Tennessee Titans Blur Chris Johnson Coming into Focus as NFL MVP

Separation is the essence of greatness.

 

No one was ever touted in life for doing the same thing everyone else does. They needed to separate themselves somehow. They needed to do it better. They needed to do it more efficiently. They needed to do it more intelligently.

 

In some instances, for one to separate himself from the rest of the pack, he may need to do it…faster.

 

Chris Johnson is running away with the rushing title midway through the season, and his argument for NFL MVP should not be dismissed as quickly as he accelerates.

 

He leads the league with 959 yards after eight games, and the next back isn’t even close.

 

Unfortunately for Johnson, there are a slew of media-beloved quarterbacks that are having good years who will receive consideration long before Johnson’s name is ever mentioned.

 

But that in itself doesn’t make much sense.

 

How can a player be deemed “Most Valuable” if there are several other people doing the same thing? What is separating them from the rest?

 

Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints is having a career year. His quarterback rating of 106.1 leads all other signal-callers. The only problem is it’s not by much. Brett Favre is second with a 106.0 rating. In fact, there are five quarterbacks within three points of each other at the top of the list.

 

Johnson’s 959 yards lead the NFL. Second-best Cedric Benson is over 120 yards back, with 837. In fact, Johnson and Benson are the only two backs in the league with at least 800 yards.

 

Matt Schaub leads the NFL in passing yards, and his 17 touchdowns are tied for first in the league. But there are six other quarterbacks who have at least 16 touchdowns, providing a traffic jam at the top of the statistics.

 

Chris Johnson’s 6.7-yards-per-carry average is not only ridiculous, it leads the NFL by a wide margin. In second place is Rashard Mendenhall of the Pittsburgh Steelers, a full yard behind at 5.7.

 

Before you fall prey to the concept that a quarterback is the sexier option this year for MVP, consider this.

 

Tennessee is 2-6.

 

These aren’t padded stats from a quarterback trying to bring his team back in the fourth quarter against prevent defenses. This is a running back playing on a team that typically has to abandon the run in the second half to try and get back in the ballgame.

 

Johnson has not been used as a workhorse, either. He has more yards than starting running backs Clinton Portis and Kevin Smith combined…on 118 fewer carries.

 

Johnson has eight more games to convince his detractors that he is worthy of the NFL MVP. Those who live in the small market surrounding Tennessee have seen him play and know his value. Those who don’t need to find a way to see him play.

 

If you do, don’t blink. He’ll be gone in a flash.

 

It’s his job to create separation.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

NCAA Vs. NFL: Which Is Better?

Quick “Wildcats” reference for you, and I’m not talking about trendy offense Ronnie Brown runs for the Miami Dolphins. I’m actually referring to Goldie Hawn for those of you old enough to remember.

 

“It’s the sport of Kings, better than diamond rings…football…football.”

 

What better way to describe, what I believe to be, the greatest sport known to man.

 

It’s a sport that rings in a season. It unites a city, and galvanizes a fan base. It warrants a dozen or so parties a year and dominates the water cooler conversation on Mondays.

 

It’s season consists of fewer games than any of the other major sports, yet it has become a year round obsession by fans, and a 12-month-a-year job for its players and coaches.

 

It’s football, and the thought of it gives goose bumps to even the most hardened of men.

 

But which form is the most beloved?

 

Is it college or the pros that you live for?

 

Below we take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of the NCAA vs. the NFL, and let you decide.

 

 

 

Teams

 

The NFL has the Green Bay Packers, the Dallas Cowboys, and the Oakland Raiders. There is plenty of history here for some very marketable names. The league dates back to 1920 when it was called American Professional Football Association.

 

The NCAA has the Oklahoma Sooners, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and the University of Southern California Trojans. Even more history here as the first documented game of “football” was played in 1869 pitting Rutgers against Princeton (as each team is known today).

 

In addition to the history advantage, there are over 100 teams in the NCAA compared to only 32 in the NFL. It’s like shopping at a Wal-Mart compared to a convenience store.

 

Advantage: NCAA

 

 

 

Fans

 

The NCAA has crazy shirtless teenagers with chests painted their team colors as they chant in unison on one side of the stadium while the other side waits to chant back an answer.

 

They scream that their team is No. 1 when in actuality they have yet to make the Top 25. They pack into stadiums like sardines, and in some cases can cause small towns to become the most populated in the state on game day.

