Blue on Blue

The following article is in response to the NCAA meeting and debating on Boise State and all football teams’ ability to wear uniforms that don't contrast with their football fields. Prior I wrote an article about this topic. Following we read about how the Mountain West Conference is now backing Boise State and their ability to wear all blue uniforms on their blue football field. The MWC claims the restriction is not in place to protect players or the university, but on the flip side it hinders Boise State’s ability to recruit and function. Why is the NCAA making so much noise about Boise State wearing contrasting uniforms on their football field?

 http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf-dr-saturday/mountain-west-banned-boise-state-blue-jerseys-last-202838120--ncaaf.html

Mountain West, which banned Boise State’s blue jerseys the last two seasons, now fighting NCAA’s proposed ban

 By Frank Schwab | Dr. Saturday – 1 hour 38 minutes ago

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 (USA Today Sports Images)

How appreciative is the Mountain West that Boise State didn't jump ship to the Big East? Enough that it has done a complete 180 on the Broncos' blue jerseys and is now fighting the NCAA for Boise State to be able to continue using the uniforms on its home blue field.

The last two seasons, the league would not allow Boise State to wear the all-blue uniforms on its home field. This caused a controversy. Boise State made it part of the negotiations to remain in the Mountain West for 2013 and beyond that the all-blue look would be allowed again. The Mountain West agreed to that, and wouldn't you know it, the conference is now fully on board with the idea of the all-blue look.

The NCAA is trying to require teams wear uniforms that contrast with the playing field. While this also would affect teams that want to wear all green, it's pretty transparent that this rule proposal is directed right at Boise.

So the Broncos got the indebted Mountain West to fight the NCAA on its behalf.

The Idaho Statesman reported that Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson sent a letter to oppose the rule. The Statesman had a copy of the letter, and here it is:

Mr. Ty Halpin

Associate Director of Playing Rules Administration

National Collegiate Athletic Association

P.O. Box 6222

Indianapolis, IN 46206-6222

Ty:

Following the recommendation of the NCAA Football Rules Committee and in advance of the meeting of the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel (PROP) next month, the Mountain West Conference would like to provide feedback related to the proposed change to Football Playing Rule 1-4-4 in advance of the March 1 deadline for comments (which was also provided via the online submission process).

The MW, on behalf of member institution Boise State University, is strongly opposed to the suggested change which states “either the uniform pants or the jersey must clearly contrast with the color of the surface of the field of play”. As you know, Boise State Football is known for its signature blue turf. For a majority of their history, they have worn blue pants and blue jerseys when playing at home.

The proposed rule is not related to any student-athlete safety concerns. Furthermore, this regulation could have a significant negative marketing impact for the Broncos. It will also likely result in undesirable publicity for the NCAA, and would most certainly be damaging to the Boise State University brand. Whatever upside might result from this change is not worth the harmful impact it will have on this institution.

Thanks for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Craig Thompson

We really don't see why this is such a big deal to the NCAA or coaches who fight it. It's part of Boise State's identity at this point, and it is a huge deal to Broncos fans. If there's an edge gained, it has to be very minor. We do agree with Thompson in that there's not much to be gained by fighting it, other than agitating Boise State.

And there's sure to be plenty of agitation to go around in Idaho if the rule comes to pass.

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Performance Enhancers

Lance Armstrong had created a legend that could not be rivaled in. His career started when he was 13 years old by winning a triathlon and finished by winning 7 Tour de France titles, filled with meddles and a case of cancer between. He accomplished, while dealing with testicular cancer that had spread to his lungs and even his brain a feat that no other person can even challenge.  This amazing feat was accomplished partially due to blood doping, or athletic performance enhancers.

            The question is, where would sports be now if its athletes had never used performance enhancers? Would Mark McGwire, the previous record holder of most home runs in baseball with 70 home runs have set his record without performance enhancers? What about Barry Bonds amazing performance three years later amassing 73 home runs?  Does performance enhancers actually enhance the sport making it more enjoyable for the spectators or does it detract and degrade from what once was a pure athletic display of skill and passion? 

Sports or a Job?

