WRUB

wrubprogram — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 16:52:11 +0000

After a long summer vacation overworking the tireless DJ-3000, we’re returning to live broadcasting for the 2010-2011 academic year very soon. As such, our first General Meeting will be held Thursday, September 9th at 8pm in Natural Sciences Complex (NSC) room number 210. If you’re not sure where NSC is, here is a map. General Meetings have and always will be open to the public, but especially those interested in no longer being “the public”. That is, if you are interested in being (or continuing to be) a WRUB DJ, you should definitely attend this meeting.

All undergraduate and graduate UB students and alumni are eligible to train as a WRUB DJ, regardless of major. This makes us easier to get into than most upper-level classes and arguably more fun (no offense to upper-level classes).

We hope to see you all next Thursday, September 9th at 8pm in NSC 210. Our entire staff is expected to be on hand to answer any and all of your questions. However, if you cannot make it, feel free to visit the WRUB.org Contact page to e-mail the appropriate staff member your questions. Don’t forget to check WRUB.org periodically and your inbox next month for the Fall 2010 programming schedule! Have a great September!

wrubpromo — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 00:40:14 +0000

You can now receive regular updates from WRUB through e-mail! Click here to join our new mailing list!

General Contest Rules

wrubpromo — Tue, 18 May 2010 23:21:15 +0000

All winners must be 18 years of age or older, unless otherwise stated and/or posted.

1. Entering Contests and Choosing and Contacting Winners
Entrants must send entries using the correct contest entry email address, subject line, and any other specific entry information requested in the contest announcement. WRUB Radio is not responsible for and will not consider incomplete or incorrect entries, or emails sent but not received by WRUB Radio for any reason, as potential contest winners.

Winners of all contests will be contacted at the “sender” email address used to enter the contest, and the person receiving and replying to the winner announcement email will be considered the winner unless they specify another person within the reply email as the winner.

Only one entry per email address used to send the email will be considered for contest entry, unless multiple entries are specifically allowed in the contest posting. Unless otherwise specified in an individual contest post, no person may enter any contest more than once using multiple email addresses.

Claiming of prizes requires an email response to WRUB Radio from the winning sender email address within 5 days of being notified of winning at the email address used to enter. Failure to respond shall mean that the winner forfeits the prize. WRUB Radio is not required to award elsewhere any prizes forfeited by the chosen winner(s).

2. Submission of photo, text or other content for Contests
Entries selected for display and to win “best of” contests and any other contests requiring photo, text or other content from the entrants will be judged entirely at the discretion of WRUB Radio.
By submitting any photo or information to WRUB Radio, you hereby grant to WRUB Radio and its affiliates, subsidiaries, licensees and assigns, an irrevocable, perpetual and royalty-free right to use, reproduce, edit, display, transmit, prepare derivative works of, modify, publish and otherwise make use of the submitted photo or other information in any and all media, whether now known or hereinafter created, throughout the world and for any purpose. In addition to other things, the rights granted to WRUB Radio includes but is not limited to the right to resize, crop, censor, compress, edit, feature, caption, affix logos to, and to otherwise alter or make use of the submitted photo;

By submitting any photo or information to WRUB Radio, you hereby represent and warrant that the submitted photo or information does not and shall not infringe on any copyright, any rights of privacy or publicity of any person, or any other right of any third party, and you have the right to grant any and all rights and licenses granted to WRUB Radio herein, including but not limited to all necessary rights under copyright, free and clear of any claims or encumbrances;
You acknowledge and agree that WRUB Radio shall have no obligation to post, display or otherwise make publicly available any photo or information submitted by you, and may, in its sole and unfettered discretion, remove, edit, modify or delete any photo or information that you submit to WRUB Radio;

You understand and intend that any photo or information submitted by you to WRUB Radio may be available for viewing, rating, review and comment on by the public, and understand that comments or ratings with which you disagree or are unhappy about may be published or otherwise become associated with any photo or information you submit to WRUB Radio. By submitting any photo or information to WRUB Radio, you hereby waive any privacy expectations that you may have with respect to any such photo or information submitted by you to WRUB Radio.

