“Finishing Up…Failure or Flourish?”

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San Diego State and the University of San Diego football programs, both club from a different cloth.

The Aztecs, true Division 1-in a lesser conference, the Mountain West, giving out the max number of 85-football scholarships.

A strong run under Rocky Long, headed to their sixth bowl game in a row, once they get done playing tomorrow night in the frozen climate at Wyoming in the Mountain West Conference game.

The Toreros don’t give out scholarships for athletes, just academic grants. They’ve just come off the biggest win in the 56 year history of what was a club program that became Division 1-AA in football. And now the test of a lifetime, playing at North Dakota State tomorrow afternoon in the 2nd round of the playoffs, against a Bison team that gives out the max 63-grants in aid.

For SDSU, what could have been a magical season has gone off track. Two weeks ago, they were ranked in the AP polls…had a legitimate shot at a Cotton Bowl berth, and a Heisman Trophy candidate.

Back to back blowout losses, to Wyoming then Colorado State took them out of the big bowl picture, and also took DJ Pumphrey out of the Heisman Trophy race.

But there’s still lots to play for, but you wonder if there’s any gas left in their tank, especially on defense. In stunning fashion, SDSU has given up (997-yards) and 94-points in the last two Saturdays. And this was a defense that was ranked 4th in the country as we got to Thanksgiving.

Additionally, Pumphrey, who led the nation in rushing up till two weeks ago, failed to crack the 100-yard barrier rushing in either of the losses.

So have teams figured the Aztecs out. Has Rocky Long worked them so hard they are fatigued and lost their edge, or is it just they ran up against two red-hot teams?

At USD, no one expected what happened last weekend, the stunning win in teh muck and mud that was Cal Poly. They earned it on offense hitting big plays. Earned it on defense with three forced fumbles.

Tomorrow is something they’ve never seen before. The Division 1AA Bisons are a team that won at Iowa, yes those Hawkeyes of the Big 10-Conferne.

The number 1-pick in the NFL draft last year was Bison QB-Carson Wentz. They’ve won 5-Division 1AA titles. They are (16-0) at the Fargodome in post season play. They’re (22-1) in postseason games in the playoffs.

Welcome to the other world USD.

If there’s suc a thing as David killing Goliath, maybe the Blue can do that tomorrow. They surely have all the bullets in the gun. An offense averaging (454-yards per game)…and a defense giving up just (244-yards)…but that was against smaller teams like Davidson and Marist and Stetson.

Dale Lindsey has done an amazing job building a roster and confidence.

USD has to play shootout for they likely cannot slug it out with the Bison. But if Anthony Lawrence can spray the ball everywhere…make North Dakota State cover everyone sideline to sideline, then anything is possible.

An interesting Saturday ahead.

Great regard for the coaches. Great enjoyment seeing the programs have success.

Do the Aztecs rally and make th is a good finish to a solid season? Is there another upset in this Cindarella story at USD.

Flourish-or-Failure, we’ll know by 8pm Saturday night.

Play Ball-Winter Ball”

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The World Series has been over for just 3-weeks.

There is a feel good glow to the game after the Cubs win, and the tremendous post season games we sat and watched.

Everyone is making money in what has become a 10B industry. Baseball is on a resurgence.

And now, labor peace for another five years. We don’t have to fear the ugliness of 1994, when they shut down the World Series, and have it spill into 1995.

With the clock ticking towards midnight last night, and the end of the current MLB-Union CBA deal, the two sides met for 18-out-of 24 hours in Dallas, and got a deal done.

At the head of it all was Padres owner Ron Fowler, on a team led by Commissioner Rob Mandred, and Union Chief Tony Clark.

The money will continue to flow, there will be more free agent player movement. There will be a cap of spending for International signings-a 5M cap per team per year. There will not be an International Draft.

The 162-game schedule will take on a different look, with more off days, an earlier start to the season, and less spring training games.

Draft pick compensation will no longer entail losing a lst round pick, if you sign a pricey free agent.

Clubs over the Luxury tax will give up 2nd and 5th round picks for the stars they sign, who had gotten the 17M-qualifying offer..

