East Coast Bias

College Football Quick Hitters

2008-09-06T22:46:00.002-04:00

How long til Boeckman is replaced by Pryor?

Ohio St. - A narrow escape against Frank Solich's Ohio U squad, which outplayed OSU most of the game, is a bad sign for next week's showdown with USC. Was this a look-ahead letdown, or a sign that OSU will get crushed next week and is overrated (again)? We'll find out next week.

West Virginia - Credit an excellent ECU team with a second straight win over a ranked team, but what happened to the WVU offense? 3 pts? The loss of RichRod and Slaton might matter more than we thought, and the struggles of the defense mean fewer opportunities for the offense.

Notre Dame - It's good to see things improved so much in the offseason in South Bend. SDSU lost to Cal Poly last week at home, but led ND 13-7 well into the 2nd half. Not a good sign for the Irish's chances against the meat of their schedule. Will Weis get the quick hook that Ty got?

Washington - Got jobbed. The officials need to fix the rules on celebration. Kids should be allowed to have fun as long as they're not taunting. The game should not have been decided that way, even if BYU might have blocked the shorter PAT anyway. This loss may cost Ty his job before the end of the year. PS. Jake Locker is a stud.

Jake Locker deserved better from the refs.

ACC Still Sucks - Poor showings by VT, UVA, and especially Maryland indicate it might go like this all year. At least Wake managed a last second FG to beat Ole Miss and stay ranked.

USF - Escaped in OT, it's really too bad their rivalry with UCF is ending.

Cal - 66-3 winners on the road at Wash St., likely to crush Maryland next week...

Maryland Terrapins Officially Irrelevant

2008-09-06T21:54:00.004-04:00

After barely squeaking by FBS Division opponent Delaware at home by a score of 14-7 last week, the Terps proved what we already feared - they're not very good. The switch at QB from Jordan Steffy to Chris Turner actually proved to be a step backwards. The switch in playcalling duties from head coach Ralph Friedgen to offensive coordinator James Franklin was promising, but in practice has resulted in the most predictable, boring and ineffectual offensive scheme in the modern history of football.
Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders

And so tonight the Terps fell on the road to the Sun Belt Conference's Middle Tennessee State University 24-14. The 14 points were scored on a 63-yard Da'Rel Scott run and an 80-yard Heyward-Bey WR screen. In other words, vanilla play calls that were busted open by our only two offensive playmakers. QB Chris Turner was beyond putrid, overthrowing every open receiver and leaving his most catchable balls for the defenders, with three INTs. One INT quickly led to a MTSU touchdown, and another occurred in the end zone.

The scariest thing is that losing to a directional school does not even induce catatonic depression. Here is a partial list of non-BCS teams Maryland has lost to in either football or basketball since winning the national championship in basketball in 2002:

--Middle Tennessee State (2008, football)
--American University (2007-08, basketball)
--Ohio University (2007-08, basketball)
--Virginia Commonwealth (2007-08, basketball)
--Butler (2006-07, basketball)
--Manhattan (2005-06, basketball)
--Temple (2005-06, basketball)
--George Washington (2005-06, basketball)
--George Washington (2004-05, basketball)
--Northern Illinois (2003, football)

Granted, some of these teams were slightly talented, like Michael Turner's Northern Illinois team or Butler's NCAA tournament team. Still, when your football program wins 31 games in three years and your basketball team spends the majority of 1998 to 2002 in the top 10, you should not be losing to any non-BCS school (or Notre Dame, which the Terps have lost to regularly in basketball and once in football over the relevant timeframe).

I think it's time for those of us who are Maryland alums in our late 20's to accept that we attended the school during its brief two-sport heydey. Now we've returned to the muddled, mediocre middle of the NCAA Division I landscape, viewed alongside such schools as NC State and Ole Miss. Sure, we can put together a halfway decent season now and then. Perhaps we can even climb into the teens in the rankings. For the most part, though, we're just filling out a schedule for the real powerhouses.

It's going to take some time to adjust.

Georgia Tech Upsets Boston College!

2008-09-06T15:23:00.002-04:00

The triple-option era is here, and it's undefeated so far. After fumbling three times in the first half, the Yellow Jackets rallied behind their defense all game long. The defense forced three turnovers in the 2nd half and sacked the BC quarterback Chris Crane for a safety. GT took the lead for good on a option pitch to stud RB Jonathan Dwyer, who took it 40 yards untouched for the score. Quarterback Josh Nesbitt converted a number of lengthy third downs through pure athleticism and quickness, adding an extra dimension for defenses to track.

Dwyer is the stud RB for the Jackets this year.

Next week, Georgia Tech gets Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. Normally a really tough game, the Hokies look vulnerable after losing to ECU last week and going into halftime 3-0 over Furman. A victory over VT on the road would create quite a buzz in Atlanta about a possible trip to the ACC Championship. Just think what could happen when the offense really settles in and starts to look like Navy did last year!

I'm a Redskins Fan and I'm Pretty Damn Pissed Off

2008-09-05T08:08:00.003-04:00

So this post isn't going to have pretty pictures and may not be the most well-researched blog post, but I have about five minutes before I have to punch the clock and begin my gainful employment of the day and I need to use the space that I have here to vent about how gut-wrenching last night's Redskins-Giants game was. This will be a big bitch session. And it'll just be point-by-point.

1) Jason Campbell is not an NFL Quarterback. I'm sorry to say it, but the verdict is finally in. He's not. He may have been doomed by playcalling last night. More likely than not, he was doomed by having to learn his 6th offensive system in 7 years or 7 in 8 years or whatever insane number it is. Nonetheless, he didn't complete a pass until about a minute left in the second quarter (thankfully Santana is on one of my fantasy teams this year and caught the lone TD). Campbell is not a QB for the west coast offense and Zorn cannot force players into his offense. Campbell does not have a quick release of the ball and holds onto it for far too long. He makes dumb decisions and runs into the pass coverage. In other words, he's Jordan Steffy. If we're 0-2, it's time for Todd Collins.

