Sports Agenda For Tuesday (10/9/12)
Big Story:
It was a dead night of local sports, seeing as our basketball team is in China and our football teams are off until next weekend. But, we've got some Monday Night Football fun, plus more college football all in the agenda, and heck why not throw in a little politics as well.
Quote of the Day:
"Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future." – John F. Kennedy
Politics:
Those who know me, know that I love irony.
Luckily politics is filled with it.
I give you the polls from yesterday. Some have showed a bump for Romney thanks to a solid debate performance.
Remember how Republicans said all of the polls were biased and so on and so forth, now all the polls are fine.
To use an ESPN spot…."C'MON MAN!"
I'm not going to get into party ID in the polls because that's just stupid and doesn't help you understand the dynamics.
The real dynamics have been that Romney got a bump in the poll, much in the same way Obama did from the conventions, but Obama came back strong on Sunday as well with another bump.
Polling, and I say this when it shows a lead for either guy, is an inexact science, as much as the pollsters try to get it right.
Here's what happened over the weekend.
Romney's poll numbers jumped after his debate performance and Obama's abysmal performance.
By Friday though, the release of a better than expected jobs report started to chip away at the Romney bump.
Interestingly, according to Nate Silver, in 8 of the 10 election cycles since 1976, the polls moved against the incumbent and resulted in a net gain of two or three points for the challenger.
Here's what you need to know right now: It's tough to defeat an incumbent president, but it can be done as in 1980. But the hyper-partisanship today is much harder to break through than it was in 1980.
Obama had a bad few days last week and it showed up in the polls.
Things will likely even out if Obama shows up with a pulse to the next debate.
If he doesn't, and Paul Ryan outduels Joe Biden in a big way, Obama's campaign is in MAJOR, MAJOR trouble.
Monday Night Football:
Well, I think it's safe to say, the New York Jets are just horrible.
I still can't fathom how the Fins lost to them, dangit Dan Carpenter!!!!
Here's what I learned from Monday's matchup.
Houston is really good, but I want to see how the defense goes the rest of the way without Brian Cushing….that's a huge loss in pass rushing.
New York's run defense couldn't stop a feather.
I watched Houston gash them all night long and wondered why Mizzou can't run against a defense that easy?
Mark Sanchez, while showing brief glimpses, is striking me as Matt Leinart 2.0.
Remember, Leinart was more in love with being a star than a quarterback. Same seems to be the case for Sanchez.
Neither have overly strong arms, both are USC guys, both drafted way too high for their abilities, and while Leinart has recognized he's nothing more than a backup, Sanchez and the Jets have yet to learn that.
Rex Ryan is not a good head coach, he's a heckuva defensive coordinator, but as a head coach…not so much.
Finally, and not to say I told you so, but Tony Sparano as an offensive coordinator was quite possibly the biggest bone-headed hire of the offseason.
Since going off for 48 points in the opener against the pathetic Buffalo Bills…the Sparano led offense has averaged 12.5 points per game over the last four weeks.
That's just bad, especially when your defense is giving up 26 points per game. So you're already a two touchdown dog for the game.
College football:
Poor Penn State.
They've reeled off four straight wins and are one of the hottest teams in the country, just behind Ohio State.
They are coming off a big homecoming victory last weekend over a previously undefeated Northwestern team.
Now they have to deal with Jerry Sandusky headlines, hopefully for the last time.
I stopped to read part of the public statement he put out and had to throw up over how much he blamed his current situation on everyone but himself.
The man is in so much denial that he's a child rapist it's just disgusting.
Hopefully, this will be the last we hear from him…ever.
On the field a few notes….
Al Groh was fired by Georgia Tech…you just can't lose to MTSU and hope to stay employed.
Oregon State's starting quarterback had knee surgery. You can kiss that high ranking goodbye, too bad for the Beavers. I was so close to getting my dream game….South Carolina vs. Oregon State!!!! (The Gamecocks versus the Beavers)
Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray saw his team get throttled by South Carolina, but he has bigger things to worry about. His father was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Thoughts and prayers with him and his family.
Alabama opened as a 21.5 point favorite against Missouri at Missouri.
I'd take that if I was a betting man, just like I'd take Oklahoma State -23 over Kansas.
You'll win both bets I promise.
That's it for today, more football tomorrow and maybe a check in on the Heat and the NHL Lockout.
Follow me on Twitter @timkephart33
