Bleacher Bloggers - The Best of the Sports Blogs

Sean Taylor's Death is a Tragic Wake-Up Call

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 15:24:37 EST

Tragedies like Sean Taylor's death are a wake-up call for pasty, coach-potato sports fans like myself. It's easy for us Morlocks to forget that professional athletes are more than just highlight reels and stat sheets (and rap sheets). We get so caught up in scanning box scores for our fantasy stats that we forget that after a game these guys go home to their families and loved ones and deal with the same issues as you and me. Sure, they file their taxes in a much, much higher bracket than us but LaDainian Tomlinson still has to cut his toenails and Tom Brady still brushes his teeth before going to bed -- and then slobbering all over Gisele.

Unfortunately, Sean Taylor's death is a terrible reminder that even larger-than-life athletes are still mortal. The circumstances around Mr. Taylor's death drive this point home even further.

According to several reports, Mr. Taylor was at home with his girlfriend and their one-year-old daughter when an intruder entered their Miami home early Monday morning. Mr. Taylor grabbed a machete and tried to defend his family before getting shot in the leg in what later proved to be a lethal wound.

That is everybody's worst nightmare. Just thinking of somebody creeping around my apartment gives me the willies and Sean Taylor also had to consider the safety of his girlfriend and young daughter. Maybe a machete wasn't the best home-defense plan, but Sean Taylor defended his home the same way he played football: aggressively.

Mr. Taylor's killer may or may not be caught but nothing will make his death anything more than senseless. But that doesn't mean we all can't take this sobering moment to remind ourselves that the athletes we draft on our fantasy teams and watch on highlight reels are people too. For all of his money and reputation as a hard-hitting NFL safety, Sean Taylor still proved to be just as human as you or me. From now on, let's at least try to remember that much.

Loser of the Week (Week 13)

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 18:22:30 EST

LET'S NOT PLAY GAMES WITH WORDS ANYMORE — MAYBE COLLEGE FOOTBALL IS OUTRIGHT WAR?

Seeing a #1 Tigers fall and another Tigers vault to #1 got me to thinking. Why do 'rebel states' have such a fondness for sharing mascots? The SEC is the only conference with matching team names, happening not twice, but four times: Georgia and Miss State Bulldogs, Auburn and LSU Tigers. Tigers, meanwhile, are also found playing in Johnny Reb locales of Memphis and Missouri. Funny, considering no where else in this division-one nation went with 'tiger' when mascot-browsing. And then little Lousiana Tech, hoping to dig out a cult fan base in an already football-flooded south, up and decided 'Bulldogs' was a winner. Sacre bleu!

Considering everyone's furious at the BCS, and that 'Bama coach Nick Saban is likening the gridiron woes to terrorist attacks and WWII bombing disasters, maybe next year college football should just go ahead and re-stage the football-equivalent of the Civil War? We could draw up teams into three massive conferences:

Union Forces Conference (UFC)
Confederate States of America Conference (CSAC)
Other Teams Conference (OTC)

UFC teams would be from states that fought to preserve the union, CSAC former Confederate states, and the rest grouped in their own also-ran mega-conference. Hence: West Virginia, Penn State, UConn, Ohio State, Notre Dame and Rutgers are UFC teams; LSU, Missouri, Clemson, Texas and Middle Tennessee State are CSAC teams; USC, Oklahoma, Boise State, UNLV and BYU are OTC teams.

Teams would play their exisiting schedules — in terms of existing conferences — but seasons would end with a four-team playoff within each conference, as determined by a BCS-stolen computer/human ratings system. The respective Union and Confederate champions would play alternately in Richmond or DC for the ugly Sears crystal national championship. The OTC would have no shot at a 'national championship.'

It's an idea anyway.

Meanwhile, alas, more bad coaching has sent the Loser of the Week (LoW) offices into another rage. The result is the print-out cheat sheet above: the LoW How-to-Run-Out-the-Clock Guidebook.

The culprit this time is the now-resigned Texas A&M coach* Dennis Franchione. Sure he went out a 'winner' — topping Mack 'Mr Football' Brown's Texas Longhorns for the second-year-in-a-row. But lost in the knee-deep hoopla, and the near fourth-quarter rally by Texas, was some damn dumb coaching. Up by eight points at midfield with 2:00 remaining, Texas A&M had a 1st and 10, and Texas had no timeouts. Instead of running out the clock (safely), Fran picked up-the-middle running plays with unnecessary hand-offs to the Javorskie 'Water Boy Hater' Lane and QB-keepers charging head-first up the helmet-clanging middle. The game was already over, Fran just didn't know it. The call gave Texas defensive lineman several swats of the ball to get the ball and play for OT. Didn't happen, but don't think it can't: Texas got ahead of mighty UCF earlier in the season with a late-game fumble, not to mention that wild 'Bama fumble that gave LSU the final lead a couple weeks ago.

The overdue 'guidebook' above tells how much time you can kill just by kneeling, assuming time outs remaining by the opponent — and that the quarterback doesn't kneel the ball out of bounds. I've estimated (very conservatively) that each down is worth 0:33 minimum (with 0:25 on the play clock about eight seconds for the play and for refs to set the ball). Again, minimum. (Hesitating in the backfield, or getting up slowly to delay the refs from setting the ball can easily milk 0:45 per play.)

Now on to actual losing.

LOSER OF THE WEEK: THE 2007 OVERACHIEVERS
Remember that part of Citizen Kane, after accepting his parties bid for governor, Charles Foster Kane left the theater with wife in arm and posed smiling for photographers? That photo marked the peak of his life. In the car afterwards, his wife leaves him, and a sex scandal leaked to the press hours later ends his campaign (snarkily using that glory-moment photo). All the promise, hope and glory, in the end, led to failure. That's a bit how the crazy 2007 season is for a host of overachievers, I fear. Teams that we should feel good about, even if they came up short: Connecticut, South Florida, Kansas, Rutgers, Virginia, Boston College, Hawaii (they'll lose next week, I bet), Kentucky...

Kansas were outmatched by an impressive Missouri, who — by the way — is historically the greatest underachiever state school in football (as determined by a ratio of lack of championship/contender performance, plus proximous metropolitan cities to recruit — St Louis and Kansas City — and no fellow in-state rival to worry about). But Kansas didn't quit — that is, other than the final kick-off (see Penalty Box). QB Reesing seemed 'starstruck' to borrow Brent Musberger's words for much of the game, yet still the team managed to keep Missouri's potent O out of the end zone their last two possessions, and racked up their 28 points in the final 20 minutes to come close to a shocking come-back. Instead of celebrating a 11-1 Kansas regular season, many fans yelled 'exposed!' to the Mangino Upstarts who staged, by far, the most successful Kansas football team history we'll ever see.

Often overlooked in the group of 2007 Overachievers, Virginia got lost under the radar all year after losing their first game to flip-offing Wyoming. Imagine that they hadn't lost that one till the last of the season? They would have been a top five team falling a couple weeks ago to lowly North Carolina State. Still in the BCS hunt on Saturday, Virginia fell to Virginia Tech.

These teams have made college football even more interesting. And they play with the spirit that is everything we at the Loser of the Week side of the stands cherish.

LoW PENALTY BOX
Kansas coaches. A noble season, yet Kansas' coaching staff get a week in the penalty box for not kicking an onside kick with 0:12 remaining and down by eight, right after Missouri tackled Reesing in the endzone for a safety. Mucus-o-phile Chase Daniel raised a lone finger to the crowd, but it was not over. The only difference, per the rules, of a 'free kick' after a safety and a regular 'free kick' at the start of a half or after a score is position on the field. Kansas had a chance for a last possession, and a 75-yard heave-ho, lateral-aganza. Why didn't they do it? (Nothing in the rules forbids an onsides kick after a safety; I checked.) Mangino, we love you, but welcome to the box.

Notre Dame/Stanford refs. When are we going to protect college players from helmet-to-helmet collisions, like the one that knocked the Stanford QB out of the game? As called for here a week ago, stricter penalties (eg ejections) would cut back on these sorts of plays.

LoW ARCHIVE

Week 12 Where to find Band-Aids

Week 11 College football, where buzzards fly

Week 10 The entire state of Florida is put on trial.

Week 9 The official Loser of the Week two-point conversion chart.

Week 8 The Curse of beating the Loser of the Week.

Week 7 Risks of men not wearing a ponytail.

Week 6 Sweet moustache and TV.

Week 5 Picking Buckeyes, thanking god.

Week 4 Things to do in Tulsa.

Week 3 The world's greatest piece of art (in Canada).

* and resigned newsletter publisher (D Franchione)

Sports Randomizer, Miami Futility Edition

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 12:01:55 EST

Tough times for Miami sports fans? Understatement of the year.

-There's nothing sadder in the sports landscape these days than the absolute misery going on in Miami. Sports fans in Miami should probably be put on suicide watch considering the Dolphins are unable to win a single game, the Heat are in such disarray with aging talent that Pat Riley thinks he can outplay them, and the once proud (annoyingly proud, even) Miami U is a joke. I'd say they could wait until baseball season, but everyone knows no one goes to Marlins games, and even if they did, they might be watching infants on the field since once you have one or two years in the league under your belt, the Marlins are no longer interested in playing you. Say what you will about your local teams, no city can claim the kind of athletic futility right now that Miami can. When the biggest sports headline to come out of your city this year is what a retired coach has to say about the Patriots, you know you're in the midst of some serious problems.

-While we are on the subject of Don Shula, am I the only one hoping the Patriots do go undefeated just so those grumpy old men will shut up and stop being so damn arrogant in every interview? If I have to hear Mercury Morris make his "in my town" analogy one more time I'm going to lose it. I typically don't care for the Patriots, but those guys are making me a fan. Please, Belichick, win them all so that these tired old men with their tired soundbites and rituals can fade away.

-Speaking of the Patriots, I get the same feeling watching this team that I got watching the '86 Bears. That feeling is boredom. Once a team hits a level like that they become so boring to watch, and that game in Buffalo Sunday night was a real snoozer. One thing is abundantly clear to me after watching this team: the only thing interesting about the playoffs will be the NFC side of things. The AFC will be a series of foregone conclusions and lopsided scores. So will the Super Bowl. The only question left to be answered this NFL season is who will be getting blown out in the big game: the Packers, or the Cowboys? Not even a wardrobe malfunction could make this one interesting, folks.

-Phil Dawson said on ESPN that he hopes the narrow victory over the Ravens Sunday will act as a springboard for the Browns season. He should realize that it should act as a wakeup call. Anytime you beat a struggling, pathetic team in disarray by a field goal (barely,) especially coming off a week where a winning effort (albeit not a winning result) was put up against a championship caliber team, it should be categorized as a letdown, not a springboard. Still, the Browns are better than anyone gave them credit for this year, but the Ravens are just bad. If your team is playing the Ravens hard to win by a field goal, something needs to be re-evaluated.

-Since I'm piling on the Ravens and their pathetic offense, let's go the extra mile. If the offenses of the Ravens, the 49ers, the Bears and the Falcons were combined, that combined offense would still be terrible. A shocking statement, but you know it's true. Perhaps even more shocking are the poor offenses in Kansas City and San Diego, with Philip Rivers suddenly looking more like a certain ex-Charger named Leaf than the promising QB he was last year. Yeah, I said it. Perhaps if these new, young stars in the league spent less time shooting commercials and more time working on their craft the on-field result would be better. Then again, Peyton Manning seems to shoot approximately 3,000 commercials and promo appearances a day and still shines on the field, so what do I know?

Loser of the Week (Week 12)

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 11:18:52 EST

IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL, DOES A BACK-UP QUARTERBACK PLAYING FOR A FAVORITE QUALIFY AS AN UNDERDOG?

The mailbox here at the Loser of the Week (LoW) offices were stuffed last week with letters of confusion, anger and, occasionally, compassion. A Pitt Panther fan wrote in, ‘This is supposed to be sports — not a vocab lesson!’ While a former New Mexico State Aggie walk-on said, ‘This is a beration!,’ perhaps thinking the word means something. The reason? Our lesson of college football lexicon last week, where the phrase ‘he’ll be playing on Sundays’ (to refer to pro potential) got tossed into our LoW doghouse: the penalty box.

LoW stands by the penalty. Considering how unpredictable this season’s been, we're even upping the ante. Many fans, jockeying for their teams’ ranking by impossibly comparing one team with another based on teams-who-played-teams-their-teams-played, are throwing out the illogical phrases such as ‘West Virginia lost to at-the-time #2 South Florida, while LSU lost to unranked Kentucky.’ Please re-read carefully.

Supposedly the best two teams at the end of the season make the BCS championship. So bravado in the chat rooms should follow suit, but only comparing ‘good losses’ or strength of schedule by end-of-the-season rankings. In the case of the somewhat fictional West Virginia Mountaineer fan above — and I’ve seen this reasoning used already — it conveniently uses the SoFla ranking back when the ‘Eers lost, then Kentucky’s likely ranking after this-week’s loss to Georgia. To quote the immortal words of belligerently moustached John Oates: 'no can do.'

Meanwhile, LoW offices are also busy tracking down the overuse of ‘pick/six’ and ‘trickeration.’

LOSER OF THE WEEK: BRADY LEAF & JOEY HALZLE
People like to say they love an underdog, but it’s not true: people only like underdogs who win. This week, yet another two teams holding their fate in their hands fell to unranked opponents: Oregon and Oklahoma. But both had their starting quarterbacks — Heisman frontrunner Denny Dixon, and the nation’s most-efficient passer Sam Bradford — fall to injury in the first quarter, on the road, at night. Does a back-up quarterback playing for a favorite qualify as an underdog?

Many people, if they were honest about it, wanted Oregon to win out and play for the national championship — simply because they looked more the part of the champion-caliber team than nearly all of the Top 10. Against a six-loss Arizona, they surely would have won with Dixon playing the full game. Leaf, the brother of the infamous Ryan, started games in 2005 and 2006, but had trouble getting more than a FG against the Arizona defense until a fourth-quarter TD drive nearly changed the momentum. Arizona held on.

OU's Halzle, a juco transfer, has only played mop-up time for the Sooners on occasion, and after three horrible quarters, stepped up in a wild fourth quarter where he threw most of his 291 yards plus two TDs. Two more times OU was within the Tech 15, but fourth-down throws were incomplete (one in he hands of OU receiver Manuel Johnson who had it briefly before it a defender knocked it loose, apparently before Johnson had possession). In all, a great loss! To add salt in the wound, OU’s star running back DeMarco Murray was hurt on an onsides kick with 0:31 remaining. Hopefully it's not serious.

Both Leaf and Halzle played well in an unenviable position.

Oregon lost 24-34; Oklahoma lost 27-34.

LoW CHAMPIONSHIP PREDICTOR
Every week’s ‘bowl forecast’ by folks like ESPN or Sports Illustrated seems to assume the top teams win out. This week will be interesting with #2 Kansas and #3 Missouri playing each other, but folks will probably say #1 LSU will play that game’s winner in New Orleans. Haven’t we learned anything?

LoW will tempt the future and sees a couple more key losses – LSU in the SEC championship, Missouri to Kansas, then Kansas to Oklahoma/Texas in the Big 12 championship, all putting West Virginia and, yes, Ohio State in the national championship.

Because no team has raised the ugly BCS crystal football twice, we at LoW won't buck the trend: West Virginia 20, Ohio State 17.

LoW ARCHIVE

Week 11 College football, where buzzards fly

Week 10 The entire state of Florida is put on trial.

Week 9 The official Loser of the Week two-point conversion chart.

Week 8 The Curse of beating the Loser of the Week.

Week 7 Risks of men not wearing a ponytail.

Week 6 Sweet moustache and TV.

Week 5 Picking Buckeyes, thanking god.

Week 4 Things to do in Tulsa.

Week 3 The world's greatest piece of art (in Canada).

Is Roger Clemens Jesus?

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST

In a move that may signal the end of Roger Clemens’ annual retirement tradition, the Rocket reportedly began talks with the Houston Astros last Wednesday about rejoining their organization as a pitching consultant. Even if Clemens decides against consulting for the Astros, I know the 45-year old still has a lot to offer.

Here are just a few new careers the on-again-off-again pitcher might want to consider:

Donald Trump's Hair
Clemens could easily step in as Trump's thinning mane since both are big and ugly but they get the job done.

Jesus
I'm not saying Clemens would be the most popular Savior ever, but nobody has come back from retirement more times than the Rocket. Plus, Adrian Peterson needs to take a breather.

Herpes Sore
Stubborn? Check. Never goes away for long? Check. A real pain in the butt? Check.

My Benefactor
In 2007 alone, Clemens pocketed $28 million. In a strange coincidence my student loans total $28 million. I'm just saying.

Major League Pitcher
You ever see Roger Clemens throw a baseball? That guy would make an awesome pitcher. He should really look into that.

How Baseball Can Solve the Replay Problem

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 12:41:30 EST

Forget the showy NFL system, MLB should shoot for invisibility.

Whenever I hear sports fans and analysts talk about the potential upcoming addition of instant replay to the MLB I get surprised by the hesitation, and sometimes direct rage, against the idea. The shortcomings of the NFL's replay system is consistently cited as a reason for such negative attitudes, but I'm going to come out and say that anyone who doesn't see the potential benefits of replay in baseball is suffering from a lack of vision and imagination.

I do understand some of the concerns. To be sure, baseball is a traditionalist's game. As many people have noted, if instant replay or cameras are used to call balls and strikes, then the game as we know it is dead and it would then become a completely different game. I don't ever want to watch a baseball game without an ump hunkered down behind the catcher calling balls and strikes. It simply wouldn't be right, no matter how perfect a computerized system could be invented to do that.

Public sentiment is finally turning towards using replay towards other uses in baseball such as determining whether a ball that bounces off the top of the wall is a home run or whether a curling fly ball edges into the foul line or pole or not. From the reports regarding the winter baseball meetings, it sounds like the owners are starting to agree as well. Some radicals, like me, are advocating using replay in limited situations (especially postseason) to determine close plays at bases and at home. I don't need to remind any baseball fan of the questionable calls in this regard in the last two postseasons.

Still, the reticence around the topic comes down to the potential of accuracy and speed, and I'm here to tell you that both can be accomplished to perfection under the correct system. Forget the NFL system. It is a bloated system that is too much procedure and ceremony and not streamlined to efficiency. In fact, with the red flags, the hoods and the announcement of the call it really has more to do with drama than anything else.

Instead, the replay system in baseball could and should be streamlined to be completely invisible. This is an age of communication technology innovation that allows for such a lofty goal. All that would need to be done is add one certified umpire to every crew who would occupy a video booth with a headset linked to a headset of the umpires on the field. This umpire could watch the television feeds and could immediately signal to the field through the headset when a call had been blown. It doesn't need to be a long ordeal, normally the bad calls are immediately apparent from just a few seconds of watching the video... sports fans know this well, when they immediately see that a call on the field has been blown by one single replay.

In situations like that where a replay immediately and clearly shows that a call on the field has been blown, the information can be quickly relayed to the field umpires via a headset. If the call is too close to be overturned by a few seconds of video review, then the play stands and the game moves on. This solves the problem of the few egregiously bad calls that happen while preserving the speed, flow and traditional feel of the game. With the recent failures of postseason calls and he questionable championships they have left in their wake, action must be taken to preserve the integrity of the game itself. When crowning a champion in this day and age where people at home can see the calls better than the umpires, steps need to be taken to ensure that the decision made is the right one, every time.

There you have it MLB. I've given you the perfect answer to your dilemma, and for free no less. Of course, the cynical side of me worries that the system baseball installs will be far less efficient and far more intrusive than this one. Recent history of MLB management decisions doesn't leave me hopeful. With the rest of MLB fans everywhere I will be holding my breath hoping they get this right, but time will tell.

Peterson Injury Highlights Viking Weaknesses

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 13:08:23 EST

With all eyes of the NFL Nation on Adrian Peterson this week expecting to see more examples of all-time greatness as we saw last week, we instead saw the frightening worry surrounding this player's durability. Which is unfair, considering the hit he took to his knee was one to lay even the most durable low. Still, with the concerns over his long-term health and the immense amount of promise built up by the first half of the season, it was a jarring moment. Luckily for Peterson and those that love watching great running backs, the injury looks to be only a matter of a few lost weeks in what looks to be a stellar career. In fact, it may have saved his career.

I say this because when you looked at the Vikings last week, one saw a worrying trend. The Vikings have absolutely no passing offense, and rather than attempt to find one, it appeared they were simply compelled to lean more and more on Peterson in the running game. Certainly there's a tendency to go with what works in the NFL, but the early concerns over Peterson's frail (by perception and from college injuries) body seemed to have been abandoned in Minnesota over the last couple weeks.

Peterson was on a pace to break records, but he may well have been on pace to irrevocably break his body also. The modern NFL certainly isn't kind to running backs, evidenced by the trend of tandem backs popping up everywhere. Look around the league at feature backs who have been around at least three years: Shaun Alexander, out. Deuce McAllister, out. Larry Johnson, out. Even the seemingly indestructible LaDanian Tomlinson isn't looking like his peak self. Running back is not an enviable position these days, and it seems the lifespan of even the great ones is getting shorter and shorter.

If the Vikings want to hitch their rebuilding to Peterson in the long-term, the need to use this incident as a warning and protect him for the future. If you look that Vikings on field, it's clear they need Peterson's legs. If you look at their website, it's clear they need the cash Peterson merchandise brings in. They need, obviously, to work on the passing game in his absence and beyond in order to stop the defensive focus on him and him alone. They need to be able to take reps off his legs by getting some positive yardage in the air. Either Bollinger needs to get really good really fast, or they need to get someone else in at Quarterback.

All this assumes that Peterson's knee is alright, and from all indications so far it isn't very severe, consisting of a partial tear to a lateral ligament. Certainly not as bad as recent ligament tears in the NFL the last three years, but every injury is unique and I certainly hope his heals and allows him to play his game. Peterson himself should take this time to visit some retired greats at his position and get some pointers on how to save his body for the long-term, a suggestion voiced by many, including Steve Young. I share his concern. This is an amazingly talented, physical running back who doesn't shy away from contact and puts every last bit of his body into every last inch of field. I certainly hope he comes back from this injury at 100%, able to play his game to the best of his ability and to continue to do so for many years.

Chowda Heads!!

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 10:26:12 EST

Um, does anybody else realize what’s going on in Boston now? Complete sports domination, the likes of which haven’t been seen in years.

The Red Sox won the World Series. The Patriots are the best NFL team since … ever. The new and improved Celtics are undefeated. Dustin Pedroia won the AL Rookie of the Year yesterday. And, it’s pretty much a sure thing Josh Beckett will win the Cy Young today.

Look. Although I’m from New York, I have nothing against Boston as a city. Faneuil Hall’s cool. Quincy Market is a nice little place to visit. The food’s good and there’s some cool tradition there too. I even think “Cheers” is the best sitcom of all time.

But, Boston fans … well, that’s another story. Geez, what a bunch of jerks. They make New York fans seem civil.

Whatever happened to the tortured Red Sox fans who played the “woe is me” card all the time? The ones who knew they were going to lose and lived in a constant state of resignation. I miss them. They’ve been replaced with Red Sox Nation – obnoxious, entitled, drunk, boisterous loud mouths who taunt opposing players and fans mercilessly.

The fact that they do it all with a really bad accent and no respect for the English language makes it even more intolerable. Hey Bostonians, here’s a heads up: In the case of someone who has relations with his female parent … there are “r”’s at the end of both of those words!

I can find no greater symbol of my newfound contempt for Boston than the biggest homer of them all, Bill Simmons. I mean, come on already, STOP! Stop working Boston into every column. You are supposed to be a national writer. Not sure if you know this, but there are other states in the Union. A whole bunch of them.

Yes, Bill, we get it. Everything Boston is great. Ortiz is the best. So are Belichick and Garnett. Bill Russell, Yaz and even Steve Grogan. Paul Revere, John Henry, the band “Boston” and probably even Daryl Boston. Enough!

Okay, I’ve said my peace. I feel better now.

Oh, crap, the Bruins are good too?!? Motha *#%!* !!

Loser of the Week (Week 11)

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 10:04:49 EST

IT'S NOT COLLEGE FOOTBALL'S TEAMS, OR PLAYERS, OR COACHES, OR UNVERSITIES THAT LOSE — IT'S US, THE BIG, DUMB, STUPID FANS

As the topsy-turvy 2007 college football season starts to wind down, brace yourself for the annual explosion of angst, bitchiness, negativity and outright ill will. It’s all because college football is the most irrational sports system in the world.

