Savannah State vs Florida State: Through The Looking Glass

Much has been made of Savannah State's early-season money-grab. The 139-0 tally at Oklahoma State and Florida State may have lined the pockets of the school's struggling athletic department, but the attempt at national brand recognition may have adversely tilted the big ledger sheet in the sky.

So what were they thinking? SSU Athletic Director Sterling Steward, Jr. spoke about the broader picture to WSAV's Ken Slats:

"In order to understand what big-time college athletics is, you have to see it first-hand, you have to experience it. And these first two games have showed us what it's like."

So let's assume the worst is over and the Tigers still have all their fingers and toes. What's next? A week off and then North Carolina Central in the home opener, who'll be coming off their own FBS test at Duke.

The Savannah State/NC Central game may even be a blurb on College Gameday or College Football Final, something that never would have been possible without those first two results. After that, the Tigers will be in the national rearview, so they'll need to make this one count.

On the flip side, Florida State's first two romps versus FCS schools may have irreparably damaged their 2012 National Championship hopes.

Computer rankings are still part of the BCS formula, and Murray State and Savannah State will only weigh the Seminoles down. Not to mention the pollsters who may have to ultimately decide between FSU and a SEC or Pac-12 team, and compare strength of schedule.

Yes West Virginia bailed on them, which left Florida State to throw a bunch of money at Savannah State to fill the hole on their calendar. But a team can only be judged on their body of work for a given season. Computers can't factor in broken contracts.

So this is what the business has come to: Savannah State loses big, but cashes in. Florida State wins big, but takes the hit.

No wonder Mother Nature saw the affront and intervened early.

The World Trade Center Movie You'll Never See Again

The story of the first attack on the World Trade Center (February 26, 1993) is documented in the 1997 HBO Original Film Path To Paradise. The caption reads, "based on the terrifying true story behind the World Trade Center bombing." But it is the top line, the "log line" that really hits home:

No one expected a terrorist attack on U.S. soil. But many could have prevented it.

I saw this powerful film when it first aired on HBO, and was aghast at how this event ever could have happened. Then it happened again, and that's why this film will never see the light of day.

Now I am a believer that this film should be shown, maybe on an endless loop, to show the mistakes that were made the first time. After September 11, 2001, I wrote a letter to HBO, saying this film needed to be re-aired and promoted. Then I followed up with a second letter, and posed the question on their web page. I never received a reply.

Reason 1 why HBO won't air this again, is because of the outrage it would incite toward both Muslims and U.S. investigative agencies.

The lead character is FBI Agent John Anticev (Peter Gallagher). He says the magic words in a post-bombing US Attorney debrief:

"There was no evidence they were doing anything illegal. They were Muslims, it didn't mean they were terrorists." 

The story follows a terrorist cell based in Jersey City under the guidance (you hesitate to say direction) of "The Blind Sheik" Omar Abdel-Rahman. They plan and execute the 1993 WTC bombing, killing 6 and injuring over a thousand, but fall short in their goal of bringing the towers down.

As with any criminal organization, there are master criminals and there are idiots. It really is a ragtag bunch that the law stumbles upon several times. There's the 1990 traffic stop, where the Connecticut State trooper stops the group, searches the car, and finds assault weapons and license plates in the trunk.

While the trooper is in his vehicle checking the gun license, here's the scripted dialogue among the terrorists:

Mahmud Abouhalima: "If this was Egypt and he was a policeman, he would shoot us.."

Rodney Hampton-El: "If this was Afghanistan and he was a Russian, I would have shot him by now."

El Sayyid Nosair: "But this is America. He will do nothing, and we will do as we please."

Law enforcement determines that everything is in order and sends them on their way, to the gun range no less.

There's the bait-and-switch ploy where (patsy) Ahmad Ajaj and (bomb-maker) Ramzi Yousef entered the U.S. on the same flight. While Ajaj was found with multiple passports and a notebook with blueprints for a bomb, he was jailed. Since all the resources went that way, Yousef simply claimed political asylum and was was released on his own recognisance while Customs was busy with the other guy.

There's Egyptian informant Emad Salem who infiltrated the group, but the FBI bureaucrats refused to continue to pay his $500 weekly stipend based on an "inconclusive" polygraph test. Funny that an inconclusive polygraph is exoneration when trying to determine guilt, but guilt when trying to determine veracity.

After the bombing, Salem was re-approached and his information led to the capture of all the conspirators all the way up to Abdel-Rahman. He got $1M and witness protection.

The FBI had a number of these guys in for questioning in September 1992, trying to take down Abel-Rahman, but they had no evidence besides some tapes with incendiary rhetoric and had to let them walk. Anticev bitched to his cohorts:

"Thats great, freedom of religion protects a bunch of murdering fanatics. And if these guys feel like blowin' us off, there's not a goddam thing we can do about it. Back home, the police would be shovin' barbed wire up their asses. No wonder they all come here."

