With the NBA still locked out, the outlook isn't a positive one for the 2011-2012 season. The negotiation attempts have reached a dead end of greed and finger pointing as the players are now trying to sue the owners by claiming that they were illegally locked out. This is a sad day when the legal mumbo jumbo and reality of the world has invaded the very thing we turn to in attempt to avoid it. While the NBA sorts out their mess of a lockout I have no choice but to turn to football at this time of year.
Luckily, the 49ers are looking the best they have in recent years moving to 8-1 with their great win over the Giants in week 10. Alex Smith settled the debate over whether or not he is an elite quarterback in the NFL with his performance last Sunday by picking apart the Giants defense for 242 yard and one touchdown. Although Eli Manning finished with better numbers (311 yards 2 TDs and 2 INts) Alex Smith proved to be the better quarterback by coming up with a number of clutch throws down the stretch. Ultimately the driving force behind this victory was once again the defense. They picked off Eli Manning twice and limited RB Brandon Jacobs to 55 yards. Harbaugh seems to have found the winning formula as the 49ers have already passed their win total for last year. The 49ers play the 3-6 Cardinals next week and the Ravens on Thanksgiving night. This season looks to be full of excitement for the 49ers and I can't wait to see more.
One last note on how deeply flawed the college football system is. As some of you may know fourth ranked Stanford lost to seventh ranked Oregon last Saturday and because of the absence of a college playoff system this was essentially a must-win if they wanted a shot at the Pac-12 championship. The college is more worried about keeping the advertisers that support the bowl games and fund the leagues than providing an environment where the top ranked teams all have an equal shot at the national title. Due to the college bowl system only two teams essentially have a shot at the national title. No other sport allows only the best two teams to fight for the title and also allow teams to be determined better than each other without ever playing the other team. At a certain point as a fan your not that thrilled if your team is competing in the frito bean-dip bowl and even if you win you're unsure of what the win means. College basketball's March Madness system provides the best experience for the fan and allows every team in the tournament an equal shot at the title. I know that playing a 64-team football tournament is next to impossible due to the violence of the sport, but I"m just asking that college football think of its fans and teams involved rather than selling out to big corporations.
