Rhubarb Report: Episode 32

I am going to do something that I have rarely done in previous episodes of the Rhubarb Report. I know it might be hard to imagine, but I am going to avoid the topic of politics. Saturday’s upcoming Republican shindig in South Carolina doesn’t need any further media hype. If anything, life in the Republican party (and our upcoming national election) might actually have a little more clarity after Saturday. Or not. I can always be hopeful and optimistic at least.

Episode 32 of the Rhubarb Report will deal with a number of optimistic topics found in football and basketball over the past week:

1. Optimistic point number one: Tim Tebow leading the Denver Broncos to a Super Bowl. Is Tebow truly a foundation upon which to build, or is this all a bad hallucination?

I know, I know – there are a lot of fans that have been excited about Tim Tebow and his time as a starter with the Denver Broncos. John Elway, ye of Broncos quarterback lore, has named him the starter going into training camp for next season. I will be the first to admit that I am a proponent of having a quarterback with the capacity to scramble and yet still have a good arm. Yes, that would break the “rules” and perceptions that run rampant in the NFL in terms of “who will be a great NFL quarterback”.

In my eyes, it makes sense to have a great balance between running and passing options from the QB position. But the key word here is “balance”.

In Saturday’s AFC semifinal game, the New England Patriots beat the Denver Broncos 45 – 10. The score was only part of the story line. The quarterback statistics are revealing:

Tebow - 9 of 26 for 108 yards passing.

Brady - 26 of 34 for 363 yards passing.

Ouch.

There have been many great quarterbacks with far more impressive career numbers that were unable to win a Super Bowl. Jim Kelly and Dan Marino come to mind. Somehow – and don’t ask me how – he has managed to win games. Somehow – and, again, don’t ask me how - he has managed to win games in spite of his obvious deficits. But has the hoopla gone just a little far?

Tebow-mania may now be officially put on hold until pre-season. Please.

While we’re at it, the whole “Tebowing” thing is getting a little old. Strangely enough, is it any coincidence that Tebowing resembles Rodin’s “The Thinker”? Faith, or thought? I wonder what Richard Dawkins would say.

2. Optimistic point number two: the Texas men’s basketball team will get into the NCAA tournament. Better yet, let’s break this one down into little bits of optimism – that they will get some type of signature win sometime soon, that they will avoid a further downslide into the post-season, and that they will somehow find a player combination that works. Yes, I told you I was optimistic – but this might actually be stretching even my optimism these days.

The Longhorns have now had a strong dose of reality after the early pre-season barrage of wins. The reality check started on a December night in Chapel Hill when the Longhorns were pounded by UNC. Since then, this team has struggled mightily with 6 freshman. Other than a pre-season victory against Temple (who then went on to beat #5 Duke), there hasn’t been much to write about. Kansas comes to the Erwin Center on Saturday. Nope, no optimism on that one – but it certainly would be that signature win that the Horns need.

The good news – and optimism once again – is that most if not all of this group of Longhorns should return next year. That should put us in good shape in the Big 12 and beyond.

3. Optimistic point number three: Jeff Fisher, the new head coach of the St. Louis Rams, will lead them to the Super Bowl. Yeahright. Sure, he will lead them out of the cellar, all the way to at least 0.500. That is why they call him “Coach 500”. Why does the NFL continue to recycle coaches that have repeatedly displayed an inability to produce a winning product? Perhaps the owners are truly optimistic. Or too lazy to do their homework on new coaching prospects. The Rams will be a 0.500 football team. You heard it here first.

Photo credits: Wikipedia