Voting Irregularities Mar Smusings Awards

It all started with an innocent premise. CB40 though a little recognition might be good for morale. It might give those who have contributed a reason to smile. Let them know that their hard work has been seen and appreciated by their peers. So we set up the first annual Smusings Awards, sponsored by www.originalsportsmusings.blogspot.com. Using the wonders of the world wide web, we established a site that contained a number of poll questions, including best thread, rookie of they year and Smuser of the year. The link went out and everyone was invited to vote. It all seemed so simple. It all seemed so pure.

But tragedy has struck. We have now received more votes than there are eligible voters. The only realistic conclusion to be drawn is that some Smusers are attempting to manipulate the results. As you read this, more votes are likely being cast. The sacred principles of democracy, that one man may cast one vote, and that all votes are counted equally, have been called into question by the actions of one or more miscreants who seem bent on shattering the faith of the Smusers in our world and our blog. Who would do this?

The prime suspsect is obvious. He casts a constant shadow over our blog, threatening to pull it from the web at any time. Perhaps he believes that becoming Smuser of the year will give him a mandate to destroy the blog. Perhaps it's just his evil nature. Or perhaps...

It's not him. It's not the one you would expect. It's someone else. Someone who normally wouldn't show that kind of blatant disrespect for the readers or his peers. It's someone who directly benefits from the extra votes.

The Hat directly benefits from those extra votes. And votes have been cast for me over and above what should have been the total number of voters. To those casting these extra votes I say this - stop. Please do not cast a vote if you have already voted. It's not right and it's not fair. I appreciate your support, but I implore you, please, respect the process.

But that does leave a question - Is someone manipulating the voting for his own gain? The Hat has uncovered evidence that someone is in fact manipulating the voting for personal gain. 2 someones in fact. Perhaps the 2 with the most to gain of anyone. You know who you are. Rather than publish your names now, I grant you this opportunity to stop your nefarious ways and quit manipulating this vote. Do so and all is forgiven. Do not and you will be exposed here on the blog for all to see.

End of an Era

This Sunday will mark the end of an era for me. I have owned my Ray Lewis Jersey since 1996 when the Ravens made their arrival in Baltimore. It almost met with a tragic end when Ray Ray was accused of murder. However it made it through and is now in steep decline. AS a new guard comes into Baltimore so to will a new jersey.

Career Highlights

Born : 1996

Produced by: Logo Athletic Gear ( no longer in Business)

Career Highlights: 1. Super Bowl Win in Super Bowl 35

2. Stomped the Class of 1998 in the Marist Alumni Bowl

3. Found Not Guilty of Murder in Atlanta after the Super Bowl

4. Survived a Packers Bar where a drunk women thought it a Brett Farve Vikings Jersey

Career Record - Unknown ( i do know its a winning one)

So Fare thee well #52 Purple

Video: CLJ shuts down OSM

Many of you will remember that fateful day when CLJ threatened to shut down OSM. What you didn't know, until now, was the way that all went down. I was there, as were some of my colleagues. It was not a good day. This video was smuggled out by one of our loyal bloggers. We thought it best for you to see for yourself exactly what happened that terrible day.

Retire #23?

We're baaaaack. It's been way to long since there was a post and this topic seemed like it was begging for a OSM post.

LeBron James recently announced that he was giving up the #23 in honor of Michael Jordan. He further said that others should do it too and that the NBA should retire the number, league wide. That has set off a debate between those who agree and those who disagree.

Where do I fall? Not sure, actually. He was the greatest athlete I’ve ever seen in any sport and he certainly changed all sports in a way that is unlikely to be seen again. That’s a pretty good argument for it. Then again, seeing a guy like LeBron wear #23 kind of seems like an honor to me, in itself.

Well, as you ponder this, here's a video for your enjoyment. No matter what you think of the #23 retirement debate, if you were born prior to the early 80s, you HAVE to recognize this commercial. In fact, I’d say if you don’t remember the words, you are likely not in my generation or you lived in a hole until 2001 or so. It is simply one of the best commercials ever.

I guess that’s just one more thing at which the man excelled.

How Do You Watch TV?

It has been awhile since I have posted something to Sports Smusings but I think it is about time that I relieve some of the burden from The Hat. So here it goes.

I have never believed that the Internet or mobile devices would replace sitting in front of a television set during prime time. I still don't because the quality is just far superior on TV. May be one day that will change but I will either be dead or some grumpy old man that hates new fangled contraptions because I don't understand them. I admit that, foremost because of the serious difference in quality, I never gave new programming mediums a chance. That is until quite recently.

