A Billy Donovan Update

Back in June, I wrote on University of Florida basketball coach Billy Donovan's flip-flop on coaching the Orlando Magic professional team (for the series of entries, go here, here, and here) and the Florida Gators were expected to have a down season this year because of said flip-flop and the loss of three starters on the roster. But a look at the Southeastern Conference (SEC) standings shows Florida virtually tied with Tennessee atop the SEC East standings (Tennessee has a 3-1 conference record and is 16-2 overall; Florida has the same conference record and is 16-3 overall). All this despite a lot of new faces on the roster and being unranked in the national polls, while rivals like Tennessee are ranked as high as No. 3 in the polls.

So why no love from the pollsters? It's because Florida has beaten teams it should beat and the hardest part of its schedule is yet to come. Because of this, they're listed as a "bubble" team for March Madness. Florida still has to play Tennessee twice, Vanderbilt twice, Georgia twice, and Mississippi State. There's a lot of season left to make a move into the polls before March Madness and it will be interesting to see if the Gators can make it to the "dance".

Giants, Patriots Advance to Super Bowl

The New York Giants and New England Patriots advanced to the Super Bowl, which will be in Arizona the first weekend of February. Unfortunately, we the viewers won't be getting a fresh matchup, which we would have had with the Packers vs. Patriots. Instead, we get a rematch of a Week 17 contest. In the Week 17 game, the Patriots won 38-35, but some of the stats are staggering. Tom Brady threw for 356 yards against the G-Men, Randy Moss scored 2 touchdowns and 100 yards against the Giants, Laurence Maroney scored two touchdowns via rushing.

However, the Giants had 315 total yards against the Patriots and quarterback Eli Manning has really turned it on during the playoffs. Plaxico Burress, the Giants top wide receiver, also had a good game. Both teams' offensive lines were outstanding with each quarterback only being sacked once. The Giants led 21-16 at halftime, but the Patriots scored 15 points in the 4th quarter. The Patriots have an uncanny ability to make adjustments on a dime, which will no doubt help them in the Super Bowl.

The game will be close because the Giants will be inspired to upset the Patriots' run to perfection. But, the Patriots will be even more inspired to finish this season undefeated. It's a shame that we won't see Packers veteran quarterback Brett Favre going up against New England in the Super Bowl, but Super Bowl XLII (42) will be historic nonetheless.

For a good piece on the New York/Boston sports rivalry, go to Dan Wetzel's Yahoo Sports column here.

Ballpark Winter Blues: Petco Park

It's the middle of January and while the NFL Playoffs and the NBA regular season are ongoing, sometimes, the baseball season just can't come fast enough. Last year, I began a countdown of my favorite ballparks and didn't get to the top two. So, while 3/4 of the country is buried in snow, here's the number two park: Petco Park in San Diego, CA. Due to a surplus of pictures, I'll be posting a part 2 with comments on the ballpark and game. All photos were taken by me on April 30th, 2006.

Walking to the ballpark from the transportation hub in downtown San Diego:


The main stairway leading up to home plate and the field level concourse:


The view of the field from the field level concourse:


The view of the seating bowl from the left field nosebleeds. If you look closely, two sections in the upper deck are full of Marines from nearby Camp Pendleton. They're in the two sections on the left:


A zoomed-in view of the playing field:


The main scoreboard:

NFL Playoffs Preview

NFL Championship Sunday is in a few days. Here's some thoughts on the two championship games that decide the Super Bowl participants:

AFC Championship Game: San Diego Chargers at New England Patriots
3:00 PM EST on CBS
Gillette Stadium - Foxboro, MA
Estimated Gametime Temperature: 23 degrees

The undefeated New England Patriots host the San Diego Chargers in a game that is reaching rivalry proportions. New England has knocked San Diego out of the playoffs the last couple of seasons and San Diego has been trash-talkin' all week. Memo to any team about to play the Patriots: Don't trash talk, it only inspires them to whoop your butt further. Just look at the Pittsburgh Steelers/Patriots game. Anyhow, the Chargers are definitely blessed with talent (the best running back in the game, LaDainian Tomlinson, several players on defense like Shawn Merriman) but they're going into Foxboro where the Patriots have rarely, if ever, lost a playoff game. While the weather will be suitable for LaDainian and San Diego's running game, the Patriots have stopped him in previous games and will probably do the same again. The game will be close, but the Patriots will be heading to Super Bowl XLII in Arizona to continue their quest for perfection.

NFC Championship Game: New York Giants at Green Bay Packers
6:30 PM EST on FOX
Lambeau Field - Green Bay, WI
Estimated Gametime Temperature: 6 degrees

The Giants shocked the Dallas Cowboys last week 21-17 and the Packers beat the Seattle Seahawks 42-20. I think the Giants, who have won on the road all season long, will have great difficulty playing in sold-out Lambeau Field in 6 degree weather with snow flurries to boot. The Packers have historically played well when at home in the playoffs due to the weather, hence the phrase "on the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field." While the Giants' quarterback, Eli Manning, has played well in the past two playoff games, what happens when a couple of drives stall? The Packers have a tremendous defense and have the offense to score in bunches. Both teams have a power running game, which is necessary in cold weather, but the Packers have a slight edge there. I think Green Bay will win in a game that can become a blowout.

