College Football Dynasties: 2005-07

June 30, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Fantasy College Blitz

By Vince Mullins

Time again to review who have been the best offenses over the last three years – we have found that many schools or even coordinators have an amazing track record of producing numbers every year and that should help narrow your focus on Draft Day.

This study uses team stats, not individual stats so this is not a tool to use by itself, you still need to do your depth chart research to layer upon this – for instance Navy led the nation the last three years in yards rushing but they usually split carries among four players. Expect that I will do that for our Preseason Owner Manual, but for now I wanted to put the stats on the site. As a quick back story, I have gone back to 2000 and ranked each college football offense on three variables:

  • Yards per play (YPP) to gauge big-play ability
  • Yards per game (YPG) since yards equal fantasy points
  • Touchdowns per game (TDG) since we shouldn’t care so much about kicker points and defensive TDs.

The final step involves adding up those ranks to achieve a raw score (lower the better), then ranking the resulting raw score. For teams that get a lot of yards but do not score enough, the resulting ranks will balance out and penalize inefficient offenses.

While that gives solid insight to an individual year, I wanted to look at a longer trend to smooth for outlier years (whether UCLA 2005 to the upside or Notre Dame’s Gabriel-like fall from grace last year). Remember the goal here is to increase your probability of predicting excellent stats, and if you have any children or work with youths you know it is hard enough to predict their behavior in life let alone on a football field in front of 25,000 or 100,000 fans.

So why not look at what schools have the best track record, not just one big year? I specifically used three years since that is the usual cycle of an impact player’s career (and lately a coach also). Either a freshman sits then has three years of starting, or comes in as a freshman and heads off to the NFL early. Or Bobby Petrino gets a wild hair and leaves in three years or less.

I added a momentum indicator this year – rather than my usual preference for equal weighting each year’s performance (DYN score), recent years received extra weight in a new calculation (DYNW). 2007 rank was given triple weight, 2006 double weight, and 2005 remained as is.

Stay tuned for some additional observations on this and many other items in the 2008 Owner’s Manual.