Then there was the car accident in the weeks leading up to the actual terrorist attack, in which Ramzi Yousef was hospitalized. The chemical weaponry was inside the vehicle, though it was never searched.

Reason 2 why HBO won't air this again, is the constant imagery of the World Trade Center towers. Not only are they used liberally as transitional "segue" elements, but they are often the backdrop for many of the scenes themselves.

After the events of February 26, 1993, one of the moron terrorists actually wanted his security deposit back on the rental van used for the blast, reporting it as "stolen." On top of that, he had used his own license to rent the vehicle in the first place. That's how the Feds ultimately found who was responsible. Can you believe it?

That sets up Reason 3 why HBO won't air this again: the characters' final words at the end of the film, and how it set up the September 11th attacks which were still 4 years away.

John Anticev from the de-brief:

"Maybe we'll put these terrorists in jail. But others will come here and take their place - I mean that's what this country's all about isn't it? Land of opportunity. Now we can't build a bubble around it...We can throw more agents at it, put more funding on it, but when push comes to shove, it's just so easy. This isn't over."

They did put the terrorists in jail. The film chronicled with pictures and graphics each of the convicted and their sentences. Ramzi Yousef had successfully escaped the country, but was captured in Pakistan and extradited in 1995. The final scene is authorities flying him in by helicopter over lower Manhattan.

Ramzi Yousef looked down at The Twin Towers:

"Next time we'll bring them both down."

You may never see Path To Paradise back on HBO in our lifetime, but it was released on DVD in 2007. You can order it on Amazon.

September 11, 2001 - An Upper West Side Perspective

Eleven years ago - it isn't a round number for commemoration, but today shares one thing with the original date: Tuesday...which is significant. It's generally a very light air travel day. That and the weather was perfect. So the planes took off with no delays.

I had a flight scheduled that morning - 10:30 AM. LaGuardia through Memphis to El Paso, Texas. The car service arrived at 9 AM on schedule. Back then you only had to allow for NYC traffic to get to the airport, not security.

But right before I exited Apt #8G of the building pictured above, NY1 had live pictures of smoke billowing from the North Tower of the World Trade Center. They were reporting a plane crash, but the size of the plane or damage wasn't known. It wasn't exactly a ho-hum moment, but at that point there was no guarantee my plane would be grounded. So I went downstairs and hopped in the waiting Lincoln. Business as usual.

My Russian driver had one of the AM news channels on, and as we headed east through Harlem we heard that the second tower was hit. I got a call from my Jewish Mom, which was the last incoming or outgoing call that went through on my cell for the next several hours. I told her I was fine and aware of the news she was reporting, but traffic was starting to bottleneck so I had to tend to my immediate situation.

The driver was asking me what to do. I had no idea. I called the airline and couldn't connect, so we tried to keep plugging east but the outbound bridge was roadblocked. If we had gotten across 10 minutes earlier, we wouldn't have returned to Manhattan that day.

At that point I didn't need ultimate confirmation, I knew I wasn't going to my event in El Paso or spending the weekend in Memphis with my girlfriend, or going anywhere but home. It was
still about my issues, until we turned south and I saw the huge clouds of smoke obscuring the towers which should have been visible about 5-6 miles straight ahead. And then the news radio report came through that the Pentagon had been hit as well.

I got home and plopped in front of the TV for several hours (several days really). I had quit smoking cold-turkey about 10 days prior in conjunction with the emergency root canal I had underwent, so I was especially fidgety. Landlines were intermittent for several hours, which of course meant the modem-based internet was skittish as well. So updates from friends and loved ones were trickling in.

My friend (and boss on this event) was en route to El Paso when his Chicago-bound plane was diverted to Syracuse. He rented a car there and returned to his family in Connecticut that evening. ABC Sports colleagues of mine were stuck on the ground in Denver after the Monday Night opener. Some of them drove all the way back to New York. I got calls and e-mails from high school friends and ex-girlfriends to see if I was OK. I played phone tag with a woman I had dated recently who worked in one of the WTC satellite buildings.

The local news was alerting us that trauma units were looking for blood donations, but by the time I got to the spot in my neighborhood, they were already over-supplied. I changed into some running gear with radio headphones and went to Riverside Park for a run. I thought there wouldn't be anyone out, but a lot of people were just as stir-crazy and had the same idea I had.

It was late-afternoon by then and it was still a picture-perfect, gorgeous day. Only problem was you could taste the ashes in the air. The radio news programs were becoming repetitive at that point, as they are designed to be. So I switched to Sports Radio 660 WFAN, and Mike And The Mad Dog (Mike Francesa & Chris Russo).