 

The NFL has rabid, creative fans who can feel a vested interest in their teams with the introduction of the PSL. They take pride in having their own idea of how personnel decisions should be made, and they dominate the apparel industry as players names are allowed to be on jerseys.

 

Bottom line however, is even with the NCAA having almost four times as many teams as the NFL, we never see over 100,000 pack in for an NFL game as we do commonly in college games.

 

Advantage: NCAA

 

 

 

Players

 

The NCAA has some of the best athletes in the country fighting for the pigskin every week. They have blue chip prospects and five star recruits. They have college visits, and National Signing Day. But they don’t have the best, and they are only there for a handful of years.

 

The NFL does have the best. They have the draft, free agency and trades. You can have a star play 10-15 years for your team or you can bring in a player you have rooted against for years. The salary cap also adds a competitive edge to the league creating parity across the board.

 

Being able to follow special players for a career rather than a four year period makes the players in the NFL that much more special. Whether loving them, or loving to hate them, you are able to form a longer, stronger bond in the NFL.

 

Advantage: NFL

 

 

 

Venues

 

In the NCAA you have very affordable tickets to coliseums that in some cases appear to be better suited for gladiator fights than football games. The stadium’s history and its character ooze from the run down concession stands, while the aluminum bleachers rattle like shields and swords when jumped upon much to the liking of the fevered home crowd.

 

The NFL has venues built for the fan’s experience with escalators, ushers and HD screens the size of office buildings. They have giveaways, games, and promotions designed to keep the entire family entertained.

 

While the NFL ticket exceeds the college ticket in price, Jerry Jones has ushered in the new era of NFL entertainment with his billion dollar stadium. You won’t find one of those in the college ranks.

 

Advantage: NFL

 

 

 

Rivalries

 

The NFL has the Chicago Bears vs. the Green Bay Packers, the Dallas Cowboys vs. the Washington Redskins and the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. the Cleveland Browns. These rivalries have brought out some of the best in many hall-of-famers over the years, and nothing beats an old video tape of NFL Films with the voice of legendary John Facenda.

 

The NCAA has USC-Notre Dame, Miami-Florida State, Alabama–Auburn, Oklahoma-Texas, and many more. These clashes are rich in tradition and peppered with stories of the higher ranked team suffering the upset loss to its rival.

 

A loss to your rival will sting harder when your opponent resides in state. Most college rivals are within miles of each other making it harder on the losing fans.

 

With mush respect to the “frozen tundra of Lambeau Field”, the NFL rivalries just aren’t what they used to be. In addition you never hear of one being referred to as simply “The Third Saturday in October.”

 

Advantage: NCAA

 

 

 

Championships

 

The NCAA has the history of its bowl games. Every year college football teams fight for the possibility of going to a bowl. It’s a chance to travel to different city and take part in the pageantry of the each specific bowl’s history.

 

The National Championship is decided by the winner of the BCS Championship game. Its participants are tabulated by a formula factoring in polls and rankings.

 

The NFL has a true playoff system. The top six teams, basically, from each conference fight in a single elimination tournament that culminates in the granddaddy of them all, the Super Bowl.

 

The NCAA has never quite solved the problem of how to decide its champion. The Super Bowl accounts for nine of the top ten most watched shows in the history of television.

 

Advantage: NFL

 

 

So, what is your opinion? With football right around the corner, who gets your hard earned dollars? Who do you look forward to seeing more this weekend?

 

Weigh in with your answer and let us know why!

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Lane Kiffin’s Name Prompts Reporters To Jump Gun

Lane Kiffin must drive a station wagon bigger than the one my mom had back in the 80’s. And that one was pretty big.

 

There is no other way he has the room for everyone to hop on his media bandwagon the way reporters have in the past several months.

 

Case in point: Secondary violations are reported every year by numerous schools in handfuls (South Carolina 11, Clemson 13, Georgia three, and Florida two, all in 2008).

 

Those are minor examples too. Since 2000, Ohio State has reported more than 375 violations.

 

These violations are commonplace among a lot of schools and have never made news until recently.

 

But type the words “secondary violations” into a Yahoo search engine and the first three articles you find will be about Lane Kiffin’s half a dozen secondary violations since joining the University of Tennessee.

 

It makes you wonder, why now? Why are these violations so newsworthy now?

 

The answer has to be Lane Kiffin’s name. Love him or hate him, evidently you are reading about him.