Dynasty Study, 2005-7

05-07 DYN RANK Fantasy College Blitz.com Dynasty Study 05-07 DYNW RANK RANK DIFF 05-07 DYN RAW [2] 05-07 DYN WEIGHTED [3] 2005 DYN RANK [4] 2006 DYN RANK 2007 DYN Rank
1 Texas Tech 2 -1 14 27 4 7 3
2 Hawaii 1 1 17 20 15 1 1
2 Louisville 3 -1 17 42 3 3 11
4 Texas 6 -2 30 71 2 15 13
5 Boise St. 5 0 36 61 21 5 10
6 West Virginia 4 2 45 59 37 2 6
7 Houston 7 0 47 76 30 5 12
8 Southern California 14 -6 54 138 1 22 31
9 Navy 13 -4 60 126 12 30 18
10 Tulsa 9 1 61 92 32 27 2
10 Oregon 11 -1 61 116 23 21 17
12 California 18 -6 62 148 13 12 37
13 Missouri 10 3 65 98 40 17 8
14 Florida 8 6 70 91 53 13 4
15 LSU 12 3 74 125 45 7 22
15 Nevada 16 -1 74 144 20 38 16
17 Purdue 20 -3 82 159 34 19 29
18 Ohio St. 25 -7 83 182 27 13 43
19 Washington St. 27 -8 88 209 8 39 41
20 UTEP 23 -3 89 172 31 33 25
21 Minnesota 32 -11 94 239 7 29 58
22 Michigan St. 29 -7 95 222 6 51 38
23 Central Mich. 21 2 96 161 52 23 21
24 Arkansas 17 7 100 146 68 18 14
24 Fresno St. 28 -4 100 209 17 57 26
26 Brigham Young 37 -11 52 114 19 4 29
27 Texas A&M 35 -8 105 253 18 26 61
28 Rutgers 26 2 107 192 42 45 20
29 Arizona St. 38 -9 109 273 5 44 60
30 Oklahoma 19 11 110 156 71 32 7
31 Oklahoma St. 15 16 111 139 92 10 9
32 Toledo 31 1 114 236 14 78 22
33 Wisconsin 34 -1 115 243 33 36 46
34 Clemson 30 4 118 230 57 10 51
35 Nebraska 22 13 124 169 94 15 15
36 Kansas 24 12 126 173 84 37 5
37 UCF 36 1 139 265 46 60 33
38 Air Force 41 -3 141 282 36 69 36
39 Utah 55 -16 142 339 22 43 77
40 Memphis 39 1 143 274 47 61 35
41 Penn St. 49 -8 143 318 24 63 56
42 Bowling Green 50 -8 147 318 25 73 49
43 TCU 53 -10 147 328 43 27 77
44 Boston College 44 0 152 295 54 53 45
45 Notre Dame 69 -24 152 413 9 25 118
46 Georgia 54 -8 156 328 38 64 54
47 Northern Ill. 67 -20 157 401 11 48 98
48 Kentucky 33 15 158 240 100 34 24
49 Northwestern 61 -12 164 364 16 96 52
50 New Mexico St. 43 7 165 292 97 9 59
51 South Fla. 45 6 168 297 79 49 40
51 East Caro. 52 -1 168 326 56 66 46
51 Michigan 57 -6 168 341 62 39 67
54 Tennessee 42 12 171 286 98 31 42
54 South Carolina 55 -1 171 339 75 24 72
56 Marshall 47 9 175 305 93 34 48
57 Ball St. 40 17 177 279 103 46 28
57 Kansas St. 48 9 177 313 73 72 32
59 Iowa 78 -19 179 439 28 42 109
60 Oregon St. 65 -5 183 387 58 46 79
61 Auburn 76 -15 184 433 29 61 94
62 La.-Lafayette 64 -2 188 384 48 84 56
62 Florida St. 68 -6 188 410 50 54 84
64 Rice 57 7 189 341 87 52 50
65 Southern Miss. 63 2 189 376 66 59 64
66 Cincinnati 46 20 190 298 101 70 19
66 Illinois 51 15 190 325 89 67 34
68 UCLA 87 -19 195 485 10 80 105
69 Western Mich. 69 0 196 413 44 87 65
70 Indiana 62 8 199 375 76 70 53
71 Washington 66 5 202 389 70 77 55
72 Pittsburgh 74 -2 202 426 80 20 102
72 Vanderbilt 81 -9 202 454 51 50 101
74 Southern Methodist 60 14 205 346 107 55 43
75 Virginia Tech 83 -8 208 459 41 83 84
76 San Jose St. 76 0 210 433 78 41 91
77 La.-Monroe 73 4 211 415 81 56 74
77 Colorado St. 81 -4 211 454 39 101 71
79 Troy 59 20 213 343 110 76 27
80 New Mexico 84 -4 215 462 49 85 81
81 Georgia Tech 71 10 217 414 90 57 70
82 Alabama 80 2 222 450 74 68 80
82 Miami (Ohio) 92 -10 222 501 35 95 92
84 Louisiana Tech 85 -1 224 480 64 64 96
85 UAB 98 -13 226 532 26 94 106
86 Tulane 75 11 228 427 91 75 62
87 Arkansas St. 88 -1 233 486 55 103 75
87 Maryland 89 -2 233 493 63 80 90
89 San Diego St. 86 3 236 481 59 109 68
90 Connecticut 90 0 249 495 86 80 83
90 Miami (Fla.) 101 -11 249 540 61 85 103
92 Buffalo 106 -14 302 570 115 106 81
93 Arizona 91 2 252 498 72 114 66
94 Wake Forest 95 -1 254 519 77 89 88
95 Colorado 93 2 260 510 83 104 73
96 Akron 104 -8 262 564 67 88 107
97 Fla. Atlantic 79 18 263 446 119 105 39
97 Wyoming 107 -10 263 577 60 92 111
99 Baylor 99 0 270 533 102 73 95
100 Iowa St. 109 -9 271 585 69 90 112
101 Ohio 94 7 274 513 104 101 69
102 Middle Tenn. St. 96 6 274 519 105 93 76
103 Kent St. 95 8 276 531 109 79 88
104 Virginia 110 -6 277 588 65 113 99
105 Eastern Mich. 102 3 278 558 82 112 84
105 Idaho 103 2 278 561 88 97 93
107 UNLV 105 2 284 569 96 91 97
108 North Texas 100 8 292 534 113 116 63
109 North Carolina St. 112 -3 299 607 95 100 104
110 Mississippi 108 2 306 584 112 110 84
111 North Carolina 111 0 306 604 108 98 100
112 Stanford 114 -2 314 656 85 116 113
113 Mississippi St. 113 0 317 630 111 99 107
114 Utah St. 115 -1 323 656 99 115 109
115 Army 116 -1 330 671 106 107 117
116 Duke 117 -1 336 672 114 108 114
117 Syracuse 118 -1 342 683 116 111 115
118 Temple 119 -1 349 697 117 116 116
119 FIU 120 -1 354 708 119 116

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NASCAR: New Hampshire Fills Me With Melancholy

June 30, 2008 By Leave a Comment

By Bob Ellis

New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon N.H. is the site of this week’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.

