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Submitted by BB

That Old North Wind

Did you feel the brisk nor’easter swirling down from Canada on Sunday afternoon? That was the collective sigh of relief of thirty-three million Canadians as their Olympic hockey team won the gold medal in an exciting overtime victory against Team USA.

Given the level of importance attached to this game (is the self-esteem of an entire nation enough?), I was almost afraid to root for my own countrymen. I like the Canadians, but it’s hard to stomach the potential mass suicide that might have occurred if the Canucks lost the match. We could not take the chance that the year-long mourning period that would surely follow would affect our already flailing economy.

As for the US, the defeat only cost us a case of Molson Canadian Lager, to be paid for by President Obama.  I was most proud of our young men; they did phenomenally well, considering that they weren’t even expected to medal in the Games. The Canadians, with professional salaries that ranged from 130 to 150 million dollars depending on who was on the ice, were Olympic ice hockey’s equivalent of the New York Yankees. The upstart Americans were the Florida Marlins…this time around.

When seen  … Click the headline to continue reading this LSN Story

Submitted by BB

Let’s jump forward in time a bit, shall we?

I can tell what you are thinking.  What is BB ranting about now?

Cue theme song to Star Wars:  The Empire Strikes Back and journey with me into the future world of college football. The landscape, according to outspoken Athletic Directors, journalists and bloggers, will look vastly different. This is the result of our overwhelming, unending dependence on the almighty dollar. The big boys still won’t share the wealth, which makes one wonder if we ever learn our lessons.  What if we’re doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over again?

We’ll be asked to ignore the lack of tenured professors in state universities while we applaud the prowess and character of ten million dollar a year head football coaches.  Football, by this time, will far outweigh the importance of Bachelor and Masters’ Degrees. One “student” out of every 10,000 will go on to make a profitable living in the NFL…and they’re the only ones that will matter.

Reasonable odds, don’t you think, for the future of our youth?

We’ll witness the advent of the Super Conferences, which will relegate conferences now known as non-BCS, or non-AQ to the level of third world countries.

The  … Click the headline to continue reading this LSN Story

 Submitted by BB

I’m not a golf fan. I only know who is on the PGA tour circuit because I watch and listen to sports–related broadcasts year round. It’s the white noise of my household. Given this environment, you cannot avoid learning a certain amount of sports trivia, whether you want to or not.

Media-crafted scandals are not the usual fodder for our reports here at Lassen Sports Network. However, I’m going to make an exception and hope Da Boss doesn’t fire me. The litany of praise, criticism, cynicism and hostility following Friday’s Tiger Woods Production had me itching to type.

Celebrity and logos have no place in my life. I am baffled by all of the attention paid to Tiger Woods and his “transgressions”. Why does everyone care so much? Is his infidelity affecting Jim Rome’s life, much less any of the other critics who have chosen to comment? Does this, in fact, involve anyone besides Tiger’s family? I don’t understand why so many people feel that Tiger owes them something.

Did Tiger cheat in a tournament? Did he break the law? No—he did what millions of married people have done throughout history. As a wife myself, I’m appalled, but it’s far from  … Click the headline to continue reading this LSN Story

Submitted by BB

Football season is officially over, and once again I’m in mourning. Thoroughly depressed this morning listening to ESPN Sports anchors scramble to interest us with NBA news, I cringed through thirty minute break downs of the Kentucky Wildcat and Kansas Jayhawks basketball teams.

Forgive me, but I’m more excited about the upcoming Vancouver Winter Olympics. A bad sign, as I’m not terribly excited about them. It is intriguing waiting to see if any of the massive snowfall the northeast is experiencing can find its way back west. It’s so warm that the Olympic venues can’t even make snow to cover the slopes.

I have some final football notes to leave you with, however, before I crawl back into my hole and wait for my shadow to present itself again. Should be about the time that spring ball rolls around. There were many topics I could have rambled on about, but I chose the four that resonated most strongly from both the local and national markets.

Local Thumbs Up

Congratulations to Lassen High’s Darren Lee! I was privileged to speak personally with him, and he struck me as an intelligent, polite and personable young man. After watching him on film and speaking with people who  … Click the headline to continue reading this LSN Story

Submitted by BB

AFC

Do you believe in karmic justice? I’m not sure if I do, but the irony of the upcoming AFC championship game cannot be ignored.

Over three weeks ago, the Indianapolis Colts sent their starters to the bench after gaining the upper hand against the New York Jets.  They’d proven what they needed to and couldn’t change their playoff seeding, so they opted to avoid possible injuries to their best players. 

On the surface this was a wise decision; we all know that the Super Bowl is the ultimate goal.  Conventional wisdom and history, though, reminded us that the Colts tend to falter given extra rest and a bye week.

That ghost was laid to rest as the Colts handled the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday in the second round. They looked rested and focused. In this weekend’s rematch with the Jets, they will face a second team with a formidable defense and a vanilla offense. Strong run game, number one defense, a quarterback who manages the game and attitude that never quits. Does this ring a bell?

The 2001 Baltimore Ravens; Super Bowl Champions.

Second chances can imbue a team with bravado and extreme confidence, and the Jets epitomize this.  They’ve got swagger and  … Click the headline to continue reading this LSN Story

 Submitted by BB

“It’s unfortunate I played in this era.”

