BCS Championship and My FInal Poll

First of all, kudos to cnnsi.com for having the headline "BCS Champions" (as pointed out to me by valuable Ramblings reader Jack Skaggs) instead of "National Champions", because this year we aren't even close to having a national champion.  All we are left with is a muddled mess of very good teams with imperfect resumes - each of Florida, Texas, Utah and USC can rightly argue that they were the best team in the country...but the glittery football is heading back to Gainesville (motto: At least we're not Waco).

You can't tell me that after the national title game, each of Utah, USC and UT didn't think they could have beaten each of the 2 teams playing in the championship.  Neither Florida nor Oklahoma played badly, but neither put on a show that made anyone think "Wow, that is the best team in the country."  Thus, we now have a host of teams claiming that they are the best team in the country..and how can anyone tell them they aren't.

Until we have a playoff, here are my top 25 teams:

25. Rice (10-3) - I think we beat Georgia Tech head to head.  Thus, we get in.

24. Michigan St. (9-4) - Gave Georgia a tough game in the bowl.  Solid, if unspectacular team.

23.  BYU (10-3) - Really surprised they lost to Arizona.  Another program building season though out in Provo.

22. Florida St. (9-4) - Seminoles are rising once again.  Odds are their GPAs are not.

21. West Virginia (9-4) - Congrats to Pat White after becoming the only QB to start and win 4 bowl games.  Great, great college player.

20. Iowa (9-4) - Played so well down the stretch AND kept Penn St. out of the national title game.  An appreciative nation thanks you Hawkeyes.

19. Cincinnati (11-3) - You win the Big East? Whoop.  You got manhandled by a Virginia Tech team that hadn't looked that good all year.  Program on the rise though.

18. Oregon St. (9-4) - Despite winning the ugliest bowl game ever (3-0) I'm still impressed they could get a W in spite of the absence of top players.  Watch them in 2009.

17. Missouri (10-4) - Just never got it going this year.  A VERY disappointing season when you see what they were hoping to accomplish in 2008.  

16. Virginia Tech (10-4) - After a below average season by this program's standards, pulled out some serious whoop-ass on Cincinnati.  Just a great college football program year in and year out.

15. Oklahoma St. (9-4) - If only they had a defense.

14. Texas Tech (11-3) - Apparently thought the season was over after beating Oklahoma St. on 11/8, because they were terrible in the last 3 games they played.

13. Georgia (10-3) - Never lived up to preseason billing, but a good season nonetheless.  Lot of weapons are going to be lost to the draft.

12. Mississippi (9-4) - The only team to beat Florida lost their 4 games by a combined 19 points.  THE team on the rise in the SEC. Hey Hog fans, still think Houston Nutt can't coach?

11. Ohio St. (10-3) - Played a great Fiesta Bowl game despite Pryor not being able to throw the ball more than 10 yards at a time.  Tell the band to lay off playing the fight song though, k?

10. Oregon (10-3) - Just rolling at the end of the year!  Couldn't move them past Boise St. though, since Boise St. beat them AT Oregon during the year.

9. Boise St. (12-1) - Played TCU to a near draw...underrated team and underrated program.  Think a 12-0 regular season team wouldn't be interested in a playoff?

8. Penn St. (11-2) - If only they had gotten the memo that the Rose Bowl was two halves and not just one...might have set their wakeup call earlier.

7. TCU (11-2) - Beat a tough Boise St. team in the bowl after a great regular season.  Most underrated program in the country.

6. Alabama (12-2) - Only team in the top 10 to finish the season with a losing streak.  Manhandled by Utah which makes me smile, if only because Nick Saban is one of the least engaging and gregarious people in the country.

5. Oklahoma (12-2) - 45-35.  24-14.  Suck it OU.

4. USC (12-1) - Seriously, how did they ever lose to Oregon St.?  Great ballclub.

3. Texas (12-1) - Oh Blake Gideon....so close.

2. Florida (12-1) - Great team with an even greater coach.  

1. Utah (13-0) - Beat everyone in front of them, including 4 ranked teams. Dominated Alabama in the sugar bowl.  Do I think they are the best team? No. They are definitely top 5 though, and if their name was "Florida" or "Texas" they are in the title game.  Hats off to the Utes.