Due to travel plans and a DVR that is stacked to the brink I have been missing some of my favorite shows. Wanting to see what I missed I turned to the Internet. Well, imagine my surprise when it turned out it wasn't half bad. Despite a few buffering issues and lower resolution I have come to discover that the Internet was quite serviceable. As I said I don't believe that this medium will replace standard television but it is a handy tool if you ever find yourself in the situation I was in. It also helps that you don't have a computer that is a billion years old like mine. Hence the issues. Now that I have opened myself up to viewing TV on the Internet I have found that not everything is available online. I don't understand why that is but I am now in a position where I have to look elsewhere for content.

When I was traveling I actually watched programming on my phone. It turned out to be harder because it is a much, much smaller screen. That reminds me, I should get my eye sight checked. Anyways, overall my phone was actually fairly serviceable as well. Because of the screen size I don't recommend constant viewing but it did a good job for what I was looking for. It is also challenging because episodes are broken up. You can't watch a full episode straight through. Yet I persevered. If you have not viewed programming on your phone before it too is pretty handy sitting at an airport of something.

I am not one to predict the future of new mediums but the back up options that available are nice to have.

10 rules when your team is out (Baseball version) -

A great topic suggested by a faithful Smusings follower:

10 rules when your team is out (Baseball version) -

1 - F the Cardinals.

2 - If a team is in it that has one of "your guys," meaning a guy who played for your team and you still like him, it is acceptable to be happy when that team does well.

3 - Unless that team is the Cardinals.

4 - It is never acceptable to root for a team that doesn't sell out its stadium for a playoff game.

5 - It is never acceptable to root for a team that is using some kind of stupid gimmick to make you like them (yes, Anaheim Angels Rally Monkey, I'm talking about you).

6 - You can root for the Yankees, but it's the equivalent of rooting for Wal-mart to crush the local ice cream shop run by the nice guy in your neighborhood who used to give you free sprinkles when you got good grades.

7- If it sounds like Joe Buck and Tim McCarver are rooting for a team, root for the other team.

8 - It is acceptable to root for a team because you have money riding on them.

9 - It is acceptable to root for your wife/girlfriend's team if doing so will get you laid.

10 - F the Cardinals.

Original Sports Musings Atlanta Office Undamaged

It is with good cheer that I can report today that the Atlanta Office of Original Sports Musings was undamaged during the recent rains that flooded a large part of downtown and surrounding area.

The rain also did not impede this sports musers attendance to a local watering hole to enjoy The Sunday Buffet of football. I had the pleasure of spending Sunday Afternoon at TJ's. AN establishment with an extreme cheesiness to it. For this bar is actually a Packers Bar. I am pretty sure every former resident of Wisconsin who calls themselves a Cheesehead was sitting around tables ready to boo Ocho Cinco when he did his Lambeau leap 15 minutes outside the perimeter. Now some bullet points from the days football action.



1. Rodgers is the most popular Jersey



2. When the Pack scored they play dance music and a cougar gets on top of the bar and lifts her shirt to show a Packers Bikini.



3. Many pop songs have words redone to include two words Cheeseheads and/or Wisconsin...ala A rendition of Coolio's "Cheesheads Paridaise" believe me Weird Al would vomit after hearing any of these songs



4. After the Pack score people in the front row hold up dancing Bobbleheads that look like babies.



5. PackFans have tunnel vision with Purple. A Ray Lewis Jersey is not a Farve Jersey. As A drunk girls says to me, " Hope all those hits to Farves vagaina hurt." She apologizes later after she realizes her Faux Paux



6. The guy wearing the Mark Chimurra jersey is either to cheap or to stupid to get a new jersey to replace a player who molested his 15 year old daugthers friends. I wish TJ's would have passed around a hat or gotten this idiot a new jersey.



7. Polka Polka Polka!!!!



Tune in next time from the Atlanta office, where slices of Sports Americana will be served

Get to Know your Musers: Biff

after much anticipation....

Who are your favorite teams college and pro?

College: University of Illinois

NFL: Bears

MLB: Cubs

NBA: Bulls

Who is your one favorite sports team above all others and why?

Hmm…this is tough. It really depends on what season it is. I suppose if I had to pick I would say the Bears. Growing up where I did, football was far and away the biggest sport and the 85 Bears are likely the greatest team to ever play professional sports.

Who are the five women on your Celebrity Exemption list?

1) Marisa Miller

2) Selma Heyak

3) Halle Berry

4) Angelina Jolie

5) Scarlett Johannson

What's the worst thing you ever said to a woman?

Actually the worst was probably silence. I sucked at ending things….

What is your favorite sports moment?

Jordan over Russell to win the 98 NBA Finals. Watching that I had a feeling it would be the last time I saw him do that. It turned out to just be the last time in a Bulls uniform, but it was still quite a moment.

Most heartbreaking?

Bartman and the subsequent collapse

What team would you purposely wish harm upon because you hate them beyond all rational thinking?

Packers – what they did to McMahon will likely never be fully accounted for, no matter what happens to them.

What is your favorite movie quote?

“Mr. Madison, what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.”