Oh, I love the game. But no other league has as many teams playing as few games, with no playoffs to determine a champion. Any mathematician would tell you our system doesn’t add up; 119 teams playing 12 or 13 games is ‘too short a field’ for a couple championship contenders to cleanly separate from the pack in a way all can accept. While no baseball fan doubts that the over-achiever Colorado Rockies deserved their slot in the World Series this year, or that Chicago Bears deserved to play the Super Bowl, or Ohio State the basketball championship… many many fans show fresh rage that Florida State (not Miami) played in the 2000 college football championship, Nebraska (not Oregon) played for the 2001 championship, Oklahoma or LSU played (not USC) played for 2003, Oklahoma (not Auburn) played for 2004, Florida (not Michigan) played for 2006.

It’s fashionable to knock the BCS system — but the problem is older than JoPa. Let's not forget that before the BCS, BYU won a national championship in a pre-Christmas bowl after having never played a ranked team. In the '40s and '50s champions were crowned before a bowl game. Some champs (eg Tennessee, Maryland, Oklahoma) got beat in a bowl game, but still stand as champ.

Other sports can debate bad coaching calls, or slip ups on the field. College football fans talk about bureaucracy.

We college football fans are rarely satisfied watching just our team play. So, we lash out against other conferences. Teams that our team will never play. If the shocker Big East front-runner Connecticut loses big, it's indicative (to Big 12, SEC and Pac 10 fans) that the entire Big East is weak. This is because we cheer the losses of a team that would be a feel-good story in college basketball — like Connecticut or South Florida or Kansas. Out of self interest. We grow increasingly cross-eyed as the season wears on: putting one eye on the other games (like upcoming key ones: Missouri/Kansas, LSU/Arkansas, Oregon/UCLA, Oklahoma/Texas Tech) and the other on our own team’s game. We complain and complain about style points, or the lack of, or point differentials, or strength-of-schedule, or whether fourth-quarter comebacks are more 'telling of champion qualities' than a less exciting domination.

This is more like gymnastics. Maybe college football needs judges?

Meanwhile, this week fans of Duck, Sooner, LSU Tiger, Jayhawk, Missouri Tiger, Mountaineer nations rose in delight on Saturday. Not because of their team's play, but because unpaid athletes in Columbus, Ohio, fell seven points short in their game.

We are scavengers. But it's not us, it's the system.

Compare college football with other leagues:

Pro baseball: 30 MLB teams play 162 games, and eight teams (or 27% of the league) go to the World Series playoffs.
Pro basketball: 30 NBA teams play 82 games, and 16 teams (53%) advance to the playoffs.
Pro football: 32 NFL teams play 16 games, and 12 teams (38%) advance to playoffs to reach the Super Bowl.
Pro hockey: 30 NHL teams play 82 games, 16 teams (53%) advance to the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Pro soccer: 13 MLS teams play 30 games, eight teams (62%!) advance to the playoffs.
College basketball: 336 NCAA teams play about 32 or so games, 64 teams (19%) advance to the basketball championship tourney.
College football: 119 teams play 11 to 13 games, and just two teams (1.7%) play in the lone championship game. No playoffs.

In all other sports here, it's impossible to argue against a team that makes a championship game. It's all performance.

If we continue to be playoff-free, perhaps college football's champion should be determined by the model of the English Premier League, which has 20 football (soccer) teams that play 38 games (each team twice) with no playoffs? At the end of the regular season, champions are unceremoniously determined by points (three points per win, one point per tie) — ties are broken by goal differential and goals scored. If still equal (and this has never happened), ties are broken by a neutral site match.

How would that look for college football? Here's our current top-six, using the Premier model, favoring point-differential as a tie-breaker:

1. Kansas – 30 points (10-0; 459 pts scored, +310 differential)
2. Oklahoma – 27 points (9-1; 450 pts, +282)
3. LSU – 27 points (9-1; 393 pts, +226)
4. Missouri – 27 points (9-1; 418 pts, +197)
5. West Virginia (8-1; 364 pts, +214)
6. Oregon (8-1; 385 pts, +187)

Meanwhile, our playoff-free system isn't just unsatisfying. It breeds negativity. Once your team loses — that is, if you’re hoping for a chance in the championship — the season becomes less about your team, but more about other teams' failures.

What a pity.

Yes, week eleven was another wild one. A number-one team fell at home to an unranked team (Ohio State to Illinois). A team fronted by toothed birds pushed a top-five contender until late in the fourth (Louisville losing late at West Virginia). The game of the week was Tuesday at Kalamazoo's Waldo Stadium, 3-7 West Michigan put up 24 in a wild fourth, and threw eight laterals to get to the Central Michigan 20-yard-line as time expired – yet lost by four. A couple teams losing their coaches this year (Nebraska, Texas A&M) played well in victory (Neb’s 73 points against Kansas State) and defeat (A&M’s pushing top-five Mizzou deep into the fourth).

But that’s just ordinary losing. Now that the last push for New Orleans' snappily named 'BCS Championship' is full-on, college football’s ultimate loser is now clear.

LOSER OF THE WEEK (LoW): College Football Fans.

LoW SUGGESTIONS:
1. Introduce [altogether now] eight-team playoff. BCS poll would determine the eight best teams. Conference winners don’t automatically qualify. Other top 25 or 30 teams could play in bowl system, a la college basketball's NIT.
2. Helmet-to-helmet penalties = ejection. Washington's Jake Locker was knocked into an ambulance Saturday, the same day the NFL instituted the wise rule suggested here. When’s the last time you’ve even seen a helmet-on-helmet hit penalized in college ball (that includes that often-shown USC out-of-bounds knock-down of the UCLA quarterback from last year)?
3. No more 'he'll be playing on Sundays.' If you mean a player will go pro, say just that. College football already plays on Sunday (if you didn't notice), as well as on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
4. Stop the hate. Brothers! Sisters! Please!

LOSER OF THE WEEK ARCHIVE

Week 10 The entire state of Florida is put on trial.

Week 9 The official Loser of the Week two-point conversion chart.

Week 8 The Curse of beating the Loser of the Week.

Week 7 Risks of men not wearing a ponytail.

Week 6 Sweet moustache and TV.

Week 5 Picking Buckeyes, thanking god.

Week 4 Things to do in Tulsa.

Week 3 The world's greatest piece of art (in Canada).

NFL Randomizer

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 11:11:16 EST

Any more whining for us this week, Ray?

-It's far past time to pile on the pitiful Ravens and the complete freefall they are in. Getting hammered by a Super Bowl caliber team like the Steelers on the road is one thing, getting beat by the lowly and struggling Bengals at home is quite another. Ray Lewis and the game were quick to pop off with quotes ringing with the wails of aging and hurt male pride after last week... I wonder what kind of empty boasts we will hear out of Baltimore this week.

-Grossman replaces Griese... again... seriously? At this point, wouldn't the Bears just be better off holding open tryouts for QB walk ons in the windy city? It's clear that neither one of these guys can get the job done, and when they do it's sheer "close the eyes and wing it" pure-luck plays. This quarterback debacle has gone far beyond the entertaining joke it once was. It has now crossed into a sad fiasco that is obviously killing that very talented team. Of course, the massive bust of Cedric Benson isn't helping matters either...

-No TD celebrations from TO? What is the NFL world coming to? If I can't get my childish, attention-seeking antics from Mr. Owens, where exactly am I going to go? Oh, wait, never mind... there are about a million love-starved, egotistical wide receivers in the NFL that will gladly fill that role. Perhaps we might be lucky... perhaps if even Owens himself is eschewing the tired and stale touchdown celebrations it means that the trend is dead and over in the NFL. We can only hope.

-Farve passes 60,000 yards... is this the same guy that suited up last season? For that matter, is this the same Packers team that suited up last season? Farve is on pace for a magical, storybook season to end his career. Yes, that's right... it's a typical fairytale story where the aging gunslinger overcomes all odds, gets to the Super Bowl solely on the strength of his arm and guile and then gets annihilated by the Patroits by 50 points in the big game.

-Adrian Peterson came back to earth and proved he was human, at least for one week. Single season rushing record likely gone, but still setting the league on fire. Of course, the early knock on him in the draft was that he wouldn't be able to stay healthy. For his and the Viking's sake, let's hope this isn't the beginning of proving that prediction true.

-Vinatieri misses a 21 yard field goal to win a game. I had to rewind it and watch it a dozen times just to make sure my eyes weren't playing tricks on me. How does a kicker of his caliber miss a 21 yard game winner? Someday, a biography will be written for Peyton Manning and it will be titled "Peyton Manning and the kickers who tortured him."

Cheating Invades Tennis

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 12:03:14 EST

What the ^&*! is going on with professional tennis? First, Nikolay Davydenko, one of the top players in the game, is suspected of “taking a dive” and throwing a match.

Then allegations come out that it’s not just Davydenko; but other players are throwing matches as part of some huge underground gambling ring.

Now, reports surface that German player Tommy Hass, #13 in the world, was POISOINED before his Davis Cup match with Russia. Holy crap! This is ridiculous.

Hello?? This is tennis. They wear white at Wimbledon; there’s no contact between opponents except for the post-match handshake; they eat bananas at change-overs; and the crowd isn’t even allowed to talk during points. This is supposed to be the ultimate gentleman’s game.

I love tennis. Been playing it since I was six. In fact, people give me a hard time because I always espouse its greatness. But I’m afraid I’ve run out of ways to defend the sport. When tennis players are on the take, all hope is lost is the universe.

The beautiful thing about tennis is that – in a singles match – it’s just you and your opponent. No teammates, no coaches, nobody. It’s the ultimate test of mental toughness; in my mind, unparalleled in any other sport.

But now to think players are faking injuries and losing matches on purpose! Eee-gads, what would the great John McEnroe say? (I’m sure he has a lot to say; he has a lot to say about everything) I think McEnroe would beat Davydenko upside the head with his old wooden racket if the allegations were true. That’s why there’s only one solution to this crisis.

Let McEnroe and Jimmy Connors interrogate these suspected “dirty” players. Give them 20 minutes alone in a room with each of them and see what happens. Once those profanities start flying and those rackets start getting smashed, the truth shall set us all free.

But here’s what I don’t get. If you’re looking for a sure thing in the gambling world, nobody on earth is more of a guarantee than Roger Federer. The guy never loses – except in the French Open finals – in which case you just bet on Nadal.

I mean, come on, it’s like taking candy from a baby! Or, I guess, in the world of tennis, it’s like giving poisoned candy to a baby.

When Upset Meets Obsession

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 12:42:26 EST

Insert "honeymoon is over" joke here.

Billy Gillespie couldn't ask for a worse start as the new head coach for the Kentucky Wildcats. I'm sure he was prepared for most of it: the insane expectations, the unparalleled scrutiny and the insane focus the media in Lexington, Kentucky puts on that basketball program (and hey, I've lived there and there isn't much else there to get excited about.) He probably wasn't expecting to get fried by that same media for not wearing blue during the first exhibition. Welcome to Kentucky, coach.

The color of his dress may have seemed petty, but that story is nothing compared to the shelling he is going to take after actually losing (badly, I might add) a home game to... Gardner Webb? That sort of loss won't play well in any town, but it's going to lead to a furious hellstorm of criticism in the land of the bluegrass. Basketball in Kentucky is not like sports fandom in other places. You may think your local team has local passion, but Kentucky basketball is a different sort of animal. I can count on one hand the other places in the nation where that sort of sports passion is rivaled (not coincidentally, fans of those teams are all equally hated by others.) Gillespie needs to be counting problems to fix on this team before the bottom falls out on his public support in Kentucky, because it can happen quickly and irrevocably there.

It is, in some ways, Pitino's fault that the current berserk expectations on the UK basketball program are so insanely high. Pitino, as everyone knows, cultivated a culture of winning at UK, resurrecting a team that had briefly lost that culture. Pitino's name is nearly synonymous with God (or Satan, depending on which city you are in) in Kentucky for that and his subsequent return to Louisville. Having him slowly building a championship dynasty two hours down the interstate doesn't help matters for Kentucky coaches. It's going to put an extreme amount of pressure to win now at UK, something that surely had a large part with Tubby Smith being fired. Certainly Tubby didn't help matters with his chilly relationships with players and slow, perhaps outdated method of basketball he ran at Kentucky.

Regardless of the reasons and politics of Tubby's departure, Gillespie needs to quickly get his team in shape or the same fate will assuredly befall him. To his credit, he is saying all the right things right now and squarely taking the blame... a strategy that will play well for the Kentucky media, but only for so long. His assessment in the post game was also dead-on correct: his team has a lot of fundamental problems that were exposed in that game, and those sorts of failures always point back to the coach.

Gillespie does have the tools to get over this and build a solid winning season. All reports on him are that he is a relentless workaholic who focuses solely on his job. He has good athletic talent on this team, especially Joe Crawford (who was woefully misused and underutilized in his years under Tubby,) and the remarkably scrappy and underrated Ramel Bradley. Of course, along with the downside of the pressure and media obsession that Kentucky basketball brings, he will also enjoy the immense recruiting power of the position to build for the future. If performances like the one against Gardner Webb continue, however, he may quickly find himself removed from that possible future.

2007's Most Feared NFL Players (So Far)

Wed, 07 Nov 2007 08:30:55 EST

With half of the 2007 NFL season already in the books, it’s time to take a step back and acknowledge the most feared NFL players of the year so far. You might be surprised to see who made the list.

Watch Brady shine.

Tom Brady
Not many quarterbacks can overshadow Peyton Manning but Tom Brady has been up to the task all year long while leading his Patriots to a perfect 9-0 record. Last week Brady threw his league leading 33rd touchdown and suddenly even Manning’s single season touchdown record is looking shaky with the Patriots clicking on all cylinders. Tom Brady is a man on a mission and he’s ready to shatter records and opposing defenses.

Don't worry, he's just biding his time.

Trent Green

This guy is like the T-1000 from Terminator 2. He’s been face-slammed, kneed in the head, and concussed to within an inch of his life – and he still wants to come back for more! Defenders may have an easy time kicking the crap out of Trent Green, but somewhere in the back of their heads, defensive players must be wondering if the frequent on-field catnaps are simply a facade for a robotic killing machine.

Ray's just happy to be a free man.

Ray Lewis
We're not saying Ray Lewis is the premier linebacker in the league anymore, but he has the kind of reputation that opposing players can’t ignore. Lewis is a two-time Defensive Player of the Year, but that honor is peanuts compared to the rep earned from two deaths by your hands. Ray Lewis was never charged as a murderer but if players are smart they’ll treat him like one.

They say prison changes a man. Perhaps Vick will change into a man who can throw accurately.

Michael Vick
No NFL athlete is more athletically gifted than Michael Vick, and now that he’s going to prison, Vick is entering the rarified air of feared prison athletes previously occupied by the likes of Mike Tyson.

Nobody can outrun the law like O.J.

O.J. Simpson
On or off the playing field, you don’t mess with The Juice. We’re not legal experts, but all we know is that wherever O.J. is, people get robbed or worse. Take our advice and return all your O.J. paraphernalia now before he comes after you because the U.S. legal system can’t hold this guy down for long.

Peterson leads the NFL in rushing yards and nicknames based on biblical figures.

Adrian Peterson
An innocent rookie running back may seem out of place on this list of rogues, murderers, and unstoppable killing machines, but Adrian Peterson is no ordinary rookie. You don’t get a nickname like “Purple Jesus” without breathing new life into a dead franchise. Peterson leads the league in rushing yards with 1,036 and currently holds a downright ferocious 6.6 yards per carry average. The “Purple Jesus” may not have killed anyone yet, but there are still plenty of games left in the season and Oakland is coming up in a couple of weeks.

This list is by no means exhaustive so in the comments section go ahead and make your own nominations to 2007's Most Feared NFL Players.

Peterson Blowing Up the NFL

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 11:48:35 EST

This just in: The Raiders want a draft do-over.

The one record I most wanted to be broken in NFL football was the single-game rushing record. It never quite sat right with me that Jamal Lewis got to hold that record after beating up on a sorry Browns defense. Even though they would never admit it, I'm sure Corey Dillon and Walter Payton agree. I did not, however, expect it to ever happen. 296 yards or more in an NFL game by a running back seemed almost impossible, since defenses as bad as the one Lewis ran against are rarely seen in the NFL (although the Bengals defense is working hard to set that bar at a new low -- just look at Lynch's TD run on Sunday). I certainly never expected to see a rookie break that hallowed record. I suppose even I underestimated Adrian Peterson.

That is saying a lot, because I've always been 100% sold on Peterson since college. I assumed the explosive runner would eventually go #1 overall after his breakout freshman and sophomore years in college. Approaching the recent draft, I was astounded how little draft buzz he got while teams and the media wasted their time on names like Russel and Quinn. I always found the questions about his health ridiculous. Every NFL player has questionable future health prospects, it's the nature of the game, so that line of reasoning seemed silly to me. Breaking a collarbone on a TD dive isn't a good reason to shy away from a talent of his caliber, and I'm sure NFL execs who had one of the top six picks in last year's draft agree, at least in private. Perhaps it's the common sense in me talking, or hindsight, but I'd rather have a first round pick setting records than a QB who won't even see the field in his first year or two. So why do QBs get the first picks? They are just as prone to success or failure as high profile RBs, historically.

But what of the other draft that matters, the fantasy football draft? Where are the "can't miss" picks that were hyped in the preseason... the Stephen Jacksons, the LaDanian Tomlinsons and the Shaun Alexanders of the world? They are mediocre to terrible this season, and perhaps now we will finally learn how out of sync hype and reality are in the modern NFL. Nothing, not even LT's Sunday performances, can be taken for granted anymore in this league. With the obvious exception of Brady and Manning. Those guys are always good.

Back to Peterson. This kid has not only shattered expectations of what he could do, he is shattering records and defenses with an alarming amount of talent and speed. As a rookie he is setting rushing records on a team with no passing attack and making ridiculous running numbers versus eight men in the box, consistently. This is the kind of thing that is supposed to be completely impossible in a veteran league that demands parity on offense to succeed. This is, simply put, unheard of. No one has ever rushed for 1,000 yards in the first eight games of the season, until now. No one has ever rushed for 296 yards in a game, until now. We could be looking at a new single-season rushing record here.

Now, the flood of recognition from the media and the NFL veterans is beginning. Musings from Sunday and Monday from the NFL media and soundbites suddenly had Peterson as either the best running back ever, the best running back since Jim Brown, the best running back since Barry or Emmit, or simply the best current running back in the game, depending on who you were listening to. Certainly he is the best running back in Minnesota since Walker, and that alone is saying quite a bit... I was never convinced that Walker was a mere mortal, that guy was made from an entirely different set of materials than us mere humans are. Peterson is looking cut from the same cloth. My only fear is the same as Steve Young's fear about Peterson... he may try too hard at the end of plays, and that may end up getting him hurt. Time will tell, but as Young says, if Peterson learns how to finish plays safely and save his body, then the sky is the limit.

Where Peterson places all time is irrelevant right now. What matters is we have another stellar, exciting runner in the NFL to watch. He has the same combination of speed and power that make Jim Brown highlights such a thrill to watch, and as a result, watching the Vikings isn't the borefest it used to be. If the Vikings find a passing game, they are an immediate playoff threat with such an explosive runner, but time will tell. For now, I'm watching this rookie marvel and enjoying every second.

The Essence of Crappy Coaching

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 15:55:20 EST

Tony Dungy – you are a wimp! Your Colts had no business losing Sunday’s game to New England. This is your fault, sir.

Let’s start in the first quarter. No score. Your defense has just made a statement by putting Tom Brady on his back. So it’s Colts ball again, and here comes Peyton Manning driving down the field. All the way to the New England three yard line, in fact. Fourth and goal. GO FOR IT! You are playing against the most prolific offense in NFL HISTORY! You need points. But no. You kicked the field goal. The ensuing kick off is run back to the Patriots 38 yard line. Good field position for a great offense. Thirteen plays later, touchdown Pats.

On the next Colts possession, you are faced with fourth down and goal from the seven. Again, you kick the field goal. Well, you didn’t kick it. Vinatieri did. But you told him to! This one we can all understand. Seven yards is a lot of yards. Fine.

But going back to that first decision, you were three yards away! You left four points off the board. How many points did you lose by?

Be a man. Go for it. Worst-case scenario is you have the Patriots backed up at their own three yard line. I would say that not only did kicking the field goal deprive the Colts of four more points, it allowed New England to get a big return on the kickoff and set up the touchdown drive.

Coward. The only manly thing you did all day was ignore Belichik at the end of the game. And even then you should have punched him in the gut, just for the satisfaction of every other coach in the NFL.

Luckily for you, there was an even worse coach in action Sunday. Please tell me of an NFL coach who has been worse than Norv Turner. Everywhere he goes turns into a disaster. A lifetime 62-86-1 record doesn’t accurately portray just how inept Norv Turner is. San Diego was 14-2 last season. They are 4-4. They lost to Minnesota. Come on! Minnesota has one good player. Do whatever you can to stop this man, right?

Oh Adrian Peterson ran for 296 yards. An NFL record. It’s understandable since the Chargers had to worry about Brooks Bollinger at quarterback.

Why are things so obvious to me yet so unobvious to NFL GMs? Who hires Norv Turner? Why? I could have told you from the beginning this would end badly.

Loser of the Week (Week 10)

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 11:27:53 EST

LOSER OF THE WEEK: NAVY
Yes, Navy finally beat Notre Dame — after, what, 43 straight loses — but it’s hard to consider a triple-overtime win to the Water-splashing Irish much of a win these days. Not only did Navy have to endure a questionable potentially game-ending pass-interference call in overtime, but also the ridiculous CBS broadcast with audience feed on mute and sandpaper-dry Pat Haden putting in his take with all the gusto of a dentist describing his new stationary (not to mention the NFL-style TV ad before and after a kick-off). Flipping over to the Alabama/LSU game (even in the first quarter, with Lousiana State up quickly 17-3) you could feel the Tuscaloosa energy distorting your TV speakers. But Navy quarterback Kaipo-Noa Kakeaku-Enhada, who threw the winning two-point conversion, found enough in South Bend to get the win: "The crowd was pumped up, and when they get pumped up, we get pumped up, too." I'd like that gem on a laminated card.

Navy won 46-44, and is 1-43 vs the Irish since 1963.

LOW PENALTY BOX
The last three minutes. Louisiana State coach Les Miles saved a bit of his big-game reputation with 'Bama's freak-fumble and a couple TDs in the last three minutes versus a seriously outmatched Crimson Tide. A week ago, QB Matt Ryan of BC apparently saw his Heisman stock rise (before it fell this week) for 57 horrible minutes versus Virginia Tech, and three good minutes in the unlikely win. This week, Loser of the Week asks college football to play 57-minute games.

LOSER OF THE WEEK ARCHIVE

Week 9 The official Loser of the Week two-point conversion chart.

Week 8 The Curse of beating the Loser of the Week.

Week 7 Risks of men not wearing a ponytail.

Week 6 Sweet moustache and TV.

Week 5 Picking Buckeyes, thanking god.

Week 4 Things to do in Tulsa.

Week 3 The world's greatest piece of art (in Canada).

NBA Opening Night Observations

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 16:00:52 EDT

Yesterday evening the NBA tipped off the first games of the 2007-08 season and I had front row seats on my couch. Here are a few of my observations.

Portland Trailblazers at San Antonio Spurs
Final Score: 106-97, Spurs win

The Spurs looked sharp in the first half, playing the kind of efficient, defensive minded basketball that's won them four championships and bored thousands of fans to tears. Seriously, they are possibly the most boring team in the NBA and not just because of their reliance on "fundamentals." Tim Duncan is the least charismatic superstar in the league (if you've seen any of his commercials you know what I'm talking about), Bruce Bowen is probably the most hated player in the NBA, and the most interesting member of the Spurs' organization is Mrs. Tony Parker. But I digress.

The final outcome was never really in doubt, but I have to credit the Timberwolves for staying close the entire game. Center/Forward LaMarcus Aldridge continues to impress with his sweet stroke and expanding offensive repertoire and fantasy owners had to be excited by his stat line (27 pts. on 12-19 shooting, 2 Blks, 3 Rebs). It's only the first day of the season, but the Wolves have to be looking forward to next year. They have a surplus of promising young talent in Aldridge, PG Brandon Roy, and G/F Martell Webster, and when man-child Greg Oden returns they could be legitimate contenders in the stacked West.

Houston Rockets at Los Angeles Lakers
Final Score: 95-93, Rockets win

Kobe Bryant showed up in a Lakers uniform last night but his 45 point performance looked an awful lot like he was trying to advertise "the goods" at the expense of his team. I'm a biased Lakers fan but even I have to admit that they looked like a mess. PG Derek Fisher was the only Laker besides Kobe to score in double digits and the team's play was ragged at best, nauseous at worst. Fortunately the Rockets were equally confused with new Head Coach Rick Adelman running the show.

