respect of Ohio State mainly derives from their Big 10 Champions.  The list is below, along with the total and the year of the most recent champions:
Baseball: 10 (2009)
Men's Basketball: 15 (2012)

Football: 24 (2014)
Men's Golf: 19 (2004)
Men's Hockey (CCHA): 2 (2004)
Men's Gymnastics: 13(2008)
Men's Indoor Track: 1 (1993)
Men's Outdoor Track: 2 (1992 & 1993)
Men's Soccer: 3 (2009)
Men's Swimming and Diving: 1 (2010)
Men's Tennis: 6 (2009)
Men's Volleyball: 21 (2011)
Women's Basketball: 12 (2009)
Field Hockey: 1 (2006)
Golf: 11 (2005)
Women's Gymnastics: 5 (1987)
Women's Rowing: 4 (2013)
Women's Soccer: 1 (2010)
Softball: 2 (2007)
Women's Indoor Track: 1 (2011)
Women's Outdoor Track: 1 (2011)
Women's Swimming and Diving: 5 (1986)
Women's Volleyball: 3 (1994)
Total Big 10 Championships since 1960 = 163

That's 99 more conference titles than Oregon.  Comparing apples to apples, that's incredibly impressive.  It would be argued, though, that most of the time, the athletic department's success is generated by the success of the football program.  Buckeye Football has been successful for a very long time and that has paved the way for outstanding opportunities for all of the other programs listed above.

It's amazing how much information is available about mascots.  Brutus the Buckeye leads the charge for the Scarlet and Gray.  The most informative link can be found HERE.  Yes, there is a Mascot Hall of Fame and Brutus is part of it.  

Of the thousands of alumni that proudly attended Ohio State, none of them had more significance for me than Dick LeBeau.  Today, LeBeau announced that he will not be returning to the Steelers next season.  He's been nothing short of a class act and legendary coordinator for our city.  And from wikipedia: George Steinbrenner, former owner of the New York Yankees and won seven World Series with the team,earned his Master's degree from Ohio State. One of the founders of Wikipedia, Larry Sanger,and Steve May, Chief Technology Officer at Pixar both graduated from Ohio State.  Jack Nicklaus has been called "the greatest golfer in history" while Jesse Owens has been called "the greatest Olympian in history."  You can also click HERE for the covers of Sports Illustrated with Ohio State ties.

From the admissions' side, Ohio State accepts roughly 55% of all applicants that apply to the school. It's mean scores for ACT and SAT are higher than Oregon with the in-state and out-of-state tuition being comparable ($10,000 in state, $26,500 out-of-state.)  If girl-to-guy ratios are important to you, 53% of Ohio State students are male, compared to 53% of Oregon students being female.  

Niche.com gives Ohio State an overall rating of A+.  Wow!  This must be the greatest piece of land in the history of Eden!  Take a look at what happens to be ranked in the A+ category.  But no matter your opinion of the campus, the colors, their success or their mascots, the university offers an abundance of courses, majors, masters and doctoral programs.  It's not easy to enter the gates of Columbus, but once you do, it appears you are a Buckeye for life.  US News ranks Ohio State #54 overall with Oregon at #106.

Enjoy the game on Monday night between these two very popular, very successful and very talented institutions.  Success breeds success and the bar is certainly high for both schools.  No matter where your alliances lie, you can't go wrong with either pedigree.

The 2014 Steelers Review

In spending an above-average time following the hometown Steelers in their quest to return to prominence, I feel it is appropriate to reflect on the season in the hopes that I can find solace losing to the Ravens in the playoffs for the very first time.

It's difficult to encapsulate 17 games of the Steelers season into a few coy remarks.  I've spent a couple of days digesting all of it and it's not going to feel any better until sometime around Presidents' Day.  Right now I don't have much desire to watch the rest of the NFL playoffs, especially in the AFC.  I will, though, since it's my civic duty.  Those eight teams deserve their place at the playoff table and they deserve our attention.  It would be great to play Brady or Manning at their place one time in the playoffs, if nothing else to serve as a measuring stick for progress.  Since that opportunity has eluded the team this season, all we can do is turn the pages back and see how this season unfolded in-front of us.

