Don't Forget to Dot the "i"

Don't call it a comeback!  After a brief August vacation, On The Ball is ready to run wind sprints, endure two-a-days, and get into shape as football kicks off, baseball makes its stretch run, and the NBA takes a backseat to, well, everything.

Vick's Payday
Michael Vick has completed his comeback from a social outcast and prison inmate to the present and future starting quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles by reportedly signing a six-year, $100 million contract with $40 million guaranteed.  After playing sparingly in 2009 with Philadelphia, Vick took over for Kevin Kolb in 2010 after Kolb was injured in the season opener, and had the best season of his NFL career by leading the Eagles to the NFC East Division title.  Vick was also named the AP Comeback Player of the Year as he threw for over 3,000 yards, 21 touchdowns, and only 6 interceptions.

Michael Vick will be keeping his talents in the City of Brotherly Love making
yet another significant step in his comeback to the NFL.

In fact, according to Darren Rovell at CNBC, based on Vick's career averages, he will get $956,755 per touchdown and $6,074 per yard over the course of the six-year deal.  Although you would think that Vick and Eagle fans everywhere are elated about having a very profitable (for Vick) and long-term solution at quarterback for the foreseeable future (for Eagle fans), the happiest constituents in this transaction?  Vick's creditors.  See, Vick declared bankruptcy shortly after leaving prison.  No doubt his new contract will help with his financial troubles.

O-h-i-o?
Speaking of troubles, Ohio State's athletic and football program has come under a great deal of scrutiny and sanctions from the NCAA this summer, leading to the "resignation" of Jim Tressel, the departure of star quarterback Terrelle Pryor to the Oakland Raiders, and an interim coach charged with the expectations of contending for another Big Ten title and a BCS national championship.  But the biggest issues may actually lie (pun intended) with their fans.

Insert your own caption here, it's really not worth my time...

You have to understand that it is a tradition and an honor at Ohio State to dot the "i" in the spelling of O-h-i-o before a football game, and apparently the deceased 80-year old Roy Miracle's last act above ground was to dot the "i" in Ohio as evidenced in this creepy, delusional picture.  That's all I have to say about that.

Game to Watch - Week 1
I love to watch football.  It is probably my favorite sport to watch (of course, it depends on the day).  But in order to keep Mrs. On The Ball and Lil' Miss On The Ball happy this fall, my goal is to control my football intake by focusing on one big game each week to watch and/or pay significant attention to.  Disclaimer:  This does not apply to any BYU games, which due to BYU's declaration of independence in August 2010 will gladly result in me being able to watch every single BYU game this year.  This week, the college football season gets off to a great start with a couple of made-for-TV games between Oregon and LSU and Boise State and Georgia.

Boise State and star quarterback Kellen Moore will try to get
their 2011 season off to a good start by taking down the 'Dawgs.

Although Oregon and LSU are both ranked in the Top 10 to begin the season, it is clearly not going to be the high profile matchup it was once dreamed to be with both the Ducks and Tigers dealing with significant offseason issues and suspensions of key players, including LSU's starting quarterback.  So my focus is on the Broncos and the Bulldogs in primetime in Atlanta.  Bronco quarterback and Heisman candidate Kellen Moore will lead the perennial BCS busters into SEC country, which has crowned the last 5 BCS national champions, to try and stick their flag in the sand as an early season contender to be the first non-BCS conference team to reach the BCS national championship game (again).  It will be very intriguing to watch the well-rounded Broncos go deep into SEC territory to take down the up-and-coming Georgia Bulldogs in what will undoubtedly be a "home" game for Georgia even though it is being played at a neutral field.  Whichever game you decide to tune in to watch, the Oregon and Boise State jerseys  will NOT disappoint.  Check out the Oregon jerseys here and the Boise State jerseys here.

The Underdog

Everyone loves to root for the underdog.  There are stories, books, and movies that portray underdogs making their way to the top - Hoosiers, Rudy, and even The Mighty Ducks capture America's interest and demonstrate our need to root for the underdog.  I actually don't think you can make a sports movie that doesn't involve an underdog or an eventual champion needing to defeat an "evil" competitor or at least fight through adversity to become successful.

Everyone loves an underdog, including
The Underdog!

We love to see the almighty champion fall from grace through defeat and give way to an upcoming star.  Which is why I have been fascinated with America's obsession with Tiger Woods this week as he returned to the PGA Tour after an on-again, off-again two years of injury, family issues, and even bigger personal issues, all while trying to regain his form that made him golf's undisputed best player for 10+ years in a row.

Tiger's return to the course this week in the World Golf Championship (a tournament he has won 7 times!) has led the sports newscasts and talk shows since his 2-under 68 vaulted him into the discussion of whether he could regain his form at the 76-man tournament and win on tour for the first time since 2009.  Two days later he is in 38th place going into Sunday's final round.  Yet, the first news story is about Tiger's consecutive rounds that have dropped him from contention.

Tiger Woods is hoping to be all-smiles 
on the golf course again in the near future.

The news should really be about the third round leader, Adam Scott (who recently made the controversial decision to hire Tiger's long-time caddie, Steve Williams), or about 19-year old Japanese phenom, Ryo Ishikawa, who is chasing Scott from one stroke behind.  (Ishikawa, by the way, has already said he is donating ALL of his 2011 earnings to the tsunami relief fund in his native Japan).  Now those are stories worthy of a lead-in on SportsCenter!  And although they will be mentioned in the highlights, the first name mentioned is Tiger Woods.

Is the mighty Tiger Woods actually an underdog as he struggles to regain his championship form?  I don't think so.  He's still way too talented to ever be considered an underdog on the golf course.  Do some people root for Tiger's failure given his past improprieties and personal mistakes?  Absolutely.  But I think people - for the most part - are fascinated with Tiger Woods and are actually pulling for him to get back to the top.  The reason:  America never really had the opportunity to see Tiger unseated by the underdog.  Tiger unseated himself - off the course - on that fateful night when he drove his Escalade into a tree and everything hit the fan.  Since Tiger's quick descent from the top, there hasn't been a single player on the PGA Tour that has captured the undisputed top spot.  Case in point: there have 14 different champions in the last 14 PGA major championships.  Golf needs Tiger to regain the top spot and capture the public's imagination so they can then turn around and cheer for the underdogs, such as Ryo Ishikawa, so the underdogs can be appreciated and praised more than they would be without the guy to beat at the top.  America loves the underdog more than the champion.

The NBA thrived this past season as the Miami Heat became the hated
"champion" after their self-praising pep rally (above) shortly after the Heat
signed Wade, Bosh, and James.  The "underdog" Mavericks defeated the Heat
in the NBA Finals - much to America's delight.

Sports is not as dramatic or interesting for the casual fan if there is not a champion at the top to defeat.  People love to cheer against teams like the Yankees, Heat, and Duke because of their success (or the self-assumed success in the case of the Heat).  The teams in the Mountain West Conference hated BYU when they left the Conference not because they went independent and abandoned the conference, but because the fans and the teams lost their hated and evil champion to go after year after year.  The PGA Tour and its fans are hoping for (and frankly, need) Tiger to return to the top in order for the sport to return to the forefront of the American sports scene. So they can then root for the underdog.