The View From Wisconsin

Just a random set of rants from a Sports Fan from Wisconsin.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

One Of These Things...

When you sit down to think about it, it's rather obvious that there's an odd-man out in the two conference championship games in the NFL on Sunday.

Consider this - the four teams in the NFC and AFC Championships are:
The only thing the Jets have going for them is their large fan base and their reputation as an upstart, underdog franchise. That's about it.

As much as I'd think Fox would love to see the Bears-Packers winner take on the J-E-T-S (at least, from a viewership standpoint), I don't think they'll shed a tear if any combination of these teams makes it to Dallas.

Still - I'm thinking the winner of the game in Chicago is probably going to face the Steelers in the Super Bowl. I can only imagine the delicious irony if it were the Pack and the Steelers - both have historic rivalries with the Cowboys, both in championship games.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Some thoughts

First things first: The senseless shootings in both Omaha and Tucson this week were mind numbing to hear of. The second one, of course, is going to be political fodder for probably the next two years or so, simply because of the intended target. However, that won't bring back the life of the assistant principal at Millard South, nor the little girl who was at the Safeway to meet a congresswoman. They were both tragedies, yes; they both, however, probably could (and would) have happened no matter the safeguards in place.

On to other things...

Sunday, January 02, 2011

NFL Point Standings

Ever wonder what the NFL's standings would look like if they used the NHL's points system? (2 points for a win, 1 for a tie or an overtime loss.)

Well, the AFC standings for 2010 would look like this:

American TM CN DV GP W L T Pct OW OL OT PTS PT% CSD
New England Patriots NEW AFC AE 16 14 2 0 .875 1 0 0 28 .875 1
Baltimore Ravens BAL AFC AN 16 12 4 0 .750 2 1 0 25 .781 2
Indianapolis Colts IND AFC AS 16 10 6 0 .625 0 1 0 21 .656 3
Kansas City Chiefs KCC AFC AW 16 10 6 0 .625 1 1 0 21 .656 4
New York Jets NYJ AFC AE 16 11 5 0 .688 2 0 0 22 .688 5
Pittsburgh Steelers PIT AFC AN 16 12 4 0 .750 2 0 0 24 .750 6
San Diego Chargers SDC AFC AW 16 9 7 0 .563 0 0 0 18 .563 7
Jacksonville Jaguars JAX AFC AS 16 8 8 0 .500 0 1 0 17 .531 8
Oakland Raiders OAK AFC AW 16 8 8 0 .500 1 0 0 16 .500 9
Miami Dolphins MIA AFC AE 16 7 9 0 .438 1 0 0 14 .438 10
Houston Texans HOU AFC AS 16 6 10 0 .375 1 1 0 13 .406 11
Tennessee Titans TEN AFC AS 16 6 10 0 .375 0 1 0 13 .406 12
Cleveland Browns CLE AFC AN 16 5 11 0 .313 0 1 0 11 .344 13
Buffalo Bills BUF AFC AE 16 4 12 0 .250 0 3 0 11 .344 14
Cincinnati Bengals CIN AFC AN 16 4 12 0 .250 0 0 0 8 .250 15
Denver Broncos DEN AFC AW 16 4 12 0 .250 0 0 0 8 .250 16

Basically, only difference would be that the Jets would face the Chiefs and Indy would host the Steelers next week.

The NFC playoff picture, which is still to be determined as I post this, would be already set under the point system. Why? Because Saint Louis lost to the 49ers in overtime week 10. That would give the Rams 15 points through 16 weeks of play, whereas Seattle only had 12 points (since none of their losses were in OT).

I'll post the final NFC standings after tonight's game.

Bowls and Other Thorns

I think I've figured it out: Bowl games don't make the NCAA Division I-FBS's regular season more important. Instead, they actually make it less important. We don't get to see games between quality teams - Boise State vs. Auburn, or Oregon vs. TCU - until after the regular season. And then, it's a cabal of bowl committees, choosing teams via pecking order, that determine who will play whom and where.

Someone visiting from another planet (or, heck, another continent) would think we're insane to follow this stuff. Sometimes, I wonder.

Meanwhile, here's some other thoughts on the Bowl season so far:
  • Wisconsin fans, we need to admit something: it wasn't one thing that sunk our chances against TCU. It was several things. A missed field goal, a botched onside kick, passing instead of running on the two-point conversion - oh, and the fact that TCU had a pretty darn good team to begin with.
  • The Oklahoma-Connecticut matchup showed me something else about the Bowl System: just because you're an Automatic Qualifier conference's champion doesn't mean you deserve to play on New Year's Day.
  • My $0.02 worth on the K-State controversy: Adrian Hillburn should get an apology from the officials that worked that game. A salute, while fitting the definition of "excessive celebration", did not go against the spirit of the rule about sportsmanship. Either way, that call should not have been made (where's Steve Walkom and his disappearing whistle when you need it, anyways?), and it should not have affected the point-after attempt. Rule change proposal #1 of the day: any personal foul called after a touchdown will be enforced on the kickoff, not on the point-after attempt.
  • Second rule-change proposal: the 10-second runoff rule. Had the Music City Bowl been played by NFL rules, Tennessee would have walked back to Knoxville with a 20-17 win. Any penalty by the offensive team in the last minute of play of either half should be subject to an automatic 10-second runoff of the clock. That way teams don't "steal" games by committing a penalty to stop the clock.
  • Another overtime observation: when did the NCAA decide to have their overtimes start on the 25 yard line? And why would a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty (the one called against UT for running into the kicker) not simply result in UNC getting the ball first-and-goal at the 10, instead of half-the-distance? If it's that important to enforce something like that, let's just have the OT periods start on the opponent's 30 instead of the 25.
  • Last OT observation: If the defensive team in the first series of any OT period causes a turnover (fumble recovery, interception, blocked kick), and doesn't advance the ball, that team should have the option of starting their OT series from the spot of the ball on the other side of the field. For example, UNC's Quan Sturdivant intercepted UT's Tyler Bray at the 13 yard line. UNC should have the option of starting their half of the OT at UT's 13 yard line.
  • As much as I appreciate the TCU Horned Frogs, I have to say something: should Stanford win tonight's Orange Bowl, TCU would have to get in line to take on the winner of Auburn-Oregon. Especially if Auburn wins the game, since Stanford would have the right to claim a shot at defeating the team that defeated the only team they lost to on the season.
  • Not Bowl Related: the NHL and NBC really need to consider putting the Winter Classic on at night from here on out. Have the afternoon be full of alumni games, special events and whatnot; have the game be the star of the evening - and after the big Bowl games have aired. Oh, and the NHL needs to start considering putting on one of these games out West of the Mississippi. Target Field, anyone?