After the half, the Rockets were able to move T-Mac around with greater success and maintained a single digit lead throughout most of the 3rd and 4th quarters. Both Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady looked good during this period, stretching the floor and creating opportunities for one another. It looked like Coach Adelman's offensive schemes were falling in place and the Lakers seemed completely out of it until the very last minute of the game. That's when three straight Rockets turnovers and some clutch shots by Fisher and Kobe tied the score. That's also when Duke alumnus Shane Battier decided to piss me off by nailing a three and sealing the victory for the Rockets.

Both the Rockets and the Lakers figure to contend for playoff spots in the West but based on yesterday's performance it looks like they're moving in two different directions. With T-Mac, Yao Ming, and productive play from Mike James, the Rockets look like they have the pieces to make a strong run this year. The Lakers, on the other hand, have Kobe Bryant and little else. That recipe hasn't worked for the last few years and even with a healthy Lamar Odom I don't see anything to suggest it will work this year.

Utah Jazz at Golden State Warriors
Final Score: 117-96, Jazz win

I didn't catch this game, but the highlights and stat sheets said a lot. Utah's Deron Williams is going to be a star and everyone knows Andrei Kirelinko has All-Star ability. Both of them look like they'll be putting it together this year alongside emerging big man Carlos Boozer. The Warriors struggled without team captain/enemy of the state Stephen Jackson. As long as Golden State has a healthy Baron Davis they'll be competitive but they'll be hard pressed to replicate last year's playoff success.

What do you guys think?

A-Rod's Decision is a Smart One

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 13:45:29 EDT

Alex Rodriguez is a smart guy. You don't get paid the kind of money he does without being a smart guy, with or without Scott Boras for an agent. As a smart guy, A-Rod sees the writing on the wall. That is exactly why he's bailing on the Yankees. He sees what is coming on the horizon for the Yanks, and it isn't pretty. Now if he's really smart, he'd take a pay cut and go to the Red Sox. Talk about what a reversal of a curse that would be for the new millennium. More on that later. For now, suffice it to say that A-Rod is grabbing the life raft and jumping off a sinking ship by taking his opt-out clause.

Yankees fans are probably seething already over that first paragraph. I'd be angry too, if I were one. If you put emotion aside, and look at the organization in a logical light, it is a mess at the top. Conventional wisdom, for years, held that the Yankees would get better once Steinbrenner and his manic insanity finally handed over control of the team. Conventional wisdom, despite all explanation, was wrong. As crazy as George was, at least he was decisive and proactive. The recent storylines out of New York could be a prelude of more confusion to come. Between Cashman and the Steinbrenner sons, one gets a sense that there are too many cooks in the kitchen and that the power structure is a mess.

Firing Torre didn't help matters at all. His stability in the dugout might have been able to offset the transitions, power struggles, and contradictory statements from the front office but we will never know that now. Girardi is surely qualified as a replacement in the basic requirements of the job, but can he bring the stability the Yanks need along with his savvy with young players, all while dealing with veterans that he once played with? Time will tell, but if the answer is "no," then there is going to be a world of trouble for the organization if he can't handle the pressure of managing in New York with perfect precision.

Time will ultimately tell whether the Steinbrenner sons manage to fritter away Dad's empire (I'm personally leaning towards "yes") but in the short term, things aren't looking good for any Bronx faithfuls. Cashman's expensive, aging free agent prospects have consistently underperformed, and admittedly, A-Rod's own postseason performances have been lackluster. There is hope on the horizon in the way of a youth farm movement, but for now it is still a bloated, aging lineup in the Bronx.

The irony of the whole ordeal is the torrid rise of the Sox during this Yankees downturn (and I hate describing getting into the playoffs every year as a downturn, but it is). Now if only A-Rod could take a pay cut and join the Red Sox, the ultimate sports irony would be complete. It would be the equivalent of the Ruth loss of last century in reverse, and perhaps set off (or continue, to be more accurate) a reversal of fortune with the Red Sox dominating the new millennium and the Yankees falling into cursed disarray. If there's a more perfect possibility in the category of sports irony, I'd like to hear it.

Would such a move be out of the realm of possibility? I don't see why not, assuming A-Rod cares at all about winning. Yeah, I know he probably doesn't care about that as much as the money, but for the sake of argument let's assume he does care about winning a championship. Any player who wants to win would be insane not to go to the Sox right now, if they have the chance. The Sox have balanced pitching, hitting, and defense, and an attitude that gets results when it matters. They are clearly the best team in baseball right now and could be extremely dominant next year given the passion and savvy of their front office (which is really the polar opposite of the Yankees in success over the last few years). For everyone that isn't a Red Sox fan, the possibility of an A-Rod / Red Sox deal should be a frightening possibility.

Some NBA Thoughts

Tue, 30 Oct 2007 13:02:05 EDT

Here’s what’s on my mind as the NBA tips off tonight.

Nobody likes Basketball anymore: Is it me? Or is basketball now the third most-liked sport in the country? Clearly football is King in the US (apparently not the case in England), and I would say there is much more interest in baseball than basketball these days. I’m not just talking about right now, as the World Series just ended and the NBA season hasn’t started yet. I’m saying in general, basketball fans are decreasing. It would help if the Knicks were good. It would help if the Lakers were better. It would definitely help if Kobe, Lebron, and Wade didn’t play on such boring and mediocre teams. The Cavs went to the Finals last year, but they are mediocre compared to the elite NBA teams. The Spurs are boring. Durant and Oden might as well be playing in Vancouver. Something needs to change. Perhaps the Celtics can spice things up.

Fantasy Basketball is pathetic compared to Fantasy Football: This will be my first year participating in fantasy basketball, and I want to know one thing. Why the hell should I care about FT%? That’s honestly a category. Free throw percentage! I don’t know any Fantasy Football leagues that give points for a quarterback’s completion percentage. If they exist, I don’t want to know about them.

The Hawks Should be Good by Now: It’s time for the Atlanta Hawks to stop being so pathetic. The team is filled with athletic and exciting young players, but it’s been missing a tough, fundamentally-sound player like Al Horford. Great draft pick. He is exactly what they need to have a more consistent team. It’s tough to win without a reliable scorer down low. Horford can develop into that. He’s my preseason rookie of the year. Preseason numbers: 11.3 points, 8.6 rebounds in 30 minutes per game. Atlanta might be decent.

The Spurs Will Win it All: Time is running out on the Spurs Dynasty. They aren’t getting any younger. They never have high draft picks. But Tim Duncan is still going to be great for a few more years. Same for Tony Parker (only 25) and Manu Ginobli. The Spurs will need one other player to really step up this season. It’s an unexciting roster after the Big Three. At times in the playoffs, San Antonio looked outmatched against the Suns and might have lost that series if not for Amare’s questionable suspension. Still, defense wins championships and the Spurs will do it again. This might be the last year before they have to incorporate some younger talent.

Loser of the Week (Week 9)

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 12:07:06 EDT

6 + 1 = 7, 6 + 2 = 6; LOSER OF THE WEEK's REVISED/IMPROVED LAMINATE-ABLE 'TWO POINT CONVERSION GUIDEBOOK'

Most coaches keep a cheat-sheet card around to tell them yay/nay on when to go for two. It needs updating. During the 2000 NFL season, Phil Simms, after Bill Parcells blew a two-point conversion call in a Jets vs Patriots game that cost the Jets a playoff slot, said, “Take the card and blow it up. Too often teams use it too quickly and it ends up costing them.” I agree. This is something coaches like Texas’ Mack Brown and Kentucky’s Rich Brooks should take note of.

Mathematicians have long searched out the ‘meaning of life, in terms of when you should go for a two-point conversion.’ Rutgers statistic professor Harold B Sackrowitz calls for more teams to go for two more often and at different times of the game. Math blogs like 2+2 have mathies computing the ‘expected value’ (chance of success multiplied by the value of success) and calculations wagering 'win equity' scenarios in various situations (vital bed-time reading). Often the mathies prefer going for two earlier rather than later. So if you're down 15, go for two first, so you can tie it up or go for the win on the next TD.

Such an approach assumes the opponent never scores again. To Loser of the Week (LoW)'s mind this is too risky for anything but the most defensive games. The coaches' two-point cheat sheet also doesn't differentiate between the high scoring game (aka FRENZY) versus the defensive slug fest (aka SLUG). If it’s mid third quarter and you’re behind 14-12 and you probably want to go for two; if it’s 53-51 after scoring a touchdown you may not want to go for the two point conversion.

Other cases in the coaches' cheat sheet are plain wrong, such as going for two when you’re up by four points. No! If you do, and it fails (65% likelihood), an opponent’s TD with a successful PAT puts them up by three, thus a late-game heroic FG only puts you into OT. Kentucky made this mistake earlier the season, and Texas made it against Nebraska on Saturday and it almost cost them.

Of course coaches like Brown (and Texas A&M’s Dennis Franchione) have shown blind devotion to their card. Brown once went for two up by 41 points late to Rice (to get it to an even 42) and Franchione did the same up by 22 points with four minutes remaining in a game.

In Div 1 football Saturday there were (at LoW’s count) ten two-point conversions, three succeeded — slightly under the commonly quoted averages between 37% and 42%.

Dissecting a few two-point conversion attempts this week:

Kansas, up 19-0 vs Texas A&M with 12:43 remaining. Almost cost them. They failed. Making it a 2-1/2 possession game (two TDs with two-point conversions and a FG) instead of three TDs. A&M kicked a FG with 7:20 remaining (19-3), got a TD with a two-point conversion with 3:52 remaining (19-11) then lobbed a potentially game-tying pass in the endzone as time ran out. Close call, though not necessarily the wrong one.
North Carolina State took the lead versus Virginia 29-24 with 8:24 remaining and failed on the two point conversion attempt. Right call though, if you’re guessing Virginia is more likely to get 31 points (with TD) than 30 points (with two FGs).
Arizona down 39-41 at Washington with 10:05 remaining goes for two and ties it, rightly. They go on to win.

Now back to actual losing.

LOSER OF THE WEEK: NEBRASKA
No one is having a rougher year than Nebraska. Last week athletic director Steve Pederson got fired and replaced by icon Husker coach/Congressman Tom Osbourne, who has leaked out whispers of a 'new coaching staff' for 2008. (Justifiably) embattered coach Bill Callahan — who once gave a throat-slash gesture to a ref, and called OU fans "f***ing hillbillies" perhaps forgetting his home is no longer the East Bay — said he was doing an 'excellent' job this year (having been outscored 34-122 the past three games) and blamed job uncertainty (not the five losses) for some high-school recruits changing their minds to go to Lincoln.

Next came a road game, as 21-point underdogs, versus a Texas team that had seemed to be improving after a sloppy start. Everyone expected a blow out. But with 19 minutes to go, Nebraska had stunned the Texas crowd, up 17-3, and employed a blitz/blitz/blitz defense that sent Texas QB Colt McCoy, who is prone to wobbly legs after a hit or two, out of the game briefly. Texas pulled off long runs in the fourth, and held off a Neb rally.

One-sleeved Nebraska quarterback Sam Keller cried after the game, and defensive end Ben Eisenhart said, "Four losses in a row, it sucks. But we like football." Well, liking is a start. Coach Callahan needs to go. Still it's easy to respect how Big Red lost for a change.

Nebraska lost 25-28.

LOSER OF THE WEEK ARCHIVE

Week 8 The Curse of beating the Loser of the Week

Week 7 Risks of men not wearing a ponytail.

Week 6 Sweet moustache and TV.

Week 5 Picking Buckeyes, thanking god.

Week 4 Things to do in Tulsa.

Week 3 The world's greatest piece of art (in Canada).

Moss' Demise Greatly Exaggerated

Thu, 25 Oct 2007 14:06:00 EDT

If you've spent much time reading my columns here over the summer, you've probably noticed by now that I tend to spend a lot of energy and column space analyzing not only sports, but analyzing the analysts that analyze sports. That is to say I spend a lot of time measuring the entirety of the sports journalist field. The predictions, the hype, the fabricated controversies, it all piques my interest. Typically, sports prognostication by both fans and analysts can be a dicey thing. A lot of predictions get made, a lot of predictions turn out to be utterly false, but most are so innocuous or blessed with enough potential to be true that it escapes notice. However, there was one prediction from this year's NFL pre-season that sounded insane then, but looks more ridiculous with each passing week.

The prediction in question was that Randy Moss would not only be a bust for the Patriots, but that his very existence in New England would shred the camaraderie and cohesiveness of the team and turn them into a miserable wreck, as Owens did to the Eagles in not-so-recent memory. From sports talk radio to ESPN to print journalism, analysts across the sports landscape were predicting gloom and doom on the Moss front, with very few voices raising the possibility that he would fit in and do fine with Brady delivering the ball.

I think it's safe to say now that Moss has exceeded even the most positive mid-summer predictions since being traded to the Pats (in one of the biggest steals of a trade ever, I might add). He is absolutely tearing up the stat page and opposing defenses with shocking ease. Now, admittedly, I've never been a huge Moss fan, and for most of his career I considered him to be vastly overrated. Just another flashy wide receiver with an attitude that wasn't living up to the mountain of hype that accompanied him. This year, I've had to admit that he's all he was ever hyped to be, and perhaps even more. The now ubiquitous "shoulder grab" from the Miami game pretty much sums it up... Moss and the Patriots have created a synergy where even the seemingly impossible now looks exceedingly simple.

This is grudging praise for me to give. In the entirety of the sports landscape, there is perhaps nothing I hate more than the Patriots. I hate that Belichick has gotten so much done in New England compared to his Cleveland days. I hate that they have dominated football for nearly a decade. I hate the tuck rule that was invented so they could get to that first Super Bowl of the dynasty. But despite my preconceptions coming in to this year regarding the Patriots, I have to admit that they are damned good. I must grudgingly give them respect.

A lot of respect, at that. They are the best team in football this year, yes. But beyond that, they might at this moment be the best football team I've ever seen in my life. Brady is flawless with his new bounty of receivers. Moss is playing with unparalleled grace and precision. The offensive line is ridiculously good, giving Brady time to eat a picnic, take a nap and sign autographs in the pocket. Even players most thought would be, at best, role players in the offense are on fire. Donte' Stallworth looked like Jim Brown against the Dolphins with the stiffarms, jukes, and spins he was showing off on long catches (yeah, I know, it was just the Dolphins, but still). Wes Welker has come out of nowhere to become a household name. Even the aging defense is looking better than advertised. The running game... well... so they have one weakness. But the hard reality is that they seem to have enough bit pieces to throw in the ailing running game to keep the train on the tracks, and that's all they need out of the running game right now. When you have a passing offense that no one can stop, even without a great running game, that's frighteningly good.

So the Moss/New England predictions turned out to be the complete opposite of the reality. The new predictions floating around about the Patriots probably won't be. Most analysts had already started the undefeated talk 2 weeks ago. It sounded a little premature then, but with each passing week it looks like they could be on to something. I thought the Cowboys would throw a wrench in the Pats march to a perfect season, but instead the Pats turned the game into a cakewalk. If the Colts can't keep up with them, then it's season over for the rest of the league, and Shula and friends won't be making that annoying champagne toast anymore.

BizarrOhio

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 11:55:10 EDT

There's something strange in the air here in Ohio. Every day, I feel as if I have awoken to a mirror universe, bizarro world existence. As if everything I know to be true about reality has been completely turned upside-down and inside-out. It goes beyond the three straight days of rain here after a summer that had me wondering if I was living in the midwest or the Sahara. No, it's far deeper than that. It's the realization of what has happened to professional football in this state. It's the realization that the Browns are no longer terrible, and that the Bengals are. It started with the extremely strange and surreal Browns vs Bengals matchup in week 2, a game that surely looked to belong easily to the Bengals before it began. Of course, the Browns shockingly won 51-45.

I thought it would be crazy at that point to declare the Bengals the better team. Surely the conventional wisdom was that the Bengals would rebound and glide to the playoffs, while the Browns would slide into their usual sub-mediocrity and plummet to the bottom of the division. No one could be more shocked than I that this has not been the case.

Now I know what you are thinking. You are thinking: "Wait a second. The Browns are only a .500 team. That's not exactly setting the world on fire, and didn't the Bengals just come off a win versus the Jets?" Yes. This is true. But considering the blundering, incompetent way the Browns have been beginning (and ending, for that matter) their seasons for the last.... forever, it seems... this 3 and 3 start is nothing short of a miraculous Hollywood story. Anderson has come out of nowhere with great Quarterback play that has Brady Quinn controversy talk firmly out of play, for the moment at least. Braylon Edwards is not only living up to the hype of his drafting status, he's actually looking better than advertised at times to Browns fans. Even Winslow is starting to put the comedic blunders of his early NFL career behind him and starting to show some talent.

As for the second part of the above caveat, sure the Bengals are coming off a win, but it was against the lowly Jets. On top of that, the Bengals looked sorry in the first half of that game and should consider themselves lucky to be 2-4 and not 1-5. As usual, the Cincinnati defense was porous and extremely unimpressive, particularly on the play when Coles turned a short receiving gain into a walk in touchdown by breaking not one, but two converging tacklers with shocking ease. The play before that one yielded a delay of game flag on a Bengals defensive player for not allowing Leon Washington to get up off the ground after a one yard gain. It turned a third and nine into a third and four. It probably wouldn't have mattered in the end, but the two-play chain of events provided a perfect metaphor for the Bengals' defense: soft and undisciplined.

The dire straights of the Bengals can be evidenced by the mood and news following the team even following a win, with players still scrambling for answers. They know full well that barely beating the Jets isn't something that can be used as evidence of a turnaround. Rumor has it that the team is now contemplating trading Chad Johnson in an attempt to stem the tide. A move that would be highly ironic, considering that of all the problems the Bengals have, Johnson isn't one of them. He's a brilliant, albeit flashy athlete who contributes greatly to a Cincinnati offense that is still damned good, and doesn't get into off-field trouble... the last of that list obviously a painfully rare gift within that club. After all, it's obvious what the Bengals problem is, and it isn't offense. They have an offense that can win a Super Bowl, and a defense that couldn't win a single playoff game. Unless they are getting some serious defensive firepower in a Johnson trade, this is a sign of flailing desperation to keep a sinking ship from going under.

The Browns, on the other hand, are finally experiencing a relief from the pressure they've been experiencing so long from fans who are finally just happy to have a team that doesn't utterly embarass them. Romeo Crennel might actually get to keep his job if things continue for them the way they have been. It's typical in the modern NFL to track the progress of one team falling against another one rising, but it's interesting to see it happen to two teams in one state so closely tied to each other, particularly considering the Bengals just recently made the journey from futility to near greatness so quickly, only to seemingly lapse back into the same state they were in for so long in the 90s.

For Browns fans, their team is beginning to make fans hopeful for the kind of greatness not seen for that team since the heady days of the 80s, when Kosar, Mack and Metcalf roamed the Cleveland field. Obviously, this current team has a long way to go before approaching that level, but it's certainly better so far than the soul-crushing eras and personnel that have come and gone between them. (And far better than the years with no Cleveland football at all.)

Of course, in the NFL things can change quickly. The Colts defense was just as berated, and was nearly as ineffective as the Bengals defense is, and they came on late in the season to contribute heavily to a Super Bowl win. Likewise, the Browns' newfound hope and glory could evaporate quickly as the season goes on, Anderson could go in the tank, the QB controversy could rise again, and Crennel could be unceremoniously bounced from the job. It's certainly a story still in the telling.

But for now, down is up in Ohio, the Browns are respectable, and the Bengals are terrible. Well, at least half of the Bengals, at any rate.

SEC Football!?!?

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 11:20:56 EDT

Another great weekend in the SEC started with a shocker in South Carolina. While I didn't predict Spurrier to lose this game (who did?), I did feel Vanderbilt could give the old ball coach a scare. With their minds on the Volunteers the following weekend, the Gamecocks failed to give the Commodores the respect they deserved, rotating their quarterbacks, as mentioned on this week's Bleacher Bloggers and at the cool chicken.com, and paid dearly for it. They really did appear poised to make a run at playing in the SEC Championship game. That opportunity, however, now seems dashed.

Speaking of the Volunteers, how could anyone have predicted the massacre they took at the hands of the Crimson Tide? So let's think about this — Alabama lost to Georgia, who lost to Tennessee who lost to Alabama. The SEC blood bath continues as each team takes the other out, seemingly destroying everyones chances to play for the National Championship. Would anyone be surprised if the Gators won the rest of their games and faced off against LSU in the SEC Championship game?

Imagine how great that matchup would be on a neutral playing field. Now that we're on the topic of the Gators — who beat Kentucky, who beat LSU, who beat the Gators — if you haven't heard already, here is an amazing statistic. Tim Tebow has not only been involved in over 90 percent of all Gator passing plays this season, but also in over 40 percent of their running plays. That's over two-thirds of a team's offense whose only heart breaking loss came at the hands of the LSU Tigers. Can someone say Heisman trophy please? My money is on him winning it next year as a junior.

The battle between the Tigers(es) took place this week when LSU took down Auburn. The Tigers of LSU came out on top with a final play that has people wondering when Miles' risky play calling will come back to bite him. Had the pass been thrown poorly or the defender had a little more sense of the play that was being called, the outcome of the game would have gone the Auburns way. Fortunately for LSU, Miles still looks like a genius and LSU's title hopes are still alive — for now.

A bit off topic but seeing as how I'm originally from Miami and the Dolphins seem to be in the lead for the chance to get the number one pick in next years draft I believe it's time to start wondering who will go numero uno. A season ending injury to star running back Ronnie Brown has me leaning toward Darren McFadden. The team's struggles with quarterbacks, however, are just to difficult to avoid. They did draft John Beck last year so it will be interesting to see how he plays once the team decides to finally put the kid in the game. And seriously, I can't believe they are going to London next week, what in the heck is that about?

Photos courtesy of 3rdsaturdayinblogtober.wordpress.com

Check Out These Videos

Tue, 23 Oct 2007 16:36:03 EDT

Hey all.
Found a couple of funny videos. Check 'em out.

This one's from CSTV.com.

This video is from the FanHouse.

Enjoy.

Don't Leave, Kobe

Tue, 23 Oct 2007 14:18:50 EDT

Kobe, you're the greatest basketball player of my generation and you're killing me.

I remember when you first announced your entry into the draft and I kept asking my dad, "Is he really that good?" You were skinny and bald but you showed flashes of greatness even in your rookie season. You didn't deserve to go to the All-Star game that year, but after attacking MJ with some pretty moves, you showed why you deserved to come back.

There were struggles, sure, but then Shaq and Phil arrived and a bright new day dawned for the Lakers. Watching you guys destroy team after team en route to three championships made me very happy and I'll always be grateful for those years. Even though you and Shaq could never get along, you both have special places in my heart. Those places aren't adjacent because no matter what you two say, I'm afraid what would happen if you were both locked in a chamber together, but you're both somewhere in there.

Then Shaq left and you stayed, Kobe. You were always my favorite, so as long as you stayed with the team I was okay. And even though the Lakers struggled, it's still been a treat to watch you split double teams and dismantle entire defenses. I also think you're passing ability is severely underrated.

But now this.

Now you've asked to be traded and this time it looks like it might actually happen. Jerry Buss even said that he has to treat your demands as a business move, but we all know that's impossible. Jerry Buss loves you like a son. When you made mistakes the Lakers never hesitated to support you. Jerry Buss may look like Jerry Stiller but he's always been dead serious about protecting your back. And now you want to turn your back on him.

Is this another demand for respect? I can understand if it is. Your emotional development was permanently crippled as a youngster; you were always developing your prodigious abilities on the court to the detriment of your social skills off it. Your need to prove yourself has always pushed you to succeed and exceed expectations. If you weren't an emotional cripple I doubt you'd be the same dominant player. Leaving the team that's given you so much (and I'm not just talking about money) would certainly give you another challenge to meet.

But before you pack your bags, consider this, Kobe.

You have a wife and two children. You have three NBA championships. You're widely regarded as the best basketball player in the world today. You don't need to quit the Lakers to prove how good you can be. I already know.

A Game Without Porpoise

Tue, 23 Oct 2007 11:02:27 EDT

In just a few short days, the NFL makes its way across the pond and invades England. That's right UK, lock up your women and children, the Giants and Dolphins are coming to town!

Wait, is that right? The Dolphins?? Seriously? This is the best we can do? A winless bunch of scrubs? Look, we don't have many allies left, should we really be burning bridges with our biggest one?

The Dolphins are a terrible football team. Abysmal, horiffic, revolting ... and that's on a good day. And now they've lost Ronnie Brown, the one guy on their team worth watching. This is not going to be pretty.