2) Jim Zorn was the wrong hire and the result of a total clusterfuckup by Snyder, Cerrato, et al. Look, it's disingenuous to hire a guy to be the offensive coordinator, then hire him to be a head coach when his only previous experience is as a QB coach, expect him to install a new offense in five months, while at the same time, touting to your fans that this is all about continuity and that a playoff team last year will be a playoff team this year. I mean, did you SEE Zorn on the sidelines last night? He is runner up to Campbell for the official Dr. Boutros Laser Eye Center Deer in Headlights shot of the game (I imagine it would be something like this since everything by the Redskins is sponsored by somebody). My measure of a poor coaching decision is if I know how to do a better job on Madden and I look at the head coach on the field executing more poorly, that head coach is clueless. Zorn has worse clock management skills than Gibbs (did anybody listen to him trying to explain his rationale in his postgame press conference?!?!) especially at the end of the first half and at the end of the game.

3) This team was totally, completely, 100% unprepared for this game. They looked listless. They committed stupid penalties (Randle El, I'm looking at you for your two false start penalties). As a new coach, you can't come in and give the team a vanilla preseason, no matter how much your team hates the preseason, and expect that they can just flip the switch in the first game on the road against a division rival who also happens to be defending Super Bowl Champions. Hell, Portis is a headcase about just about anything. And you know what... I actually think some of these guys, Portis included, would have respected Zorn for coming in, kicking some ass, and getting the show on the road.

4) Um, yeah, you might want to actually prepare a team for all the situations they are going to face during a regular season game during the preseason. Like making sure your team is familiar enough with their offense to go no huddle, down two possessions with four minutes left in the game. Like making sure your team knows their hot routes to get out of bounds to kill the clock. Yeah... the 'Skins didn't do that last night.

5) There were more quality linemen in this past draft than you could shake a stick at. So you're going to go and draft two WRs and a TE when we already have Moss, Randle El, and Cooley? So now we don't have any pass rush, our secondary is now depleted by injuries, and aside from Fletcher, we have a pretty undersized front four. Yeah, I think New Orleans is licking their chops to get to us.

6) That said, my hat does go off to Coach Blatche who made some great adjustments on the defense in the second half and managed to keep the Giants scoreless in the second half. 16 points should be enough to win your offense the game. Unless, of course, Zorn is calling an offense that runs draw plays on third-and-20. Also, game ball to London Fletcher and Rock Cartwright, both of whom had great games.

There's a whole lot more to say, but I'm out of time. I will say that it takes a lot for me to scream at the TV and last night I was doing a whole lot of it, in fact gesturing with my arms frantically to get the team up to the line of scrimmage when they were taking their sweet old time towards the end of the game. I haven't been so disgusted with a Redskins team and the game management thereof since Gibbs called the back-to-back timeouts against the Bills last season. In some ways, this is worse... first game of the season with weeks to prepare and everything goes wrong. I hope I look back on this post in about ten weeks and think that I should be nominated for the Chicken Little post of the century. Instead, I think the Ravens-Redskins December 7 game might now have severe ramifications for both teams for the #1 draft pick.

College Football Picks - Week 2

2008-09-04T11:11:00.002-04:00

This year, week 2 of the college football season is a letdown, giving the spotlight almost entirely to the NFL for its opening weekend. The premiere matchup has a 3-TD spread, and there is not a single matchup between two top-25 teams. That having been said, here are a couple games to keep an eye on.

Georgia Tech (+7) over BOSTON COLLEGE - GT has the athletes to make the option work this year, and BC is in a rebuilding year after losing Ryan and others. This game will likely establish the course of both teams' seasons.

West Virginia (-8) over EAST CAROLINA - Skip Holtz definitely has a good team, but VT is a team with a lot of problems. WVU is much more solid and should be able to handle ECU, but I don't expect a blowout. Pat White is still the QB, and ECU lost their star RB from last year.

With a bald head for good luck, Nutt and Ole Miss will surprise some teams this year.

Mississippi (+8) over WAKE FOREST - This pick is not to say that Wake is weak, just that Houston Nutt knows how to coach football. Ole Miss already beat Memphis pretty soundly, and should compete for all 4 quarters. Wake doesn't have the biggest home-field advantage around.

Last week: 4-2-0

NFL Picks Week 1

2008-09-04T07:08:00.001-04:00

For the second year we'll be doing a weekly against-the-spread pickoff. Each of us will pick five NFL games ATS, and we'll track our records. Hopefully we won't all lose to the Magic 8 Ball like last year.

Lines are taken from Sheridan's Odds as of the day before the games. For this week, that means Wednesday night.

Brien

The NFL is back, baby! For the first few weeks, remember that the goal is not to outsmart Vegas, it's to find overrated teams.

PHILADELPHIA (-7) over St. Louis - The Eagles are going to do a lot better than people think, and the Rams will do a lot worse

GREEN BAY (-3) over Minnesota - I really don't think Aaron Rogers will be that bad - certainly not as bad as Tavaris Jackson

Tampa Bay (+3) over NEW ORLEANS - The Bucs surprised some teams last year, and they just might do it again. They certainly shouldn't be getting 3 points at New Orleans.

ATLANTA (+3) over Detroit - The Falcons aren't going to be that bad this year. I mean, a home dog to the Lions?

MIAMI (+3) over NY Jets - I don't have a ton of faith in the Dolphins, but I have to think this line is inflated because of Brett Favre

J-Red

The first week is a killer. We only know what we think we know about each team, and those opinions are likely to really change by Week 4. That being said, Vegas also has to account for general sentiment. The whole world is on the Cleveland Browns bandwagon. If you disagree, you're probably getting 3 points from Vegas.

Arizona (-2.5) over SAN FRANCISCO - Warner v. O'Sullivan? I don't think Frank Gore can dominate enough.

PHILADELPHIA (-7) over St. Louis - There isn't much to like about St. Louis, even with Bulger and Jackson healthy.

Houston (+7) over PITTSBURGH - I have a feeling Houston will be a wild card contender this year.

MIAMI (+3) over New York Jets - I just get the feeling the Dolphins will be fired up to erase the taste from last season. No pressure.

Jacksonville (-3) over TENNESSEE - I don't expect Vince Young to progress, but I do expect Garrard to.

Jeremy & Magic 8 Ball

Jeremy:

I have barely been following the preseason aside from the Redskins and aside from individual statistics to aid in my fantasy draft. So unlike J-Red, I can't even profess to know what I think I know about each time, because that's nearly nothing. Nonetheless, I'll forage on. It seemed to work for me last year.

Cincinnati (-1) over BALTIMORE - Rookie QB starting in his first-ever NFL game. The Bengals might not be great, but they're no Hofstra.

Kansas City (+16) over NEW ENGLAND - Pats win, but it'll be difficult for Tom Brady to cover this huge of a spread without playing in the preseason. Of course, this does depend on the Chiefs actually putting up points.