 

In fact, the Kiffin name is so sought after that reporters have twisted words from a 13-year-old in order to sell a story with the coach’s name.

 

Andy Staples of SI.com reported, on Jun. 30, that Kiffin offered a scholarship to Evan Berry, the brother of Junior Eric Berry who plays safety for the Volunteers.

 

The story soon hit the front page of Yahoo! Sports, and even for a coach as unpredictable as Kiffin, something smelled funny.

 

The truth is, Kiffin hasn’t offered a scholarship to Evan.

 

According to The Tennessean, Evan and his twin brother, Elliot, who will start the eighth grade this year and not the ninth grade like the Birmingham News reported, were at a track meet when reporters approached them and brought up Tennessee.

 

Knowing Evan was the brother of Eric, the reporter prodded him for his school choice and Evan answered “I’m committed to Tennessee.”

 

Why wouldn’t he be? His father was an All-SEC running back there, and his brother is an All-World safety there currently.

 

But the words “I’m committed to Tennessee,” in addition to Kiffin’s name, were all the reporter needed to sell the story.

 

By yesterday, Yahoo’s front page, not just the sports section, had a headline that read “Kiffin offers 13-year-old scholarship”.

 

It has since been retracted, with this editor’s note:

 

The NCAA prohibits schools from formally offering scholarships until a prospect has registered with the NCAA Eligibility Center. UT has not offered Berry a scholarship.

 

You could almost see the drool running from the reporter’s mouth when he ran with this. Hopefully, someone gave him a towel.

Tennessee Volunteers’ Lane Kiffin:A Glimpse at The Future

University of Tennessee head coach Lane Kiffin doesn’t pull any punches. He also doesn’t connect on a lot of them either. But to listen to his philosophy behind being successful, you realize that he really may not need to.

In his first several months on the job Kiffin has made negative news the old-fashioned way. He’s earned it.

With secondary recruiting violations being reported in Knoxville more often than a Brett Favre come back, some people around the college football sector have been wondering aloud if Kiffin truly knows what he is doing.

But Kiffin has also landed a top 10 recruiting class in only handful of months, and put together an intense and energetic coaching staff that has players excited about playing football for the Volunteers.

So maybe Kiffin doesn’t excel in compliance. No one is perfect right? I don’t think that Kiffin was brought to U.T. to be a compliance director. I also don’t think athletic director Mike Hamilton expects him to be one either.

He was, however, brought in to restore some of the luster that had faded from the program in recent years. Without the benefit of having played the first game, he has already started that process.

So where knowledge, and execution of recruiting rules, may not necessarily be his strong point, Kiffin is focusing rather, on what is.

For someone who critics claim may not know what he is doing, Kiffin actually has a plan.

A very detail oriented workaholic, and schedule slave, his philosophy of igniting a non-existent offense is similar to his handling of his coaching responsibilities.

He isn’t focusing on what a player can’t do on the field, but rather what he can do and then applying that to his offense.

In an interview with Dave Hooker on GoVols Xtra, Kiffin says of his younger players, “find out what they do really well and focus on that and make them do that.”

It’s a simple philosophy, but one that may get overlooked more often than not, as we all have sat in front of our T.V.s and screamed “why are they running Joe outside! You know he can’t turn the corner!”

We all have strengths and weaknesses. Some will argue to spend your time working on your weaknesses to make you a better overall player or person. Kiffin takes a different approach with the youngsters.

He goes on to say during the interview that when dealing with running backs that don’t pass protect well, “if they can’t protect, put them in a situation where they don’t protect.”

He compares the system he is trying to put in play at U.T. to the one they implemented at Southern Cal for getting freshman on the field early and often.

“We have a system that has been great over the years of making guys into freshman All-Americans, playing them right away by focusing on what they can do extremely well.”

It seems to be working as well, as early reports from Knoxville have talked about intense and physical practices. Excitement breeds more excitement and it’s apparent that this coaching staff has infused this team with confidence and energy.

Kiffin has brought in a handful of extremely talented players. In addition he inherited a team where the cupboard wasn’t exactly bare. By getting the ball into the hands of his playmakers and letting them doing what they do best, he has a chance of resurrecting an offense left for dead last year.

His goal will be to come closer in numbers to the 2007 U.T. offense which ranked 4^th in the S.E.C. by scoring over 33 points a game. Couple that with a defense that was 4^th in the nation last year and Kiffin may very well back up the talk that got him the job.