England has given us so much over the years. Tea; The Beatles; Kate Moss; The Office. And this is how we repay them? By sending them an 0-7 football team with a quarterback named Cleo? They don't even have Chris Chambers anymore. Why on earth would anyone watch them?

This would be like England giving us a really good soccer player and him sucking when he gets here. Could you imagine how lame that would be. ... Oh wait, that just happened? My bad.

But seriously, if Roger Goodell wants to jack up interest in American football around the world, this IS NOT the way to do it. How about sending the Patriots? Or the Colts? Or even the Raiders? At the very least, the Oakland fan base could teach the Brits a thing or two about hooliganism. You want to see the right way to urinate on a fellow fan ... go to a Raiders game.

So here we sit, less than a week away from the first NFL regular season game in Europe and we face an international crisis. A crisis that can set foreign relations back 100 years. I beg you Commissioner Goodell, as an American citizen, please cancel this game. Send an actual Dolphin instead. One of those really cool ones that can catch a Frisbee and whistle the alphabet. Or just send the Dolphin cheerleaders. They're pretty hot. Anything would be better than the actual team.

But hold up ... on second thought ... we've had to put up with the Spice Girls, Simon Cowell, Coldplay and Madonna (yes, I consider her to be British) for far too many years now. I change my mind. Screw them. Send the actual Dolphins. I hope they lose by forty.

Take that, England. Cheerio.

Loser of the Week (Week 8)

Tue, 23 Oct 2007 00:40:15 EDT

WHY WE ALL MUST LOVE IOWA STATE & McDONALD'S UNIFORMS... AND WHY WE MUST NEVER, EVER, RISK BEATING A COLLEGE FOOTBALL 'LOSER OF THE WEEK'

* W I S D O M * O F * T H E * W E E K*

“When you don’t win, you won’t win."
-- Iowa State coach Gene Chizik

If statistics, science and star-alignments are to be trusted, the one thing you don't want to do in this wacky year of college football is BEAT the Loser of the Week (LoW). Here in the LoW offices we've uncovered a trend, perhaps a curse. As our 'Loser of the Week' follow up their attention-getting losses with wins (6-1 in the game after) and the teams that beat them are falling (2-6). See the proof above, then reflect.

LOSER OF THE WEEK: Iowa State

Even the Des Moines Register expected little from the little Cyclones biggest matchup of the year (at home, versus #5 Oklahoma). Their preview was headlined ‘Realistically, Cyclones face yet another rout.’ Yet, a week after a 3-56 massacre loss versus Texas, Iowa State’s 116th best offense in Div 1 football got an early TD and held the nation’s most efficient quarterback to 0 points in the first 37 minutes. Throughout the windy game, the Cycs seemed a step ahead of the Sooner, crowding the line and keeping OU’s running attack in check until the fourth quarter. The 30-point underdog (who had given up 42 points per game the last four tries) held OU to 17. They might have 'pulled a Stanford,' but had three red-zone possessions come up empty, including a fourth-quarter interception with minutes remaining and OU up by only seven. The effect is felt in Sooner Nation, as OU fell from #5 to #6 (despite #2, #6, #7 all losing this week).

Iowa State lost 7-17.

FOUR REASONS TO LOVE IOWA STATE

Moral losses are/aren’t accepted.
Coach Gene Chizik wouldn’t accept any sort of moral victory by the close loss to Oklahoma, but you wouldn’t guess it from the quotes streaming out of the lockerroom. Linebacker Jesse Smith said ‘They didn’t think we were tough… we showed them.’ Chizik even said ‘I was proud of our efforts. I don’t feel like we took the same amount of steps back as we did last week.’ A coach that measure pride in lack of steps backward, something we at LoW offices applaud.

It’s a bird, it’s a tornado! Um, actually it’s both?
When studied at length, the stripeless Iowa State helmet's logo — a cyclone, topped with a cardinal, with teeth — baffles even the most imaginative or PCP-influenced. And we at LoW offices like that in a football helmet. The word cyclone (a tornado of sorts) comes from Greek kyklon (moving in a circle), which is something Iowa State football has done for decades: mediocre→not very good→hey we beat Iowa! →somehow squeaked out a ranking then blew a game to 3-7 Kansas→mediocre.

Fries come with every punt.
We’re used to the embarrassment of watching pudgy baseball managers walk to the mound in uniform, but only Iowa State asks their coaches to suit up: in something disturbingly looking like McDonald’s regional manager gear. The outfit, modeled above by first-year coach Gene Chizik and an assistant coach, dotted the Cyclone sideline. Somehow no one in the locker room had a ‘what are the odds we wore the same shirt and shoes today!’ moment and thought to adjust. What makes it worse is the flashy, circa 1988 USFL logo gold and cardinal stripes interlocked on a white shirt and the aggressively pleated black slacks.

Let love rule, and the fans pick the helmet.
Teams lacking tradition play with their uniforms more than teams with long-standing tradition — compare the looks of Alabama, Notre Dame or Penn State with Iowa State, Fresno State or even Oregon. This year, Iowa State decided, screw it, let the fans decide, giving the vote of three rather ho-hum, yet retro-oriented helmet choices, presumably for next season. LoW would like to suggest a fourth option: black block letters on a white helmet saying ‘IS.’ The ad campaign for season tickets could be ‘Who’s a Cyclone fan?/I IS, I IS.’

PAST LOSERS

See the charts above for the curse. Week seven's loser (North Carolina) did not play in week eight.

LoW ARCHIVE

Week 7 Risks of men not wearing a ponytail.

Week 6 Sweet moustache and TV.

Week 5 Picking Buckeyes, thanking god.

Week 4 Things to do in Tulsa.

Week 3 The world's greatest piece of art (in Canada).

The Sports Cliche Problem

Mon, 22 Oct 2007 15:25:01 EDT

Maybe Leaf wasn't crazy when he attacked Jay Posner in the locker room.

Maybe he was tired of being asked stupid questions by reporters?

On second thought, no, Leaf was just crazy.

I have something important that I want to say to all sports reporters who find themselves in the position of interviewing professional athletes. Not athletes in any particular league, but all professional athletes in general. This statement also goes out to all consumers of sports media in the hopes that they will demand more from the field reporters who do such interviews with such athletes. The message is simple and direct, and desperately needs to be said: please, for the love of all that is good in the world, stop asking stupid and obvious questions to athletes in your interviews.

All sports fans are well acquainted with my premise. How many times have we been watching a pregame interview and have seen a reporter ask an athlete blandly "Do you think you can win the game today," or some such variation of that insipid question ("what do you think of your chances" is also a time-honored yet equally stupid form of the question.) Does anyone, including the reporter, expect an answer from the athlete other than "Yes" or "I like our chances"? Do sports reporters continually ask this banal question in the hopes that someday, somewhere a professional athlete will say "No, no I don't think we can win today. I think we will get crushed like a paper cup. But we are going out there anyway for the money." While it would be vastly entertaining to hear this said by an athlete, we all know it's never going to happen. So why even ask this question at all?

Perhaps my criticism seems a little unfair. After all, sports journalism is one of the few areas of professional life where one can not only get away with stale cliches in writing, but in fact the artform revels in tired, old cliches (perhaps because sports lingo itself is fraught with so many cliches, and I don't need to remind you readers of all the sports cliches out there, you know them well.) Don't believe me? Watch "Around the Horn" on ESPN and turn it into a drinking game. Every time you hear "this/here is a guy...." or "this/here is a team...." take a drink. I guarantee you'll be slightly buzzed or slightly hammered by the end of the show (if Woody is on the show that day, you may need to call an ambulance beforehand.)

Postgame interview questions are typically just as stupid as pregame interview questions are. One needs only to reflect back to the recent interview following the Diamondbacks winning the NLCS. You probably know immediately which question I am referring to. In the midst of that teams most thrilling moment in life, the reporter asks how they did what they just did (referring to winning 21 of 22 straight games to get to the World Series) to which the reply was "I don't know." Brilliant. The irony of course is the reporter saw what they just did. Perhaps if the reporter were blind, the question would have been a fair and cogent one. Considering he had the gift of vision intact, one wonders how he didn't know the answer to his own question. Perhaps even more startling is that the player couldn't come up with an answer after having lived the experience. But, I do not intend to hold athletes accountable for these ridiculously cliched and stupid exchanges. After all, ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer. On top of that, reporters are supposed to be the wordsmiths, and as such should be held to a higher standards. I don't expect a sportswriter to hit a 3-run homer in the ninth to win a game, and similarly I don't expect athletes to be Shakespeares.

Perhaps there is no positive change to be had here. Perhaps there just isn't anything original to be asked in an on-the-spot, in-the-moment sports interview. But if this is the case, then what exactly is the point of doing these exchanges in the first place? The only time they are memorable is when something completely insane happens, like when Leaf attacked Jay Posner or when Namath tried to kiss Kolber. Perhaps for the possibility of these kinds of surreal and highly entertaining moments alone the current paradigm needs to be kept in place, and reporters need to keep plugging away with the same tired, one-possible-response questions.

Canes-Noles Baby!

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 17:33:59 EDT

So, you don’t care about Miami-FSU this weekend?

Well who needs you? I still care. Big time. This is Miami-FSU, for crying out loud. This is a reminder of what makes college sports so great.

No matter how bad your team sucks – and these two teams totally suck right now – you’ve still got good, old-fashioned college rivalries. This game might as well be the National Championship for Miami. For FSU, that would be the Gators game later in the year. But Saturday’s contest still means everything to me, so I’m hoping it means everything to every UM player as well. There’s no doubt in my mind that it does.

Find me a rivalry with more memorable last-second moments. Find me a rivalry with more NFL talent. Even when these teams are underperforming, you’ll still be watching future NFL stars. For Miami, it’s Calais Campbell, Kenny Phillips, Graig Cooper, and Eric Moncur, among others. For Florida State, it’s Greg Carr, Antone Smith (perhaps), Myron Rolle, and Geno Hayes, among others. Trust me, there are many more on these rosters.

Quick stat… how many players from the 1987 Miami and FSU rosters were eventually drafted or signed as free agents? Answer coming later…

So this game may not mean much to you, but it means everything to me. It’s not the best rivalry in college football right now, but it will soon be among the best again. Both teams are in the process of pulling in excellent recruiting classes. Both teams have made important coaching moves lately. Miami hired Randy Shannon, a local boy who is putting a fence around South Florida’s talent.

Florida State brought in Jimbo Fisher (from LSU) as its Offensive Coordinator and Rick Trickett (from West Virginia) to coach the offensive line. Either one of those guys will be an upgrade if Bobby Bowden eventually steps down or is forced out. Things are looking up.

If just one of these teams had a competent quarterback, you’d see a potential top 10 squad. But since Kyle Wright, Kirby Freeman, Drew Weatherford, and Xavier Lee are all we’ve got, expect another sloppy game on Saturday. It will be sloppy, but it will be close. It’s always close.

After all, it’s Miami-FSU, and I can’t wait.

By the way, here’s the answer to that question: 67 players! Not bad.

And check out this article in the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel. http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/college/hurricanes/sfl-flsp1987proscht18broct18,0,1300648.story

Torre the Right Man for the Job

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 09:45:19 EDT

One of the funniest long-standing jokes in modern sports is certainly Steinbrenner's insane circus of managers with the Yankees. I have come to expect insanity regarding this from the Yankees front office (even though it's been a long, relatively calm era under Torre.) I have even come to expect the insane expectations and reactive attitude of the New York media on this issue, so it doesn't surprise me to see the New York sports news outlets to be advocating a change at manager. What really surprises me at the moment is the way non-New York sports media outlets are advocating a change at Yankees manager. Are you people insane?

Anyone who can't see that Torre is still the perfect guy for the Yankees job really confuses me. It's been well noted in the current analysis that Torre deals with the ridiculously insane and obsessive New York sports media better than any other current candidate possibly could. That, by the way, is 100% true and a very good reason to keep Torre in place, but this goes far deeper than that. It's also been well noted lately that Torre has a proven track record, moreso than any likely candidate except for LaRussa (and who knows how realistic that option even is.)

What's getting missed here is the insane circus that I mentioned above in the first paragraph. Does anyone even remember the Yankees of the 1980's? They had like 800 managers and no championships. None. Zero. By the way, it's the only decade that the Yankees didn't win a championship. Coincidence? Maybe. I don't think so. Changing managers every year doesn't build the kind of continuity that makes for championship teams. Here's the real catch: no matter who you replace Torre with, no matter how good or qualified or perfect you think they are for the job, replacing Torre will start the insane musical chairs of Yankees manager all over again. I'd bet the farm on it. Torre is the only man on the planet who can bring the kind of presence and gravity to the job strong enough to counterweight the manic craziness of "the Boss."

And what exactly is Torre being fired for. So far, the most insane analysis I have heard is that he has to go because he "hasn't won in seven years." Excuse me? I understand when rabid New York fans and media expect to win every year, but when even midwestern analysis of the story yields a "he hasn't won in seven years" article it boggles my mind. Because back in a little place I call reality, logical people realize that no sports team, not even the vaunted Yankees, can be expected to win rings every year or so. Ask Cubs fans how insane that expectation is. Besides, it's really not Torre's fault that ownership spent massive money on bloated, aging free agent contracts for a decade.

So what if veteran players are moving on and the team is getting younger. Girardi is a fine manager but bringing him in as a young players' manager won't work. Steinbrenner won't have the patience for it and he will be fired within a year. Trust me. Just because something seems logical and looks good on paper doesn't mean George will have the patience to let it play out. I'm not exactly sure where this idea that Torre can't manage young talent came from anyway, because I doubt that it's true.

Part of me would love nothing more than to see Torre fired just to watch everyone be wrong. It would also be amusing to watch the Yankees spiral down into another decade of random, fractured, revolving-door-at-manager existence. Somehow, I think the Yankees fans disagree. That, at the bottom line, is why Yankees fans are praying that Torre stays.

Rockies Balboa

Tue, 16 Oct 2007 12:04:35 EDT

This is so cool! I mean, come on, the COLORADO ROCKIES! Winners of 21 of their last 22; 7-0 in the playoffs this year; and filled with so many good, young, exciting ballplayers you've never heard of. Quite simply, this is the best baseball story in a long time.

Think about this: with nine games to play, they were 4 1/2 games back in the wild card. And with two games to go, they were still two games out.

They had to win out, which they did, and then win a do-or-die game (which they trailed by two runs in the 13th innning, by the way) just to make the postseason. Again, they did.

But it didn't get any easier. They had to go to Philadelphia and face the big-budget, heavy hitting Phillies. No problem. Swept 'em. Then it was off to Arizona and one of the game's best pitchers, Brandon Webb. Swept them too. ... And now, they'll most certainly be underdogs against the Indians or Red Sox.

But who cares? Why should that matter. All they do these days is win. Every game.

In the current baseball landscape, it's really unheard of what this small market team is accomplishing. With a payroll around 54 million dollars and a pitching rotation without even one household name, this isn't supposed to happen. The Mets were everybody's pick in the NL. Just like the Yankees and Red Sox were the picks in the American League. But the Yanks went home early and the Sox may not be far behind; which would leave the small market Indians as the AL representative.

But, regardless of whether or not Cleveland reaches the World Series, Colorado's presence there is another indication that spending more doesn't always equal getting more. Look at the Cardinals last year ... another small market team which came from nowhere to win the World Series.

And the thing about these teams (Colorado, St. Louis, Cleveland ...) is that - if you are a baseball purist - they're absoultely great to watch. Seeing Troy Tulowitzki charge a grounder; Kaz Matsui stand unflichingly in the path of a baserunner as he completes a double play; and Matt Holliday slide head first into home plate with no regard for his face ... these are the reasons we all love baseball. Anyone can hit a home run, but how many people can steal bases, make highlight reel catches and perfect relay throws? That's why I - and Dane Cook, I guess - keep tuning in.

As you can probably tell, I'm all about the Rockies right now. I love this team! I just hope the fairy tale lasts a little bit longer.

Sports News, or Sports Drama?

Tue, 16 Oct 2007 09:42:13 EDT

There has been a pathetic change in the sports media today, one that stands very counter to the traditional notion of sports reporting. Sports reporting used to be about scores and highlights, stats and outcomes, and other measurable aspects of sports. Nowadays, flipping on Sportscenter one is more likely to be inundated with a sappy, feel-good story or yet another obsessive piece on Terrel Owen's latest dramatics. Just like the sordid world news model the "regular" 24-hour news channels now follow, sports media has devolved into the same model, focusing just as much on dramatics and controversy as the nuts-and-bolts components that we want out of sports reporting.

Let's start with the feel-good story. Now, it's hard to write this without coming off like a total heartless bastard, but I'm very weary of the tear-jerker stories on Sportscenter. An athlete visiting a kid with an incapacitating or life-threatening disease is certainly commendable and praise-worthy, but I question the necessity of putting that story into the flow of a show designed to give sports fans scores and highlights. It comes off as cloying and manipulative of the viewers, and just gets tiresome. It's a quick mute around my house when the violins start playing, the soft-light fuzz goes on the camera lenses, and weepy family members start blubbering about whatever emotion-laden topic is being discussed.

It turns the entire show into a bizarre non sequitur of sports reporting. Here's the highlights and score of the Bears-Packers game, here's a bunch of people crying about something really dramatic and tearful with some melancholy string music, now here's some more NFL highlights. Mind you, I'm not arguing that these stories don't deserve to be told, I'm just saying they are displayed at a strange place in time. A dedicated show for people who want to see hyper-dramatic human interest pieces related to sports would be more compelling to those interested in those stories, because it becomes an extreme annoyance in it's current placement. Let's face it, ESPN has a lot of time to kill on it's myriad 24 hour networks, so I doubt finding a slot for it would be a difficult task.

On the flip side of the emotional coin, could Sportscenter get back to pure sports analysis without turning every show into a psychological thesis on the tortured minds and lives of NFL wide receivers? Terrel Owens especially has always been an obsession of ESPN in varying ways. Remember the last three years when he was relentlessly obsessed upon by ESPN in the most negative of lights, and certainly he gave them ammunition to write with, but the coverage was beyond absurd. I never before saw so many people passionately love to hate an individual. The coverage, as it still is regarding T.O, was banal, trite, worthless, and constant. I really could care less about T.O. and his ridiculous antics, but I could care even less what the reporters at Sportscenter think about him. All I want from them is scores, game recaps, and whatever catchphrase they currently think is utterly hilarious during highlights. I don't need them to be amateur psychologists to star athletes.

Of course, the "coverage" (but let's call it what it really is, gossip) on T.O. is much more positive this year than it was then. Gone are the nasty, dismissive comments once given to Mr. Owens, in are more permissive comments on his eccentricities. Last year, and the year before that, and the year before that, ESPN talking heads couldn't stand Owens in the slightest. Now, their attitudes towards him range from mild amusement to mild crushes. His behavior hasn't changed much, but the attitudes towards him certainly have. Go figure. Again, I'm not condoning or bashing his actions at all, I find T.O. to be very boring and unamusing but not irritating. This article is about ESPN reporting... which I also find to be boring and unamusing.

This is all pointless whining, since nothing is going to change the way ESPN runs their shows (and given they are making money hand over fist, why would they listen to some anonymous whiner on the internet,) but I miss the cut-and-dried manner that ESPN used to operate under. I don't even so much mind the humor and catchphrase quirkiness of the anchors, but the highs and lows of the feel-good and the sinister parts of sports thrown in is excessive and annoying. Just give us the scores and replays so we can go to sleep, without having to put up with the B-grade anchors relegated to the minor leagues of ESPNews.

Confidence Waning

Tue, 16 Oct 2007 09:26:47 EDT

Well that was no fun. No fun at all.

Staring at the television with all of my energy and intensity and knowing it only goes as far as the damn screen. OMG, I could have choked every single one of those Red Sox players last night. Where was the plate discipline? Where was the timely hitting? How in the hell do you make it to the ALCS and not drive in at least one freakin' runner with the bases jacked and NO OUTS? Are you kidding me?

It seemed as if the Red Sox were mortal tonight and that's not something I've been accustomed to seeing this year, so it was a little shocking. I found myself doing the old losing Red Sox routine. You know, swaring at the television, saying mean things about their intelligence level and their sexual orientation. It was one of those games that, to me, is very hard to swallow. A winnable game that I didn't for a second(alright when Tek hit the home run maybe a second) feel like we could win.

I couldn't pick up the feeling of the Red Sox team as a whole. They seemed relaxed but almost defeated. From the get go they seemed somewhat beaten. It was weird and didn't give me a good feeling from the moment I sat down. Did they not do their homework on this guy Westbrook?

And where was the base stealing? I mean, if the bats aren't making doubles you got to manufacture runs. Breathe some damn life into the game, anything!!

I don't know, we just seemed lifeless, and that does not make me feel good having to sit down for another four hours and watch this team sulk.

USF ... Really? I mean, really?

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 15:40:14 EDT

Well, hell has frozen over. The sky has fallen. I am numb.

Not only is my alma mater - the University of Miami - completely irrelevant in the college football landscape, but the University of South Florida is the number 2 team in the country! How is that possible??

The USF Bulls, a team nobody knows anything about, is in position to play for the national championship. And all the other Floida powerhouses (UF, FSU and UM) are nowhere to be found. I'm not even sure which of those two previous sentences is more shocking.

Let's start with USF. They've only had a team for 12 years! That is unreal. And yet, they are definitely for real. They won at Auburn and beat West Virigina at home this year. They have a very good QB, a great pass rusher and a fan base that is beyond rabid. You've got to give them their due.

As for UF, although they've stumbled a bit this year, they are still a national powerhouse. They play in the toughest conference, so you have to expect them to lose a game every now and them. Nothing wrong with the Gators.

The Noles and Canes on the other hand, stink. I mean, really really stink. FSU have lost to Clemson and Wake and haven't had a title contending team in years. Bobby Bowden just turned 100 and I could probably play quarterback for them. As for Miami, they got housed by Oklahoma and then dropped two snoozers to North Carolina and Georgia Tech. How irrelevant have UM and FSU become? They play each other this weekend and NOBODY cares. Not even me, and FSU is my forsaken rival.

So, in short, USF is the best team in Florida, and one of the two best teams in the country. UF is still great, just having a spell of bad luck. And FSU and UM should just fold up their tents, play their freshmen, and ... say it with me ... wait till next year.

Loser of the Week - Week 7

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 12:09:12 EDT

College Football's Losers Bless Us... Baby Blue... Chuck Dickens... Everyone!

‘The game was a kind of tale of two cities’
-- Loser of the Week coach, North Carolina’s Butch Davis

The Loser of the Week (LoW) offices are overflowing with faxed messages of dissent. ‘Losing is for losers — stick with LSU’ reads a (now dated) note featuring a photocopied print of a fist less one single middle finger raised upward. But LoW HQ makes no apologies. Losing well is always more heroic and memorable.

Don’t believe it? Take Charles Dickens. In one Hallmark movie classic The Tale of Two Cities, the English drunk fullback Sydney Carton loved Lucie Manette, but she loved quarterback Charles Darney. Helmets off, heavy metal-haired Sydney and ponytailed Charles looked a lot alike, but Lucie didn’t ‘go for’ the Sydster. ‘Gimme the guy who makes the calls; you keep the gin-hound,’ said the dizzy English flirt, tipsy herself on the glory of the game. Charles’ post-game quips regularly led to tabloid scandals and court cases (eg a treason case). Finally Charles' royal Bowden blood got jailed in Paris and a one-way ticket to a guillotine, but Sydney drugged Charles in prison (not the smartest spatula atop the armoire, Charles isn't) and ‘switched places’ (Syd put on Charles' ruby red pony tail band; easy enough swap). And Syd lost his head so Charles and Lucie could keep their Sunday brunch appointment after the game. Heroic stuff, though Syd did have a T.O. moment as the fourth quarter wound down, saying his play was ‘the best thing ever done’ or something, but you can’t argue it’s losing with style.

Below, Charles Dickens contemplates his bad goal-keeping in a Authors vs Publishers friendly in Cheltenham:

Go ahead and talk about winners like Charles if you have to, but the real story is Syd's severed head in the French-made basket of wicker.