Arizona (-2.5) over SAN FRANCISCO - Even Leinart could beat O'Sullivan/Hill/Smith with the weapons the Cards have surrounding him on offense.

Dallas (-5) over CLEVELAND - According to Hard Knocks, the Dallas first teamers have been looking very good. Of course, Hard Knocks made the Chiefs look presentable last year.

Washington (+4) over GIANTS - Winning at the Meadowlands in September is much easier than winning there with swirling winds in December. And Campbell should have much more time than he had against the Panthers.

Magic 8 Ball:

I'm back to beat you all again. That is all. Wasn't my winning percentage at 70% or something at some point last year?

NOTE FROM JEREMY: For those of you who didn't read us last year, my trusty Magic 8 Ball picks against me on the same games that I pick. The question posed to the Magic 8 Ball is "Will the [home team] beat the spread?" The Magic 8 Ball beat all the human prognosticators last year.

BALTIMORE (+1) over Cincinnati - "Signs point to yes" (Ravens beating spread)

NEW ENGLAND (-16) over Kansas City - "My sources say yes." (Patriots will beat spread)

SAN FRANCISCO (+2.5) over Arizona - "Yes." (49ers will beat spread)

CLEVELAND (+5) over Dallas - "My sources say yes." (Browns will beat spread)

GIANTS (-4) over Washington - "My sources say yes." (Giants will beat spread)

Russell

A new season and a new strategy for Week 1. This year, it's a little harder to pinpoint the best teams and the mediocre teams, but the bad teams seem pretty obvious. So this week I'm taking all mediocre teams on the road over bad teams. I doubt anyone actually wants to watch any of these games, unless McFadden gets some PT on Monday night.

Cincinnati (-1) over BALTIMORE - Flacco's a rookie and he didn't even start all of preseason. The Bengals should be good enough to take advantage.

NY Jets (-3) over MIAMI - Favre is better than Pennington, and the same goes for the supporting casts. Jets could be playoff-bound, Dolphins not so much.

Detroit (-3) over ATLANTA - Having no corners is bad when facing Calvin Johnson and Roy Williams, plus the coach, QB, and RB are all new to their roles at this level.

Arizona (-2.5) over SAN FRANCISCO - JT O'Sullivan? This isn't NFL Europe.

Denver (-3) over OAKLAND - Jamarcus will not be able to exploit whatever issues there may be with Denver's D.

Recap

Brien - PHI, GB, TB, ATL, MIA

J-Red - PHI, ARI, HOU, MIA, JAX

Jeremy - CIN, KC, ARI, DAL, WAS

Russell - CIN, NYJ, DET, ARI, DEN

Magic 8 Ball - BAL, NE, SF, CLE, NYG

Wrigley Field Stadium Review

2008-09-03T17:50:00.023-04:00

So some may remember that a few weeks back, there was a post on this blog about my upcoming trip to Chicago and some compromising that was maneuvered with the wife to earn me a trip to Wrigley Field. Well I'm back, I have the sore feet from trooping along the Magnificent Mile for an afternoon of shopping as "payment" for our trip to Wrigley, but alas, I did make every sports fan's necessary pilgrimage to Wrigley Field for the Labor Day game against the Astros.

Probably the best way to do this is to organize the pilgrimage by pictures. Click on any picture for a blown up version. So off we go...

7 towards Flushing. T to Kenmore. Green line to Navy Yard. Red line to Addison. All of those (except for one) are instantly synonomous with a particular stadium. At Wrigley, the Red Line of the CTA (technically a subway line and not considered an "el" line since part of it is below ground) takes you right to the front step of Wrigley Field, dropping you off right at the corner of Sheffield and Addison, just one block to the home plate gate of Wrigley.

As you exit the train, you'll find more sidewalk vendors hawking more varieties of Cubs and Wrigley Field gear than any other ballpark I've ever seen. Some of which as included above, are good for a laugh. If you're interested in a Harry Caray t-shirt with the Cubs mascot wearing the famous oversized glasses over slanted eyes with the caption "Hory Cow," your only bet is to buy it outside the stadium from one of these vendors. Anybody who wants any semblance of an official affiliation with the Cubs will get banned if they sold that shirt. These guys don't care so much (see... Green Bay Packer logo turned into a handicapped sign).

Wrigleyville... yes, it very much exists, and it is the very model of what every city hopes to create with a new ballpark. Every baseball fan, except for maybe Red Sox fans who are blessed with a similar neighborhood (albeit of lesser magnitude) outside Fenway, will go to Wrigleyville and wish that they got to experience that neighborhood ambience before heading into a game at their home team's stadium. Wrigleyville consists of endless bars, each offering different gameday specials, countless places to pop in for tavern food, and all in one compact area within blocks of the Addison stop.

Finally after you make your way through Wrigleyville (or at least hang a right at the foot of the Addison stop and make a lap around the stadium, you'll arrive back at the home plate gate, where the most famous marquee in all of baseball hovers overhead. For those who are making their first trip to Wrigley, they'll be shocked at how low the sign actually hangs. The base of the sign can't be more than 15 feet above the ground. For frame of reference, those windows hanging underneath the marquee are box office windows (if memory serves). Thus, the tops of the windows are about ten feet tall. Wrigley is 95 years old now and shows its age in many ways. One of them is how short the stadium is. There is only one skinny row of boxes crammed in between the lower and upper decks. You end up with a situation where it's not rare at all for foul balls down the baselines to go over the roof of the stadium and onto the surrounding streets.

Wrigley has two statues outside. This is obviously of Ernie Banks. The other is of Harry Caray. I couldn't get a good clean picture of the Caray statue, because it was pretty much mobbed with people mugging for cameras in front of it while I was there. Harry is depicted with his signature glasses leaning out of a press box, microphone in hand, holding it out towards the crowd for "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." The numbers retired by the Cubs are commemorated by flags hanging from the foul poles and are Banks, Sandberg, Santo, and Williams.

The bleacher entrance to Wrigley is deserted an hour before first pitch. That's because by an hour before first pitch, 90% of the thousands who held bleacher seats were in the ballpark in their seats. Bleacher seats at Wrigley are first come, first serve. So even though you will get into the bleachers with a ticket, the question of where you will sit in the bleachers is only determined by you - how early are you willing to get there? If you want to sit in the first row, close enough to have a running conversation with the opposing outfielders, you better be there early. Cole Field House anyone?