To Kiffin’s credit, he has done an excellent job of staffing positions with some of the best in the field. Monte Kiffin, his father, is a defensive specialist. Ed Orgeron and Lance Thompson are recruiting gurus.

Maybe (Lane) Kiffin should choose his battles and hire a compliance secretary, adhering to his own philosophy of allowing people to do what they do extremely well.

After all, the reason mike Hamilton brought him here was to win games.

I’m sure Hamilton hopes Kiffin does that……extremely well.

 

The Biggest NFL Rivalry You Aren’t Keeping Up With: Patriots-Dolphins

More often than not, for a rivalry to capture the hearts and interests of those who don’t “have a dog in the hunt”, there should be a contrast in styles between the opposing teams.

This isn’t to say that a rivalry has to fit this template; it just means that it can make it more interesting if it does.

Trust me, there is no love lost between the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears despite both consisting of similar fan bases, styles of football, and weather elements.

But everyone likes contrast in competition. We want to see the battle of the sexes, notching men against women. We crave good versus evil. Fans revel in the matches between a crafty veteran and a feisty rookie.

Few rivalries more clearly defined our love of contrasting competition than the Boston Celtics—Los Angeles Lakers rivalry of the mid 80s. From one side of the country to the other, the blue collar Celtics and the glitzy Lakers pitted a half court offense of aging warriors versus the young legs of a fast breaking style tempo.

Everyone had a side when these two played. No one rode the fence.

In the NFL, you will find that even the names of the mascots in the Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys fit into the template of the contrasting competitors. However, with all due respect to our friends from the NFC East, it’s divisional counterparts from the AFC that have something brewing.

 

Snowstorms and Sunburns

 

Located over 1200 miles apart from each other, the Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots are football’s version of the Odd Couple. From the crystal blue waters of South Beach to the ruby red and brilliant orange leaves of a New England fall, these cities are as different in style as the team they support.

This is a showdown where home field advantage truly plays a role. Both teams have a rabid fan base and both teams’ fans travel well. But for the home team there is certainly a difference in conditions.

On a September afternoon in Miami, you can easily find the Patriots sucking wind in the fourth quarter. Their jerseys soaked through and through from the humidity, most players will find the nearest “cool zone” or water-spraying fan to camp next to.

The Patriots’ legs as weak as jello, the Dolphins thrive during the last ten minutes of the game.  After all, they are the team that has practiced for months in the sauna-like conditions often running two-a-day practices in the sweltering heat.

Fast forward to a December night in Foxboro and you will find the Dolphin players feverishly blowing into their hands trying to keep their fingers from falling off. The cold, so apparent on television, takes its toll as the game wears into the night. The temperature continues to fall, and so much attention is paid to keeping warm that mental mistakes start to pile up for the fair weather Fins.  

Miami was dominant the first decade of the rivalry, reaching three Super Bowls in the 70s and winning two of them.

New England has been the dominant one in the last decade of the same rivalry, reaching four Super Bowls and winning three.

It seems that even when one enjoys success, the other team was there like the little brother who conveniently tells mom exactly how the vase was broken. In fact, the last time Tom Brady lost a regular season game, was at the hands of the Dolphins.

 

Super Showdown

 

In the 1985 season in which the 17-1 Chicago Bears took on the AFC representative, the Patriots traveled to Miami to take on the Dolphins for the AFC crown in a game the Dolphins were heavily favored to win.

However, the Patriots forced Dan Marino and the Dolphins into six turnovers, causing the upset and securing their first-ever appearance in a Super Bowl. The 46-10 loss to Mike Ditka’s Bears though concreted critics arguments that a better game would have been given to the Bears by the Dolphins, the only team the Bears lost to during the regular season.

 

September Shootout

 

Bill Parcells may be the man in Miami now, but 15 years ago he was the man in New England. We all know what he does in his second season with a team; he takes them to the playoffs. During his second season with the Patriots, he took his team, and a young Drew Bledsoe, to Miami to open the 1994 season.

Marino was playing his first game since he ruptured his Achilles’ tendon, and the field, which contained the Florida Marlins infield along the 35 yard line, was muddied by torrential downpours from previous days.

Despite the conditions, Bledsoe and Marino put on a clinic; the two quarterbacks combining for 894 yards through the air. The lead changed several times in the last minutes before Miami secured the win on a Ben Coates fumble.