Florida vs. Oklahoma

So the "national title" game that doesn't include the team that beat one of the two participants on a neutral field (UT), a team that hasn't lost since September and destroyed Penn St. in the Rose Bowl (USC) or the only team to go undefeated, defeat 4 ranked teams and destroyed the #1 team in the country for most of the season Alabama in their bowl game (Utah).  So suffice to say I'm not certain you're seeing the two best teams in America playing tonight.

That being said, I have a hard time trying to see how Oklahoma wins this game.  They are going to have to flat out outscore Florida, and I think Florida's defense is too good to score 50 on.  I'm calling a good but not great game from Bradford, a key turnover or two by OU, and a Florida 48-38 win after a few late scores by OU.

Is Around the Horn the Worst Show on TV?

Yes.

Random Thoughts

As I try and recover from UT nearly giving me a heart attack during the 4th quarter tonight:

• Can I get a "GO RICE" for their domination of Western Michigan in the Texas Bowl??  The only drama was whether WMU could score towards the end of the 4th quarter to get on the board (they did. bastards.).  Just a great night for Rice, Coach Bailiff and the many seniors on the team.  What a way to go out - a 38-14 bloodletting and the first ten win season in 50+ years.  Cheers to Chase Clement and Jarrett Dillard for being the best passing combination in school history...not to mention now having the record for the most TDs between 2 players in NCAA history.  Kudos guys!
• First time in Reliant Stadium (where the Texans play) and my thoughts:  (1) State of the art and very nice stadium, but slightly sterile...nothing really to distinguish itself from anywhere else; (2) I'm sure it's better for Texans' games (or else nobody would ever go), but there was basically one lane open into the stadium.  Thus, we sat in traffic for 40 minutes and missed the kickoff. Thanks guys.; (3)  We went to get some food towards the beginning of the 2nd quarter and nearly missed the whole quarter. Again, get some more help guys.  A great time was had by all though!
• How terrible was Fox's coverage tonight for the Fiesta Bowl?  To start with, Matt Vasgersian butchered his play-by-play duties, routinely saying things that simply weren't true.  "Another penalty aided drive by the Longhorns" said after an off-sides penalty that was DECLINED b/c UT got a 6 yard gain and a first down on the play.  After OSU's TD that cut the UT lead to 17-15 with 7 minutes to go in the game, he brilliantly added "Now Coach Tressel has a decision to make."  Um, what?  To go for 2 or....go for 2?  Which is basically what his color guy Tim Ryan (who did a pretty good job) said.  Also, there were many graphic issues with downs and yards.  Brutal Fox. Just brutal.
• Terrell Pryor reminds me of Vince Young when he runs the ball.  Unfortunately for OSU fans he reminds me of my 4 year old female cousin when he throws it.  If he could have thrown the ball at all tonight, the Buckeyes win.
• Was the only person that felt that, despite his gaudy endgame numbers, McCoy made mistakes he didn't usually make?  His pick in the red zone, his grounding for a 20 yard loss, his 3 and out drive before OSU's last TD...I mean, the guy was still great, but he wasn't otherworldly like he had been all year.  I know I'm nitpicking, and what a final drive he had.  Just a hell of a QB.
• By the way, my Heisman vote? (1) McCoy  (2) Bradford   (3) Tebow
• James Kirkendoll?  The state of Texas thanks you for getting JUST enough on that 4th down play to get the first down.  Wow.
• I never thought a school played their fight song as much as Oklahoma did...until tonight.  If I heard the last snippet of OSU's song ("hey, hey the gang's all here") one more time, I was going to snap and kill the whole gang.  What is the band leader thinking? "Wells just gained 2 yards. Start it up again boys!"  Between that, their wearing of stupid buckeye nuts and their general hostility to everyone outside Ohio's borders, I will continue to root against OSU as much as humanly possible.
• How do shows like Arrested Development, Eli Stone and Journeyman get cancelled, while Laguna Beach has now spawned 3 shows: Newport Beach (thankfully gone), The Hills (HORRIBLE) and now the City (motto: "slightly less crappy than the Hills").  Life is mean.

