Always going for 2 is a great idea in the NFL, but that's just the beginning...

Earlier this week, Ben Roethlisberger said that he'd prefer his team went for the two-point conversion after every single touchdown--no more extra points.  Drew Brees then publicly agreed with him.  Mathematically, the numbers support their argument.  Here are the stats from last season in the NFL:

Via CBSSports.com

Statistically, clubs scored more points on average last year by going for two.  But in my mind, that's just the beginning--and Brees alluded to this as well (click on the link above)--I want teams to also stop punting.  If I were an NFL coach, I'd go for it on every single fourth down (I'm certain I've written this before somewhere, but I can't seem to find it).

Unlike the conversion numbers above, it's much more difficult to collect relevant data on this, but I feel as though a team that never punted would score more points by extending drives than it would give up by turning the ball over.  I know there's no way this is going to happen in the NFL any time soon, but I'd like to see a major college program commit to it for a full season (maybe a lesser-known school could do it as a publicity stunt, it'd probably help recruit star players on offense as well) and see what happens.

Or even better, the NFL should just eliminate kickers altogether.


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Did people really think Tim Tebow had a ponytail?

This photo from last night's college football championship game spread like wildfire across the internet:

Tim Tebow with a ponytail?  What??  That's crazy!!!

As hard as that is to believe, what's even more amazing is that he also apparently grew an extra pair of small feminine hands out of his chest:

If you're new to LucidSportsFan.com, I highly recommend taking a look at my old series of Tebometer posts...


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Having the college football playoffs on New Year's Eve is mindbogglingly stupid

I don't have any hard data to support this, but my years of bartending experience tells me I'm right: More people go out to bars and restaurants on New Year's Eve than any other night of the year (especially the "amateurs" who don't usually go out at all).

Which brings to mind this question: If you were going to schedule a major sporting event and hope for a big TV audience, wouldn't you want to pick literally any other night than that one?  Yet somehow the college football playoffs is giving us a pair of games on December 31st, the second of which begins at 8 p.m.  If it runs long (which seems like a good bet considering it'll probably have a 45-minute halftime show) it'll come dangerously close to overlapping with midnight.

I wonder how many marriages will be put in jeopardy by the dilemma of having to choose between Ryan Seacrest and Michigan St. vs. Alabama?  Just a ridiculously idiotic move by the college football playoffs.

I almost think ESPN is actually making fun of itself with this commercial for stupidly getting stuck in this situation:



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Play the "Real or Fake College Football Bowl Game" game

I sent out a bunch of tweets, some with actual bowl names and some that I made up.  Here are the poll results:

A)

Real or fake bowl name: AutoNation Cure Bowl

— Mark Vandeusen (@LucidSportsFan) December 11, 2015

B)

Real or fake bowl name: Netfilx San Francisco Golden Gate Bowl

— Mark Vandeusen (@LucidSportsFan) December 10, 2015

C)

Real or fake bowl game: Raycom Media Camellia Bowl

— Mark Vandeusen (@LucidSportsFan) December 10, 2015

D)

Real or fake bowl name: Louisiana Catfish Bowl Sponsored by Mazda

— Mark Vandeusen (@LucidSportsFan) December 9, 2015

E)

Real or fake bowl name: Motel 6 Cactus Bowl

— Mark Vandeusen (@LucidSportsFan) December 9, 2015

F)

Real or fake bowl name: Marmot Boca Raton Bowl

— Mark Vandeusen (@LucidSportsFan) December 8, 2015

G)

Real or fake bowl name: Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl

— Mark Vandeusen (@LucidSportsFan) December 14, 2015

H)

Real or fake bowl game: AT&T Wireless Windy City Bowl

— Mark Vandeusen (@LucidSportsFan) December 14, 2015

I)

Real or fake bowl name: Popeyes Bahamas Bowl

— Mark Vandeusen (@LucidSportsFan) December 14, 2015

J)

Real or fake bowl name: Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl

— Mark Vandeusen (@LucidSportsFan) December 15, 2015

K)

Real or fake bowl name: Nabisco Ft. Lauderdale Bowl

— Mark Vandeusen (@LucidSportsFan) December 15, 2015

L)

Real or fake bowl game: Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl

— Mark Vandeusen (@LucidSportsFan) December 16, 2015

Answers:
Real - A,C,E,F,G,I,J,L
Fake - B,D,H,K

Also, the St. Petersburg Bowl is real, but it's no longer sponsored by bitcoin.


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Why do football players ever make fair catches on punts inside the 10-yard line?