The view from our seats in the seventh row of the upper deck just down the first base line from home plate. Off to the right, you could see a corner of Lake Michigan (far more visible to those sitting down the third base line). The two cutouts in the ivy on the wall are for Under Armour signs. Kevin Plank, you're a great Terp... but man, your company should be ashamed. And note... this picture was taken about 45 minutes before first pitch. Those bleachers are packed in.

A closeup of the famous Wrigley scoreboard, almost as famous as the scoreboard at the base of the Green Monster. Note the electronic ribbon at the base. There are five total electronic ribbons around the stadium that I could observe. The one here which displays the current batter, and two along each baseline, one of which shows pitchspeed and constantly rotates out-of-town games, and the other of which shows pitch count. There are televisions along the concourses and in the back of the mezzanine section which is horribly obstructed by the upper deck. Note the holes in the scoreboard, through which you could frequently spot the guys manning the scoreboard watching the games. Just to the right of the base of the scoreboard run the "el" tracks, and every few minutes during the game, a train would come rumbling by. There is nothing in the ballpark at all, aside from your scorecard, that shows the batting lineup or the defensive alignment. Which makes for an awkward scene when a visiting blogger who thinks he can fit in by cursing at a Cubs shortstop for a throwing error, trying to fit in with those fans sitting around him, gets some weird glances when he realizes he is actually cursing at somebody who is on the bench that day. That totally didn't happen to me.

The rooftop bleachers are quite the scene. We all know that the Cubs now get a small cut of the bleacher proceeds. That explains why the rooftop bleachers are totally corporate now, each of which advertising its own webpage for reservations by way of banner along the front or side facade. Some of the rightfield rooftop bleachers actually are double decker bleachers. Not sure why anybody would choose to watch from a rooftop bleacher and not from the stadium unless it is a corporate event. Probably cheaper to get lower deck seats for a Cubs game than to rent the entire bleachers for a roof 400 feet from home plate.

Cubs fans LOVE Fukudome. The rightfield bleacher fans chanted his name at the start of the game and had a similar dialogue with him as I imagine they had with Sammy Sosa. I'll bet they actually understand more of what Fukudome says.

Ahh... Fonzie... I am one of those Nats fans who does miss your messed up batting stance and your 40 HRs and 40 stolen bases, but am also glad that we didn't overpay to keep you.

Hey, I recognize you? Didn't you used to play football for some really mediocre college team?

Finally, the press box, where Harry Caray in perpetuity looks down over the Wrigley faithful from high atop them. Here, some guy who won some contest led the crowd in "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." Not quite Jessica Simpson. But it was still fun to take part in. The Wrigley press box has to be the smallest of any major league stadium. Only four rows of desks for print journalists that stretched maybe 20 yards wide. The television booths weren't much bigger.

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So after the seventh inning stretch, it was time to head back to our hotel. The Cubs were losing, I didn't really have a vested interest in the game, but I did have a vested interest in our Greektown dinner reservations. So to conclude, a few more observations on my pilgrimage to Wrigley:

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i) The fan who attends a game at Wrigley must be a true baseball fan or else they'll be bored to tears. There is no Jumbotron showing a crab shuffle in between innings. There is no "guess the year" contest. There are no replays. You need to be there to watch baseball and view the time between innings as a brief respite to go hit the head, grab a beer or a dog, or something akin to that. Otherwise, bring a book.

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ii) Overall I was pleasantly surprised by the concession prices at Wrigley - far cheaper than Nats Park and significant cheaper than Camden Yards. $5.50 for a 20 ounce domestic draft beer at the concession stands, $3.50 for a heaping pile of nachos, $2.50 for a malt cup or frozen lemonade. And the hot dogs... ahhh, the hot dogs... I was put on notice by one of our 16 loyal readers who I ran into prior to last weekend's Maryland football game that if I did one thing at Wrigley Field, I had to buy a regular hot dog. And not from a vendor. But from the concession stand. And man, was she right (yes, we do have female readers). The "jumbo dog" for $3.75 lived up to its name (there is no other hot dog besides the "jumbo"). It was plump, cooked until it split open, was perfectly salted, and with ketchup, mustard, onions, and relish, is the best regular old ballpark dog I've ever gotten.

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iii) For you men out there, the bathrooms are in trough style. But better than that, they're in Cole Field House trough style, so there is the long trough with the wall down the middle and the trough on the other side. So you gaze longingly into the eyes of the guy standing across from you while you're both taking a piss. Wait... the gazing longingly thing is only me? Well, anyway, there are only four restrooms total to my count on the entire upper deck. Two mens rooms and two womens rooms. Do the math. If you're female and you plan on going to the bathroom during the game, budget two full innings.

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iv) EVERYBODY is in Cubs gear. It may be as simple as a hat. It may be a full authentic jersey with on-field cap to the tune of $300. Regardless, everybody is wearing Cubs clothing. Never quite seen that at another baseball venue.

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v) I know we're talking about a very old stadium, but is it too much to ask to put in enough speakers in the upper deck so that the P.A. guy doesn't come across either softly or totally garbled? There was at any given time about a 15% chance you'd make out what the P.A. guy was saying completely. Most of the time, you'd understand about every fourth word. Again, you go to watch the game. That's it.

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vi) Cupholders at all seats. Nice touch.

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vii) It was fun to see the "pros" standing in the street behind the leftfield bleachers to grab batting practice home run balls. They stood out from the amateurs who were many in number, all with glove in hand, who would scream anxiously anytime a ball looked like it may leave the park. The "pros" wore expensive anti-glare sunglasses, never took their eyes off the horizon just above the wall of Wrigley, had outfielders mitts, and always seemed to take the right path to the ball when it hit the street.

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That's really about all there is to say about Wrigley, I think. It was truly a special place to visit for a baseball fan. If you happen to be in Chicago while the Cubs are in town, you owe it to yourself to go. Even if you buy yourself the next afternoon popping in and out of handbag stores along the Magnificent Mile, you will think it's worth it.

Todd Palin is Hardcore

2008-09-02T20:45:00.007-04:00

We generally try to avoid politics here at ECB (except for Jeremy), but when the spouse of a major political figure is involved in an obscure sport, that's right in our wheelhouse.

Snowmobile racing at the Winter X Games. Not the same thing as Iron Dog.

It's been widely reported that Todd Palin, husband of Sarah Palin and Alaska's "first dude" is a snowmobile racer. I've seen snowmobile racing at the Winter X Games, and it's kind of cool. The racers do around 10 laps of a course with jumps and turns. It's a lot like Motocross on snow. Fun to watch once a year, but definitely a niche "extreme" sport.

