Sports Weekend Wrap and Other Thoughts

May I just say that it's a welcome thing to say hello to the football season? ESPN's Mike Greenburg made the comment that he's pretty certain football season exists when it does to ease the grief of a departing summer. This California boy is struggling to adapt even after 10 years of having actual seasons, and fall appears to have made an early arrival in Colorado. Certainly, I can agree with Greenie's point as I couldn't be happier for football season.

BYU's Cougars overcame an obstacle by logging their first big-game road win in a long time, but it ended with something of an anticlimax. Even after out-performing the Huskies in basically every relevant category, UW's guts and grit (hello, sports cliches!) gave BYU everything it could handle. UW's Jake Locker ended up driving the length of the field to score the potentially game-tying touchdown, and was so happy to do so that he got up from scoring and threw the ball high in the air as he sought out his teammates to celebrate. This was good enough to earn him a 15 yard penalty for unsportsmanlike celebration, which contributed to BYU's defense blocking the PAT and winning the game.

Did BYU deserve to win? Probably. Did the referees call the penalty according to the rules? Yes. The rules explicitly prohibit throwing the ball in the air the way Locker did and the zebras called it accordingly. Should the game have ended that way? Probably not. Look, as a BYU fan, I'm happy enough for the win, but I hate to see it tainted like that. It's sad that the rule exists in such a way as to rob the referees from being able to make a judgment call. Some rules unfairly force the referees to make such a judgment, but in this instance I wish they'd had more discretion. The kid was so stoked to have made a tremendous play. He didn't taunt. He wasn't staring down BYU's defense. He celebrated with his teammates. He seems like a class act. He's a team leader and his actions led to his team losing.

I'll grant that there was still one more play and his PAT unit let them down equally. I'll also point out that I dislike blaming officiating for anything. My limited high school football experience provided coaching that taught us that officiating is part of the game, and if you lose because of a close call you shouldn't have put yourself in a position that one call could make a difference, so suck it up. When it's all said and done, go Cougs, but sorry it had to end that way.

In other football news, I'm having a sports ethical quandary. I'm finding myself smugly satisfied that Tom Brady's out for the season with a knee injury. I recognize how truly evil that is of me. So evil that it must be pronounced "ee-ville; like the froo-its of the de-ville." I just can't help it. I've always hated Tom Brady. I was a Bledsoe supporter. I thought it was royally unfair that Bledsoe lost his job to injury just as he finally had the talent around him to hide his flaws. I hate the Patriots. They are the Yankees. They are a class unto themselves. They contribute to everything I've always hated about Boston sports. I'm using the word hate. And I admit that it's fully rooted in the jealousy that every man feels for good-looking pro athletes. He's too much of a pretty boy and gets too much hype for me to be my hero. Sports heroes need to be chippy, scrappy types, and he's just too good. There. I said it. I'm happy he's hurt. My buddy Bitner says I'm now more evil than anyone who's ever rooted for Barry Bonds, Randy Moss, or TO. That hurts, but I think I can live with it.

To change sports, yes, I shamelessly root for Manny Ramirez now. I hated him when he was part of the rising evil empire that is the Boston Red Sox, I thought it was ridiculous that he shoved a middle-aged traveling secretary to the ground for not being able to respond to an unreasonable request, but now that he's sporting my Dodger blue and going the opposite field against one of the best arms in the National League (not saying much, I know), I'll root for him.

On a note completely unrelated to sports, I'm having the worst time trying to get motivated this semester. During the summer I had the opportunity to work at a great law firm, and now that I've tasted the workplace, school has lost its luster. I just can't get into it. It's shameful how little I feel that my classes are preparing me for legal work when I learn so much more through the work I do at the firm. I'll save my rant for how professional school is just a barrier to entry for another day, but I'm feeling it now. At least there's football to look forward to this weekend.

Prediction for BYU v. UCLA on Saturday: Cougs win 35-26