S.E.C.

This archived article was written by: David Osborne Jr.

First Sports Editor’s Choice of the year, it feels pretty good to write this one. Football is winding down, basketball on all levels, from “Junior Jazz” to the pros is in full swing. Golf started a new season and the tournaments so far have not disappointed. Basically 2011 is off to an excellent start, so for the first time in this new year, here are your five Sports Editor’s Choice’s.
5- The “young” and the restless get their way
If you followed the National Football League this season you know that Tennessee Titan’s quarterback Vince Young, and head coach Jeff Fisher had their own little battle going on while on the sidelines. Unfortunately this wasn’t the first season that Fisher and Young had this problem, in fact it has been going on since the Titans drafted Young five years ago. The initial statements coming from the Titan’s franchise was that they would keep Fisher the final year of his contract but, instead on Jan. 27, 2011, the team announced that they would be parting with Fisher. He was the longest-tenured coach with 16-full seasons. He shouldn’t have a hard time finding a new coaching position assuming he doesn’t retire at age 52.
4- Donor wants a refund
After an embarrassing loss for the BIG 10 in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl against the Oklahoma Sooners, the University of Connecticut lost their head football coach and had to begin the search for a new one. This is where the snag is, UConn hired a new coach, actually they hired a coach that is going to do a good job. Robert Burton on the other hand (UConn’s number-one football donor), doesn’t agree. Burton wrote a letter to UConn asking for his $3 million donation to be refunded and his family name that graces UConn’s football complex removed. All of this because the athletic department didn’t “listen” to him and his ideas regarding a new coach. All I really have to say is way to go to both parties, I am pretty sure you are making grave mistakes. UConn, you are losing your largest donor the year you finally make it to a BCS Bowl game, and Burton you are letting go of your family legacy cause you didn’t have a say in something you really don’t understand.
3- For the love of … DQ’s
Golf is a gentleman’s game (unless you go to Mulligans on a weekday afternoon, then you will find plenty of drunk men in wife beaters hacking their way down the course.) The gentleman’s game is full of rules and regulations and sometimes it is hard to remember what rule applies when and why. In the last month, two top golfers have been disqualified from tournaments because of signing incorrect scorecards. Padraig Harrington and Camilo Villegas were disqualified after having two separate viewers watching the two different tournaments on TV call in and point out the infraction. That is right, not a rules official (which are always on hand at golf tournaments) but an average-Joe golfer watching at home called in the infractions. This would be like me calling into the NFL or NBA and pointing out that there was a rule broken and that the final score should be changed. For this reason, the rule about viewers calling in and pointing out infractions should be done away with or at least changed to say that instead of a disqualification, four penalty-strokes should be added.
2- It may take a while but they will catch you
Five years, $2 million and around 20,000 scalped tickets, great for the University of Kansas. Charlette Blubaugh, the former associate athletic director plead guilty as a part of this scheme that started in 2005. Three other conspirators already faced a judge, and Blubaugh’s husband will face a judge in February. The four that have already plead guilty will be sentenced in March. The scheme did go well until it finally unraveled and put before the whole country, and caused many universities to check their ticket policies and the scandals that might be involved.
1- Commercials, big hits and a Tiffany’s trophy
The Super Bowl, every sport fan’s favorite big stage game not only because it has the most coveted trophy, but because the commercials are worth watching which means no channel switching. Super Bowl XLV (45 in Roman numerals) will be played in Dallas and hosts two of the most beloved teams in America: the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers. The Steelers won two Super Bowls in the last five years, while on the other hand, the Packers haven’t been since 1998 when they were lead by Brett Favre. This is a wonderful match up, the Steelers have a defense of steel (hence the nickname from the 1970s, the Steel Curtain) and the Packers have a high-powered offense led by Aaron Rogers. Just a side note, Packers’ head coach Mike McCarthy grew up in a suburb of Pittsburgh and has been a Steelers fan since well, practically forever, and now has the chance to beat them and take the Lombardi Trophy. Whoever wins, gold will be a color that is worn, the secondary color of black or green will make the difference and of course the trophy will be shiny silver.