Writer's Withdraw?

On my first day of classes this semester, I was assigned a 2-page paper that was due in a week. Not too bad, I've done a lot more writing in a lot less time, but still, I thought it might be a sign of things to come; an omen that this would be a semester filled with endless papers.

Not so much.

That was the last real paper I've had to write for any of my classes. And while I know of at least three more papers that are due towards the end of the semester, there are no essays in my immediate future. At least, none that I know of.

Of course, I have The Sojourn, and a Media Scriptwriting class that keep my keyboard from getting too dusty, but it's not as bad as what I thought it might be.

Although, I've stuck with the frame of thinking that says "Tis better to write two papers than take one test or read one chapter," but everyone likes to have a break from things, no matter how much they like doing them.

I'm going to keep writing, whether I get assignments or articles or not. But it's always more fun to write for pleasure than it is to knock out a five page-paper on which Old Testament character is my favorite.

A Random Compilation of Thoughts

I think my Media Scriptwriting class is going to be good for me. I think I'm going to fail it, but it'll be a nice learning experience.

No matter what you say about sleep, it will never be overrated. Also, sleep is one of those things that you never realize how important it is unless you don't get any.

The NFL's All-Star game, the Pro Bowl, is a joke. Unfortunately, no one is laughing.

I haven't heard much talk about the Bengals lately. I don't whether I should be happy, discouraged, or apathetic... eh, I don't care.

It seems like expectations are really high for the Reds next season. Perfect opportunity for a let down.

Of all the Super Bowls I can remember, this is the one I have the least interest in.

The first Super Bowl I can remember is XXXIV, when Kevin Dyson came up just short.



That's one of my favorite pictures ever, by the way.

I was 8 years old for that Super Bowl, and it's one of my first memories ever.

I guess I ate a lot of paint chips as a kid.

Oh, and I work this Sunday evening... during the Super Bowl. Fail.

These thoughts have gotten less and less thoughtful.

And for my last trick: it's almost midnight here in Indiana, and I have to get up at 6am for work. So I'm out. Anyone brave enough to comment gets a shoutout on Twitter, just leave your tweet info.

Curb Your Creativity

I was talking with a friend and coworker about our recent articles for the newspaper. Frustrated after reading her most recent piece, she pointed out one major difference between articles she had written earlier in the year and her latest. She talked about how she wasn't taking as many risks with her writing and not being as creative. Why?

"Creativity takes energy."

Just look at the title of this blog post: "Curb Your Creativity"? Really? I've never even seen "Curb Your Enthusiasm." And it doesn't even make any sense. But, I guess it's better than what I had before: "Creative Work." Ugh.

As I mentally looked back on my articles from The Sojourn this year, I noticed the same thing my friend did. I've gotten boring. I'm not taking chances. I've fallen into a routine with my words.

And I hate it.

But what can I do? I'm always tired. I work three jobs. I get giddy when I'm able to sleep in until 8:30. I have endless amounts of work stacked neatly on my to-do list. And creativity takes energy. Energy I'm quickly running out of. One reason might be that in the past 30 hours, I've spent more time in the radio station than sleeping.

So things are tough. It's so difficult just to type this right now, let alone produce a good, quality, interesting article. I don't believe in coffee, so that's no help, I'm just stuck in a place where writing has become difficult. And it's never been that way before.

If I want to keep growing as a writer, or at the very least, not get any worse, than I have to get more sleep. But with all the other things I need to do, where will I find time? Unfortunately, I don't have a choice, it's something that I just have to do, whether I can or not.

Derailing My Train of Thought

It's 7:45 in the morning and I'm waiting for my Media Scriptwriting class to begin, so excuse me for not having a better title. Right now, I'm wondering why writing articles are so easy (well, most of the time) for me to write, but put me in a [shall we say...] Media Scriptwriting class and I write like an epileptic penguin, flopping around on the ice. Not sure exactly what that has to do with writing, but again, it's 7:45 in the morning.

So why is this? How come I can sit down and write a really good 500-word story in just an hour, but a 30-second radio spot takes me an entire afternoon to make, and it's average, at best.

Maybe because I've been writing articles for years, but radio commercials are a new practice. But at the same time, how different can they be? Isn't writing, in all its forms, simply writing.

If I thought so before this semester, I certainly do not now.

