Away From the Game

While hoping people understood what President Obama said on The David Letterman Show about being Black before he became the president…

When the San Diego Football Classic was canceled last week, I was not surprised. Well, I was surprised that the promoters decided to wait until almost the last possible second to tell the two teams (Stillman and Central State) to stay home. But, for some reason, the Golden State has had recent troubles in hosting these so-called classics.

The Angel City “classic” was supposed to be played this year in Los Angeles…nope. I recall a “classic” game in San Francisco during the early part of the decade that was shut down twice in successive years. Even the games in San Diego and Los Angeles that have been played in recent years have been in front of sparse crowds in big venues that make it look as if no one goes except the quarterback’s mama, the cornerback’s baby’s mama, or the local youth football team that got free tickets.

Maybe we need to re-examine the whole “classic” moniker. Let’s be real…in most cases, classic=higher ticket prices. There wasn’t going to be anything classic about Stillman-Central State, a game where the Tigers had more swine flu outbreaks (one) than the Marauders had points (none) coming into the game. And San Diego has yet to show that its games are worthy of a Classic standard.

I understand “classics” don’t turn into Magic City, Atlanta, Circle City and Bayou overnight. Those that do usually go the way of the Motor City Classic (high early turnout, now defunct), or worse, the Gateway Classic (now played in a virtually empty stadium, might be time to put that dog down). But to merely throw Classic on the name of a contest, play it in a high school stadium and have no ancilliary events is a farce (yes, I’ve been to one of those). Maybe just name it the (Your School Here) Annual Budget Extravaganza.

Let us know what you think in the comment section below…

This week’s Hot List (Top 5 teams, players, stories)

5. Tuskegee’s demise has been greatly exaggerated
After the loss to Miles, it looked like the Golden Tigers’ bandwagon had gotten light. But wins over Fort Valley State and previously undefeated Clark Atlanta shows Tuskegee has plenty of fight left.

4. Texas-sized Smackdown
I just want to know one thing….why?
Texas Southern beat Texas College 75-6. Texas College would have trouble beating some good high school teams. So why would the Tigers even schedule the small Division-VIII school? To call that game a glorified scrimmage would be kind.

3. Central State is on the board
Even as it’s trip to San Diego was canceled, the Marauders were able to enjoy some fun in the sun. After playing three games and scoring no points, Central State was able to drop 26 on Stillman in the impromptu home game. Alas, the Tigers put up 41 and CSU remains winless. But a few touchdowns is a start.

2. Livingstone Changes Football Coach
Back when Darren Hamilton was hired as athletic director, we warned that the head football and basketball coaches better watch out. Hamilton axed them all in just over a year’s time at Alcorn State.

Well Lamonte Massie is first in line after being removed (reassigned? man, please!) as head football coach in Salisbury…who’s next?

1. LeRoy Vann
This young man is the Devin Hester of college football. He returned two punts for touchdowns last week against Howard, has four on the season and seven in his career. Now, ESPN has come a-callin’ and he will be featured on its popular Game Day program Saturday morning.

Another week of observations and perspectives while wondering if Oregon’s LeGarrett Blount would’ve hit a brutha like he did Boise State’s Byron Hout…

I watched parts of the SWAC/MEAC Challenge last weekend, not because I was overly interested in the result (the SWAC lost…AGAIN!), but just at the overall hue of the broadcast. And much like I knew Greg Dillon was going to throw that interception at the end (he couldn’t have thrown that pass more true to his OWN receiver), I knew I was going to be disappointed.

The disappointment wasn’t because of the broadcast itself (Charlie Neal could call the action in 8th grade home economics and I’d listen!) but because I don’t think ESPN – or many other networks – gets it.

First, I’ll say that it’s good to see ESPN step up to the plate in recent years. But when it comes to Black College football, the Worldwide Leader fails to specifically cater to OUR game. It’s like they try to take the broadcast template for its PWC telecasts and fit it to the HBCU game. But as we all know, if you put a dress on a moose, it’s still a moose.

Want to know the scores at other HBCU games during an ESPN telecast? Better have another source. Halftime studio shows are more about the upcoming Syracuse or USC contest than any other HBCU games. The halftime shows are mostly what we care about but all we get is a tease!

