Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s Goal of the Century from this weekend
better than his goal in Euro 2004? maybe
better than his goal for Ajax? Possibly
reminds you of this Roberto Mancini (Lazio) goal back in the day:
Mancini goal
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3:30 PM this past Saturday was an awesome opportunity to watch 3 great college football games, and since I have 3 TVs in my sports nook, I tuned into the USC-Notre Dame and Florida-Kentucky game while focusing on the Miami-Florida State rivalry game on the main screen. Then it dawned on me - Of all six of these teams, the only team ranked in the Top 10 was Kentucky. The basketball school. Have Miami and Florida State fallen that far off the map? Their games used to be the centerpiece of the first weekend in October. Typically the game of the century every year, with the rosters brimming with future NFL talent.
Twenty years ago, Miami and Florida State played in one of the most memorable college games and it eventually settled the 1987 national championship. On Saturday, they meet again with little more at stake than bragging rights. The Seminoles (4-2, 1-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) and Hurricanes (4-3, 1-2) both need a win in the regionally televised game to keep hopes alive for a respectable season by their standards. That mediocrity has many nostalgic for the 1987 game, which showcased an unprecedented cadre of rising stars in Miami’s 26-25 victory. One of the most compelling matchups was Miami wide receiver Michael Irvin and Florida State cornerback Deion Sanders. “I don’t think I have ever been in a game where there was more talent on the football field between two ballclubs,” Florida State coach Bobby Bowden said this week. “They had a lot of first-rounders and we did too.” Ten first-round picks were among the more than 60 Seminole and Hurricane athletes who played Oct. 3, 1987, and eventually made it to NFL training camps.
And it’s not just this team. Looking at the Top 10 in the 1990 AP Poll, Few of these teams have shown any kind of form as of late. And Houston has completely fallen off the map.
1990 Final Poll Final Poll released after BowlsFinal Rank Team Record 1 Colorado 11-1-1 2 Georgia Tech 11-0-1 3 Miami (FL) 10-2 4 Florida St. 10-2 5 Washington 10-2 6 Notre Dame (IN) 9-3 7 Michigan 9-3 8 Tennessee 9-2-2 9 Clemson (SC) 10-2 10 Houston (TX) 10-1
Ebb and flow, I guess. Nebraska is reeling - they just brought Tom Osborne back. Penn State and Michigan are in dire need of new coaching. We all know about Notre Dame. And all these mid-major schools like West Virginia, Kansas, Rutgers, South Florida, Fresno State and Boise State have made or are making runs at the title. Oh well, maybe after an up and down year, Miami’s comeback win at FSU will help them turn the corner.
Colin McCarthy returned a fumble 27 yards for Miami’s second touchdown in 11 seconds late in the fourth quarter and the Hurricanes beat Florida State 37-29 Saturday. For the first time since 1977, the rivalry game that helped decide so many national titles during the 1980s and 90s was played with neither team ranked. Fittingly, the Seminoles and ‘Canes combined for nine turnovers, five by FSU. Minutes before Miami’s two quick touchdowns, the Hurricanes (5-3, 2-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) appeared to have lost their best chance to get the win when Kirby Freeman was stopped for no gain on a fourth-and-1 at the Florida State 1 with 5:29 left and the ‘Canes trailing 29-24. But Freeman, who replaced injured Kyle Wright in the first half, drove Miami 83 yards in a 11/2 minutes to take the lead 30-29 on a 13-yard pass to Dedrick Epps with 1:15 left.
It wasn’t a pretty game. Both quarterbacks were seemingly trying to give the game away. And when UM’s Kyle Wright got knocked out, backup Kirby Freeman did his best to step up those efforts. And I’m no Kyle Wright fan. But Kirby calmed down and the UM defense stepped up. We’re on our way back, baby! FSU - I think you might want to prepare a nice retirement package for ol’ Bobby. It’s time for a change. We can’t let teams like Boston College be number 2 in the BCS. The ACC is supposed to be our playground.
