The Short List: Week 14

As the 2009 regular season comes to a close, the Shortlist to the San Fernando Valley numbers six teams, all of them undefeated and in Shortlist invite consideration as such:

Florida, Alabama, Texas, TCU, Cincinnati, and Boise State.

No teams survived games I called for them to lose last week on the Shortlist to the San Fernando Valley and once again this week, I call for no teams to be excluded, although only Boise State has any real worry on that front this week.

The demarcation line between the traditional powers and the second-class citizens has never stood as in stark a contrast as it does at the present moment in my opinion as the SEC is assured of having one of the Shortlist's coveted two invitations while the outsiders hope for yet another Texas Big 12 Title Game letdown to help them strike a blow for equality amongst the 120 schools. 

 

Unlike last week where I foresaw not one, but two top 10 losses to underdog teams, I don't see it happening this week as I expect multiple undefeated teams to remain at the end of the bowls after New Year's 2010.

Some would decry this kind of treatment to the latter half of the Shortlist as discriminatory and wrong.  I couldn't disagree more, because in any objective evaluation of the teams involved, the SEC duo has traveled a more difficult path to their championship game than the others and deserve the preferential treatment shown as a result.  Texas has by a slimmer margin navigated a slightly more treacherous course than the others and as well deserves reward for that feat.

All the teams left on the Shortlist are assured a slot on the final Shortlist roster except for Boise State, which only needs to eradicate New Mexico State on the blue turf to finish their season undefeated as well, but even if BCS chaos peaks in the final weekend, would TCU and Boise State be worthy of facing the SEC champion with a chance to win the national title on the surface of the Grandaddy of them All in a game over a week after the actual Rose Bowl? 

 

The difference between the best team in the SEC and the rest of the field is almost as pronounced as it's ever been this year I believe from all that I've seen.  Both the non-BCS schools have used upsets of Oklahoma this decade to make their reputations recently but the Sooners are not the modern power their specious 2000 championship would suggest them to be upon first blush.

To me, this season, more than any in the history of the BCS era of the game is begging for a legitimate split national championship to be awarded, but with the characters involved in the drama at this point, that notion is even more a pipe dream than Joe Paterno passing the all-time coaching victories record back to Bobby Bowden is. 

 

TCU, Cincinnati and Boise State have no history to draw on, no contemporary legends to point to as icons of their football prowess to use to appeal to on the college stage in their battle against the entrenched programs they compete with.  They would have even less chance to be successful in a tournament setting I think, but at least the discussion they are included in now gives them a foundation to establish equal footing with the others in the future. 

 

If anything, their trouble lies not in the programs themselves, but in the members of the conferences they associate themselves with.  Damned by their temporal locations and alliances, not by their performance.  Guilty by association of not being equal in the court of football opinion.  An unjust end to outstanding campaigns to this point, but campaigns whose gains this year will, I believe, cause a sea-change in the sport sooner rather than later.

Copyright 2009 by Christopher Whelpton for Canespace.com

Comments

[SuperCooper]

I love me some Durand Scott. Damn this kid is good.

[canechic]

Miami Ball with 41.6 seconds left same score

[Daytoncane]

all we gotta do is make our free throws cause Minnesota has to foul. we have 31 seconds on the shot clock.

[pb(CSROH10)]

Posted by: canechic | December 02, 2009 at 09:07 PM

CC the reality is that kind of thing is in our DNA.

The difference is most of us have the common sense to realize the disastrous consequences that come with something like that.

Pro athletes, actors, politicians all get a God complex at some point. They feel invincible.

Until they get caught.

[Six]

There's a saying .... "no matter how hot you think a woman is, there is a guy that is sick of her sh*t"

Even "hot" women can whine too much about needing attention, then they'll whine too much about how they're being smothered, then they'll whine too much about how the man isn't home enough b/c he's out making money for her to have her lavish lifestyle, then they'll whine too much about how if the man is home too much and his broke ass needs to go get another job b/c she deserves better .. etc .. etc

Then they'll remind you or give you a look of disgust that you know means that they're thinking how in the hell did I end up with him and why didn't I go with my 1st choice instead

Then they'll go have a "ladies night out", get all gussied up and get their draaaank on with their friends, while rubbing their asses on cute guys at the club, so they can feel young and wanted again - for some kind of sick re-assurance that they're still pretty or whatever

Men are dogs and women can be female dogs as well - they're just as bad, men aren't the only ones that cheat

Ya, what Eldrick did was dumb. He's human. People make mistakes. For all the women out there to group the entire male species together and call them all dogs or cheaters though - they need a wake up call and look at their own species as well

[canechic]

39 seconds left still in a time out

[canechic]

U R right pb!

[86Cane]

UM 67, Minn 63 with 39.5 seconds to go in the third period...pull the goalie!

[canechic]

86 where r UUUUUUUU?

61 U GG 53 20 seconds left

[miamimike01]

game over!!!!!!!!!!!

[RBLCane]

If The Gator Bowl wanted to see ratings go through the roof they should twist it around a little more and let one pissed off Miami Hurricane team play FSU.