You hereby agree to hold WRUB Radio and its affiliates, subsidiaries, licensees sponsors and assigns harmless from and against, and hereby waive any right to pursue, any claims of any nature arising in connection with the inclusion in, publication via or display on any WRUB Radio site, or any other use authorized under these Terms, of any photo or information submitted to WRUB Radio by you;
Photos or information submitted by you to the Site shall be the property of WRUB Radio, and WRUB Radio shall have no obligation to preserve, return or otherwise make available to you or others any photos or information so submitted.

Neither WRUB Radio, WRUB Radio sponsors, nor employees of WRUB Radio or sponsors may be held liable for any warranty, costs, damage, injury, or any other claims incurred as a result of usage of any winners of a prize once possession has been taken of the product by winner. WRUB Radio is not liable for any loss arising out of or in connection with or resulting from any contest promoted by WRUB Radio.
If the specified prize becomes unavailable due to unforeseen circumstances, WRUB Radio may substitute a prize of like or equal value.

Management, employees and families of WRUB Radio are prohibited from winning any prizes awarded by WRUB Radio

WRUB Radio reserves the right to alter any rules of any contest at anytime. If you have any questions or complaints about a WRUB Radio contest, please contact wrubprizes@gmail.com.

A Month Late

wrubmusic — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 23:43:41 +0000

Beach House (Victoria Legrand, Alex Scally)

It all seemed to make sense from the beginning. “Don’t I know you better than the rest?” slices carefully through a hazy maze of carefully picked arpeggios, leading us into the cloud of sound that is Teen Dream, the latest release by Baltimore natives Beach House. You don’t need to be a hipster [SIC] to understand this record. Its themes are universal; it’s execution nearly flawless. Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally weave a delicate, yet grand tapestry of sound, while still preserving the elements of lonely, lovesick, pop that they have become so excellent at. Their sound palette is limited, consisting of mainly guitar, organ, and drum machine’d beats, yet all of their songs are full and complex. On Silver Soul, Legrand proclaims “It is happening again”, almost eerily marking the progression we have seen through Beach House’s three releases, Teen Dream perhaps being the finest.

Pop gems fill the album so fully that it’s almost hard to mention a single specific moment of glory. The album slowly gains momentum, and then gently eases into Walk in the Park, with soft, yet powerful, guitars and blaring organ chords. As a whole, the albums flows seamlessly within itself. Us writers play around with terms like “artistic vision”, and whatnot, but none of it makes any sense. None of it should., really. We’re all just fish floating in the deep blue sea, and Teen Dream feels like a subconscious derivative of it all.

Just for kicks, here’s my instantaneous iPod Touch review. The spelling and grammatical errors are hilarious, so I left them in.
“It the middle of a cold buffalo winter. I’m sitting in the bAsment of an old building. I work here. This is my break time, and throuhiut other intermediate breaks I have been listening to teen dream, the third studio album by beach house, the dreamy drum maxhien pop duo out of some place hat I can’t quite recall.

I started it up in the car, a d was lead into the delayed, chorused guitar horticulture that is E
Zebra. I was hooked by Norway, and a wall in the park seAled the deal, soaring over the rest on an album so already high amongst the clouds. I haven’t evenness finished listening to it, an it Already feels like some baby masterpiece waiting for time to reveal it as one of the bettr recordings of the past few years.

Shiny synths And glimmering guitars blend like, well cho plate syrup and rich whole milk, and yes, the creamy combination formed is quite delicious indeed. Even if it is packed win powerful images of shame and regret, the music embodies itself”

At some point my boss walked in, and told me my break was up, but for those brief fifteen minutes I was lost in on a glorious glowing pop trip. I’m not even going to mention the rest of the album. I’ve already told you enough information. This is one of those records that you truly need to experience with your own two ears. So yeah, go do that, right away. Oh, and by the way, they’ll be in Buffalo on June 20th at Town Ballroom.

Teen Dream was released January 26th on Sub Pop Records.

