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Idle Thoughts: A Christmas Sports Wish List

I'm not one to share my opinion, but since you asked...

  • Why did it take so long for the Big East to add schools to their conference and play football?  One simple answer is the lack of leadership.  Not that it matters, as the additions of SMU, San Diego State and Navy do nothing.  Yes having Boise State is good, but they are in Idaho.  Is that east?  Houston won't be very good next year and Central Florida has to compete against the college heavyweights of that state 1st before playing on the field.  Stick a fork in the Big East keeping their AQ status after 2013. 
  • Why are so many people making a big deal about Tiger Woods winning a golf tournament?  It had all of 18 players in it.  This win is a joke and so are the media people screaming about Tiger being back.
  • How squeamish do you think new Penn State Interim President Rodney Erickson was on Wednesday as he watched Jerry Sandusky being hauled off to jail yet again on new child molestation charges wearing Nittany Lions gear.  Hasn't Sandusky done enough to the University?  Can't he throw on a Rocca Wear sweater or Tommy pullover? 
  • If the LSU-Alabama rematch is anything like the game played in early November, put me to bed now.  I don't care how good each team is, Alabama does not deserve to play LSU again.  Oklahoma State was more deserving and once again the fans get robbed of seeing somebody new  playing for the BCS (Bogus, Chump, Sleazy) title. 
  • Rumors of Pitt football coach Todd Graham jumping ship to Kansas are laughable.  Not that things are a bed of roses right now in Oakland, but anything has to be better than coaching football on the plains of Kansas.  Have you been to Kansas people?  Not much there besides corn and flat land. 
  • Sidney Crosby has been asked to take two games off for precautionary reasons due to a hard hit he suffered recently.  Get used to these little 'breaks' as they will be routine for at least the rest of this season. 
  • I for one am happy the Pirates signed Nate McLouth.  I only hope he takes the #13 again.  I would finally be able to use one of my old, ex-Pirates who were traded jerseys without feeling much shame again. 
  • Tino Sunseri will not be wearing a Pitt football uniform in 2012.  How can he?  His coach hates him and mocks his play publicly.  The so-called fans shower him with taunts and jeers from the stands.  I for one don't like the notion of booing a college player.  They are not professional athletes, getting paid to do this for a living.  Give Tino a break people, he's a young man in college who happens to play football.  Despite his struggles, Sunseri has held himself up during a trying time.  This will only make him stronger and successful in the game of life. 
  • Green Bay will go 19-0 and wipe the 1972 Miami Dolphins from our memory as the only undefeated team in NFL history.  They will do so by beating the Steelers in a rematch of last year's Super Bowl.  Yes, you heard me, the Steelers will win the AFC.
  • Tim Tebow can keep doing what he does and that's win.  It amuses me to see people hate on him so much.  What does this say about our society?   I thought we were supposed to root for the underdog?  How sick have we become, rooting for others to fail and taking joy in it?
  • For once, the people who run the NHL did something right with the new realignment proposal. 
  • Good for West Virginia to make it to yet another BCS game.  Don't be shocked when they beat Clemson. 
  • I for one can't wait to wager chocolate chip cookies on the UCLA-Illinois game featuring one team under .500, another at .500 and both whose sub-par play cost their head football coaches their jobs. 
  • How awful is Temple that they were passed by yet again for membership to the Big East?  They can't be any worse than Rutgers right?
  • I understand Tiger Woods has entered a regional put-put qualifier in Hoboken, NJ this weekend.  If he wins, I'm sure the media and fans will rush to anoint him as being back to that old Tiger form.  Excuse me while my insides churn with laughter, as Woods is nothing more than a pedestrian golfer who will never come close to doing what he was once capable of.  Sorry Tiger fans, he's not back and last week's gift win means zip as far as I'm concerned. 

John Phillips is the author of this article and a secret member of the Galactic Empire.   When he's not chasing down Jedi across Kennywood Park, he can be heard hosting talk-shows and anchoring sports updates on 93.7 The Fan.  Follow JP on Twitter at www.twitter.com/937Phillips 

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