U2's Albums: #7

#7.  The Unforgettable Fire (1984)

Votes: 45

Highest Rank: 4th (1)

Lowest Rank: 10th (1)

Goodbye War. Hello Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois.  While I disagree that this is a transformational album in terms of how the band was perceived, it certainly is a HUGE transformation in the type of music U2 played.  While War was much more rock driven and hard hitting, UF arrived on shelves featuring U2 at their most ambient thanks to the new collaboration with Eno and Lanois.  UF also marks the first of the 3 "U2 goes American" albums in which U2 embraced our country both musically (incorporating the blues, gospel, etc.) and lyrically/spiritually ("MLK", "Pride", "Elvis Presley").  Europe took center stage musically and thematically with Achtung Baby, but for 3 albums, U2 took in America as only an outsider could - wholeheartedly.

The heights of this album are as high as any other U2 has ever done - "Bad" and "Pride" are still moving experiences when done live. (I would be willing to put "Bad" up against anything the band ever did - before or since)  "A Sort of Homecoming" finds the band in pre-Joshua tree territory - huge sweeping visual expanses through the atmospheric sound layered over ambiguous lyrics that open up the track even more ("fields of morning, lights in the distance").  A scream against heroin addiction, "Bad" explodes emotionally as Bono screams "I'm wide awake, and I'm not sleeping..oh no."  "Bad" is also one of the first far reaching emotional songs that, while specific in the feeling it causes in the listener, it's generic enough that the listener can import nearly any similar feeling of heartbreak and loss and find comfort in it.  

However, the absolutely ridiculous stream of consciousness that became "Elvis Presley in America" is simply idea over execution.  The idea that feeling is more important than structure (prevalent through the whole album) overreaches here, and results in a muddling mess.  I find that I tend to listen to 3-4 songs and forward through the others, but UF' importance is not just in its handful of brilliant tracks, but also in the foundation it laid for the Joshua Tree.  I can't imagine U2 having made the jump from War to Joshua Tree without meandering a bit here on UF.

U2's Albums: #6

#6. How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004)

Votes: 48

Highest Rank: 1st (1)

Lowest Rank: 11th (1)

Well here it is, the album that officially was the most bizarrely ranked album of all of them - first in one person's book, last in another's.  Now, I think it definitely falls in the middle somewhere and is DEFINITELY not the best nor the worst album U2 has ever made...but the fact that people judged it to such extreme I think deserves a second look.

To be honest, I find this musically to be a far superior album to the much higher ranked (and more critically acclaimed) All That You Can't Leave Behind.  Once all context is removed I think many more people would be willing to agree with me.  However, ATYCLB is considered the superior album I believe for three main reasons:

(1) ATYCLB was one of the three "Transformational Albums" U2 released while Dismantle was not.  To me, there were 3 albums that firmly transformed U2's career at the time they were released: Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby and ATYCLB.  Sure the band's first 4 albums established them as stars, and "Pride" really took them to a new level within the States, but Joshua Tree firmly transformed them from just another band to the "biggest band in the world" label.  After the relative failure of Rattle and Hum, both artistically and commercially (the film, not the album), it was Achtung Baby that reinvented the band and transformed them once again from a band seen as perhaps clinging to an 80s' sound into one enthusiastically embracing the 90s' sonic barrage.  Finally, after Pop's tepid American sales' numbers and the corresponding (though relative to Zoo TV) disappointment of the PopMart Tour, the shift to a more stripped down sound of ATYCLB not only transformed their sound again, but firmly retrenched themselves as the Biggest Band on the World.  Thus, when Dismantle came out it was simply an extension of ATYCLB, rather than a seismic shift in the U2 soundscape that became ATYCLB's legacy.