Bonnaroo Preview

wrubmusic — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 05:00:52 +0000

Anyone who speaks with me long enough will eventually find I’m obsessed with Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. Since going to my first one one in 2008 I’ve been hooked, it’s difficult not to when My Morning Jacket play the best set of their career in a torrential early morning downpour. It’s legendary sets like those, where you don’t look at your watch once, dodge glowsticks, and look on as a band comes into their own that you realize the power of the festival. Add to that 70,000 music fans, a tent shanty town that becomes home for four days, and the unbelievable feeling that everything cool in music is happening right in front you, and you have a reason to get up in the morning when you get back to your boring life.

Maybe nothing this year will ever come as close to that Saturday morning in the cold rain, but it won’t be for lack of trying. Bonnaroo works year after year to improve themselves and earn their keep in an burgeoning American festival market. Last year the lineup topped the year before it, with tremendous sets from Nine Inch Nails, Wilco, Grizzly Bear, Phoenix, and Bruce Springsteen among others that raised the bar. So what does Bonnaroo have up it’s sleeve this year before the big lineup reveal February 9th? I’ll tell you what we(think) we know so far.

Headliners:
Jay-Z: Sure he’s playing Isle of Wight Festival in England on Friday, but Mr. Beyonce will make it to the farm in time to play a late night set Saturday. Have you guys heard of private planes? They’re pretty useful, and if you’ve sold over 30 million records you’re able to afford those sorts of things. Add in a six hour time difference and Jay-Z will be there with time to catch up on 30 Rock reruns.

Neil Young: Neil’s impact on music is well documented, classic albums like After the Gold Rush, On The Beach, and Harvest have shown just how powerful Neil’s Canadian heartland voice and lyrics can be. Even at 65 years old, Neil can still bring it live, that’s why it will be so exciting when Neil takes the What Stage for the first time since 2003, when the festival was still in it’s infancy.

Dave Matthews Band: Bleh. So Dave appears to be stopping by Bonnaroo this year on his way to a local amphitheater near you. Will this set be special? Only if God himself (Neil Young) stops by and helps out on “Cortez the Killer.”

Kings of Leon: Bleh. I used to like Kings of Leon…a lot. But times have changed, and KOL just isn’t the same band that put out Youth and Young Manhood. Now your mom likes them, and their biggest songs chorus’ are “You know that I could use somebudddy” and “Oh oh waaaa, this sex is on fire.” Ouch. However, whether I like it or not, Kings of Leon are pretty popular and it looks like they are going to return home, they’re from Tennessee, to headline Bonnaroo friday. Please no one dig up my review from Generation two years ago about Only By The Night, I’m a changed man now.

The Wildcard
Roger Waters Performing the Wall: This has been kicked around, and while it was thought Waters wouldn’t be playing festivals, Bonnaroo may have coughed up the bucks and booked the temperamental bassist from Pink Floyd to play the Wall in its entirety. Don’t be surprised if he’s not on the final lineup, but don’t be shocked if he’s topping the bill either.

Undercard:
Flaming Lips: While I’m only 95% sure on the headliners, I’m 100% on this one. The Flaming Lips let slip to Spinner that they’ll be performing a late night set Friday night at Bonnaroo starting at midnight. What’s even more interesting is that they’re going to bring back their Dark Side of the Moon full album from New Years Eve in Oklahoma city at 2:30 a.m. Be prepared for one of the craziest shows of the year.

Stevie Wonder: Another one I feel 95% about, Stevie Wonder looks he’ll be making his first appearance at Bonnaroo this year. Already confirmed for Glastonbury, booking Stevie should make for a pretty special Sunday set on the What.

Pavement With the first scheduled gig in the United States at Coachella in April, another one Sasquatch at the end of May, and Pitchfork in July it appears festival appearances will not be rare. Expect Pavement to be on the farm.

LCD Soundsystem: With a new album coming out this year and a tour in the works, LCD Soundsystem might just make it to the fest. Couple that with some solid rumors, and James Murphy may provide a sun burned Roo crowd with some heart-wrenching dance punk.

