College Football 09: Crimson Tide flips over the Hokies

The Alabama Crimson Tide and the Virginia Tech Hokies players and fans amass in the GA Dome on the same date as the first day of Dragon Con.  Downtown Atlanta must’ve been one frothy cauldron of red, maroon/plum, and all the other colors of ROY G BIV.  How lovely the Dome looked from an aerial view (provided by the Metlife blimp).

Televised by ABC, commentary was supplied by Kirk Herbstreit and Brent Musburger.   The Crimson Tide scored first and second with two field goals (thanks to kicker Leigh Tiffin).  Alabama 6 and Virginia Tech 0.  The Hokies would give the Crimson a shocker with ninety-eight yard kickoff return for a TD by wide receiver Dyrell Roberts (he ran with such momentum that after he reached the end zone, he tumbled into a padded, triangular object of sponsorship promotion).  Virginia Tech 7 and Alabama 6.  The Crimson Tide got a luck-ball-change when Hokies tailback Ryan Williams let the ball slip out of his reach during a kickoff-return attempt.  Tiffin went out for another field goal after his teammates couldn’t get the ball in the end zone.  Alabama 9 and Virginia Tech 7.

Five minutes into the second quarter Hokies defensive end Jason Worilds intercepted Crimson Tide quarterback Greg McElroy.  Tries for the end zone were unsuccessful.  Hokies kicker Matt Waldron then sent a twenty-eight yarder through the uprights.  Virginia Tech 10 and Alabama 9.  As the clock whittled down to three minutes, Crimson Tide running back Roy Upchurch got his upper body across the goal line.  Alabama 16 and Virginia Tech 10.   By the time there was just a minute left in the second quarter, the Hokies managed to scoot their bottoms down to the red zone and Ryan Williams, who had dropped a not-properly-gripped ball in the first quarter, planted his body into the end zone.  Going into halftime, Virginia Tech 17 and Alabama 16 (Tiffin would not make a thirty-six yard field goal with seconds left on the clock).

The third quarter bleeped all the way to five minutes before anything eye-popping happened.  Roy Upchurch was on the run and was bumped from behind by Hokies linebacker Cody Grimm.   The ball tumbled out of Upchurch’s hands and Virginia Tech recovered it.  No points resulted from the turnover.

The fourth quarter reached a high point just three minutes in when Crimson Tide running back Mark Ingram made a TD (and then subsequently did a little celebrating in the end zone, but not excessively).  The two-point conversion was good–tight end Colin Peek caught McElory’s pass in the back of the end zone.  The Hokies barely had a turn on offense when the Tide caused and took control of a fumbled ball.  A field goal came out of that snatch-up.  Alabama 27 and Virginia Tech 17.  Ryan Williams gave his Hokies fans something to smile with his dash to break the plane.  A booth review had confirmed that he had crossed the goal line.  Alabama 27 and Virginia Tech 24.  Mark Ingram straightened out that smile ever so concretely when he made a TD a few minutes later.  Alabama 34 and Virginia Tech 24.  Final score.

Observations & Miscellania:

1.  Crimson Tide wore white jerseys; the Hokies wore maroon.

2.  Why is Alabama’s mascot an elephant?   If the reason were more arbitrary, I’d like to see the Crimson Tide represented by a barge or a a periscope or trout.

3.  Alabama defensive end Brandon Deaderick was wounded in a robbery attempt a week ago.  So, how was he able to suit up in today’s game?  In the first quarter, the Herbstreit and Musburger explained that the bullet entered Deaderick’s left arm, exited, and then went into a hip (and out again).  The bullet didn’t touch any bones or blood vessels.  Medical opinion apparently didn’t object after Deaderick was treated.

4.  The second quarter of the UGA @ OSU game felt exceptionally long.  The entire first half of tonight’s game seems interminable.

5.  Immediately after the Colin Peek two-point conversion in the fourth quarter, the camera cut to a medium close-up of three Hokies fans.  Two young men in the middle of the frame and another in the foreground, slight left side of the screen.  This redhead male was visibly upset as he bent his upper body forward thrice (almost thrashing).  It looked like he was assaulting the chair below him with a white towel or shirt.

