Category: Other

Wow!  Not quite what I had expected.  Week 1 was filled with some strange and peculiar outcomes.  Some of you (and you know who you are) are probably pretty excited about the mediocrity that I displayed, but rest assured, this is only the beginning.  Explain to me one thing, though, what happened to the Jets?  Yes the Chiefs rebuilt their defense, but come on, it’s still the Chiefs.  And for you Steelers fans – my apologies.  Big Ben clearly is not going to suffer from the “sophomore slump”.

Is Michigan overrated?  Has Vince Young catapulted himself to the top of the Heisman race?  Will Tennessee beat Florida again in the Swamp?  Avery Smith answers all of these questions and more in this installment of Bluebook Notes.

The sun is shining and the air is crisp.  The days are getting shorter and as summer turn to autumn my ears long for the Sweet Sounds of September.   The crunching pads, the QB’s barking out audibles, the roar of the crowd as Farve finds Walker splitting the safeties for a TD.

Every year in the NFL we are surprised and intrigued by what a new season has in store.
With the start of the new NFL season comes a shopping list of questions:  Here is this shoppers list of things we might see, or would like to see over the next 17 weeks.

After far too many hours of watching pep bands, cheerleaders, and screaming college kids yelling: “We’re number one!” at the camera, here’s who impressed, depressed and neutralized us on Week 2 of the college football season.

Another piece of my childhood left the game of football this week- Jerry Rice. In his own time and on his terms, Rice decided that it was time to call it a career…at least for now. If you’re like me, just the name Jerry Rice brings back a flood of memories. I’m not just talking about memories of touchdown passes and crisp route running, I’m talking about memories of an era. For twenty to thirty-something’s, the career of Jerry Rice has last throughout our childhood, teen years, and into adulthood.

Unpredictability. That’s one of the reasons why fans love football. Various factors contribute to this perfect storm: injuries, team chemistry, and player breakthroughs just to name a few. In my vanity, I will share my daring predictions for the 2005 season.

When I was young, the flight of free agency in major sports hadn’t quite taken off of the runway and although trades occurred, it seldom involved major stars. These days of course, it has become almost a sporting event in itself. Team sports such as football, basketball, and baseball stay in the headlines during the off-season with the barrage of free agency, trades, and all of the rumors that swirl around it. My questions is this; what kind of impact, if any, does this have on the young sports fans who cheer for their favorite player on their favorite team?

Here was a man who had it all, a high nineties fastball and a knee buckling curve, a rubber arm and steel back bone, an intense glare with pristine perception, but most importantly the talent in reserve to move above the status of legend.

Here was a man who threw it all away and still recieved second chance after chance. A man who succumbed to temptation and betrayed himself. A man who looked in the mirror and mocked his gifts. A man who fell back on his accomplishments instead of elevating above them.

Here was a man who had the key to New York City only to open all the wrong doors. Here was a man whose tale spun from adventure to tragedy. Here is an example of the saddest thing in life, which is wasted potential.

Here is a human being.

Here was a man.