Hall and Oates: Private Eyes CLAP are watching you CLAP watching your ev-ery move.

My Morning Jacket: Will the Louisville band be back to take their throne as kings of Bonnaroo? We won’t know officially until the 9th, but there’s been word that the fests most beloved band will be back this year. Maybe they’ll graduate to a pre-headliner spot before Neil Young to show a bigger crowd what they’re capable of.

Conclusion
Once again all of this is speculation, but none of it is coming from no where. After being glued to my computer for the past weeks trying to cipher through the bullshit I feel pretty confident with what I’ve posted. Only a few more days until we figure out for certain.

wrubmusic — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 01:34:01 +0000

What We Spin

February 2010


Them Crooked Vultures Them Crooked Vultures	Julian Casablancas Phrazes For The Young	Hot Chip One Life Stand
Monolithic drums, sludgy guitars, a rousing bass – this is the sum of Dave Grohl, Josh Homme and John Paul Jones.	Julian combats detractors with sprawl. No more tight Strokes songs like the ones on Is This It?. Lush electronic compositions abound. As always it’s nice to hear his voice.	Hot Chip isn’t kidding around anymore. The synths are murkier, the themes are darker – but you can still dance to this record like old Hot Chip.

Gibb Has A Thing For Futbol

wrubsports — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:40:45 +0000

I apologize for not posting recently. This post is about everyone’s favorite sport, soccer. This post will also focus on everyone’s favorite soccer league, the MLS. On Sunday, November 22, Real Salt Lake will take on the Los Angeles Galaxy for the MLS Cup in Seattle. Some people view this as a great thing for Mr. David Beckham and the Galaxy, mostly because of all the media surrounding them this year. Rumors had been circling that Beckham, who was on loan in Italy (A.C. Milan) at the beginning of the year, did not want to return to the Galaxy. He was already scheduled to miss a good portion of the season because of his loan to Milan. To say the least, this angered many fans. Since Beckham would be gone for so long, Landon Donovan was “promoted” to captain. I say it this way because Donovan should have been the captain in the first place. Before I digress too far, you should check out “The Beckham Experiment: How the World’s Most Famous Athlete Tried to Conquer America” by Grant Wahl.

That was just a little background on the situation in Los Angeles, now, back to the MLS Cup. I do not think Captain Donovan and David Beckham will have a problem handling Kyle Beckerman and Real Salt Lake. I think the score will probably be a commanding 3-1 victory for the Galaxy. But what is the cost of winning a championship? Becks has destroyed the chemistry of a soccer club. Donovan has slandered one of the most recognized players in the world. Think of it in the terms of a dying star. The forces pushing in on the core of the star becomes far greater than that of the forces pushing out…or something like that. Equilibrium is lost. The star grows bigger and bigger and eventually explodes… a supernova. I believe that this MLS Cup Final will be the supernova for the LA Galaxy. Beckham will most likely go back to Milan, and Donovan who has stated already that he wishes to permanently play in Europe. It is Donovan, arguably the best player in American Soccer history vs. Beckham, a washed up, has-been, who is trying to get his career back by showing off against players of a lesser caliber. Donovan will lead a competitive United States National Team to South Africa next summer. Beckham will be part of an aging England National team.

In conclusion, Becks can beat it…because in America, it’s in Donovan that we trust.

I actually don’t know anybody, other than Mia Hamm, that trusts Landon Donovan. Grant Wahl is one of my favorite sportswriters. He started out as a basketball analyst and then transformed into a soccer expert once ESPN realized there are actually humans who enjoy soccer. Definitely a must read there.

Steve C. Falls For Johnny Damon

wrubsports — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:13:46 +0000

So as I’m sitting in my seat on the flight from JFK to buffalo, I realize that Johnny Damon might have had one of best 10 minutes of fundamental baseball I have ever seen.