But my extreme mediocrity in this aspect of journalism will push me to work harder to do better. Because I want to. Because I have to. Really, I have no idea what I'm doing writing commercials for sewing shops and my best Christmas ever. And honestly, I have no desire to become a writer for TV and radio spots, even more so than before. However right here, right now, I have to start typing like it.

For Better of for Worse

I've always wanted to write. Always. Ever since I was a 12 year-old kid pouring over a Sports Illustrated article about Randy Moss, it's been my dream. Of course, I haven't always known (and to some extent I still don't know) exactly what kind of writing I hope to get into. I've thought about doing column writing, feature writing, beat writing, compiling a book... all kinds of things.

But it always involved sports.

No matter what, sports is my forte. It's what I know. It's what I do. It's what I love to write about and can get creative when type. But this semester, I've been challenged a little bit. Don't get me wrong, I still love sports, and it's my favorite thing to chronicle. But I've gotten into a little non-sports writing for The Sojourn this year, and you know what? I've enjoyed it. I've learned from it. And I'm a better writer because of it.

This semester, I'm in a Media Scriptwriting class (which is actually the reason I'm writing this post during my Journalism Practicum class) that is teaching me how write copy for radio and TV scripts.

Honestly, I've never had so much respect for people who write commercials for Sewing Companies. But I know that I will learn a lot of things from this class, and hopefully grow as a writer, whether I use this as a career or not.

Not What They Were

Remember the scrappy Bengals that we all loved? The Bengals that went 8-8 when they probably shouldn't have even won three games. The Bengals that pulled games out in the end and kept us on the edge of our seats. The Bengals that did things like beat the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs and made a statement to the league that they were here to stay.

Well, they're all but gone now, and we're one step closer to losing them completely.

Those teams that actually gave Cincinnati fans a reason to cheer; hope for the next game included beloved names like Rudi Johnson, Deltha O'Neal, Willie Anderson, Justin Smith, Eric Steinbach, John Thorton, Kevin Kaesviharn, and Shayne Graham.

All of those names are gone now. Most, into the annals of football history, the answers to trivia questions only Bengals fans would know the answers to. A couple are still playing, though none (save possibly Graham) are having as much personal success as they did in Cincinnati.

Nearly every name from the rosters of those first glorious (because let's face it, '03-'05 were pretty glorious for Bengals fans) seasons under head coach Marvin Lewis are gone. And with people calling for the head of Chad Ochocinco (which is technically not a name on that roster, but you know...) I thought that there would be almost no one left.

But I never thought Carson would be next,

I mean, don't get me wrong, I was just as upset about Palmer's play as anyone, and the thought of trading him amidst the angry fanbase did exist, but I thought they would die down. I thought the team and the franchise QB would part ways on Mike Brown's terms. But, as Palmer said yesterday that he wanted to be traded or he would retire, it no longer seems this way.

I have thoughts and opinions on this story... I'm just not sure what they are yet. However, the first word that comes to mind is "betrayal."

More to come...

Intensely Apathetic

After a very long season, we're now down to two teams fighting for the coveted silver football on top of a stick otherwise known as the Vince Lombardi trophy. Yesterday's conference championship games went as many would have expected, with the Bears and Jets packing their bags and heading home, starting their offseasons like 28 other NFL teams already. It doesn't matter how it happened or why it happened or how close it was to happening the other way or how unfair it was that it happened that way, one thing remains: The Steelers and Packers are in the Super Bowl.

I'll try to contain my excitement.

Truth is, I'm a diehard Bengals fan (although becoming less and less of one with every waking moment, thanks Carson Palmer). So the thought of the Steelers winning it all makes me want to go the way of Vincent Van Gogh. And as for Green Bay, well, I just could not be any more neutral to them.

So guess what? I'll be rooting for the Packers in two weeks, but I have a feeling that I won't be jumping for joy if they win

Backstage Pass

Ok, if you haven't read this article, then you really should. I worked pretty hard on it, and you'll be lost for the rest of this post if you don't. I'm just saying.

I'm giving you an inside look at how I wrote the story, "It's time for dance."

First off, let me give you some back story:

I attend Indiana Wesleyan University. Good school. Great school actually, you should check it out. But like all schools: it ain't perfect. However, some of the flaws (as I would call them) at IWU are a bit... different. I'll just spit it out. The simple way to put it is to say that until recently, IWU did not allow dancing on campus.