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Part of Dan Marino’s speech honoring Brett Favre’s record breaking season - courtesy of The Onion.
“Join me in saluting Brett Favre for breaking the all-time interception record of 277 set by George Blanda—truly a milestone for the ages,” Marino intoned during the opening montage, which featured Favre throwing some of his most memorable picks. “Some say records were made to be broken—personally, I’ve never believed that—but in any case the career interception mark was believed to be unreachable. It takes a player with an unusual combination of not knowing when to retire, not knowing when to stop trying to rack up the completions, and not knowing when to stop trying to throw touchdowns. And it seems that lucky player is everyone’s big hero quarterback, Brett Favre.”
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Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy’s tirade against a reporter from The Oklahoman who was critical of former starting QB Bobbi Reid is probably the best college coaching meltdown since Dan Hawkins “It’s Division One Football!” rant from last season. He was so mad, that if you didn’t read the whole story you wouldn’t know his team pulled out a great shootout win over Big 12 rival Texas Tech.
Wow! She called him out for being a wimp, coddled and fed chicken. Kinda harsh for a college player but the Newspaper business needs eyeballs too. You can’t let Tiki Barber have all the fun. Of course after such a verbal berating - the columnist has to fight back, right?
A newspaper columnist for The Oklahoman on Tuesday defended her reporting on a story that prompted a tirade by Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy. Jenni Carlson, in a column on the front page, maintained the accuracy of an earlier column critical of the Cowboys’ former starting quarterback.
“I will not stand on the sidelines and allow someone to attack my credibility,” she said.
Carlson’s column Saturday suggested Bobby Reid’s demotion was a result of his attitude more than his ineffective play. It stated that Reid, who lost his starting job two games ago, had not always handled his nerves well and his slow starts put the Cowboys in some early holes, including some they dug out of with Reid “wielding the biggest shovel.”
It also called Reid the “most talented quarterback” on the team and indicated Reid was “nicked in some games and sat it out instead of gutting it out.” Following Oklahoma State’s 49-45 win over Texas Tech, Gundy used his postgame news conference to berate Carlson and left the room without taking questions.
On Saturday, Gundy called three-fourths of the column “fiction.” During Gundy’s news conference Monday, Carlson asked the coach to point out what he thought were factual errors.
The tirade was awesome and it’s great that he wants to defend his players from allegedly shotty reporting. But I wonder if she wasn’t a woman reporter - would have been as loud and forceful with his comments - and if there would have been the same reaction from the gallery. No doubt there’s still a stigma attached to women reporters in sports.
“It just happened because of my feelings for the team and the players and I just felt like it wasn’t the right thing,” Gundy said. “I certainly didn’t do it to receive recognition and I certainly don’t want it to take away from this upcoming game like it unfortunately took away from the last game for the team.”The situation has drawn more attention than the result of the game, which included more than 1,300 yards of offense and Tech’s Graham Harrell throwing for the fourth-highest total in major college football history.
“I thought it was more important that somebody stand up for a player who couldn’t stand up for himself,” Gundy said.
Football Writers Association of America president Mike Griffith called Gundy’s behavior “completely inappropriate” and suggested the matter “could have been handled in a more private and appropriate matter.”
The Association for Women in Sports Media said Monday night that Gundy handled the situation in an “unprofessional manner,” and while he has a right to his opinion “his decision to air his objections in the form of a personal attack shows a lack of respect for all journalists.”
We’ll see how this affects his team going forward. Surely Reid now has all the motivation he needs to prove his doubters wrong. But if he doesn’t, he’s hopefully getting a great education in Stillwater! How ’bout them Cowboys!
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This guy is a classic Larry Coker. He had glory early and has managed to underwhelm ever since. And the only reason he’s still around is because of that 1997 title. Miami came to their senses and fired Coker last season. Michigan could have done the same to Lloyd Carr after being embarassed in their bowl game with USC. But did the (some would say) honorable thing hoping Lloyd would rally and come out smoking this season.
They only delayed the inevitable.
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