They could use Miami was in the Big East when they played the best FSU teams so by right should rep the Big East in Bowden's last loss as a head coach.

peace

Posted by: solarcane | December 02, 2009 at 05:20 PM

^^^^^^^^ = POST OF THE DAY!!!

ROTFLMAO!!!!

GO CANES!!!

[RBLCane]

From ESPN:

GATOR BOWL NOT A LOCK FOR FSU
By Heather Dinich

Don't start planning that trip yet, Florida State fans.

Although it's possible the Noles could wind up facing West Virginia in the Gator Bowl for what will be Bobby Bowden's final game, it's far from a done deal.

The only surefire way at this point of FSU going to the Gator Bowl is if Clemson wins the ACC championship game AND Virginia Tech heads to the Chick-fil-A Bowl. If Clemson loses, though, the selection process could get a little tricky.

The ACC contends that with a Clemson loss on Saturday, Clemson, Miami and Boston College should be the Gator Bowl's lone choices. The Gator Bowl has no contractual obligation to select Clemson, but the ACC's one-loss rule states that it does have to choose from the remaining pool of teams within one loss of Clemson's 6-2 record. That would leave Miami and BC, which both finished at 5-3 in the ACC ahead of FSU at 4-4.

ACC officials and Gator Bowl president Rick Catlett seem to be at odds on how to interpret the ACC's one-loss rule. Discussions are ongoing as both sides try to sort out the contractual language and obligations. One thing that hasn't changed in all of this is that the ACC's championship game winner will go a long way in determining how this year's bowl selection process will unfold in the ACC.

http://espn.go.com/blog/acc/post/_/id/7357/gator-bowl-not-a-lock-for-fsu

[86Cane]

Canes stink...but win anyway in the fourth quarter with a two minute drill and a FG to win the game.

[CanesCanesCanes]

CaneSpace rocks! Thanks guys

[canechic]

Six you r right.. women cheat and those ho's who cheat with married men....I promise their life will be in Hell....karma is a B!tch!

[404Canes404]

And it's over! This team knows how to close a game. Durand Scott is the real deal!

Let's Go Canes!

[SuperCooper]

Scott is the truth. Love it.

[86Cane]

Durand Scott = PLAYER OF THE GAME

[canechic]

Miami is in the win column....I told you it would be alright 86....

[CGNC]

Alright canes 8-0

[86Cane]

CONFERENCE UPDATE: ACC 5, BIG 10 4

[86Cane]

CC AND CGNC ON CONSECUTIVE POSTS?

Some cheatin' going on...

[CanesCanesCanes]

Yeah... it's still great to be a Miami Hurricane!

[CGNC]

86 it is a conspiracy and you guys never forget that - LOL

[CGNC]

86! Love the Tiger - OMG!

[86Cane]

86! Love the Tiger - OMG!

Posted by: CGNC | December 02, 2009 at 09:34 PM

And what does the female tiger say?

[CanesCanesCanes]

8-0 - it's better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.

[canechic]

CCC - you in Orlando for business? You better stay out of the Dr. Phillips area....she might get you with Tiger's golf club.....let me tell you if I was her, he would not have made it to the car. But then again I would just make him squirm not letting him know when I would strike!

[Six]

canechic - you're absolutely right though, guys need to get all that wanting to spread their seed out of the way before they get married and have the mini-mees ... so do women

Get all that f***ey times out of your system

Then find the woman that you know the sun rises and sets with, for the rest of your life

That is what it is all about

[KLCaneFan]

LOL Six!!! I almost spit out my drink reading that!

Gold diggin' women are ruthless... I know my husband would not be able to resist the kind of attention Tiger gets on a day to day basis! I'm not saying that I condone that kind of behavior because I'd prolly go after his a** with a golf club too (jk), but we are all human!

[Daytoncane]

86 how do we stink?

you can't expect us to look like Kansas or Syracuse. we're a young team. how often do you see a younger team dominate in the regular season or in the tournament?

our defense is good, especially when we're in zone.

if teams keep doubling Collins, that's going open up a lot of three pointers for us. and Reggie Johnson is going to be a load when he "gets it".

there is a lot of movement on offense, which is essential to getting open shots and proper spacing. we are also setting a lot of screens, even our screeners could be better at rotating to the basket.

two things that are troubling are the turnovers and Haith's stubborness. if we turn the ball over like that in conference play we're gonna get stomped big time. and Haith is always trying to fix what's not broken.

we look a lot better than what i expected, but we still have a ways to go.

[KLCaneFan]

btw I was referring to your "women get gussied up and get their draaaank on" post. Still cracking up (because I've SEEN it lol).

[shwarma]

REPOST FOR BG

Bg - I assume you are in-line with my comment above about the boys from up north? If so, I think that could be huge. (is it even a possibility?)

Also, any word on what Jones thinks about the coaching carousel in Tally?

Finally, any shot in hell we end up with another CB?