So overall, I think the Super Bowl matchup will be the New England Patriots vs. the Green Bay Packers.

T.O's Tears of Endearment?

Terrell Owens, a player known for being a gifted receiver with a me-first attitude, broke down in front of reporters after the Dallas Cowboys' surprising loss to the New York Giants crying. It was the first time I had seen that level of emotion from him as he defended his quarterback, Tony Romo. Owens said, "You guys can point the finger at him, you can talk about the vacation, and if you do that, it's really unfair. It's really unfair. It's my team, it's my quarterback. If you guys do that, man it's unfair. We lost as a team. We lost as a team, man."

Any perception of Owens held prior to watching him Sunday got muddled. Any honest fan of the game and his talent has to wonder if he has changed his attitude at all after years of griping about quarterbacks and selfish play during his tenures in San Francisco, Philadelphia, and the early part of his current three-year deal with Dallas (year two of that deal ended Sunday).

For video of Owens' postgame comments on Sunday, go here.

On a side note, I added three outstanding sports blogs to the "Other Sports Blogs" section for your viewing pleasure. Over the Monster is especially good.

Diamondbacks Award Ticket Scholarships

Scott Miller, senior baseball writer at CBS Sports.com wrote a piece on efforts by the Arizona Diamondbacks to award season tickets to fans going through difficult times. The club asked for fans to write a letter explaining why they should get season tickets. winners included a family of seven who are going through financial hardships and had asked for two season tickets to rotate among the kids. The D-Backs granted the family seven.

Another heartwarming example was of Mary Lou and Carl Tichenor, as written by Miller:

"The Tichenors had been charter season-ticket holders since the Diamondbacks were ushered into the majors in 1998. They both attended games for years, though eventually Carl's job working communications for a building technology company put him on the road too much of the time and Mary Lou would attend the games by herself. Carl estimates that his bride has missed fewer than two dozen home games since '98.

About five years ago, Mary Lou was stricken with a debilitating form of muscular dystrophy, and her muscles are getting more and more cranky. Saddest thing is, those muscles are doing pretty well when measured against the grouchiness of the bills that are coming due. She went from a wheelchair to a hydraulic wheelchair, and when that pooped out, the Tichenors had to purchase another one.

She's got Medicare, but Carl, 57, was laid off awhile back and you know the state of health care in this country. Incredibly expensive prescriptions, another hydraulic lift wheelchair, practically more doctors than blouses -- let's see, there's the neurologist, the heart doctor, on and on it goes because Myotonic Dystrophy Type 2 is a multi-systemic disease -- and, well, you know what was on deck to be whacked out of the budget.

Baseball tickets.

Carl read about this scholarship program and, though he hated like heck to sing a woe-is-me tune and his ego took a beating with each word, he wrote a heartfelt letter of application.

'I thought Mary Lou's joy at possibly benefiting from this would far supersede anything to do with my pride,' Carl said. 'I wasn't overly comfortable doing this, but I also expressed to the Diamondbacks that I was sure they would give it to the right people.'"


In a baseball world mired this offseason by the Mitchell Report, steroids, and the threat of congressional subpoenas to players (I'm looking your way, Roger Clemens) it's great to see a team give back to its fans, especially one that isn't known for having big pockets like the Yankees and Red Sox. But rather, it was by the Arizona Diamondbacks, a team with few superstars and a modest budget, who gave to disadvantaged fans the greatest gift it can: free season tickets.

For the entire 3-page article, the link is here. Also check out the talk back links at the bottom of the page. Initial fan reaction has been outstanding.

Joe Gibbs Resigns as Coach

After a Christmas/New Year's hiatus, From the Reserved Seats is back and I'm hoping 2008 is off to a wonderful start for you and yours.

In the midst of the NFL Playoffs, news has surfaced that Joe Gibbs, Hall of Fame coach of the Washington Redskins, has resigned to be with family in North Carolina. He has finished his second tenure with the Redskins and his career totals are staggering: a record of 171-101, a 17-7 playoff record, a career .629 winning percentage, and Gibbs ranks third all-time among coaches behind George Halas and Don Shula.

The thing that is commendable about Gibbs' exit is that he turned down another year of coaching at a rate of $5.5. million to have more time with his grandchildren, one of which undergoes chemotherapy. Gibbs showed a remarkable sense of loyalty often not seen in the sports world today when he returned to the Redskins after a period of retirement and even at the press conference announcing the end of his second tenure, said, "I hate to leave something unfinished. I made an original commitment of five years. I felt bad about that." He choked up with emotion during the press conference, according to the AP article. Even though my affections were often set against Joe Gibbs and the Redskins, the man is a coaching legend and a great coach. The original AP article is linked below.