Football, basketball, baseball and all sports have evolved and changed over time at the professional level. Years ago once a player was drafted by a team, he spent his entire career playing for said team and organization. Now players a commodities changing teams as frequently as a teenage girl dresses up for a high school dance.

            My question to you is why?

            Professional sports have and is making the transition from that of love and sport to the occupation of a job. Athletes or employees are no longer playing the game because of their passion for the sport, but because of the money involved. This has consequentially destroyed and diminished some of the integrity of the game. This was demonstrated clearly in last year’s NFL holdout as several games were missed simply because players and owners, millionaires were fighting over thousands of dollars.

            Professional athletes and owners just play the game because of the love and passion for the game and stop polluting the respect and integrity of what was once a beautiful athletic spectacle.

Redskins

Thousands of people and organizations may have to change jobs and accustom themselves to different styles of life simply because the media is now upset. The media in the football world is creating as much noise as they can in an attempt to get their way. Redskin is defined according to Webster’s online dictionary as an American Indian. Yet according to several media publicists in Washington, it is an unacceptable racial slur destroying any and all standards of American Indians. If this were to be true, then would we not have to change the names for the Braves, Indians, Padres, Seminoles, and any other terminology that any person may take offense to? That could even escalate to the point that agriculturalists may take offense that a Bronco (such as the Denver Broncos) is represented by a bunch of overgrown men trying to injure each other on the football field.

            Question, why is it that the media never takes the majority into account. They always focus on the far and few in between who seem to be offended over small and trivial issues. How many organizations that base their income off the Redskins logo and team name be affected? How many employees who work for that company will be affected? How many loyal fans that have followed the Redskins for years and years will be affected simply because a media scholar who doesn’t follow the sport decides to make some noise?

What has this country come to that there will always be some individuals with different backgrounds who will undoubtedly always be offended by something someone does or says.

            For years the Washington Redskins has been a sign of respect towards the Native American Indian nation. It is a symbol of individuals who work together to achieve a greater success that cannot be attained any other way. There are many people that view the logo and the name as such. Why cannot the rest of the world accept what the actual Washington Redskins are trying to represent with their team and logo instead of finding ways to be offended and angry. 

Productivity versus Attitude

The NFL combine provides a great opportunity for all college and potential NFL athletes to prove their ability to compete at the professional level. It also provides them with the opportunity to correct the naysayers and clear up any misunderstandings left in the fog of the media.

            Manti Teo, considered as one of, if not the best middle line-backer in college football has already taken full advantage of this opportunity to address the press and clear up his name from the fiasco he was involved with this past college football season. As a professional athlete, it is crucial to express to potential teammates and coaches clarity, honesty, loyalty and reliability. These are essential characteristics to all who compete at the professional level.

            Just ask Titus Young, the Saint Louis Rams former wide receiver drafted in the first round. The Rams recently released him from their roster while other teams have dismissed Young simply after running background checks and getting to know him. Young has characteristic issues, proving a lack of loyalty and diligence towards to a team. Having a good, proactive attitude is crucial in attaining a future job. Manti Teo has a great opportunity to clear up his name and start with a new clean slate on the professional level. 

Linsanity

Jeremy Lin slept on his sister’s couch as he tried to make ends meet on Knicks D-league. Weeks later the term linsanity was coined and he became a name understood in every NBA viewers household. Every now and then the wide world of sports discovers a hidden gem that demonstrates the lack of our ability to accurately assess athletic ability and skill level. Last year’s gem was Jeremy Lin who now holds a major contract with the Houston Rockets and averages more assists per game at 6.6, more than anyone else on the team and also dropping on average 16.6 points per game in the week of February.

            Last year as he was emerging and making a real name for himself, he turned the Knicks season around, on a 9-3 run for a team that had lost 11 of its 13 previous games bringing them back up to a .500 record. In that stretch Jeremy Lin averaged 22.5 points and 8.7 assists per game. However, as other players who were injured in this stretch returned to play, the Knicks offense returned to less pick and roll plays and more isolation plays, excluding Jeremy Lin from the offense. The Knicks then replaced their head coach who continued to play more isolation plays. Jeremy Lin then suffered from a knee injury and missed the remainder of the season.   