Back on Thursday, September 11, the Steelers were favored by three points over the Baltimore Ravens in their Week Two grudge match. The Steelers beat the Browns four days earlier with the Ravens losing at home to the Bengals on the same day.   Controversy swirled around the Ravens in the depths of the Ray Rice domestic violence fiasco.  Baltimore was a mess.

Pittsburgh lost that night by 20.  They could have lost by 40.

That Friday morning after the pummeling, no one could have convinced me otherwise that we were steamrolling towards anything besides their third straight 8-8 season.  And three days earlier, the Ravens ended what they commenced; a dissection of a inferior opponent that began the game with momentum, talent and optimism.

In a lot of ways, then, the 11-5 season paired with a division title might seem like a fun surprise, much like the feeling you get ready to pay for street parking only to realize there is still 45 minutes remaining on the meter.  The Steelers of 2014, time and time again, allowed me to feel like I was getting free parking.  Back in August, if you would have told me Pittsburgh was going to win the division, frankly, I would have believed you for these reasons:
1) Their schedule was favorable.
1a) The farthest they had to travel ALL SEASON was Jacksonville.
2) Their offensive line was better than people believed.
3) The was continuity on both sides of the ball.

So while it was a fun surprise to make it to 11-5, it could be argued the season hit the bullseye for Black and Gold expectations.  Time and again, we would turn the corner, expecting to get free parking and WHAM, a fender-bender by a Tampa Bay loss.  Or ... SCREECH ... bumper to bumper traffic on the way to  the Browns throttling.  Or, my favorite, the Saints loss, which is like saving for weeks to be able to afford garage parking (bye week) only to forget your wallet in the grocery store and run out of gas while looking for a space on the street (turnovers and ineptitude all-around.)

Much like all of our five regular season losses, the Steelers fell short on the scoreboard due to turnovers.  Truthfully, they should have lost to Jacksonville and Tennessee, as well.  Not only would that have been hilarious, but would have prompted the question, "When is the last time a team with a winning record lost to four different teams who would selecting in the top six in following year's draft?"

There were a lot of positive victories for the team this season.  It's tough, though, to put a finger on which win was most impressive.  Was in the Colts victory when we were underdogs and hung 51 on a team that had just shut-out the Bengals one week earlier?  Was it the road win in Cincinnati that followed the New Orleans loss where we looked like world-beaters for the final 20 minutes of the game in route to a 21-point win?  Was it the Chiefs win, which clinched a playoff birth against a quality opponent?  The Baltimore win?  The Atlanta win?  The Bengals win to seal the division?

Which victory, too, was the most important?  Was it any of the aforementioned triumphs?  Was it the Texans win where the team exploded in the final minutes of the second quarter to awaken a national audience and avoid a second consecutive loss?  Was it the opening victory against Cleveland, avoiding both a Browns' comeback and a Week 1 letdown like last season?  The Steelers could have lost any of the games they won.  Many fans and pundits discuss the Steelers "bad losses."  Pittsburgh lost the games they deserved to lose.  They played poorly in all of them, just like they played poorly on Saturday night.  There were no blown calls by the referees in the fourth quarter.  There were no interceptions in the opponents' red zone, down four, with 30 seconds to play.  There were no "play-out-of-your-mind" games against far superior opponents only to lose on a 51-yard missed field goal.  In contrast, if you go back and review the season, which game did you feel like, at halftime, the Steelers were in control?  And that's not a complaint, that's more of the situation the Steelers found themselves throughout the season while steadily improving week after week en route to a 4-0 December.  When they controlled the ball and avoided turnovers, they won.  When they didn't or couldn't, they lost.

Think about, too, the things that we did not seeing coming to fruition that were predicted in the preseason.  Ryan Shazier and Jarvis Jones were going to be the 1-2 punch at linebacker we needed.  Instead it was James Harrison, Jason Worilds and Stephon Tuitt playing above their heads, all at various points, mostly when the team needed it most.  The running games was supposed to be a 1-2 punch with Le'Veon Bell and LaGarrette Blount.  Who knew that Bell would carry the offense more often than not, mostly alone at tailback, while becoming the best all-around back in the league?  Markus Wheaton and SIX catches last season.  Counting the playoff loss, he had 59 this season.

