girvan report - week 6
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 6:37 am
The Girvan Report IX
Typing, watching football and still wondering, all these months later, is that really how the Sopranos ended?
Gut Check
Urban Meyer says "we're gonna learn a lot about ourselves" this week. This much we already know – Florida is a young, mistake-prone team that lacks leadership (see Joiner, Tony). The National Champs got punched in the mouth by Auburn, and weren't able to stay on their feet. Here's the beauty of college football, though: the Gators have a chance to turn things around this week in Baton Rouge against the number one team in the nation. The Bayou Bengals are loaded, and I've had this one penciled in as a loss since the preseason, but did you honestly think Auburn could come into the Swamp and upset Florida? Me neither. One loss didn't ruin the Gators' season, but it did further expose some weaknesses that must be fixed immediately.
Lasting Impressions
Leftover thoughts from Florida's disappointing performance against Auburn
*Penalties were a problem against Ole Miss, and they hurt Florida once again. Flags came early, often and in critical situations. The Gators are not playing disciplined football right now, and that has to change.
*Football games are won and lost on the line of scrimmage. The Gators got beat on both sides of the ball.
*Brandon Spikes had a tremendous game. He's done a nice job replacing Brandon Siler.
*Brandon Cox played his best game of the season. He was on target throughout, and Tigers' offensive coordinator Al Borges did a good job mixing the run and the pass.
*Despite a lackluster performance, Florida could have, maybe should have won the game. Credit Auburn, though, for making plays late in the fourth quarter while the Gators did not offensively, defensively or on special teams.
Police Blotter
I want to believe the whole Tony Joiner towing fiasco was nothing more than a misunderstanding. I want to believe no current or former Gators were involved in the shooting near campus the night of the Auburn game. The fact of the matter on the former is that Joiner is a senior and a team leader (a captain at the time) who should have known better than to put himself in a sketchy situation. As for the other, far more serious crime, we don't yet know enough to point fingers. It is an important reminder, however, that the people we surround ourselves with go a long way towards determining our success, or lack thereof.
Heisman Hopefuls
This week's look at three players moving up my Heisman Trophy ballot
1) Andre Woodson, Kentucky. He's not going away. Woodson tossed five touchdown passes in the Wildcats' rout of FAU. He's now completed 67.1 % of his passes for 1,309 yards and 16 TD with only one interception. Kentucky is 5-0 and ranked 8th in the country. It's like the Bizarro World on Seinfeld. Up is down, down is up…
2) DeSean Jackson, California. He caught 11 passes for 161 yards and two scores as the 3rd-ranked Golden Bears beat then-number 11 Oregon.
3) Curtis Painter, Purdue. The Boilermakers are quietly 5-0, and Painter deserves much of the credit. He's completed 67% of his passes for 1,542 yards and 18 TD with just three interceptions.
Hope Floats
U.S. women's soccer goalie Hope "Don't Call Me Han" Solo on being replaced by Brianna Scurry, who then gave up four goals in the World Cup semifinals: "It was the wrong decision, and I think anybody that knows anything about the game knows that. There's no doubt in my mind I would have made those saves, and the fact of the matter is, it's not 2004 anymore. … It's 2007, and I think you have to live in the present. And you can't live by big names. You can't live in the past. It doesn't matter what somebody did in an Olympic gold-medal game in the Olympics three years ago." Wow. That's impressive. It almost makes me care about women's soccer. Almost.
Handing Out Hardware
With the regular season in the rearview mirror, it's time to take a look at the candidates for Major League Baseball's individual awards. Let's start with the American League, and the Most Valuable Player, which is a no-brainer. Alex Rodriguez led all of baseball with 54 HR and 156 RBI, helping keep the Yankees in the pennant race. The AL Cy Young Award, on the other hand, is the hardest race to call. There are three legitimate candidates, all of whom are deserving of the honor. Boston's Josh Beckett is the majors' only 20-game winner, and led the Red Sox charge to the best record in baseball. Two members of the Tribe also merit consideration. C.C. Sabathia, who led the majors with 241 innings pitched, and the big surprise, Fausto Carmona. All he did was go 19-8 with a 3.06 ERA after failing miserably last season as Cleveland's closer. So who's the pick? In times like these, I find it best to heed MLB guru Peter Gammons, who's taking Sabathia: "The guys you have to beat if you're in the Central – to win – are Johan Santana and Justin Verlander. C.C. Sabathia is 5-1 against the other two best pitchers in the division." Good enough for me, Pete, thanks. The AL Rookie of the Year goes to the Devil Rays' Delmon Young, in a vote that wouldn't be close if Young switched teams with Boston's Dustin Pedroia. I'll take Cleveland's Eric Wedge for AL Manager of the Year. Next week, we'll take a look at the National League.
Hot Routes
# ESPN's Ron Jaworski is one of the best in the business. I love the way he breaks down film, and he's a huge upgrade over Joe Theisman on Monday Night Football.
# 23 Florida St. athletes were involved in academic fraud? I'm shocked. What's next, two football players getting arrested for a bar fight? Oh, right…
# Speaking of the Seminoles, congrats to FSU on beating Alabama in the Has-Been Bowl.
Thanks for reading. Keep smiling, and remember: life is to be lived, and not a mystery to be solved. I saw that on a refrigerator magnet once.