Clubs under the cap, will give up just a 3rd round pick, if they ink a big money free agent who had been given a qualifying offer.

The Luxury Tax threshold goes up in increments over the new 5-years deal, however the tax bite on clubs over the Luxury Tax threshold will have a stronger bite. If you keep going over the tax theshold (attention-Dodgers-Yankees) understand you might wind up paying a 75% tax on money spent on free agents.

Look for new language and sanctions in the drug program.

Don’t look for the DH in the National League.

A surprise, don’t look for the 26-man roster, or a limit in September callups by clubs of young players.

The key component is probably the “hard cap” on International signings.

Padres GM AJ Preller would not have been allowed to spend 66M on international free agents next year, when the rules take place. But it also means, no excessive contracts for Cubans or Latin Americans or Japanese players. They all go into an international signing pool.

Baseball is profitable for all. Both sides see that now. No one wanted to revisit what baseball had become under Donald Fehr.

The Winter Meetings will start next Monday just outside Washington, DC. There will be trades, there will be signings, there will be a “Hot Stove League”.

American’s past-time is healthy. Baseball has not been passed by any longer. The owners and union saw to that just before midnight last night.

Now we can “Play Ball-Winter Ball” about to begin.

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“College Football-A New Term-1 & Done”

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That came to an end quickly, but then again, maybe not in that place, for that place is unlike many others in college football.

Oregon begins the morning looking for a new head coach, after the Ducks fired Mark Helfrich, following a dreadful season in Eugene.

Yes (4-8) at a place like Oregon is not acceptable, not when you consider all the success that they have grown to accept.

It was the place where Rich Brooks led the Ducks out of oblivion, by getting them a few winning seasons.

It’s where Mike Belotti installed a superb spread offense that was the foundation of great success and changed the whole conference..

It was where Chip Kelly put that video game offense into place, and made the Pacific Northwest a destination point for quarterbacks, speed receivers and running backs. They came from Hawaii and Texas and Florida to wear those colors.

It was where the Ducks ran up scores on everyone, every year. And where Phil Knight funded facilities that made even NFL teams jealous.

But it unravelled quickly.

Helfrich won with Kelly’s players early, but when Marcus Mariota graduated, it crashed and burned quickly.

Oregon tried to go the graduate quarterback route. Last year it was the one season for Eastern Washington transfer Vern Adams. This year it was supposed to be Montana State transfer Dakota Prukop.

It failed badly, leaving Oregon without a trigger man for the bazooka type offenses they were supposed to run.

And defense, never a Ducks strength, worsened, with games in which Oregon gave up 600-yards or more.

And people never forgot, what Oregon did during the glory years. They ran up scores at Autzen Stadium against the once proud program. And people around the Pac 12-cheered about the payback the Ducks program got.

As good as they had it, as snazzy as their Green-Lemon-Silver uniform combs looked, thanks to Nike, Oregon became Public Enemy #1 on the West Coast.

They fell to Nebraska, got outgunned by Cal, Washington State put up (655) yards on them, and then Washington ran up 70-points and another (650) yards in offense infront of the home fans..

It was a horror show 5-game losing streak, and Oregon became the victim of “what goes around, comes around.”

Money is obviously no object. It will cost them 11.6M to get rid of Helfrich.

It will still be a destination point for a coach who loves wide open offense, and can you say Dale Holgorson of West Virginia amongst others?.

In an era where you better win, every year, Oregon now becomes the post
er child for excess in college football. Great facilities, great records, great fan and booster support.

You name them, Ohio State, Michigan, Alabama, Oklahoma, the elite programs, with all the things most others dream of.

But now in the Willamette Valley, something else has taken place on the beautiful evergreen tree lined campus.

Oregon has now become known for something else. College Football adopts the basketball terminology.

You better not have one bad season, for their might not be another.

Mark Helfrich just round that out.

Oregon becomes football’s “one and done” school.

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“NFL Player-Leaves Game-Finds Self”

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It was only 1-sentence in a waiver wire story. Jason Brown, a former starter center with the Baltimore Ravens and St. Louis Rams, retires.