Whenever NASCAR invades this track, a bit of melancholy sets in for me.

Don’t get me wrong, this track has good facilities for both drivers and fans.

It has had some pretty good finishes in the past and now that Bruton Smith owns it, I’m sure it is going to become “fan-tacular” like all of his other racing venues.

So why does this track sit uneasy with Kenny+Irwin NASCAR: New Hampshire Fills Me With Melancholyme? Two reasons — Adam Petty and Kenny Irwin Jr., both of whom lost their lives at this facility eight weeks apart in 2000 in separate incidents in almost exactly the same spot on the track.

Both of which are catalysts for raising the driver safety concerns in NASCAR, which continue even today.

Adam Petty was the first fourth generation driver in NASCAR. His father Kyle Petty, grandfather Richard Petty and great-grandfather Lee Petty are all winners in NASCAR’s premier series, and Adam seemed destined to do the same. He was only 19 years old when he died of head trauma as a result of hitting the turn 3 wall in practice.

Kenny Irwin Jr. was the Winston Cup rookie of the year in 1998, as well as the Craftsman Truck Series rookie of the year in 1997, and the National Midget Series Champion in 1996. Irwin had been racing since age 6, and was 30 years old when he died of multiple injuries, including significant head trauma as a result of hitting the wall on turn 3 during practice as well.

After the deaths of Petty and Irwin Jr., NASCAR drivers were uneasy and started to question the safety of the New Hampshire track.

But it would be Petty’s grandfather, seven-time Cup Champ Richard Petty who would provide a more insightful and poignant opinion.

“There ain’t nothing the matter with the race track,” Petty said. “These guys run those things 200 m.p.h. It’s circumstances with the way you stop that thing so quick. Your body just can’t stand it.”

Petty was right, it wasn’t the track, it was the impact of the collisions that caused the injuries.
Clearly, after the incidents in New Hampshire, driver safety was an issue that needed to be addressed, but it really wasn’t — not past the discussion stage anyway.

Not even the death of NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Tony Roper, who died of head and neck trauma injuries in October of 2000, after a collision with the wall at Texas Motorspeedway was enough to get concerns about driver safety past the discussion stage.

It would finally be four months later, during the Daytona 500 in 2001, when NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt would also die from “head trauma” as a result of a collision with a track wall that people started to take action.

We now have ‘soft walls’ or ‘safer barriers’ that absorb and dissipate energy during a collision. We now have a newer, more safety-conscious race car, with energy-absorbing foam and impact-dissapating crush zones.

And drivers are now mandated to wear some sort of head and neck safety device, such as the HANS, to prevent neck and head injuries during collisions.

We also have four fewer drivers to cheer for.

So when you watch the race this weekend think about Adam Petty, Kenny Irwin Jr. and their families.

I will be.
NASCAR Ranting and Raving Blog Has Been Ranked The 7th Most Influential Nascar Blog By Sports Media Challenge As Seen On Their Sports Blogs Index™ Top 10 NASCAR Blogs.


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Luis Aragones Sets Tone For Stellar Spaniards

June 30, 2008 By Leave a Comment

By Beaker

“Yeah runnin’ down a dream that never would come to me
Workin’ on a mystery, goin’ wherever it leads
Runnin’ down a dream.”
-Tom Petty

“Franco who?”
-Luis Aragones

Just be glad I didn’t choose “Even the losers” by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

When we measure a team’s title victory we have to take into consideration the entire tournament in question, and at Euro 2008, Spain was the most decisive side between June 7 and June 29. The championship was, at long last, theirs after a decisive 1-0 win over Germany.