Yeah.

That particular rule was the butt of many Indiana Wesleyan related jokes, and still is really. However, it was not as cut and dry as just: no dancing. However there were many, many "flaming hoops" people would have to jump through, and restrictions they would have to follow to be able to move their feet. So we just said we couldn't dance.

We danced anyway, but we said we couldn't.

Just about the time that IWU changed the restrictions on dancing a little bit (and how much is still being debated), something crazy happened: the university approved a dance team.

From what I've seen, students at IWU have gone crazy for the team. It's another step in the direction of ceasing to be a punchline school.

This week, I wrote an article about the dance team, named IWU Remix, and its first performance. Here's how:

I got the assignment. No, I took the assignment; I wanted it. This is, after all, big news on campus. So I jumped at the chance to write about it. First things first, I emailed the leaders of the team and arranged to sit in on a practice to get an inside look at the team, and also get some pictures for the story.

After that night, I went to their opening performance, obviously. I was with the team as they got ready before halftime, and was just feet away from them on the court as they danced their hearts out. I walked off the stage with them and I was in the room when they wrapped it up for the day, and gave me the last line of my story.

Bottom line: I immersed myself in the team, I became a dancer myself. I saw things from the perspective of IWU Remix, and learned things that not many others got a chance to see.

And then I wrote the story. But I didn't just write the story. I told the story. I included things that I couldn't have known if it weren't for my extensive research. And then, I tried to get quotes that showed how passionate those girls are about dance, really pulling the reader in.

That's a very brief overview of how I wrote the story. Very brief. I can not even begin to describe everything that went into it. There's no room to tell of all the times I backspaced my intro and restructured my nutgraph. This is a process that I've been through countless times, but never like this.

Pen, Paper, and Passion

I've been writing for about six years now. No, I don't mean actually writing my letters and numbers like when I was seven years old. I'm talking about really writing. Writing for fun, writing for pleasure, writing for a purpose.

Writing with a passion.

And now, I do it just about everyday. I write for The Sojourn, I write papers for classes (oh, so many classes), I write letters and notes to friends, and I write on this blog. So I'd like to think that I'm getting some good experience in.

Two things, above all, have shaped how I write. The first happened at the very beginning of my time as a writer. The very first article I read, entitled "How Good Can Randy Moss Be?" in the September 2nd, 2002 issue of Sports Illustrated (a copy that I hold in my hands right now) is the biggest factor. In that article, written by Michael Silver, the lead was a very interesting and personal anecdote about the start of the interview with Randy Moss. Ever since then, and especially now, I really enjoy starting my stories with stories; looking at the article through the eyes of the main character.

The second is my mentor, Gregg Doyel, a writer for CBSSports.com. Gregg has probably shaped my development overall as a person, writer, and journalist more than almost anyone, but as for technical things about each of my articles, one factor stands out. He likes to start his stories with a full paragraph lead, and then his second paragraph is just one sentence that cuts to the heart of the story or makes you think, and gives your eyes a break.

Kind of like this.

So those two things are what makes me tick as a writer. Those are the things I go to most when I'm trying to write an epic story. Because I love doing them. It's my personal style as a writer that makes me who I am. Obviously, there's more to Jeremy Sharp the journalist, but those are the things I like the most. And I'm looking forward to growing as a writer and a journalist, and picking up new techniques while improving the ones I use now.

How the Chips Fall...

Eight teams still retain hopes of winning the Super Bowl, although some have slimmer hopes than others (*cough* Seahawks *cough*). There's a reason why each squad is here. You cannot be at this level and not deserve it. If absolutely nothing else, each of the teams that find themselves in the divisional round earned it by just barely not shooting themselves in the foot enough to eliminate themselves (*cough* Seahawks *cough*).

But this is when it gets real. As much as no bad teams make it to the second round of the playoffs, it is nearly impossible for anyone but the best to make it to the conference championship games. Unlike in the BCS National Championship game, it will take your best effort to move on. Nothing less.

That being said, I believe that the winner of Super Bowl XLV will be determined this weekend. Not literally, of course, because of that whole "any given Sunday" business, but for the most part, I think we'll have a pretty good idea by the time the final four is set. The reason is simple: matchups. Think about this way, the Jets beat the Colts in the first round, but do you think there are many teams that would have done it? No, not at all. That was a matchup that the Jets took advantage of it. But if was was almost any other team, the Colts would have moved on.

