Army Unveils Special Uniform for Army/Navy Game

When Oregon or Maryland seemingly use kaleidoscopes to design uniforms, I cringe. Most college football special edition uniforms are disgusting and/or obnoxious. However, the kit that Army will be wearing in the Army/Navy game is, and there is no other word for it, cool.

The uniform is a tribute to 1944, which was a good year for the Army. The football team won a national title and the U.S. Army won the Battle of the Bulge. A map of the Ardennes region (where the Battle of the Bulge was fought) is imprinted in this jersey's numbers, sleeves, stripes, and gloves.

That along with Army's already badass black and gold color scheme, plus subtle touches like the "A" logo on the gloves, and a helmet decal paying tribute to the 101st Airborne Division (which held on to Bastogne while surrounded by Germans in the Battle of the Bulge), add to the utter coolness of this jersey.

I'm a history buff, a football fan, and a lover of well-designed aesthetics. And these uniforms impress me in all three aspects. It's a great football uniform, it looks sick instead of making me sick, and it honors our history.

This is the best college football uniform out there.

Harvard Wins Basketball Beanpot

Ten years ago, if you'd proposed a Beanpot style tournament for the college basketball teams in Boston, the idea would be dismissed because BC would be the undoubted favorite. How things have changed.

Harvard beat BC 79-63 last night. It was the Crimson's 5th straight victory over the Eagles.

What's really unfortunate for BC is that Harvard wasn't supposed to be that good this year. Harvard lost co-captains Kyle Casey and Brandyn Curry before the season due to a cheating scandal. The Crimson were 3-3 coming into this game. One of their wins was over MIT (the Engineers compete in Division III). Another win was against the Manhattan College Jaspers.

BC was actually favored to win last night's game, and it was close at halftime, with Harvard clinging to a 31-29 lead. Then the Crimson started the 2nd half with a 7-0 run and kept their foot on the gas. BC simply could not stop them. Harvard went on an 11-0 run after the first media timeout. The game was effectively over with 12 minutes left to play.

Sivani Chambers scored 21 points for Harvard. Wesley Saunders added 18. Jonah Travis scored 14. For BC, Ryan Anderson stood out, scoring 23 very hard points, mostly down low. No other Eagle scored more than 15, and only two others scored more than 10.

Harvard won the physical battles. They got some key offensive rebounds and had 9 team steals compared to BC's 2. They also got to the line more often, and shot better with their 3-pointers.

Ten years ago BC was a perennial NCAA tournament team, the undisputed best college basketball team in Boston, and behind UConn the second best team in New England. Now, there's no other way to put it, BC is Harvard's bitch.

Photo Credit:
Boston Globe

Patriots Lose Edelman, Sign Donte Stallworth

The Patriots placed Julian Edelman on Injured Reserve, ending the wide receiver's 2012 season. The team signed former Patriot Donte Stallworth. However, Edelman's contributions in multiple phases of the game will be tough to replace.

Edelman scored 5 touchdowns this season: 3 were caught, 1 was a punt return, 1 was a fumble recovery on a kickoff. He averaged 15.5 yards per punt return, the 2nd best in the NFL. He was a key contributor on offense and special teams.

While Patriot fans revel in the team's 6 game win-streak and divisional title, what's not spoken much about is how riddled with injury this team is. Chandler Jones, Logan Mankins, Dan Connolly, Rob Gronkowski. One more injury to a receiver, such as Wes Welker or Aaron Hernandez, and this team could be in trouble.

This is why securing a first-round bye is so vital.

BC Football Names Steve Addazio Head Coach

It didn't take long for BC to find a replacement for Frank Spaziani. Yesterday afternoon Steve Addazio was announced as the new head coach for the beleaguered program. Addazio has been the head coach at Temple the past two seasons. He had a 13-11 record with the Owls.

Before that he was the offensive coordinator at Florida for 2 years, the same time Tim Tebow was there. Perhaps Addazio will bring some of that option stuff to Chestnut Hill, where offensive creativity has been sorely lacking for years. He was part of Florida's coaching staff from 2005 to 2010.

