Gene Collier explains the Quarterback Passer Rating system in a solid article.

Camp Tomlin is on. I'm happy with things so far. As long as they don't run their legs off in camp and save some endurance for the season, they'll be great.

"It's a simple game." -Coach Tomlin

Who Ain't Now: Teams Bracket

Big news here, I got the first comment on the blog! Thanks John! He brought up some good points about the matchups in round 1. Hopefully today's matchups in the Teams Bracket will generate even more controversy.

Without further ado...here we go:

Teams Bracket

1) the New York Yankees vs. 8) Duke Basketball

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Bigtime matchup of two teams that people love to hate and that haven't won a championship since early this century. Duke last won in 2001 and the Yanks in 2000. So which team is less "now" but is still swarmed by media attention?

Regular season production really isn't a question when it comes to these two teams. The Yankees have won the last 9 AL East Division titles. In spite of this, since their World Series 3-Peat from 1998-2000, they have only reached the Fall Classic twice (2001 and 2003). In 2004, as we may well remember, the Yankees became the first team in professional baseball history, and only the third team in North American pro sports history, to lose a best-of-seven series after taking a 3-0 series lead. Their 2001 World Series loss came at the hands of a Diamondbacks team they should have beaten, but ex-Bucco Jay Bell came through to score the winning run in the 9th inning. 2003 saw the Yankees lose the the Wild Card Florida Marlins. In spite of having the highest payroll in baseball, the Yankees postseason production in the "now" era has been sub-par.

On the other side we have the Duke Blue Devils. Personally, I'm a bit biased here as I hate the Yankees but do love Duke. I know, you may think I sold my soul to the devil for saying that I like Duke, but deal with it. The reason Duke is in this bracket is for their lack of post-season production and total media flocking around them. Duke's last championship came in 2001. Duke has won 7 of the last 9 ACC Tournaments and 7 of the last 11 ACC Regular Season titles. In the past 11 years, Duke has made the Final Four 3 times and had a streak of 9 consecutive Sweet 16 appearances snapped last year. The last time Duke missed the NCAA tournament came in the 1994-95 season. Additionally, last year was the first time in 11 years they did not finish the season in the top 8 in the AP Poll.

So which despised team takes the cake? The regular season production of both of these teams isn't to be doubted, and both teams have struggled in 2007. However, the fact that the Yankees blew a 3-0 series lead against the Red Sox stands out like a sore thumb, and carries them on to the next round of the "Who Ain't Now" tournament.

2) the Dallas Cowboys vs. 7) the New Jersey Devils

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Seems like the Dallas Cowboys, in spite of only making the playoffs twice this century are always at the front of the news. Whether it's their penchant for hiring media-feisty coaches (Bill Parcells) or media-gobbling players (TO and Keyshawn Johnson), the Cowboys flare is much, much bigger than their actual punch. Since winning the Super Bowl in January of 1996, the Cowboys have gone a lowly 1-5 in the playoffs. Pomp and circumstance surround the Cowboys, including their ultimate choke-job loss to the Seahawks in the first round last year. Not to mention that they had the division firmly in hand with 5 weeks to go in the season and let Philly take the title from them. The Cowboys haven't won a division title since 1998, when they lost to the Cardinals, yes the Cardinals, in the playoffs. For the record, that was the first post-season win by Arizona since Hillary Clinton and Arnold Schwarzenegger were born. For those that didn't know, that was 1947.

I tried to think of something to write about how annoying the Devils are, but I fell asleep just thinking about them. They're so freaking boring it's unreal. Since the lockout the Devils have lost to the eventual Eastern Conference champions 4-1 in the second round both years. For the record, they lost in the first round 4-1 to the Flyers the year before the lockout.

Feeling refreshed after my nap, I've decided that even though the Devils are possibly the most boring team ever............the Cowboys are moving on to the next round. At least the Devils have made the playoffs every year this century. And, since ESPN doesn't have the broadcasting rights to the NHL, they don't go around praising the greatness of hockey, which is one of the things that makes hockey a pretty good sport right now.