(not the play I saw, a slightly exaggerated representation)

The other day I was watching a game where a kick returner made a fair catch at the seven-yard line.  Here's my best guess breakdown of what would've happened if he'd let the ball land instead:

85% - ball goes into the endzone, then comes out to the 20-yard line.
5% - ball bounces forwards or sideways and is downed at roughly the same spot or further up the field.
10% - ball rolls backwards a few yards and the defense downs it closer to the goal line.

My numbers are obviously subjective and inexact, but the premise is not:  By letting the ball bounce around the 10-yard line, there is a good chance the offense will gain 10 yards to the 20, and a small chance they'll lose a few yards closer to end zone.

The first outcome has both a higher probability of happening, and a greater upside than the possible downside of the second outcome--so why do guys catch the ball so often?


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There will be fireworks in Boston tonight if BC loses to Notre Dame (huh?)

Boston College takes on Notre Dame at Fenway Park this evening:

12 hours away from kickoff. #fenway #NDvsBC pic.twitter.com/4lp3x8eLbX

— Aaron Frutman (@aaronfrutman) November 21, 2015

However, it's officially a Notre Dame home game.  The contest is part of the Fighting Irish's "Shamrock Series" in which they play once a year in big cities across the country.  What follows is this bizarre situation:

Fenway Park neighbors informed there will be fireworks after BC-ND football game Saturday night, but only if ND wins. It's ND's home game.

— Bill Doyle (@BillDoyle15) November 21, 2015

The big question is, will BC score a point against the No. 4 team in the country?  I'd say the odds are about 50/50...


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The Patriots score in every quarter, the BC Eagles don't score in any quarters

The Patriots finished the first quarter of their opening game of the season tied 0-0 with the Pittsburgh Steelers.  New England has scored in every quarter its played since, rolling to an 8-0 record.

The 31 consecutive quarters with points on the board ties an all-time NFL record, one the Pats will most likely break in the opening 15 minutes of next week's contest in New York.

On the other hand, the local college football club is slightly less proficient on offense:

Now 19 of 27 (70%) quarters BC has gone scoreless in ACC play this season

— Mark Vandeusen (@LucidSportsFan) November 7, 2015

I sent that tweet after the third quarter of Boston College's 24-8 loss to NC State Saturday.  At the time, the Eagles trailed 21-0.  BC's fourth-quarter touchdown gave them points in just 9 of 28 quarters vs. ACC opponents this year.  The Eagles are 0-7 in conference play, with a total of 56 points in those games.  They've also been shut out in 7 of 14 halves.

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Marcus Smart looks like Jameis Winston

A few times in recent weeks I've seen Winston's face on TV and thought at first glance that it was Smart.  You be the judge:

For my mom, Smart (left) is the Celtics rookie from Oklahoma State, Winston (right) is the Florida State quarterback and likely top pick in the NFL draft.

That's all I've got for today.

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One of the best onside kicks you'll ever see (almost)

Just a short while ago Penn St. attempted this near-flawless onside kick against Boston College in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium:



I've always wondered why you don't see this style of onside kick more often.  However, I think it should be taken to even more of an extreme--just kick the football as high and short as you can (almost like a bad punt) and create a jump-ball scenario.  I know that's got to be very difficult to do off a tee, but I feel like placekickers could figure it out with a little practice.

Also, the strange thing about this attempt by Penn St. was that they were up 7-0 halfway through the first quarter when they tried it. That's the kind gimmick you go for when you're a huge underdog looking to pull off a big upset, not when you already have an early lead in basically a pick 'em game.

Unfortunately for the Nittany Lions the "receiver" stepped out of bounds as he caught the ball, BC got possession at the 48-yard line, and the Eagles scored the game-tying touchdown two plays later.

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The greatest catch of all time. Seriously. (Unless it's fake)

I have watched a lot of sports in my lifetime.  A lot.  And I can honestly say that this looks like the greatest catch I've ever seen:



Whenever football players make ridiculous one-handed grabs it's always with their hand underneath or behind the ball so that they can absorb its momentum.  How the #$%* did this guy catch it with his arm coming down on top of it like that?

What appears to be happening here is something that I don't think is humanly possible.  Is this video fake?

I first saw it in a tweet two days ago.  I have no idea where it came from.  I waited patiently to see if it would blow up.  I haven't seen it in Sportcenter's top 10.  It hasn't taken over the internet.  The only logical explanation must be that it's not real and everybody knows already.

How else can you explain the greatest catch in the history of history not being a bigger deal?

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Awesome Old Song of the Week: "Tom's Diner" by Suzanne Vega (featuring college football and Seinfeld)

A few weeks ago when this ESPN Boston College vs USC football commercial came on, I though to myself "I know that song!"  They've since used it in other game promos as well:



This version is by Fall Out Boy, and it's called Centuries.  But if you listen to that "Dih dih dih-dih dih dih dih--dih" at the beginning, you know it's really Suzanne Vega's Tom's Diner:

Two cool things I just learned about this song: One, she originally released it in 1984, but it was the 1990 remix version that became popular.  And two, the diner Vega is singing about is the same one featured in Seinfeld, on the corner of Broadway and 112th Street in New York City.