Typing, watching football and still wondering, all these months later, is that really how the Sopranos ended?
Gut Check
Urban Meyer says "we're gonna learn a lot about ourselves" this week. This much we already know – Florida is a young, mistake-prone team that lacks leadership (see Joiner, Tony). The National Champs got punched in the mouth by Auburn, and weren't able to stay on their feet. Here's the beauty of college football, though: the Gators have a chance to turn things around this week in Baton Rouge against the number one team in the nation. The Bayou Bengals are loaded, and I've had this one penciled in as a loss since the preseason, but did you honestly think Auburn could come into the Swamp and upset Florida? Me neither. One loss didn't ruin the Gators' season, but it did further expose some weaknesses that must be fixed immediately.
Lasting Impressions
Leftover thoughts from Florida's disappointing performance against Auburn
*Penalties were a problem against Ole Miss, and they hurt Florida once again. Flags came early, often and in critical situations. The Gators are not playing disciplined football right now, and that has to change.
*Football games are won and lost on the line of scrimmage. The Gators got beat on both sides of the ball.
*Brandon Spikes had a tremendous game. He's done a nice job replacing Brandon Siler.
*Brandon Cox played his best game of the season. He was on target throughout, and Tigers' offensive coordinator Al Borges did a good job mixing the run and the pass.
*Despite a lackluster performance, Florida could have, maybe should have won the game. Credit Auburn, though, for making plays late in the fourth quarter while the Gators did not offensively, defensively or on special teams.
Police Blotter
I want to believe the whole Tony Joiner towing fiasco was nothing more than a misunderstanding. I want to believe no current or former Gators were involved in the shooting near campus the night of the Auburn game. The fact of the matter on the former is that Joiner is a senior and a team leader (a captain at the time) who should have known better than to put himself in a sketchy situation. As for the other, far more serious crime, we don't yet know enough to point fingers. It is an important reminder, however, that the people we surround ourselves with go a long way towards determining our success, or lack thereof.
Heisman Hopefuls
This week's look at three players moving up my Heisman Trophy ballot
1) Andre Woodson, Kentucky. He's not going away. Woodson tossed five touchdown passes in the Wildcats' rout of FAU. He's now completed 67.1 % of his passes for 1,309 yards and 16 TD with only one interception. Kentucky is 5-0 and ranked 8th in the country. It's like the Bizarro World on Seinfeld. Up is down, down is up…
2) DeSean Jackson, California. He caught 11 passes for 161 yards and two scores as the 3rd-ranked Golden Bears beat then-number 11 Oregon.
3) Curtis Painter, Purdue. The Boilermakers are quietly 5-0, and Painter deserves much of the credit. He's completed 67% of his passes for 1,542 yards and 18 TD with just three interceptions.
Hope Floats
U.S. women's soccer goalie Hope "Don't Call Me Han" Solo on being replaced by Brianna Scurry, who then gave up four goals in the World Cup semifinals: "It was the wrong decision, and I think anybody that knows anything about the game knows that. There's no doubt in my mind I would have made those saves, and the fact of the matter is, it's not 2004 anymore. … It's 2007, and I think you have to live in the present. And you can't live by big names. You can't live in the past. It doesn't matter what somebody did in an Olympic gold-medal game in the Olympics three years ago." Wow. That's impressive. It almost makes me care about women's soccer. Almost.
Handing Out Hardware
With the regular season in the rearview mirror, it's time to take a look at the candidates for Major League Baseball's individual awards. Let's start with the American League, and the Most Valuable Player, which is a no-brainer. Alex Rodriguez led all of baseball with 54 HR and 156 RBI, helping keep the Yankees in the pennant race. The AL Cy Young Award, on the other hand, is the hardest race to call. There are three legitimate candidates, all of whom are deserving of the honor. Boston's Josh Beckett is the majors' only 20-game winner, and led the Red Sox charge to the best record in baseball. Two members of the Tribe also merit consideration. C.C. Sabathia, who led the majors with 241 innings pitched, and the big surprise, Fausto Carmona. All he did was go 19-8 with a 3.06 ERA after failing miserably last season as Cleveland's closer. So who's the pick? In times like these, I find it best to heed MLB guru Peter Gammons, who's taking Sabathia: "The guys you have to beat if you're in the Central – to win – are Johan Santana and Justin Verlander. C.C. Sabathia is 5-1 against the other two best pitchers in the division." Good enough for me, Pete, thanks. The AL Rookie of the Year goes to the Devil Rays' Delmon Young, in a vote that wouldn't be close if Young switched teams with Boston's Dustin Pedroia. I'll take Cleveland's Eric Wedge for AL Manager of the Year. Next week, we'll take a look at the National League.
Hot Routes
# ESPN's Ron Jaworski is one of the best in the business. I love the way he breaks down film, and he's a huge upgrade over Joe Theisman on Monday Night Football.
# 23 Florida St. athletes were involved in academic fraud? I'm shocked. What's next, two football players getting arrested for a bar fight? Oh, right…
# Speaking of the Seminoles, congrats to FSU on beating Alabama in the Has-Been Bowl.
Thanks for reading. Keep smiling, and remember: life is to be lived, and not a mystery to be solved. I saw that on a refrigerator magnet once.