            Lin has continues to challenge all the naysayers who believed his performance to burn out quickly. Jeremy continues to prove all wrong in his ability to lead a basketball team from the point guard position and prove his skill and ability worthy of playing in the NBA. He no longer has to worry whose couch he will be sleeping on tonight as he is helping lead the Houston Rockets to a playoff berth. 

         

Double Standards

Are professional athletes held to the same standard as the rest of the public? According to Public Relations specialists, celebrities, also professional athletes are not only held to the same standard but they are held to a higher standard because they are under the magnifying glass 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The public is always watching and scrutinizing every action famous people in the limelight receives. But does that statement ring truth in our ears?

            Looking back it, there are plenty of examples of players who, because of their famous profile, were not held to as strict punishment as would “ordinary” people. Ray Lewis and his past is a perfect example of this. He, along with his buddies was accused of stabbing and killing Richard Lollar and his friend Jacinth Baker. Lewis and his friends were seen entering a sporting goods store the day before. Is that where they purchased the knives that were reportedly uses as the killing weapons?

            What about the witnesses that reported seeing Lewis’s limousine pull over and drop off bloody clothes, or that Ray Lewis white suit at the party was never seen again?

            Why did the limousine driver change his story from hearing Lewis tell everyone to keep their mouths shut, to nothing ever happened?

            Why is it then that the charge of murder on Lewis was simply dropped to a misdemeanor obstruction of justice? Why is it that there were two boys killed that night by stab wounds in a public area nearly ten years ago and a case closed, without having found the actual murderers? Am I claiming that Ray killed these two boys, no. But there is enough off evidence that there should be a real investigation to the extent that someone is identified as the perpetrator.

            Ray Lewis is a story a dime a dozen out there of high profile athletes or celebrities who were let off easily because of their perceived status among the nation. My question to the public is why we continue to praise these men when their individual character is in such question as to not know whether said person killed, molested or any such offense to our fellow American neighbor. Why do we not hold these revered individuals to the same standards we would our friends or neighbors? 

Broken BCS

$2,000,000,000. That is a rough number that college football grossed according to CNN Money by December 29^th, 2010 by. Money plays a huge role in our lives as the economy struggles, jobs are becoming more and more difficult to come by and everyone is going back to school for higher education. College football is a cash cow that makes billions of dollars every year. Money that affects us indirectly, yet that money isn’t spread out equally among the many different school conferences. In fact roughly 83% of the college bowl games revenue goes to less than half of the teams in college football, to only six of the twelve different college football conferences.

            This lack of division of money causes an unfair advantage to the other half of college football and their collegiate programs. Football programs have a direct impact on the entire school system. Because of excess amounts of money generated in the college football program, state of the art facilities and equipment is purchased, more students want to attend, and colleges become more desirable; thus they make more money. However it is difficult for colleges to compete when they are not on a level playing ground. That lack of even playing ground creates a nearly palpable division. Even the Ohio State Buckeyes President, Gordon Gee claimed that those other schools outside of these “elite” conferences are little sisters of the poor.

            Money talks and it speaks clearly and loudly. Of just the bowl payouts in 2009, roughly 83% of the 224.6 million went straight to these six specific conferences leaving the other conferences to fend for themselves. A playoff system could potentially change all this, creating a level playing field for all schools, distributing money evenly among them, and even generating more revenue than the current BCS system now in place.

College football has been a sensation in the United States since the early 1900s. Initially, a type of a bowl system was introduced in the 1902 with an east versus west game as the University of Michigan Wolverines came to play the Stanford University Indians in Pasadena, California on New Year’s Day. This game was a blowout as Michigan routed Stanford 49-0. The game was called before the fourth quarter ended. Andrew Zimbalist, an ESPN analysis said that most of the current known bowl games were put into place by the 1930s. Between 1935 and 1991 the top two ranked football teams met only eight times declaring the undisputed national championship football team. Over 56 years there were only eight teams crowned as the undisputed national championship team.

In 1991 a bowl coalition was formed with the attempt to produce better football bowl games; to match the first ranked team against the second ranked team and so on. With this alliance, more thrilling and exciting games were provided to the public. But with this alliance conferences weren’t tied up with specific bowl games. Because of this, teams could not be predicted to play in specific bowl games, thus making difficult the commercializing of games prior to bowl season. 