LOSER OF THE WEEK: NORTH CAROLINA
Some say #7 South Carolina is the real USC this year, only losing on the road to LSU. And North Carolina (2-5), whose baby blue is looking better and better on the green gridiron, has now lost three close calls this season. Dominated in the first half (down 3-21), NC’s defense made halftime tweaks (big ones) and gave up only a single first down on the first series of the second half. And the offense, led by redshirt freshman QB TJ Yates, outgained SC 398 to 282 yards on the day. Alas, many missed chances for NC — a field goal, a dropped TD pass, a missed blocked punt, turnover on downs at the SC 10, an interception at the SC 6, a Hail Mary pass that didn’t reach the endzone — stopped short a 12-point fourth quarter rally that pulled baby blue within six. NC Coach Butch Davis (who has beaten cancer and his former team Miami this year) likened it to a Charles Dickens novel, a horrible first half, a good second one. ‘I hope they take [the close loss] as encouragement,’ and assistant coach Chuck Pagano said the loss was the team’s ‘finest performance of the season.’ A loss!

Meanwhile, SC coach Steven Spurrier talked about their second-half ‘run, run crap’ offense. He last won in Chapel Hill with nearby rival Duke in 1989, a shocking 41-0 beat-down of Mack Brown’s Tarheel. By the way, Spurrier called Mack ‘Mr Football’ and slashed the clap-clap coach for focusing on ‘recruiting and public relations, rather than play-calling and strategy.’ That's funny.

North Carolina lost 15-21.

LoW PENALTY BOX
Ties Overtime can be fun, but there needs to be a time to say ‘enough, this is getting ridiculous.’ Boise State — and raise your hand if you’re not sick of this team — needed four overtimes on their pukish blue field to beat lowly 2-5 Nevada 69-67. ESPN analyst Bill Curry said, ‘Three overtimes are enough. It bothers me that the big guys start to get hurt after playing that many downs.’ Actually he’s right. Let them have two or three overtimes, then call it a tie.
USA Today/Coaches Poll Remains in the box for another two weeks for putting Southern California at #7 a week ago (they dropped them to #9 this week after needing a fourth-quarter comeback to beat 1-5 Arizona, at home).

THIS WEEK'S BEST THINGS OF ALL TIME

Discovery of water
Kentucky’s bounce-back overtime win over LSU
The debut of Louisville’s defense, in a 28-24 win over previously undefeated Cincy.
The spoof of Mike Gundy’s rant by an Oklahoma car dealership; this thing is far from tired.
Discovery of fire

LoW CRYSTAL BALL
Next week’s best losers will be Navy, who is quietly putting together a pretty good season but will fall short in a rally at home against Wake Forest, and Auburn who will keep LSU in the teens, but not get enough offense to pull off a Florida/LSU duofecta.

PAST LoW LOSERS
Last week’s loser Florida Atlantic took the week off to trim their coaches moustache.

One the year, LoW Losers Record after their attention-getting loss:

Central Florida 2-2
Duke 0-2
Florida Atlantic 0-0
Norfolk State 4-0
Oregon 1-0
Texas Tech 3-0
Tulsa 2-1
Total Low Losers 12-5

LoW ARCHIVE

Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6

Would you pay 360 Mil for 17 RBI?

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 11:52:37 EDT

Ok. This is just sick. Just sick.

Scott "gold digger" Boras apparently wants to find A-Rod a 12 year deal somewhere in Major league Baseball. And if it's true that he's looking for somewhere out of the ballpark of 30 mil per year A-Rod and some unbelievably stupid team will be looking at a 360 million dollar price tag.

Are you kidding me? Is Boras blind? Has he never been to a post season baseball game that his client plays in? Does he actually think some team will even pick up the receiver?

The saddest part about this is that Boras raised the bar when he got the Rangers to bite on 250 million and everyone thought that size contract would never get signed. But it did. And A-Rod has since been the most hated athlete in baseball. 360 million is just another contract to scoff at. And yet some stupid GM and President is going to fall for this ridiculously gargantuan contract. Then five years in (just about the time every other team has figured it out) they will see that A-Rod is a great athlete who doesn't win SHIT! So as a GM you will be paying 360 million to sell some jerseys and have lots of articles written about how stupid you are and what an egregious mistake you made.

Let's be honest; for the money spent on A-Rod, he has not come close to paying any team back. And if/when this stunning contract gets picked up by some team I swear to never talk about that team in any sports related endeavor...ever.

Torre The Wrong Man For The Job

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 15:44:46 EDT

Mariano Rivera, Johnny Damon, Derek Jeter, and Andy Pettitte say they love Joe Torre. Roger Clemens cited Torre’s presence as one of his reasons for returning to the Bronx. Brian Cashman supports the man as well, but I don’t! Here’s why…

Torre’s strengths will not fit the 2008 Yankees. He is regarded as a man who manages egos exceptionally well. He can deal brilliantly with the media, make sure everyone gets along, keep the clubhouse calm when players want to panic. You’ve heard it all. But can he actually manage?

I’ve always believed he’s been good for the Yankees because Steinbrenner has given him the best talent in baseball and all Joe Torre had to do was guide them to the World Series.

In 2008, things will change. The Yankees won’t rely on veteran starting pitchers anymore. It’s not David Cone, Roger Clemens, El Duque, and David Wells. Pettitte remains (probably), but the fate of the ’08 Yankees will rest on the arms of Ian Kennedy (19 Major League innings), Phil Hughes (72.2 innings) and Joba Chamberlain (24 innings). Perhaps we’ll see more of Ross Ohlendorf, Edwar Ramirez, and others we haven’t heard of yet. The Yankees need a guy who can develop young pitchers. I’m not saying Torre can’t do that, but I’m not saying he can either. There is one guy who I know can do that – Joe Girardi. Girardi’s work with the Marlins in 2006 was remarkable.

Don’t forget that Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera figure to be two of the most important players next year as well. Giambi is washed up. Posada is a terrible defender and a lifetime .236 postseason hitter. Damon is clearly on the decline. Matsui might be as well. We could probably say the same thing for Abreu. All of the aforementioned veterans, excluding Posada, were injured in 2007. The Yankees need to get younger. They need to (dare I say it…) rebuild a little, and they need a manager that fits. Joe Girardi fits.

Weekend of Classics in the SEC

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 13:15:08 EDT

The SEC started the week early with a Thursday night shocker in South Carolina. Steve Spurrier and the South Carolina Gamecocks dominated the Kentucky Wildcats on both the offensive and defensive sides of the field. While it was nothing special to watch a Spurrier led offense put up 38 points, it was amazing to see the Wildcats limited to only 23. It was the first time all year that the Wildcats were unable to score over 40 points. Heisman hopeful, Andrew Woodson, appeared so confused and out of rhythm that he gave up his first interception in over 300 attempts and amounted for negative 49 yards rushing with one fumble. Both errors led to South Carolina Gamecock touchdowns by defensive end Eric Norwood.

With this in mind, I found myself pondering Friday evening who the defensive coordinator for the Gamecocks was. After some research, also known as a google search, I came up with the name Tyrone Nix. I then proceeded to circle, highlight, and make 100 copies of everything I could find on Nix in hopes that I had just discovered the next under the radar replacement for whichever head coaching position decides to open up in the next few years. A seemingly touching moment occurred at the end of the game when Spurrier walked over to Nix and congratulated him on a good game. The offensive mastermind actually went over to his defensive coordinator and recognized him as a contributing factor to his success?! It's true however, that it has been easy for Spurrier to look like an offensive genius when his opponents aren't putting any numbers up on the board. Knowing your defense is capable of stopping your opponent makes it easy for you to call trick plays despite having benched your senior quarterback starter for a freshman backup.

Another SEC East showdown pitted the Tennessee Volunteers against the Georgia Bulldogs. Despite being ranked in the top 25, Georgia was actually three point underdogs in this heated rivalry. The odds makers proved once again that they get paid well for a reason, as Tennessee routed Georgia, 35 - 14. What was even more impressive was the way the Volunteers dominated the Bulldogs on the ground, handing it off to three different players at least five times while amounting for 190 yards. Fulmer must have finally realized that he is going to have to stop relying on Ainge throwing the ball over 40 times for 300 yards a game to win, limiting him to a season low 22 passing attempts. After watching the Bulldogs amazing comeback against the Crimson Tide and the Volunteers stumble ]against their previously ranked opponents, I actually found this game to be the true SEC shocker of the week. Of course no one remembered watching this blowout because they were busy discussing the back and forth nail bitter that took place later that evening.

While my SEC shocker of the week might have been the Volunteers bashing over the Bulldogs, it was the LSU / Florida game that really had fans shaking in their seats. The outcome wasn't a surprise, as most people predicted that the experienced LSU Tigers would be victorious over the young Florida Gators, however, you really had to watch this game live to understand the entire story. The Tigers went into the half down by ten and it took a risky run on fourth and one by the situational quarterback, Ryan Perriloux, for them to score their lone touchdown of the half. Les Miles went into the locker room searching for a way to not only stop the Gators Tim Tebow but to get his team into the end zone. It was right then and there that Les Miles must have decided that if the Tigers were going to beat the Gators and be the number one team in the nation, then he had to pull every trick out of his hat.

The comeback started on the Tigers first possession of the second half. Miles opted to go for it on fourth and five on the Gators 25 yard line instead of kicking a field goal that would have put the Tigers within seven. The risk paid off and the Tigers went on to score a touchdown. Tebow and the Gators responded with a touchdown on the following possession, however, there was just so much they could do against the Tigers that continued to go for it on fourth down three more times, regardless of the score or the situation they were in. The last Tiger drive of the game lasted a whopping eight minutes. Those eight minutes must have seemed like a decade for the young Florida defense that was fighting for to keep the upset alive.

On that drive the Tigers converted two fourth down conversions in Gator territory. A field goal could have tied the game at 24 a piece; however Miles refused to go for anything less then six points. The two conversions paid off as the Tigers went on to score and put their team four points ahead of the Gators with less then two minutes left in the game. The momentum had completely left the Gators and Tebow had run out of magic. This game will most likely be remembered as the game of the year. Both these teams put everything out on the field and on another day it could have gone the other way. It will be interesting to see if the Gators are able to pull things together the rest of the year and make it to the SEC championship game in what hopes to be an amazing rematch of this SEC classic. If your like me and can't seem to get enough coverage of the SEC, check out these articles written by Ron Higgins.

SEC midseason report

SEC team-by-team midseason report

Photos courtesy Chris Granger / Times-Picayune and www.nola.com/lsu, collegefootball.rivals.com, www.abc.com and Chuck Cook / Times-Picayune and ww.nola.com/lsu

Brent and Dave Host Fast Lane Daily

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 12:48:39 EDT

Check out Brent and Dave hosting Fast Lane Daily yesterday!

If you are into cars and car news go to www.fastlanedaily.com Fast and Fresh Everyday!

Shaping the 2008 Yankees

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 10:33:38 EDT

So now that I've sufficiently grieved for the end of the 2007 Yankee season, I can start thinking about next year. And there a lot of issues to sort out before pitchers and catchers report in four short months.

First of all, who's going to manage this team? I'm actually in the minority about Joe Torre; which is to say I think they should keep him around. The guy gets them to the playoffs every year, he handles a room full of multi millionaires - who all love him - and he's a beloved figure in New York. It's not his fault the Yankees have had the worst pitching of all the AL playoff teams the last few years. More on that later.

I would say the one criticism I have of Joe is the way he burns out his bullpen. He's done it to Nelson, Stanton, Sturtze, Villone, Proctor and more. And of course the big fear is that if Torre returns - and Chamberlain stays in the pen - he would do it to Joba as well. But it seems Chamberlain is headed to the starting rotation and Torre is headed out the door, so I guess it doesn't really matter.

As far as his replacement, I think the Yanks should stay in house and hire Joe Girardi. He's managed before, and won. He knows the Yankees and the fans love him. I don't want to see Tony LaRussa wearing those sunglasses in the Yankees dugout next year. Let's keep it in the family, please.

On to A-Rod. Here's what I say: "See ya." So let me get this straight. The guy once again is lousy in the playoffs (he got a few hits, but none of them were big). He left a boatload of guys on base and killed a few rallies against Cleveland. At times he looked really nervous at the plate. And now he's going to opt out and ask for a raise? Why? So he can have a great regular season, beat up on KC's and Texas' pitchers, and then choke in the playoffs again? Let's face it, the guy is NEVER going to be good for the Yankees in the postseason. So, cut your losses, find a cheaper replacement and spend your money on pitching!

That's right: pitching. Nothing has killed the Yankees more in the playoffs the last few years than their pitching staff. When the postseason rolls around, every other team has starters that can neutralize the Yankee bats. But the Yanks don't have anyone who can do the same. There is no Beckett or Sabathia or Carmona. Hasn't been for years.

Dontrelle Willis wants out of Florida. Go get him. Then add one more guy, turn Chamberlain into a starter, give Phil Hughes a full season and let's see what happens. And please ... NO MORE MIKE MUSSINA. I mean seriously, what's the point?

Lastly, I'd think about some youth in the outfield; particularly left field. Let's admit, Matsui and Damon aren't getting any younger; or faster; or healthier; or better. Watching them try and chase down fly balls this season was very painful. And, of course, watching Damon throw the ball is even worse.

So there are a couple of suggestions for next year's Yankees. And since Brian Cashman may get fired too, perhaps I'll call Steinbrenner and throw my hat in the ring for GM. I mean, I can go seven years without winning a World Series. How hard is that?

Cubs Eulogizing

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 09:00:00 EDT

Another year of Cubs optimism turned sour

If this young fall season has reiterated anything to us as sports fans, it is the utter hell that is the existence of a Cubs fan. Another year, another tease. Another year started off in spring with bitter cynicism, melted by humid summer months of good play, then refrozen by a fall collapse.

And I get to do it all again next year. Hello, I am a Cubs fan, and this is my plight. Gather round all you Cardinals, Astros and White Sox fans, gather around and bask in our misery. It's bad enough that Cubs fans have to endure season after season of promising futility, two of the three rivals of the team have won a championship the last five years.

Let's wallow in the futility by guaging which collapse was more painful

So how to go about eulogizing this Cubs season, the most promising since the Bartman-fueled debacle of 2003? It certainly wasn't one that started with much hope. If most Cubs fans are like me we were hopeful about Mark Cuban buying the team before the season started, with dreams of lavish free agent spending and an owner's passion to win that makes Steinbrenner look ambivalent and nonchalant. Of course, the hope is still there that Cubes will get ownership and reverse the tightwad spending of the Tribune company, but it's hard for Cubs fans to dare to hope. We've been burned too many times before.

Of course, there are similarities here to the 2003 debacle. Namely that the Cubs were bounced both times by relatively new expansion teams with relatively small fanbases. Not to use it as a measure of what teams deserve success but let's face it, the 2003 Marlins brought that championship home to roughly 25 fans. The next year, the stands were still empty. They didn't deserve it. Cubs fans do. Diamonback fans, I hope you enjoy it more than they did.

I never thought I would be more teased by the Cubs than I was in 2003, though. To be fair, pound for pound, that 2003 was far more talented than the 2007 team. So in a way, the 2003 season should have been more disappointing, correct? Wrong. This season seemed like destiny. It was that "magic in the air" feeling that swept over us following the rise from last to first in the division from April 20th to August 2nd, a ride peppered with ups and downs but always hopefully, steadily climbing up. Which they did.

It's enough to make a grown Cubs fan cry....

It was a season that teased us with Prior's return and then his re-exiting. Oh, Prior, where art thou? You were so good. One of the most promising rookie pitchers I'd ever seen. Please come back to stay. At least Kerry Wood came back, and at least that stuck, even as a closer.

If there is one upside to this season over the crushing crash of the 2003 collapse it is that it leaves more promise in it's wake. The end of the 2003 season felt like a death knell, the players and fans mentally and physically defeated by the event. (Although, it certainly looks right now like Lofton has recovered just fine.) Year of the Bartman closed like the final act of a sad movie: the fans and organization knew the skipper had to go, Sosa was at the end of his effectiveness, free-agents were leaving, and the two star pitchers were about to go down a long road of injuries. Looking back with in retrospection, it was one of the saddest moments in my life as a sports fan. Unbridled promise had given way to spectacular failure and despressing storylines.

Piniella: better than advertised.

This time, at least, there is the tricky position of the Cubs fan to still be hopeful, a position we are quite uncomfortable with. We still have Zambrano (please don't get hurt.) Piniella worked out better than anyone thought it would. We still have Soriano, Lee, and some very interesting young players who now have pennant-chase and playoff experience.

It may be small comfort in the face of another long offseason of reflection, and another year to get up for next year. But we will do it all over again and hope for the best. We are Cubs fans. Just don't break our hearts again. I don't know how many more we can take.

The New City of Brotherly Love: Tampa, Florida

Tue, 09 Oct 2007 18:46:57 EDT

I can’t imagine he’d say “yes,” but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have to at least try to convince Tiki Barber to come back. They’ve called Corey Dillon, who is half the running back Tiki Barber is (actually double in size but half in ability). They might want to consider giving Eric Rhett a call too. I mean, there is no way he's busy.

But seriously, there is only one team that might be able to rip those fancy suits off Tiki Barber and put him back in a uniform. Only one team could get him out of the studio and into the locker room. That team is Tampa Bay because Tiki’s brother, Ronde, still plays there.

Plus, the Bucs are 3-2. They’re in first place, tied with Carolina (which just lost its starting quarterback for the season). And, I’ve confirmed by looking at their official website, Tom Coughlin does NOT coach the Buccaneers.

If Tampa Bay could pull this off and reunite the brothers Barber, they would have to go out and sign both of the Grammaticas. Have Martin handle kickoffs, and Bill can do the extra points and field goals. And they both can dance after touchdowns! Jeff Garcia is a solid quarterback, but he needs a backup. Actually, he needs four. They should be: Matt Hasselbeck, Tim Hasselbeck, Ty Detmer, and Koy Detmer.

I believe in team chemistry, and there is no better way to build chemistry than construct a roster of siblings.

So it’s a great fit. Won’t happen. Never. Ever. But fun to think about.

Oh and one last thing. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to sign Cooper Manning… just in case.

Let's Go Yanks!

Mon, 08 Oct 2007 12:32:17 EDT

We are down, but not out. Wounded, but not dead. Endangered, but not extinct. Pick any of those expressions and that about sums up the state of my Yankees right now.

With last night's impressive victory, the Yanks ensured there will be something to watch tonight other than the Cowboys-Bills snoozefest and "Dancing With the Stars." And with Chen Min taking the hill against Paul Byrd, I have to admit, optimism abounds right now. In fact, I'm already making plans to watch Pettitte vs Sabathia in game 5.

Why the optomism? Many reasons. Wang is great at home (almost 2 runs per game better than he is on the road). A Rod is ready to take over ... yes, I did write that. I'm telling you he is gonna get hot. Cano is swinging the bat well. Damon is a money player. And, I truly believe the Yanks will fight to keep Joe Torre's job. The players love the guy and Steinbrenner's ultimatum is no doubt giving them more motivation. Of course, it wouldn't surprise me one bit if that was George's plan all along.

I am a bit concerned with the two innings Chamberlain threw last night. He looked a bit tired toward the end and labored to get through the eighth. Not sure if he is available tonight, but with the Joba rules out the window and Torre's penchant for overusing his bullpen, expect to see the big guy out there in a close game. Same with Rivera. He ptiched the ninth yesterday, but didn't expend much energy and should be good to go.

So all that said, I see no reason why the Yanks shouldn't pummel the Tribe tonight and set up a do or die game 5 at the Jake. And as long as those freaking gnats stay away, I still expect a Yanks-Sox ALCS. And that, my friends, never gets old.

Loser of the Week (Week Six)

Mon, 08 Oct 2007 09:26:49 EDT

In college football, Friday night is for the loser, or a TV show, or the seriously moustached

Friday Night Lights — a TV show — kicked off its second season Friday. ‘Inspired’ by the H.G. Bissinger book of the same name, and set in real-deal Texas, it follows a fictional high school football team’s courting and fast-food habits, but is apparently cutting back on the football to see if it critically loved show can actually draw in some viewers. (As if the subtlety will change the perception of it being a ‘football show.)

The sad thing is the actual Friday tradition is slowly starting to lose some ground, as ESPN is creeping its college-game grasp to the night normally known for high-school play. Some high-school coaches are ticked off. Norman, Oklahoma, coach Butch Peters likened an Oklahoma/Tulsa game a couple Fridays ago to a ‘tragedy,’ saying ‘it’s going to kill a lot of gates, a lot of crowds.’

Purists can be happy that a curse is in place. Several ranked or biggish teams playing the taboo Friday night are losing. Last year’s Orange Bowl champs Louisville lost to Utah at home, #5 West Virginia could barely score at #18 South Florida, #4 Oklahoma got by Tulsa (but lost a mystifying on-the-road game at Colorado a week later), Rutgers’ win over Navy ignited a controversy over last-year’s media darling Scarlet Knights (and they’ve now lost two straight to underdogs), and pre-season hyped Oklahoma State fell to three-legged-bunny Troy.

Justice? High school curse? Or TV ploys to get more viewers of the NBC TV show? Loser of the Week (LoW) says ‘all of the above.’

Loser of the Week: Florida Atlantic
Everyone’s high on surprising South Florida (an 11-year-old program, now in the top five) except little FAU (a six-year-old program named for owls and coached by the belligerently moustached Howard Schnellenberger). A week off its mild upset of West Virginia, and a 17-point favorite, South Florida survived a fumbled punt with 10 minutes remaining and holding a 21-17 lead when a questionable call gave the ball back to the SoFlo bulls. The Bulls then scored on a 54-yard TD run, then FAU bounced back with a 80-yard drive and stopping SoFlo on two three-and-outs. But FAU wouldn’t get another first down, and turned the ball over late on downs, allowing SoFlo a cosmetic TD with 29 seconds left.

Schnellenger said it was ‘sweet’ that no team had played the Bulls better than they had. And SoFlo coach Jim Leavitt was ‘really proud’ of his team’s ‘handling adversity in this environment.’ (Um attendance barely broke 21,000.) FAU (3-3), who barely beat winless North Texas, showed us that SoFlo isn’t going to hold onto that rank long if they consider the palm-lined high-school sized stadium at FAU hostile territory.

FAU lost 23-35.

LoW Penalty Box
Instant Replay Anyone notice it isn’t working? Missouri’s rout of Nebraska should have been worse. A ruled incomplete TD in the first half showed a toe-tapping receiver clearly land in the end zone; replay officials confirmed the call. Later LSU enigmatically challenged the spot on a Florida 10-yard kick-off return. The runner’s foot was near the sideline, but no shown video (aka ‘indisputable evidence’) indicated he stepped out. Replay officials reversed the spot, marking Florida out. Oh, and credit Oklahoma nation for not bickering all last week about a ruled-complete first-down pass late in the Colorado loss in week five. Replay official said it was trapped, shocking TV announcers and anyone watching the game. It’s not that hard, is it?
USA Today/Coaches Poll Following USC’s loss to a second-string quarterback making his first start for the six-TD underdog Stanford on USC’s field, the only question is whether this or Michigan’s loss to Appalachian State is the ‘greatest upset of all time.’ Many side with this one. Not the Coaches Poll, which dropped USC six cuddly spots to #7! The same poll sent Michigan packing, from #5 to out of the Top 25, after the close App State defeat.

→ LoW puts this poll in the penalty box for three weeks, or until LoW HQ receives an apology.

Past LoW Losers
Week 5 Losers: Duke nearly bounced back with a big second-half to narrowly lose to Wake Forest 36-41. Oregon had the week off. Of the teams who beat them in week five, Miami surprisingly lost to North Carolina and Cal had the week off.

On the year, LoW Losers Record after their attention-getting loss:

Central Florida 2-1
Duke 0-1
Norfolk State 3-0
Oregon 0-0
Texas Tech 2-0
Tulsa 1-1

LoW Archive
Week 5
Week 4
Week 3

Statement Game

Thu, 04 Oct 2007 10:14:59 EDT

The Red Sox began their post season run the way every team wishes they could, with a complete domination in every phase of the game over the Angels.

Beckett showed his Cy Young stuff. Complete game, 4 hits, 8 strikeouts, and kept the bullpen completely silent. That is how you want every ace on your squad to start a series. He made the Angels look defeated from about the second inning on.

The Red Sox just seemed to have everything working. The offense, while not putting up a ton of runs, put guys on base in the early innings and made Lackey make a lot of pitches in the first few innings. And the offense worked the way you want it to. Youk's bat wakes up with a big HR in the first. Big Papi shows his stuff with a towering wrap around the pole.

The defense played great when they had to. Lowell had a couple of great stops. And just when Francona needed to, he puts Ellsbury in left where he immediately makes a spectacular grab to stop any sort of Angels momentum.

As a fan, this is the game you want to see. The Red Sox played mediocre ball since the all star break, but last night they put MLB on notice. There is a reason they have the best record in baseball. When it's working they have all phases of the game covered, and they are the best team in baseball.