 

Oh Snow You Didn’t !

 

From mud to snow, conditions directly played a hand in Foxboro on a game played in December, 1982. In a heavy snowstorm where neither team could so much as to keep their footing, several field goals had been attempted to no avail.

With the game still scoreless deep into the fourth quarter, a convicted felon on work release with access to a snow plow, made his way onto the filed and cleared a path for New England place kicker John Smith to kick the winning field goal, giving New England a 3-0 win.

Needless to say, Miami Dolphins’ coach Don Shula’s protests went unheard.

To this day, these two teams are still the little kids you have to separate in the department store to keep them from fighting.

Miami always boasted that they were the only team to go 17-0 until New England went 18-0 before ultimately losing in the Super Bowl to the N.Y. Giants.

That snickering you hear is from the Dolphins that still can brag about being the only undefeated team ever.

 

Cat Fight

 

Ironically the same year, that New England made their run to perfection, Miami was making a run at a less dubious form of perfection. The Dolphins were fighting to keep from going winless and managed to do so by winning in overtime against the Baltimore Ravens. It didn’t save them however from a couple of meetings behind the woodshed with the Patriots.

Those beatings were likely the source of revenge the following year when the Patriots played host to a team that had lost 17 out of its last 18 games.

Unfortunately for the Patriots, Miami brought a “cat” to a dogfight.

The Dolphins unveiled their Wildcat package to the tune of a 38-13 drubbing of the Pats, running Ronnie Brown for four touchdowns against a defense that looked outcoached for once.

Recently the Patriots hold the advantage over the Dolphins, but the Dolphins own the all-time record 49-37.

It’s Tom Brady’s world now where it once was Dan Marino’s.

Regardless of what part of the country you live in, if these two teams are playing, you are almost forced to pick a side. Isn’t that what makes a rivalry so interesting?

 

25th Anniversary of 1984: The Greatest Year In U.S. Sports History

In 1984 when I was 13-years old, my shoe size finally caught up with my age. To say I was clumsy was an understatement. I could barely drive to the basket for a layup without tripping over my own feet. Even walking on the sidewalk was a challenge as I struggled to adapt to my body that had sprouted up over the summer.

As unexciting as my story would be in basketball that season, what was happening in the real sports world that year was magical. I remember thinking at the time how “cool” it was that this or that was happening. Looking back now, “cool” doesn’t even start to describe what happened that year.

 

Basketball

No other rivalry in the NBA comes close to the one shared by the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers. What better way to end and NBA season than with these two going toe-to-toe in a seven-game battle showcasing their incredibly contrasting styles of play.

The Celtics, down 2-1 after getting trounced by 33 points in Game Three of the series, caught the ire of a different No. 33 in the locker room following the game. NBA MVP Larry Bird told reporters his team played like “sissies” following Boston’s worst playoff defeat in franchise history.

His team responded and Boston won three of the next four games, including a Game Seven that was played in 90-degree temperatures at the old Boston Garden. Bird would win the NBA Finals MVP award as well.

In the NCAA Basketball Championship, we were treated to a showdown rarely seen now. Long gone are the days when we can truly sit back and watch two great post players battle it out in the paint like two gladiators in an arena. But that’s exactly what came to a head in Seattle on April 2, as the Georgetown Hoyas advanced to meet the Houston Cougars, highlighting a pair of centers that would become two of the NBA’s 50 greatest players of all time.

Patrick Ewing of Georgetown won the tournament MVP for his ability to contain former MVP Hakeem Olajuwan‘s offensive arsenal. With the Hoyas taking the game 84-75, Ewing would pave the way for future centers to come through the school including Alonzo Mourning and Dikembe Mutombo.

Looking back at who was drafted into the NBA that year, you will find four pretty recognizable names: Hakeem Olajuwan, John Stockton, Charles Barkley, and a certain fellow named Michael Jordan.

 

Baseball

The World Series that year was won by the Detroit Tigers, and man were they good. Lead by manager Sparky Anderson, they blasted out of the gates winning 35 of their first 40 games and dominated the October Classic by beating the San Diego Padres in the best of seven series 4-1.

They were a colorful group of players with teammates nicknamed “Sweet Lou”, “Ho-Jo”, and “Senor Smoke”. The ace of the staff was Jack Morris, who played brilliantly in the World Series, posting a 3-0 record and allowing only five runs in 26 innings. As good as Morris was, he wasn’t the best pitcher on the staff that year. That distinction goes to the closer Willie Hernandez, whose 1.92 ERA in over 140 innings of work not only garnered team MVP but the AL MVP as well.