For those of you who did not catch the game last night, let me explain. He has an at-bat where he fouls off several pitches to stay alive and finally makes Brad Lidge make a mistake, which he takes the other way for a single. Now with Texeira up, the Phillies pull a Barry Bonds-like shift and move the entire infield to the right side.

Damon takes off, steals second and knowing that the 3rd basemen was covering second, it becomes a foot race with Lidge to third base. He steals the 2 bags and is driven home by A-Rod at the next at bat. To me it’s great to see guys just making a smart baseball move that any 10 year old could have pulled and essentially won a World Series game with. Congrats Johnny Damon and congrats to the New York Yankees who are now 1 win away from their 27th World Series win.

The second thing I want to touch on is basketball. Holy ~~shit~~ Ginobli has some reflexes. During the Spurs game over the weekend ladies and gentlemen a bat was flying around the court and around the stadium. The crew of course tried to capture it for several minutes but were unable to. (Cue Ginobli) During a stoppage of play the bat flies low to the court and Manu Ginobli reaches out with his left hand and spikes the bat into the ground. Unfortunately he killed the bat in the process, so he should be expecting PETA calls similar to Ozzy Osbourne back in the day.

But regardless, this has to go up on my list of spectacular plays with animals and athletes. Remember Randy Johnson killing the bird with his fastball? (If you don’t, YouTube it. It’s worth it, but only if you’re not an animal lover.) Johnson’s act was a pure accident, but Ginobli caught a bat with his bare hands. That earns him a “We shouldn’t ~~fuck~~ with this guy badge” on the spot. Ridiculous and very impressive play Mr. Ginobli, well played sir.

Gibb Has An NBA Preview

wrubsports — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:48:54 +0000

It’s about that time where the NBA season is upon us. The NBA seems to be entering its own new Golden Era, the teams at the top of the league are better than they have ever been. The Lakers, Magic, Celtics and Cavs have all emerged as the early favorites for the title. Each team made valuable editions to their rosters that will only make them better. The Lakers replaced the talented Trevor Ariza with the controversial lockdown defender and outside threat Ron Artest. The Magic dealt for Vince Carter to give them yet another scoring option to complement Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis and Jameer Nelson. The Celtics signed Rasheed Wallace to improve their bench depth and spread the floor with his outside game. And the Cavaliers highly anticipated acquisition of the proven big fella, Shaquille O’Neal will hopefully give LeBron the post presence he’s been looking for.

Though there are a few new revamped rosters that look poised for long runs in the playoffs, a busy offseason saw many respectable players changing teams. The Spurs acquired Richard Jefferson to play the prototypical wingman they need to run and gun with Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. The Blazers added Andre Miller to fill in their hole at point guard and give them the sound veteran discipline and game management they have been missing. Hedo Turkoglu joined the Toronto Raptors and should thrive alongside Chris Bosh and Jose Calderon. The Hawks made the key addition of Jamal Crawford to give them a strong scoring presence off the bench. And the Mavericks acquired Shawn Marion to give them another weapon to complement Dirk Nowitzki.

The top teams and contenders are clearly classified, though they will be playing the season with targets on their backs. The level of competition has risen and teams have deeper benches than ever before.

Here are my predictions for each conference’s standings:

Eastern Conference
1. Orlando Magic
2. Boston Celtics
3. Cleveland Cavaliers
4. Toronto Raptors
5. Atlanta Hawks
6. Washington Wizards
7. Philadelphia 76ers
8. Miami Heat
9. Chicago Bulls
10. Detroit Pistons
11. New Jersey Nets
12. Charlotte Bobcats
13. Indiana Pacers
14. New York Knicks
15. Milwaukee Bucks

Western Conference
1. Los Angeles Lakers
2. Portland Trail Blazers
3. San Antonio Spurs
4. Denver Nuggets
5. Utah Jazz
6. Dallas Mavericks
7. Phoenix Suns
8. New Orleans Hornets
9. Golden State Warriors
10. Oklahoma City Thunder
11. Houston Rockets
12. Los Angeles Clippers
13. Memphis Grizzlies
14. Sacramento Kings
15. Minnesota TimberWolves

Feel free to post your own comments or predictions!