BET used to do Black College games, but the way “Black Entertainment Television” (well, not anymore) did them makes me glad it doesn’t anymore. More entertainment, less football, chopped and screwed into a convenient 2-hour window (on tape delay at that!) where half the game was missing.

I’d say let the minds of both ESPN and BET get together and, pick out the good stuff, and make the best broadcast possible. But you know they’ll both mess it up. Hopefully, someone will get it right.

Money on my mind: Just wondering how much money, per point, did Jackson State, Southern, Alcorn State, Mississippi Valley, and Arkansas-Pine Bluff got for losing by a combined 230-29 this past weekend.

It had to end at some point: The fact that Tuskegee’s two-plus season undefeated run through the SIAC came to an end is not the biggest surprise. A freshman quarterback, new starters at receiver and on the offensive line meant it had to come crashing down at some point.

But the fact that the Golden Tigers led 16-0 to a Miles team that wasn’t excatly setting the field afire offensively makes you wonder if ol’ TU is going to be in for a longer season than expected.

Three the hard way: Stillman became the third HBCU team to cancel a game this season, following Delaware State and St. Paul’s. While the H1N1 virus apparently had depleted the Stillman ranks, it makes you wonder if more teams could pull this ploy to get out of a game it might not win…the three teams all lost their first games, scoring 15, 12, and zero points, respectively.

That Bama State Spirit…: Might be the Ghost of ADs past. Sterling Steward was named interim athletic director at Alabama State last week, taking over for Monique Holland, who had only been on the job nine months and resigned abruptly.

Steward becomes the eighth athletic director at ASU in the last 10 years, joining William Head, Rob Spivery, Richard Cosby, Sonia Price, Patrick Carter, Ron Dickerson and Holland in the hot seat. Makes you wonder what’s really going on at Bama State.

As we prepare to start the first FULL week of Black College Football, let’s look at some of what we’ve noticed from the past two weekends…

Quintez Smith DOES NOT play for Elizabeth City State: It may be hard to prove that after Smith caught three touchdown passes from Vikings quarterback Creven Powell. Problem for ECSU is that Smith is a cornerback for the Shaw Bears. Picking off three passes in a game is an amazing feat in itself. But to take each of them to the house for six – and none of them were cheap (90, 70, and 34 yards) – is a BIG DEAL!

Maybe Powell plays for the Bears: Powell threw for 246 yards in the loss to Shaw but even past the three INTs for touchdowns he gave up to Smith, he had a fourt interception returned 63 yards for a score by Micguel Johnson. So he had more interception return yards (257) than passing yards.

Where’s the offense?: While Shaw scored 54 points against the Vikings, the Bears’ offense scored a grand total of ONE touchdown. Maybe the defense will be that good all season but I doubt there will four INTs returned for touchdowns, a kickoff return for a score, and four field goals every week.

Look out for Miles: The Billy Joe era got off to a tough start in 2008 but the Golden Bears might be the surprise team of the SIAC this season.

Down 18-9 to Lane, Miles’ defense – which got progressively better throughout last season – pitched a shutout over the last 35 minutes. Quarterback Carlton Hill put together the finest offensive performance of the opening week, rushing for three touchdowns, passing for two more, and chalking up 300 yards of total offense (180 pass, 120 rush) in a 35-18 win.

Stand and take it: Given the circumstances, it wouldn’t have been a surprise if Kentucky State lost its season opener against Stillman. New head coach Wayne Dickens took control of the team days before it reported for fall camp; four players were in the news after being arrested in conjunction with a robbery; the quarterback is a true freshman and the team was picked to finish last in the SIAC even before any of this happened.

So after the Thorobreds beat Stillman 24-15, the players didn’t get a chance to sneak up on Dickens for the ceremonial water cooler bath….he turned around and took the dousing face first, literally soaking up the moment.

Delaware State is off the hook: A lot was said about Delaware State having an 0-1 record before a game was even played, thanks to the forfeit of its contest against North Carolina A&T to take a big money game against Michigan.

Now, the Benedict Tigers have become the first (and so far only) team to have to losses on the season. Tuskegee waxed them in the first game of the season before Morehouse ran over them in similar fashion in week two. If Benedict doesn’t do something about the 257 rushing yards per game it is giving up, this could be a LONG season in Columbia.