As colorful as the Tigers were that year, winning 104 games, the more notable stories may have come from two teams that fell just short of the ultimate goal. The Chicago Cubs ended a playoff drought and won an NL best 96 games behind the NL MVP Ryne Sandberg and Cy Young Winner Rick Sutcliffe. They even traded for Dennis Eckersly midway through the season.

But all the magic they captured during the regular season was lost when they fell to the San Diego Padres in the NL Championship Series. The Padres themselves enjoyed newfound success as they won a club record 92 games behind the NL batting champ and 24-year old Tony Gwynn.

In addition, the infamous Goose Gossage would save 25 games all the while winning 10 more and posting a 2.90 ERA. Oh yeah, and Steve Garvey would play 161 games at first base that season and not commit a single error.

Even if you didn’t have a team in the playoffs, you still saw Dale Murphy and Mike Schmidt battle it out and tie for the NL home run total, and also witnessed the start of the tabloid career of Rookie of the Year winner Dwight Gooden.

Players drafted that year were All-World pitchers Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine, as well as former “Bash Brother” Mark McGwire.

 

Football

In January of 1984, the Super Bowl would showcase two legendary running backs with two contrasting styles of running. John Riggins had powered and bull-rushed his way for over 1,300 yards and his Washington Redskins squad entered the game against the “smooth as silk” Marcus Allen and the Los Angeles Raiders as the heavy favorite.

But despite having an offense that put up a then NFL record 541 points, it would be the Raiders behind Allen’s 20 carries for 191 yards that would crush the Redskins 38-9.

Despite this being ABC’s first shot at airing a Super Bowl, not to mention it was being played between two traditional teams, the regular season of 1984 provided even more history than the big game that preceded it.

Eric Dickerson of the Los Angeles Rams set a record for rushing yards in a season with 2,105. He thrived in John Robinson’s “run first” offense and glided his team to the NFC Championship game following his record-breaking year. To this date, his record still stands.

But the ground game wasn’t the only offense reaching new heights that year. All the way across the country was a gunslinger leading the Miami Dolphins who went by the name of Dan Marino. He would break five NFL records and 11 team records in 1984, only his second year in the league. The young Pittsburgh native would cap this record-breaking season with a Super Bowl appearance.

His record of most touchdowns in a season of 48 shattered the previous record of 36, and his mark for most passing yards in a season of 5,084 still stands to this day.

As if on queue, Steve Largent, former wide receiver of the Seattle Seahawks, rounded out the theoretical triangle of quarterback, running back and wide receiver by breaking the record for most receptions in season with 106.

The most recognized record to be broken that year fell at the hands of possibly the greatest running back of all time, Walter Payton. “Sweetness” as he was known by, broke the record for most career rushing yards by ending the season with 13,309.

On the college front, the undefeated B.Y.U. Cougars claimed the National Title despite being lined up to play a 6-5 Michigan team in the Holiday Bowl.

Because of bowl tie-ins and the Washington Huskies (No. 4 at the end of the regular season) declining to play in the Holiday Bowl, BYU managed to be voted National Champions without ever beating a team in the final AP top 25.

This situation may very well be the seed that grew into the desire to find a better way of crowning a champion and ultimately be the start of the road that has led to the Bowl Championship Series.

 

Racing

Today Darrell Waltrip sits up in the air-conditioned TV booth and advises the drivers, as the green flag waves, to “”reach up there and pull those belts tight one more time!” But in 1984, he was a lot less worried about the well being of his fellow drivers as he was about beating them to the finish line. Waltrip won seven races that year, four more than any other driver in the Winston Cup Series (known now as the Nascar Sprint Cup Series).

Despite his dominating penchant for reaching victory lane Waltrip would finish only fifth in points, while Terry Labonte would take the title. It was Labonte’s consistency throughout the year that allowed him to edge out second place Harry Gant for the title, but looking back now that story takes a back seat to an even more significant event.

1984 saw the 200^th and final victory for “The King” Richard Petty. The King, known for winning the Nascar Championship seven times, won his last race on Independence Day as he beat out Cale Yarborough by a fender to take the checkered flag.