If Sports Musing Readers take away just one piece of knowledge from you, what do you want that to be?

There is always a trade off.

Eight Years / An Otherwise Quiet Morning

Has it really been eight years? I just can't believe it. I actually wrote the following poem three years ago on September 11, 2006, five years after losing him. I literally woke up and these words were written for me, following a period where I hadn't written anything in a long, long time. It's like I was finally able to say what I needed to say, to write what I needed to write, in order to pay my proper respects. It never gets any easier, though, and even today, it's still hard to think that I am now 30, and yet he will forever remain 23. 

And that is one of 2,993 reasons why I will never forget..........

An Otherwise Quiet Morning

Wiping tears from my eyes

after five years of flashbacks

from an otherwise quiet morning

I wonder if he got to work on time

If he thought of stepping away from his desk

To grab a muffin or a Mochachino

Or fuck, even a donut and coffee

I think about the elevators on any other day

Well-oiled machines seen as afterthoughts

in the ages of technology and convenience

only acknowledged when something goes wrong

such as a system outage or a fire,

the red button pushed and prodded to no avail

hopes fading as bodies instinctively shoot over to stairwells

or, in the most dire situations,

towards windows,

the lungs longing for a few more breaths

the oft-broken spirit searching for one – just one “I’ve worked too hard and too long for it to end like this” or “What will happen to my pregnant wife if I don’t get out of here?” or “I hope the last memory is not an argument that carried over from last night’s dinner” or “Fuck this shit I would rather jump and take a chance than stay here and let them beat me on their terms” – miracle.

I ponder the flickering feelings that may have crossed his mind:

Did he think of the ring he bought his girlfriend that remained in that special hiding place he carved out on the left-hand corner of his closet?

Did he picture his future as a loving great-grandfather showering three generations at Christmastime with love and laughs?

Did he look back on his past with fond memories of barbecues, baseball games, and graduations?

Or did he only have time for one fleeting thought:


Why?


Why?


Why?

Wiping tears from my eyes

after five years of flashbacks

from an otherwise quiet morning

Yes, there was an attack.

Yes, I want my friend back.

We Met Some Cougars

The most common question asked around the water cooler at www.originalsportsmusings.blogspot.com, outside of "is there going to be any nudity in 'Jennifer's Body'?" is "what are the chances of a College Football Playoff? The answer is always the same. Zero. Why? Because we've already had the unthinkable scenarios that would have brought about a playoff without producing a playoff. LSU beat Oklahoma and USC beat Michigan to produce the same split national championship that we would have had without the BCS. USC, Oklahoma and Auburn all finished the regular season undefeated, and USC and Auburn both won their bowl games. As #2 team after #2 team lost, a 2 loss LSU moved in to embarrass OSU for another title. Each of these was supposed to be "the BCS Nightmare" that would force a change to the system. None did.

But this year is just a little bit different. Most sportswriters, columnists, experts and schmucks with a blog (including the Hat) have already pencilled in Texas and Florida for a January date. But something happened this weekend that could change all of that. 25 years after they became the last non-BCS team to win a title, the BYU Cougars shocked Oklahoma. In the process, they became the first non-BCS team in the BCS era to open up a clear road to the National Title game.

BYU's got 2 more tough games on the schedule. But they've got a signature win over the #3 team in the country. Sure, Sam Bradford got hurt and left the game. But is OU's offense so dependent on him that we should blame the injury instead of crediting the Cougar D for holding Oklahoma to 13 points? Absolutely not. BYU played a hell of a game and deserves credit. And they may get it in spades.

Imagine for a moment that Florida or Texas (or both) stumble somewhere along the season. It's not unthinkable. UF was nipped at home last year by Ole Miss while Michael Crabtree and Graham Harrell sank Texas at buzzer. USC is due for its customary loss against a team its got outmatched (Oregon State this year), it's unlikely that anyone will run the Big 10 or the ACC and the Big East doesn't have a single team that deserves a BCS invite. Imagine for a moment that the Coaches and the Harris voters have an undefeated BYU, with 3 wins over ranked teams, at the top of the polls in early December. The Cougars wouldn't need a ton of love from the computers to get an invite to the title game.

And that my friends, that is the secret, final chance of a College Football Playoff. The lid stays on the playoff because the major conferences can't figure out how to make money off it. But if suddenly half the take from the title game is going to the piddly Mountain West Conference? You can be sure the powers that be will move to scrap the current system, or at least modify it to a plus 1 to prevent something "terrible" like this from ever happening again. Cincy running the table and playing an undefeated Miami team would be fine, because the money stays in the money conferences. But sharing with the red-headed stepchild of the Mountain West? You might as well ask the "Big 6" to contribute money to keeping the WNBA afloat. So if you're a fan of a playoff, or just don't like the current BCS structure, keep your eyes in the state of Utah. The Cougars are looking for some good young men.