In 1994 a Bowl Alliance was formed in an attempt to facilitate commercializing of games and to produce even better bowl games. This alliance was formed with four different then college powerhouses. Conference championship teams were guaranteed specific games in bigger bowl football games.

In 1998-1999 the Bowl Alliance turned into the BCS, or Bowl Championship Series. The BCS was originally set up with the supposedly then six elite college football conferences. Those conferences were the Atlantic Coast, The Big East, The Big Twelve, The Big Ten, The Pacific Ten, and the Southern Eastern Conference. They established four original big bowl games and a national championship game for the conference championship teams from these conferences. These bowl games came to be known as The Rose Bowl, The Fiesta Bowl, The Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl, and the BCS National Championship game.

Over the years these different bowl systems and the current BCS system has been a very exclusive club, where only the elite could participate. More than half of college revenue is made in the BCS bowl games and is distributed to only teams from these exclusive conferences. Should another system be put into place to help distribute the money and power more evenly?

College football has tried for over one hundred years to try to perfect their post season football games and system. They have tried numerous different attempts and systems. Over the years their system has morphed and changed into the system we have now. In the 2008-2009 football season there was a total payout of bowl football games of $224.6 million. That $224.6 million goes directly into building state of the art facilities and equipment, and recruiting for all college sports.

 College football programs have a direct impact on college attendance and participation. Because of fame created and accredited through football programs, publicity is generated and schools gain more exposure to the public. This has a direct result and effect on the interest future college students may have in specific schools. The Boise State football team has had the most winningest record over the last decade. According to Boise State University Communications and Marketing, their attendance rose in 1990 from around 13,529 students to a record high in 2010 of 19,993, a 48% increase. Clearly college enrollment will grow over the years, but by an increase of nearly 50%. Is there a correlation between the immense student enrollment growth and success of the most winningest college football over the last decade?

The BCS has been sued by several different lawyers because of an antitrust act. These law cases are still being taken care of in the courts and a decision has not been agreed upon yet. According to Andrew Zimbalist, this is because the BCS has created a monopoly that excludes six of the twelve college football conferences from 83% or the bowl payout revenue. 83% of $224.6 million is roughly $187.7 million. According to Zimbalist, this is sufficient evidence that the BCS has created a monopoly and broken the antitrust act. Every other intercollegiate sports program, including football in division II and division III run a playoff system to decide who is to be crowned the national champion of that division.

Austin Murphey, a sports writer for sports illustrated states that there needs to be a change from the BCS to a college football playoff system. Murphey said that “The point is not just that a playoff system would match good teams--bowls can do that--but also that it would make each game an edge-of-the-seater, an elimination game with the season at stake.

Some people make the statement that with bowl games, every game is already a playoff type of game; that every game can put your team in or take your team out of the national championship football game. Past events have proven that not to be true though. In the 2011-2012 season, LSU played the University of Georgia in the SEC conference championship game. LSU hadn’t lost a game all year and was viewed as the best college football team in the country. The game was close through the first three and a half quarters with LSU pulling away in the end to win the game. But, the polls and ESPN and sports analysis all concluded that LSU didn’t even need to show up to that game, they could have simply lost their conference championship game and still played in the BCS National Championship game.

On the flip side there are many college programs that go undefeated every year and still get beat out of a the BCS National Championship game by a one or two loss BCS conference team. Texas Christian University, University of Utah, Boise State University, and the University of Houston are just some of the schools in recent years to have played either perfect or near perfect seasons and been snubbed by the BCS just because they are from as earlier stated, conferences of “the little sister of the poor,” because they are lesser schools and don’t deserve the right to play in a BCS title game, or even a BCS bowl game.

Representative Joe Barton represents a district a few miles from the TCU campus. He is the primary force in Congress pushing for a change in the current arrangement in college football. Barton compares the BCS to a "cartel, much like OPEC," and even adds, "To me it's like--and I don't mean this directly--it's like communism. You can't fix it." He argues that an "arbitrary computer system" determines which football teams will play in the "mythical championship game."