Turns out, that's not what Todd Palin does. He races in the Tesoro Iron Dog, the longest snowmobile race in the world. That doesn't mean they do 50 laps of a Snowcross course, it means that they race on the Iditarod trail. The race runs from Wasilla to Nome to Fairbanks. That's quite a course. The Iditarod sled dog race only runs to Nome. The snowmobile race adds an entire other leg.

The Iron Dog reminds me of the Paris Dakar Rally, only on snowmobiles instead of motorcycles and snow instead of sand. Anyone who finishes this race, much less wins it (as Todd Palin did in 2007) certainly has my respect. It's not likely to influence my decision on whether or not to vote for his wife's running mate, though.

Awful Weekend for the ACC

2008-09-01T20:09:00.004-04:00

The ACC has been criticized as the weakest BCS conference for years now, but this year there isn't any doubt. As an ACC fan, it pains me to say it, but the conference doesn't look any better than C-USA and is clearly far worse than any other BCS conference.

If you missed it, here's how the ACC faired this weekend:

#23 Wake beat up on Baylor
GT beat a 1-AA team
Miami beat a 1-AA team
NC State got shut out by South Carolina
#17 VA Tech got upset by ECU on a neutral field
UVA got blown out at home by USC
Maryland beat a 1-AA team by a touchdown
UNC beat a 1-AA team by 8
Duke beat a 1-AA team
BC shut out Kent State (one of the worst teams in division 1-A)
#9 Clemson got embarassed by Alabama on national television in the Georgia Dome

If you're keeping track at home, the conference went 2-4 against 1-A opponents (and only 1 of those wins was against a BCS conference school). Thankfully, none of the five teams that played 1-AA patsies lost.

When the new rankings come out, the ACC will likely be down to 2 teams in the top 25 with a big goose egg in the top 15. What is wrong with the ACC? The players apparently aren't the problem, as they keep getting drafted in the NFL. Is it the coaches? Something else?

All I know is that the ACC needs to do something to fix its football problem. The ACC Championship game is an embarassment. The fact that the conference gets an automatic BCS bid is embarassing. Duke is an embarassment to Division 1 football. Things need to change.

Best Ocho Cinco Comment

2008-08-30T09:51:00.001-04:00

For the first time in history, someone on ESPN.com made a funny or interesting comment.

With regard to Chad Ocho Cinco's newest hilarious stunt, this comment was made:

blobsalad (9 hours ago)

I hope to God Chad "Ocho Cinco" gets traded to the Rams where Jack Youngblood's #85 has been retired.

He'd have to change his name to "Ocho Dos" or something like that.

NFL Investigates Cutting Preseason, Expanding Schedule

2008-08-28T19:28:00.004-04:00

Maybe the Patriots blew a chance to be nearly assured of being the last undefeated team in NFL history. The league is reportedly investigating cutting the preseason to two games and extending the regular season by two games. The switch would make the owners more money, which means it isn't an impossible dream. It would not cost season ticket holders any more, as they already pay for 10 home games.

There are impediments, of course. For one, records would all be made worthless by adding two games. Luckily football is not as stats obsessed as baseball. There would be additional attrition with the players now facing what likely amounts to six additional quarters of actual football. Perhaps rosters could be expanded to include the practice squad after a certain week. The biggest problem, however, is that teams would not agree on when to add the games.

If you add the games to the beginning of the season, in August, the hot weather cities would enjoy an advantage. It might be 70 in August in Buffalo, but it's 100+ in Dallas and Phoenix. Plus, there are still dual use stadiums, and baseball scheduling would pose additional difficulties. If you add the games to the end of the season, the cold weather teams would enjoy an advantage. The NFL would get their coveted bad weather games, but they'd be holding the Super Bowl in mid-February....possibly on Valentine's Day.

I think we'll see a compromise position, adding one to the front and one to the end. This probably works best, especially if they'll eliminate the bye week between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl. I think we can all agree that more football is not a bad thing. Hopefully this will get done.

Donaghy Scandal Doesn't Faze NFL

2008-08-28T19:19:00.002-04:00

When news first surfaced that Tim Donaghy was being investigated for a possible role in fixing NBA games, all of the pundits talked about how all sports would have to tighten up to prevent suffering the same fate. Some sports, like baseball and basketball, are somewhat easier to fix from an officiating point of view than others, like football. Nevertheless, it is still possible for an official to have a focused impact on the outcome or at least score.

You can see how a back judge especially could be a little loose calling pass interference one way but not the other. A referee controls the pacing of the game, marking the ball ready for play and calling subjective penalties like roughing the passer. He could have a measurable influence on the over-under by slowing down or speeding up games.

That's why it is so baffling to me that the NFL continues to allow referee Gene Steratore to serve on the same crew as his brother, back judge Tony Steratore. The odds of two crewmates independently falling into the seedy underworld of gambling and organized crime are pretty slim. When you add the brother bond, though, the odds jump considerably. It's still extremely unlikely, but why risk it?

College Football Picks - Week 1

2008-08-28T11:39:00.000-04:00

Welcome back for another exciting season of college football! Every week, I'll be breaking down some of the biggest games, as well as addressing some of the biggest scores, rumors, and trends.

The first week of any season is always tough for betting (as I noted yesterday), and this year is no different. However, there are some very intriguing games worth paying attention to.

The Big Games
CLEMSON (-4.5) over Alabama - Huge expectations are yet again hovering over Clemson, and the talent is certainly there. Bowden has the talent assembled and his team has started strong recently. On the other hand, this is Saban's second season in Tuscaloosa and expectations aren't exactly low. This is a huge game for both squads and the neutral site (Georgia Dome) doesn't hurt the drama. Clemson is the more talented team, and I'm taking them on that basis. Clemson's (slim) shot at the national title hinges on this game.

Saban needs a couple big wins this year to keep the Tide alumni happy.

MISSOURI (-8.5) over Illinois - Played in anonymity last year, both teams ended up in the top 10 last year. This year, both teams are likely to be good again, but I think the loss of Mendenhall and others will hurt Illinois more. This will be worth watching to see which teams will back up their Cinderella stories from last year.

Tennessee (+7) over UCLA - Rick Neuheisel's first game is no cupcake. Both teams have plenty of talent, but the experience of the home-and-home with Cal the last two years should really benefit Tennessee. I think the Vols' physical presence will be enough for a victory on the road. If UCLA and Neuheisel pull out this victory in their first game, look out Pac-10!