While it will still sting for a few weeks, we've enjoyed a bitter, empty, but still pleasant and exciting 2014 season from the Pittsburgh Steelers.  We'll save prognostications for 2015 for a later time.  Thank you for the free parking.  We didn't see the 46th minute getting here so quickly.

High Tide, Low Tide

Way back in sixth grade, the night before we were set to return to school, I could remember watching the National Championship game between Alabama and Miami in the Superdome.  Miami was the team you loved to hate, especially as a loyal Pitt fan.  Most likely no fan of the Big East liked the Hurricanes and would have thoroughly enjoyed seeing them lose to the underdog Crimson Tide.  I can't say I remember anyone on that Alabama team or any signature plays from that Sugar Bowl.  I did remember Gino Torretta, the starting quarterback for the Canes.  He won the Heisman Trophy that season over Marshall Faulk and Garrison Hearst (and this was probably the only time I watched the Heisman Show from start to finish because I really wanted Faulk to win.)  I was happy Gino lost.  I was happy the head coach for the Tide, Gene Stallings, won.  And most importantly, I was happy that Miami didn't really every come close to tasting victory that evening.

That's the last time I was genuinely concerned about Alabama Football winning or losing.  And it's not because I don't care about Alabama Football winning or losing.  It's that, ultimately, as someone who does not live and die with the SEC West, I would imagine the bar for Alabama is set at winning a national championship.  Winning the SEC ... that's loser talk.  Undefeated regular season ... lame.  SEC Title game trophy ... old news.  Beating Auburn ... a necessity, but not ahead of winning a title.

The backdrop just looks out of place behind Saban.

This is what Nick Saban has done for Alabama.  You either finish the season #1 or stamp the season a failure.

You may not remember this, but Saban's first bowl game as the Crimson Tide's head coach was in the Independence Bowl.  That game (and victory) over Colorado was probably only acceptable because it was Saban's first season.  Since then, Saban has guided the Tide to a January bowl game every year, going three for three in national championship games.  Some fan bases may call that run "fortunate."  Other may dub it "an abundance of riches."  Tide fans call it "just another season."

By Alabama standards, the program was been through quite a drought in their national championship runs, last earning a title way back in January 2013.  Other schools might claim their goal is a national championship, but at no other university can the zenith of a season only be found year after year with a national title.

That's what makes Alabama so unappealing.  Understand that I don't want Alabama to lose.  I don't really care one way or another if they win.  It just seems like an unattractive proposition for a fan base to either be infuriated with losing or relieved with winning.  There's no joy from that kind of journey and no memories of being the underdog and winning a game that you should not have.

Thursday night, when the Tide lost to Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl, I watched exactly zero plays of the game.  I had no interest in the outcome.  None.  Alabama was either going to win, which is what they're always supposed to do, or they would lose, which would seem like a fluke.  And now, as we prepare for the Ducks and Buckeyes to face-off for the national championship, I guarantee, that both programs will feel a high level of satisfaction with their season.  Florida State, too, probably feels justified and validated with their season, going undefeated for 13 games and raising another ACC Championship trophy.  They may have gotten pummeled by Oregon in the Rose Bowl, but it was a fun and thrilling ride the Seminoles took their fans on for two full seasons.  And if any of these squads stub their toes next season and don't make it to the Final Four, that's probably OK.

Not Alabama.  Ask any Alabama fan what they remember about 2014 and I would bet half of them blame Blake Sims for ruining their season.  Or Lane Kiffin for not running up the score in the first half of the Sugar Bowl.  Or Saban for not stopping the OSU running attack.

For me, I hope that I can return to the days of cheering for Alabama the underdog.  Underdogs, for me, always make more appealing plots, especially against teams I enjoy loathing.  I don't loathe Alabama.  Or Auburn.  Or LSU.  Or any other college football powerhouse in the country.  It just seems like there isn't any point in following these programs if the expectation is to never lose.