Part two of my theory: The Colts were one of the only teams that could have beaten the Patroits. New England got really lucky when the Colts lost. I don't care that Indy wasn't the same team we're used to. Pats vs. Colts is still Pats vs. Colts. Anybody's game. While the Jets matched up with the Colts well, the Jets don't really match up with the Patriots.

That's the basic scenario teams face as we go into the second to last week of real football (excluding the Pro Bowl, obviously). You may think that the Bears are hoping that the Falcons knock off the Packers so that Chicago won't have to play a division rival if it makes it to the NFC Championship. But, the Bears may be fans of the Pack on Saturday, because Chicago played the cheeseheads as tough as any team did in 2010.

That's what it's about this week: figuring out who plays who and who will have the best shot at the title, not necessarily based on their talent, but the way they match up with their opponent.

Should be another interesting weekend. As always, get 'cho popcorn ready.

Sports Shots of the Week

What's better than completely random sports videos to start your day?

I think nothing.

This is a feature I will try to make weekly, so be sure to check back for more things like this:



Who could forget this, Ed Hochuli's finest moment:



More to come...

Cowards

Remember that enlightening press conference a couple weeks ago after the Bengals finished one of their worst and most disappointing seasons in franchise history? A very talkative Mike Brown and Marvin Lewis said that while Cincinnati's head coach would retain his job, it might not be the same for other Bengals coaches. The overused term that came up in that particular press conference was that Cincinnati's staff would be "evaluated."

How's that been working out?

We're now sitting here, impatiently waiting for announcements from the team about the "changes" we were promised and have been promised for so long. Where are they? What will they be? How much longer do we have to wait until they happen?

Obviously, the first change I'm expecting is seeing Bob Bratkowski demoted to concessions. That's the main thing. But it'a going to take a heckuva lot more than that to change 4-12 to 12-4.

So why hasn't it happened yet? My best guess: Mike Brown is scared of change. Terrified of mixing up the status quo because it might hurt what he cares about most: his pocketbook.

Rested or Rusty?

The Auburn Tigers and Oregon Ducks played a great game on Monday night. It was as exciting a finale as anyone (especially SEC homers) expected. However, did anyone have trouble not beating their head against a wall during the first half? These were arguably the two best college football teams in the country (with apologies to TCU) and the college football world watched them bumble around like it was the first session of spring workouts. Call it even play. Call it good defense. Call it whatever you want. But that doesn't change the what it really was: sloppy play. Rusty play.

The two teams that decided the NCAA National Championship had not played a game in 37 days.

How many times do we see it in baseball? One World Series team wraps up their league championship in four games, but it took the other squad seven to clinch a trip to the MLB finals. What happens? The team that didn't have a seven-game gap in between games comes out in ryth, and ready to play. But the team that had a long break comes out flat.

You even see it in the NFL. Teams with first round byes haven't played in two weeks, a big break considering the constant pounding pro football players' bodies are so used to taking every week. So what happens? The team that played in the wildcard round is still used to the real-game contact and outperforms the rested team. Why do you think Bill Bellicheck plays his starters until the last week of the regular season? Because he knows what the consequences are of not doing it.

It doesn't always happen they way I illustrated in the NFL and MLB. But it does happen sometimes and it's something that must be considered. This has been a problem with the BCS system for years, and it's another problem that would be solved by (I don't know...) a playoff system.

I'm not saying that Oregon would have won if both teams were fresh for the BCS National Championship game. Yes, I think that, but I'm not going to say it. All I'm saying is that if the NCAA really wants to determine its champion in the best way possible, the one-month layoff has got to go. True, the BCS has bigger problem to deal with than this, but it's just one more thing wrong with the current system.

We'll be Talking About This One for a While

Another wildcard round is in the books. The history books that is.

The Seahawks shocked the world with their win over the Saints. Hard to believe that they could end up hosting the NFC Championship game if they win and the Bears lose to the Packers (which could actually happen).

Play to remember: Marshawn Lynch breaking eight tackles en route to a 67-yard touchdown that put the game in the books.

