Sugar Bowl 2008: UGA dunks Hawaii

I watched most of the first half of the 2008 Sugar Bowl (at the Super Dome in New Orleans and broadcast on Fox) at a friend’s place–the first time I’ve watched a game with people (going to restaurants that have sporting events on their televisions don’t count).

Starring the UGA Bulldogs and the University of Hawaii Warriors, the first quarter took off with two consecutive penalties on Hawaii’s offense (delay of game and a false start).  Immediately afterwards, Warriors defensive back Keenan Jones helmeted (head-butted) Dawgs split end Mikey Henderson (Jones got a penalty for pass interference and Henderson suffered a concussion and had to sit out the rest of the game).   Very shortly thereafter, UGA was flagged for a false start.  All of the above happened just two minutes into the game.

By the end of the first quarter, UGA running back Knowshon Moreno made two touchdowns (including the first one of the entire game) and Hawaii put three points on the board with a field goal.   By the end of the second quarter, UGA had accumulated ten more points from a fifty-two yard field goal and a TD (courtesy of kicker Brandon Coutu and split end Sean Bailey).   Going into halftime UGA 24 and Hawaii 3.

The third quarter began with Warriors quarterback Colt Brennan getting sacked for the sixth time.   After getting sacked a seventh time (following a turnover in which Warriors defensive back Jacob Patek intercepted a UGA Matthew Stafford QB pass), the ball turned loose and Dawgs defensive end Marcus Howard recovered the ball for a TD (he was also the one who drove Brennan to the ground).  At the bottom of the third quarter, UGA tailback Thomas Brown made a TD.   UGA’s lead increased by three points in the top of the fourth quarter.  Dawgs 41 and Warriors 3.  After getting sacked an eighth time, Brennan stepped out of the game and was briefly replaced by backup quarterback Tyler Graunke, who threw a TD pass soon after (ball caught by wide receiver Ryan Grice-Mullen), Final score UGA 41.  Hawaii 10.

Observations & Miscellania:

1.  Hawaii’s uniforms were white tops and bottoms, silver-gray helmets–made me think of spearmint Lifesavers candies.   UGA’s uniforms were black tops, white bottoms, and red helmets–made me think of A1 Steak Sauce.

2. During the pre-game broadcast, there were short clips of the Warriors doing the Ha’a Dance on the field (sans helmet).  Counterpart to the Maori Haka war chant, n’est-ce pas?

3.  Pre-game footage also included a close-up of a man with a bulldog face painted on his head.  My friend’s dad said that this man shows up with at every game, presumably with the same painted head.

4.  The National Anthem was performed by New Orleans locals Bonerama. No singing, just lots of brass instruments.  Drill team members held aloft the American flag.

5. Colt Brennan looks good without a helmet.   There’s this boyish quality to his face; the facial hair makes him look like he needs to be in some kind of band.

6.  There was no blue line of scrimmage graphic.  The yellow 1st and Ten line didn’t appear until after UGA’s first penalty of false start (or thereabouts).

7. After making the first touchdown of the game, Knowshon Moreno blew a kiss to the spectators.

8.  Pac 10 officials were presiding over tonight’s game.

9. The film Jumper was getting two-fold shameless plugs: 1). Direct visual and vocal reference and 2).  Via a “Jumper” graphic that resembles taking a printscreen and then going into a close-up of a point of interest.

With thirty-seconds left in the third quarter, while waiting for booth review verdicts, the camera cut to a few shots of Uga VI sitting atop torn bags of ice.  His tongue made me think of roast beef.

11. One of the commentators remarked after Tyler Graunke threw the TD pass that Colt Brennan probably wished he could’ve done it.  Not long after UGA cornerback Ramarcus Brown returned a kick-off for 89 yards, the camera cut to a medium close-up shot of Brennan sitting on the bench with a towel draped around his head.  He was half-hiding behind the right side of it, visibly disheartened.

12.  A couple of the commentators mentioned the musical acts out of Athens, GA: REM and the B-52s.

13. It was really cool to see such an ethnically diverse crowd attending the game: east Asians, Polynesians, Hawaiians, Samoans.

14.  The DLP skycam looked like a mail box.

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

By the by, USC beat Illinois 49 to 17 to snag the Rose Bowl.   The Tostitos Fiesta Bowl is Wednesday night at 7:30 pm (east coast time) on Fox.

Brian Billick is no longer the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens.  His entire staff has also been made redundant.   Read more here.

‘Tis the Season: Colts featherdust the Ravens

The Indianapolis Colts on field with the Baltimore Ravens. Wow, what a heart-wringing night for Baltimore.

Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne made the first touchdown of the evening in the first quarter. During Indianapolis’s next possession (via fumble recovery), running back Joseph Addai made a TD. Addai made another one by the end of the first quarter (resulting from a turnover from an interception). Colts 21. Ravens 0. The Colts got a safety at the end of the first quarter, giving them two points. Addai gave his team another TD in the top of the second quarter. Ravens return specialist/wide receiver Yamon Figurs made a 94-yard kick-off return TD in the top of the second quarter. Colts 30. Ravens 7. Indianapolis wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez made a 57-yard TD. And then it was halftime.

The third quarter more or less started with a touchdown from Colts Anthony Gonzalez. Indianapolis 44. Baltimore 7. In the top of the fourth quarter, Ravens wide receiver Devard Darling made a TD. The two-point conversion was not successful. Under two minutes left of play in the fourth quarter, Ravens backup quarterback Troy Smith (who went into the game for Kyle Boller in the bottom of the fourth quarter) ran into the end zone for a touchdown. Colts 44. Ravens 20. And then the game was over.

Observations & Miscellania:

1. Tonight’s telecast of Sunday Night Football did not begin with an extreme close-up of Al Michaels. I’m so happy. After the Faith Hill credit sequence, the first image on screen was of the Ravens running out from the underbelly of the stadium, which then cut to a zoom-out shot of a little kid in Ravens fan attire, which then cut to a slight low angle close-up of Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, which then cut to a medium close-up of Al Michaels.

2. I love the way John Madden holds a microphone. His hand is so big in comparison. It looks like a child holding a lollipop.

3. What is wrong with Pioneer? A third eye in the sternum? A mouth with teeth for an iris? Ears as fingertips? What are we, trying to be Salvador Dali? The tag line reads: Seeing and hearing like never before. If the idea is to suggest that with a Pioneer Kuro TV, the viewer can experience aural and visual stimuli in a whole new way, emphasizing the blurring of lines between the world transmitted through the monitor and the world outside of the monitor would efficiently convey the message. How does the making strange of body parts effectively sell a flatscreen television? Going solely for bizarre-memorable?

4. After Joseph Addai made his second touchdown in the first quarter, John Madden pointed out how discouraged Ravens head coach Brian Billick must be feeling and then added, “And now it’s raining.” Adorable. John Madden is adorable.

5. Towards the end of the first quarter, when the camera cut to John Madden and Al Michaels standing in their booth, Michaels remarked something along the lines of “when people ask ‘what’s wrong with the Ravens,’ it’s never one thing.”

6. There was a brief segment of archival footage consisting of news reports about the Colts relocating themselves to Indiana in 1984. Apparently, ever since they left, whenever the Colts play in Baltimore, their name on the scoreboard reads “Indy” instead of “Colts.”

7. With six minutes left in the second quarter, the camera got a shot of the Ravens band in the stands. Al Michaels said that the Ravens band would perform during halftime and that “Baltimore hates Indianapolis. Cleveland hates Baltimore,” somebody else hates/loves somebody…”and we love Paris in the spring time.” John Madden added a comment about the rivalry and then asked Al, “what was that in the spring time again?” Al replied, “Paris.”

8. The play that ended with the Anthony Gonzalez TD in the third quarter began with a dual split-screen. The top half of the screen consisted of two squares, Peyton Manning in close-up on the left (facing the camera), and Joseph Addai’s back on the right (facing away from the camera). The bottom of the screen was the standard high angle extreme long shot of the field.

9. Colts linebacker Gary Brackett intercepted two Ravens passes tonight (the second prevented Baltimore from scoring a TD).

10. When Jim Sorgi went into the game in the middle of the third quarter for Peyton Manning, Al Michaels mentioned that Sorgi has a higher passing record than the starting quarterback.

11. In the remaining seconds of the third quarter, Ravens wide receiver Derrick Mason caught a pass from Kyle Boller. He ran four yards to the Indianapolis 9 yard line before being tackled by Colts defensive back Tim Jennings. His left shoe flew off in the process. During the slow-motion instant replays, Al Michaels pointed out the projectile shoe and the camera went to an extreme close-up of it. A very beautiful black and blue Nike too (I can’t find a visual aid).

12. John Madden confessed at the top of the fourth quarter that he isn’t keen on crab cakes or shellfish (“crab, shrimp, mussels, and stuff like that”). This shellfish remark occurred about ten “real time” minutes after the initial crab mention. At one point, the camera went to a medium close-up of a Colts fan eating a sub sandwich of some kind–looked like a sloppy joe or a meatball sandwich to me.
13. Madden also pointed out that the Colts appearance the playoffs this year would be head coach Tony Dungy’s ninth consecutive trip to post-season games.

For game summary, stats, and play by play, click here.