Just finished watching Game 5 of the ALCS. I am not very happy. The Sox rallied from a 7-0 deficit with two outs in the bottom half of the 7th inning to win 8-7. This is bad news all around for the Phillies. The best circumstances possible for the Phillies would have been that the Rays win tonight so that both teams hadn't played in a while when the World Series starts next Wednesday. Baseball is a game of timing and momentum and nothing kills timing and momentum like a long break. Had the Rays won tonight, both teams would have been coming off long breaks come Wednesday, so that factor would have been in neither teams' favor. Instead, the Rays and Sox will play Saturday and probably Sunday as well given the huge momentum swing this series just underwent. This means that either team, the Rays or Sox, won't bee too far removed from the intense mental focus that playoff baseball requires. The Phils, on the other hand, will have had a week to relax and bask in the glory of making the World Series. This is not good. Having said all that, I think we will be facing the Sox in the World Series. Tonight was such a huge swing of momentum in their favor that I can't see them losing this series now. They have a track record of coming back from big series deficits and going on to win it all (last year they were down 3-1 to the Indians only to come back and win the series and then the World Series and I don't think I need to recap the infamous 3-0 series with the Yankees). I'm not yet saying that I would pick the Sox to beat the Phils but I am saying that I certaintly don't want to face them. The Rays may be the better team on paper but there is something else with the Sox that is immeasureable and, quite frankly, I don't want to have to find out how much of a difference said immeasureables would make in the World Series.
When I thought the baseball game was a forgone conclusion this evening, I flipped between BYU-TCU and NC State-Florida St. TCU exposed BYU as a pretender and while I would normally be all for a BCS buster going undefeated, this season I'm rooting for anyone and everyone to lose, except Penn State, of course. My normal logic is that the more teams that go undefeated and have legitimate claims to play for a title, the more likely it is that the rumble the exists for a playoff now would grow to a roar. Make no mistake about it, NCAA football needs a playoff... desperately. However, this season, I don't want the team to have a legitimate complaint to be my Nittany Lions. If we are that team come the end of the season, I would directly blame Ohio State for sucking so bad out of conference the last two years. It's sad that a team would be judged by another team's inability to play well in big games, but without a playoff, this transistive property is the property by which most people judge teams... If team A loses bad to team C and team B beats team A, then team C must be better than team B. Fortunately, we currently have this advantage over USC, but, unfortunately, pretty much every other team has the advantage over us, even if the advantage was gained in years passed. All we have to do is keep winning, though, and the rest is up to the football gods.
That brings me to this weekend. I'm headed up to State College for Homecoming and I'm really looking forward to putting another State College weekend in the books. Things have changed drastically over the years up there, namely, we are all depending on younger siblings for a place to stay and not friends who currently go there. I'm not planning on going to the game this weekend, mostly because the ticket prices are astronomical. For a 2-4 team, Michigan is driving up the black market rates like I've never seen before. The cheapest ticket I've come across was $100. Fortunately, I know someone who knows someone, so if I really wanted to, I'm sure I could get in at face value. However, with most other people left seeking these ridiculously priced tickets, I wouldn't have anyone to go in with, so it's not worth it. The ticket prices do reflect, however, just how big a game this is for Penn State. We haven't beaten Michigan in 9 consectutive tries. We've lost big, we've lost heartbreakers, we've been robbed, we've been ripped apart. I really hope that Penn State can make this a statement game and beat the Wolverines by about 50. Anything less would be great, but not quite satisfying enough due to how much I hate Michigan. In any case, you'll be able to find me at one of the local establishments up there this weekend, most likely hanging around our old haunts like the Phyrst or Cafe 210. I'll be the one smiling like a fool.
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Just watched game seven and looks like we are getting the Rays, which I am also happy with. I would like to disagree about your momentum advantage theory though. Although I think that can be an issue for some teams, I don't thinks the Phils are going to let down. This team has showed focus, especially late in the season when it mattered most. Both teams will be ready to play. I am also glad we are not playing the Sox. That team usually finds ways to win and they're pitching was very scary. Also, I just wanted to point out that the new BCS came out and Penn State is three as expected. However, they are seven in the computer averages and as low as 11 in one of the rankings. How ridic is that?
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