They were having an animated discussion, with expert guests and regular callers, which somehow developed into how the attacks centered around the U.S. support of Israel. I remember specifically bits and pieces about the quandary that a religious nation-state presents, but I never found their opinions to be objectionable.

They were doing what they always did, taking the story of the moment and spinning it off the cuff. They were true New Yorkers, taking calls from the most passionate New Yorkers, trying to make sense of the greatest tragedy of our lifetime. Granted they were light years away from their area of expertise, but it was the first place where you could hear real people expressing their anger and sadness.

A friend of mine had slept on my couch on-and-off for a few nights after his girlfriend kicked him out. He stopped by to pick up his things, and returned to his apartment that evening. The perspective of 9/11 began their reconciliation. They're married with two kids today.

My parents met me at a bagel place, one of the few places open that evening. We all walked together since we had no idea which subways were running and which weren't. We collectively shook our heads failing to understand all the senseless killing, but how could we not appreciate still having each other at the end of this day?

Baseball returned 6 days later and the New York Mets, clad in their NYPD, NYFD FDNY, and PAPD (Port Authority PD) hats reeled off a bunch of wins in a row, coming up just inches short of the playoffs. The Yankees made a series of heroic comebacks in the 2001 World Series before falling to Arizona. Baseball bonded the New York community and however you feel about it, we still sing God Bless America in the 7th inning to this day.

One of the things I noticed in the months following was a lack of interest in individual accomplishments. The Emmy Awards were postponed 2 months. I remember the lack of build-up for the Heisman Trophy, eventually won by Nebraska's Eric Crouch. Anyone recall that?

Several months later I was in the elevator in my apartment building with a full German TV crew. One of my neighbors gave birth on September 11, 2001, and they were doing a big documentary.

Life went on but it was never the same, not in New York, and not at any airport. 

Ground Zero became a tourist destination, and I have not visited. I can acknowledge everything that happened there, and also appreciate the detachment of being just outside the zone of something so horrific.

As for me, I never made it to El Paso. But life has taken plenty of twists and turns in the last eleven years, more than I possibly could have imagined than if I still lived in #8G and that Upper West Side bachelor pad. And there are many days I lose perspective, but not today. 

Tomorrow on Backtime: the 9/11-related movie that you will never see on broadcast TV again.

Yanks Get A Little Breathing Room

It's September 10th and the Yankees can exhale for two reasons: they escaped Baltimore with a slim 1-game lead in AL East, and they have a day off. There's only one more of those left after today with 22 games remaining.

But winning the division is at a premium. Yes there's an extra Wild Card team, but for the first time since the inception of the Wild Card (1995), the scales have been heavily tilted to the division winner (as they should). As the two Wild Cards face-off in a one-game death match, the survivor's pitching staff and travel schedule will already be in disarray.

That's why the Yankees need to hang on to the division title they've almost given away. And there are good signs. A-Rod's bat looks like it's back and Joba Chamberlain may be reverting to form as that hammer coming out of the bullpen again.

Yesterday in Baltimore, the Yankees found themselves in a tie for first place with the Orioles in a September "must" game. Joba took over for a struggling Freddy Garcia in the 4th inning, and blew away 4 of the 6 O's batters he faced, holding a 5-3 lead, which led to a 13-3 rout.

It was a great rebound win after the disturbing events of Saturday night.

Mark Teixeira beat out a possible game-ending double play to drive in the tying run in the 9th. He slid head-first into 1st base (which you're taught never to do) because he blew out his calf just a few feet from the promised land.

Teixeira willed every ounce of his body after an injury that will keep him out a week or three to get that tying run home. Except umpire Jerry Meals called him out and the Yankees lost.

It was a terrible call in the closest of games in the closest of pennant races. That's why you can't leave it up to the umps. You need a margin for error, whether it be yours or somebody else's.

Call it a buffer, a cushion, breathing room.

Green Day!

"2.0" is the new overused update description. HBO's The Newsroom was all centered around their new mission and "NewsNight 2.0." I can't tell you how many referred to The President's most recent convention speech as "Obama 2.0." I even relaunched this site after 20 months off and casually dropped a "Backtime 2.0."

How would The New York Jets 2.0 work out with Tim Tebow in the mix? Well, they had hired Tony Sparano as offensive coordinator to make sure everyone was on the same page, and make the best use of both quarterbacks while constantly switching offenses and changing tempo. I identified this as the key to their season on August 3.

And after a Jets preseason that yielded no victories and only one touchdown, it didn't look too promising. Not that it meant anything, but there was certainly nothing pointing to what we saw today.

I'm not keeping score by the final score, as impressive as 48-28 was. I grade on whether the offense was seamless, were there mistakes?

And by mistakes I don't mean the Sanchez pick on the first drive where he scrambled and made an ill-advised flip that turned into a deflection INT on the sideline (that could have been overturned).