That was it.

It could have been just a typical story of a veteran player, beset by injuries, whose time was up Or a player done in by the salary cap, replaced by a younger player. Or a player who lost his desire to go on any further.

Happens all the time in the NFL, maybe the most transient form of employments in all of sports, unless you are a star quarterback, or a superstar player.

Roster moves are like the sun, players leave, like the sun comes up.

Except in the case of Jason Brown, longtime NFL center.

He walked away from the NFL with alot of money. He walked away from 37M that was left on his contract.

He walked away to become a farmer in North Carolina.

He walked away to do charity work, growing food for the hungry, and helping the handicapped.

A pretty good football player, whose life and values suddenly changed. Rated as the top interior offensive lineman when he became a high priced NFL free agent. A warrior, a captain, and a quality citizen.

Not by a torn knee ligament or a concussion, not by virtue of stud coming in to replace him via the NFL draft, but because of death.

The death of his brother, killed in Afghanistan.

It changes his value system. It drove him to want to do something on behalf of the fallen soldier. He wanted to give back.

So he spent his money to buy and build a farm And on that farm, he plants crops, tills the soil from sunrise to sunset, employs the handicaps, and gives back to his town and national charities.

He wanted to make a difference after his fallen brother made a difference defending the country.

In an era where we have to deal with the quirks of Colin Kaeperneck, the troubles of Greg Hardy, the struggles of the Cleveland Browns, and the NFL handing out stiff fines daily for cheapshots to celebration penalties, Jason Brown has found himself.

He’s found peace, prosperity and purpose. A devout Christian, who made his mark in the dirty business of playing offensive line in the NFL trenches.

That one sentence statement about his career on the waiver wire doesn’t tell you much about the man and his new mission.

A fascinating story about life’s priorities, once he decided his football life was over.

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“The Wild West-The AFC West”

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Nobody is giving an inch as we head to the final month of the NFL season.

The AFC-West continues to be a war-zone, and the teams at the top are refusing to give ground.

And the team at the bottom is winning, but cannot make up any ground.

Such is life for the Chargers, who annually dig themselves a hole early in the season, and more times than not, recently, just cannot catch up.

The Chargers have overcome the seige of injuries that crushed their skill players early in the season.

They staggered to mid-season after a terrible (1-4) start. They are winning the back half of much easier schedule.

But it still leaves them terribly behind the 8-Ball heading to the final month of the season.

The Raiders are now (9-2) and have earned it. They’ve won 6-road games this year, and beaten some pretty explosive teams at home.

The Kansas City Chiefs, despite an anemic offense, play it close to the vest, live off their defense, and find ways to win, unsexy as it might be.

Denver varies week to week. You never know if Trevor Siemian will be a scared deer in headlights or a big time player. Much depends whether he is playing at home-or on the road, witness last night’s wild overtime game with Kansas City.

Yes the Chargers could have a say to who becomes a wild card team, because they do get the Raiders and Chiefs at Qualcomm Stadium before this is over. But likely, not them.

But they need help, and no-one has stepped up to beat the Broncos nor the Chiefs in out of division games.

And of course, you never quite know how really good the Chargers are. Just when you you think they are putting it together, a Miami shows up and turfs them at home.

Attendance is off 11,000-per game…and could be the lowest average since the (1-15) season in 2000. You average 55,000, after getting as high as 68,000 in the Martyball era, that’s quite a dropoff.

Mike McCoy’s team cannot rely on home fan support either. Chargers fans are selling their tickets. Just look at how many fans showing up wearing Orange or Black when Denver-Oakland roll into town.

The Bolts get a suddenly dynamic Tampa Bay young QB-Jameis Winston next Sunday. He does make plays, does take chances. Shall be fun to see Joey Bosa introduce himself to the Bucs quarterback next Sunday.

But in the end, unless something drastic happens involving Denver or Kansas City, like losing a game or two they shouldn’t, it does not appear the Chargers are going to catch the rest of the division.

they put themselves into this position. They might be able to get out of it…sadly…again.

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