David Ramsey Says What?

Air Force must brace for Hawaii’s 350-pound (!) running back

david ramsey — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 00:15:28 +0000

Air Force plays Hawaii in Mountain West conference games in 2015 and 2016 in a new far-flung schedule announced Tuesday.

That most likely means Air Force will face 6-foot-2, 350-pound running back (yes, running back) David Fangupo, who is expected to soon sign a letter-of-intent with Hawaii.

Here’s more, imcluding video, on Fangupo from Yahoo Sports:

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/highschool-prep-rally/monster-350-pound-rb-serious-wheels-earns-scholarship-162529943.html

Air Force must brace for Hawaii’s 350-pound (!) running back is a post from: David Ramsey Says What?

Air Force could shock New Mexico – here’s why

david ramsey — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 18:48:18 +0000

New Mexico’s Lobos demolished Air Force three times last season, winning the games by a total of 84 points. The Lobos won the first two meetings by a total of 69 points.

Those demolitions give Air Force reason for hope as the Falcons prepare to invade New Mexico for a crucial Wednesday night game.

New Mexico coach Steve Alford will be telling his players how dangerous and transformed the Falcons are, and he will struggle to get his players attention. They’ll see his mouth moving and they’ll kind of hear what he’s saying, but in their minds they will remember what happened last season. Three games. Three blowouts.

Air Force will have to deliver a superlative effort, the Falcons finest of the season, to deliver an upset.

But it’s possible. Last season’s pain is one reason why.

Air Force could shock New Mexico – here’s why is a post from: David Ramsey Says What?

Can Tim Tebow revive his NFL career? History says … maybe

david ramsey — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 16:34:31 +0000

Tim Tebow resides in a strange place in our sports world. He’s a hero to millions, beloved for his morals and those wild comebacks for the Broncos in 2011. He’s a folk hero in Florida. For a time, he was a folk hero in Colorado.

But he also resides in football limbo. He’s a superlative athlete, but his left arm does not appear NFL ready. That’s not just my view. That’s the view of every general manager and coach in the NFL.

Can he revive his career?

Doug Flutie and Joe Theismann were once in the same football limbo where Tebow now finds himself. They, too, appeared to lack required features for NFL stardom or even NFL survival. Both were too short. Both found success, even though they had to wait. Both used the doubts of the powers that be in the NFL as inspiration.

Many of Tebow’s most devoted fans believe there’s some kind of conspiracy in NFL to deny their hero what he deserves. That’s ridiculous.

But those devoted fans are not blind. They see a superb leader. They see one of the NFL’s all-time best running quarterbacks. What I mean is, when Tebow busts out of the pocket and looks downfield, he’s incredibly dangerous to a defense. I’m not saying he ranks with Roger Staubach and John Elway and Steve Young as a combo runner/passer. So, yes, Tebow admirers, there is reason to believe in his future. He could someday silence the doubters.

And I’m one of them. Tebow looks on his way to the NFL junk heap.

But I hope he proves me wrong.

Can Tim Tebow revive his NFL career? History says … maybe is a post from: David Ramsey Says What?

Surprise! Oprah superb while interviewing Armstrong

david ramsey — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 18:20:10 +0000

When I first heard Lance Armstrong had selected Oprah to conduct his confession, I did what I suspect many of you did.

I cringed, groaned and worried.

Figured Oprah would be too soft. Figured Oprah would spend more time hugging Lance than asking tough questions. And most of all I worried Lance might start jumping up and down on a couch while announcing his love for Katie Holmes. (Would have been understandable, by the way. Katie is an attractive woman.)

Instead, Oprah was prepared and properly aggressive. She did a superb job. (And there was no couch for Lance to jump and down. He sat in a chair.)

Of course, there were holes. My friend and colleague Bill Vogrin points out that Oprah should have pushed Armstrong more on his assertion he didn’t dope during his 2009-2010 comeback. Mr. Doper didn’t dope? Really?

Otherwise, I thought Oprah was consistently strong.

And here’s the best thing about Oprah.

Armstrong couldn’t argue with her. Well, he could, but he knew he would never win in the court of public opinion if he tangled with America’s Sweetheart.

Oprah was solid. Really, she was beyond solid.

Surprise! Oprah superb while interviewing Armstrong is a post from: David Ramsey Says What?

Fox’s lack of courage will haunt him

david ramsey — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 17:31:37 +0000

John Fox did what you expected John Fox to do on Monday. He said he had no doubt he made the right decision when he refused to take a chance with 31 seconds left in regulation.

Fox is not the type to question himself. And he’s not the type to ever change. He’s not a gambler, not a swashbuckler. Don’t like his style? He doesn’t care.

His decision is not going to be forgotten anytime soon.

I spent several hours talking with Lou Saban in 1997. He’s the former Broncos coach who in 1971 decided to sit on the ball at the end of a 10-10 tie with the Miami Dolphins. Half a loaf, Saban famously said, is better than none. Broncos fans failed to agree. They tossed several dozen half loafs on the field at the next home game. Saban soon resigned. He is, by the way, the last Broncos coach to depart voluntarily. Everyone who has followed him has been fired.

Saban laughed about the decision, but it was clear his lack of nerve haunted him. No one watches a football game hoping to see extreme caution. We all want to see boldness.

Saban wasn’t bold. Fox wasn’t bold. Both men were cowards, if only for a moment.

