Tag Archives: 2013 college football season

Heisman Talk; College Hoops Rising Stars

Credit: National Football Foundation
Hard at work for you, dear reader. (Credit: National Football Foundation)

Why is the Heisman Trophy essentially reserved for quarterbacks and running backs? My latest college football column attempts to answer that. I attended the press conference for the 2013 College Football Hall of Fame class, which included 1996 Heisman winner Danny Wuerffel, Orlando Pace, and Tedy Bruschi (pictured above), among others, and I spoke to them about the Heisman’s skill position bias.

I’ve been doing a lot of college basketball reporting as well, covering several games at Madison Square Garden for Newsday. I’ve also started a weekly column for CBS Local in which I profile a “Rising Star” in the sport (I’ve written the two from this season). Remember, this blog is home to most all of my freelance work. If you have any suggestions for my next “Rising Star,” or any other story ideas, send them my way. Even if it’s a local story that received little attention, I’d love to give it a bigger audience. Thanks for reading. Happy holidays.

Texas A&M and Missouri Find Success in SEC

Missouri was picked to finish sixth in the seven-team SEC East. Having gone 2-6 in the conference last season after coming over from the Big 12, perhaps there was a feeling that Missouri wasn’t ready for the big, bad SEC. The Tigers are now one win away from reaching the SEC championship game. Their success comes a season after Texas A&M, which also left the Big 12 for the SEC, took the league by storm. Assuming these teams didn’t magically get better simply by joining the SEC, their success proves that every conference has good teams and bad teams. This is useful to remember in a year where fans and media are once again making generalizations about conferences and applying them to specific teams.

To read my take on that, check out my Saturday Blitz column: http://saturdayblitz.com/2013/11/25/sec-football-missouri-texas-am/. You’ll also find two amazing plays from the past week, as well as quick thoughts on first-year head coaches and Florida’s struggles.

Auburn, Michigan, and UCF: Which Finish Was Best?

There were some wild endings last Saturday. Here are the top three finishes of the day.

1. Auburn 43, Georgia 38


A Google search for “Auburn Georgia miracle” yields 7,390,000 results. They are calling Auburn’s improbable last-minute touchdown the Immaculate Deflection and the Prayer in Jordan-Hare. You can even buy a shirt diagramming the play.*

Continue reading Auburn, Michigan, and UCF: Which Finish Was Best?