The last victory for Spain – indeed the only victory at the senior level – was in 1964. Moreover, it had been 24 years since Spain was in a position to win a title, only to fall to a splendid French team 2-0 in 1984. A tournament that saw present-day UEFA president Michel Platini score a remarkable nine goals in five games.

Despite the long drought, Spain is not without some successes. Spain did manage to win a couple of UEFA U-21 titles and are the defending Futsal champions – for whatever that’s worth.

To what can Spain’s Euro 2008 victory be attributed?

For my money it all leads to one man: coach Luis Arogones.

Luis Aragones’ ability to manage not only on a technical level but on a psychological level as well, should have reminded people of Marcello Lippi’s brilliant adjustments and substitutions that were integral to the Azzurri winning the World Cup in 2006.

Aragones was no less impressive. It all started when he left Raul – an iconic soccer figure in Spain – off the team. Then, he proceeded to keep one of the world’s best midfielders in Cesc Fabregas on the bench for a couple of games. He also was not afraid to substitute Fernando Torres when he needed to.

Some may argue that it’s easy to manage a bench when you have depth. On the other hand, it can be tricky in manipulating a bench filled with world-class talent.

When all was said and done, this was a coach who had the pulse of his team down pat.

Aragones fostered a team spirit rarely seen with Spanish teams. In the process, he added a whole new dimension to Spanish soccer culture by demanding his team play as a unit.

And we all know how difficult it is to get players of Latin extract (French, Portuguese, Spanish and Italian) to follow rules. Latins are not as deferent to authority as their northern neighbours are. Though the case of the Italians is a little different. Italian soccer is predicated on team work as well as tactical and organizational prowess – with some Latin flair when needed.

Interestingly, much like Lippi before him, Aragones bows out on top (but not without a blemish on his record following his racist remarks in 2004 towards Thierry Henry) albeit for different reasons. He will be heading to Turkey to coach Fenerbache next season. While his team leaves a legacy, he leaves big shoes to fill.

The game itself was a decent affair with Spain pretty much in control the whole time. The only goal came off the foot of Fernando Torres who beat a rather awkward Phillip Lahm to the ball, and subsequently chipped the ball over German keep Jens Lehmann into the corner of the net.

The other aspect of Spain’s game that will surely be overlooked is the defensive work of Puyol and Ramos. Coming into the tournament there were questions regarding age and reliability. By the time it ended, those questions were laid to rest as both players excelled in all games contested. Spain won the final essentially by paying attention to defense. It’s rare a team can win any title in any sport based only on pure offense. Does pure capitalism exist? Get my point?

And who was the key player for Spain? David Villa? Not a bad choice, but for my money it was Marcos Senna. Inserted as a defensive midfielder within an intriguing 4-1-4-1 formation, Senna was simply an outstanding and consistent workhorse during the tournament.

And so Spain has chased down its dream. Now fans must hope they can build on this and keep the momentum going in the future. Now it’s time for Spain to truly prove itself and win a World Cup.

Note: It was quite a scene to watch Michael Ballack come up short again in a major tournament. Prior to Germany’s loss to Spain, Ballack came close twice in Champions League with Bayern Leverkusen and Chelsea.


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NBA Draft: Worst In History?

June 26, 2008 By Leave a Comment

By Kellexnba draft logo2 NBA Draft: Worst In History?

Yesterday, I took the time to do Yardbarker’s mock draft and only because it could possibly win me a Greg Oden jersey. Woohoo! The thing is, during my prediction process, I started looking at the guys that are projected to be in the lottery and I just started shaking my head. I definitely know who they all are and watched all of them play a ton of college ball last year, but none of them really stood out to me as the next NBA superstar.

Sure Beasley has a ton of talent, Rose seems like a no-brainer, and of course we all know that Mayo may have the most potential out of anyone, but what about everyone else? Most drafts include 2-4 guys that actually turn out to be a star and the rest tend to become solid roles players for years, but I’ve got to tell you that I don’t see this being the case this year. None of the players in this draft compare to past drafts which included guys like Dwyane Wade, Melo, and Chris Paul. I’m seriously wondering if this is the worst draft we’ve seen in a long time.