Addazio's two BCS titles as an assistant coach, as well as his experience in Gainesville, should buy him some credibility when recruiting and coaching offensive players.

The 53 year old Connecticut native has also been an assistant coach at Syracuse, Notre Dame, and Indiana. He coached high school football in Connecticut from 1988 to 1994.

Addazio brings some new blood to a program that desperately needs it. In the last 8 years he's been moving up through the ranks of Florida's coaching staff. He went from an offensive-line and tight-end coach, to becoming the assistant head coach, to offensive coordinator, and then head coach at Temple. BC needed a coach who is making steps forward in their career, not one who is standing still, or taking steps back.

Addazio's background as an offensive-line coach also fits with BC's reputation as a program that produces NFL caliber talent in those positions. Addazio played on the offensive and defensive lines when he played at Central Connecticut State.

BC and Addazio agreed to a 6 year deal. Hopefully by then Addazio has done so well that he's fielding job offers from the SEC and NFL.

Red Sox Sign Shane Victorino... Why?

The Red Sox continue to spend money, this time signing Shane Victorino to a 3 year deal worth $39 million. $13 million per season seems like a lot for a 32 year old who has never hit 20 homeruns in a season and had an OBP of .321 last year, and slugged .383.

He's a decent fielder, but who cares? He steals bases, and again, who cares? He doesn't hit for power, he doesn't get on base, and he'll be paid $13 million next year. Why? It just baffles me.

For 2013 the Sox have committed $31 million to Jonny Gomes, Mike Napoli, and Shane Victorino. That's a significant chunk of cash for a backup outfielder, a decent first-baseman, and a glorified Carl Crawford.

It seems weird to give Shane Victorino so much money yet be so stingy with Cody Ross.

Do these seem like wise spending decisions? Thankfully, all of these deals are short-term.

Here's what I think the Red Sox are trying to do: They want the 2013 and 2014 Red Sox to finish above .500, and at least seem close to contending during the summer. That will keep fans interested, keep Fenway's seats full (at least keep tickets "distributed"), and create the illusion of improvement.

To actually fix the problems with this team will take 3 or 4 years. I think the Sox know this. What they're doing is overpaying for marginal temporary improvements while the long-term solutions are being addressed. It's like overpaying for a condo while your house is being built. Because the alternative is being left out in the rain.

Once again, PR and ticket sales seem to be steering this team's decision-making.

How Short Is Too Short for an NHL Season?

The NHL has canceled all games until December 14th, along with the Winter Classic and the All-Star Game. For the Boston Bruins, that leaves 53 games on the schedule. And that's enough for a legitimate regular season. But what is the bare minimum number of games for a season?

I put the number at 31. Each team could play 16 divisional games (4 per opponent), then 10 games in the conference (1 per opponent), then 5 games against the other conference (each division in the Eastern Conference would face another division in the Western Conference, so for example the Northeast Division could play the Pacific Division). 31 total games. Just enough to determine divisional winners, and the top 8 from each conference.

The Bruins would have 31 games left on their schedule on February 6th.

Another possible answer is a 36 game schedule, with 16 divisional games and 20 conference games (2 against each opponent). There'd be no interconference games.

If it's determined that a 40+ game schedule is required, then the deadline for that would be around January 15th. Not to mention the time needed for training, practice, cuts, et cetera. I think 40 is what the NHL might consider a minimum.

I'd guess that the deadline for getting a deal done is the end of this month. If the NHL and NHLPA can't come to terms by New Year's Day, then there will be no hockey until next winter. We are approaching the Zero Hour.

If There Were a College Football Playoff This Season

We're getting a 4 team playoff system next year, but let's fantasize about what that would look like for the 2012 season...

#1 Notre Dame vs. #4 Oregon
#2 Alabama vs. #3 Florida

Notre Dame's defense against Oregon's offense would be fun to watch. And even though Bama and Florida are both in the SEC, this would be the first time they've played this season.

Here's what a 6 team playoff would look like...