To call that season of Nascar competitive would be an understatement. On May 6^th in Talledega, the field set a record for most lead changes in a race at 75, another record that still stands today.

 

Olympics

The Summer Olympics had come back to the States (Los Angeles to be exact) and there was certainly a home-crowd feeling. After the U.S., along with 60 other countries, boycotted the Russian hosted Olympics in 1980, Russia would decide to repay the favor four years later.

It would be a smart decision for the Soviets as the U.S simply engulfed the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and injected the country with a sense of pride and patriotism it truly needed at the time.

Carl Lewis took four gold medals in track and field, Mary Lou Rhetton became the first American to win gold in the all around competition of gymnastics, and a record 140 nations showed up to witness the first privately financed Olympics that would profit over $215 million, a ridiculous amount for the time.

In addition, we saw a taste of the Future Dream team as the U.S. basketball squad comprised solely of college players took the court with a young Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing, and Chris Mullen. They would be the last college lead team to win the gold medal.

The U.S. did so well in medals, it was dubbed as the American Gold Rush. Their 83 gold medals were more than the next five countries combined, and their total medal count of 174 dwarfed the second place West Germany’s totally of 59.

At age 13, I thought 1984 was the coolest year in sports, and 25 years later it still is.

Though many years will mean many different things to many different people, it’s hard to argue that ‘84 wasn’t the greatest year in U.S. sports history. But I certainly welcome your thoughts….

 

100 Days Away: The First Fall Blockbuster

Have you ever gone to see a movie and left the theatre more excited about a preview you saw than you were about the movie you just paid 10 bucks to see?

I have to believe this is possibly the case for many of the millions of college football fans across the nation as the summer heat kicks in and reminds us that outside of bacon, the laced pigskin is the next best smell associated with the four legged animal’s name.

It’s college football, and it’s so close you can, well…smell it.

But for every Washington Husky fan that clicks on the College Football tab from ESPN and every N.J. Rutger alum that scans over the NCAA football headlines on CBSsports, they are getting a small preview of a game played across the country, by teams from another conference, in a swamp.

Though they may have wanted to read about their own teams, chances are they were lured in to an article or two regarding a pair of Southeastern Conference teams.

One hundred days from now, on Sept. 19, the University of Tennessee Volunteers head south to the not-so-friendly confines of The Swamp to take on the Florida Gators in what is becoming one of the most anticipated college matchups of the season.

Whether intentional or not, it’s been marketing genius by whoever is involved. CBS has the game and they have to be drooling at this point. Already a conference rivalry not for the faint of heart, Lane Kiffin’s jabs and accusations at Urban Myer were so unorthodox and shocking that it seemed they were calculated to increase tension.

Message boards from both sites have been overflowing with testosterone as the Gator fans pound their chest from a three-year run that has resulted in two National Championships, while Volunteer fans have been reborn with a cocky, fiery coach, possibly too young to know he’s swimming in shark infested waters wearing rib-eye boxers.

If the game itself isn’t enough to take notice, neither one of these schools can stay out of the news recently whether it’s secondary recruiting violations against Kiffin and Tennessee, or off-the-field incidents involving players at the University of Florida.

One way or the other, these two schools have had plenty of publicity over the spring and early summer. Hey, any pub’ is good pub’ right?

As for the game itself, the experts tell you it won’t be close. Florida is loaded up and down both sides of the ball, and are practically unbeatable at home.

But just like the child that keeps one eye on the closet while he tries to fall asleep at night, there is a certain fear that accompanies the unknown. If nothing more, Kiffin in his first year along with his staff at Tennessee, have that as an intangible on their side. Their defense alone will give them a puncher’s chance, and once the coin gets flipped anything can happen.

If this game was a movie, you would have stars and subplots all over the place.

• Lane Kiffin vs. Urban Myer.

• Tim Tebow vs. Monte Kiffin’s “Tampa 2” defense.

• Tennessee’s offense left for dead on Neyland Stadium’s field last year looks to make a name for itself.

Press clippings from coaches, statements made by players, and predictions from experts will all be thrown out the window as soon as the lights go down and the movie starts.

The college football season should definitely be worth the price of admission for any fan of any team, but you have to admit, that preview of the Tennessee/Florida movie looked pretty good.

When Does The Dream Die?

I think I was about seven years old when I finally realized that my mom saying I “could do anything I wanted to, in life, if I put my mind to it” didn’t exactly include me being able to fly like Superman.