Here is the projected lottery coming from the latest of Chad Ford’s mock drafts:

1. Derrick Rose
2. Michael Beasley
3. OJ Mayo
4. Russell Westbrook
5. Eric Gordon
6. Danilo Gallinari
7. Jerryd Bayless
8. Joe Alexander
9. Kevin Love
10. Brooke Lopez
11. DJ Augustin
12. Mario Chalmers
13. Alexis Ajinca
14. Kosta Koufos

So after looking at that list, tell me how many of those players stands out as a future NBA star? Do any of them? I’m talking you, sitting down, thinking about these guys matched up against big time NBA ballers and then in 3-4 years turning into an All-Star. Forget about what they’ve done in college because once you get to the NBA, your college experience means absolutely nothing especially as most of these kids played only one year anyway.

I’m going way out on a limb here, but I feel pretty confident in saying that Mayo, Rose and Beasley are the only guys in this draft that stand a chance at being a perennial All-Star. And I’m squirming in my hot pants by even giving that prediction because none of these 3 is really thrilling me either.

I can tell you with confidence that Alexander, Love, Lopez, Chalmers, Ajinca and Koufos will all be 100% busts. They don’t stand a chance in hell against NBA talent. Think back to Mark Madsen dominating the college game and then think about the type of NBA career he had. You can throw all of these kids in that category.

Watching this year’s draft is still a decision I need to make. None of these players has that “LeBron” type of buzz and I could care less about the teams they could be going to. Not one of these players will likely make anyone better right off the bat. Let’s just get straight to summer league so we can see how my bust predictions are adding up!

Le Basketbawl


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Dominika Cibulkova Showing She Can Play Tennis

June 26, 2008 By Leave a Comment

dominika cibulkova wimbledon08 246x300 Dominika Cibulkova Showing She Can Play Tennis

Dominika Cibulkova is behind in fashion but she can still hit a ball.


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TMZ- type Journalism Infiltrates Sports Blogs: Rolling With The Times

June 26, 2008 By 2 Comments

By Derek Braid

With the blog v. MSM issue simmering on the back burner the MSM have cleverly fired back at the blogosphere. Allegedly misquoting members from Deadspin, and potentially The Big Lead, a piece in the Los Angeles Times (of all bloody places) has incited recent infighting. Taken from TBL.com:

Reader comment: “Could it be a MSM ploy to divide the emerging blogosphere?”

The Big Lead: “They definitely want this. Some of them. I think someone wrote about this.”

What the hell is going on?

Discussion arose on the merits of posting scandalous or potentially humiliating material in the fashion of sites like TMZ, or thedirty.com, on sports blogs. [It should be noted that the discussion spurred from the LAT piece with the disputed quotations.] While this dubious material is useful in gleaming interest and market share within a crowded niche, the integrity of this practice has long been questioned by those morally opposed to ‘publishing’ information of objectionable content. But in the digital environment alongside bestiality and ruthless Nigerian spam there are few rules and fewer lines one risks crossing.

Ok, so you’re the New York Times and he’s Egotastic – why do I care? You care when it influences peoples livelihoods; when entertainment becomes questionably lascivious and defamatory. Or you roll with anything that might make a few bucks on your website (Note: this blog is still (foolishly?) Ad-Free). Regardless of your position, never has the decision to publish been so weighty.

I disagree with posting defaming and humiliating material because most of it shouldn’t reach the public record. We have spies that profit greatly from candid photos of famous people, and that we somehow endorse this practice is disappointing. Imagine having your privacy eliminated following your success?* A terrible fate unfit for most peoples’ enemies, our interests are casually justified: it’s the path they’ve chosen.

Your feelings on the paparazzi/celeb-sports culture aside, there is a reason people publish ruinous or embarrassing material: traffic. Readers already off the ESPN-beaten path are scanning the dense shrubbery of the blogosphere are looking to get more entrenched in the lives of their favorite athletes. They aren’t about to glance over the headlines describing the a Yankee crushing strippers and or a Cardinal getting wasted with barely legal tail, would you?**

The reason is simple: As much as fans desire greatness in athletes, nothing is more satisfying than a complete personal disaster. We love a good train wreck. It’s why we have Celebrity Rehab as a reality TV show; why Jerry Springer’s bodyguard is still on the air; why Vick’s dogfighting and Rose’s gambling are immortalized by the sports media.

But scandal comes in many forms. What the MSM craves (see: Vick) is almost G-rated to bloggers — the murky rules and skewed lines deem it such. Some suggest that change is afoot and I say no chance. The allure of others failures is too strong and agonizingly persistent; when coupled with limited eyes reading yet fewer blogs, you’d be a fool to predict a reversal in this trend. As far as some of the big players changing their tune? It’s the path they’ve chosen.