Fox said he doesn’t regret his decision.

But he will regret it, largely because it was reckless to be so cautious.

Fox’s lack of courage will haunt him is a post from: David Ramsey Says What?

Seriously great football theater in Mile High

david ramsey — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 23:33:08 +0000

A great, and hugely entertaining, first half at Mile High. Broncos have overcome questionable calls to lead 28-21. But Ravens have shown enormous resolve and courage by staying within sight of the Broncos. Baltimore could have collapsed; instead, the Ravens still have a chance at victory. Seriously great football theater in Mile High is a [...]

Seriously great football theater in Mile High is a post from: David Ramsey Says What?

Baby, it’s cold outside

david ramsey — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 21:33:05 +0000

On my walk from the car to the pressbox, a numbing realization quickly hit me.

It’s seriously cold today in Denver. Serious cold is a rarity on the Front Range. Serious cold is something found in North Dakota and Minnesota and Moscow.

The cold will change today’s game. Who will benefit? Who will suffer?

We’ll soon find out.

Baby, it’s cold outside is a post from: David Ramsey Says What?

Predictions for Saturday’s Broncos-Ravens game? Let me know

david ramsey — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 17:30:26 +0000

I’m going with:

Broncos 28

Ravens 17

Not a believer in Joe Flacco and think Ravens defense is overrated. Ray Lewis remains inspirational. He does not remain an elite linebacker. Don’t get me wrong. In his prime, Lewis was one of the most frightening, most effective players in NFL history, but his prime is over.

Predictions for Saturday’s Broncos-Ravens game? Let me know is a post from: David Ramsey Says What?

Lolo Jones and the way sports journalists write about women

david ramsey — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 09:40:24 +0000

Last week, the New York Times ran a fiercely opinionated column about Lolo Jones, the photogenic, highly quotable hurdles competitor. Jones ran into the London Games as one of the more famous American Olympians. This was not because of her accomplishments. This was because of her remarkable rise from poverty and because she has a knack for pitching herself. This is the same knack enjoyed by men such as David Beckham and Tim Tebow.

Tebow and Beckham are not the best in the their chosen sports fields. They are among the best at grabbing endorsements.

There has been a storm of protest about the Times’ column, and the protest has been led by American sports columnists.

Here’s how I see it:

Many of us are still not ready for female athletes to be scrutinized and criticized at the same level as male athletes. LeBron James was destroyed daily for his inability to win a title. (I did some of the destroying.) All he did in his first nine seasons is win three MVP awards and carry two teams to the NBA Finals. That’s all. And yet he was endlessly criticized. (Not without some reason.)

You could see this one coming for Jones. She was the third-best American hurdler in her event, but she was in many ways America’s female face of the Games. I believe she’s an intensely honest person. That’s just how she approaches life. Others saw her rise in the public eye as a cynical pursuit of cash.

We, as sports journalists, often have a different approach when covering female athlete. You could call it a double standard. I’d just call it different. Usually, it’s a more gentle approach. When, for instance, the American women’s soccer team blew a late lead against Japan in the World Cup, most journalists wrote about what a great game it had been and how wonderful it was Japan’s team had delivered some comfort to their country after the earthquake. A men’s team would have been bombarded with criticism after a similar collapse.

And sometimes it’s more harsh. I think of New Mexico soccer player Elizabeth Lambert, who played against Air Force Academy a few times in her career. You might remember Lambert; she violently pulled the hair of a Brigham Young opponent in 2009. The response was astonishing. She was attacked from all sides, called a thug and worse.

Lambert suffered because the general public, and sports journalists, were shocked to see such behavior from a woman. If a male player had done the same thing, there would have been a strong reaction, but nothing like the reaction that rained down on Lambert.

Lolo Jones made a nice chunk of money on endorsements. It’s silly for anyone to suggest she should have walked away from the offers.

But if the third-best male hurdler had done the same thing, he would have been criticized, too.

He wouldn’t have been endlessly defended.

Here’s a column by Geoff Caulkins of Memphis Commercial Appeal defending Jones. It’s well written. It’s also typical of Jones’ many defenders:

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/aug/08/at-olympics-image-isnt-everything/

And here’s a column I wrote about Elizabeth Lambert before her last visit to Air Force as a player:

http://www.gazette.com/articles/lambert-106658-deserve-ramsey.html

Lolo Jones and the way sports journalists write about women is a post from: David Ramsey Says What?

Is Phelps the greatest Olympian? I say yes. Coe says no

david ramsey — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 22:56:02 +0000

Michael Phelps has now won 21 Olympic medals. Let’s say that again. Michael Phelps has won 21 Olympic medals.

But Sebastian Coe, the chairman of the London Games, said he does not consider Phelps the greatest-ever Olympian.

He said that while Phelps is the “the most successful, my personal view is that he is not the greatest.”

Coe mentioned rower Steve Redgrave, decathlete Daley Thompson (both Brits) and American sprinter and long jumper Jesse Owens.

You can make an argument that Owens delivered the greatest Olympic performance ever at the 1936 Berlin Games.

But Phelps was at least almost as dominant at the 2008 Games. And he’s followed that effort with a dazzling performance here in London.

He’s the greatest. That’s my opinion.

What’s yours?

Is Phelps the greatest Olympian? I say yes. Coe says no is a post from: David Ramsey Says What?