The Kazmer Report

By Rick Kazmer
rickk@dailyamerican.com

I was looking at new movie releases in Walmart the other day and noticed a movie called “Apollo 18.”
These sort of things usually interest me so I picked it up for a closer look. I have yet to watch the film.
But the video’s tease certainly has my attention —“There’s a reason we’ve never gone back to the moon” is written on the front of the case. Of course I am wondering, what’s the reason?
The summary on the back says that the Department of Defense funded the Apollo 18 moon trip. It wasn’t canceled after all. Apparently aliens are on the moon. They are not nice.
Other information on the case says the movie has footage from the actual mission, though the government disclaims the video.
Again, I haven’t watched the movie, so I have no legitimate comments on whether the film has “real” footage.
One thing I find ironic: There are conspirators who claim the first moon landing was a fake, while the government says it is real. Now, there are conspirators who say Apollo 18 is real, while the government says the flight never happened.
I don’t think the next person on the moon will have to worry about little green men.
Send any insight to rickk@dailyamerican.com. I’ll post it here.

By Rick Kazmer
rickk@dailyamerican.com

Cougars everywhere should be outraged.
Their species has been likened to middle-age women who pursue younger men.
It is a poor metaphor to begin with. But the animal is a pretty good mascot. A Utah school board has allowed pop-culture’s twist on the large American wild cat’s name to make them look foolish.
The Corner Canyon school board won’t let the cougar be the district mascot for fear that it might offend middle-aged women.
The logic here is full of holes. The definition of a cougar is: A large American wild cat. I read in one article that the Webster dictionary is including the slang, romantic-related definition with its entry. But that is hardly enough to end the cougar’s time as a viable mascot, especially when Redskins, Chiefs and Seminoles remain popular professional mascots.
If every school board followed through with the Utah directors’ logic, school mascots would become boring and uninspiring. Think Oakland Athletics.
Being a “cougar” in the non-animal sense isn’t something obvious, like say race or even religion. Certain mascots that touch on those traits might go over the line.
But slightly older women who are attracted to younger men are not going to care if the animal is used for a school mascot.
The Utah school board’s decision is ludicrous. Read more here.

By Rick Kazmer
rickk@dailyamerican.com

OK, so my bold prediction turned out to be a bust.
But, I am fine with that. And I am a Denver Broncos fan throughout the rest of the playoffs.
Anybody who follows sports has heard of Tim Tebow. He has been both criticized and praised for his personal beliefs and play on the field.
I poked fun at the attention Tebow has gotten in my last blog. But I am a Tebow fan. Very few professional athletes wear honorable values on their sleeves. Tebow does so without regret. I hope he and the Denver Broncos win the Super Bowl.
For readers unaware of who Tebow is — he is the starting quarterback for Denver. He is also a dedicated Christian. His website.

By Rick Kazmer
rickk@dailyamerican.com

No amount of hail Marys, sacred chants or Tebow kneels will save the Denver Broncos Sunday.
I seldom do this, but I am predicting that Pittsburgh will dominate Denver in Colorado during the first round of playoffs.
Despite what many fear as a disaster, Rashard Mendenhall’s injury last Sunday against the Browns may usher in the next generation of Steelers rushers. Isaac Redman and John Clay could be the brutish one-two punch that harks back to the Jerome Bettis style of running.
But the bottom line here is that it simply won’t take a lot to beat the Broncos. Seventeen points ought to do it. I think a beat up Ben Roethlisberger and his talented receiving group can score three touchdowns. The offense is do for an explosive week. Why not at Mile High?
As long as Pittsburgh doesn’t turn the ball over a lot — or fall apart on special teams — they will be headed to the second round.

By Rick Kazmer
rickk@dailyamerican.com

The Daily American staff picked the top stories of 2011. They were featured in Saturday’s (Dec. 31) edition. The feature is also available here.

— I am a Bengals fan this weekend. Beat the Ravens.
— The Steelers should easily handle the Browns — but that means the game will likely be a lot closer than it should be.

HAPPY NEW YEARS

By Rick Kazmer
rickk@dailyamerican.com

I tried to think of a legitimate defense for Todd Graham. But I can’t come up with one. He is a villain — at least to anyone who enjoys Pittsburgh Panther football.
Graham announced Wednesday that he was leaving Pitt to be the head football coach at Arizona State. This only 11 months after he gave an impassioned speech about how he was in it with Pitt for the long-haul.
But according to reports I have heard his sudden departure shouldn’t be a surprise. Within the last six years Graham has had three head coaching jobs. He talked about commitment at Rice, then Tulsa, then Pitt and now Arizona State. God only knows why administrators there would believe him.
Now Pitt leaders are left with filling the position for the third time in a year. Dave Wannstedt was first fired in a strange way that had the pretense of being polite, but ultimately came off as rude. His first replacement was Mike Haywood, from Miami of Ohio, who was quickly released after domestic violence charges were filed against him. Then came Graham, who preached high octane, high energy, loyalty and commitment. He mostly failed to deliver on any of those promises.
So what now?
How can Pitt — fans, administrators and players — believe anything from a coach?
The bigger question is why Arizona State would believe anything from Graham.