Can Brian Johnson and the Utes win in the Big House?

The Interesting Weird Matchups
Utah (+3.5) over MICHIGAN - A new year, a new coach, same old story for Michigan. Last year, App State and Oregon were Michigan's first two home games and both teams were quite talented. This year, Utah is the subject of a lot of buzz from the MWC and could be legitimate BCS at-large contenders. Meanwhile, Michigan must adapt to a new coach, new system, and new starting QB. I don't think they're ready yet.

Southern Cal (-18.5) over VIRGINIA - It doesn't matter whether Sanchez is healthy or not. USC is much, much better. Unfortunately, this could be a preview of Cal-Maryland. I don't think this will be close at all. Don't forget UVa's stellar showings against Wyoming to start the last couple seasons.

RUTGERS (-5) over Fresno State - Rutgers lost Ray Rice and struggled down the stretch last year with him, so they had some issues to work through. However, Fresno isn't as dangerous now that teams know how good they are. Plus I think Fresno has fallen off a little since their peak 5ish years ago. This won't be a blowout but Rutgers will prevail, even though Fresno is a strong favorite to win the WAC this year.

Football starts in less than 10 hours! Go Terps and Yellow Jackets!

Dream Races

2008-08-28T06:50:00.010-04:00

Where would you love to see NASCAR run? What track should F1 add to its season next?

What if they put you in charge and you could pick any race track in the world? What race would you add to each series?

Here are my picks:

MotoGP at Martinsville

"Two drag strips with a turn around on each end"is the way Martinsville is most often described. I'd love to see the awesome acceleration and braking of the MotoGP bikes around that track.

Someone would probably end up with whiplash by the end of the race, but it would be an awesome sight.

Nascar at Laguna Seca

Nascar's road course races are always fun to watch. The stock cars never seem to be at home with right hand turns and it's all the driver can do to get the car stable in between turns.

The Laguna Seca corkscrew would be an incredible test of driver and mechanic ability in a stock car. For those not familiar with it, the corkscrew is a left-right turn complex with the left hander coming over the crest of a hill and the right hander on a very steep decline. It's very difficult to hit the complex just right, but drivers who do can carry a good bit of speed through it.

Nascar fans often wonder who the best pure driver in the series is, and Laguna Seca would definitely help them answer that question.

IRL at the Nurburgring Nordschleife

The Nordschleife is a 14 mile track in Germany that used to host F1 races before it was determined to be unsafe due to its length. It's an amazing track with every sort of turn you could imagine, and presents a huge challenge to drivers.

IRL is a series that is centered around one race, the Indianapolis 500. The series really needs another marquee event to define itself as different from all the other open wheel circuits.

I thought about putting Nascar here, just because it would be so much fun to see the teams try to put spotters around a 14 mile track.

F1 at Bristol

I'm sure F1 purists will strongly disagree with me here, but it would be awesome to see those cars race at Thunder Valley. My biggest complaint about Formula 1 races is that there isn't enough passing. At last weekend's European Grand Prix, I don't remember seeing a single overtaking move for position.

At Bristol, "The World's Fastest Half Mile," lack of passing wouldn't be a problem. The Nascar races at Bristol run several different racing lines that are all evenly matched. The 30 degree banking in the turns makes sure of that.

I've always thought it would be fun to see F1 race on an oval, and Bristol is certainly the most fun oval of them all. It would be a huge challenge for the mechanics to optimize the set-up on the cars for a track so different than all the others, but that might let some of the backmarker teams have a chance at a race win.

I'm sure none of these dream races are feasible in the slightest, but wouldn't it be awesome if they were?

Top 5 Reasons Not To Wager on Football in Week 1

2008-08-27T23:05:00.004-04:00

Everyone loves football, and most football fans like to gamble. The incredible excitement of the first week of the season, both college and NFL, can lead to the desire to start the season off with some winnings. Here are some reasons why discretion might be the better part of valor in this case.

Will UCLA be ready for Tennessee in week 1?

Coaching Changes - RichRod, Neuheisel, Bo Pellini, Paul Johnson, Jim Zorn, Bill Parcells/Sparano... who knows how quickly the new systems will take effect or whether the appropriate talent is in place yet. In addition, under the radar changes can affect things more than you realize. Coordinators are hired and fired to minimal fanfare, yet they do most of the actual hands-on coaching on most teams. In addition, schemes change as well. Did you know Auburn is running the spread this year? Or that Maryland is switching to a 3-4 defense? Some of those quirks take a couple real games to work themselves out, and it doesn't even take a coaching change for some of them to happen.

Preseason Games Mean NOTHING!! - Bettors instinctively rely on the most recent games as the basis for their decisions, but the preseason with limited playbooks and experimental packages is worthless for predicting anything. Even the time with the starters in the game is worthless, for the most part. In addition, the last couple regular season games of last year aren't reliable as good NFL teams were resting their stars, while the bad teams had already given up. And if you think college scrimmages and spring games are helpful, you should spend your money elsewhere.

The Razorbacks didn't just lose McFadden and Jones, they lost Nutt too. Who knows what they have this year, other than a new everything?

Vegas Knows Everything - While you've been busy watching the Olympics, drafting your fantasy teams, and sleeping through the dog days of summer, the odds makers have been studying these teams carefully. They know more than we do until the primary evidence is seen by everyone, in the form of a game or two (a good reason to check out Doc's if you must gamble now).

Personnel Changes - Everyone knows about the big trades and the graduating seniors. Obviously, Arkansas won't be the same without McFadden and Jones, but what impact will Terrence Pryor have? Will Favre's new team excel in his presence? Everyone can only guess.

Can the Giants repeat without Osi?

Injuries - Always a variable, the severity of offseason injuries is hard to predict, and the loss of key players can really damage a team's chances. Can the Giants repeat without Osi and Strahan? Should UGA still be a favorite for the national title without their starting left tackle? Is Peyton really healthy for week 1 and will he be sharp if he even plays?

Good luck with your betting this year, but try to be patient early in the season. Just remember Michigan last year if you need a reminder.

Donald Young: Future of American Tennis?