Hundreds of hours spent thrusting my arms in the air and jumping off the top rail of our deck was all for not. My longest flight ever was clocked at under three seconds.

I can even remember asking my dad what he would do if I flew straight up in the house and busted out through the roof into the open blue sky ala the “Man of Steel”.

He replied, without blinking an eye, “make you fix the roof”.

Eventually reality sets in. Eventually the dream died.

Unfortunately everything in life dies. It’s a certainty we don’t even question, for life that is. But dreams have a way of holding on a lot longer than they are supposed to, or maybe even should. Sometimes dreams just won’t die.

It wouldn’t be very sensible for me now, at 37, to climb up on that deck railing at my parents house and give flying another shot.

But for athletes, the fine line between dreams and reality isn’t so easily defined. Athletes have grown up doing things most fans consider “super” for years. They run like speeding bullets, leap buildings in a single bound. They throw footballs 75 yards and beam baseballs 100 mph.

While my dream as a kid was to fly, their dream was to win championships because they could fly.

When you are able to achieve what few other people can, or have, then who are they to tell you when your dreams should die?

Brett Favre was released by the New York Jets on April 28, 2009 and is literally free to sign with any team.

Despite what anyone says, I have to believe that he at least entertained a passing thought in his head about what team he would like to take snaps for this season. Would it be the Minnesota Vikings, with a dominant defense, all-world running back Adrian Peterson, and newly acquired speed demon Percy Harvin? He would certainly be an upgrade over their off-season pick up, Sage Rosenfels.

Would he call Jeff Fisher of the Tennessee Titans, a team that had the best record in the league last year and finally seems to have all the pieces of the puzzle to make a serious run at the Super Bowl for a couple of years? Kerry Collins is solid, but this is still Brett Favre we are talking about.

Or does he sit back down at the kitchen table, pick up the sports page, drink his coffee and spend the next few minutes trying to  figure out a way to dodge Deanna’s “honey do list” for the day.

My guess is he chooses the latter. But even then, having watched him play football with the passion he did for all those years, it won’t be as easy as it sounds.

While there were those that ridiculed him for his on again off again retirement saga each year, and I was certainly one of them at times, no one has the right to tell you when your dream dies.

I watched my sports hero, Dan Marino, play football in Miami for 17 years before his time would come to an end. I remember that day as if I had lost a loved one. He would not play another down for the Miami Dolphins again, but his dream wasn’t necessarily over.

Still without a Super Bowl, and still with a fire inside him that few will ever have, Dennis Green head coach of the Minnesota Vikings at the time, pleaded with Marino to come play for the Vikings. Green promised concessions of extra days off during the week for Marino to spend with his family. The Vikings had a young Randy Moss and an accomplished Chris Carter. It was a very tempting offer to Marino.

He would reveal in interviews later that he would wake up one morning with intent to sign with the Vikings, then wake up the next morning saying he just couldn’t do it. That process would repeat itself for over a week.

I was so confused. I wanted him to do it, but I also wanted him to retire a lifelong Dolphin.

Playing 17 years for one organization says a lot about one’s character and resolve. Wanting to give the Super Bowl one more shot in Minnesota said a lot about his drive and desire to compete.

Thank God it wasn’t my decision and I told myself I would be at peace with whatever choice he made. He retired a Dolphin and was in the Pro Football Hall of Fame five years later.

I certainly couldn’t have blamed him if he chose to try it one more time. His dream was to win a Super Bowl.

But as fans, we don’t want to see out heroes hobbling around on the field as a shell of their former selves. Willie Mays stumbling out of the batter’s box in a Met’s uniform is blasphemous to most fans. Joe Namath struggling for four games in a Rams uniform before his body couldn’t take anymore is not how he should be remembered, and probably won’t be.

While it’s easy to say we don’t want to see our great athletes struggle in the twilight of their careers, let’s remember that it is their dream that is dying, not ours. It is their fight to keep a hold of something that is slipping through their hands.

Though I joined in the chuckles at the thought of Brett Favre coming out of retirement again, I would salute his fortitude if he did. I believe there is a part of us all that want to see a real life aging Roy Hobbs circle the bases in his last at bat, under a shower of broken scoreboard lights, having just won the pennant.

So here’s to you Brett. Should you decide that the dream of playing football is not quite dead yet, I may just go back over to my parent’s house and hop up on that deck rail one more time.

Just to make sure.

 

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