Division I college football according to many analysis needs to make the change from an exclusive BCS bowl system to a traditional playoff system. Richard H. Thaler, a college football analysis said that switching to a playoff system has been discussed and rejected by relevant conference commissioners several times. There are two arguments typically given as to why a playoff system will not work. The first excuse is tradition associated with these bowl games and the charities tied with them are said to be sacred. The second excuse is that the education of student-athletes would be severely disrupted if they have to spend two more weeks practicing and playing football. Thaler says these arguments are specious and disingenuous because if the tradition was really that important then they could still incorporate those games in the playoff system. And he also said that if division II and III school students can play in playoffs that last into the third week of December, then why can’t division I football do the same?

Another issue in making the transition from the BCS bowls to a playoff system is the issue of revenue. Will a playoff system generate as much revenue as the BCS system does? In Austin Murphey’s “Why there Needs to be a Playoff,” he quotes the Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany, an implacable playoff foe, estimated before Congress in 2005 that a playoff could earn three or four times the money of the system then in place. That added money could be distributed among the FBS conferences.

Bowl games could still be applied to a new playoff system as well. The final four games or the quarterfinals of the playoff could each be named and designated a specific traditional bowl game. That way the tradition of the bowl games would still live on and they could implement a playoff system that gives each team a chance to play for the championship game and money is would be more evenly distributed.

Recently teams have been leaving their conferences in which they have played for over 40 years and jumping into new conferences. They are doing this so they can put themselves in a better position to play in these bigger, BCS bowl games and generate more revenue. If they do so, they will directly benefit from the deeper cash pockets. This makes complete sense when we learn that only 22 of the 120 college football programs made money in 2011. Teams are trying to join these conferences where they are guaranteed money.

 This conference jumping is destroying old rivalry games that have existed for nearly 50-100 years and it is leaving some conferences desolated without enough teams to maintain a competitive conference. By creating a NCAA tournament, these traditional conferences would guarantee protection from that type of destruction. Conferences and traditional rival football games would no longer be in danger. College football is made on rival games and rival conferences playing each other. The BCS is destroying these conferences by indirectly starving some conferences and teams of money and players thus causing havoc in the college football world. A playoff system would greatly help preserve these old rival college football games and traditions.  

Even the President of the United States, President Obama has weighed in with his opinion stating that college football that "any sensible person" would favor a playoff system to determine who is number one.

There are many different opinions on the BCS bowl games and how they should be run. College football doesn’t really need a playoff system to determine who the best team is over the course of the football season. Playoffs do not necessarily determine who has been the best team over the season, but who was playing hottest at the end of the year. A simple look at the NFL in 2007-2008 year demonstrates this clearly. The New York Giants barely made it into the playoffs with a record of 10-6. They were able to get hot when it mattered, won every game in the playoffs and then upset the second undefeated team in NFL history. Where the Giants the best team that year? No. They simply played better at the end of the year. In college football, there is a very complex system in which strength of schedule is taken into account; winning margin is taken into account, as well as wins and losses. Calculating all this into account determines who played the better games and beat the better teams over the year, thus determining who the best team was over the entire course of the year.

            Joe Posnanski of Sports Illustrated said, “For that matter, are 16 teams really enough to bring happiness to the playoff hounds? There are more than 100 football programs in Division I. "Everybody talks about the NFL," Bill says (one of the BCS committee memebers). "You know, 37.5% of NFL teams make the playoffs. To reach that level, we'd need a six-week, 45-team playoff. Is that what people really want?" We can’t make everyone happy.

            "College football has the best season in all of sports," Bill says. "Every Saturday in Tuscaloosa or Austin or Norman or Columbus or Gainesville is like a playoff. It's what makes our sport so great. I don't know why anybody would want to mess with that."

            College football has been a sensation over the years that generates massive amounts of revenue and generates great amounts of publicity. Why would or do we want to change what already works?

College football has its pros and its cons as does anything else. Over the years, past experiences has proven that post college football to be very controversial. Many people push for a playoff system while arguing several different reasons as to why it should be fixed. Others claim that the process already works as good as any other. Why fix what isn’t broken? Time will only tell what will happen with college football and the BCS bowl system.