The Jets stunned the Colts on a walk-off field goal. New York coach Rex Ryan gave Indianapolis Jim Cladwell a game ball for his helpful timeout with 30 seconds left to give the Jets a chance to make its game-winning field goal a little bit easier. Insert Rex Ryan foot joke here.

Play to remember: The entire sequence after the Colts took the lead on a field goal and kicked off to the Jets, but the game-winning kick takes it all.

Baltimore crushed the Cheifs on Sunday. Just crushed them. Matt Cassel may have shown why he was a backup in college. Not really, he's a good (maybe really good) quarterback. The Ravens are simply a much better team. Maybe Kansas City was distracted by Charlie Weis vacating the offensive coordinator position for Florida. Maybe not. I really don't think it would have mattered.

Play to remember: Todd Haley's hair.

Finally, the Packers beat the Eagles in a close game. Maybe not as close as the final score indicated, but close. Truthfully, Green Bay had that game in its palm long before that final interception. Unfortunately for Packers fans with heart problems, they couldn't pull away until the end. Michael Vick cemented his place as second in the running for MVP. He was good, but not great.

Play to remember: Tramon Williams of the Pack picking off what would have been the game-winning pass from Michael Vick with less than a minute to play.

So what can we take away from these four games that will undoubtedly and directly affect the 2010-11 NFL champion? One thing, and one thing above all:

With games like Steelers/Ravens and Patriots/Jets on the menu, the divisional round will be even better.

Get 'cho popcorn ready.

The Beginning of the End

Remember when the Tampa Bay Bucs won the Super Bowl? No, you don't because Calvin Coolidge was president. But back when it happened, and in the ensuing years of mediocrity for the team, sportswriters of the day like Winston Churchill said that head coach Jon Gruden won that game because of former coach Tony Dungey. "He won with Dungey's players," the saying goes. And you know what? It's pretty accurate. Gruden had the one good season carried by a stout defense (and beating a Raiders team that was just as offensively-challenged) but then he did absolutely nothing afterward.

The Colts will be the second diagnosed case of the post-Dungey syndrome.

On Saturday night, we saw the real Peyton Manning. A good QB? Yes. A great QB? Yes. Hall of Famer? First ballot. But a legend to be hallowed with the likes of John Elway, Joe Montana and Tom Brady?

Absolutely not.

Manning's legacy will be talked about in the same sentence as Dan Marino and Warren Moon: great, but couldn't get it done when it mattered the most.

Yes, Manning (unlike Marino and Moon) actually won a ring. But it wasn't on his shoulders. He actually did not play particularly well that postseason. However the overriding theme has been consistent throughout his entire career: Peyton Manning is not his normal self in the playoffs.

Or, should I say, Peyton Manning is his normal self in the playoffs, and the regular season is the only time he can win?

But I digress. Tony Dungey leaving is the worst thing that could have happened to the team. Last year's success (Super Bowl loss) was a result of Toney Dungey's players continuing together and doing what they always did. Jim Caldwell is a good coach, no doubt, but he's no Dungey.

Now that the real legend is gone, the Colts are in trouble. Manning is getting up there. They can't stay healthy. The team doesn't have that same chemistry it used to. Defenses are finally starting to catch onto how to stop the once-unstoppable offense. But some new receivers are having trouble catching onto anything.

The Colts reign over the rest of the NFL might be coming to an end. We almost saw it end this season as the Jaguars nearly dethroned them as AFC South champs. But there's always next year. And for the Colts, that's not a good thing.

Why Are We Surprised?

This has been a crazy year. Things happened on a week in, week out basis that just don't happen every year. Some teams that were supposed to be Super Bowl contenders saw their seasons all but end in November. Teams that were once the laughingstock of the league suddenly started competing and (oh my goodness) winning games. One of the all-time greatest saw his legacy tarnished once and for all. Faces and names who were only associated with one NFL team suddenly appeared in another. Some of the greatest athletes in the world were humbled to stretchers because of a flaw that has been in the system for decades. The Lions won more than three games. So why was it so shocking that the Seahawks, that, for whatever it's worth, won their division, beat the Saints, a team that was nowhere near their championship glory of last year.

It was in Seattle, one of the loudest stadiums in the NFL. The Saints were beaten up badly. The Seahawks had absolutely nothing to lose. Couldn't you just feel it? The situation was just right for a Seattle upset, and they came through, shocking the parts of the world that weren't paying attention to all the signs.