By mistakes I mean illegal procedures, delays of game, broken plays, or anything else that can be attributed to confusion on the offensive side. Sparano gets an "A."

There was one delay of game within 2:00 remaining in the first half that turned a 3rd & 3 into a 3rd & 8. They still kicked the FG to go up 27-7 at the half.

In the 4th quarter there was one procedure call, and then a delay related to the Tebow shuttle when the game was well into garbage time.

Sanchez was brilliant and used all his receivers. Three Jets corners had picks in one-on-one coverage, and Antonio Cromartie took his to the house. (I could have done without the somersault into the endzone, but if he does 16 of those this year, who am I to gripe?) And Jeremy Kerley returned a punt for a TD as well.

Tebow was a non-factor but a presence. The Steelers will obviously have to prepare for him next week, and they don't need to be reminded about Tebow after he ended their 2011 season in the playoffs in Denver.

The performance wasn't perfect. The Jets D had some problems tackling C.J. Spiller in the open field, but I have the feeling they won't be the last team in 2012 to say that.

And the Jets never really flexed their muscles in the running game. We'll have to wait for next week for Shonn Greene Day.

David Simon On Real "Time"

In what was a generally unspectacular episode of Real Time With Bill Maher last night, we were treated to a visit from our national conscience, David Simon.

Simon, the creator of Homicide: Life On The Street, The Wire, and Treme, says the only way to judge an administration is over the course of history. The former newspaperman-turned-cultural storyteller thinks that "Are you better off than you were four years ago?" is the most loaded question in American politics and diminishes the election:

The (De)industrialization's been going on for 50 years, the decline of organized labor's been going on for 40 years, globalization: 20-25 years, and you're gonna sit there and argue over this month's employment report? The fact that we can't have an adult electoral process is rooted in this kind of frenzy of who can we blame, and how fast.

Whether it's Bush's mess, or Obama's mess, or even Clinton's (who got the bank deregulation ball rolling) is immaterial to Simon. There is no quick fix. Campaigns need long-term solutions, but they are handcuffed by projections and results in the prism of the 24-hour news cycle. Is it any wonder that they've reverted to lying when they can't conform to the impulsive demands that the media has forced upon the people?

That business of four years being the metric for anything? We have a political culture that everyone plants annuals, they plant pretty flowers that come up the next spring. What we need is a political culture where somebody plants a fuckin' olive tree, which doesn't even give you an olive for seven years. That's how you fix an economy...When that olive tree becomes an orchard.

And in regards to his own personal crusade, the drug war, it is too combustible a topic for any President to tackle in his first term. Half of a president's first term is about trying to fulfill missions from the campaign, while the other half is about getting reelected. Only in the second term can a president take on the nation's overwhelming incarceration rate as it relates to non-violent drug crimes. And even then, he's not certain Obama's the guy to do it:

It was Nixon that went to China, and it will be some reactionary Republican that actually looks at the drug war and says, "You know what? This isn't cost effective."

While we know on which side Simon's politics lie - it's really with an asterisk and a gun to his head. He thinks both sides are corrupt and the system is broken. You saw the evolution in The Wire of Tommy Carcetti the crusading mayoral candidate, and then the selling out of the mayor in office on his way to becoming governor.

Maybe David Simon's next project will be to portray an unconventional president. Judging by the above quotes, the dialogue alone would send Aaron Sorkin's The West Wing into TV oblivion.

Meanwhile in a Swing State...

While College Football was under the radar on a particular Thursday night in September, the Cincinnati Bearcats weren't distracted. In their opener in the last Big East season as we know it, where a BCS bid will still ultimately be at stake, Cincy routed ACC-bound Pitt 34-10.

While RB George Winn made the lead of most stories with his 58-yard TD run on the Bearcats' first play from scrimmage, it's the Quarterback play that will eventually put them in the middle of the national discussion.

Meet Munchie.  Junior QB Benton Shannon "Munchie" Legaux was a big-time dual-threat recruit out of New Orleans, who filled in well for the injured Zach Collaros last season. Now it's his show.

Legaux, at 6'5" 199, is a bit unconventional with a long, loopy throwing motion. But he threw for 205 and 2 TD last night, and ran for 117 on top of that. And if you combine Butch Jones' system with Cincinnati's schedule, you could see Denard Robinson numbers by season's end (provided he stays healthy).

With West Virginia's exit for the Big 12, I only see two games the Bearcats won't be favored: Sept. 29 vs Virginia Tech (Fedex Field - Landover, MD) and October 26 at Louisville.

There are sneaky games like November 10 at Temple and home Nov. 23 vs South Florida, but the schedule sets up as nicely as any legit darkhorse could expect. If there wasn't enough to watch in Ohio this fall.