In addition to my predictions for the final standings, here are my predictions for the various NBA awards given out at the end of the season:

MVP
1. Kobe Bryant, Lal
2. LeBron James, Cle
3. Brandon Roy, Por
4. Dwyane Wade, Mia
5. Dirk Nowitzki, Dal
6. Dwight Howard, Orl
7. Gilbert Arenas, Was
8. Carmelo Anthony, Den
9. Andre Iguodala, Phi

ROTY
1. DeMar DeRozan, Tor
2. Terrence Williams, NJ
3. Stephen Curry, GS
4. Jonny Flynn, Min
5. Brandon Jennings, Mil

Sixth Man
1. Manu Ginobli, SA
2. Andre Miller, Por
3. Rasheed Wallace, Bos
4. Jamal Crawford, Atl

Most Improved
1. Gilbert Arenas, Was
2. Channing Frye, Pho
3. Andray Blatche, Was
4. Michael Beasley, Mia
5. Richard Hamilton, Det

Defensive POTY
1. Kevin Garnett, Bos
2. Chris Paul, NO
3. Dwight Howard, Orl
4. Greg Oden, Por

Gibb Has A Revelation

wrubsports — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:07:43 +0000

This evening on our Sports Power Hour show, I had a revelation. This is something that I have sort of always known in the back of my mind, but it really hit me tonight for some reason: I HATE COLLEGE FOOTBALL. As a disclaimer before I start ranting, I do not have a problem with the athletes who work their asses off to play every week (except for Tim Tebow, who is treated like a God for some reason), nor do I have a problem with watching/broadcasting an exciting game on a Saturday afternoon in October. What I do have a problem with is the BCS and glorification of players who win the Heisman Trophy and then amount to nothing in the NFL.

Let’s start with the BCS. Obviously, I’m not the only person who has a problem with this; sports writers, disgruntled fans (from Utah), and anyone who is a fan of fair competition in any sport hates this stupid system. Teams like the Florida Gators played a D-1 AA team, Charleston Southern, in the first week of the season. Needless to say, the Gators routed them 62-3. Essentially, it was an extended practice for them. But take a team like the University at Buffalo. In 2008, UB started the season playing UTEP, Pitt, Missouri, and Army. At the time, both Pitt and Missou were ranked teams. Now obviously, wanting UB to be in contention for the National Championship is a bit far-fetched, but that is beside the point. It is expected, that if they want to have a successful season, they have to finish well above .500 to even be considered for a bowl game. Being “bowl eligible” at 6-6 is a joke. Meanwhile, Florida can play two or three teams that no one has ever heard of (no offense to the teams no one has ever heard of), and still play in the National Championship.

You may say to me, “stop complaining and think of a solution” and I may say to you, “Playoffs” and Jim Mora may say to me “Playoffs?” and I may say to him “Playoffs.” What makes the NCAA National Championship exciting? Dickie V? No, it’s a playoff bracket with the chance of upsets. What makes the NFL path to the Super Bowl exciting? Playoffs. What makes a 162 game MLB season better? Playoffs (2004 Red Sox down 3-0 in ALCS and win World Series). Matt Frank said it best on a musical break during the show tonight “You don’t like it because we just spent 20 minutes talking about a computer.” And he is exactly right…if we’re college students (higher education) and these football players are our age, with more or less the same education as every other college student, and none of us can understand how the BCS works because only a computer can figure out the formula…I see a problem. Enough with that, the NCAA needs to get their act together.

My second problem with college football is the Heisman Trophy. 8 of 73 Heisman Trophy winners have gone on to be inducted to the NFL Hall of Fame (the last one was Barry Sanders from the class of 1988). That is a success rate of just below 11%. Every year, Mel Kiper Jr. (who I hate with a passion) spends at least 15 minutes of my morning as I watch SportsCenter discussing and analyzing who will be picked for this prestigious award. Why would someone want an award where there’s only an 11% chance you’ll be any good, and of that 11%, there’s a chance you could end up like OJ Simpson. The NFL is a 100% different game than College Football, people need to stop acting like winning the Heisman is such a big deal…especially Mel Kiper Jr.