REFERENCES

Sheril, R.D. (1956). The terrifying future: Contemplating color television. San Diego: Halstead

A Brief History Of: The Bowl Championship Series. By: Altman, Alex, Time, 0040781X, 12/15/2008, Vol. 172, Issue 24

10 interesting facts about the Bowl Championship Series. By: Atkin, Ross, Christian Science Monitor, 08827729, 1/10/2011

“ BCS Scenarios: One-Loss LSU Still Virtual Lock For BCS Title Game,” bigleadsports, By: Duffy, Ty, http://thebiglead.com/index.php/2011/11/17/bcs-scenarios-one-loss-lsu-still-virtual-lock-for-bcs-title-game/

Revenues & Expenses 2004-2010, NCAA Division I Intercollegiate Athletics Programs Report: Compiled by: Fulks, Daniel L., The National Collegiate Athletic Association, 8/2011

Should College Football Abandon the BCS? NO. By: Hancock, Bill, U.S. News Digital Weekly, 12/31/2009, Vol. 1, Issue 50

Why There Needs to be a Playoff. By: MURPHY, AUSTIN, Sports Illustrated, 0038822X, 8/11/2011 SEC Preview

Total Control BCS Championship Game. By: MURPHY, AUSTIN, Sports Illustrated, 0038822X, 1/19/2012 BCS Commemorative Issue

Objection! Overruled? By: Posnanski, Joe, Sports Illustrated, 0038822X, 1/11/2010, Vol. 112, Issue 1

All-Time Record Enrollment Set for Fall 2010 Through Increased Recruitment, Retention, Posted By: Tuck, Kathleet | Sep 13th, 2010 - 1:31 pm | Posted In: Boise State News, Featured

Obama to push for college football playoff. By: Ward, John. Washington Times (2008, November 17) The Washington Times

ESPN.com news services, Retrieved: November 25, 2010, 2:05 AM ET. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5845736

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

“What i like about photographs is that they capture a moment that’s gone forever, impossible to reproduce.”

― Karl Lagerfeld

“Taking pictures is savoring life intensely, every hundredth of a second.”

― Marc Riboud

“A good snapshot keeps a moment from running away.”

― Eudora Welty

“There are no bad pictures; that's just how your face looks sometimes.”

― Abraham Lincoln

“When I look at my old pictures, all I can see is what I used to be but am no longer. I think: What I can see is what I am not.”

― Aleksandar Hemon, The Lazarus Project

People hang pictures on their walls of their families, jobs, awards, or simple scenic beauties to remind them of what is important to and while looking into these pictures, you are literally looking into your past and that offers you time to reflect and accept what once was, but offers an even more powerful opportunity to look at what you have become and to what you may become even still. This generation is currently blessed with the ability to log onto the internet and hold a vast power of virtually unlimited knowledge and information at their fingertips. They are one click away from unlimited athletic, sports pictures and each picture bares a powerful message and experience to its viewers. A young teenager can look at the telling pictures that follows and see what these athletes are going through and relate to them. He can look back at pictures of his own past, compare them to pictures of others and realize the great potential he may have either as an athlete, employee, friend, or father.

A picture says a thousand words. What does your pictures say about you?

The following pictures are a combination of pictures taken from ESPN or from Google Images. If you have any other images you want to add to the list here, just let me know.

In pictures: The Lakers' turbulent season

          By The Agony of Defeat | Special to ESPN.com

Andrew D. Bernstein/Getty ImagesNov. 2: Clippers 105, Lakers 95 -- In-town rival drops Lakers to 0-3.

AP Photo/Rick BowmerNov. 7: Jazz 95, Lakers 86 -- L.A. now 1-4. Coach Mike Brown fired days later.

Rocky Widner/NBAE/Getty ImagesNov. 21: Kings 113, Lakers 97 -- 6-5 Lakers fall to .500, haven't topped that mark since.

Noah Graham/Getty ImagesNov. 27: Pacers 79, Lakers 77 -- Kobe Bryant scores 40, Lakers fall to 1-5 when he scores 30-plus.