(2) Elevation Tour vs. Vertigo Tour.  This was a slam dunk for the Elevation Tour.  Building on the success of their stripped down sound, U2 stripped down their tour as well.  Trading in stadiums for arenas and giant lemons for heart-shaped stages, the Elevation Tour brought fans and band closer together, resulting in perhaps the most satisfying tour of their career.  Nearly every show was a sellout, and the critics and fans both agreed.  After Dismantle came out and many called it an extension of ATYCLB, the Vertigo Tour cemented those beliefs.  The same 4 screens following each member of the band? Check.  The same arenas? Check.  The heart shaped stage...no! it was now an ellipse.  Bottom line, same tour with some new music.  Thus while attending an Elevation show seemed like something brand new and exciting, going to a Vertigo show was fun...but didn't seem all that different.

(3) 9/11.  Let's be honest, the soundtrack to our heartbreak as a nation was primarily filled by a band from a small island country on the other side of the Atlantic.  9/11 occurred as the second part of U2's North American tour was gearing up, and the shows quickly took on a new meaning with every song, every performance, every note.  Bono pulled back the inside of his leather jacket to reveal the American flag.  "Sunday, Bloody Sunday" turned into our "Tuesday, Bloody Tuesday", "New York" transformed from a mediocre song into a love note to our fallen towers to the northeast and "Walk On" became our mission, our goal...and we all sang it as one.  More than in any other medium, emotion is wrapped up in music...it binds us, reminds us of times past, and brings back feelings we thought long ago had been lost.  It's not Dismantle's fault, but ATYCLB came along at the right time for the USA.

Thus, this album may be the stepson of ATYCLB, but it's not a bad stepson to have around.  Although "Yahweh" is one of the more annoying wishful little songs Bono and the boys have ever put together. Ugh.  The fact that many shows on the Vertigo tour ended with this still annoys me.  Also, "All Because of You" could have been sung by anyone - nothing distinguishes it and as Jack so eloquently put it "it bugs."

Still, does it get any more anthemic than "City of Blinding Lights?"  I happen to think it's one of the best songs they've ever done (though Jessica vehemently disagrees with this assessment) and was even better live.  Though it was REALLY overplayed, "Vertigo" arrives with a sizzling guitar riff from the Edge and is 3 minutes of great rock and roll.  "Sometimes You Can't Make it on It's Own" has the rare distinction of being one of the best slow songs U2 has ever done despite the fact that it has one of the worst opening lines of any song ever ("Tough, you think you've got the stuff").  I mean, really Bono?  The fact that it can bounce back from that is impressive in its own right.  "A Man and a Woman" and "One Step Closer" are understated in their brilliance, and "Bullet the Blue Sky" has nothing on "Love and Peace (or Else)" in my opinion.  

So overall, while I think it's tracks are stronger 1 to 11 than ATYCLB, it never hits a high mark like "Walk On" and due to not being a Transformational Album, it promises to stay in ATYCLB's shadow.

U2's Albums: #8

#8 Boy (1980)

Votes: 36

Highest Rank: 4th (1)

Lowest Rank: 11th (1)

Over the years U2 has not travelled as far over the map as the ratings for their electric debut album were.  We had a 4th (my ranking), 2 5ths, 6th, 9th, 2 10ths and 1 11th.  Initially, I decided to attempt to rank my albums based solely on the music each album contained.  However, I've quickly realized that such an endeavor is nearly impossible - music is too wrapped up in both the memories of it in our heads and the environment into which it was introduced.  In addition, to try and compare "Boy" to "Dismantle" without factoring in that the former is the product of teenagers in a small studio and the latter is the results of multiple producers, a band with nearly 30 years experience and millions of dollars is not only unfair, but completely impractical.

The bottom line: when viewed through the lens of what it was...the first effort by an unknown band that blew the doors off of radio, it succeeded wildly.  To this day, when U2 strikes up the chords to "Out of Control", "I Will Follow", "An Cat Dubh/Into the Heart" or "The Electric Co." in concert, the songs could be off of their newest album.  Could the songs on Boy use more production value? Sure.  But as SONGS they are still brilliant.  Personally, I'll never forget being in Madison Square Garden the month after 9/11, as U2 played "Out of Control" while sharing the stage with dozens of NYFD's finest.

So does "The Ocean" suck? Sure. Is "Stories for Boys" annoying? Possibly.  But Boy is still one of the better debut albums of the past 30 years.  It gave hints of what was to come, but still excels as an album in its own right.