Young vs Bush

After all of the hype and publicity leading up to the NCAA Division I football Championships, we were led to view some of the greatest talent to ever step onto a college football field. USC against Texas is as good as it gets. Reggie Bush, not many days removed from being selected as the best football player in the land, was portrayed as unstoppable. Vince Young, the do-everything QB from the Longhorns was portrayed as the guy not ready for the NFL.

It was hard to mentally prepare for the 6-6 fast-as-the-wind Young. Espescially when USC and Bush mesmerized the viewer with their speed and grace. But as the game went on, one could not help but wonder what Vince Young could not do.

I can't imagine what it would be like to decide how to stop Young when you know your team can score, but deep in the pit ouf your stomach, you know your defense can not stop Young. The kid is huge and can see over any defense and brush off a charging tackle or end. His arm is not as erractic as the so-called scouts said, as he passed for nearly 300 yards.

But Young was most dangerous when he took off and ran. He ran and ran until he had well over 200 yards rushing and and scored the deciding touchdown with a burst from the five that seemed too easy with a fourth-and-goal and the game on the line. Yes Reggie Bush is a bad boy that should and probably will go 1st in the NFL draft to the Houston Texans. But look for Young to become one of the most dominant players to ever wear a NFL uniform.

Do not feel that I think Bush is lunch meat. He was hyped up correctly. But Vince Young did not recieve his due prior to the game. He is getting it now!  

Pittsburgh Pirates: from bad to worse

Major League Baseball thought they were doing the Pittsburgh Pirates organization a favor by giving them the All-Star game this year. It has only been ten years since they hosted their last one. True, Pittsburgh has one of the finest baseball only stadiums in the Major Leagues, but did they deserve another game so soon?

If you factor in the mentality that small market teams such as the Pirates needed help financially, giving them the 2006 All-Star game made sense. The team even went out and spent some hefty money on free-agents, Sean Casey, Jeremy Burnitz and Joe Randa. They fired Lloyd McClendon and his staff and brought in new blood by the way of former Dodgers Manager, Jim Tracey. Many blamed the failure to win on McClendon.

With a new manager in place and new free agents, the Pirates tied season ticket sales into a chance to purchase All-Star game tickets. This should have been a booming year for a franchise that had not finished over .500 since Barry Bonds played there. That was several hundred home runs ago.

Unfortunately the Pirates have played worse under Tracey than they did for McClendon. They are arguably the worse team in baseball. Attendence at Pirates games is below what it was in 2005, after the same amount of home contest. And how low will attendence drop after the mid-summer classic.

Mark Cuban, the wild but supportive owner of the Dallas Mavericks says he would buy the team if it were for sale. Here is hoping that a once proud franchise of Honus Wagner, Roberto Clemente, The Waner brothers, Willie Stargell, Barry Bonds and others will find someone who is willing to spend money on the team and bring it to a competitive level.