Posted by: shwarma | December 02, 2009 at 02:18 PM

[solarcane]

8-0 - it's better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.

Thats what Tiger said

peace

[86Cane]

Dayton says: "You can't expect us to look like Kansas or Syracuse."

I say: "No we have beaches, palm trees and hot women."

[canechic]

Clemson looses tonight they are not 8-0 even though I would have loved to hit that one Clemson at the Shark with a sharp stick.

Go Canes

[canechic]

Duke is not so good against wisconsin, loosing by 8

[solarcane]

School Conf. Pct. Overall Pct.
Miami 0-0 .000 8-0 1.000
Duke 0-0 .000 6-0 1.000
North Carolina 0-0 .000 7-1 .875
Florida State 0-0 .000 6-1 .857
Georgia Tech 0-0 .000 5-1 .833
NC State 0-0 .000 5-1 .833
Virginia Tech 0-0 .000 5-1 .833
Clemson 0-0 .000 6-2 .750
Boston College 0-0 .000 5-2 .714
Maryland 0-0 .000 5-2 .714
Wake Forest 0-0 .000 4-2 .667
Virginia 0-0 .000 4-3 .571

tee hee

peace

[pb(CSROH10)]

Posted by: solarcane | December 02, 2009 at 09:50 PM

The girl sold him down the river for $100k.

He would have paid her 20 times that amount if she just keeps her mouth shut.

Thats the amazing part, 10 minutes of "fame" and a life time of being villified, all for a freaking hundred grand.

[solarcane]

what's she got like over 300 text messages sent from his phone and a voice mail with his voice on it?

good thing he went for golf and not a secret service career.

peace

[CanesCanesCanes]

cc-yeah up here for business. Don't think they'd let me in Windmere

I'm out - thanks for the updates - you're a nice person.

[Six]

KLCaneFan - haha, then you know I'm telling the truth. I've seen it too and it's kind of embarrassing seeing them get all like that

Have you ever seen the movie "Knocked Up", when a prego Katherine Heigel and her older sister Leslie Mann are trying to get into the night club?

The doorman of the club stops them, won't let them in and says : "I can't let you in cause you're old ... for this club, you know, not for the earth ...

"You old and she pregnant. Can't have a bunch of old, pregnant b*tches running around ...

"You two should be doing yoga or pilates or something ... not out at the club .. what the f*** is she doing at the club? .. that's not even good parenting right there .. your old ass should know better than that"

It's true, that's why it's funny. I've seen some older women that look like they spent all their money at Forever 21 in the mall or they raided their teenage daughter's closet, tried to suck in every last inch of their body in order to try and fit in some saran wrap tight outfit and then go out to a club and look sloppy and stupid on the dancefloor, all desperate looking as well

Look like a bunch of hacked up cougars on the prowl, just b/c they watched a few episodes of Real Housewives of (fill in the blank) and think it would be ok to do that too

They should know they're past all that non-sense. Go chill out and have a margarita on the beach while the sun sets like in those Corona commercials ... otherwise, someone at the bar or club the women are acting all stupid at will post those pics up on Facebook or Myspace or MILFs Gone Bad or Trainwrecked Cougars or whatever - and you know it will get back to them somehow, that's just how the universe works

[JCane]

You're forgetting, PB, how much he paid for her to keep her mouth open......

[Six]

solar - ya, Eldrick is stupid for doing that. You'd think a Stanford man would know better

Look, if you're going to do something like that, at least have the smarts enough to buy a pre-paid cell phone with cash at a store .. like TracPhone or Boost or Virgin Mobile .. and buy a crapload of minutes to go with it or you can purchase phone cards that add minutes to your phone

Then use that phone, instead of your real cell. No record of the user, b/c paid with cash and no record of the added minutes with a credit card b/c paid with cash

It's not rocket science. Also, don't freaking leave voice mail messages, texts are enough and are deniable

[JCane]

Nice win by our young team, even though there are some frustrating parts to their play. I agree with Dayton's thoughts, and think the young team should continue to improve on the turnover end. Some of Haith's rigidity has been an ongoing concern since well before this season, even though he clearly is a much better all around coach than P. Clark ever was.

[Sarasota 'cane]

Soccer???? Skanks????? Clubbing????? Politics???? Basketball????? Retirement????

Man I hate when football season is over!

Go 'canes!

[Sarasota 'cane]

OK, Club Skanks get a pass, but the rest is garbage!

Go 'canes!

[86Cane]

MILFs Gone Bad or Trainwrecked Cougars or whatever - and you know it will get back to them somehow, that's just how the universe works.

Posted by: Six | December 02, 2009 at 10:14 PM

I've never seen either of those videos. That's my story and I am sticking to it.

[86Cane]

You're forgetting, PB, how much he paid for her to keep her mouth open......

Posted by: JCane | December 02, 2009 at 10:18 PM

OUCH!

[pb(CSROH10)]

OUCH!

Posted by: 86Cane | December 02, 2009 at 10:38 PM

That's definitely not what she said. That skanks been ridden more than a miniature pony at a kid's birthday party.