And I must say it is a relief as a Red Sox fan to feel confident. It's not a familiar feeling. In fact, I've only felt it off and on since the start of the '04 World Series.
But last night's game was exciting and had to make the hobbling Angels team and fans very nervous.

Oh yeah, Dave and I used the same pic. in our blogs. Do you think he has a little pitcher envy?

Josh Beckett - Playoff Stopper

Thu, 04 Oct 2007 09:27:11 EDT

The MLB playoffs are underway, and what a way to start! A good pitching performance by Jeff Francis, a great pitching performance by Brandon Webb and a dominating pitching performance by Josh Beckett.

As a Yankee fan, it pains me beyond belief to write this, but Josh Beckett is the most dominant pitcher in baseball right now. He throws a complete game shutout, strikes out eight and gives up only four hits. At one point, he retired 19 batters in a row.

He has three shutouts in six postseason starts (including his last two appearances) and a 1.74 playoff E.R.A. He was the 2003 World Series MVP and threw a shutout in game 6 of that series to clinch it. Simply put, when the spotlight shines, Beckett brings his A game.

With the Red Sox choosing the longer divsion series format, Beckett will pitch game 4 on his normal rest. So you can pretty much pencil that in as a win. Which means the Angels have to win EVERY game Beckett doesn't pitch in this series. Not like that's any pressure or anything. I see the Sox winning this series in a sweep and having a fully rested Beckett ready for game 1 of the ALCS. Yikes!

As far as the NL, not quite time for the Cubs and Phillies to hit the panic button, but it's getting close. That was a tough one for the Phillies to lose. At home, crazy crowd, Cole Hamels on the mound. But a lack of clutch hitting did them in, including four strikeouts from Chase Utley. And as for the Rockies, 15 wins in their last 16 games. And, by the way, how good is Matt Holliday? He could be the most exciting player in baseball.

Finally, got to like the D'Backs chances. Is it possible that JD isn't the best Drew in the playoffs? His younger brother Stephen had a huge game last night. A homer and two flat out awesome defensive plays. And that's how the Diamondbacks win. Good defense, a timely hit here and there and solid pitching. And since you have to like Webb's chances to win game 5 at home on full rest, the Cubs - like the Angels - have to win all the other games. Good luck, sweet Lou.

Today the playoffs continue and we see which A-Rod shows up. I'm predicitng big things from the Yankee slugger. We'll see soon enough.

College Football's Winter Madness 2006

Wed, 03 Oct 2007 13:47:44 EDT

As promised, this weeks post predicts how last years National Championship would have panned out, had my Winter Madness playoff system been used. If you didn't catch last weeks post click here for an explanation as to how the playoff is set up and how each team was selected to have gained the right to play in it.

After watching last years bowl games it's obvious to point out that a few teams lived up to the hype they had received all year while others didn't. For those of you that have forgotten, both highly over ranked Ohio State and Michigan were only a few votes short of playing each other for the National Championship. Only after Urban Meyers Florida Gators had won the SEC Championship had voters changed their minds about a possible Ohio State vs. Michigan rematch, catapulting the Gators into the National Title game. It was only then, that voters had realized what a colossal mistake they had almost made. We learned that the real teams that deserved all the praise and glory weren't from the Big Ten but rather USC, UF, LSU, Boise State and other big bowl game winners. With all of this in mind I was able to come up with the team that I truly felt had sported the best team in the land last year.

Despite the loss to the Gators I decided that team was the LSU Tigers. As a true Gator fan I can happily admit that last year the Tigers beat themselves when the faced off against the Gators in the Swamp. It wasn't due to the outstanding play of the Gators and I was thrilled that we didn't have to play them again in the SEC Championship game. If the Tigers had received a more favorable SEC road schedule there is no doubt in my mind they would have gone undefeated. A playoff would have proven that and that's why I have the LSU Tigers as the 2006 Winter Madness National Champions. Feel free to see below how the Tigers would have made it to the final game.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Final Four

USC

vs. (Played at a rotating Bowl Game)

Notre Dame

USC

vs. (Fiesta, Orange, Rose or Sugar Bowl)

LSU

Louisville

vs. (Played at a rotating Bowl Game)

LSU

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Western Conference

Rose Bowl Division

Big 10 Champion -Ohio State

vs. (Played at a rotating Bowl Game)

MWC Champion - BYU

Ohio State

vs. (Played at the Rose Bowl)

USC

PAC 10 Champion - USC

vs. (Played at a rotating Bowl Game)

At large opponent - Michigan

Fiesta Bowl Division

Big 12 Champion - Oklahoma

vs. (Played at a rotating Bowl Game)

WAC Champion - Boise State

Boise State

vs. (Played at the Fiesta Bowl)

Notre Dame

MAC Champion - Central Michigan

vs. (Played at a rotating Bowl Game)

At large opponent - Notre Dame

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Eastern Conference

Orange Bowl Division

Big East Champion - Louisville

vs. (Played at a rotating Bowl Game)

At large opponent - West Virginia

West Virginia

vs. (Played at the Orange Bowl)

Virginia Tech

ACC Champion - Wake Forest

vs. (Played at a rotating Bowl Game)

At large opponent - Virginia Tech

Sugar Bowl Division

SEC Champion - Florida

vs. (Played at a rotating Bowl Game)

Conference USA Champion - Houston

Florida

vs. (Played at the Sugar Bowl)

LSU

Southern Belt Champion - Troy

vs. (Played at a rotating Bowl Game)

At large opponent - LSU

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Above photos and images are courtesy of http://dynamic.si.cnn.com, http://www.nonbot.com, http://www.home-team-sports.com/

Loser of the Week (Week 5)

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 14:00:04 EDT

Sometimes it takes divine intervention to beat college football's loser of the week, or Duke

How much money is spent on wild, half-baked predictions from the barrel-chested reservoir of underworked college football analysts who bounce off whatever ESPN’s storylines are for the week? Actually, I don't want to know. Often college-football media's belligerent, don’t-dare-doubt declarative statements (eg ‘no one in the Big 12 can compete with Oklahoma, particularly in the north’) prove plain dumb. What’s worse is how it’s followed with equally declarative statements the other way (eg OU is 'soft and untested').

Rather than bicker, the Loser of the Week (LoW) joins the fracas with three declarative statements to read, believe, laminate and refer to (often). They are law, or until proven dumb next week.

Polls should debut after five weeks. We now, and for the first time all year, have the ability to rank teams. Compare pre-season Top 5 with current rank on the AP poll: #1 USC (now #2), #2 LSU (#1), #3West Virginia (#13), #4 Texas (#19), #5 Michigan (not ranked). It only gets crazier the farther down you look.
Young QBs are young QBs. Tim Tebow, Colt McCoy and Sam Bradford for Heisman? All have been mentioned in Heisman talk that starts a month or two before the season starts. All have already lost to double-digit underdogs (two at home). Freshmen and sophomore QBs tend to show their inexperience a time or three each season. LoW rule: Don’t bill anyone as Heisman favorite until after they've had time to prove their promise.
Quietly, Ohio State is set for championship game. Who would have thought the Sweater-vest Buckeyes could rebound after the humiliating national-championship game last year? Off-the-radar from the get-go, and winning games with only a weak-ish Big 10 to go, they have (per LoW's underworked analysis) the best chance of the unbeatens to reach New Orleans that way.

Now back to glorious losing.

LoW 2nd String: Oregon
With half of the Top 15 losing this week, one surely has earned the ability to walk away head high, right? It’s Oregon, who played the best team of the Top 15 Losers (#6 California), led early in the fourth quarter, but gave up three turnovers on its last three possessions of the game, and still were 17 inches from a thrilling game-tying TD when receiver Cameron Colvin reached toward the goal line and fumbled the ball for a touch back to Cal. Dennis Dixon showed bounce-back-ability throughout the quarter, following a fumbled kick-off with a long drive for a game-tying TD, then his season’s first INTs (back-to-back) with a long drive that nearly tied it up as time ticked out. Oregon dropped only three spots in the rankings.

But the losing hero of the day is the Duck fans. Some 6000 fans — some camping out — greeted the sunrise for the 7am start to ESPN’s GameDay broadcast, a wilder spectacle than we've seen at eastern-time zone games all year. And Autzen Stadium — branded with Oregon’s ‘O’ logo (why don’t more stadiums have that?) — feels small with 60,000 seats, yet has recorded the loudest crowd noise in the country.

Oregon lost 24-31.

LoW Starter: Duke
Duke hadn’t scored a point in the fourth quarter all year. And Blue Devil football fans (I think there are some) must’ve been shaking their heads when Duke gave up a fumble and pass-interference call that led to a Miami fourth-quarter TD in the Orange Bowl. Miami up, 17-7: game over! Not yet. Duke, who ended a 22-game losing streak against Northwestern two weeks ago, drove 65 yards in two-and-a-half minutes on the ‘Cane defense (a week off their barnstorming win over Texas A&M) to close the gap to 14-17. Their defense answered too, stopping Miami and a 3rd and 1 and 4th and 1 on Duke’s 31, and Duke’s offense — led by Miami native Thad Lewis (who passed for 247 yards on the day) — drove to the Miami 30. Because Duke’s field-goal kicker was injured, they didn’t ask their punter to try a game-tying 47-yarder into the wind. Duke went for it on 4th and 5, and Lewis was sacked. Miami then drove for a game-clenching TD with two minutes remaining. Still, Miami had to sweat it out as Duke ran back the kick-off 70 yards.

According to an AP story, Miami running back Graig Cooper said, “I was praying to God, ‘Please don’t let us lose to this team.’” Duke’s last visit to the Orange Bowl ended with a 7-52 loss. This time, apparently, it took divine intervention for the Miami win. That’s losing well.

Duke lost 24-24.

LoW Penalty Box
Oklahoma’s Time-Out decision-maker. Before Colorado set up for the game-winning field goal, they let the clock tick down from 0:25 to 0:02 remaining. OU didn’t use their last time out to preserve a little miracle time. Last week Sooner DeMarco Murray ran a kick-off back for a TD. Why not save a few seconds for him just in case you need them? Turns out they did.

LoW Gives Thanks
The finest moment in sports since the 'Miracle on Ice' (during the 1980 Winter Olympics) came last week when Okie State coach Mike Gundy unleashed a stunning, Shakespearian tirade against a local sports writer. The length of Outkast's 'Hey Ya,' it is simply the press-conference equivalent of the perfect pop song. It's all there: ebbs and flows, rising tensions, the soft spoken follow by the belt-out scream, surprising twists, and the pay-off closer ('this makes me want to puke'). What's underrated in this masterpiece is that Gundy began it by saying who gave him the article, 'a mother of children.' Fond of his parental role (to his kids, his players), Gundy returned for a quieter press conference this Saturday with HIS SON NEXT TO HIM!

This is borderline art, and LoW thanks Gundy for making the ever-dry-and-dull post-game chat entertaining. We may not watch your Cowboys play, but we'll definitely tune in after the game.

Past LoW Losers
Week 4 Losers: Tulsa rebounded to beat UAB, 38-30. And Texas Tech blew out Northwestern State (who?) , 75-7. By the way, teams who have beaten past LoW Losers were 1-3 this week (with the lone win against a division-two team at home).

On the year, LoW Losers record after their attention-getting loss:

Central Florida 2-0
Norfolk State 2-0
Texas Tech 1-0
Tulsa 1-0

LoW Archive

Week 3

Week 4

It's All About the N.L.

Fri, 28 Sep 2007 11:58:05 EDT

Wow! What a weekend of National League Baseball this is going to be! Unless of course you're a Mets fan.

With three games to play, check out these races:
* In the NL East, the Mets and the Phillies are tied
* In the NL Central, the Cubs lead the Brewers by 2 games
* In the NL West, the Diamondbacks lead the Padres by one and the Rockies by 2.

* And in the wildcard, the Padres lead the Mets, Phillies and Rockies by one precious little game.

This is INSANE! First of all, in the east, what's the deal with the Mets? They blew a 7 game lead in the last two weeks. How is that even possible? I'll tell you how. Inconsistent starting pitching, lousy relief pitching and no clutch hitting. Talk about a choke job in the making. If they blow this, say goodbye to Willie Randolph. As for this weekend, the Mets host the Marlins and the Phillies host the Nationals. Advantage Mets, just barely. But with Cole Hamels pitching tonight, and all the momentum, Philly's got to feel good right now.

Over in the central, the Cubs and the Brewers are both limping toward the finish line and neither is inspiring much confidence right now. The Cubs have lost three in a row and the Brew Crew's lost two. This weekend, the Cubs travel to Cincy while the Brewers host the Padres. Advantage Cubs ... you would think. But the Brewers are an excellent home team and the Cubbies are only 500 on the road. Plus, like I said, they're both playing poorly, so who knows.

And in the west, what's up with the Colorado Rockies? Two weeks ago, they were left for dead. But they've reeled off 11 wins in a row and are now in the thick of this thing. Talk about peaking at the right time. And they host the first place D'Backs in a HUGE three game series this weekend. Meanwhile, the team in the middle, the Padres, are hoping they can sweep the Brewers while Colorado and Arizona beat each other up.

So, three of these teams will win their divisions. One more will secure the wildcard. And as for the other three, they'll have plenty of time to reflect on what might have been. And just for the heck of it, here are my predictions. The Phillies win the East, the Cubs win the Central and the D'Backs barely hang on in the West. And the wildcard goes to ... drumroll please ... the hottest team in baseball, the Colorado Rockies! ... Oh, and the Mets fire everybody.

Now let's sit back and watch it all unfold.

Experiencing the METS!

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 13:14:40 EDT

I've been to more sports events in this last month that many people go to in a year. Ok, so that's a bold statement, but my point is, if you read my last post on my first Yankees Game, I'm here to tell you that I've stepped it up a notch and went to my first Mets game last night. How did it match up, you ask? Even though they didn't win, I had an awesome time! And here are my top 5 highlights from the game:

5. Nathan's Hot Dogs. Need I say more? (This puts Dodger Dogs to shame....)

4. Tony Batista's homerun in the first inning. Not so much for the fact that the National's scored (I would have rather it been Wright), its more the fact that the ball was about 10 feet from where we were sitting. And to think.... if I caught that ball.... not only would it have definitely broken my hand, but I'd be able to sell it on eBay for a lot of money. Just kidding.

3. David Wright.

2. Peanuts. Because you can't go to a baseball game and not eat peanuts. And apparently you can throw your peanut shells on the floor too!

1. My run in with all star Bleacher Blogger Dave Aizer. Since I'm a huge Bleacher Bloggers fan (obviously - I'm wearing a BB t shirt), I was absolutely thrilled to see Dave Aizer. He's just as awesome as he seems on the show! But where's Brent????

Sadly, we left the game at the top of the 8th inning... just to miss the "almost" comeback for the Mets. But I guess 'almost' doesn't count since we still lost 10-9. Still...great game overall!!!!!

And if you want details info on the game... check out the ESPN site.

College Football's New Playoff System

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 11:55:45 EDT

Throughout its existence the BCS has created more questions then it has solved answers. An alternative has been created by yours truly and its called Winter Madness! The new system is inspired by the current BCS system, College Basketballs playoff system and Division I-AA's current playoff system. The playoff is set up for 16 teams and a guaranteed invite will be given to all 11 Division I-A conference champions. The other five bids would be given to the top teams ranked according to the current BCS system.

To be fair to every conference the playoff is set up so that no more then two teams per conference can receive a bid to the playoff. I've figured that the top two teams from each conference would be the top qualified and no one really wants to see four SEC teams make it in every year. For everyone that is automatically tossing this out the window take note that Division I-AA currently has a 16 team playoff set up. Some people might also argue every conference doesn't have a championship game to determine their numero uno. In those cases each conference is given the right to determine in which ever way suits them who is given their bid to the playoff. That can be through complicated tie breakers or as real conferences like to handle it, on the field.

For increased hype the Fiesta, Orange, Rose and Sugar bowls are given their own division. The winners of the the major bowl games would then move on to a final four where they would battle it out to play for the National Championship game. The National Championship game will rotate around the four major bowl games each year, a concept taken from the added BCS National Championship game. To include other bowls the sweet sixteen game and final four are played by alternating bowl games each year.

For your enjoyment I've included the teams that would have been in this playoff system last year. Next week I will simulate how the playoff would have turned out last year and crown the Winter Madness National Champion! Feel free to leave your comments as to who you think should advance all the way to the final game.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Western Conference

Rose Bowl Division

Big 10 Champion -Ohio State

vs. (Played at a rotating Bowl Game)

MWC Champion - BYU

Winner of the above Sweet 16 game

vs. (Played at the Rose Bowl)

Winner of the below Sweet 16 game

PAC 10 Champion - USC

vs. (Played at a rotating Bowl Game)

At large opponent - Michigan

Fiesta Bowl Division

Big 12 Champion - Oklahoma

vs. (Played at a rotating Bowl Game)

WAC Champion - Boise State

Winner of the above Sweet 16 game

vs. (Played at the Fiesta Bowl)

Winner of the below Sweet 16 game

MAC Champion - Central Michigan

vs. (Played at a rotating Bowl Game)

At large opponent - Notre Dame

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Eastern Conference

Orange Bowl Division

Big East Champion - Louisville

vs. (Played at a rotating Bowl Game)

At large opponent - West Virginia

Winner of the above Sweet 16 game

vs. (Played at the Orange Bowl)

Winner of the below Sweet 16 game

ACC Champion - Wake Forest

vs. (Played at a rotating Bowl Game)

At large opponent - Virginia Tech

Sugar Bowl Division

SEC Champion - Florida

vs. (Played at a rotating Bowl Game)

Conference USA Champion - Houston

Winner of the above Sweet 16 game

vs. (Played at the Sugar Bowl)

Winner of the below Sweet 16 game

Southern Belt Champion - Troy

vs. (Played at a rotating Bowl Game)

At large opponent - LSU

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Final Four

Winner of the Rose Bowl Division

vs. (Played at a rotating Bowl Game)

Winner of the Fiesta Bowl Division

Western Conference Champion

vs. (Fiesta, Orange, Rose or Sugar Bowl)

Eastern Conference Champion

Winner of the Orange Bowl Division

vs. (Played at a rotating Bowl Game)

Winner of the Sugar Bowl division

Above photos and images are courtesy of http://www.nonbot.com, http://www.home-team-sports.com/

I'm Dave ... And I'm Addicted To Fantasy Football

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 10:38:55 EDT

Sunday was a beautiful day here in New York City. About 75 degrees, bright blue skies — just picture perfect. Not that I would know. I spent the whole day inside, torturing myself.

See, Sunday means NFL, which also means Fantasy Football. And (yes, I realize how truly pathetic this next sentence is going to sound) nothing makes me quite so emotional as my fantasy football teams.

My brother and cousin came over and the three of us sat on my couch watching scores and checking our laptops - ALL DAY. How lame! And the way we acted, you would have thought we lost millions of dollars in the stock market.

AVI: Damn it, Stephen Jackson fumbled again! He sucks.

DAVE: Enough already with Stephen Jackson. Lee Evans hasn't cought a friggin' pass all day.

ADAM: Crap!

AVI/DAVE: What?

ADAM: Anquan *&%^$&% Boldin just caught another touchdown. I'm dead!

AVI: I hate fantasy football.

DAVE: Me too. I'm over it. I give up.

ADAM: I think Evans just caught a pass.

DAVE: HE DID???? Nice!!!!

ADAM: No wait, it was Price.

And this went on for hours. Nevermind that my favorite team, the Jets, were about to win their first game. I can honestly say that for much of the day, I was more interested in charting the Jaguars defense and Torry Holt's YAC then I was with the Jets. In fact, had I been playing against Chad Pennington I probably would have rooted for the Jets to kick field goals. Can you believe that?!? I need an intervention.

But here's what's worse. And, although I say this every year, I mean it this time. Starting next season, I will ONLY PLAY IN ONE FANTASY FOOTBALL LEAGUE. This two league nonsense is torture. When you're rooting for Willis McGahee in one league, against him in another, and, oh by the way, he's playing the Jets, you need to stop. You need to close your laptop, walk away from the computer and get help. Now.

And for all those women who don't think their men are sensitive. You should hear our sob stories.

My cousin must have reminded me 100 times that he drafted Stephen Jackson and Drew Brees (both "brilliant" moves when he made them) and they both suck. And everytime he mentions it, I counter that I drafted Brandon Jacobs (I had a hunch) and Lee Evans (another hunch) and I want to sell my team and quit the league. And all of these stories basically go the same way. "I drafted great, I know everything, I should be winning my league, but my players are letting me down. It's not my fault, it's theirs." Obviously, we're all geniuses. Blame the players.

But it's not just us. Every owner has a sob story. Admit it, you walk around the office wondering how your L.T./Maurice Jones-Drew backfield isn't tearing up your league.

Think of how much work-time, girlfriend-time and exercise-time we lose with this nonsense. Trying to make trades and pick up free agents. Searching for a back-up tight end because L.J. Freaking Smith had surgery. Talk about futility.

So, that's it. I quit. I renounce fantasy football. ... Wait, the guy I play this weekend has Hines Ward? And he's doubtful? Nice! I'm back, baby!

Still A Lot To Play For In The A.L.

Tue, 25 Sep 2007 14:12:32 EDT

Less than a week to play for the Red Sox, Yankees, Indians, and Angels. They’re all making the playoffs. That’s the good news. Two teams will be on the road for Game 1. That’s the bad news. If you think there’s no reason to pay attention to the American League anymore, think again.

Sure, the AL lacks the drama of the senior circuit, where the Wild Card and all three divisions are still up for grabs. And sure, Wild Card teams have been able to win the World Series in the past, but home field advantage in the American League could be a huge factor this postseason.

Especially with the Angels.

As of Tuesday, the Angels are 54-27 at home (best in the big leagues) and 38-38 on the road. The Yankees have similar stats: 52-29 at home, 38-37 on the road. The Indians are far better at home (51-29) than on the road (41-34). Boston is the best road team in the American League playoff picture. The Sawx are 45-36 away from Fenway and 47-28 at home. Only the Mets have more road wins than Boston.

So with only two games separating these four teams in the standings, this final week is huge! The Yankees are at Tampa and Baltimore. The Red Sox host Oakland and Minnesota. The Angels are at Texas and at Oakland, and Cleveland is at Seattle and Kansas City. Tough to say which team has the easiest road, but it’s probably Cleveland’s league to win. The Yankees could easily win five of the next six games, too.

Of course, that doesn’t mean the Yankees are catching the Red Sox, but it does mean that Boston should NOT coast through its final six games. Hey Sox fans (including you, Brent), do you really want to go to Anaheim for a decisive game seven and have to deal with those rally monkeys?

Buckle up. Should be a good week.

Loser of the Week (Wk 4)

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 16:42:40 EDT

Everywhere you look it's 'Poor Notre Dame' — Hey, Don't Forget about College Football's Best Losers

Apparently the entire sports world was watching when ‘Loser of the Week’ debuted here a week ago. Instead of talking of great wins or surprisingly rising programs last week (anyone notice Kansas’ stats?), the sports media world zeroed in on college football’s worst team: winless Notre Dame.

Pete Fiutak began his interesting Calvacade of Whimsy (www.collegefootballnews.com) with five straight Notre Dame points after week three’s shut-out loss to an 0-2 Michigan. Every ESPN episode of Sportscenter, College Football Live and First Take all week had segments on Charlie Weis, Notre Dame’s legacy, and forecasts that didn’t differ with their pre-season expectations of a 1-7 start. During the Tulsa/Oklahoma game Friday night, ESPN2's coverage broke away to an in-booth trifecta of pleated pants with announcers Sean McDonough, Chris Spielman and ex Dame coach Bob Davie (and an inset box of Lou Holtz) discussing Irish woes for nine straight minutes as Tulsa threw a long TD pass in a tenser-than-reported second quarter.

Loser of the Week (LoW) headquarters is happy to inspire a shift away from the winners’ monopoly, but ESPN, Sports Illustrated and other sports writers simply misunderstood the plan. The goal is on teams that lose well – not just the plain bad. And Notre Dame is so bad right now it isn’t even fun to watch.

LoW Starter: Tulsa
It’s not easy being Tulsa in Oklahoma. When the 23-point underdog gold-and-blue Tulsa rushed onto their Skelly Field against in-state rival #4 Oklahoma, more than half the crowd wore Sooner red. Tulsa — named the Golden Hurricane in a town with no hurricanes (even gold ones) — is the smallest division-one university to play the football game. Several players were turned down scholarships at all other division-one schools. On defense, Tulsa lined up a 220-pound former receiver against Oklahoma’s 6’8”, 360-pound offensive lineman Phil Loadholt. Even ESPN2 sideline reporter Joe Schad joked last week that ‘there’s nothing to do in Tulsa.’ (Go see the Golden Driller, pictured above, Joe.) Yet they gave Oklahoma its first (temporary) deficit of the season, more than doubled the yards against the nation’s #2 defense (398 yards vs Oklahoma’s 180 average) and continued to drive into Oklahoma territory well after the ESPN2 announcers prematurely mumbled ‘the rout is on.’