*I acknowledge the existence of certain celebrities who’s sham careers are dependent on, and in some cases owing to, the presence of the paparazzi-generated, or gossip-type material. These people are often more worthless the ones with the cameras.

**Reading this confirms you know what I am referencing, hence your admittance of guilt.

Cloud 9 Sports


Filed Under: Featured Articles Tagged With: ,

Mariano “Cutter” Rivera’s Dominance Lives

June 26, 2008 By Leave a Comment

By Rebecca Glass

There’s a pitcher on the 2008 New York Yankees that’s having a Cy Young season, but you’ll never hear his name mentioned in contention as a serious candidate.

You know him–he’s been pitching on the team since 1995, he’s kind of skinny, and he seems to rely on a cut fastball.

Oh, and he’s also the last remaining active player, ever, to wear 42.

Mariano Rivera has long since been headed to Cooperstown. He’s got four World Series rings; not to mention he’s also an eight-time All Star. He pitched three shut out innings in Game Seven of the 2003 ALCS and though it was Aaron Boone that officially sent the Yankees to the World Series, it was Rivera that did most of the work.

He’s had a career most major leaguers could only dream of, and he’s never had a season like this.

In 34 innings, Rivera has allowed three runs. That’s it. Three. To put it in perspective, that’s throwing three complete games and seven innings of a fourth while only allowing three runs. That’s an ERA of 0.79. (while Joba’s ERA last year was lower, he also threw considerably less innings).

It’s not just that Rivera isn’t allowing runs (okay, except in those Kansas City games), however.

Rivera has struck out 39–which is impressive on its own given his innings total–and walked three.

So it sinks in: Rivera has struck out 39, while walking 3. That’s a K/BB ratio of 13.

One walk every thirteen strikeouts?

Even All Star pitchers don’t have ratios like that.*

mariano rivera2 218x300 Mariano Cutter Riveras Dominance Lives

In thirty-four innings, Rivera has allowed just fifteen hits–for most pitchers, less than a hit an inning is good; but Rivera is allowing less than a hit every two innings.

Rivera’s current WHIP (walk/hits for innings pitched)? It’s 0.54. 0.54. To put this in perspective, even Rivera, MVP votes and All Star spots and all, has never had a WHIP over the course of a season lower than 0.86 (which he did in 2005).

Most importantly, however, he has converted twenty of twenty save opportunities. When the Yankees have needed him to keep a lead, he has–and as he recently pitched in four games out of five and now has pitched in three straight, he has become the Yankees’ workhorse as well.

Not that he’d ever complain about it.

While the Yankees have issues with almost everyone else in the bullpen (with the possible exceptions of Jose Veras and Edwar Ramirez, if it’s a Good Edwar day), Rivera has not just been dependable, but has become something other than human.

The Yankees of 2008 don’t have much in common with the Yankees of 1996–only four players from ’96 remain on the roster. Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada (who was not, of yet, a regular), and Mariano Rivera.

Ten years later, one of them is having the season of his life.

*Brandon Webb, 29, 82 K/25 BB= ratio of 3.28, Johan Santana, 29, 91 K/26 BB = ratio of 3.5, Roy Halladay, 32, 86 K/13 BB= ratio of 6.6

This Purist Bleeds Pinstripes


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ISW Under Going Facelift

June 22, 2008 By Leave a Comment

We apologize for any inconveniences. We’ve been working on a new look and direction for ISW for the past couple of months and hope to have this settled shortly. In the meantime, we will still post and enjoy past articles. They’re worth it. So our mothers tell us.


Filed Under: Featured Articles

Turkey Reach The Semi-Finals In Remarkable Fashion

June 21, 2008 By Leave a Comment

By Alessandro Nicolo

In 2004, an ancient culture with Athens at its cultural center shocked the soccer world. Four years later, Turkey – home to the former Ottoman Empire with Istanbul serving as its spiritual center – is threatening to create yet another sublime moment for a nation.

For you connoisseurs of history, the irony is that Turkey and Greece are not the closest of friends. 400 years of Ottoman rule can rub some folks the wrong way. History has quite the sense of humor.