By Rick Kazmer
rickk@dailyamerican.com

The AFC West is perhaps the NFL’s most interesting conference this season.
The main reason is the inability to pick a clear division favorite this late in the year. And it is because no team has played consistently good or bad for long stretches.
In San Diego you have a team with top-knotch talent in core positions. But they can’t put it together. There are some rumors that quarterback Philip Rivers is playing hurt. But his great performance that was part of Monday night’s trouncing of the Jaguars likely rules that out.
Maybe it’s the coaching?
Kansas City is one of my most disappointing teams this year. They appeared to have acquired better-than-average players in core positions. But injuries and under-performance has led to the team likely missing the playoffs.
Denver and Oakland are now the front-runners to win the division. Both are 7-5 and have had odd seasons. Oakland lost its starting QB, Jason Campbell, to injury. They traded everything, including the kitchen sink, to the Bengals for holdout Carson Palmer. Denver benched signal-caller Kyle Orton and has been starting Tim Tebow — who is 6-1 as a starter, but is criticized for his unconventional play.
Denver, the team that looked to be perhaps the division’s worst early on, might now be the favorite. Call it divine intervention or luck — or maybe it’s just good football — but I don’t think they are a team anyone wants to see in the playoffs.
Sneaky teams usually find a way to make runs in the postseason. Denver could be this year’s low-seed miracle.

Rick Kazmer’s NFL top five power ranking:

1. Green Bay: Unbeaten. Someone will find a way to slow Aaron Rodgers before this is through.

2. New England: The Patriots’ offense might be as explosive as the Packers’. Their defense still has a lot of holes.

3. Pittsburgh: Maybe the most complete team. Age and injuries, especially the tendency for offensive linemen to go down, could cost them in the playoffs.

4. New Orleans: If they play like they did on Monday night — look out. I don’t know if they can do that in cold weather, like say, at Green Bay.

5. Baltimore: Great defense. Not sold on Joe Flacco, especially in the playoffs. The AFC North is theirs for the taking.

Overrated teams: Detroit is starting to unhinge. They don’t seem to be coached to handle success. San Francisco is coached for success, but doesn’t have the talent to beat the big boys.

Underrated teams: Oakland would be scary in the playoffs, especially with Carson Palmer slowly coming back into shape. Houston — with whoever is behind center — can be a contender based on their running game and defense alone.

Biggest surprise: Cincinnati. Even if they miss the playoffs. A rookie QB and receiver shouldn’t perform that well.

Biggest disappointment: Buffalo, Kansas City and New York Jets. One started off hot, one pretty much stunk all year and the latter team’s coach promised a Super Bowl. All were thought to be more than what they are so far.

I originally picked Dallas over San Diego in the Super Bowl. The Cowboys are still in the mix and I am not ruling them out. Rob Ryan has coached up a decent defense and Romo is putting up good numbers. If he doesn’t collapse, as history suggests, they could go all of the way. As for the Chargers, well, coach Norv Turner will probably be fired at the end of the year, if not sooner.

Pittsburgh’s loss to West Virginia Friday took them out of contention for a Big East title.
But more importantly it cemented the fact that Tino Sunseri cannot run Todd Graham’s fast-paced offense. Despite glimmers of success throughout the season, Friday’s showing against the team’s biggest rival demonstrated Sunseri’s biggest shortcomings. He is bad under pressure, he is inaccurate and he holds on to the ball too long.
All three characteristics are particularly detrimental to what was supposed to be a fast-moving, high-scoring offense.
I still believe Graham is a good coach. He needs to find the right players for his scheme. That should start next week with a new quarterback under center. It’s time to audition the young talent. Game details here.

By Rick Kazmer
rickk@dailyamerican.com

I wonder how many years will pass before Brett Favre’s name isn’t brought up when a team’s starting quarterback is injured.
Houston quarterback Matt Schaub is out for the year after an injury suffered Sunday and ESPN is talking about whether the team will contact Favre. That follows rumors that came out of Indianapolis at the beginning of the season when the Colts said Peyton Manning would likely miss the year with injury.
Favre, 42, shouldn’t come back. He is done.
There hasn’t even been any legitimate news from Favre that he is considering another return. The news hook seems to be something that sports stations latch onto because it is a controversial topic — not that there hasn’t been enough controversial stories in sports lately.
The Texans would be better off with backup Matt Leinart.