If Carrie Bradshaw ever stopped by there on Sex and the City, I doubt they'd be so tolerant of her fake parsley allergy.



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ACC football has no need to worry about scheduling 'nonconference' games vs itself

Earlier this week the ACC decided to stick with an 8-game conference football schedule, even though the league has 14 teams (Louisville replaces Maryland next season).  From ESPN.com:

"Because of the eight-game league schedule, non-primary crossover rivals in the Atlantic and Coastal divisions may wind up playing each other only once in an 11-year span. This prompted discussion at the spring meetings about scheduling fellow ACC teams as nonconference opponents in future seasons."

The possibility of nonconference games between teams in the same conference just goes to show how stupid and out-of-whack the whole conference system has become.

I've got news for you ACC teams, you don't have to worry about playing somebody only once every 11 years because there is a 0% chance the conference will still be the same in 11 years.  The way things are now when a conference remains unchanged for even one year I'm surprised.


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Anyone want to bet Donald Sterling will be dead within a year?

Where are all your friends?

When NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced that he was banning LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling for life, the first thing I thought of was that his life probably wouldn't last much longer.  Three days before he was kicked out of the "club" of NBA owners (of which he's the longest tenured member at 33 years), Sterling had his 80th birthday.  When 80-year-old men are publicly shamed and have their livelihood stripped away from them, they tend to lose the will to keep going.

While these are very different circumstances, take a look at what happened with Joe Paterno.  In November of 2011 the Penn State scandal broke and he lost his job as head football coach after 45 years.  Two months later he was dead.

I really wish I'd decided to write this blog yesterday, because now reports are surfacing that Sterling has been battling prostate cancer.  It's undoubtedly a PR move to try to salvage any sympathy he can (good luck Donald), but it wouldn't surprise me in the least if he doesn't live to see another NBA season.

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Can anyone still keep track of the conferences in college basketball?

Tonight my Richmond Spiders travel to St. Louis to face the Billikens in an "Atlantic 10" college basketball matchup.  It doesn't seem that weird because they have both been in the A-10 for a while; unless you start wondering what Missouri has to do with "Atlantic," or how the number 10 represents the 13 teams in the conference.

Tomorrow Houston visits UConn in an "American Athletic Conference" clash (and don't worry if you've never heard of the American Athletic Conference, it's new and includes parts of what was the new Big East two years ago).  Last week Notre Dame made the trip to Florida State for an Atlantic Coast Conference showdown (there we go again with the word Atlantic applying to the middle of the country), and in mid February Florida Atlantic University will fly to Texas to take on the University of Texas El Paso and UT San Antonio in a pair of riveting "Conference USA" tilts.

Memo to the NCAA: This is stupid.  Blow it up next year.  Start over from scratch.  Or just jump in a time machine back to 1990 when the conferences actually represented geography and rivalries.  I know both those plans are impossible pending some sort of Die Hard 3/Fight Club terrorist attack where all the money in the country is destroyed and the economy resets itself, but hey, I can dream...


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The BC Eagles have a sneaky Heisman Trophy candidate?

Usually I go to one Boston College football game per year, and this season I chose October 5th, vs Army.  On that day I was somewhat stunned to watch Eagles running back Andre Williams rush for 263 yards and 5 touchdowns in the victory.  Late in the game Williams actually had 264 yards, tying the school's single game record, but he lost one on his final carry.

No matter, he shattered the mark last week with 295 yards on the ground in a win at New Mexico State.  Then on Saturday he blew his week old record out of the water by rushing for 339 yards (also an ACC single game record) while helping BC knock off NC State.

Williams has carried the ball for 1810 total yards so far this year (averaging 181 per game), already the most prolific rushing season in both school and conference history; with two more games left on the schedule.  That number is also good for best in the nation, a ridiculous 371 more than second place Kapri Bibbs of Colorado State, who has 1439.  In the last six weeks Williams has put up 3 of the top 10 rushing performances by any player in the country all season.  Heisman Trophy?

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Different teams, same logos

For years it's bothered me that the Universities of Michigan (blue) and Missouri (black) both use the same logo:

Back when I lived in California I also used to get annoyed whenever I'd see people wearing pastel blue and yellow Red Sox hats that actually signified UCLA.

Today it came to my attention that the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Bears have practically identical emblems as well.  And while it's only half of their logo, strangely enough the Minnesota Twins also represent themselves with that same "C."