3) Notre Dame Football vs. 6) the US Ryder Cup Team

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Touchdown Jesus faces off with one of the worst All-Star teams in recent memory...besides the National League Baseball All-Star team. While the NL team is resigned to losing (see: LaRusa keeping Pujols on the bench the entire game this year), the hype surrounding the Ryder Cup team is, well...about as exciting as a team golf tournament can get. In spite of two spankings 18.5-9.5 the last two Ryder Cups, we keep hearing that "this is the year" for the US. There's not much to say here besides the fact that the US Ryder Cup team just...chokes. In spite of having arguably the top golfers in the world.

And then there is Notre Dame Football. Losers of 9 consecutive Bowl appearances. Supposedly there's no such thing as a "sure thing" in sports. Except Notre Dame losing a bowl game. Since the introduction of the BCS in 1998, Notre Dame is 0-3 in BCS games. In BCS bowls since 1995 they are 0-5. What irks me even more is Notre Dame's "special exemption" that they get in order to play in the BCS. Join a conference. Everyone else has done it except for Army, Navy and Western Kentucky. And don't try to pass off this "we play a harder schedule" crap. Last year when Notre Dame got owned by JaMarcus Russell and LSU in the Sugar Bowl, they didn't beat a team that was ranked in the Top 25 before bowl season. The year previous, when they were destroyed by Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl, they hadn't beat a team with a winning record all year. I think almost any team could win 6 games playing powerhouses like North Carolina, Stanford, Navy, Air Force, Purdue, Michigan State...Look at Notre Dame's schedule next year. After the USC game they don't have a serious game the rest of the year. What a joke.

So which team wins the battle of the joke teams? Well, since the Ryder Cup team only gets to suck once every other year and Notre Dame can wow us with their supposed awesomeness according to the media and then show how much of a joke they really are every year, the edge goes to Touchdown Jesus.

4) Kentucky Basketball vs. 5) Michigan Football

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To round out the Who Ain't Now bracket we have another matchup of two historically powerful teams that haven't done jack in the past few years. Due to their tremendous success in the past, these teams obviously garner a large following of fans. Another thing they have is the media sitting on their lap. What an outrage it was last year to the media gurus when Michigan was denied their chance in the national championship game. What happened then? Michigan got owned by USC and Florida smoked Ohio State. Ouch. This off-season we had to hear the whol ridiculous drama of Kentucky hiring a new basketball coach.

To the numbers, Michigan last won the national championship in 1997. Since then, they have won the Big 10 championship four times. However what gets them into this competition is the fact that they've lost 4 consecutive bowl games and 5 of their last 6. Three of those four losses have come in the Granddaddy of them all, the Rose Bowl. Additionally, Michigan has lost 5 of the last 6 games against arch-rival Ohio State.

On the other hand is the Kentucky Wildcats haven't made the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament since 2005 and haven't won the SEC Tournament since 2004. Additionally, they have been a #8 seed for the past 2 years.

So which team has lacked more production? Neither have been outstanding in the past few years. However, I have to give the edge to Kentucky because of lack of actual production. Michigan, in spite of their end-of-season woes, has played well enough to be in the top 2 in the Big 10 almost every year. Kentucky, as of late, has slipped from prominence.

To recap the first round happenings in the Teams Bracket,

1) New York Yankees def. 8) Duke Basketball

2) Dallas Cowboys def. 7) New Jersey Devils

3) Notre Dame def. 6) US Ryder Cup Team

4) Kentucky Basketball def. 5) Michigan Football

We're halfway done with the first round!

Who Ain't Now, Part 1

In lieu of ESPN's Who's Now crapatition, and with other blogs picking up the idea and giving it their own spin, I've decided to start the "Who Ain't Now" competition in mockery of ESPN. Here's how it works. According to ESPN, in order to be "Now" you have to excel on the field and have media hype off the field. In my personal "Who Ain't Now" competition, I'll focus on those athletes, teams and other sports paraphanelia that the media cares way too much about and never actually does anything on the field.