For Real

Last night was big. No, last night was huge. You might even call it monumental. Depending on how the rest of the season turns out for the Cincinnati Bearcats basketball team, the team's 66-46 victory over Xavier could be the springboard for a great postseason run.

UC needed that win, and they needed it badly. Even at 14-0, the 'Cats really hadn't beaten anyone, so critics wondered if they were pretenders or contenders. And with good reason. I'm not sure that this win over the Musketeers solves all the questions about Cincinnati's strength of schedule (or lack thereof), but it certainly doesn't hurt. During the second half, UC dominated defensively, something it hasn't done much of in recent years.

One critic commented last night, saying the win didn't change his mind that the Bearcats were not as good as their perfect record suggests, but it made him less sure about it. That's the only thing Cincinati can do. Win each game one at a time and slowly convenience people (*cough* selection committee *cough*) that the 2010-11 version of the red and black are for real.

Apathetic

I wish I cared more. I wish I thought it would make a difference whether or not Marvin Lewis stuck around as the Cincinnati Bengals head coach. I wish I could say I was mad, or sad or disappointed about the decision to keep a coach that has won as many playoff games in the last eight years as Dick Cheney.

But I'm not.

And the reason why I'm not is because I have lost nearly all of my faith in an organization that refuses to learn from its mistakes and seems to have little desire to win. I'm apathetic because part of me believes that it doesn't matter who is coaching the Bengals. As long as Mike Brown is the owner, general manager and the mascot of the team, they will keep on doing what they do best: losing.

I'm not sure what is more sad. That the Bengals are even in this kind of crazy situation at all, or that Cincinnati fans will hop back on the bandwagon by the time the team reports to training camp.

The Definition of Insanity

Albert Einstein once said that the definition of insanity was doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

Well then call the Bengals crazy.

Marvin Lewis is probably coming back. Really? What's even worse is that NFL.com reports that there will be "no major changes" in the front office or coaching staff. I could accept Lewis coming back. Kind of. But there must be major changes in players and personnel in order to justify Lewis staying with the team.

Cincinnati went 4-12 this season. Does Mike Brown expect the problems to magically fix themselves? I'm not sure I can stand one more batch of Marvin Lewis draft picks, although it could be entertaining to see him screw up the fourth overall pick in the draft.

The bottom line is simple: Bengals fans will not accept another season like the one they saw in 2010. Mike Brown needs to realize that if no "major changes" are made, then there will be more non-sellouts, more TV blackouts and more angry fans. And that will hurt Brown's pocketbook, which is the only thing he cares about.

The Status Quo

This would only happen in Cincinnati...

Only in Cincinnati would we be wondering whether or not a coach with Marvin Lewis' success levels (or lack thereof) would be sticking around for another season.

Only in Cincinnati would there be many proponents of a coach keeping his job simply because he has [usually] been better than the dark ages fans faced before his tenure.

Only in Cincinnati would we accept such mediocrity.

You've heard it. People say they want Marvin Lewis to stay in town because he's done better than the Bruce Cosletts of the '90s and early 2000s. Why? Because the 8-8s feel slightly better than the 2-14s. And that's what we remember from Marvin Lewis. They remember that first year with 8 glorious wins and the Comeback Player of the Year season of Jon Kitna with the future of the franchise, Carson Palmer, waiting safely on the sidelines. They remember the emergence of Chad Johnson (who?) and the hope that it inspired.

Then, they remember the good years. The two playoff appearances. The first, which was destined for a Super Bowl victory, spoiled by an injury to Palmer. The second, spoiled by a team that was just too hot going into the postseason.

But these memories only rush back into the minds of Cincinnatians after the season is over. It's not until the regular season starts that they are reminded of the terrible time management, questionable draft picks and monotonous play calling to which they have become accustomed, and even worse, acceptant.

Nothing is going to change unless there are changes at the top. Bob Bratkowski's head might be thrown to the fans as an offering, but I say this is not good enough. Not to say that the Bengals should not be in the market for a new offensive coordinator, they should, but there should be more moves than that. And since Mike Brown isn't going anywhere, the changes should start with Marvin Lewis.

The Biggest Loser?