It was then pointed out to me that the Green Bay Packers and the University of Georgia share a circular capital "G" symbol, as does Grambling State University.

Similarly Michigan State, Stanford, and Syracuse all use a block letter "S."

This is what I've come up with after about twenty minutes of research.  I'm sure there are many more duplicate logos out there, if you know of any that I've missed leave a comment below.

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Why does football season start so early?

I want more of this.

In the past couple weeks I've seen people all over twitter and facebook express their excitement about the return of football (both college and pro).  Personally I just get annoyed.  And not because I don't like it, but because it's dumb that the season begins this time of year.  Football is not a sport that is meant to be played in the summer time.  It's ridiculously hot under all those pads and helmets, and guys seem to pass out from dehydration and heat exhaustion all the time.  Obviously colder weather would help that.

But honestly I'd be lying if I told you my concerns were about the players.  From a fan perspective, it makes no sense to start filling your weekend afternoons with football on television when the weather is still so nice out.  This past Sunday I would have gone to the beach if it weren't for the Patriots game.  In addition to being able to take better advantage of the final days of summer, here's two other things that would improve if the NFL and NCAA started their seasons three weeks later:

1.  That stupid month off between the end of the college season (final weekend of November) and the bowl games (late December/early January) would no longer exist.  Last year Notre Dame didn't play for 44 days leading up to the BCS Title Game.  That's more than half of their regular season, in which they played 12 games over a span of 85 days.

2.  February sucks.  Everybody calls it the worst sports time of the year, and complains about there being nothing to watch in between the Super Bowl and March Madness.  I can't think of a single reason why anyone wouldn't prefer spending their Sundays inside watching the NFL in February rather than September.

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3 thoughts on the Manti Te'o fake dead girlfriend story

In case you haven't turned on the TV or interwebs in the past 24 hours and this is the first you've heard of this story (in which case I'm flattered LucidSportsFan.com is your go to choice of media), here it is on Deadspin.com.

1.  If you have ever seen the MTV show Catfish (or the movie it's based on) you know that these internet hoaxes do happen.  But, they tend to happen to people who for whatever reason are social outcasts, those who might easily be duped by a made up internet person because they lack their own real life social interaction.  It seems very very hard to believe that a good looking guy at Notre Dame, who is one of the best and most famous football players in the entire country, would ever resort to the internet because he can't find actual tangible girls who are interested in him.

2.  It absolutely blows my mind that no media ever looked into the fake girl or her fake death in the past 5 months.  As Te'o almost won the Heisman and Notre Dame made it all the way to the national title game, this "inspirational" story was reported time and time again.  Somehow nobody ever fact checked it.  That doesn't seem possible.

3.  Te'o needs to explain what happened, and he needs to do it right now.  If he's telling the truth and he is just the victim of a cruel hoax, then he has nothing to hide.  He should start answering every single question that anyone has.  The longer this goes the worse it looks for him, and the more and more likely it is that he is involved.

Also, when I went to categorize the post just now I laughed out loud as I put it under "general unawareness of others" (who don't even exist).

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The Governor of Pennsylvania is out of his mind

His name is Tom Corbett, and he's suing the NCAA.  He claims that his state has been unfairly harmed by overly harsh sanctions imposed on Penn State University from the Jerry Sandusky child abuse scandal.  While it seems a bit of a stretch to infer that an entire state might be damaged because of penalties given to one school's football program, that's not even the point.  Even if he's right; even if somehow he has a case and legally he could win, he's still a moron for doing it.  This is one of those things you're not allowed to fight against.  The University isn't part of the lawsuit, they've accepted the punishment.

Not only that, but it seems like a horrific thing to do from a PR/political standpoint.  I can't imagine it's going to go over very well in the court of public opinion.  My guess is bringing this story back into the spotlight and dragging it through the mud will probably be a lot more damaging for him and his state than the NCAA's sanctions.  Even if he wins he loses.

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Remember the "Big East?"

A little over 20 years ago there used to be an NCAA conference called the "Big East."  It was made up of 9 schools from the northeast, and featured some of the best college hoops in the nation.  Here are the men's basketball standings from the league's final season of play in 1990-91:


After that year the conference chose to become affiliated with football, and the University of Miami was added solely for that purpose.  Here are the standings of the new league that shall not be named for the following 1991-92 season:

Scott Burrell, UConn, 1991

The Hurricanes didn't quit fit in.  Not to mention the fact that they were nearly 1,000 miles away from their closest opponent (Georgetown).  The decision to make football the priority set in motion 21 years of money grabbing shenanigans that led to the complete and utter destruction of the conference.  As of today UConn is the only team left, and that probably won't last long.

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