Thursday, January 12, 2012

New Year, More Random Ramblings

Hey All!

December 30, 2011 came to and end in most spectacular and amazing fashion at the Inn at St. John in Plymouth, Michigan. One of my closest friends from college was getting married on New Years Eve, and man was that an incredible night. The most wonderful girl to ever grace my life and almost all of my college friends joined in the celebration, and I can say with total certainty that it was the best NYE I have ever had. Congrats Matt and Shannon!

Speaking of that wonderful girl, we've been together just about a year now and come February 5 it will mark the circle to the most amazing year I can remember, with hopefully many, many more to come! She is my better half and true final puzzle piece to my heart.

As you can tell, we're deep within the haunches of winter in Western Mitten-land. So that means it should be 4 degrees F with 12 inches of snow on the ground....right? While it is FINALLY snowing tonight, GR has had the single most absured and downright strange (almost creepy) start to winter I can ever remember. Aside from two inches of snow that melted immediatly (day after) it's been dry, partly sunny and in the mid-40's most of the last two months!! Conspiracy theories abound, but winter might just finally be here. We shall see about that...

Now on to what you usually expect from me; sports. Way to go Tigers, AL Central Division Champs and you beat the Yankees again in the playoffs. The Wings are the Wings and are where they usually are this time of year. The Lions had tons of hope to start the season and...MADE THE PLAYOFFS?!?! PLAYOFFS!?! Yes, the Detroit Lions went 10-6 and made the playoffs, losing however to New Orleans in the first round. The rain-man cometh apparently.

My GVSU Laker football team failed to make the playoffs for the first time since my senior year of HIGH SCHOOL. They still managed to go 8-3, have a torrential 7-0 finish to the season where they bent people over the proverbial railing. On that note, Wayne State (whom we did not play) made it all the way to Florence, Al to the D2 national championship game. Yes, THAT Wayne State in Detroit. Despite returning the opening kickoff for a touchdown, they eventually gave-way and the 6th-seeded Warriors (Tartars) fell to powerhouse Pittsburg State of Kansas. But still...what a statement for the conference. A team that made it into the final regional round of six to make the playoffs, played four rounds on the road all over the country and then finally Alabama. Why can't D1-A have this?

Speaking of D1-A, what an interesting year. Brian Kelly's sophmore year at Notre Dame started terrible, just as his first. he righted that ship and finished 8-4, and gettng to the Champs Sports Bowl, only to let a 14-3 halftime lead over Florida State dissapear and lose 18-14.

Welcome back Michigan football! 11-2, They destroy Nebraska, beat Ohio for the first time since 2003, make the Sugar Bowl and beat Virginia Tech in one heck of an ugly game. Brady Hoke is the new ruler of Ann Arbor. Despite getting to the B1G's first championship game, Michigan State was relegated to play in a lesser bowl game, the Outback Bowl. Sparty-nation was rampantly angry and declared UofM to be the blame for the BCS system. There they notched a rare win over an SEC team for the B1G in overtime. Kudos to Sparty and coach Dantonio. I wish you all the best, except when you play my Irish and Cortney's Maize and Blue. oh yes, that's right, my South Bend boys handed you your worst beat-down this season.

Speaking of that BCS system, this year was one for the record books...of screw ups. You realy took Michigan and Va-tech over Boise State and Kansas State/Baylor for the Sugar Bowl?!? WTF is wrong with you?? Oh that's right, it's about money. I forgot for 2.5, my bad. Can you tell I just got done reading Death to the BCS?? Not that I needed that book to get me going on that anti-trust lawsuit of an organization, but DAMN is it ever a good read!

On that note I want to share this:

Dear Alabama Crimson-Tide,

You have an amazingly scary, big, fast and powerful team. The BCS has deemed you best in all the land. However there is a small problem with this logic. Shouldn't you have to beat a team from ELSEWHERE in the country to be a NATIONAL champion?? I understand that because you over-recruit, over-sign and over-commit right up to the very legal edge of what the NCAA allows (and other conferences don't to your extent) your conference has had the lead for the better half of a decade. I know, "If you're not cheating, you're not trying."...well aside from Ohio State and USC, the rest of the country seems rather content with at leats TRYING to stay safely within the rules and until something changes (AKA a playoff) you will remain there.

How on EARTH two teams from the same crime-ridden conference were allowed to play for something so criminally called a "National Championship" is beyond me. Which, BCS-Cartel Committee, was the lowest and worst-ranked in TV ratings yet. The money-grad bas gotten that bad folks. It really has. Why AD's in the MAC and SunBelt aren't crying foul and organizing protests and threatening to walk-out I do not know. It's not like the BCS allows you to drink from that trough which you support, they openly and overtly keep you out while you kneel at their precence.

Back to Alabama. Folks, my alma-mater has won four REAL national titles in your beautiful state. I respect the tradition and the fan-base. However this year, all you are and will EVER BE are SEC champions...until a full 16-team playoff at on-campus locations is in-place like in all other divisions. Enjoy the crystal ball SEC Champs...God Bless.

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