Unlike the ESPN Who's Now brackets, which divided it's 32 athletes up into 4 more or less random brackets, I've divided mine up into the Players Bracket, the Teams Bracket, the Leagues Bracket and the Media Bracket. I won't reveal all the brackets at once, but look for updates throughout the next few weeks. At least until training camp starts.


Today we start with the Players Bracket.


PLAYERS BRACKET


1) Terrell Owens vs. 8) Roger Clemens

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Two of the highest paid players at their positions line up head-to-head in this first matchup in the Players Bracket. Sure TO led the league in touchdowns last year, but he also led the league in dropped balls. However, he only had 3 of his 13 touchdowns against divisional opponents last season. Additionally, TO only had 2 receptions for 26 yards and 0 touchdowns in the Cowboys playoff loss to Seattle last season. TO made over $10 million last season, making him the 4th highest paid reciever. What's worse, is the media follows him around like someone chasing their dog that just ran away.


Clemens on the other hand, back for his 24th season in baseball, is 2-4 since his midseason return with a 4.2 ERA. His 2 wins have come against the Pirates and Twins. Not exactly stellar victories there. Most recently, Clemens gave up 5 runs in 5 1/3 innings against Tampa Bay on July 13. This season his losses have come against the Mets, Rockies, Orioles and Devil Rays. Of those, only the Mets have a winning record. Clemens' drama all started with the All-Star tribute to him in Houston, after which he blew the game in the first inning by giving up 7 runs.

While Clemens has choked on the field lately, the media drama is mainly focused on his off-season decision. On the other side, the media drama around TO is almost constant during the season and during the off-season. TO also doesn't come through on the field, leading the league in dropped balls and doing virtually nothing in the playoffs. Don't forget walking out on the Eagles a few years ago, dancing on the star in Dallas, and pulling a Sharpie out of his shoe to autograph a football. TO takes this matchup because of the utter ridiculousness of everything he has done while still getting paid way too much money.

2) Alex Rodriguez vs. 7) Ray Lewis

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A-Rod, $22.7 million per year, 0 championships. Sure one day he may break the home run record, but is he the best all-around player in baseball? Nope. Look at players like Pujols and Ortiz. They put up solid numbers year in and year out and have done something A-Fraud has never done: won a championship. Plus since coming to the Yankees in 2004, he's hit 40+ home runs only once (not counting this year), a feat he achieved 6 consecutive seasons prior to joining the Bronx Bombers. His all-around hitting numbers such as total bases, batting average, runs, hits, on base percentage and slugging percentage all dropped since his move to the Big Apple. Try holding your tongue and saying Big Apple and you'll get an approximation of A-Rod's personality. A-Fraud hasn't hit a postseason home run since 2004 and is a combined 3 for 29 the last 2 seasons in 9 playoff games. Now I know A-Rod is having a year reminiscent of his time in Texas this year, but the Yankees are currently a .500 team and on the outside looking in at the playoff picture. Not exactly a team player.

On the other side of the coin we see someone who is such a team player, he doesn't even make tackles on his own. Ray Lewis, the best 3rd-man-to-the-ball tackler in NFL history is still followed around by the media like he is some kind of linebacker from heaven. Lewis got $5.5 million last year for doing basically nothing. Analyists will still argue that he is the best linebacker in the league. Not even close, he's not versatile like former teammate Adalius Thomas and doesn't have a pure form like Brian Urlacher. In the Ravens postseason loss to the Colts last year, Lewis had a grand total of 0 tackles. Oh yeah, and how could I forget: he shot someone.

So the question here is, who is more of an asshole? Ray Lewis shot someone, A-Fraud is the highest paid player in baseball and has never won a championship. Lewis has won a championship in possibly the worst Super Bowl ever when the Ravens beat the Giants. In a narrow decision by the panel of judges, A-Fraud advances due to his lack of actual production. Lewis may not actually make a whole lot of tackles, but his teammates back him up and make up for his slack. Unlike A-Fraud's who in spite of his good season, can't manage to win more games than they lose.

