There are few times I miss living in the States more than Thanksgiving. Canadian Thanksgiving is to American Thanksgiving as Canada is to America: A pale imitation. Nobody here seems to know why they have Thanksgiving, some people celebrate it on Sunday, some on Monday, and there's little if any tradition.
Plus, the only football on Thanksgiving in Canada is the CFL. The CFL's fun and all, but it ain't exactly the National Football League. So, while you're digging into your third helping of stuffing tomorrow and debating whether to fight Uncle Fester for the dark meat, send a sentimental thought north of the border to us poor, dislocated Americans who have to work.
With that in mind, here's a few random thoughts as we head for the holidays:
1. It'd be nice to see Seattle pull one out against the Clips tonight, but LA's undefeated home record has me thinking it's a little less than likely. Let's be thankful the Sonics have an extended home stand coming soon, with a delightful Hawks-Hornets-Warriors trio of games.
2. Surprisingly, Bob Hill did not emerge as one of the 5 coaches on the hot seat in an SI piece today. I'm not saying Hill should go by any means, but the Sonics' off-kilter start certainly has to have some wondering how long he'll last.
3. This is totally off-topic for a Sonics'
Let me get this straight, Michigan's only loss came in a nail-biter on the road against the #1 team in the country, and somehow that's not as good as losing to a team that's going to play in the Las Vegas Bowl? In what universe does that make any sense?
Hey, I can understand if you're going to argue that two teams from the same conference shouldn't play for the title, and while I don't agree with that argument I can see the logic. But to say that SC's loss to Oregon State is superior to Michigan's loss to Ohio State is flat-out stupid.
Of course, as a Duck fan, I assume the BCS is stupid to begin with, so I guess that makes sense.
Except if Michigan beats OSU the second time who is number 1? Because both teams have 1 loss and its against each other.
ReplyDeleteHappy T-Giving, Pete. I'll save a scoop of Mom's mashed potatoes for you.
ReplyDeleteAs to your little commentary, agreed Patrick's logic is lousy.
Worth noting the non-conference schedules in this debate. I can't think of any college team in recent memory that has played a more difficult non-conference schedule than SC has this year. ND, NEB, and ARK are a combined 28-5, which means they are 28-3(!!) against teams that are not USC. There's a possibility (albeit not a good one) that all 3 will play in BCS bowls.
UM's non conference matchups besides ND were VU, BSU (not the Boise variety), and CMU.
SC consistently gets ranked higher than similar-loss teams because they consistently play a higher level of non-conference opposition. In a strange season where only 5 Big 10 & Pac 10 teams are ranked in the AP Top 25, it makes even more of a difference.
PS, nice vic in Staples last nite...
Fantastic win last night, and totally unexpected. I can't Brand scored in single-digits against us.
ReplyDeleteAs to the BCS, I think Hacksaw's right, that SCs non-nconf schedule is so tough they deserve extra credit. That's what sucks about this format, though, there are always going to be at least 3 or 4 teams that truly deserve to be in the title game.
Honestly, the best thing that could have happened was if Rutgers ran the table and played Ohio State, then got blown out by 45 points. Then people would definitely say, "This BCS thing is a joke, we need to have a playoff system."
Happy Turkey Day everybody!