The heart of the performance was Tulsa quarterback Paul Smith, a local kid once turned down by Oklahoma and Penn State programs. The elusive communications major, who wants to work for ESPN some day, passed for 350 yards and his two picks followed receivers’ mistakes. The quick, misdirection-heavy spread constantly found open slots in Oklahoma’s untested secondary. After three first-half drives ended inside Oklahoma’s 35 with no points, Smith began the second half with a scrappy, six-minute drive that finished with him diving head-first in the end-zone on 4th and goal from the three. Only down by 14, Tulsa kicked off to DeMarco Murray, who weaved 81 yards for a TD. And Tulsa couldn’t score again. ‘It broke our back,’ said coach Todd Graham afterwards. If it did, they didn’t show it. Tulsa responded with another long drive ended by an interception. And after Oklahoma scored a fourth-quarter TD, Tulsa overloaded the left side of the line for the PAT — and blocked it. Winners sometimes lose, but they never quit.

Tulsa lost 21-62.

LoW 2nd-String: Texas Tech Offense
Everyone’s spreading Heisman goop all over Colt Brennan, the big yard-throwing QB at Hawaii, but few talk about Texas Tech quarterback Graham Harrell who puts up the same numbers against tougher opponents. At Oklahoma State on Saturday, the Red Raiders (led by Mike Leach, known for his team-meeting pirate lectures) scored 45 points and gained 718 yards. Harrell threw 46-for-67 with 646 yards and no picks. Star receiver Michael Crabtree caught 237 yards and three TDs on the day (and 11 for the season), but a game-winning TD pass bounced off his hands late in the game. An Okie State defender actually had the nerve to talk trash. Meanwhile, Tech’s defensive coordinator resigned after the loss for 'personal reasons.'

Texas Tech lost 45-49.

LoW Penalty Box
The entire sports media world. For Notre Dame over-saturation.

Kentucky coaching. LoW headquarters loves the ‘Tuck (even if Ashley Judd doesn’t come out for football games), but the coaches need a calculator. Last week they enigmatically kicked a PAT to go up with 0:28 remaining on Louisville by six points (not seven), then had to sweat out a last-second pass that would have lost the game with an automatic PAT. This Saturday, after scoring a TD with two minutes to go at Arkansas, Kentucky was up by four points and went for two. To be up by six? Not worth the risk: if it failed (and it didn’t), an Ark go-ahead TD would mean a last-second ‘Tuck field goal would only send the game in overtime. Doesn’t add up.

Last Week’s Losers
Both of week three’s losers won in week four. Norfolk State beat Bethune-Cookman 38-31, Central Florida beat Memphis 56-20.

LoW's Mesmerizing Tirade of the Week
Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy goes off, way off, after an Oklahoma City newspaper questioned the guts of his benched quarterback Bobby Reid (no relation to me). If you do nothing else this week, listen to the tirade and read the offending article, which had been given to Gundy by 'a mother of children.'

LoW archive
Week three's report

Loser of the Week

Thu, 20 Sep 2007 11:08:24 EDT

Not all glories in the wonderfully irrational world of COLLEGE FOOTBALL come with wins

The world's greatest piece of art isn’t in the Louvre, Uffizi or Metropolitan. It’s in Hamilton, Ontario, standing quietly outside the wonderfully absurd Canadian Football Hall of Fame. At first glance, the shimmering sculpture looks like two metal men engaged in rather improper public contact. One stands and reaches upward, the other moving in to the other’s mid section. Look closer and you’ll see it’s just football in progress. A receiver clutches a (metal) football, and a wide-eyed defender leaps in a last-gasp attempt to make a play. The receiver may have the ball, but the defender — the central action of the piece; the only figure facing the viewer — inescapably has your attention. That the artist named it Touchdown means that the sculpture, ultimately, memorializes glorious failure. I like that.

The 2007 college-football season is already more exciting than last year’s ho-hummer, with lots of juicy losses to take in, including Michigan to Appalachian State, Louisville to Kentucky, Oklahoma State to Troy, Auburn to South Florida and Mississippi State, Notre Dame to anyone it plays. But other than Mike Hart’s day versus App State, these losses haven’t really been that dignified, have they?

Those who lose well — particularly well — deserve a home too. Like Tom Osbourne going for two in the 1984 Orange Bowl. Tom could've tied with a PAT and gotten his first national championship. But he wanted to win. And he lost. This weekly Loser of the Week (LoW) is their Xanadu.

2nd-String: Norfolk State
I believe all losing teams should have to take the bus home. Norfolk State takes the bus both ways. Wearing gold instead of the usual visitors’ white jerseys, Norfolk State made its debut against Division-I opponents at Rutgers Saturday, a game they agreed to so they could afford to fly to Florida A&M next month and skip the usual 14-hour bus ride each way (Rutgers offered $275,000 to play).

NSU isn’t exactly Appalachian State. The Spartans haven’t had a winning season since they joined Division II league a decade ago. And Rutgers — losers for so long, and whose fans shamefully chanted ‘F--- Navy!’ last week to the visiting Midshipmen — welcomed the Spartans with a breathless six-touchdown second quarter, capped with the (controversial) calling of three time-outs already up 48-0 to get the ball back right before halftime. Norfolk State’s quarterback was ‘irritated’ by it and the punter (who was fouled and hurt on the punt the time-outs set up) said it was ‘unnecessary.’ But NSU coach Pete Adrian rallied the team to play harder in the second half. And team started the third quarter with their best drive of the day, which reached the Rutgers 18 (before holding calls pushed them out of field-goal range). Enjoy that flight to Tallahassee guys; you’ve earned it.

Norfolk State lost 0-59.

Starter: Central Florida
For UCF’s first game in its new, $55-million Bright House Networks Stadium in Orlando, they scheduled the highest-ranking opponent in Knight history, and even and held a brief come-back lead to an overrated Texas in the 4th quarter. After a Knight fumble set up Jamal Charles’ 46-yard TD run with 3:37 remaining (and an enigmatic two-point try by Texas that failed), the hometown team found themselves down by 11, on their own 10 yard line, with a 4th and 22 and 1:17 remaining. And UCF punted. The FSN sports announcers clumsily theorized, ‘Well, looks like UCF wants to preserve a 11-point loss, so it looks close.’ Huh? Two plays later, UCF wrestled the ball loose from Charles, scored a TD and two-point conversion, before failing to convert an onside kick and a chance at a game-tying field goal.

Unlike the FSN announcers, UCF never quit. Their turnovers led to two Texas TDs, and they were down 10-20 at half, 10-23 in the 3rd quarter, than 24-35 with 75 seconds to go (and their defense on the field) — and bounced back each time. Coach George O’Leary afterward shrugged off any idea that it’s a ‘moral win’ to play close to a team only a season removed from a national championship. He told the Orland Sentinel afterwards, ‘That’s the one thing I was happy about with the kids. They were real upset about the game in the locker room.’

UCF lost 32-35.

LoW Penalty Box
When winning or losing is done wrong, the guilty get a trip to the LoW Penalty Box:

--> TCU coach Gary Patterson. A week after losing to Texas, TCU let a late 17-3 lead slip to Air Force and lost in OT. Regarding TCU’s end-of-regulation interception while in potentially game-winning field-goal territory, coach Patterson put all blame on his offensive coordinator: ‘We should have run the ball. Why we threw the ball, I don’t know. I don’t call that side of the ball. We made a mistake.’ You stay classy Ft Worth.
--> California Fans. Cal’s rising in the ranks and BCS-hope soars, but on the beautiful blue-sky gold-sun Saturday in Berkeley, 20,000-some seats glared like bare stripes on a flag of indifference. It’s Louisiana Tech not Tennessee, and Cal cruised to a 42-12 win, but c’mon Bear Fans! You won't see an empty seat in Auburn or Tennessee or Michigan despite their early-season slips.

College Footballs Contenders and Pretenders

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 13:57:37 EDT

The Contenders

- LSU - Penn State - USC -

These three teams have it all. They went into the season as the favorites and have proven that they are the best of the best. With the exception of a few holes that only the best college and professional football scouts would notice these teams are dominant both on the offensive and defensive fronts.

Despite some tough upcoming games I expect these three teams to emerge from the fray unscathed.

Bubble Teams

- Alabama - Florida - Kentucky - Oregon -

Teams on the bubble can continue to rise just ask quickly as they could fall. One loss and these guys get bumped down with the pretenders. These teams are the teams that can make a sports analysts either look brilliant or like an idiot. While Alabama, Florida and Kentucky all had people talking in the preseason, the Oregon Ducks seem to have come out of no where. Their starting quarterback Dixon has gone from an inconsistent quarterback that couldn't win the big games to a Cinderella Heisman candidate.

There is, of course, a lot more football to be played, but this kid just seems unstoppable and the fact that their toughest games are played at home forces me to think the Ducks have a shot to shock people this year. Alabama, Florida and Kentucky all appear ready to exceed the already high expectations that have been placed on their programs this preseason. The only problem facing all three of them is that they all play in the SEC and none of them seem to be on the same level as LSU.

The Pretenders

- California -Hawaii - Ohio State - South Carolina -

- Virginia Tech -

It seems like months ago that Virginia Tech was considered a top 10 school. Whats boggling my mind is the fact that they are still in the top 25. Sure their only loss came at the hands of LSU but they haven't shown me anything this year that resembles a team thats going to make any noise. California began to get a lot of national recognition after they beat an extremely overrated Tennessee team whose starting quarterback had broken his finger earlier in the week. Ohio State got dominated in the national championship and loss a ton of players.

Besides, if Michigan's poor play hasn't taught all of us that the Big Ten is extremely overrated then I'm not sure what will. Hawaii needed to not only go undefeated but also dominate their opposition to be considered for a top bowl game and has already come close to losing. South Carolina did shock the world when they beat Georgia but people need to get off the Spurrier bandwagon because it won't be long until some of its tires get popped.

NY Football ... It's Craptastic!

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 14:44:04 EDT

Two weeks into the NFL season and already football here in NY is on life support. The Giants stink, the Jets stink and just to complete the NY trifecta, the Buffalo Bills stink. That's no wins, six losses and a whole lot o' suck.

As for the Bills, in light of what happened with Kevin Everett, they get somewhat of a free pass. But where on earth is their offense? They've scored 17 points so far and can't throw the ball worth a lick. So much was written in the offseason about JP Losman finally turning it around this year. But, then again, I feel like I read that every year. And I'm still waiting for the first sign of it coming true.

As for the Giants, hey, here's an idea, play some defense. They've allowed 80 points in two games. 80 POINTS! It takes the Ravens six weeks to give that up. Big Blue's pass rush is anemic and their secondary can't cover anyone. No pass rush and bad pass coverage = long days at the office.

Onto my favorite team, the Jets. Although, after the brutal way they lost to the Ravens (dropping three TD's in the final minute) I am the closest I've ever been to renouncing them and starting over. I mean, how many years does a fan base have to put up with devastating, heartbreaking losses? No team in any sport breaks your heart quite like the Jets. One more win from the Browns, and I'm buying a Kellen Winslow jersey.

Like their fellow Giants Stadium tenants, the Jets have no pass rush and a lousy pass defense. In fact, the next sack or turnover they cause will be their first of the season. And on offense, great move to bring in Thomas Jones! I think he's averaging about 2 yards a carry. The only thing to root for right now is the emergence of Kellen Clemens as our next QB. But it seems like Chad Pennington is coming back this weekend; so look forward to another day of wobbly eight yard passes.

So where do these teams go from here? How long do they stick with JP Losman in Buffalo? Do the Giants fire Tom Coughlin before week 5? And when do the Jets give Chad Pennington a hearty slap on the back, thank him for his courage, and hand the ball to Kellen Clemens?

And most importantly, where do I find a Browns' jersey?

Sports Thoughts

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 11:57:53 EDT

A few things on my mind after spending way too many hours on the couch this weekend…

1. Unless you conveniently changed the channel during every commercial break, there’s no way you watched football this weekend and don’t have that new catchy iPod song stuck in your head. “1, 2, 3, 4 tell me that you love me more…” Yeah, we’re all singing it. Definitely a guilty pleasure.

2. There are four elite college football teams. Those teams are: USC, LSU, Oklahoma, and Florida. Great performances from USC and Florida on Saturday. Tim Tebow can now be mentioned as one of the top quarterbacks in the nation. For USC, Stafon Johnson had a breakout game and could be the feature back the Trojans are looking for. They actually might have like five feature backs on their roster, but it’s nice to have one guy you know you can depend on.

3. Josh Beckett did a lot on Saturday to move closer towards claiming the Cy Young Award. He actually moved closer to it on Friday when C.C. Sabathia had a pedestrian outing (7 IP, 4 ER) against the Royals. There are a lot of good candidates, but when the competition is so close, the voters might look at a team’s overall record and just give it to the guy on the best team. Give credit to Beckett though. After Friday’s meltdown, Boston absolutely needed that win, and Beckett pitched great against a team that usually batters him.

4.There are a few teams that seem like they absolutely torture their fans. One team is the New York Jets. I’m glad I am not a Jets fan. I imagine Jets fans are not putting Justin McCareins in their Top Friends on MySpace . Another unbearable team to root for must be Oakland. They play a solid game on the road against Denver. Take it to overtime. And they freakin’ win the game on a 52-yard field goal! Only they didn’t. Denver called timeout, and Janikowski had to kick it again. And he drilled the football again, but this time he drilled the left upright too. Of course Denver scored on the next drive. Oh those Seminoles just can’t seem to figure out that it has to go inside the two yellow poles with the game on the line.

5. Bill Belichik is a jerk. Seriously. Come to think of it, a lot of great coaches are jerks. Parcells, Pat Riley, huge jerks. Adolph Rupp was a racist according to many. I think Bob Stoops is the best college coach around (I’m talking about a coach, not just a recruiter), and he runs the score up every chance he gets. What a jerk. Nick Saban is considered a great college coach, at least by Alabama. He’s considered a jerk by everyone. Larry Brown, Bobby Knight… such jerks. Anyway back to Belichik, it’s still funny to think about the rule changes the Patriots have brought about since they began their run. First the tuck rule. Then they manhandled the Colts receivers so much that pass interference had to be changed. And now defensive players might be able to have direct communication with the coaches just like quarterbacks thanks to recent developments. What a jerk.

I Get It ... Sports Reporters are GENIUSES!

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 16:06:05 EDT

The more columns I read lately from sports reporters and professional sports bloggers, the more I’m noticing a really, really annoying trend: the self-serving ways these guys continuously pat themselves on the back. Now, maybe this has been going on for a long time, but in an era when there is so much competition to be first and to “break news”, this habit of self-congratulation has become soooo tired.

I just finished reading a column about Greg Oden’s injury from one of my favorite national sports bloggers – I’ll leave his name out so as to protect him and his loyal bastion of Boston fans on ESPN.com (oops did I just say too much?) – and he must have reminded us five times about how right he was about Oden vs Durant. Look, I get it, you’re the smartest. You predicted Durant would be a better pick, and you’re right. But here’s the thing: I read all those columns when you wrote them. I don’t need a refresher course.

But, I still love ya, Bill, and because it’s Friday and I’m in a great mood, I thought I would take the high road and talk about all that’s great in the sporting world.

For example, the Yankees play the Red Sox in a three game series this weekend. And let me remind you, five months ago I correctly predicted this series would be big in a column I wrote called “The Yankees-Red Sox September Series Will be Big.” I mean, I hate to brag, but who else could have called that?

There’s other stuff going on too. Like a great weekend of college football. There are some really great games, like USC-Nebraska and Florida-Tennessee. And I’m not sure how many experts have pointed this out, but USC is good. In fact, in a column I wrote last month, I predicted that “USC Could Be Good This Season.” I know it’s early, but I’m looking really smart so far.

And finally, in the NFL, the Browns take on the Bengals. When I wrote in June that the “Browns Won’t Win The Super Bowl This Year” I really went out on a limb. In fact, as far as I know, nobody else took that stand. And, again it’s early, but all my research seems to be paying off.

So there you go: a lot to check out this weekend. And when Sunday rolls around and the Texas Longhorns have beaten the UCF Knights, I promise I won’t remind you that I was the only person to correctly predict that victory … which I was.

So enjoy yourselves and let me be the first to predict this: “Have a great weekend, everybody!”

Football Quarterback Busts

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 14:07:18 EDT

The quarterback position is the most coveted position in the game of football. It's also the position that has only a dozen or so people that will ever be thought of as the all time greats. This list of quarterbacks is far from the greatest of all time.

These guys are the reason general managers and coaches have loss their jobs. These guys prove that college "system" quarterbacks don't always translate into NFL caliber quarterbacks. These guys were supposed to be the savior that came in and led the team that drafted them to an all elusive Super Bowl title. These guys are my all time quarterback busts.

Vick Brothers

This list begins with two guys that had everything going for them. Many people don't even realize that most scouts were saying that Marcus Vick was the better of the two Vick brothers. Several reports claimed that he was not only better on his feet but was also had better arm strength and accuracy then Michael. With this in mind, he was last seen returning kicks for the Miami Dolphins and despite all the turmoil behind center for the Fin's, Vick hasn't even been considered as a backup.

Marcus managed to destroy his NFL career before it even started, being kicked out of Virgina Tech. He must have rubbed off on his older brother (or the other way around) because reports had little Vick staying over at his mentor's, best friend and soon to be kicked out of the NFL, older brothers house. It isn't necessary for an explanation as to why older brother, Michael Vick, is on this list. They were born with amazing God given talent and threw it away (along with all their millions upon millions of dollar). Thus the Vick brothers will always be at the top of my list of football quarterback busts.

Photos are courtesy of www.davesez.com and thenastyboys.wordpress.com

Gator Quarterbacks

As a hard nosed Florida Gator fan its hard to admit this however its become impossible to deny. Sure these three were great college quarterbacks. Winning SEC championships, national championships and Heisman trophy's puts you on the list of University of Florida's all time greats. Those accomplishments haven't translated well in the NFL. Chris Leak wasn't even drafted and Danny Wuerffel is always mentioned amongst two impressive lists; the list of Heisman trophy quarterback busts and system quarterbacks that couldn't cut it in the NFL. Some might claim that I'm jumping the gun on Rex Grossman but if you've been paying attention to his career you can't argue that he isn't a great quarterback. After watching him play last week I refuse to even consider him a good quarterback.

Photos are courtesy of www.infoplease.com, www.nonbot.com and www.chicagobears.com

High Draft Pick Busts

Ryan Leaf and Akili Smith single handily pushed their two respective teams back a minimum of five years. These two are on the top of everyones list. You've heard the arguments time and time again so I won't bore you with them here however its imperative not to exclude them.

Photos are courtesy of bengals.enquirer.com and thebestsportsblog.com

Really Funny (and kinda mean) Video

Thu, 13 Sep 2007 11:56:33 EDT

http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1774718/

embed code:

Long Days Journey Into the Meadowlands

Wed, 12 Sep 2007 13:06:58 EDT

1. well, for a moment the day was bright for the Jets. They even had the ball first.
Dave had been tailgating, and even got to hang with the Flight Crew, the Jets cheerleaders.

2. But the sun wouldn't shine for long at Giants stadium as the Pats go on a methodical 92 yd. drive for their first TD of the '07 season. The first, but not the last. (Check out #10 going deep.)

3. Some moxy shown as the Jets get a break on the botched field goal attempt.

4. And the sun breaks through the clouds!! Touchdown! J-E-T-S!...not so fast!

5. The Pats come back with a TD to end the first half. But it's only 14-7. But Brent won't have to wait long for...

6. 21-7! What the hell just happened? 108yds. of really fast running and really bad tackling is what happened.

7. But just as things seemed really bad, the Jets call in reinforcements. But the Pats said that was cheating and they wouldn't stand for cheating. So the Army was escorted off the field.

8. The Pats make it 28-7 and all but put the W on their first game of the season.

9.But a second try floater from Pennington to Coles makes Jets fans feel good about the $7.25 beers they've been purchasing all day.

10. What's that Dave? You want to go home? But there's like 7 mins. left in the fourth. You really want to leave? What's that? Everybody else is? Well let me get a picture of this.

11. Wait, take of picture of me too. Don't worry, I won't rub it in.

12. The sound all Jets fans were making after that opening day offering. "McGIRRRRRR".

13. I wonder how I'm going to feel in that dress?

A Complete Football Meltdown

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 11:15:57 EDT

Wow, what a weekend this was supposed to be! On Saturday, my alma mater, the University of Miami was headed to Norman, Oklahoma to take on the #5 ranked Oklahoma Sooners in a game that would show the country the 'Canes were for real this season. On Sunday, my beloved New York Jets were hosting the Patriots in the season opener; a game that would show the country that the Jets were for real this season. And, I had not one but TWO of my fantasy football teams in action and I was going to show both leagues I was for real this season. And then, one by one, it all came crashing down.

First, on Saturday, the 'Canes forgot how to tackle, catch, throw, block and hold onto the football as they were annihilated 51-13. We changed quarterbacks three times, one of our corners gave up four touchdowns and for some reason we had a third string tight end who weighs 260 pounds returning kicks. But, at least none of our players kicked anybody in the head, so that's a good thing. As for proving anything to the nation, the only message we sent was ... play us.

Then on Sunday, I dropped nearly $200 of my hard earned money for a ticket to the Jets' season opener. Brent and I drove to Jersey, we shot part of Tuesday's Bleacher Blogger episode from the stadium, met some cool fans and I even got to hang out with the Jets' cheerleaders (aka The Flight Crew). It was shaping up to be a great day. Then, a terrible thing happened. Kickoff. Right from the first drive it was jaw-droppingly obvious the Pats are far superior to the Jets. Not only has the gap not closed between the teams, it's turned into the Hoover Dam. The Patriots have a better quarterback, running back, tight end, wide recievers, offensive line, defensive line, secondary, linebackers, special teams and coaching staff. In case you weren't keeping track, that's EVERY part of a football team. They even have better uniforms. We were like the little brother who thinks he's finally good enough to beat big bro in one-on-one and then loses 21-3. Except we lost 38-14. And the game wasn't even as close as the final score. We stink.

So my college team and pro team got their collective asses kicked 89 -27. And while that definitely sucked, and I was in a foul mood, at least I was fairly certain I would win both my fantasy football leagues. For some inexplicable reason, I'm very cocky when it comes to fantasy football, although if you look at my track record I don't really win all that much ... including yesterday. In fact, yesterday I lost in BOTH leagues by a combined score of 383-209 (unless Darrell Jackson does anything tonight; in which case it will be even worse). And if that doesn't stink enough, I may have already been crippled by the injury bug. I have Brandon Jacobs in both leagues and he left last night's game with an injured knee and I have Cadillac Williams in one league and he left his game with injured ribs. So I'm down two running backs after the first week. Awesome!

So, to sum up, the 'Canes suck, the Jets suck and both my fantasy football teams suck. But at least I still have my health ... and the Knicks.

Dropping The Ball

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 11:15:45 EDT

A Look at the Truly Pathetic Performers of this Weekend

1. Michigan Wolverines: Don’t worry. They can still win the Big 10. That’s been the goal along. And thanks to the Wolverines, AP voters are now allowed to vote for I-AA teams. So at least they’re changing things. But this blowout to Oregon proves that last week wasn’t much of a fluke. This team just isn’t that good. Lloyd Carr – it’s a good thing you’re retiring, because you’re soooo fired if you’re not.

2. Notre Dame Fighting Irish: They suck. They’re horrible. And they really might go 0-8. More is at stake for Notre Dame than you might think because right now Charlie Weiss has the top recruiting class for 2008. Keep on losing like this, and some of those verbal commitments might start backing out.

3. New York Jets fans: If you didn’t catch it, Chad Pennington hurt his ankle in the third quarter of the loss to New England. Here is this warrior who has battled injury after injury hobbling on the field. Trying to stand up on his own power. And ultimately crumpling to the ground. And the Jets fans cheer. No, not every Jets fan cheered, but one is too many. That is just plain wrong. Never cheer an injured player, even on the other team. Oh and a quick reminder… Chad Pennington wasn’t covering Randy Moss or rushing the passer on Sunday. It wasn’t his fault that the Jets lost.

4.Major League Baseball: Great job, Major League Baseball! You have proved how irrelevant you are in this country. There’s about 20 games left and the pennant races are heating up, and nobody could give a damn. I cared a little actually. I was into it for a bit, but ultimately it was football that captivated me and just about everyone else this weekend.