2008-08-26T00:02:00.003-04:00

Tonight, Donald Young and James Blake played 5 sets of tennis in the 1st round of the US Open, while most of you were sleeping off your Olympic hangover. Eventually, the better player prevailed with the #9 seed Blake winning after the match was 4-4 in the 5th set, but Blake may not be regarded as the better player for long. It's no small irony that the emergence of Donald Young may come at the expense of James Blake, if only in fatigue for the moment. Credit Blake with surviving the challenge in the 5th and keeping his composure.

Donald Young could be the next great American tennis player.

While still showing his youth and immaturity at times, Young displayed a level of talent rarely seen from such a youthful player. With a dominant forehand, strong lefty serve, and crisp volleys, Donald Young was able to dominate Blake at times, the same James Blake who beat Federer in the Olympics. Young's speed around the court was eye-opening at times. He also demonstrated mental strength and maturity, recovering from 6-1 blowouts in the 1st and 3rd sets to level the match. How about Young having the composure to hit a winner on a break point with a broken string during the 5th set? Blake was by no means perfect, but Young was certainly applying some serious pressure.

Vision of the future, but with bigger trophies?

For the American tennis fans frustrated with the inability of Blake or Roddick to break into the top 5 recently, the same fans who watch Mardy Fish look awesome and then terrible, this could be the beginning of a brave new era. Young is still only 19, but won 3 of the 4 junior majors. He took a set off Novak Djokovic two years ago, and now he has taken Blake to 5 sets in the US Open! Young has been the #1 junior player in the world and was the youngest junior champion in a major ever, and could build on these experiences to bigger and better things. Only #102 in the world, Young certainly has a long way to go and should not be crowned as the next great hope quite yet, but things are looking up. James Blake played well tonight, and Donald Young gave him everything he wanted and more.

Zai Jian (Goodbye), Olympics

2008-08-25T06:54:00.008-04:00

After 16 days, the Beijing Olympics are over. It's tough to believe that we have to wait another four years for the next Summer Olympics. After the Super Bowl, it's bad enough knowing that you have to wait 7 months for the NFL to start back up again, with the Olympics, the gap seems like an eternity. The fact that they only happen every four years is part of what makes the Olympics so special, though.

No one had a "Free Tibet" t-shirt?

For all the worrying about what would go wrong in Beijing, things went smoothly. I expected to see a lot more political protests and some Mexico City style athlete protests on the medal stand. While there were some issues with protesting and the horrible tragedy of the stabbing, I think there was much less drama than people expected.

I could quibble with some of the minor points of NBC's coverage of the games (I think the Gold Medal Soccer game was shown at least 5 times Saturday), but they showed more events than ever before and still managed to leave me wanting more. They cut out most of the human interest stories and showed sports that you rarely see without compromising the swimming, gymnastics, and track coverage that everyone loves. The time difference sucked, and I would have preferred to see them handle it differently, but NBC was in a tough position and tried to make the best of it.

NBC also lucked out with some of the surprise performances by the US teams (indoor volleyball and water polo, particularly). With very few events contested in the final day of the games, NBC was able to show two events featuring US teams. And how great was it to end the Olympics with a story like the men's volleyball team? Hugh McCutcheon suffers an awful tragedy to start the Olympics, and then he ends the games with a gold medal. You can't make that stuff up, but it always seems to happen at the Olympics.

Four years is a long time, but I'm sure it will be worth the wait.

R.I.P. Lemontree

2008-08-23T16:21:00.010-04:00

Broke into the old apartment.

This is where we used to live

- Barenaked Ladies

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So I made one last trip to the house I grew up in today for one final box of diplomas and certificates. The house where I went to sleep nearly every day from coming home from the hospital in 1980 through leaving for college in 1998, the house where I spent summers and winters during college before finally moving out for good senior year of college in 2001, the house where I fell asleep listening to Jon Miller broadcast Orioles games on WTOP 1500 AM and Ken Beatrice on Sportscall on WMAL 630 AM, and the house where I learned to play and love sports. The house where my trophies (mostly participation) lined the desk, where my baseball cards filled boxes and binders in the basement, and where where the Baltimore Orioles and Florida Marlins pennants were on the bedroom wall. The trophies and pennants have all gone to the dump. The swim ribbons are being held on to, as are the baseball cards.

My parents have moved to a beautiful new community in northern Howard County, on a golf course, full of people in their upper 50s, where every weekend there is a wine and cheese party or a pool party or something fun going on. My parents are fleeing the confines of Eastern Montgomery County, and a neighborhood that isn't our own anymore. A neighborhood where all of the neighbors I grew up alongside have long gone, aside from a few stalwarts who bought when the homes where new in the mid-1960s and who will likely die there. Yet a neighborhood, and a home, that for whatever happens, will still be the place that I grew up, and the place where my memories linger.

This post will be for all of our readers, who, while happy for their parents for moving on to bigger and better places, experience the melancholy of knowing they won't play catch with their own kids in the same driveway where they themselves played catch. This post will be for all of our readers who have had to say goodbye to something that's really only a very small piece of land, not even a third of an acre, but that looms larger than life in our own minds.

But this post will also be for the new occupants of that home, even though I know that they will never read this. The home will be occupied by a mother, a father, and their three children (2 boys and a girl), who are moving into their first-ever single family home, with their first-ever yard. I think as a going away gift to Lemontree, and as a welcoming gift to the soon-to-be-occupants who by this time next weekend will live there, I should give them the ground rules of Lemontree, gleaned from 21 years of experience of tee-ball, whiffle ball, baseball, basketball, street hockey, ping-pong, football, sledding, tennis, and everything else.
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- If you're standing on this side of the yard (see above), and it clears the fence, it's a ground rule double. It has to make it past the patio next door for it to be a home run.

- If it goes over the fence to the right, the neighbors still probably haven't mellowed out about you invading their yard for a ball. Just wait until they mow their lawn and the next day you'll find all your baseballs, tennis balls, and everything else, lining the ground at the foot of the fence.

- If you're playing catch in the driveway, make sure that the taller person stands at the garage door. And know that the garage door is stronger than it looks... it's taken baseballs off a bat and still hasn't cracked.

- Oddly, that same garage door makes really loud echoes throughout the entire house when you try to hit a tennis ball off it. So save the groundstroke practice for the wall at West Fairland Park.

- That fence in the backyard... it won't even survive a hard hit from a tennis ball, let alone a baseball. Unless you want a shard of wood roughly as sharp as a prison shiv, avoid hitting that fence with anything other than a whiffle ball.

- If your dad is throwing you pop flies across the street, the ball has to clear the third power line for it to be a "real pop fly." Anything lower and you reserve the right to yell at him to throw it higher.