Harry How/Getty ImagesDec. 2: Magic 113, Lakers 103 -- Dwight Howard can't conquer old team -- even at home.

Getty ImagesDec. 9: Jazz 117, Lakers 110 -- Steve Nash misses yet another game; he'll sit out 24 in a row.

David Dermer/Getty ImagesDec. 11: Cavs 100, Lakers 94 -- New coach (Mike D'Antoni), similar up-and-down (often ugly) results.

AP Photo/Pat SullivanJan. 8: Rockets 125, Lakers 112 -- Fourth of six straight losses (including five West playoff teams).

Noah Graham/NBAE/Getty ImagesJan. 17: Heat 99, Lakers 90 -- Jack Nicholson's team can't top champs; first of four straight L's.

Evan Gole/NBAE/Getty ImagesJan. 30: Suns 92, Lakers 86 -- Shock loss after three straight wins (outscored 29-13 in fourth).

Jared Wickerham/Getty ImagesFeb. 7: Celtics 116, Lakers 95 -- Six wins in seven interrupted by thumping loss; Lakers at 23-27.

Give Credit Where Credit is Due

Idaho is known for two things, potatoes and Boise State's blue, "Smurf Turf" football field. In the last decade, Boise State's football team has been the most winning football program in college football, acquiring more wins (137  wins since 2001) and less losses (19 losses since 2001) than any other team in the past thirteen years. Some people accredit this amazing feat to skill, players, intelligence, athletes, coaches and the list could stretch on and on. But apparently the NCAA attributes some of Boise States tremendous success to Boise wearing all blue uniforms on their blue field. The NCAA is deciding whether or not Boise's all blue uniforms on their blue field gives them an advantage over their opponents. The ironic idea behind this decision is that there have been teams for nearly a hundred years who's school colors are green, (Oregon, Baylor, Tulane, Colorado, etc.) and have worn green uniforms on a greed field and the NCAA nor coaches have once complained about these other schools receiving any type of advantage from the color similarities. Why then is the NCAA and several coaches making so much noise about Boise wearing blue at home?

        It is also interesting learning that the NCAA is taking time out of its busy schedule to look over the case of Boise State and their uniforms when information about players from other teams who recently won the National Championship game used an illegal drug enhancing performance drug. Ironically there is no news of that or that the NCAA is its precious time to review those cases and deal with the students who have used a real, unfair advantage in a football game.

        When we achieve a high level of success consistently, there are many people who look to offer reasons as to why others are successful and why they were not. It is easy to point the finger of blame and accusation, especially when it alleviates one's own self perception of failure or simply lacking a high level of success. Why can’t we simply give credit where credit is due and stop creating farfetched excuses as to why some teams are better than others.

How Great is Great?

How is greatness defined? Webster defines it with several different ideas. Notably large in size. Remarkable in magnitude, degree, or effectiveness. Full of emotion. Eminent, distinguished. Markedly superior in character or quality; and remarkably skilled.

According to the “Great” MJ, it’s simply by NBA championship rings he has on his fingers and not by his current playing ability. According to others it may be by points scored, assists, rebounds, wins, steals, or maybe even money paid and endorsements earned. But in spite of all these different methods used to determine what greatness is, it is clearly evident by LeBron James’ play that he is great.

LeBron has been playing and performing on a level of greatness lately that has never been done before. But the question is, how great is great? Can he honestly be compared with the man known as the greatest player of all time, Michael Jordan? Yes LeBron has made history by shooting over 60% over a period of six games while scoring 30 points or more in each of the games, a feat that has never been done before. Does that truly compare to MJ's historic stretch of 11 games where he averaged 30 points, 12 assists, and 12 rebounds per game though? The game of basketball is evolving and as times change, it becomes increasingly more and more difficult to compare players from the past to the players of today.

Is LeBron even in the same level of Michael? It is impossible to tell for the moment being. Yes King James is playing at a high/great level but it is too early in his career to make any comparisons to the greatest player of all time. MJ’s six rings do give him a reason to boast, but LeBron’s career is far from over so it's impossible to compare apples to apples when one apple has far to go till it has fully ripened. As to the degree of LeBron’s true greatness, it will only be told by time.