Thoughts From the Valley

The Hangover

How I am feeling: Outstanding. My Beloved Penn State Nittany Lions bounced back from that crushing Iowa loss by stomping Illinois 35-17 (we racked up nearly 400 yards rushing in this one, folks). More importantly, Young Jack put on a show during his Springfield Township pee wee soccer opener this afternoon. Though his team (thus far unnamed) suffered a 3-0 defeat, Jack was all over the field. He knocked down at least four kids with his newly developed slide tackling skills. And he actually controlled the ball for quite a bit, too. He’s starting to “get it,” folks. One determined little guy, I'll tell you that.

What I am drinking: Stone Ruination IPA. "So called because of the ruinous effect on your palate." Bold. Hoppy. Powerful. Potent. And autumnal.

What I am listening to: The 885 Desert Island Songs Countdown, on WXPN-FM, one of the greatest radio stations in the country. They do these countdowns every year. They’re always a ton of fun to listen to. You can follow this one (which will continue through the next week or so) and listen online by clicking here.

My thoughts on the weekend: This week's rant is directed at the good folks at NBC.

Here goes.

Look, NBC. I understand that you bought the rights to Notre Dame football for roughly $80 billion.

I understand that, as part of that ridiculous deal, you are pretty much forced to turn your weekly football broadcast into, as Beano Cook describes it, "a three-hour commercial for the University of Notre Dame."

I understand that you aren't allowed to say anything negative, ever, about the Fighting Irish.

And you know what? I can accept all of that. Business is business, after all. As I get older, I more fully understand the power of the almighty dollar. So, yes, your shamless shilling for the Irish? I can deal with that.

But you know what I can't deal with?

I can't deal with this: On the last play of this weekend's Washington-Notre Dame game—the play on which the Irish wrapped up their latest last-second win—a Husky wideout by the name of D'Andre Goodwin got absolutely crushed by Notre Dame defensive backs Kyle McCarthy (graduate of Youngstown (Oh.) Cardinal Mooney High School, home to The Greatest High School Program Ever) and Harrison Smith. And when Goodwin hit the ground, it sure looked like the kid was having some kind of seizure. At the very least, it appeared that he had been knocked out.

It was a scary hit. And you can bet the millions of Husky fans watching (oh, and probably his family, too) was hoping that your broadcast team might, oh, you know, update them on Goodwin's condition. Or at least mention the fact that he was laying motionless on the field. Ore pretend to care that a player appeared to be seriously injured.

But did you do that?

No, you didn't. Instead, you went to the postgame interview with The Arrogant One.

And then you chatted a bit about how awesome Notre Dame is.

And then you showed the Irish singing their alma mater.

And then the broadcast was over.

No mention of Goodwin. Ever.

Nice job, NBC.

By the way, he's OK.

Not that you care.

Three Yards and a Cloud of Dust

Three ...: The officials who worked that Georgia-LSU game should be suspended for the rest of the season. I don’t care how the folks at the SEC offices spin it, those mentally challenged refs robbed Georgia of a win on Saturday. A.J. Green was not taunting anyone on LSU after he caught that last-minute, go-ahead (at the time) touchdown pass. He was not doing some kind of ridiculous dance. He wasn’t “calling attention to himself,” as the SEC later said. He was just really freaking excited because he had just made A Huge Play In A Huge Game. He was celebrating with his teammates. And yet the officials flagged him “excessive celebration” anyway. So Georgia had to kick off from the 15, rather than the 30, and when the dust had settled, LSU started their drive in Georgia territory. All due credit to the Tigers for taking advantage of the (moronic) call, but let’s face it: The win would not have been possible without a big assist from those refs. Suspensions are in order.

Two ...: Things are getting ugly for Bobby Bowden down in Tallahassee. His Seminoles are 2-3 (for the first time in more than 30 years) after losing to an average-at-best Boston College team on Saturday. And now it’s not just ‘Noles fans calling for Bowden to step down. It’s the media, too. Orlando Sentinel columnist Mike Bianchi, one of the most influential commentators in the state, wrote this in his Sunday column: “Nobody wants to see one of the greatest coaches and ambassadors in college football history go out like this, but it's time. This is the 10-year anniversary of FSU's last national championship and, inexcusably, the Seminoles have been mediocre for the better part of the last decade. Bobby hasn't just lost a step; he's lost a mile.” Added Steve Ellis of the Tallahassee Democrat: “It is time to move beyond the Bobby Bowden Era.” It would be sad to see a legend like Bowden go out under fire, but it certainly seems as though we’re headed in that direction.

One ...: Time for my weekly thoughts on My Beloved Penn State Nittany Lions. Which can be summed up thusly: Finally. Finally, that offensive line got some push. Finally, Evan Royster and Stephfon Green showed what they can (both went over 100 yards on the day, folks). And finally, Jay Paterno and Galen Hall let Daryll Clark run the ball (he ripped off a 51-yarder to set up Penn State’s second touchdown). Everyone knows you can’t win in college football if you can’t run the ball in crunch time. Well, this is the first time all season I’ve seen Penn State run like this. Happy times again in Happy Valley, folks.

Touchdown ...: Jimmy Clausen will win the 2009 Suzuki Heisman Trophy. I don't have any doubts about that.