5. Michael Vick: Threw for zero yards in a 24-3 loss at Minnesota. Not sure he’s going to be starting for much longer with those numbers.

Best ... Athlete ... Alive

Thu, 06 Sep 2007 06:32:57 EDT

Ladies and gentlemen, say hello to the world's greatest athlete. That's right, it's Roger Federer, a TENNIS player. Fresh off his terrific victory over Andy Roddick Wednesday night, Fed has once again shown why his greatness is unrivaled in any sport.

Want some numbers? Here are some fun ones. He's won 50 career singles titles, including 11 Grand Slams. He's won the last 5 Wimbledons, the last 2 Australian Opens and the last 3 US Opens (and he'll probably win this one too). He's reached the finals of the last 9 Grand Slams (a record). He's the first man in the Open era to win at least ten singles tournaments in three consecutive years. He's the only guy to have ever won Wimbledon and the U.S. Open three consecutive years. He's been ranked No. 1 in the world since February 2, 2004. That's 188 consecutive weeks, the longest of any player ever, male or female. He's won over $33 million dollars in prize money and, oh by the way, he's only 26. Meaning by 28 or so, he will break Sampras' record of 14 Grand Slams.

Whatever you think about tennis, and I realize most people don't think about tennis much, you have to admit those numbers are eye-popping, but more than that, they are flat out dominating. Find me an athlete anywhere that rivals those numbers. The only one that's close is Tiger Woods and even Tiger has admitted Roger is more dominant than he is.

But with Federer, it's not just about numbers. It's about his mental make-up. This guy truly has the heart of a champion. I went to his match the other night against Feliciano Lopez. Federer lost the first set and was in trouble in the second. And then, with Lopez playing out of his mind, it happened. The way it always does. The light bulb went on and the Federer domination began. He hit winner after winner, passing shot after passing shot, great serve after great serve. Before any of us knew it, Federer had won the second set and was steamrolling in the third. He closed a stunned Lopez out in four sets.

That's the thing with Federer; he's never vulnerable. On the rare occassion that he's down, he finds a way to step it up. Like moving in on the return of serve or coming to net more. And when he has the lead, forget it. The match is over. He takes his game to an even higher level, like a shark that smells blood. He's the Mariano Rivera of tennis. He's the best finisher around.

I know the argument against him, and I'm sure a few of you are saying this right now. He can't win the French. Well, first of all, he's made it to the finals two years in a row, so it's not like he can't play on clay. And in both of those finals to Nadal, he's been right in the match. But here's the thing, Sampras never won the French either and many consider him to be the best player ever. And, I really believe Federer will win the French next year. He'll dedicate himself to winning that tournament, find a way to handle Nadal's heavy topspin, and conquer his one remaining obstacle.

Last night, Federer took on Roddick in a very hostile environment. The crowd — which usually adores Roger — was decidedly pro-ARod. And Roddick played really, really well. But in the tiebreakers, there was good ol' Roger, dodging attacks and playing big points better than anybody else in the game. — the way he always does. And in the end, it was his 14th win in 15 tries against Roddick.

Federer is now only two matches away from winning his fourth straight US Open; to go along with his five consecutive Wimbledons. But if for some reason he falls short and doesn't win this tournament, it won't change my mind one bit. Roger Federer dominates his sport like nobody else on earth and therefore holds the title of the World's Greatest Athlete.

My First Yankees Game

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 17:31:08 EDT

Ever since I moved to New York, I wanted to do a few things: Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, Buy a hot dog from a street cart, hail a cab, and go to a Yankees game. I walked across the Brooklyn Bridge and that was OK, I got sick off a street dog last week, and the last cab I took, the cabbie asked me how to get where I was going. Needless to say, the Yankees game was the only task on my New York 'to do list' that hit a home run in my books.

Last night at the Yankees VS Mariner's game, I was pleasantly surprised -- it was awesome. I did learn a lot, such as the fact that Mickey Mantle really wasn't on 3rd base and Babe Ruth wasn't pitching... just kidding... I already knew that.

If you didn't already know, there are three teams leading the divisions and whoever wins the division is in the playoffs. The team with the next best record gets the "wild card" spot. Turns out that the NY Yankees and Seattle Mariners were head to head for this "wild card" spot, so as you can imagine, the game was intense. Up until the 7th inning, the game was pretty close, with the Yankees leading 3-0.

With beers in hand (obviously, because who doesn't drink a beer or 2, or 5 when you're at a Yankee's game?) we were glued to the game - bright lights in our face and occasionally catching glimpses of the squirrel who hangs out on top of the flag posts. After the 7th inning people started to clear out, seeing as the Yankees started kicking some real Mariner's ass 11-1 and we snuck down a few rows... ok, a lot of rows, just behind home base. I don't really remember the exact plays of the game, but I do remember that Jorge Posada hit 2 home runs, that was awesome. He rocks.

Overall, great Yankee's game. I'd definitely go see them again, only this time, I'll be sure to buy a pink Yankee's hat!

No Luck For the Irish

Sun, 02 Sep 2007 21:07:06 EDT

All the Quarterback mystique that Charlie Weis could muster couldn't stop Notre Dame from absolutely laying an egg in their home opener against Georgia Tech yesterday. And oh, what a stinky egg it was. The Notre Dame offense looked helpless and confused, unable to so much as move the ball during most of the game. Certainly not the opener that the Irish fans were looking for, and could signal an absolutely miserable rebuilding year. Even if the coach won't say that word.

Speaking of the Quarterback confusion ploy, what of those heralded Notre Dame QBs? Demetrius Jones looked terrible in the start, sans a couple decent running plays. Purported wunderkid Jimmy Clausen looked wholly unremarkable at the end of the game, struggling against a second string defense simply riding the blowout to the bus. The only ray of sunshine on the otherwise miserable day for the Irish was the solid play of Evan Sharpley, who was accurate and poised in the pocket.

Small comfort when throwing everything an offense can possibly throw at a team still only results in a field goal. Or worse yet, trotting out a defense that seemingly couldn't stop anything, as the Georgia Tech offense imposed its will the entire game.

It's somewhat of a shame that the opening kickoff, originally ruled a Notre Dame fumble recovered by GT, was reversed by the booth. Had the fumble stood, it would have presented a perfect metaphor for what to expect from the entire Notre Dame season, encapsulated in the very first moment.

Hail to the Victors Valiant

Sun, 02 Sep 2007 14:55:41 EDT

What a Saturday of football we got this weekend, if you like the upsets. Well, not that Notre Dame getting smoked by Georgia Tech is an upset except in an historical sense, if that makes any sense. It probably doesn't. What makes even less sense is the Wolverines getting beaten by Appalachian State at the Big House. Ouch.

I gotta admit I got a lot of joy out of that score. When I saw the ticker at halftime I couldn't believe my eyes, and I was thrilled with the prospect of Michigan getting beat at home at the season opener, coming into the season ranked #5 and making lots of noise about a National Championship..... by a team in another athletic division. Not that I pretend to know what division... or subdivision... they are in, but it doesn't matter.

All that matters is that Michigan lost to them.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not some rabid Ohio State fan (or a Buckeye fan at all.) Although I'm sure Ohio State fans Saturday were probably experiencing the sort of cosmic, euphoric bliss that comes around only once in a lifetime. Actually, they will probably feel that all year, regardless of what they do with their team, just from that one Michigan loss. Somewhere in Columbus, there are people looping the highlights of that game endlessly for hours, amid a sea of overturned cars and fuzzy hangovers. All along the Michigan / Ohio border, Michigan fans are dreading the eventual trudge into work on Tuesday morning.

After all, upsets of this caliber well.... are arguably unprecedented, at least in college football. And the big team losing to the little guy is always the greatest thing in sports... when it's not your team.

Let the guessing begin on how many ranking spots Michigan plummets after this. I'm going with at least 20.

The Sports Randomizer

Fri, 31 Aug 2007 15:57:30 EDT

-The NFL has changed its logo for the first time in almost 30 years. They presumably spent a lot of money on this, so it's a good thing they got their money's worth.

-First dodgeball, now tag. A Colorado elementary school has banned the game of tag on its playground, because children were "chased against their will." This prepares kids well for the real world, where we all know nothing happens against someone's will.

-Cincinnati Bengals' Frostee Rucker has been suspended for one game. I wonder what the over-under in Vegas is on number of weeks until the next Bengal is suspended ...

-T.O. gets asked 10 questions by Time readers. In typical sports fashion, he is asked to beat a long-dead horse and talk about McNabb. When asked which QB he would most like to have, he names someone other than his own QB ... again. Way to learn from history, T.O.

-Everyone knows about Terry Francona's visit from the fashion police mid-game by now. Maybe those police should have hit up Manny instead.

-Robert Watson, the Pee-Wee League coach responsible for beating up a ref, has been convicted of misdemeanor assault — possibly facing a year in jail and a $40,000 fine. As often as coaches and parents pull this kind of idiotic stunt, it's a wonder kids haven't written off sports entirely.

SEC Football QB Studs

Fri, 31 Aug 2007 15:08:36 EDT

The SEC has gained respect around the nation because of its amazing athletes — usually on defense — that seem to shut teams down when they play out-of-conference games. With all the focus having shifted from the offense to the defense, there is still one thing that hasn't changed in the South, and that's the "elevated" status of their teams starting quarterback.

Yes, you did read that correctly, "elevated" status, also known as being given V.I.P. treatment, or having "rock star" status, is exactly how these young college men are viewed across their campus. The quarterback position has been, and always will be, a coveted position not only in the SEC but in the game of football. With that in mind, here is a list of some of the so-called, "rock stars" in the SEC.

Above "rock star" photo of Tim Tebow is courtesy of www.sportsburn.com

Upperclassmen

Darren McFadden - Arkansas Razorbacks

"But isn't Darren McFadden, the starting running back for Arkansas?" If that's the first thing that came to mind when you saw his name listed here, then you obviously didn't watch Arkansas play last year. Houston Nutts, "Wildcat" formation, allows McFadden to line up at quarterback, replacing him at running back with the speedy Felix Jones. This causes loads of confusion for the defense that now has two dangerous running backs on the field that could take it all the way. Despite all the off-the-field issues Houston Nutt has created in Arkansas, he really does know how to utilize these two amazing athletes. Nutt confuses defenses by sometimes lining Felix Jones up at the wide-receiver spot, with McFadden behind center. The defense has no idea what to expect when Jones begins to run back behind the line before the the start of the play.

Is McFadden going to hand the ball off to Jones? Is McFadden going to fake a hand off only to run it up the middle or off to the side of the field where Jones was just lined up? What if McFadden fakes the hand off and then throws the ball up in the air to Monk? The options to this simple play are endless because of how dangerous these two athletes are with their hands on the ball. Defenses can't help but to respect their abilities.

While a majority of the time this formation leads to a run, McFadden has proven he isn't afraid to throw the ball. With the horrible play last year from the other Razorback quarterbacks, one could actually say that McFadden is a better option at quarterback then anyone currently on the roster. If you think I'm the only one saying this, check out Mark Schlabach's article on ESPN.com: Seven College Football Secrets for 2007. Don't expect him to put up big numbers through the air, but don't think for one second defenses are excited to see him behind center.

Some statistics from last year to note: Completed seven of nine passes for three touchdowns and one interception. Led the SEC in rushing yards with 1647. Only one of two running backs to rush for more than 1,000 yards in the SEC. The other running back was Felix Jones ... of Arkansas.

Above photo is courtesy of lsuphootball.wordpress.com

Andre Woodson - Kentucky Wildcats

Everyone knows that college football is a team sport. But it's a team sport with its star athletes, and Andre Woodson is definitely one of them. Despite the fact that he has lived in the shadow of Brian Brohm of in-state rival Louisville, he has single-handily risen Kentucky out of the basement of the SEC. No one would be shocked if Woodson led his team to an upset over some of his conference rivals. None of these teams have the Wildcats circled as an easy win this year. For more on Andre Woodson, check out ESPN.com (I included a search for articles on the link), which has released a ton of articles on Woodson — most of which are in ESPN Insider. If your not a member, I highly recommend becoming one. For all you non-members, here is one from Pat Forde, Woodson's transformation sparks Kentucky's rise

Some statistics from last year to note: Led the SEC in passing yards with 3,515. Led the SEC in times sacked with 36. Led the SEC in passing touchdowns with 31. Was tied for 11th place with seven interceptions.

Above photo is courtesy of heismanpundit.com

Eric Ainge - Tennessee Volunteers

You almost have to feel sorry for this guy. Nothing has gone his way after he won the starting job for Tennessee. He hasn't been able to pull it off when it mattered the most, and now has lost his top three receivers from last year. It simply just doesn't look as if Ainge is going to be able to get things together in time to not be considered a total bust by the Volunteer faithful. To make matters worse, he broke a finger on his throwing arm this week before the Cal game, preventing him from getting some much-needed practice time with his inexperienced receiving core. A loss against Florida at Tennessee late in the season would be disastrous for his legacy.

Some statistics from last year to note: Ainge was third in the SEC in passing yards with 2,989. He was tied for sixth with nine interceptions and fourth with 19 passing touchdowns. The leading wide receiver in the SEC was Robert Meachem of Tennessee. He is now playing for the New Orleans Saints. Tennessee also had two other wide receivers with the top 20 in receiving yards. Both were seniors last year and are no longer playing for the Volunteers.

Above photo is courtesy of sundaymorningqb.blogspot.com

The Unknowns

Matt Flynn - Louisiana State University

"The Tigers would have been better off last year with Matt Flynn at Quarterback then JaMarcus Russell." That's exactly what I said at the beginning of last year, and I will stick to that now despite the fact that JaMarcus went No. 1 in the draft.

Only time will prove me right as people witness firsthand how poorly JaMarcus Russells' game management and overall decision-making skills are. Yes, JaMarcus Russell is an amazing athlete who can throw the ball down the field with a flick of his arm. But so can Daunte Culpepper, and he hasn't led a team anywhere. If you watched LSU closely last year, you would attribute LSU's loss against Florida to the factors listed above. Sure, LSU had some pretty absurd turnovers that weren't necessarily his fault, but the Tigers had the win in sight. JaMarcus didn't manage the time on the clock well in the fourth quarter and didn't give his team a chance to win against Florida. Against a good defense that understands that he's constantly itching for the 60-yard pass, he will throw as many interceptions as he will touchdowns. Personally, I find him to be a bigger, slower, dumber version of Daunter Culpepper.

On the other hand, Flynn has received nothing but compliments from his coaches for his ability to lead and his poise in the pocket. The one glimpse we had of this was during the Peach Bowl against a very good University of Miami team. Not many backups have the ability to keep their cool in their first game — let alone their first bowl game. Yet, Flynn was able to find it in himself to come in for an injured JaMarcus Russell and lead the Tigers to a very impressive victory. For some video on the game, click here.

He is also considered to be a much more mobile quarterback then JaMarcus and doesn't simply rely on arm strength to beat his opponents. This will be extremely important because of the departures of LSUs' all-time receiving touchdown leader Dwayne Bowe and speedy Craig Davis. This has left LSU with a young and inexperienced receiving core. I expect Flynn to impress and lead the Tigers to an undefeated season. The fact that he has an outstanding defense that will be able to pick up the slack in the event of an off-day doesn't hurt either. If you don't believe me, then you didn't watch the LSU game last night. Flynn constantly ran the ball on the Bulldogs, proving that he isn't afraid to take a hit.

Some statistics from last year to note: Flynn has seen very limited action over the past three years, yet his passing percentage has gone up each year. He had a better complete year in 2005 when he saw the most time. He threw for seven touchdowns and one interception, however. He had a subpar completion percentage of 56.3 percent .That went up to 60 percent in 2006.

Above photo is courtesy of Chuck Cook / Times-Picayune and NOLA.com

Blake Mitchell - South Carolina Gamecocks

Having Steve Spurrier as your head coach is enough pressure to drive any quarterback to insanity. It also has the possibility to drive them to excellence, and Mitchell could be on the verge of either. Last year, he split time with Syvelle Newton because of to his inconsistent play and getting suspended for the first game of the year isn't a good start. It doesn't appear that Mitchell is going to use the opportunity to play under one of the best college offensive geniuses ever to the fullest. Spurrier appears to be confident that this will be the year the Gamecocks make a bunch of noise in the East. I'm not sure Mitchell is on the same page, having been suspended for something as dumb as skipping class.

Some statistics from last year to note: Split time with Syvelle Newton last year. Eighth in the SEC in passing yards with 1,789. Ninth in the SEC with 10 passing touchdowns. Thirteenth in the SEC with six interceptions.

Above photo is courtesy of www.lxasc.com / Juan Blas

Young Guns

Tim Tebow - Florida Gators and Matthew Stafford - Georgia Bulldogs

These two had extremely different years last year. Stafford was thrown under the gun and gained a lot of experience because of it. He fought a position-battle and won. He is now "the man" at Georgia and is ready to prove that he was the right choice. Despite his poor numbers last year, he was a highly recruited quarterback out of high school, and it's difficult to judge a quarterback during his rookie year. Stafford wasn't the only rookie starting last year. Almost half the team were underclassman. Expect Stafford to make strides this year as he builds off an extremely good second-half last year with some of his other young guns.

Despite what all the "experts" around the country have been saying, Tim Tebow is an efficient passer.

When you have a solid, senior quarterback in Chris Leak, there is no reason to bring in a true freshman into the game to make a tough pass. Every Florida fan would have rioted if Tebow would have been put in the game to throw the ball. With that in mind, one can understand that Urban Meyers offense isn't set up for a Chris Leak type of quarterback. He just isn't tough enough to handle the hits that quarterbacks will need to take in his type of offense.

Tebow was recruited by the University of Florida, not as a running quarterback, but as a quarterback that could move out of the pocket and gun the ball down the field once his receivers made enough separation. His high-school numbers prove that he is a good passer, and he will prove that this year.

You don't get recruited out of the state of Florida if you can't throw the ball. He will go through some speed bumps in his first year as the No. 1 guy behind the gun, but what quarterback doesn't? Expect these two to have an instant classic in the Georgia-Florida game (previously known as the World's Largest Cocktail Party). It will be great to see them compete for the next two years.

Above photos are courtesy of www.chrisstorms.com, www.msnbc.msn.com, www.lindysports.com,

Strahan, Why So Sad?

Thu, 30 Aug 2007 12:48:30 EDT

It's Aug. 29 — the NFL season kickoff is right around the corner, and Michael Strahan still hasn't decided whether to report to the Giants. NY Daily News is reporting that Strahan is still taking "the next day or two" to sort out what he wants to do regarding the season. This is just one of those situations where fan perspective and player perspective are worlds apart.

Fans of the NFL can understand why veteran players will sometimes choose to pull a holdout maneuver during training camp. No human being in their right mind wants to be out in the hell of a triple-digit-heat-index summer day exercising, running reps and performing in contact drills. Likewise, fans can understand why vets don't want to participate in meaningless pre-season games and why they sometimes continue the holdout through those games. They are useless for long-time vets that have excelled in their careers, and in reality, is a stupid risk that could result in a loss of experienced players for a season. Fans understand all of that on a rational level, even if they might wish to see their favorite players play on an emotional level.

But what fans can't understand is turning down massive sums of money (by our standards) by worrying about pride the way Strahan is. He is apparently upset about the lack of respect that the Giants organization has shown him; but Strahan, surely you have noticed before how little love there is in the mechanics of the NFL. It is inherently an exploitative sport where athletes are quickly consumed and discarded for newer and healthier (and cheaper) bodies. Strahan, in all reality, has had an NFL existence that is nearly storybook: a long, productive career and a legacy of being well respected by the fans. Not to mention his time with the Giants has been very lucrative for him.

So, after having one of the best career arcs one could possibly hope for in the NFL, why not just stop the whining, stop losing money for not reporting (reportedly nearly $500,000 in fines now), play the one more year that he obviously wants to play and then ride off happily into the sunset? Just be like everyone else, look to your job for money and look elsewhere for love.

The Sports Randomizer

Thu, 30 Aug 2007 10:34:55 EDT

-Tim Couch used steroids and HGH? How could anyone use not one, but TWO performance enhancers and still be THAT bad?

-Drew Henson was released by the Minnesota Vikings on Monday. It's interesting how fast highly touted two-sport athletes can become zero-sport athletes.

-Mike Mussina has been pulled from the Yankees rotation, at least for one game. It would be utterly shocking to see him again this season, even with the supremely erratic Yankees pitching staff.

-Barry Bonds' record tying and breaking home run balls are now up for online auction. Not surprisingly, there are no bids at the time of this writing, with the minimum bid being $100,000 for #756. It seems highly doubtful there will be a bid of that amount, considering the last time a record breaking home run ball hit by the same player sold at auction, it went for $16,000.

-Sandra Kobrin asserts on her blog that the NFL is ridiculous for being so harsh on Vick for dogfighting while being so soft for so many years with players who commit domestic abuse. And you know what? She's absolutely right.

What To Do With an All-Star Gone South?

Wed, 29 Aug 2007 14:25:31 EDT

This just in: Mike Mussina is no longer a good pitcher. Hell, he's not even a mediocre pitcher anymore. Yes, shocking news to all of you, I know. Mussina couldn't have possibly picked a worse time for the Yankees and their fans to lose his Hall of Fame arm. Admittedly, late August is not a good time for any pitcher to go in the tank, but it's especially heartbreaking for the Yankees right now. Except that no one has sympathy for the Yankees woes outside of their fandom, so the empathy factor doesn't have much legs on this topic.

It really did look, up to a couple of weeks ago, as if the Yankees were going to put themselves in position to pull off another "Boston Massacre" this year. I don't care how hard-core and confident any Red Sox fan is; they had to be looking over their shoulder for a bit there and praying. But now, whatever mojo the Yankees had working seems to have bottomed out, and those much-derided old arms are really showing their age, to put it mildly. Hell, even Rivera has looked extremely shaky on occasion this year. Apparently, going out on top isn't in the vocabulary of star Yankees pitchers.

Furthermore the bats are dreadfully lacking (from the perspective of any Yankees fan) lately ... a 16-0 blowout delivered by the Tigers in the middle of a Wild Card push? Ouch. That HAS to hurt. Not that the Tigers are a joke, but to get blown out by that margin this late in the season when every single win can mean the margin of figurative, baseball life-and-death will inevitably shake the confidence of a team, which is the last thing the Yankees need right now. This all gives the massive legions of Yankee haters out there something to cheer for: a year where the Yankees miss the playoffs altogether.

Back to the topic that started this, what do the Yankees do with Mussina? Dusty Baker speculates that the Yankees will simply DL the pitcher to save face for both parties, as there is no way the club will allow such failure to continue at this point in the season. If this isn't just a pride-hidden injury that Mussina is trying to pitch through, Mussina's Hall of Fame ballot may come up a little sooner than expected.

Angels Fans + Postseason = Annoying

Wed, 29 Aug 2007 09:24:43 EDT

Don't look now, but the Angels are absolutely on fire and look to safely cruise into the post-season.

They are up by three games on a Mariners team that is seemingly incapable of catching the bats and arms of the California team. So just go ahead and kill me now, because I don't think I can stomach to see another World Series with Angels fans anywhere remotely near the game.

Hate me all you want, Angels fans, but the fan behavior at the Angels' home games during the Giants/Angels World Series in 2002 made me want to napalm the stadium.

I understand getting crazy-excited for your home team during the series, especially when you've had a long title drought in the area, but Angels fans were so annoying it simply blinded me.

Let's start with those stupid thundersticks, which need to be banned from all sporting events. When I watch a game, I want to hear humans getting excited, not the insane clacking that the stadium was filled with (How is anyone supposed to hit a 95-mph fastball with a morse-code supernova going off in your head?) It sounded as if all the crickets on the planet hijacked every train on the planet and drove them into Anaheim that week.

But that wasn't even the worst of it. Remember Reggie Sanders getting pounded by some idiotic fan while trying to field a critical right field hit? Well, I do. Did it cost the Giants the series? No, Barry Bonds' ego did that, since he couldn't shag down routine fly balls in left game after game after game. But watching that fan rail repeatedly on Sanders with that stupid thunderstick will forever stick in my head as the most asinine display of fan ignorance and idiocy I have ever seen (OK, maybe not as bad as that guy who plowed through the kid and his mom for the ball in Texas; so I guess it's No. 2 on the list). It's a singular moment of time that has completely tainted my opinions of Angels fans as a whole. Irrational? Absolutely, but it's my brain, and I'll do what I want with it.

So here we go again if the hot streak and inspired play for the Angels continue. Let's just hope they don't break out the rally monkey anymore. That animal made those fans scary-crazy.