Mark McGwire looked genuinely remorseful in his interview with Bob Costas. I’m not here to dissect the contradictions or try to determine the possible truths or untruths in his statement. I have no doubt that he loves baseball, loved playing it, and wants to coach.

I don’t care if he “came clean” to clear his path to the Hall of Fame, or simply to unburden himself. I’m not going to debate the merits of his statement that pills or injections did not help him become faster or stronger; the hand-eye coordination comments I won’t touch.

Did he come off more sincerely than Alex Rodriguez?  Good heavens, yes! A Rod should have come to him for advice before stepping on the podium before reporters. But memories are short, and winning a World Series cures many evils. It no longer seems to matter how ludicrous or deceitful his explanation for his use of performance enhancing drugs was.

What does matter to me then? 

Character.

I love sports. The competition, camaraderie of learning to function as a team, as well as the life lessons learned through practice, victory and defeat. The discipline needed to excel, and the heart and determination  … Click the headline to continue reading this LSN Story

                               Turn Out The Lights….

Yes, that’s right. The party’s over. That most wonderful time of the year, College Bowl season, is finished. Finito. Terminado. Fertig. Acabados.

If there were a black background on which to write this posting, I’d be using it. I’m in deep, deep mourning.

What in the world do I watch and listen to now?

Well, I’m sure I’ll figure that out soon enough, but before I put too much thought into this important consideration, let’s briefly recap the completed bowl season. What a trip it was.

We had coach firings, hirings, an early retirement followed quickly by a return, leading to a leave of absence. There were trips to Disneyland, the world’s largest water slide, and a lifetime supply of Tostitos tortilla chips given to two teams. Not sure how they’re collecting this prize, but it was a much-envied gift in my house.

And this was the off field shenanigans. In and around all of this drama were some fabulous, exciting games, with surprises and upsets.

The Mountain West conference shone brightly early, while the Pac Ten faltered. The WAC’s 2nd and 3rd place teams seemed to have joined their student bodies on winter break. In the New Mexico Bowl the only thing Fresno  … Click the headline to continue reading this LSN Story

3:21 

Have you ever wondered if sports dominated too much of your life, or worried that your priorities might be slightly skewed?

Does your father mention that you need to get a life; that you take these things too seriously? Or maybe your brother tells others that you know more than anyone he knows about college football; seeming to intimate that it’s a tad unnatural.

I was forced to address my shortcomings Wednesday when I was startled awake by the craggy tones of Beano Cook being interviewed on ESPN Radio by a late-night host. Noting the USA Today Sports Weekly Special Edition COLLEGE BOWL PREVIEW spread open across my chest, the bedside light on, I struggled to remember what I’d been doing before nodding off.

Blinking at the illuminated numbers of the alarm clock reading 3:21, it all came rushing back.

Little more than six hours earlier I’d been happily skipping out of the grocery store in my uber-cool galoshes, enjoying the deluge of rain we were receiving. The snow was all melting, leaving it in the mountains where it belonged.

Glancing at the newsstand, I’d halted as I noticed the USA Today Special Edition. Grabbing it, I quickly hurried back to the cashier and paid my $4.95. Imagine; no  … Click the headline to continue reading this LSN Story

By Lassen Sports Network.com Columnist Bronco Babe (BB)

Part III

When teams have a month to prepare for each other, when players get healthy and coaches work their magic, anything can happen. We might feel as if we’re watching teams we haven’t seen before, much as I felt while watching an explosive Alabama offense that had been in hiding until the SEC Championship game.

Still, it’s important that we maintain our dignity while partaking of this favorite pastime of viewing college football. No empty (or full) bottles thrown at the television, no food stomped into the carpet in disgust, and no blaming the refs. No matter what we think, they usually don’t determine the outcome of games.

Having said that, I’m sure Nebraska fans would take exception. Nor can I deny breathing a sigh of relief that the SEC officials are not eligible to officiate in the National Championship game.

You jumped too high—excessive celebration! Eye gauging? No prob; hey, he spit on you first. Oops…you touched Tim…gotta throw a flag on you for that, son. No, no…its college football and I’m sure you need both feet and all your body parts in bounds if you want me to call that a completed pass. It’s  … Click the headline to continue reading this LSN Story

Part II 

The NCAA does not acknowledge a Division 1 football champion. There is a BCS champion, with the opportunity to have an AP champion. The NCAA does not lay claim to the coveted BCS title holder due to the fact that all conferences in Division1 are not represented in this system.

So we bicker on, regardless of who wins each bowl game. Partisan fans argue the merits of each team, coach or scheme. Since the system is subjective, and in only a few instances will things be settled on the field, we’re left to simply enjoy each game for no other reason than our deep, abiding love of football.

Be impressed that a team in Philadelphia, who had only ten victories in the past three years, rocketed out to a 9-3 record in 2009. They were rewarded with their first bowl game since 1979. A program whose pedigree in football began in 1894, Temple is the school where legendary Glenn “Pop” Warner ended his coaching career.

Brownie points to anyone who knows where else he coached, and double kudos to anyone who knows this without going to Wikipedia. I’ll discuss potential prizes with Da Boss.

Prepare to  … Click the headline to continue reading this LSN Story