Should have known better and Gibbs makes a surprise exit

I admit it...I drank the Kool-Aid.
I fell into the lockstep drumbeat of the banter of the Buck fans that said this is our year, we won't let someone get the drop on us again.
I was swayed by the talk of Tressel and the so-called experts that said that last year was a fluke, that Ohio State learned its lesson and was not going to be beaten by LSU a team that was nowhere as fast as Florida was.
I made the pick and had buyers remorse.
I've been on this site 4 months and ninety posts, I've been railing at the Bucks, dogging them for their soft schedule and saying that when they played a solid team outside of the Big Ten they would be exposed. Still I picked the Bucks, figuring that they were due.
Like the old song by Richard Marx. "Shoulda Known Better."
When Beanie Wells cutback through a nice gap and raced 65 yards for a score, I thought "Uh Oh. Just like last year." The Bucks scored early last year and looked like they were full of confidence. The Gators parried that blow and fell on them with a fury. But still I slugged down my beer and munched on my wings, listening to the frenzied Buck fans at my local tavern. I tried to rationalize and warn the Buck fans that they should comeback with a sustained drive to further quiet the crowd. Then there was an errant snap by LSU on their first drive. The Tigers punted and the Bucks looked like they were in a real position to bury the Bayou Bengals early. The Bucks got a field goal and were up 10-0.
"This ain't last year!" I heard
"Lets bury them early!"
"The SEC is so overrated!"
I shook my head and knew that ten points early is something that can be erased. LSU did just that and the Buck fans got real quiet. Poised to take the lead, the Bucks had a field goal try blocked and then I saw it.
The look.
The "here we go again" look." I sat back in my chair and told my tablemates, "The Bucks had better not let LSU score six before they do, or they're in gumbo." I got a round of dirty looks that was framed more by worry and cold realization that I was right than contempt. The Tigers indeed scored again, and with shocking and sudden swiftness the Bucks came apart. Not like last year where the Gators ran by the Bucks like they were standing still but with a slow and methodical precision. The Tigers kept pounding the Bucks, beating them to the punch time and time again and the Bucks while not seeming a step slower seemed like they were getting muscled around. James Laurinitas has 18 tackles, when a linebacker is leading your team in tackles something is wrong, it usually means that the runners are getting past your first line of defense. LSU scored 31 straight points and after scoring to make it 31-10, the tavern began to clear out. I got my share of dirty looks and nasty under the breath comment about me being "a wet blanket." or "a jinx" I had someone tell me that because I was wearing a University of Cincinnati pullover that I brought bad karma. Hey did I mention that I thought the Bucks would win?
In any case, the Bucks were beaten. The Tigers were the better team, and they brought problems that the Bucks could not answer. Matt Flynn was not flashy, but his effiecent play kept the Bucks guessing all night and he was rightly named the games most outstanding player. Some Buck fans would like to lay blame somewhere. It has to be someones fault, their man Tressel couldn't have been outcoached. In my opinion he wasn't. Todd Boeckman was under a heavy rush all game and was often picking himself of the turf. It wasn't any kind of bias, the Tigers were 118th in the nation in penalties but committed few of them last night, the Bucks had a number of personal fouls and a lot of them were silly preventable ones. Witness the 15 yard facemask after a catch and a personal foul on an unneeded shove. The Bucks were simply beaten by the better team that after having a month to heal the walking wounded exhibited that they were better. The Bucks have nothing to hang their head about, they deserved to be in the title game, but someone had to lose.
And for those that think that I'm gloating over a Buck loss and think that they may have gotten some sort of comeuppance, I'm not. I did think that your team would win. So stop looking to play the blame game and focus on 2008.

I heard the news this morning and was shocked to hear that Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs was resigning his duties. I wonder if Gibbs resigned or is being pushed out by hyper impatient owner Dan Snyder who thinks that he can lure Bill Cowher into DC. I think that Snyder is like how George Steinbrenner was 30 some years ago. Impatient, impetuous and baadly desiring a title to salve his mammoth ego. He sees the rebirth of his hated rival Dallas Cowboys and their egomaniac owner and the possibility of them getting to a Super Bowl and it drives him nuts. He figures if he can push the old coach out while the opportunity is there to get a big name like Cowher he will do it. Gibbs, the portrait of a classy and respected coach deserves better. I don't think this resignation was entirely his idea.

Back tommorrow with the Clemems fallout and the Phat Dap/Head Slap
Until Next Post Fellow Sports Fans!