FanNation - The Republic of Sport

A few things over the course of the day from college football and a bit of hockey:

* Syracuse 24, Notre Dame 23: I never shed a tear when the Fighting Irish lose, but today was especially hilarious. The Orange would have trouble finding a winner in the Spring Game. Yet, down 23-10 in South Bend, Syracuse sacked up, rallied, got a 24-23 lead, then withstood a last-second field goal attempt that landed just short (Touchdown Jesus apparently only has range to 50 yards) and the Orange have their third win. Charlie Weis said after the game that he felt horrible for his seniors. Maybe you could have coached them better than Ty Willingham and Bob Davie. Meanwhile, Notre Dame's national importance continues to wane. They've played sub .600 football under their last 3 coaches, and it's not like kids wake up across America anymore and say, "I want to play for Notre Dame."

Maybe they'll go to Syracuse.

* Clemson 13, Virginia 3: A long time ago, I had the pleasure of covering UVA football. During that time, coach Al Groh took over for George Welsh. He came in with big aspirations, assembled a great staff that recruited well in the state and in Pennsylvania, and even after some down times, last year got the Cavaliers to the Gator Bowl. But what Groh has not done in recent years is recruit anyone that can play quarterback decently. Verica is not the answer, as the Cavs could have just beaten a poor Clemson team today by scoring just about any plays at all - but they didn't, and all faint hopes of the ACC Championship Game are gone. A loss to Virginia Tech next week would leave UVA 5-7. Simply put, Virginia had a must-win game today - and usual in a mus-win game, they lost. 

* Ole Miss 31, LSU 13: I don't know if this is a big surprise, even in Baton Rouge. Remember, the Rebels beat Florida earlier this season. But what got me in this game was the ending. Ole Miss ran a QB rollout late on to get the ball to the 3. Then on the following plays, went to victory formation to kneel down and kill the clock. LSU's players responded by charging through the line in offside fashion, diving for the offensive linemen's knees, and getting up and clapping about it. Meanwhile, Gary Danielson in the booth spouted off about how it was Ole Miss' fault for running the ball on the prior play, and that's why the game was ending badly. 

Maybe LSU SHOULD HAVE STOPPED THEM IN THE FIRST PLACE AND NOT LET THEM SCORE 31 POINTS IN THEIR OWN HOUSE!!!! For @#%#@ sake, I'm sick of crap like this where a team acts like thugs and it's somehow the opposition's fault. Later, Danielson and Verne Lundquist traded errors on grammar and pronounciation, drawing the game to a close and flubbing up what should have been a nice close for a big Ole Miss win. 

Memo to CBS - the SEC doesn't revolve around LSU. When they @#$@#!$ up, call them on it.

* Wisconsin 36, Cal Poly 35, OT: Why the Badgers were playing the Mustangs in November, I don't know, but they did and almost paid for it. And they should have. Cal Poly was great on offense and had the game, but their kicker missed not one, not two, but three extra points! This included the last one in overtime, which left the game 35-29. Wisconsin scored a few plays later, hit the PAT, then their players celebrated like they'd just won the Rose Bowl. The only way UW sees the Rose Bowl is on HDTV. 

* Tennessee 20, Vanderbilt 10: Why, every year, does everyone think this is the year Vandy will finally beat Tennessee? They don't. They won't. They can't. 

* Abilene Christian 93, West Texas A&M 68. That's a football score, people. From the Division II playoffs. If West Texas A&M sounds familiar, that is the school from which quarterbacks coach Ryan Leaf just recently resigned after stories came up about him allegedly asking a player for pain pills. Maybe they ought to find some dirt on the defensive coordinator.

HOCKEY

* I watched the Leafs retire Wendell Clark's jersey tonight. I don't like the Leafs. I didn't like Wendell Clark. Yet, there's something about hockey that makes me love these ceremonies. It's neat to me to look at how the real hockey hotbeds - Montreal, Detroit, Toronto, New York Rangers, Chicago, etc., honor their greats. I think it's something no one should miss - not to mention the Canadiens retired Patrick Roy's jersey tonight, as well. I would have put that up higher, but I don't like him more than I don't like Wendell Clark.