- Standing at the top of the driveway and having your dad go into a catcher's stance in the middle of the street will approximate the feel of being on a pitcher's mound. But remember, your dad isn't wearing a cup.

- Any ball that goes into the street will inevitably roll down towards the sewer if you don't take off after it. You have about 20 seconds after it hits the street to catch up to it. But that ball gains speed as it gets closer to the sewer, so watch out.

- When you play ping-pong in the basement (you can thank us for leaving the table later), if the ball goes behind the washing machine, don't even bother trying to get it. Just grab a new one. Someday you'll replace that washing machine and find 19 years worth of ping-pong balls there.

- When you feel the need to imitate Art Monk (although by now you'll probably be imitating Santana Moss), make sure that you stand up the street and your dad stands down the street. Otherwise you'll run that fade pattern and be blinded by the sun.

- Come winter when you want to go sledding on the biggest, baddest hill in all of Eastern Montgomery County, make sure that you get a sled with steering on it and don't just go down on one of those tobaggan-type things. If you don't make the 15-degree righthand turn, you will drop straight down 10 feet into the dry creek bed. I've seen it happen.

- Come winter also, you can only hope you get the same ice storm that we had in 1993 when two inches of freezing rain made the entire front yard like an ice rink (the ice was actually over the grass and clear, just like rink ice). This will be fun for you and your street hockey stick and your puck. It will not be fun for your dog.

- The record for fastest trip around "the square" aboard a bike is just under four minutes, done by yours truly, on a single-speed Huffy. I don't think you'll beat that. The gauntlet has been thrown down.

- When you're standing on the patio, know that there did used to be a nine foot basketball hoop at the edge furthest out from the door. If you stood at the fence and shot it, that was a three-pointer. If you really wanted to imitate M.J., you'd do a fadeaway and fall backwards into the rhododendron bush.

Broke into the old apartment

Tore the phone out of the wall

Only memories, fading memories

Blending into dull tableaux

I want them back

So what are some of the groundrules for where you grew up? Everybody has them. You'll be amazed how quickly they come back to you.

The Red Jersey Isn't For All QBs

2008-08-23T01:43:00.004-04:00

What's wrong with the picture below?

No, not just "he's still in the league", or "there aren't any Steelers hanging from his shoulders". Why is Kyle "The Eternal Rookie" Boller wearing a red jersey in practice? Boller's amazingly enduring career has also been really consistent. He consistently makes strong confident throws early in games, he consistently fumbles every time he's hit from behind and he consistently throws ridiculous interceptions after the first turnover because he's so scared of being hit from behind again and losing the ball. Seriously, that's his whole career.

Is that really a guy you want avoiding contact in practice? If anything, they should start Ed Reed 25 yards behind Boller in the backfield and just let him come clean on every play. If he survives it, he might just be usable. If he doesn't, he has no purpose in the NFL anyway.

Rhythmic Gymnastics is Not a Sport

2008-08-21T21:27:00.006-04:00

There are plenty of odd sports in the Olympics. From team handball to pistol shooting to race walking to trampoline, people can argue about whether or not certain sports belong in the Olympics. But there is one "sport" that stands out like a sore thumb. Rhythmic gymnastics is not a sport and shouldn't be in the Olympics.

Some kind of weird S&M fetish? No, an Olympic 'sport'

Rhythmic gymnastics is competed in both an individual all-around and group competition. Each event consists of scores totaled across several apparatuses. Basically, the gymnasts are scored on how well they dance with a ribbon, a hoop, clubs, or a rope.

Since when is hula hoop an Olympic sport?

We can disagree about the validity of other sports with judging and whether certain sports are "real," but I think everyone can get behind the idea that rhythmic gymnastics is not really a sport.

Go for the gold, Dog!

Basically, this is Randy Jackson's "America's Best Dance Crew," but the winner gets an Olympic gold medal. In four years, rhythmic gymnastics will be an event at the London Olympics, but baseball and softball will not.

Possibly the worst thing about rhythmic gymnastics is that by having the word "gymnastics" in the title, it forces all the Olympic websites to refer to real gymnastics as "artistic gymnastics" which sounds like a totally fake sport. It's insulting to the athletes who compete in real gymnastics to associate them with the dancers who compete in rhythmic gymnastics.

Take this nonsense out of the Olympics and put it back on "Dancing With the Stars" where it belongs.

Bolt's Accomplishments Watered Down (Pun Intended)

2008-08-21T13:53:00.006-04:00

Usain Bolt has broken his own 100M sprint record (with an untied shoe and a pull-up finish) as well as Michael Johnson's 200M record in this summer's Olympic Games in Beijing. So much for the smog (and a slight headwind) slowing down the runners.

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Normally, this would be a monumental accomplishment. But, thanks to Michael Phelps and the Speedo LZR, world records have become meaningless in these Olympics. Records in the pool and falling left and right, as new swimsuit technology has allowed swimmers to trim nearly whole seconds off of each 100M length. This is wholly unfair to Bolt.
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Most fans pay little or no attention to swimming, gymnastics and track and field except for every four years when the Olympics are held. We only know what the folks on the television tell us. Rather than downplay the smashing of swimming records for the first week of the games, Rowdy Gaines and others screamed and applauded the amazing performances by Phelps and others. They often glossed over the fact that sometimes racers, especially at longer distances, broke the world record without even reaching the medal podium.

blahblahblah The real hero of the Beijing Games - Speedo LZR

Then we went to the track, where records are much hardier, and we didn't blink when records fell. People who are part of the track community, or ran track in high school or college, are stupified by Bolt's amazing accomplishments. Casual fans wonder what all the fuss is about. After all, Bolt only has two gold medals. So what if he's the fastest man in the world, Phelps has eight. Of course, there is no backstroke, butterfly, or breaststroke in track, so Bolt has won just about everything he could win. Even the 400M, which has always occupied that weird middle-distance status, is a totally different race than the sprints.

If you need perspective on Bolt's accomplishments, look at the Track and Field world records as they existed prior to Beijing. Many of the records are over a decade old. Many of the sprint records are younger, but this is understandable as the margins between victory and defeat are measured in the hundreths of seconds. Improvements in shoe, stadium, apparel and track engineering are going to have the greatest effect on the shaving those times. Even then, the records last for years and are only marginally broken.

Usain Bolt has arguably made the most important and impressive contribution to these games, but thanks to Michael Phelps he'll probably be best remembered for being a bit of a showboat.