Author: bsd987

I have written for SportsColumn.com since 2004 and was named a featured writer in 2006. I have been Co-Editor of the site since January 1, 2009. I also write for BleacherReport.com where I am a founding member of the Tennis Roundtable and one of the chief contributors to both the Tennis and Horse Racing sections.

I am "Stat Boy" for Sportscolumn.com's weekly podcast, Poor Man's PTI.

I am currently a Junior at Rice University majoring in History and Medieval Studies. My senior thesis will focus on the desegregation of football in Texas and its affect of racial relations.

Please direct all inquiries to [email protected].

Thanks,
Burton DeWitt
Co-Editor of Sportscolumn.com

Coach of the Year voting missed the real best coach

Post author By bsd987
Post date January 4, 2009
5 Comments on Coach of the Year voting missed the real best coach

Each year, I’m more and more convinced that the NFL’s Coach of the Year Award goes to the most improved team without regard to actual coaching ability.

As expected, the Coach of the Year Award came down to Tony Sparano of the Miami Dolphins and Mike Smith of the Atlanta Falcons, who took over teams with a combined five wins in 2007 and turned out a pair of 11-5 records.

As expected, the man who did the best job in football got absolutely none.

Sparano and Smith’s accomplishments aside, tell me how Gary Kubiak was not even a candidate? You want to know why? His team did not improve in the standings.

Tags Atlanta Falcons, bill belichick, coach, Coach of the year, football, Football coach, Gary Kubiak, Houston Texans, hurricane, hurricane ike, matt schaub, Miami Dolphins, Mike Smith, NFL, steve slayton, Tony Sparano

All Other Sports

From Belmont to Breeders’ Cup

Post author By bsd987
Post date October 22, 2008
No Comments on From Belmont to Breeders’ Cup

Insert cliché. Does it really matter which one I use?

Horse racing is at a crossroads…

Horse racing is hoping that any publicity is good publicity…

Horse racing is down to its final strike…

New England Patriots

Brady Fans Need to Get a Grip on Reality

Post author By bsd987
Post date October 3, 2008
No Comments on Brady Fans Need to Get a Grip on Reality

The following is a retort to an article in the October 3, 2008 issue of the Rice Thresher, which can be found here:

Let’s get one thing out of the way first: I don’t care about the National Football League. I do not care for the immaturity of Chad Ocho Cinco and Jeremy Shockey; I do not care for Roger Goodell, for Al Davis, for John Madden and Chris Berman. I don’t. They all work to make the game much less entertaining than the college version.

But I also don’t care for inaccurate reporting.

Tags eli manning, New England Patriots, NFL, tom brady

College Football

Oklahoma and Southern California will Play for the BCS Title

Post author By bsd987
Post date September 14, 2008
1 Comment on Oklahoma and Southern California will Play for the BCS Title

Pen it in now. Jot it down. Permanent ink. It’s not going to change.

Oklahoma will play Southern California for the national title. It’s set. Plan your trip to Miami.

Tags bcs, College Football, oklahoma, southern california

Olympics

Lack of Television Coverage of Paralympics is a Crime

Post author By bsd987
Post date September 12, 2008
No Comments on Lack of Television Coverage of Paralympics is a Crime

Will someone slap me in the face? Please? Will someone bring me back to reality?

Not tomorrow or next week, not after Hurricane Ike destroys my apartment in the upcoming 24 hours, not on Saturday when I find out, but now. Slap me back to reality.

Maybe I’ve been brainwashed; maybe I’ve been lied to. Or, maybe, but unlikely, I am just missing something. The first two seem the likeliest.

Tags beijing olympics, beijing paralympics, disabled athletes, erin popovich, goalball, michael phelps, nastia liukin, Olympics, paralympics, serena williams, summer olympics, summer paralympics

Golf

Top 10 Golf Images of the Tiger Woods Era

Post author By bsd987
Post date September 7, 2008
No Comments on Top 10 Golf Images of the Tiger Woods Era

(PICTURES WILL BE ADDED SOON; DON’T WORRY!)

These are the 10 images that have defined golf since Tiger Woods first appeared in the Masters Tournament as an amateur in 1995.

I have made this the cutoff for simplicity reasons. Yes, there are great images from before, but I wanted images that defined this era.

New York Jets

Laveranues Coles is Still a Hero

Post author By bsd987
Post date September 5, 2008
No Comments on Laveranues Coles is Still a Hero

This is not topical. Not at all. It is not breaking news; heck, it barely was three years ago. It should have been, but things like this never are. We don’t think of NFL stars as people.

About three years ago, Laveranues Coles, a Pro Bowl receiver, then as now a New York Jet, admitted that he had been raped, not sexually abused as he tried to portrait it, but raped by his step-father when he was a pre-teenage boy. Raped.

All Other Sports

Horse Racing Needs Big Brown vs. Curlin More Than Ever

Post author By bsd987
Post date August 20, 2008
No Comments on Horse Racing Needs Big Brown vs. Curlin More Than Ever

Some things disappear. Vanish. Just go away.

Sure, there are reasons, explanations, scapegoats, but the simple fact is that things disappear.

Unfortunately, down that same path more things might disappear.

Tags big brown, breeders' cup, curlin, horse racing, kentucky derby, match race, thoroughbred racing, triple crown

Olympics

I Was Wrong: Michael Phelps is the Story of the Olympics

Post author By bsd987
Post date August 17, 2008
No Comments on I Was Wrong: Michael Phelps is the Story of the Olympics

I was wrong.

There, I said it. I’m man enough to admit it. I’m human enough to admit it.

I was wrong. 100 percent. Not even close to correct. W-R-O-N-G. No way around the bush.

Tags beijing olympics, michael phelps, olympic swimming, Olympics, summer olympics, swimming

Tennis

Ten Most-Needed Changes in Professional Tennis

Post author By bsd987
Post date August 16, 2008
No Comments on Ten Most-Needed Changes in Professional Tennis

Now, there are many things that need to be changed in how professional tennis is operated. What I have here are the first ten changes. There is no rhyme or reason to the order per se, but these are the first ten alterations I would make.