3) Chad Johnson vs. 6) Brett Favre


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This is another tough matchup. In one corner we have a player with the audacity to cover up his name on his uniform. Ocho Cinco led the league in recieving yards last year but only found the end zone 7 times. Johnson had 5 touchdowns in 2 weeks last season and then proceeded to have 0 over the last 6 weeks of the season. The last 3 weeks he had a combined 10 receptions for 122 yards, no TDs and a fumble. Not a clutch performance from the #1 reciever on a team trying to make the playoffs. Johnson had only 1 touchdown in 6 divisional games each of the last two seasons. Johnson's 3-touchdown game last season came against a Saints defense that was 30th in the league in passing touchdowns allowed.


In the other corner we have someone who is far past his prime and trying to stretch his carerr into another injury so that he can grab another Vicodin perscription before calling it quits. Additionally adding to Favre's place in the Who Ain't Now competition is his playing of the media every off-season into a soap opera-esque saga about whether or not he will return. Favre is holding back someone who has a lot of potential (Aaron Rogers) and could use some valuable game experience. The Favre-led Packers haven't had a winning record since 2004 going 12-20 over the last two seasons. Plus, the "fall" in the backfield that allowed Michael Strahan to break the sack record was totally classless.


This is a tough choice, but I have to look at players performance since entering the league. Favre has won a championship and Johnson has not. Additionally, during his 7 years in the league, the Bungals have only made the playoffs once (2005). Favre has made the playoffs 10 times in his 17 seasons, including the one championship. So which of these players is less clutch? Which one chokes more in key situations and has more media coverage than they deserve? The easy answer is Chad Johnson here. Favre exits the Who Ain't Now bracket sooner than he can say "I'll have my decision by next week."

4) Michael Vick vs. 5) Getting arrested


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This matchup may seem a bit redundant because Michael Vick has been arrested, but it's more like Michael Vick vs. Chris Henry, Pacman Jones, Tank Johnson, et al. The media flocks to Vick, counting on him to do superhuman things week in and week out and scrutinizing him to no end when he doesn't perform. Vick has been a media doll lately with the whole illegal dog-fighting scandal. Since coming to Atlanta in 2001, the Falcons have only made the playoffs twice and have only won more than 10 games once. The Falcons overall record (playoffs included) since 2001 is a sub-.500 49-50-1. Not exactly Hall of Fame numbers from someone who's supposed to be a superstar quarterback. Granted Vick has faced injury throughout his career as well as off the field incidents involving his brother pulling a gun in a McDonalds, hiding pot in his water bottle and making an obscene gesture to the Falcons faithful.


On the other end we have athletes who get arrested. Now, I know this isn't any one player in particular, but it's a disgrace to the game that these players are setting a bad example. Their actions reflect the game that they play, whether they intend it to or not. Chris Henry, Pacman Jones, Tank Johnson, Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant...the list goes on. While Kobe is really the only "superstar" of the group, that doesn't excuse his actions any more than anyone elses. Setting bad examples and giving sports a bad name is basically the beef here. Of course they'll get media attention when arrested, but it's of the wrong kind. Watch ESPN. They always paint the athletes as the "good guy" and make it seem silly that they got arrested. On the field, well...they don't even deserve to be on the field. They're an embarrassment to the game. Would you be allowed back at your job in the office if you were arrested for drug traffiking? How about rape or conspiracy to murder? I didn't think so. Yet somehow because these people are athletes they're entitled to make more money than everyone and get endless "second chances." Props to Roger Goddell for stepping up and handing out some suspensions.


So who takes the cake here? Tough decision for the judges again. One guy versus a bunch of disgraces to the game? In a split decision, much like Vick's playoff record, the judges vote for the minor upset and vote the players getting arrested into the next round of the "Who Ain't Now" competition.


To recap the Players Bracket,


1) Terrell Owens def. 8) Roger Clemens


2) Alex Rodriguez def. 7) Ray Lewis


3) Chad Johnson def. 6) Brett Favre


5) Arrested players def. 4) Michael Vick


Tune in later for the highly competitive Teams Bracket.