Coming into the tournament Turkey was an outsider looking in – so it seemed. The script started predictably enough as Turkey fell to Portugal 2-0 in its opening game. The Turks rebounded and earned a 2-1 victory over co-host Switzerland setting up a showdown with the Czech Republic who had been sloppy up to that point. The Czechs were favored and certainly played to that mysterious script we just spoke about late in the game when they took a 2-0 lead.

With the rain falling hard and wreaking havoc on the pitch, fifteen minutes was all it took for Turkey to make some adjustments to the script. Three unanswered goals and Turkey prevailed 3-2.

The quarter finals were upon Euro 2008 and Turkey was in.

Group A winners Portugal went on to test its will against Germany (second place in Group B) and subsequently lost 3-2. Just like that, a nation no one gave a chance to progress was the unlikely sole representative of Group A.

Their quarter-finals opponent was Croatia. Croatia wasn’t without its own story-lines. Considered to be the “best of the rest” (and my own dark horse selection) among the middle-powers of world football the tag was seemingly confirmed following a 3-2 victory over Germany and first place in Group B.

What possible twists could possibly happen? Life isn’t predictable so why should soccer? A sport often described as mirroring life’s sense of justice, lack of mercy, love, hate, irony, hardship, glory and joy.

Turkey entered the game without seven or eight starting players– or if you like, over 60% of its lineup – due to injuries or suspensions. Logically and on paper, the Turks were to be served their exit papers. But what’s written on paper has little currency.

Technically gifted, Croatia took most of the initiative in this match while Turkey contented itself to employ a deliberately cautious approach. Overcoming the occasional comical momentary lapse on defense, Turkey was able to thwart any Croatian creativity. The more Croatia failed to capitalize the more the sense of foreboding sank in.

By the time the 75th minute arrived, the game had settled into a battle of will and attrition. Once again as they often do, the Turks shifted tactics as needed. At this pace, they may even go retro and play a 1-1-8. Indeed, they came in a highly versatile side and versatile they remained. With each passing missed opportunity Turkey’s resolve grew.

Extra time beckoned. At the 118-minute mark, it all seemed anti-climatic as shoot out loomed. Then, with about one minute to play, Croatia struck. They were ahead 1-0. And any thoughts of Turkey being this tournament’s Cinderella were dashed in an instance.

With seconds to go (figuratively) to midnight, Turkey pushed with all its might and simply kicked the ball forward. They were magically level 1-1.

Heading into the shoot out the mental state of each side could not have been any different. Clearly rattled, the Croatians failed to convert on three spot kicks. The Turks, smelling blood, expertly smashed their balls into the net.

It was over. The scoreline said 2-1 but something much more was achieved as Turkey reached the semi-finals for the first time. Just six years ago they accomplished a similar feat at the World Cup in 2002.

Turkey took the script and this time they ripped it up.

They now go on to meet Germany in the semi-finals. While Turkey limps and still has to contend with suspensions, the Germans lie in wait like lions following their masterful dissecting of Portugal.

Once again, the script says the Turks are without hope. Wait. They just tore it up.


Filed Under: Soccer Tagged With: , ,

Pondering Paul Pierce As The NBA Finals MVP

June 20, 2008 By 2 Comments

By Kellex

The overly obvious and predictable happened the other night. Paul Pierce walked away with the NBA Finals MVP trophy. Of course many of you know my pick for the MVP (*Cough* Ray Allen), but also to many of you, my pick seemed completely unreasonable and bias. Hmm. Well here is my attempt to understand why Paul Pierce took home the gold after the Celtics won their 17th NBA Championship. (These will all be followed by question marks because I still need some answers.)

* He has played his entire career in a Boston uniform?

* He won 24 hours of ESPN time by using the greatest prop in recent history, a wheel chair?

* He scored 38 points in…in a losing effort?

* He shot 43% from the field while my pick shot 51%, but that’s ok because he must have been playing really solid defense?

* He went 2-14 in a game 3 loss, but that also doesn’t matter when your knee is probably hurting from game 1 and a long flight?

* Setting records for 3 pointers made in the NBA Finals is a meaningless stat?

* Hurting his knee is more of a feel good story than my pick’s child’s diabetes diagnosis?

* He has a really neat nickname that Commissioners can use to gain respect back after being booed?

And the last reason I can think of…

* Obviously Jesus has won enough praise and didn’t need an NBA Finals MVP trophy?

Le Basketbawl


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