First round byes:
#1 Notre Dame
#2 Alabama

#3 Florida vs. #6 Stanford
#4 Oregon vs. #5 Kansas State

It's hard to argue that Stanford and K-State don't deserve title shots. And who wouldn't want to see the Oregon and K-State game?

Here's what a basic 8 team playoff would look like...

#1 Notre Dame vs. #8 LSU
#2 Alabama vs. #7 Georgia
#3 Florida vs. #6 Stanford
#4 Oregon vs. #5 Kansas State

I don't like this. It's too SEC heavy, it has a rematch, and a basic top-8 playoff would diminish the importance of winning conference titles. So let's have an 8 team playoff with the winners of the six BCS conferences given automatic births.

#1 Notre Dame vs. #8 Wisconsin
#2 Alabama vs. #7 Louisville
#3 Florida vs. #6 Florida State
#4 Stanford vs. #5 Kansas State

That's better, but not better enough. Let's only give automatic births to the top 4 BCS conference champions, then give 4 at-large spots based on BCS rankings.

#1 Notre Dame vs. #8 Florida State
#2 Alabama vs. #7 Georgia
#3 Florida vs. #6 Stanford
#4 Oregon vs. #5 Kansas State

So there's still lots of SEC teams, still a rematch, but it does reward winning conferences. What if we expand to a 12 team playoff, give each of the 6 BCS conference winners a spot, and 6 at-large spots. And let's give first round byes to Notre Dame and the top 3 conference winners.

First round byes:
#1 Notre Dame
#2 Alabama
#3 Kansas State
#4 Stanford

#5 Florida vs. #12 Wisconsin
#6 Oregon vs. #11 Louisville
#7 Georgia vs. #10 Florida State
#8 LSU vs. #9 Texas A&M

It's a bit complex, and maybe it's too big. But it gets conference winners involved, and has space for at-large teams to get in. There's also the possibility of upsets. We loves those in the basketball tournament and football's regular season. They'd be even better in a football playoff.

Anyway, all of these systems provide better games than watching Northern Illinois play Florida State. And the potential quantity of good football is much higher. The stakes are also higher, which can only add to the entertainment value. How much more interesting would Louisville/Florida be if there were a chance to advance in the playoffs? How many more people would watch on TV? How many more would travel across the country to see the game?

Red Sox Signing Mike Napoli

According to sources, the Red Sox and Mike Napoli have agreed to a 3 year deal worth $39 million. Napoli would primarily play first-base for the Sox.

I'm not a huge fan of Mike Napoli. A few weeks ago when the Sox were rumored to be pursuing Napoli I wrote about the price of the deal being everything. Napoli isn't worth big money, nor is he worth a long-term deal.

I can live with a 3 year contract at $39 million. That's less money per year than David Ortiz gets. And Napoli can play the field (at multiple positions), and probably won't take 20 weeks to recover from minor injuries. He turned 31 this past October, so he has at least 3 years left in the tank, especially if he plays mostly first-base.

Napoli has a career SLG of .507 and a career OBP of .356. He's shown the capability of being a .600 SLG and .400 OBP kind of guy. But his seasonal performances fluctuate significantly.

He does hit well at Fenway Park. He's slugged .710 in his career at Fenway, and hits a homerun every 10.4 plate appearances. Hopefully that's due to the ballpark more than it's due to the pitchers he's been facing.

This acquisition doesn't propel the Red Sox into World Series contention, but it does fill the gap at first-base, and gives the Sox some flexibility at the catcher position. And it does so without committing a large amount of money for a long time. This is a decent contract for a decent player. One thing the Sox lacked in 2011 and 2012 was decency, on the field and off it.

This isn't a tremendous leap forward, but it's a step in the right direction. Here's what the potential Sox lineup looks like right now.

1. CF Ellsbury
2. 2B Pedroia
3. 1B Napoli
4. DH Ortiz
5. 3B Middlebrooks
6. C Saltalamacchia
7. RF Nava
8. LF Gomes
9. SS Iglesias

It's getting better. Imagine how much Josh Hamilton would beef up the middle of that order. And how Cody Ross would anchor the bottom.