6.  According to Brent Musburger, 74, 954 (?) people were at the GA Dome for this game.  A venue record.  The Dome’s web site indicates a seating capacity of 71, 250.

7.  Do commentators really have to plug “in-house” network shows?  Can’t it be enough for there to be on-screen graphics of such shows?

8.  Where did the fourth quarter surge in energy and ferocity start?  I mean I know when it began, but from what stockpile did the umph emanate?

Get game summary, stats, and play-by-play here.

College Football 09: OSU dampens UGA

Before I get to the red and the orange:

Firstly,  David Tyree is no longer a wide receiver for the NY Giants.

Secondly, Ohio State beat Navy 31 to 27 earlier today.

Thirdly, GaTech drank up Jacksonville State’s dairy treat 37 to 17.

Fourthly, the punch seen ’round the college football (LaGarrette Blount was raggin on his own teammates too!).

The UGA Bulldogs crossed a time zone to test the Oklahoma State Cowboys.  Broadcast on ABC, Sean McDonough and Matt Millen provided commentary.  UGA quarterback Joe Cox wasn’t 100% physically well, but still took to the field.  The first quarter said hello to a touchdown for the Dawgs, courtesy of Cox and wide receiver Michael Moore.  UGA 7 and OSU 0.

The second quarter saw a few near-interceptions by the Dawgs but was predominantly rather dull until there were fewer than three minutes left on the clock.  Cowboys quarterback Zac Robinson launched a forty-six yard TD catch to wide receiver Dez Bryant.   The Dawgs lost possession of the ball on their next go because Cowboys recovered a fumbled ball.  Kicker Dan Bailey made a twenty-eight yard field goal to take the lead going into halftime.  OSU 10 and UGA 7.

The third quarter started with a whopping sixty-eight yard return by Cowboys defensive back Perrish Cox.  The Dawgs defense were able to thwart a series of TD attempts but couldn’t keep out the one that Zac Robinson ran in himself.  OSU 17 and UGA 7.  Dawgs kicker Blair Walsh put a fifty-three yard field goal through in the second half of the third quarter.  OSU 17 and UGA 10.  The fourth quarter scrounged down halfway and Dez Bryant caught another pass for a TD.  OSU 24 and UGA 10.  Final score.  The Dawgs would not recover.

Observations & Miscellania:

1.  From the bright orange of OSU to the bright red of UGA fans in the stands, Boone Pickens Stadium looked awash with salmon roe or masago.

2.  Upon returning from commercial after UGA’s first TD in the first quarter, the camera went to a low-angle close-up shot of Loran’s Best, such a cutie.

3.  Sean McDonough remarked at the end of the first quarter that UGA was the most penalized SEC team last year.

4.  Around six minutes in the second quarter, the camera cut to a couple shots of OSU fans: a medium long shot at “eye level” and then a low-angle close-up of a youung man’s concerned face.  He had black streaks under his eyes and wore a cap.  He must’ve purchased the cap the day of the game because the price tag was visible under the cap’s bill.  There were a couple of stickers on either side of the ISBN, though.

Get game summary, stats, and play-by-play here.

~!~

Suing for hundreds of thousands (or for millions) isn’t the point, it’s the principle behind the plaintiff’s case; recommending the death penalty in situations like this one …. maybe I’m too cynical but neither the principle nor the point is even touchable.  A life for a life on the one hand, but on the other, wouldn’t there be more satisfaction in knowing that a violent crime offender were living the rest of his/her days in varying states of physical and emotional torment?  (Un)fortunately, there is such a thing as the Eighth Amendment.  Still, what is cruel and unusual for Group A isn’t so for Group B.  Torture and physical mutilation needn’t be necessary.  Why not impose something ideologically more wicked, such as giving a vegan nothing but farm animals for caloric intake.  Giving a carnivore nothing but fruits and veggies.  You’d just have to keep the convicted alive for the duration of their sentencing until they reached the age of curmudgeon.  Apres ca, je ne sais pas.

On a tangential note, whether or not brain injuries or brain abnormalities can explain or contextualize an individuals anti-social (socially deviant) behavior, why is it that some of these persons are more a danger to themselves while others are a danger to themselves and other people?