This past Sunday could turn out to be a big day for the NFL, and not for the reason you might think. It’s been beaten to death enough; I don’t even need to say it again: The Seattle Seahawks beat the St. Louis Rams to clinch the NFC West and become the first team in league history to win their division with a losing record. At 7-9, the Seahawks are terrible. Even Charlie Whitehurst (who is apparently the second coming of Brett Favre according to Chris Collinsworth) would have a hard time refuting that.

But this isn’t a call to redo the playoff seeding like everyone else is doing right now. The 11-5 Saints are traveling 2,700 miles to take on the 7-9 Seahawks in Seattle. The ‘Hawks won their division, so they deserve it. If you toy with how the NFL seeds spots 3-6 then you start down a dangerous path that heads in the direction of a league without divisions or even conferences. How messed up would that be?

Forget it, none of that is what this is about. This is about how a 7-9 division-winning team could be great for the NFL. Think about it. Everyone is already counting out the Seahawks. As soon as Sam Bradford threw what was, in essence, the game-ending interception, Twitter lit up with tweets saying the Saints have a bye week. No one thinks that New Orleans will have any trouble with their hapless foes because, well, they won’t. The Saints are a far better team and will be moving on to the second round of the playoffs as the Seahawks go home one-and-done.

But what if they don’t?

What if the Seahawks actually play the game instead of letting the fans play it for them? What if they continue to just barely get by like they did on Sunday and all season long? And what if they win? In this season of unmatched parody in the NFL, wouldn’t this be exactly the kind of thing that is just crazy enough to happen?

I’m no Seattle fan, trust me. I simply think that if the ‘Hawks are able to pull off a couple of stunners, it would silence the critiques and show that the current playoff system, while not perfect, is among the best in professional sports. Also, it would continue the NFL’s current reign as the most competitive of sports. Imagine, a Super Bowl-winning team with an overall record of 11-9. Just over .500. Just barely getting by. But then again, sometimes, that’s all it takes in this league. And that, my friends, is why I’ll be watching the playoffs.

Get 'Cho Popcorn Ready

This has been my favorite phrase for several years. Popularized by then Dallas Cowboy Terellel Owens, it just means sit back, relax and prepare for a show.
It's hard not to think about it without connotating it with the infamous T.O. celebration when he showered himself with a box of popcorn after one of his many TDs in Dallas. But when he joined fellow flashy WR in Cincy for 2010, it became a battle cry for this season. Forgetting the Bengals woes, it's week 17 of the NFL season: get 'cho popcorn ready.

A writer's reflection

I want to write something. But I don’t want to write just anything. I want to write something special. Any two-cent blogger in his mom’s basement can squeeze out six words about Brett Favre, Michael Vick or any number of hot topics in sports. And most do. I want to be different. But right now, I realize that this blog is more for my own personal growth as a writer than getting hits. I don’t know the actual statistics, but I have a feeling it’s somewhere in the ballpark of 3.
But do I care?

No.

OK, maybe I care a little bit. It would be nice to be getting just a hint of attention like I used to. Back in the days when I was called the “15 year-old NFL draft expert” and was a regular guest on a local AM sports talk radio show. Back in the days when I had a blog on that same station’s communal blog site and received around 100 hits every day. But I’m not 15 anymore. I don’t have that appeal I used to.

Think about it. How many homeschooled 15 year-olds are passionate about sports
writing? Not many. Back in the day, I was an interesting story; a rare anomaly that made for a good half hour of radio. But I’ve lost that appeal. I’m now just like countless other college freshman who are journalism majors aspiring to be sports journalists. I sat next to one three days a week my first semester in college.
What do I have to separate myself from the pack?

I was the only freshman on staff at Indiana Wesleyan University’s award-winning student newspaper. We were named one of the top 10 4-year college papers in the entire country. But what else? I have two and a half years of experience working at a public newspaper. Although I admit it was probably one of the smallest newspapers in the country. When it all really comes down to it, what can I offer future employers that Joe College Graduate cannot?

Maybe this realization is a good thing for me. Maybe it’s a sign that I shouldn’t take anything for granted now or ever. Maybe it’s far too early to give up on hard work, and I should be wary of complacency. Maybe I still have a shot to be the national sports journalist that I know I can be, but it’s not a guaranteed thing. So there’s only one thing to do: keep on writing.