I apologize for how long winded this first post was. And I commend you if you read the whole thing. I hope you see my point of view on this; you can be my friend if you agree with me. But if there is one comment in support of Mel Kiper Jr. after this post, I will judge you.

The BCS debate will go on forever and ever, and I don’t think it is going to change anytime soon. The metaphor I use is that college football was raised by those parents that praised individuality, and that is what separates it from everything else: it is different. Instead of playoffs, or series, they have the BCS.

The argument for a playoff system is obstructed by the game of football itself. The games take too long and only one can be played per week. A playoff of 16 teams would take more than a month to complete, which would cut into the NCAA basketball season. The NCAA would probably not let this happen because they can use this time to promote college basketball.

Another thing, the BCS provides an inadvertent opportunity to protect the big market teams. Teams in the SEC get a boost because they are arguably the top conference and have the most difficult array of schedules. Like you said, Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, USC are constantly among the national title contenders. Why would the NCAA want to give BOISE STATE an opportunity to play the Gators in the national title game, when they could face the Longhorns and make much more money in merchandising, advertising, etc? I don’t expect the BCS to change anytime soon, though the idea of playoff will forever remain exciting to dream about. It will stay that way.

OH YEAH, and with the Heisman? It’s clear that winning the trophy does nothing to translate into NFL success. Let’s rattle off the names: Jason White, Troy Smith, Eric Crouch, Ty Detmer, Danny Wuerrfel, Ron Dayne, Chris Weinke (We’ll continue to wait for Kurt Warner to falter before we add Matt Leinart). These guys were not able to succeed on the professional level. This is because the Heisman is awarded to the Most Outstanding College Football Player. Reggie Bush tore up Pac 10 defenses, helped USC win and won the award. Yet he is next on the Saints depth chart to Pierre Thomas and Mike Bell, who were not drafted. Bush still has some explosive potential, but is in large part a sideshow on a potent NFL offense. There were also enough Heisman winners that were great NFL players: (aforementioned) OJ Simpson, Marcus Allen, Mike Rozier, Charles Woodson, Eddie George, Barry Sanders, Bo Jackson, Herschel Walker, Tony Dorsett to name a few. . .(put an * on Carson Palmer and Ricky Williams)

The expectation of the Heisman winner is to be an NFL superstar, which is significantly unfair because winning the award is not a measure of their NFL possibilities. There is also an odd pattern here, that most of the Heisman flukes in the NFL seemed to be QB’s, while most of the Heisman successes were running backs. For college football traditionalists, the Heisman is another race to look forward to, in case the lovely BCS isn’t cutting it…

I agree that it will not change soon, but I honestly think it will change. Especially if some of the top teams lose towards the end of this season but still keep out some undefeated teams…Boise St? And yes, I realize that the BCS protects big market teams…but the NCAA, who will fine teams for practicing too early, who will expel players who receive any type of payment. While I do not endorse college students getting paid, why should they be marketed as such and make someone else money. (Hypothetical) What if UB upset Florida in some sort of playoff tournament? If UB ends up winning the Championship, that turns them into a big market team…More games on ESPN, better recruits enrolling at UB…this is the NCAA’s chance to give every team a legitimate shot.

I agree with your thought on the Heisman fluke being QBs. While QBs are important in the NFL, I feel that College is a much more QB/RB-centered game. To win in the NFL you have to have a great all around team (Offense, Defense, Special Teams…Thank you John Madden) But to win in college all you need is a QB who can bomb the ball down the field so his receiver can jump and make a circus catch b/c the QB is not accurate, as well as a running back who will run laps around the defense (See USC’s Matt Leinart/Reggie Bush Tandem)

Here’s a topic to ponder: is the job of college football programs and coaches to prepare their athletes for the pros? Or is it to win football games and make money for their program and themselves? It could be a mix of both, but it has to be one more than the other. It also varies by program and conference. Any thoughts people?